Mystic Christianity
by
Yogi Ramacharaka
Part 2 out of 4
even now at this late day, when the truth of the Fatherhood of God and
the Brotherhood of Man is beginning to be felt by all nations alike,
and is growing strong enough to break down the old which have divided
brother from brother, and creed from creed. Christianity--true
Christianity--is not a mere creed, but a great human and divine Truth
that will rise above all petty distinctions of race and creed and will
at last shine on all men alike, gathering them into one fold of
Universal Brotherhood.
May the Great Day be hastened!
* * * * *
And so we leave Jesus, wending his way slowly homeward toward Judea,
the land of His father and the place of His birth. Dropping a word
here--planting a seed there--onward He pursued His way. Visiting this
mystic brotherhood, and resting a while in another occult retreat, He
slowly retraced the journey of His youth. But while His outward
journey was that of a student traveling forth to complete His
education, He returned as a Master and Teacher, bearing and sowing the
seeds of a great Truth, which was to grow and bring forth great fruit,
and which, in time, would spread over all the world in its primitive
purity, notwithstanding its betrayal and corruption at the hands of
those in whose keeping He left it when he passed away from the scene
of His labors.
Jesus came as a World Prophet, not as a mere Jewish holy-man, and
still less as a Hebrew Messiah destined to sit upon the throne of His
father David. And He left His mark upon all of the great peoples of
earth by His journey among them. Throughout Persia are found many
traditions of Issa, the young Master who appeared in that land
centuries ago, and who taught the Fatherhood of God and the
Brotherhood of Man. Among the Hindus are found strange traditions of
Jesoph or Josa, a young ascetic, who passed through the Hind long
since, denouncing the established laws of caste, and consorting with
the common people, who, as in Israel, "heard him gladly." Even in
China are found similar tales of the young religious firebrand,
preaching ever the Brotherhood of Man--ever known as the Friend of the
Poor. On and on He went, sowing the seeds of human freedom and the
casting off of the yoke of ecclesiastical tyranny and formalism, which
seeds are springing unto growth even at this late day. Yea, the Spirit
of His real teachings are even now bearing fruit in the hearts of men,
and though nearly two thousand years have passed by the "soul" of His
social teachings still "goes marching on" round and round the world.
THE FOURTH LESSON.
THE BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY.
When Jesus reached his native land, after the years of travel in
India, Persia and Egypt, he is believed by the occultists to have
spent at least one year among the various lodges and retreats of the
Essenes. By reference to the first lesson of this series you will see
who and what was this great mystic organization--the Essenic
Brotherhood. While resting and studying in their retreats His
attention was diverted to the work of Johannen--John the Baptist--and
He saw there an opening wedge for the great work that He felt called
upon to do among His own people. Dreams of converting His own
race--the Jews--to His conception of Truth and Life, crept over Him,
and he determined to make this work His great life task.
The feeling of race is hard to overcome and eradicate, and Jesus felt
that, after all, here He was at last, at home, among His own people,
and the ties of blood and race reasserted themselves. He put aside His
previous thoughts of a world-wandering life, and decided to plant the
standard of the Truth in Israel, so that from the capital of the
Chosen People the Light of the Spirit might shine forth to all the
world. It was Jesus the man--Jesus the Jew--that made this choice.
From the broader, higher point of view He had no race; no country; no
people;--but His man nature was too strong, and in yielding to it he
sowed the seeds for His final undoing.
Had he merely passed through Judea as a traveling missionary, as had
done many others before Him, he would have escaped the punishment of
the government. Although He would have aroused the hatred and
opposition of the priests, He would have not laid Himself open to the
charge of wishing to become the King of the Jews, or the Jewish
Messiah, come to resume the throne of David, His forefather. But it
avails us nought to indulge in speculations of this kind, for who
knows what part Destiny or Fate plays in the Great Universal plan--who
knows where Free-Will terminates and Destiny moves the pieces on the
board, that the Great Game of Universal Life be played according to
the plan?
While among the Essenes, as we have said, Jesus first heard of John,
and determined to use the ministry of the latter as an opening wedge
for His own great work. He communicated to the Essenic Fathers His
determination to travel to John's field of work later on, and the
Fathers sent word of this to John. The legends have it that John did
not know who was coming, being merely informed that a great Master
from foreign parts would join him later on, and that he, John, should
prepare the people for his coming.
And John followed these instructions from his superiors in the Essenic
Brotherhood to the letter, as you will see by reference to our first
lesson, and to the New Testament. He preached repentance;
righteousness; the Essenic rite of Baptism; and above all the Coming
of the Master. He bade his hearers repent--"repent ye! for the Kingdom
of Heaven is at hand"!--"repent ye! for the Master cometh!" cried he
in forceful tones.
And when his people gathered around him and asked whether he, John,
were not indeed the Master, he answered them, saying, "Nay, I am not
He whom thou seekest. After me there cometh one whose sandals I am not
worthy to unloose. I baptize thee with water, but He shall baptize
thee with the Fire of the Spirit that is within Him!" It was ever and
always this exhortation toward fitness for the coming of the Master.
John was a true Mystic, who sank his personality in the Work he was
called on to do, and who was proud to be but the Forerunner of the
Master, of whose coming he had been informed by the Brotherhood.
And, as we have told you in the first lesson, one day there came
before him, a young man, of a dignified, calm appearance, gazing upon
him with the expressive eyes of the true Mystic. The stranger asked to
be baptized, but John, having perceived the occult rank of the
stranger by means of the signs and symbols of the Brotherhood,
rebelled at the Master receiving baptism at the hands of himself, one
far below the occult rank of the stranger. But Jesus, the stranger,
said to John, "Suffer it to be," and stepped into the water to receive
the mystic rite again, as a token to the people that He had come as
one of them.
And then occurred that strange event, with which you are familiar,
when a dove descended as if from Heaven and rested over the head of
the stranger, and a soft voice, even as the sighing of the wind
through the trees, was heard, whispering, "This is my beloved son, in
whom I am well pleased." And then the stranger, evidently awed by the
strange message from the Beyond, passed away from the multitude, and
bent his way toward the wilderness, as if in need of a retreat in
which he could meditate over the events of the day, and regarding the
work which He could now dimly see stretching its way before Him.
The average student of the New Testament passes over the event of
Jesus in the Wilderness, with little or no emotion, regarding it as a
mere incident in His early career. Not so with the mystic or
occultist, who knows, from the teachings of his order, that in the
Wilderness Jesus was subjected to a severe occult test, designed to
develop His power, and test His endurance. In fact, as every advanced
member of any of the great occult orders knows, the occult degree
known as "The Ordeal of the Wilderness" is based upon this mystic
experience of Jesus, and is intended to symbolize the tests to which
He was subjected. Let us consider this event so fraught with meaning
and importance to all true occultists.
The Wilderness toward which Jesus diverted His steps, lay afar off
from the river in which the rites of Baptism had been performed.
Leaving behind him the fertile banks, and acres, of cultivated land,
He approached the terrible Wilderness which even the natives of that
part of the country regarded with superstitious horror. It was one of
the weirdest and dreariest spots in even that weird and dreary portion
of the country. The Jews called it "The Abode of Horror"; "The
Desolate Place of Terror"; "The Appalling Region"; and other names
suggestive of the superstitious dread which it inspired in their
hearts. The Mystery of the Desert Places hung heavy over this place,
and none but the stoutest hearts ventured within its precincts. Though
akin to the desert, the place abounded in dreary and forbidding hills,
crags, ridges and canyons. Those of our readers who have ever traveled
across the American continent and have seen some of the desolate
places of the American Desert, and who have read of the terrors of
Death Valley, or the Alkali Lands, may form an idea of the nature of
this Wilderness toward which the Master was traveling.
All normal vegetation gradually disappeared as He pressed further and
further into this terrible place, until naught remained but the
scraggy vegetation peculiar to these waste places--those forms of
plant life that in their struggle for existence had managed to survive
under such adverse conditions as to give the naturalist the impression
that the very laws of natural plant life have been defied and
overcome.
Little by little the teeming animal life of the lower lands
disappeared, until at last no signs of such life remained, other than
the soaring vultures overhead and the occasional serpent and crawling
things under foot. The silence of the waste places was upon the
traveler, brooding heavily over Him and all around the places upon
which He set His foot, descending more heavily upon Him each moment of
His advance.
Then came a momentary break in the frightful scene. He passed through
the last inhabited spot in the approach to the heart of the
Wilderness--the tiny village of Engedi, where were located the ancient
limestone reservoirs of water which supplied the lower regions of the
territory. The few inhabitants of this remote outpost of primitive
civilization gazed in wonder and awe at the lonely figure passing them
with unseeing eyes and with gaze seemingly able to pierce the
forbidding hills which loomed up in the distance hiding lonely
recesses into which the foot of man had never trodden, even the
boldest of the desert people being deterred from a visit thereto by
the weird tales of unholy creatures and unhallowed things, which made
these places the scene of their uncanny meetings and diabolical
orgies.
On, and on, pressed the Master, giving but slight heed to the desolate
scene which now showed naught but gloomy hills, dark canyons, and bare
rocks, relieved only by the occasional bunches of stringy desert grass
and weird forms of cacti bristling with the protective spines which is
their armor against their enemies.
At last the wanderer reached the summit of one of the higher
foot-hills and gazed at the scene spreading itself before Him. And
that scene was one that would have affrighted the heart of an ordinary
man. Behind Him was the country through which He had passed, which
though black and discouraging was as a paradise to the country which
lay ahead of Him. There below and behind Him were the caves and rude
dwellings of the outlaws and fugitives from justice who had sought the
doubtful advantage of security from the laws of man. And far away in
the distance were the scenes of John the Baptist's ministry, where He
could see in imagination the multitude discussing the advent of the
strange Master, who had been vouched for by the Voice, but who had
stolen swiftly away from the scene, and had fled the crowds who would
have gladly worshipped Him as a Master and have obeyed His slightest
command.
Then as the darkness of the succeeding nights fell upon Him, He would
sleep on some wild mountain cliff, on the edge of some mighty
precipice, the sides of which dropped down a thousand feet or more.
But these things disturbed Him not. On and on He pressed at the
appearance of each dawn. Without food He boldly moved forward to the
Heart of the Hills, where the Spirit guided Him to the scene of some
great spiritual struggle which he intuitively knew lay before Him.
The Words of the Voice haunted Him still, though He lacked a full
understanding of them, for He had not yet unfolded the utmost recesses
of His Spiritual Mind. "This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased"--what meant these words? And still, no answer came to that
cry of His soul which sought in vain for a freeing of that riddle.
And still on and on He pressed, until at last He mounted the steep
sides of the barren forbidding mountain of Quarantana, beyond which He
felt that His struggle was to begin. No food was to be found--He must
fight the battle unaided by the material sustenance that ordinary men
find necessary for life and strength. And still He had not received
the answer to the cry of His soul. The rocks beneath His feet--the
blue sky above His head--the lofty peaks of Moab and Gilead in the
distance--gave no answer to the fierce insistent desire for the answer
to the Riddle of the Voice. The answer must come from Within, and from
Himself only. And in the Heart of the Wilderness He must remain,
without food, without shelter, without human companionship, until the
Answer came. And as it was with the Master, so is it with the
follower--all who attain the point of unfoldment at which the Answer
is alone possible, must experience that awful feeling of "aloneness"
and spiritual hunger, and frightful remoteness from all that the world
values, before the Answer comes from Within--from the Holy of Holies
of the Spirit.
* * * * *
To realize the nature of the spiritual struggle that awaited Jesus in
the Wilderness--that struggle that would bring Him face to face with
His own soul, we must understand the Jewish longing and expectation of
the Messiah. The Messianic traditions had taken a strong hold upon the
minds of the Jewish people, and it needed but the spark of a strong
personality to set all Israel into a blaze which would burn fiercely
and destroy the foreign influences which have smothered the national
spirit. The idea of a Messiah springing from the loins of David, and
coming to take His rightful place as the King of the Jews, was
imbedded in the heart of every Jew worthy of the name. Israel was
oppressed by its conquerors, and made subject to a foreign yoke, but
when the Messiah would come to deliver Israel, every Jew would arise
to drive out the foreign invaders and conquerors--the yoke of Rome
would be thrown off, and Israel would once more take its place among
the nations of the earth.
Jesus knew full well the fact of this national hope. It had been
installed into His mind from childhood. He had pondered over it often
during the time of His wanderings and sojourn in foreign lands. The
occult legends, however, make no mention of His having ever thought of
Himself as the Messiah until he was about to re-enter His own land
after His years of foreign study and ministry. It is thought that the
idea of His being the long expected Messiah was first suggested by
some of the Essenic teachers, when He rested with them for awhile
before appearing before John the Baptist. It was pointed out to Him
that the marvelous events surrounding His birth indicated that He was
a marked individual destined to play an important part in the history
of the World. Then why was it not reasonable to believe that that role
was to be that of the Messiah come to sit on the throne of His father
David, and destined to bring Israel from her now obscure position to
once more shine as a bright star in the firmament of nations? Why was
it not reasonable that He was to lead the Chosen People to their own?
Jesus began to ponder over these things. He had absolutely no material
ambitions for Himself and all His impulses and inclinations were for
the life of an occult ascetic. But the idea of a redeemed and
regenerated Israel was one calculated to fire the blood of any Jew,
even though the element of personal ambition might be lacking in him.
He had always realized that in some way He was different from other
men, and that some great work lay ahead of Him, but He had never
understood His own nature, nor the work He was to do. And it is not to
be wondered that the talk among the Essenes caused Him to ponder
carefully over the idea expressed by them. And then the wonderful
event of the dove, and the Voice, upon the occasion of His baptism,
seemed almost to verify the idea of the Essenes. Was He indeed the
long-expected Deliverer of Israel? Surely He must find this out--He
must wring the answer from the inmost recesses of His soul. And so, He
sought refuge in the Wilderness, intuitively feeling that there amidst
the solitude and desolation, He would fight His fight and receive His
answer.
He felt that He had come to a most important phase of His life's work,
and the question of "What Am I?" must be settled, once and for
all,--then and there. And so He left behind Him the admiring and
worshipful crowds of John's following, and sought the solitude of the
waste places of the Wilderness, in which He felt He would come face to
face with His own soul, and demand and receive its answer.
* * * * *
And up in the inmost recesses of the Heart of the Wilderness,
Jesus wrestled in spirit with Himself for many days, without
food or nourishment, and without shelter. And the struggle was
terrific--worthy of such a great soul. First the body's insistent
needs were to be fought and mastered. It is related that the climax of
the physical struggle came one day when the Instinctive Mind, which
attends to the physical functions, made a desperate and final demand
upon Him. It cried aloud for bread with all the force of its nature.
It tempted Him with the fact that by His own occult powers He was able
to convert the very stones into bread, and it demanded that He work
the miracle for His own physical needs--a practice deemed most
unworthy by all true occultists and mystics. "Turn this stone into
bread, and eat" cried the voice of the Tempter. But Jesus resisted the
temptation although He knew that by the power of His concentrated
thought He had but first to mentally picture the stone as bread and
then _will_ that it be so materialized. The miraculous power which
afterward turned water into wine, and which was again used to feed the
multitude with the loaves and the fishes, was available to Him at that
moment in order to satisfy the cravings of His body, and to break His
fast.
None but the advanced occultist who has known what it was to be
tempted to use his mysterious powers to satisfy his personal wants,
can appreciate the nature of the struggle through which Jesus passed,
and from which He emerged victorious. And like the occult Master that
He was, He summoned His Inner Forces and beat off the Tempter.
* * * * *
But a still greater temptation than this arose to try Him to the
utmost. He found Himself brought face to face with the idea of
Messiahship, and Kingship of the Jews, of which we spoke. Was He the
Messiah? And if so, what must be His course of life and action? Was He
destined to throw aside the robe and staff of the ascetic, and to don
the royal purple and the sceptre? Was He to forsake the role of the
spiritual guide and teacher, and to become the King and Ruler over the
people of Israel? These were the questions He asked His soul, and for
which He demanded an answer.
And the mystic legends tell us that His Spirit answered by showing Him
two sets of mental pictures, with the assurance that _He could choose
either, at will, and cause it to become realized_.
The first picture showed Him true to His spiritual instincts, and
loyal to His mission, but which rendered Him indeed the "Man of
Sorrows." He saw himself continuing to sow the seeds of Truth, which
would, centuries after, spring up, blossom and bear fruit to nourish
the world, but which would now bring down upon His head the hatred and
persecution of those in power and authority. And He saw each
successive step, each showing the approach of the end, until at last
He saw Himself crowned with thorns and meeting the death of a criminal
on the cross, between two base criminals of the lowest classes of men.
All this He saw and even His brave heart felt a deadly sickness at the
ignominious end of it all--the apparent failure of His earthly
mission. But it is related that some of the mighty intelligences which
dwell upon the higher planes of existence, gathered around Him, and
gave Him words of encouragement and hope and resolve. He found Himself
literally in the midst of the Heavenly Host, and receiving the
inspiration of its presence.
Then this picture--and the Host of Invisible Helpers--faded away, and
the second picture began to appear before the vision of the lonely
dweller of the Wilderness. He saw the picture of Himself descending
the mountain, and announcing Himself as the Messiah--the King of the
Jews--who had come to lead His Chosen People to victory and
deliverance. He saw Himself acclaimed as the Promised One of Israel,
and the multitude flocking to His banners. He saw Himself at the head
of a great conquering army, marching toward Jerusalem. He saw Himself
making use of His highly developed occult powers to read the minds of
the enemy and thus know their every movement and intention, and the
means to overcome them. He saw Himself miraculously arming and feeding
His hosts of battle. He saw Himself smiting the enemy with His occult
powers and forces. He saw the yoke of Rome being cast off, and its
phalanxes fleeing across the borders in terror and disgraceful defeat.
He saw Himself mounting the throne of David, His forefather. He saw
Himself instituting a reign of the highest type, which would make of
Israel the leading nation of the world. He saw Israel's sphere of
influence extending in all directions, until Persia, Egypt, Greece and
even the once-feared Rome, become tributary nations. He saw Himself in
the triumphant chariot on some great feast day of victory, with Caesar
himself tied to the tail of His chariot--a slave to Israel's King. He
saw His royal court outrivaling that of Solomon, and becoming the
center of the world. He saw Jerusalem as the capital of the world, and
He, Jesus of Nazareth, son of David the King, as its Ruler, its hero,
its demi-god. The very apotheosis of human success showed in the
picture of Himself and His Beloved Israel in the picture.
And then the Temple was seen to be the Center of the Religious thought
of the World. The Religion of the Jews, as modified by His own
advanced views, would be the religion of all men. And he would be the
favored mouthpiece of the God of Israel. All the dreams of the Hebrew
Fathers would be realized in Him, the Messiah of the New Israel whose
capital would be Jerusalem, the Queen of the World.
And all this by simply the exercise of his occult powers under the
direction of HIS WILL. It is related that accompanying this second
picture and attracted by its mighty power, came all the great
thought-waves of the world which had been thought by men of all times
who thought and acted out the Dreams of Power. These clouds settled
down upon Him like a heavy fog, and their vibrations were almost
overpowering. And also came the hosts of the disembodied souls of
those who while living had sought or gained power. And each strove to
beat into His brain the Desire of Power. Never in the history of man
have the Powers of Darkness so gathered together for attack upon the
mind of a mortal man. Would it have been any wonder had even such a
man as Jesus succumbed?
But He did not succumb. Rallying His Inner Force to His rescue He beat
back the attacking horde, and by an effort of His Will, He swept both
picture and tempters away into oblivion, crying indignantly "Thou
darest to tempt even me, thy Lord and Master. Get thee behind me thou
Fiends of Darkness"!
And so the Temptation of the Wilderness failed, and Jesus received His
answer from His soul, and He descended the mountains, back to the
haunts of men--back to the scene of His three years' labors and
suffering, and back to His Death. And He knew full well all that
awaited Him there, for had He not seen the First Picture?
Jesus had chosen His career.
* * * * *
The Master descended from the mountains and forsook the Wilderness for
the place in which John and his followers were gathered. Resting for a
time, and refreshing Himself with food and drink, He gathered together
His energies for His great work.
The followers of John gathered around Him, filled with the idea that
He was the Messiah come to lead them to victory and triumph. But He
disappointed them by His calm, simple manner, and His disavowal of
royal claims. "What seek ye of me?" he asked them, and many, abashed,
left His circle and returned to the crowd. But a few humble souls
remained and around these few gathered a few more, until at last a
little band of faithful students was formed--the first band of
Christian disciples. This band was composed almost entirely of
fishermen and men of similar humble occupations. There was an absence
of people of rank or social position. His people were of the "plain
people" which have furnished the recruits for every great religion.
And after a time, Jesus moved away from the place, followed by His
band of disciples, which drew new members from each place of
gathering. Some stayed but for a short time, while others replaced the
faint hearted ones of little faith. But the band steadily grew, until
it began to attract the attention of the authorities and the public.
Jesus constantly disclaimed being the Messiah, but the report that
such indeed He was, began to spread and the authorities began that
system of spying and watching which followed His footsteps for three
years, and which finally resulted in His death on the Cross. And this
suspicion was encouraged by the Jewish priesthood which began to hate
the young teacher whose opposition to their tyranny and formalism was
quite marked.
The band one day came to a small village in Galilee, and Jesus began
His usual meetings and teaching. Near where they gathered was a house
at which preparations were being made for a wedding feast. The wedding
ceremony has always been an important occasion among the Jews. The
most elaborate preparations consistent with the size of the purse of
the girl's parents are indulged in. Relatives from far and near gather
to the feast. Jesus happened to be a distant kinsman of the bride, and
according to custom He was bidden to the feast.
The guests began to gather, each depositing his sandals in the outer
court, and entering the guest chamber barefooted, after carefully
bathing his feet and ankles after the custom still prevailing in
Oriental countries. Jesus was accompanied by a few of His faithful
followers. His mother, and His several brothers were also among the
blood-relations present at the feast.
His appearance caused much interest and comment among the other
guests. To some He was simply a traveling religious teacher, not
uncommon in that land, to others He was an inspired prophet, bringing
a wonderful Message to the Jewish people, as He had to the Persians,
Egyptians and Hindus; to others he was more than this, and whispers of
"He is the Messiah"; "The King of Israel," etc., began to circulate
among those present, causing interest, uneasiness or disgust,
according to the views of the hearers. But whenever He moved, He
attracted attention by His manner, attitude and expression. All felt
that here indeed was an Individual. Strange stories of His wanderings
in strange lands added additional interest to His presence.
A feeling that something unusual was about to happen began to creep
over the crowd, as is the case often preceding such events. Mary, His
mother, watched her son with longing eyes, for she saw that some
strange change had come over Him, that was beyond her comprehension.
Toward the end of the feast, it began to be whispered around among the
near relatives that the supply of wine was about exhausted, the
attendance having been much greater than had been expected. This, to a
Jewish family, was akin to a family disgrace, and anxious looks began
to be exchanged among the members of the immediate family.
Tradition has it that Jesus was besought for aid by His mother and
other female kinswoman. Just what they expected Him to do is not
clear, but it is probable that they unconsciously recognized His
greatness, and accorded Him the place of the natural Head of the
Family, as being the most prominent member. At any rate, they asked
His aid. What arguments they used, or what reasons they urged, we do
not know, but whatever they were, they succeeded in winning Him to
their side, and gaining from Him a promise of aid and assistance. But
not until after He had remonstrated that these things were of no
concern of His--that His powers were not to be trifled away in this
manner. But His love for His mother, and His desire to reward her
devotion and faith in Him, prevailed over the natural disinclination
of the mystic to be a "wonder worker" and to exhibit his occult powers
to grace a wedding-feast. He had long since learned the necessary but
comparatively simple occult feat from His old Masters in far off
India, that land of wonder-working. He knew that even the humbler
Yogis of that land would smile at the working of such a simple
miracle. And so the matter seemed to Him to be of but slight moment,
and not as a prostitution of some of the higher occult powers. And
feeling thus, He yielded to their requests for aid.
Then moving toward the court in which were stored a number of great
jars of water, he fixed a keen, burning glance upon them, one by one,
passing His hand rapidly over them, in a quick succession, He made the
Mental Image that precedes all such manifestations of occult power,
and then manifesting His power by using His Will in the manner known
to all advanced occultists, He rapidly materialized the elements of
the wine in the water, within the jars, and lo! the "miracle" had been
wrought.
A wave of excitement passed over the crowded house. The guests flocked
around the jars to taste of the wine that had been produced by occult
power. The priests frowned their displeasure, and the authorities
sneered and whispered "charlatan"; "fraud"; "shameful imposture"; and
other expressions that always follow an occurrence of this kind.
Jesus turned away, in grief and sorrow. Among the Hindus such a simple
occult occurrence would have caused but little comment, while here
among His own people it was considered to be a wonderful miracle by
some, while others regarded it as a trick of a traveling conjurer and
charlatan.
What manner of people were these to whom He had decided to deliver the
Message of Life? And, sighing deeply, He passed from the house, and
returned to His camp.
THE FIFTH LESSON.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORK.
There is but an imperfect record in the Gospels of the first year of
Jesus' ministry among the Jews. Theologians have spoken of it as the
"Year of Obscurity," but the Occult traditions speak of it as a most
important year of His ministry, for in it He laid firm foundations for
His future work.
He travelled all over the country, establishing little circles of
disciples and centres of interest. In cities, towns, villages and
hamlets, He left behind Him little bands of faithful students who kept
alive the flame of Truth, which steadily kindled the lamps of others
who were attracted by the light. Always among the humblest He labored,
seemingly impressed with the idea that the work must be begun on the
lowest rounds of society's ladder. But after a while a few of the more
pretentious people began to attend the meetings, often brought there
by curiosity. They came to smile and be amused, but many were
impressed and remained to pray. The leaven had been well mixed in the
loaf of Jewish society and it was beginning to work.
Once more the season of the Feast of the Passover arrived and found
Jesus with His followers in Jerusalem and in the Temple. What memories
the scene awakened in His mind. He could see the same scenes in which
He had participated seventeen years before. Once more He saw the
pitiful slaughter of the innocent lambs, and witnessed the flow of the
sacrificed blood over the altars and the stones of the floor of the
courts. Once more He saw the senseless mummery of the priestly
ceremonies, which seemed more pitiful than ever to His developed mind.
He knew that His vision had shown that He was to be slaughtered even
as the sacrificial lambs, and there arose in His mind that comparison
which stayed with Him ever after--that picture of Himself as the Lamb
sacrificed on the Altar of Humanity. As pure as was this figure in His
mind, it seems pitiful that in the centuries to come His followers
would fall into the error (as equally cruel as that of the Hebrews) of
imagining that His death was a sacrifice demanded by a cruel Deity to
satisfy the Divine Wrath which had been kindled by the sight of Man's
shortcomings and sins. The barbarous conception of a wrathful God
whose anger against His people could be appeased only by the bloody
slaughter of innocent creatures, is fully equalled by the theological
dogmas that the same Divine Wrath could be, and was, appeased by the
blood of Jesus, the Master who had come to deliver the Message of
Truth. Such a conception is worthy of only the most barbarous and
primitive minds. And yet it has been preached and taught for
centuries--in the very name of Jesus Himself--and men have been
persecuted and put to death because they refused to believe that the
Supreme Creator of the Universe could be such a malignant, cruel,
revengeful Being, or that the One Mind of All could be flattered and
cajoled into forgiveness by the sight of the death of the Man of
Sorrows. It seems almost incredible that such a teaching could have
arisen from the pure teachings of Jesus, and that such has been Man's
incapacity to grasp the Inner Teachings, that the Church built upon
Jesus' ministry has adopted and insisted upon the acceptance of such
dogmas. But this baneful cloud of ignorance and barbaric thought is
gradually lifting, until even now the intelligent minds in the Church
refuse to accept or teach the doctrine in its original crudity, they
either passing it over in silence, or else dressing it in a more
attractive garb.
Jesus taught no such barbarous things. His conception of Deity was of
the highest, for He had received the most advanced teachings of the
Mystics, who had instructed Him in the Mystery of the Immanent God,
abiding everywhere and in all things. He had advanced far beyond the
conception of Deity which pictured the One as a savage, bloodthirsty,
vengeful, hating, tribal deity, ever crying for sacrifices and
burnt-offerings, and capable of the meanest of human emotions. He saw
this conception as He saw the conception of other races and peoples,
all of which had their tribal or national gods, which loved that
particular tribe or people, and which hated all other races or
nationalities. He saw that back of, and behind, all these barbarous
and primitive conceptions of Deity there dwelt an ever calm and serene
Being, the Creator and Ruler of countless Universes--millions and
millions of worlds--filling all space, and above all of the petty
attributes that had been bestowed upon the petty gods of human
creation. He knew that the God of each nation, of each person in fact,
was but a magnified idea of the characteristics of the nation or
individual in question. And he knew that Hebrew conception was no
exception to this rule.
To anyone having grown to an appreciation of the grandeur and
greatness of the idea of an Immanent Universal Being, the dogma of a
Deity demanding a blood sacrifice to appease its wrath is too pitiful
and degrading to be worth even a moment's serious consideration. And
to such a one the prostitution of the high teachings of Jesus by the
introduction of such a base conception is a source of righteous
indignation and earnest protest. The Mystics in the Christian Church
throughout the centuries have never accepted any such teachings,
although the persecution of the church authorities have prevented
their protests being made openly until of late years. The Mystics
alone have kept alive the Light of the Truth through the Dark Ages of
the Christian Church. But now has come the dawn of a new day, and the
Church itself is seeing the Light, and the pulpits are beginning to
resound with the truth of Mystic Christianity. And in the years to
come the Teachings of Jesus, the Master, will flow pure and clear,
once more freed from the corrupting dogmas which so long polluted the
Fount.
As Jesus wandered silently through the courts and chambers of the
Temple, His indignation was aroused by a sight which seemed to Him to
portray more forcibly than aught else the degradation which had fallen
upon the Temple by reason of the corruption of the priesthood. Grouped
around the steps and outer courts of the Temple He saw the groups of
brokers, money-changers and merchants who were doing a thriving
business with the thousands of strangers attending the Feast. The
money-changers were exchanging the coins of the realm for the inferior
coins of the outlying regions, charging a large commission for the
exchange. The brokers were buying articles, or loaning money on them,
from the poor pilgrims, who were sacrificing their personal belongings
for cash with which they might purchase the animals for the sacrifice.
The merchants had droves of cattle, flocks of sheep and cages of doves
within the sacred precincts of the Temple, which they were selling to
the pilgrims who wished to offer sacrifices. Tradition has it that the
corrupt priesthood profited by the sale of these "privileges" granted
to this horde of traffickers in the Temple precincts. The vile
practice had gradually crept in and established a firm foothold in the
Temple, although contrary to the ancient practice.
To Jesus the horrible scenes of the Temple sacrificial rites seemed to
focus in this final exhibition of greed, materialism and lack of
spirituality. It seemed to be blasphemy and sacrilege of the most
glaring type. And His very soul felt nauseated and outraged by the
sight. His fingers twitched, and laying hold of a bundle of knotted
cords which had been used by some cattle-driver to urge forward his
herd, He rushed forward upon the horde of traffickers, whirling His
instrument of chastisement over the shoulders and backs of the
offenders, driving them out in a frantic rout, upsetting their benches
and paraphernalia, crying in a voice of authority, "Out, ye wretches!
This is the House of the Lord, and ye have made it a den of thieves."
The "Meek and lowly Nazarene" became an avenger of the prostitution of
the Temple.
The brokers, money-changers and merchants fled before His mighty
charge, leaving their scattered money over the floors of the Temple.
They dared not return, for Jesus had aroused the wrath of the people
against them, and a cry arose for the old practice of protecting the
sacred place against such invasion. But the traffickers sought out the
High-priests and complained bitterly of this annulment of their
"privileges" and "franchises," for which they had paid so highly. And
the High-priests, being compelled to refund the price paid for the
concessions, were much wrought up over the matter, and then and there
swore vengeance against the Master who had dared interfere with their
system of what the world now calls by the suggestive name of "graft."
And this vengeance and hatred waxed stronger each moment, and was to a
great extent the moving factor in the schemes and intrigues which two
years later resulted in the frightful scene on Calvary.
The succeeding months were filled with wanderings up and down the
land, spreading the work and making new converts and followers. Jesus
did not take the position of a great preacher at this time, but seemed
to be rather a teacher of the few whom He gathered around Him at each
point and place. He observed but few ceremonies, that of Baptism being
the principal one, and which, as we have shown, was an Essenic rite
having an occult and mystical significance. The students of the New
Testament may read between its leaves the history of the ministry of
Jesus at this time, noting the working of the leaven in the mass of
the Jewish mind.
About this time Jesus was sorely distressed at the terrible news which
reached Him regarding the fate of his cousin, John the Baptist, who
had been His Forerunner. The Baptist had dared to thrust his
preachings and rebukes into the very precincts of a corrupt court, and
had brought down upon his head the natural consequences of his
rashness. Herod had thrust him into a gloomy dungeon and there were
rumors of a worse fate yet in store for him. And that fate soon
overtook him. Refusing the chance of life and liberty that was
promised him if he would but break his vows of asceticism and indulge
the passionate desires of a royal princess,--turning away from the
base proposal with the horror of the true mystic,--he met his fate
like a man knowing the Truth, and the head which graced the royal
platter bore upon its face no expression of fear or regret. John had
conquered even in Death.
Jesus retired once more into the Desert upon the news of John's death
reaching him. Added to His sorrow came the conviction that there was a
new work set before Him to do. John's death necessitated a combining
of the work of the Baptist with that of Jesus' own ministry. The
followers of the two teachers must be combined into one great body,
under the supervision of the Master Himself, aided by the most worthy
and capable of His disciples. The tragic death of John played a most
important part in the future ministry of the Master, and He sought the
solace and inspiration of the Desert in His consideration of the plans
and details of His new work. Students will note that from the time He
emerged from the Desert He threw off the cloak of reserve and
retirement and stepped boldly before the people as an ardent preacher
to multitudes and an impassioned orator and public speaker. No more
the little circle of appreciative students--the rostrum with the great
crowds of hearers were His from that time.
Returning from His work in Samaria and Judea, He once more made
Galilee the scene of His principal work. The new spirit which He now
threw into His preaching attracted the attention of the public, and
enormous crowds attended His meetings. He spoke now with a new air of
authority, differing greatly from His former mild tones as a teacher
of the few. Parables and allegories and other rich Oriental figures of
speech fell from His lips, and many of the educated classes flocked to
hear the wonderful young orator and preacher. He seemed to have an
intuitive insight into the minds of His hearers, and His appeals
reached their hearts as personal calls to righteousness, right
thinking and right living. From this time on His ministry assumed the
character of an active propaganda, instead of the usual quiet mission
of the Mystic.
And here began that remarkable series of wonder workings or "miracles"
which He evidently employed to attract the attention of the public and
at the same time to perform kindly and worthy acts. Not that He used
these wonder-workings as a bid for sensational interest or
self-glory--the character of Jesus rendered such a course
impossible--but He knew that nothing would so attract the interest of
an Oriental race as occurrences of this kind, and He hoped to then
awaken in them a real spiritual interest and fervor, which would rise
far above the demand for "miracles." In adopting this course Jesus
followed the example of the holy men in India, with whose works He was
personally familiar, owing to His sojourn in that land.
And, then let us say, that advanced occultists see nothing
"supernatural" nor incredible in these "miracles" of Jesus. On the
contrary, they know them to be the result of the application of
certain well established natural laws, which, while almost unknown to
the masses of people, are still known and occasionally made use of by
the advanced occultists of all lands. Skeptics and unbelievers may
sneer at these things, and many faint-faith Christians may wish to
apologize or "explain" these wonderful happenings, but the advanced
occultist needs no "explanations" nor apologies. He has more faith
than the church-goer, for he knows of the existence and use of these
occult powers latent in Man. There is no material effect or phenomenon
that is "supernatural"--the Laws of Nature are in full operation on
the material plane and cannot be overcome. But there are among such
Natural Laws certain phases and principles that are so little known to
the average mind that when they are manifested Nature's Laws seemed to
be transcended, and the result is called "a miracle." The occult
tradition tells us that Jesus was a past-master in the knowledge and
application of the occult forces of nature, and that even the wonders
that He wrought during His Jewish ministry were but as child's play
when compared with those that He might have manifested had He seen fit
to do so. In fact, it is believed that some of His greatest
wonder-workings have never been recorded, for He always impressed upon
His chosen followers the advisability of refraining from laying too
much stress on these things. The "miracles" recorded in the Gospels
were only those which were most widely known among the people. The
greater-wonders were deemed too sacred for common gossip.
When the Master and His followers reached Cana, which, by the way, had
been the scene of his first "miracle"--the changing of the water into
wine at the wedding feast--one of the most striking of His earlier
manifestations of occult power occurred. An influential citizen of
Capernaum, a town a score of miles distant, who met Him and besought
His aid and power in the interest of his young son, who lay dying at
his home. The man besought Jesus to hasten to Capernaum to heal the
youth ere he die. Jesus smiled kindly upon him and bade him return to
his son, for the youth was even now restored to health and strength
and life. His hearers were astounded at the reply and the doubters
smiled knowingly, foreseeing a defeat for the young Master when the
news of the youth's death should become known. Those of His followers
who were faint of heart and weak of faith felt most uncomfortable and
began to whisper the "if" of doubt. But Jesus continued His working
with a calm air of certainty, without further remarks. It was _the
seventh hour_ of the day when the words were spoken.
The father hastened homeward to see whether the Master had succeeded
or failed. A day or two passed with no word from Capernaum. The
scoffers of the wedding feast repeated their sneers and revilings--the
word "charlatan" was again heard passing from lip to lip. Then came
news from the distant village, and upon its arrival the voice of scorn
was stilled, and the hearts of the faint again beat freely. The word
came that when the father had reached his house he was greeted by the
household with cries of joy and news that _at the seventh hour_ the
fever had abated and the crisis had been passed.
And yet the "miracle" above recorded was no greater than many
occultists have performed in all times--no greater than the many
similar cures that have been performed by the modern healers of the
many metaphysical cults. It was simply an application of the subtle
forces of nature called into operation by mental concentration. It was
an instance of what in modern phrase is called "absent treatment"
along metaphysical lines. In saying this we wish in no way to detract
from the wonder that Jesus had wrought, but merely to let the student
know that the power is still possessed by others and is not a
"supernatural" thing but the operation of purely natural laws.
About this time there occurred another event in His life, and a
manifestation of His power which is noted in the New Testament and
which is told in the occult tradition with somewhat more detail. It
occurred when Jesus visited his home town of Nazareth on the eve of
the Jewish Sabbath. He rested over night and then the following
morning betook Himself to the regular services in the local synagogue.
He took the seat which He had occupied as a young boy with Joseph. No
doubt the familiar scene awakened memories of His strange youthful
history in His mind. Then, much to His surprise, He heard Himself
called to the platform to conduct the service. It must be remembered
that Jesus was a regular rabbi, or priest, by birth, education and
training, and was entitled to Conduct the Jewish service. No doubt His
townspeople wished to hear their young townsman address and exhort
them. He took the place of authority in the synagogue and proceeded to
read the regular service in the accustomed manner, as prescribed by
the custom and laws of the church. The prayers, chantings and readings
succeeded each other in their regular order. Then came the preaching
of the sermon. Taking the sacred roll from its receptacle, He read the
text from Isaiah, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath
anointed me to preach the good tidings," etc. Then He began his
exposition of the text He had just read.
But instead of the expected customary words and
illustrations--technical theological hair-splitting and dreary
platitudes--He began to preach in a manner unknown to the Nazarenes.
His opening sentence broke the silence and greatly startled and
disturbed the congregation. "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in
your ears," were his opening words. And then He began a statement of
His conception of His ministry and His Message. Thrusting aside all
precedent and musty authority, He boldly proclaimed that He had come
to establish a new conception of the Truth--a conception that would
overturn the priestly policy of formalism and lack of spirituality--a
conception that would ignore forms and ceremonies, and cleave close to
the spirit of the Sacred Teachings. And then He began a scathing
denunciation of the lack of spiritual advancement among the Jewish
people--their materialism and desire for physical enjoyments and their
drifting away from the highest ideals of the race. He preached the
mystic doctrine, and insisted that they be applied to the problems of
every-day life and conduct. He brought down the teachings of the
Kaballah from the cloudy heights, and set them before the people in
plain, practical form. He bade them aspire to great spiritual heights,
forsaking the base ideals to which they had clung. He ran counter to
every custom and prejudice of the people before Him, and showed a lack
of reverence for all of their petty forms and traditions. He bade them
leave the illusions of material life and follow the Light of the
Spirit wherever it might lead them. These and many other things told
He them.
And then arose a disturbance among the congregation. They began to
interrupt and question Him, and many were the contradictions and
denials hurled at Him from the benches. Some began to sneer at His
pretensions as the Bearer of the Message, and demanded that He work a
wonder or "miracle" and give them a sign. This demand He flatly
refused to grant, not deeming the same proper, or in accordance with
the occult custom which always frowned upon wonder-working in response
to such a demand. Then they began to abuse Him and cries of
"charlatan" and "fraud" began to resound from the walls of the
synagogue. They reminded Him of His humble birth and condition of His
parents, and refused to believe that any such person as He had any
right to claim extraordinary powers or privileges. Then came from His
lips the famous saying, "A prophet is not without honor, save in his
own country."
Then He began a fresh assault upon their prejudices and narrow
views--their pet superstitions and bigotry. He stripped from them
their garb of hypocrisy and assumed piety, and showed them their naked
souls in all their ugliness and moral uncleanliness. He poured burning
invective and vitriolic denunciations into their midst, and spared no
terms that could properly be applied to them. In a short time the
congregation was beside itself with rage, and the pretended righteous
indignation of a flock of hypocrites and formalists who had heard
themselves described in disrespectful terms by one they regarded as an
upstart young man from the lower classes of their virtuous community.
They felt that they had bestowed a flattering honor upon Him, as a
mark of consideration for a young townsman upon His return from a
foreign and domestic missionary tour. And now to think that He had
thus basely betrayed their courtesy and showed in how little esteem He
really held them--surely this was beyond human endurance. And then the
storm broke upon Him.
Leaving their seats in the synagogue, the congregation rushed upon the
young preacher, and tearing Him from the platform, they pushed Him out
of the building. And then the jostling, hustling, pushing crowd
carried Him before them along the village streets and out into the
suburbs. He resisted not, deeming it unworthy to struggle with them.
At last, however, He was compelled to defend Himself. He perceived
that it was the intention of the mob to push Him over a precipice that
had been formed on the side of a hill just beyond the town limits. He
waited patiently until they had urged Him to the very brink of the
decline, and until it needed but one strong push to press Him over its
edge and into the gorge below. And then He exerted His occult forces
in a proper self-defense. Not a blow struck He--not a man did He smite
with the wondrous occult power at His command, which would have
paralyzed their muscles or even have stretched them lifeless at His
feet. No, he controlled Himself with a firm hand, and _merely bent
upon them a look_. But such a look!
A glance in which was concentrated the mighty Will developed by mystic
knowledge and occult practice. It was the Gaze of the Occult Master,
the power of which ordinary men may not withstand. And the mob,
feeling its mighty force, experienced the sensation of abject fear and
terror. Their hair arose, their eyes started from their sockets, their
knees shook under them, and then, with a wild shout of horror they
began to scatter and fly, making a wide pathway for the Man of Mystery
who now strode through their ranks with that awful gaze which seemed
to pierce the veil of mortality and to peer at things ineffable and
beyond human ken. And with His eyes refusing to look again upon the
familiar scenes of His youth, He departed from Nazareth, forsaking it
forever as His home place. Verily, indeed, the Prophet hath no honor
in His own land. Those who should have been His staunchest supporters
were the first in His own land to threaten Him with violence. The
attempt of Nazareth was the prophecy of Calvary, and Jesus so knew it.
But He had set his feet upon The Path, and drew not back from it.
Turning His back upon Nazareth, Jesus established a new centre or home
in Capernaum, which place remained the nearest approach to home to Him
during the remainder of His Ministry and until His death. The
traditions have it that His mother came to live also at Capernaum,
together with some of His brothers. It is also related that his
sisters and brothers, both those remaining at Nazareth and those
removing to Capernaum, were sorely vexed with Him at His conduct at
the synagogue, which they deemed not "respectable" nor proper, and
they accordingly looked upon Him as an eccentric relative whose
vagaries had brought disrepute upon the family. He was regarded much
in the light of a "black-sheep" and "undesirable relation" by all of
His family except His mother, who still clung to her beloved
first-born. The mother made her home with some of the brothers and
sisters of Jesus, but He was not made welcome there, but was looked
upon as an outcast and wanderer. He once spoke of this, saying that
while the birds and beasts had nests and homes, He, the Son of Man,
had nowhere to lay his head. And so He wandered around in His own
land, as He had in foreign countries, an ascetic, living upon the alms
of the people who loved Him and listened to His words. And in so doing
He followed the plans and life of the Hindu ascetics, who even unto
this day so live, "with yellow-robe and begging bowl," and "without
money or scrip in their purses." The Jewish ascetic--for such was
Jesus--has His counterparts in the wandering holy-men of India and
Persia today.
But it must be remembered that even in Jesus' time, the spectacle of a
rabbi living this ascetic life, forsaking the emoluments of His
priestly rank and deliberately taking up the roll of a poverty-stricken
mendicant, was a rare one. It ran contrary to all the thrifty and
prudent customs and ideals of the race. It was an importation from
the Essenes, or from the strange people of far-off lands, and it was
not relished by the Jewish authorities, or people who preferred the
synagogues and Temple, with their sleek, well-fed priests, with fancy
robes and attractive ceremonies.
Making His base at Capernaum, Jesus began to form His band of
disciples with more show of a working organization. To some He
delegated certain authority, and bade them perform certain dues of the
ministry. For some reason He selected some of His leading lieutenants
from the ranks of the fishermen who plied their vocation along the
waters of that port of the country. The fishers of fish became the
fishers of men. Jesus became very popular among the fishing
fraternity, and the legends, as well as the New Testament narratives,
tell of instances in which He bade His poor fishermen friends (who had
been unfortunate in their day's haul) to let down their nets at some
point indicated by Him, when to their surprise and joy their nets
would be filled to overflowing.
Little acts of kindness bestowed here and there among the humbler
classes tended to have Jesus looked upon and spoken of as a friend of
the people, but which reputation excited the jealousy of the
authorities who held that such acts could be prompted by none other
than a selfish motive, and that motive the incitement of the masses to
rebellion in the interest of Himself as a Messiah. And so, we see His
very acts of kindness and compassion served to increase the suspicion
and hatred which the authorities, both ecclesiastical and temporal,
had always felt toward Him.
His desire to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and wretched took
Him much among these people and away from the so-called higher
classes. The "plain people" were regarded by Him as the salt of the
earth, and they, in turn, regarded Him as their champion and advisor.
And especially to the sick did He devote His time and powers. He made
many marvellous cures, a few only of which were recorded in the New
Testament narratives. The occult legends state that these cures were
of daily occurrence and that wherever He went He left behind Him a
trail of people healed of all kinds of disorders, and that people
flocked for miles to be healed of their infirmities. The Gospels
relate that He cured great numbers of people by the simple process of
laying on of hands (a favorite method of occult healers) "he laid his
hands on every one of them and healed them."
It is related that at Capernaum his attention was directed toward a
madman, who suddenly cried out, "I know Thee, Thou Holy One of God,"
whereupon Jesus spoke a few authoritative words and cured him of his
malady, by methods that will describe the nature of the man's psychic
disturbance to any advanced student of occultism. Demoniac possession
is not believed in by orthodox Christians of today, but Jesus
evidently shared the belief in obsession held by students of Psychism
and similar subjects, judging from the words He used in relieving this
man from his malady. We advise our students to read the Gospel records
in connection with these lessons, in order to follow the subject along
the old familiar paths, but with the additional light of the
interpretation of Mystic Christianity.
The growing reputation of Jesus as a healer of the sick soon taxed His
physical powers to the utmost. He felt Himself called upon to do the
work of a dozen men, and His nature rebelled at the unequal task
imposed upon it. It seemed as if all Capernaum were sick. Her streets
were crowded by seekers after health and strength. At last He
perceived that His work as a Teacher was being submerged in His work
as a Healer. And, after a period of prayer and meditation, He put
aside from Him the claims of humanity for the healing of physical
ills, and turning His back upon the waiting patients at Capernaum, He
once more started forward on His pilgrimage as a Preacher of the
Message, and thereafter would heal physical ills only occasionally,
and, instead, devote the main portion of His time to preaching the
Truth to those who were ready to hear it. It was a hard thing for a
man with the tender heart of Jesus to leave behind Him the crowd of
patients at Capernaum, but it was necessary for Him to do so, else He
would have remained merely an occult healer of physical ailments
instead of the Messenger of the Truth whose work it was to kindle in
many places the Flame of the Spirit, that would serve as the true
Light of the World long after the physical bodies of all then living
had been again resolved to dust.
And so, leaving behind Him Capernaum and its wailing multitudes, He,
followed by His disciples, moved out toward the open country, to
spread the glad tidings and to bring to the hearts of many "that peace
which passeth all understanding."
THE SIXTH LESSON.
THE WORK OF ORGANIZATION.
Leaving Capernaum behind Him, with its crowds of invalids seeking
healing, and fighting off the demands that would have rendered Him a
professional healer instead of a Teacher and preacher of the Message
of Truth, Jesus passed on to other parts of the land, taking with Him
the band of disciples and faithful followers who now traveled with
Him.
But He did not altogether relinquish His healing work. He merely made
it an incident of His ministry, and did not allow it to interfere with
His preaching and teaching. The Gospel narratives show a number of
remarkable cures made by Him at this time, and the few recorded cases
are, of course, merely occasional incidents that stand out in the
minds of the people among hundreds of less noticeable cases.
The cure of the leper is one of such remarkable cases. Leprosy was a
foul disease much dreaded by the people of Oriental countries. And the
unfortunate person afflicted by it became an outcast and pariah from
whom all others fled as from an unclean and impure thing.
There was a leper in the part of the country in which Jesus was
traveling and teaching. He heard of the wonderful gift of healing
accredited to the young preacher, and he determined to get into His
presence and beg His aid. How the leper managed to get through the
crowds and into the presence of Jesus is not known, but it must have
required great strategy on his part, for such people were not
permitted to pass in and among crowds of other people. But in some way
the leper contrived to come face to face with Jesus as the latter
walked alone in meditation, away from his followers.
The loathsome creature raised its repulsive form, the picture of human
misery and woe, and confronting the Master, demanded from Him the
exercise of the Gift of Healing. No doubt of His power was in the
leper's mind--his face shone with faith and expectation. Jesus gazed
earnestly into the distorted features that shone with the fire of a
fervent faith such as is rarely seen on the face of man, and touched
with this testimony to His power and motives, He moved toward the
leper, defying the laws of the country, which forbade the same. Not
only this, but He even laid His hands upon the unclean flesh, defying
all the laws of reason in so doing, and fearlessly passed His hand
over the leper's face, crying aloud, "Be thou clean!"
The leper felt a strange thrill running through his veins and over his
nerves, and every atom of his body seemed to be tingling with a
peculiar burning and smarting sensation. Even as he looked he saw the
color of his flesh changing and taking on the hue of the flesh of the
healthy person. The numbness departed from the affected portion of his
body, and he could actually feel the thrill and tingle of the life
currents that were at work with incredible speed building up new
cells, tissue and muscle. And still Jesus held His hands against the
flesh of the leper, allowing the life current of highly vitalized
_prana_ to pour from His organism into that of the leper, just as a
storage battery of great power replenishes and recharges an electrical
appliance. And back of it all was the most potent, trained Will of the
Master Occultist directing the work.
And then He bade the healed man depart and comply with the laws
regarding purification and change of garments, including the
appearance before the priests to receive a certificate of cleanliness.
And He also bade him that nothing should be said regarding the nature
or particulars of the cure. For some good reason He wished to escape
the notoriety or fame that the report of such a wonderful cure would
be sure to excite.
But alas! this was asking too much of human nature, and the healed
leper, running with great leaps and bounds, began shouting and crying
aloud the glad tidings of his marvelous cure, that all men might know
what a great blessing had come to him. In spite of the injunction laid
upon him, he began to sing aloud the praises of the Master who had
manifested such an unheard-of power over the foul disease that had
held him in its grasp until a few hours before. With wild gestures and
gleaming eyes he told the story again and again, and it was taken up
and repeated from person to person, until the whole town and
countryside were familiar with the great news. Imagine such an event
occurring in a small country town in our own land today, and you will
realize what an excitement must have been occasioned in that home
place of the leper.
And then occurred that which Jesus had doubtless seen when He
forbade the leper to repeat the news of the cure. The whole region
became excited and immense crowds gathered around Him and His
disciples, crying aloud for new wonders and miracles. The curious
sensation-seekers were there in full force, crowding out those whom He
wished to reach by His teachings. And more than this, great numbers of
sick and crippled people crowded around Him crying for aid and cure.
The scenes of Capernaum were repeated. Even the lepers began flocking
in, in defiance of law and custom, and the authorities were beside
themselves with anger and annoyance. Not only the temporal authorities
and the priests were arrayed against Him, as of old, but now He
managed to arouse the opposition of the physicians of those days, who
saw their practice ruined by this man whom they called a charlatan and
deceiver threatening and destroying the health of the people, whose
physical welfare was safe only in their (the physicians') hands and
keeping.
And so Jesus was compelled to close His ministry at this place and
move on to another village.
Another case which attracted much attention was that which occurred in
Galilee when He was preaching in a house. In the midst of His
discourse both He and His audience were startled by the sight of a
figure on a bed being lowered down among the crowd of listeners from
the roof surrounding the open court in the center of the house. It was
a poor paralyzed man whom friends had contrived to hoist up and then
lower down before Jesus in such a manner as could not escape the
attention of the Master. It is related that the piteous appeal of the
sufferer, and the faith which had inspired such great energy on the
part of his friends, attracted the interest and sympathy of Jesus, and
He paused in His discourse and made another of those instantaneous
cures which are possible only to the most advanced adepts in the
science of spiritual healing.
Then came the scene of the Wells of Bethesda--a region abounding in
"healing waters" to which the sick and afflicted came to regain their
health. The crowds of sick were being carried to the springs by
friends or paid attendants, who pushed aside the weaker ones and
fought their way to the wells. Jesus walked among the crowds, and at
last His attention was attracted toward a poor fellow who lay upon his
cot away off from the waters. He had no friends to carry him nearer,
nor money for paid attendants. And he had not strength enough to crawl
there himself. He filled the air with his moans and cries and
bewailings of his unfortunate lot. Jesus walked up to him, and holding
his attention by a firm look of authority and power, cried to him
suddenly in a voice that demanded obedience, "Take up thy bed and
walk!" The man, startled into obedience, did as directed, and much to
his surprise, and that of the crowd gathered around, found that he was
able to move about freely--a well man.
This cure also aroused not only the greatest interest but also the
antagonism of the ecclesiastical authorities. It appears that the cure
had been made on the Sabbath day, and that it was against the
ecclesiastical law to heal the sick in any way upon that day; and also
that the patient had performed manual work on the Sabbath in carrying
his bed upon the orders of the Healer. And the good pious folk, urged
on by the priests, began to abuse and condemn the Healer and patient,
after the manner of the formal pietists of all lands and times, even
of our own. Clinging to the letter of the law, these people overlook
its spirit--bound by the forms, they fail to see the meaning lying
back of all forms and ceremonies.
Braving the storm that was arising around Him, Jesus boldly walked to
the Temple. He was plunged in a sea of conflicting opinions and
voices. On the one hand was the healed man and those who sympathized
with him, in earnest argument concerning the righteousness of the
deed. But arrayed against these few were the good folk of the place
who loudly denounced the Sabbath-breaker and demanded His punishment.
Were the ancient laws of Moses to be thus defied by this presumptuous
Nazarene, whose religious ideas were sadly lacking in orthodoxy?
Surely not! Punish the upstart! And again Jesus was in actual peril of
bodily hurt, or perhaps even death, owing to the religious bigotry of
the orthodox people.
Jesus was ever a foe to the stupid formalism and ignorant fanaticism
regarding "holy days," which is ever a characteristic of certain
classes of mind among people. On the above occasion, as well as upon
other occasions, and notably upon the occasion of the Sabbath when He
directed His hungry disciples to pick corn to satisfy their hunger,
Jesus opposed the strict, ironclad law of Sabbath observance. He was
ever filled with the idea that the "Sabbath was made for man, and not
man for the Sabbath." There was nothing Puritanical about the Master,
and in view of His attitude regarding this matter it is surprising to
witness the attitude of some in our own time who, wearing His livery,
oppose these teachings of His in theory and practice.
And so, driven out once more by the intolerance and bigotry of the
public, Jesus returned again to Galilee, His land of retreat and rest,
and the scene of much of His best work. Galilee was filled with His
many followers and admirers, and He was less in danger of disturbance
and persecution there than in the neighborhood of Jerusalem. Large
congregations attended His ministry there, and His converts were
numbered by the thousand. The village contained many persons healed by
His power, and His name was a household word.
And upon His return He entered into a new stage of His work. He had
decided to divide His ministry among His twelve most advanced
disciples, as it had now reached proportions beyond His ability to
personally control. And, as was customary to Him upon all great
occasions, He sought the solitudes for meditation and spiritual
strength before finally investing His twelve Apostles with the high
authority of their mission. He spent the night on one of the hills
near Capernaum, from which He descended the following morning, wearied
in body from want of rest, but strong in soul and spirit.
Then He gathered the Twelve around Him, and in a secret meeting
divulged to them certain deep truths and secrets, adding certain
instructions regarding healing work, and calling upon them for the
highest allegiance to Him and His work.
The Gospel narratives have but very little to say regarding Jesus'
work in the instruction of the Twelve for their future mission. And
the average student of the narratives goes on without thinking of the
marvelous mental and spiritual development that must have been
manifested by the Apostles during their transition from humble
fishermen, and men of similar vocations, to highly developed teachers
of advanced spiritual truths. To the occultist especially this
ordinary view seems astounding, for he realizes the many arduous steps
necessary to be trodden by the feet of the Neophyte before he becomes
an Initiate, and the higher steps awaiting the Initiate before he may
become a Master. And such a one realizes the mighty task that Jesus
performed in developing and unfolding the spiritual natures of such a
body of men until they become worthy to be His chosen representatives
and teachers. The occult traditions have it that Jesus had pursued a
systematic course of instruction of His chosen disciples, bringing
them up rapidly through degree after degree of mystic attainment and
occult knowledge, until finally they were ready for the finishing
touches at His hands. And the occasion that we are now considering was
the time when the final degrees were imparted to them.
It must be remembered that the Apostles were endowed with the mastery
of the occult forces of nature which enabled them to perform the
"miracles" of healing similar to those of Jesus. And it must not be
supposed for a moment that an occult Master of so high a degree of
attainment as that reached by Jesus would have allowed His disciples
to use such mighty power without also instructing them fully in the
nature of the forces they were using, and of the best methods of
employing the same. And such knowledge could not be imparted without
the fundamental truths of nature being understood by them, which
understanding was possible only to those who had grasped the great
Basic Truths of the Science of Being.
In short, the traditions are that the Twelve Apostles were gradually
initiated into the great degrees of the Occult Brotherhoods of which
and in which Jesus was a Master. He gathered together a great store of
occult information and mystic lore, and condensing the same into a
plain, practical, simple system, He imparted it fully and thoroughly
to those whom He had elected to be His chief co-workers and His
successors after His death, which He knew full well was not far off.
These facts must be fully understood by the student of Mystic
Christianity who wishes to grasp the secret of the early Christian
Church after the death of Christ. The wonderful headway manifested by
the movement could not have been given by mere followers and believers
in the Master. It usually follows that when the great head of an
organization dies the movement disintegrates or loses power unless he
has been able to "communicate his spirit" to some chosen followers.
And this Jesus did. And it was only to men who thoroughly grasped the
fundamental truths and principles of His teachings that such "spirit"
could have been imparted.
There was an exoteric teaching for the multitude, and an esoteric
teaching for the Twelve. There are many Scriptural passages which go
to show this fact, which was well known to the early Fathers of the
Church. And upon the occasion which we have mentioned the last great
Basic Truths were explained to the Twelve, and from that time
henceforward they were regarded and treated as Masters by Jesus, and
not as mere students, as had been the case before that time. And
arising from that final instruction came the Sermon of the Mount.
The Sermon of the Mount, that most wonderful and complete of any of
the public utterances of Jesus, was delivered almost immediately after
the Choosing of the Twelve Apostles. And it was intended even more for
them than for the multitudes gathered around to hear His preaching. He
knew that the Twelve could interpret it by reason of the Inner
Teachings that they had received from Him. And almost forgetting the
congregation gathered around and about Him, He elucidated the Inner
teachings for the benefit of the Chosen Few.
The Sermon of the Mount can be understood only by means of the Master
Key of the Inner Teachings, which opens the door of the mind to an
understanding of the hard sayings and veiled mystic import of many of
His precepts. We shall devote considerable space in one of our later
lessons of this series to a consideration of the Inner Meaning of this
great sermon and teaching, and therefore shall not go into details
regarding it in the present lesson, deeming it better to proceed with
the story of the Master's Work.
A few days after the delivery of the Sermon of the Mount, the Master
left Capernaum and traveled from town to town visiting His various
centers of teaching, as was His custom. On the journey Jesus performed
a feat of occult power that proved Him to be one of the Highest Adepts
of the Occult Brotherhoods, for to none other would such a
manifestation have been possible. Even some of the highest Oriental
Masters would have refused to undertake the task that He set before
Himself to do.
The company was leisurely proceeding on its way, when nearing a small
town they met a funeral procession coming in their direction. Preceded
by the band of women chanting the mournful dirges according to the
Galileean custom, the cortege slowly wended its way. The etiquette of
the land required strangers to join in the mourning when they came in
contact with a funeral procession, and the company assumed a mournful
and respectful demeanor, and many joined in the dirge which was being
chanted by the procession.
But Jesus invaded the privacy of the procession in a manner shocking
to those who held closely to the familiar forms and customs. Stepping
up to the bier, He stood in front of it and bade the carriers halt and
set it down. A murmur of indignation ran through the ranks of the
mourners, and some strode forward to rebuke the presumptuous stranger
who dared to violate the dignity of the funeral in this way. But
something in His face held them back. Then a strange feeling passed
over the crowd. Jesus was known to a number of the mourners, and some
of those who had witnessed some of His wonder-workings began to
whisper that strange things were about to happen, and the ranks were
broken as the people flocked around the Master at the bier.
The corpse was that of a young man, and his widowed mother stood
beside the pale figure stretched upon the bier, and spreading her arms
in front of it, she seemed to ward off the profaning touch of the
strange man who confronted it. But the stranger looked upon her with a
look of transcendent love, and in a voice vibrant with the tenderest
feeling said unto her, "Mother, weep not--cease thy mourning." Amazed,
but impressed, she turned an appealing gaze to Him who had thus bidden
her. Her mother love and instinct caught a new expression in His eyes,
and her heart bounded with a wonderful hope of something, she knew not
what. What did the Nazarene mean? Her boy was dead, and even God
Himself never disturbed the slumber of the body from which the spirit
had flown. But still what meant that expression--why that leap and
throbbing of her heart?
Then with a gesture of authority the Master caused the crowd to draw
back from the bier, until at last there remained only the corpse, the
mother and Himself in a cleared space in the center. Then a strange
and wonderful scene began. With His gaze fixed upon the face of the
corpse, and in an attitude that indicated a supreme effort of His
will, the Master was seen to be making some mighty effort which called
into play the highest forces at His command. The Apostles, having been
instructed by Him in Occult power, recognized the nature of the
manifestation, and their faces paled, for they knew that He was not
only pouring out His vital force into the body in order to recharge it
with _prana_, but that He was also essaying one of the highest and
most difficult of occult feats--that of summoning back from the Astral
Plane the higher vehicles and the Astral Body--the very soul of the
youth--and forcing it once more into its mortal frame, which He had
recharged with vital energy and strength. They knew that He, by the
mightiest effort of His will, was reversing the process of death. And
with a full appreciation of the real nature of the wonder that was
being worked before them, their limbs trembled beneath them and their
breath came from them in gasps.
Then cried the people, "What saith this man to the corpse?" "Arise,
youth! Open thine eyes! Breathe freely! Arise, I say unto
thee--arise!" Did this stranger dare to defy God's own decree?
The corpse opened its eyes and stared around in wild amaze, the glare
not fully faded away! Its chest heaved in great agonizing gasps as if
fighting again for life! Then its arms were lifted up--then its legs
began to move--now it raised itself upright and began to babble
meaningless words--now the look of recognition came into its eyes, and
its arms clasped themselves around the mother's neck, while sob after
sob broke from its lips! The dead lived--the corpse had come to life.
The people fell back overcome with the awful terror of the sight, and
the funeral procession scattered in all directions, until only the
sobbing mother and the youth remained, weeping in their mutual love
and joy, and forgetting even the Master and His followers in their
great flood of affection.
And, leaving them thus, Jesus and His followers passed away on their
pilgrimage. But the fame of the miracle spread from town to town, even
up to the great capital, Jerusalem. And men wondered or doubted,
according to their natures, while the temporal and ecclesiastical
authorities began to again ask themselves and each other whether this
man were not a dangerous person and an enemy to established custom and
order.
In one of His journeys Jesus found Himself invited to the house of a
leading citizen of the town in which He was preaching. This citizen
was one of the class known as Pharisees, whose characteristics were an
extreme devotion and adherence to forms and ceremonies and a bigoted
insistence upon the observance of the letter of the law. The Pharisees
were the ultra-orthodox center of an orthodox people. They were the
straight-laced brethren who walked so erect that they leaned backward.
They were the people who thanked God that they were not like unto
other men. They were the "uncommonly good" members of church and
society. The very name stands even unto this day as a synonym for
"pious sham."
Just why this Pharisee had invited the Master to dine with him is not
easily understood. It is likely that it was a combination of curiosity
and a desire to entrap his guest into statements and admissions that
might be used against him. At any rate, the invitation was given and
accepted.
The Master noted that certain little ceremonies usually extended by
the Hebrews to a guest of equal standing were omitted by His host. His
head was not anointed with the ceremonial oil, as was the custom in
houses of this character when the guest was honored as an equal or
desirable addition to the family gathering. Clearly He was regarded as
a curiosity or "freak" rather than as a friend, and had been invited
in such a spirit. But He said nothing, and passed over the slight. And
the meal passed along smoothly up to a certain point.
The host and his guests were reclining easily, after the Oriental
fashion, discussing various topics, when a woman pressed her way into
the banquet hall. Her dress proclaimed her to be one of the women of
easy virtue abounding in all Oriental towns. She was clad in showy
apparel and her hair fell loosely over her shoulders after the custom
of the women of her kind in that land. She fixed her eyes upon the
Master and moved slowly toward him, much to the annoyance of the host,
who feared a scene, for the Master would most likely administer a
rebuke to the woman for presuming to intrude upon the presence of Him,
a spiritual teacher.
But the woman still pressed forward toward Him, and at last, bending
down low, her head touching His feet, she burst into tears. She had
heard the Master preach some time before, and the seeds of His
teaching had taken root and had now blossomed within her heart; and
she had come to acknowledge her allegiance and to render an offering
to Him whom she revered. The coming into His presence was her token of
a spiritual regeneration and a desire to begin a new life. Her tears
flowed over His feet, and she dried them off with her long hair. Then
she kissed His feet, as a token of her allegiance and worship.
From her neck hung a chain holding a little box filled with precious
perfumed oil, which she esteemed highly, as did all the people of her
race. The oil was of the nature of attar of roses and was the
essential oil extracted from fragrant blossoms. She broke the seal and
poured the fragrant oil over the hands and feet of the Master, who
rebuked her not, but who accepted the tribute even from such a source.
The host began to indulge in thoughts not flattering to the
intelligence of his guest, and a scarcely concealed sneer appeared on
his lips.
Then Jesus turned to His host and with a smile said to him: "Simon, in
thy mind thou thinkest these words: 'If this man be indeed a prophet,
would he not know what manner of woman this be who toucheth him, and
would he not rebuke her and drive her from him?'" And the Pharisee was
sorely confused, for the Master had read his thought word for word by
the method known to occultists as telepathy. And then in gentle
raillery the Master called his host's attention to the fact that the
woman had performed the service which he, the host, had neglected to
observe. Had she not bathed and dried His feet, as the Pharisee would
have done had his guest been deemed worthy of honor? Had she not
anointed Him with precious oil, as the host would have anointed an
honored guest? Had she not impressed upon even His feet the kiss that
etiquette required the host to impress upon the cheek of the esteemed
visitor to his house? And as for the character of the woman, it had
been fully recognized and forgiven. "Much hath been forgiven her, for
she hath loved greatly." And, turning to the woman, He added, "Go in
peace, for thy sins are forgiven thee." And the woman departed with a
new expression on her face and a firm resolve in her heart, for the
Master had forgiven and blessed her.
But by this act Jesus brought upon His head the hatred of the Pharisee
and his friends. He had dared rebuke the host in his own palace, and
had moreover arrogated to Himself the sacred rite to pronounce
remission of sins, a right vested solely in the high-priest of the
Temple, upon the performance of certain ceremonies and sacrifices upon
the altar. He had flung defiance at vested ecclesiastical right and
functions, even in the house of one of the stanchest adherents of
formalism and authority--a Pharisee.
In this incident was shown not only the broadness of Jesus' views and
the universality of His love, as well as His courage in defying the
hated formalism, even in the palace of its stanchest advocates, but
also His attitude toward women. The Jews as a race held women in but
scant esteem. They were not deemed worthy to sit with the men in the
synagogue. It was deemed unworthy of a man to mention his female
relations in general company. They were regarded as inferior in every
way to men, and were treated as almost unclean in their most sacred
natural functions.
Toward fallen women especially Jesus was ever considerate. He saw
their temptation and the social cruelty of their position. He resented
"the double standard" of virtue which allowed a man to commit certain
offenses and still be respected, while the woman who committed the
same offense was damned socially, reviled and treated as a shameful
outcast. He was ever ready to voice a defense for women of this kind,
and seemed to be ever actuated by the sense of injustice in the
attitude of men toward them, which finally voiced itself on a notable
occasion when called upon to pass judgment upon the woman taken in
adultery: "Let him among ye who is without sin cast the first stone."
No wonder that the outcast woman kissed His feet and poured out the
precious ointment upon Him. He was the Friend to such as she.
THE SEVENTH LESSON.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
The ministry of Jesus went on in about the same channels. Wandering
here and there throughout the country, preaching and teaching in this
town and that village, gathering around Him new followers, Jesus
continued His work. He adapted Himself to His audience, giving to each
what it needed, and not making the mistake of speaking over the heads
of the people. He gave the general public the broad general teachings
that they required, but He reserved the Inner Teachings for the Inner
Circle of His followers whom He knew to be fit to receive the same. In
this He showed a deep knowledge of men, and a strict accordance with
the established custom of the mystics, who never make the mistake of
giving the higher spiritual mathematics to the students who are
learning the addition, subtraction and division rules of the occult.
He cautioned His apostles regarding this point of teaching, even going
so far as warning them positively and strongly against "casting pearls
before swine."
One night He was in a boat crossing the lake of Gennesaret, in company
with some of His fisherman followers. Tired out by the strenuous work
of the day, He wrapped Himself up in His robe and fell into a deep
sleep, from which He was later awakened by a noise and commotion among
the crew and passengers. A terrible lake storm had sprung up, and the
little vessel was tossing and pitching about among the waves in a
manner which gave concern to even the experienced fishermen who manned
her. The sails had been torn off, carrying away with them a portion of
the mast, and the boat refused to respond to her rudder, the steering
gear being rendered useless. The crew became panic-stricken and
rushing to Jesus besought Him to save them from death in the storm.
"Master! Master! Help ere we perish. The boat is foundering! Save us,
Master!"
The Master arose and, using His occult power, caused the winds to
cease their tempestuous activity, and the waves to become calm. He
followed the Oriental occultists' custom of voicing His commands in
words, not that the words had any virtue in themselves, but because
they served a vehicle for His concentrated thought and focused will
which He was using in his manifestation of occult power. With this
knowledge of the process, occultists smile when they read the _naive_
account of the occurrence in the Gospels, where Jesus is described as
addressing and rebuking the rebellious winds and then gently and
kindly soothing the waters with words of "Peace, be still!" The
fishermen who witnessed the occurrence, and from whom the reports
thereof spread among the people, not understanding the nature of
occult manifestations, thought that He was addressing the winds as
actual entities, rebuking them and bidding them cease their vicious
work, and soothing the sea in the same manner.
They did not comprehend the mental processes back of the words, and in
their simplicity thought that He was actually rebuking the wind and
soothing the waters. All occultists know that in "treating" material
conditions the process is rendered much easier and simpler if we will
but think of and "speak to" the condition as if it had intelligence
and actual being, thus more easily directing the forces.
Obeying the thought and will of the Master, the winds abated their
fury and the waters ceased their troubling. Gradually the boat rested
easily upon the bosom of the lake, and the crew breathed freely once
more, and then began their work of righting the mast and steering
gear. And they wondered as they worked and asked each other "What
manner of man is this, whom even the winds and the waters obey?" And
Jesus, looking sadly at them, voiced that cry of the mystic who knows
of the inherent and latent powers of man over material conditions,
awaiting the exercise of the Will that may be exercised only in
response to a great Faith. He answered them, saying, "Oh, ye of little
Faith. What had you to fear?"
To the mystic it seems strange that people are able to read the Gospel
accounts of the above and similar events and yet see no more in them
than a mere recital of miracles wrought by some supernatural power. To
the reader who has learned the fundamental truths, the New Testament
record of the wonder-working of Jesus, even as imperfect as that
record is, is full of advanced occult instructions stated so plainly
that it seems as if even the casual reader must recognize it. But no,
the old rule is still in force--each reads only that for which he is
ready--each must bring something to a book, before he may expect to
take anything away from it--to him that hath shall be given. Ever the
same old mystic truth, manifest ever and ever, at all times and in all
places. It is a fundamental law of the mind.
The journey across the lake was attended by another manifestation of
occult power which is often passed over by the church teachers without
comment, or at least with a labored endeavor to "explain" the evident
meaning of the narrative. The modern materialistic trend of thought
has invaded even the churches and has caused the preachers and
teachers to endeavor to escape the accusation of "believing in
spirits" and similar phenomena of the Astral World.
When the company reached the coast of Gergesa, on the opposite side of
the lake, it disembarked and Jesus and His disciples pressed in toward
the coast towns. As they passed among the cliffs lining the shore,
they perceived two uncanny wandering figures which, gibbering,
followed them along. The two maniacs, for such they were, approached
the party, and one of them began to address the Master in a strange
manner, beseeching Him to relieve the two of the devils possessing
them. He called aloud, "O Master, thou Son of the Living God, have
mercy upon us, and drive away the unclean things that we have allowed
to enter into us."
The Gospels say nothing regarding the cause of this demoniac
obsession, and the preachers prefer to pass over it rapidly, or else
to treat it as a delusion of the insane, notwithstanding the direct
statement of the New Testament narrative and its sequel or concluding
statement. But the occult traditions have it that these two men were
victims of their dabbling into certain phases of psychic phenomena,
i.e., the "raising up of spirits" by the arts of Black Magic. In other
words, these men had been experimenting along the lines of Jewish
Necromancy, or Invocation and Evocation of Disembodied Astral
Intelligences by means of Conjuration. They had raised up Astral
Intelligences that had then refused to retire to their own plane, but
which had taken possession of the physical organisms of their invokers
and had remained in possession, causing the men to be regarded as
maniacs, which resulted in their becoming outcasts among the caves
with which the cliffs abounded, the same places being also the tombs
of the dead. We do not wish to go into details here regarding this
matter, but we wish to give the occult explanation of this little
understood "miracle" of Jesus, which, however, is clearly understood
by all occultists.
Jesus fully understood the nature of the trouble, and began at once to
drive out these invading Astral Intelligences by means of his occult
power. In a few moments, a cry was heard from the hills near by, and a
great herd of swine were seen rushing down the hill, and in a moment
were over the precipice and were soon drowned. The Gospel narrative is
perfectly plain on this subject--it states that the legions of devils
had passed from the men into the swine and the latter had plunged in
terror into the water and were drowned. Jesus had distinctly and
positively spoken to the demons, calling them "unclean spirits," and
bidding them "come out" of the men. And all advanced students of
Occultism understand why the pigs were used as intermediate
instruments of the driving back of the Astral Intelligences to their
own plane of life, which reason, however, is not in place or keeping
in this work intended for general public reading.
The maniacs were restored to their normal condition, and the
traditions say that the Master instructed them regarding the evil
courses which they had been pursuing, and bade them desist from their
nefarious practices which had wrought such evil consequences upon
them.
The church and its preachers, with but few exceptions, have seen fit
to ignore the frequent Biblical allusions to "devils," "demons," etc.;
their position being practically that the writers of the events of
Jesus' ministry (whom they otherwise consider to have been "inspired")
must have been superstitious, credulous people believing in "the
absurd demonology of their times." They ignore the fact that Jesus
Himself repeatedly spoke to these intelligences, bidding them depart
from the people whom they had been obsessing. Does the church wish to
hold that the Master was also an ignorant, credulous peasant, sharing
popular superstitions? It would seem so. We must except the Catholic
Church from this criticism, for its authorities have recognized the
true state of affairs and have warned its followers against indulging
in the dark practices of Necromancy or Invocation of Astral
Intelligences.
Occult science informs its students of the various planes of life,
each of which contains its inhabitants. It teaches that on the Astral
Plane there are disembodied entities which should not be transplanted
to our plane. And it warns all against the dark practices, so common
in ancient times and in the Middle Ages, of invoking and evoking these
undesirable denizens of that plane. It is to be regretted that some of
the modern Psychic Researchers ignore these plain warnings, for some
of them are laying themselves open to grave consequences by reason of
their wilful folly. We urge upon our readers to refrain from this
dabbling in the phenomena of the Astral Plane. Some writer has well
compared "Psychism" to a great machine, in the cog-wheels of which
persons may become entangled only to be afterward drawn into the
machine itself. Keep away from the wheels!
This "miracle" of Jesus aroused great excitement, and it was urged
against Him that He was going about the country driving devils into
people's flocks and herds, causing their destruction. The priests
fomented the popular feeling, and encouraged the distrust, hatred and
fear which the orthodox portion of the community was beginning to
entertain toward the Master. The seeds of Calvary were being sown
among the people. And their awful fruit was latent in them. Hate and
bigotry were the essence of both seed and fruit.
Jesus returned to Capernaum, and once more the little town was crowded
with people seeking instruction and crying to be healed. The news of
his wonderful healing power spread far and near, and people were
carried on litters for many miles in order that they might be touched
by the hands of the Master.
About this time there came to Him one Jairus, a man of eminence in the
community and in the church. Jairus had a little daughter about twelve
years of age, who was taken seriously ill, and who had been given up
as incurable by the physicians.
With his daughter lying at death's door, Jairus hastened to the scene
of the Master's meetings, and, throwing himself at His feet, besought
Him to heal his beloved child ere she passed beyond the dark portals
of the unknown. The Master, feeling compassion for the father's great
grief, paused in His teaching and started toward Jairus' home. His
mind charged with the concentration of healing thought, and His
organism filled with the vital forces aroused to perform the task, He
felt some one touch the hem of His garment in search of healing power,
and He at once recognized the occurrence, saying, "The power hath been
drawn from me. Who touched my garment?" As they approached the house
of Jairus, the servants came running out with wild cries and
lamentations, announcing that the child had died while awaiting the
coming of the Healer. The father broke down at this terrible news,
coming at the very moment of his greatest hope. But Jesus bade him to
have faith and still believe. Then, accompanied by three of His
disciples--John, Peter and James--He entered the chamber of death.
Waving back the weeping family and the neighbors who had gathered,
"Stand back," He cried, "the child is not dead--she but sleepeth."
An indignant cry went up from the orthodox relatives and friends at
these words of the Master. How dared He so mock the very presence of
the dead, whom the physicians had left, and over whom the priests had
already begun the last sacred rites? But, heeding them not, the Master
passed His hands over the child's head, and took her little cold palms
within his own. Then began a strange happening. The little chest began
to heave, and the white wan cheeks began to show traces of color. Then
the arms and hands began to move, and the wasted limbs drew slightly
up. Then, opening her eyes with a wondering look, the child gazed at
the Healer and smiled gently at Him. Then the Master, with a look of
gentle tenderness, withdrew from the room, after ordering that
nourishing food be brought for the child.
Then began the usual dispute. Some declared that another had been
raised from the dead, while others declared that the child had but
been in a trance and would have awakened anyway. Had not even the
Healer declared that she only slept? But Jesus heeded not the
disputants, but returned to the scene of His work.
The work went on in its accustomed way. He began to send His apostles
away on longer and more extended tours, having fully instructed them
in the occult methods of healing. Great success attended their efforts
and the best reports came in from all sides. The authorities
recognized to a still greater extent the growing influence of the
young Master, and His actions were still more closely watched by the
spies. Reports of His teachings and work were carried to Herod, who,
recognizing in them the same note that had been struck by John the
Baptist, who had been put to death, perceived that though men might
die, the spirit of their teachings would still live on. No wonder the
guilty ruler should cry in terror, "This verily is the spirit of John,
whom I put to death, risen from the grave to wreak vengeance upon me!"
And the authorities reported to Rome that here was a young fanatic,
whom many believed to be the Messiah and coming King of the Jews, who
had thousands of followers all over the land. And word came back from
Rome, in due time, to watch carefully over the man, who was
undoubtedly striving to incite an insurrection, and to imprison Him or
put Him to death as soon as the evidence was sufficient to convict
Him.
Jesus about this time was near a small fishing town called Bethseda,
on the lake about seven miles from Capernaum. Near this place His boat
landed at a place on the beach where He had hoped to take a few days'
rest. But, alas, a great crowd had hastened to the place of
disembarkation, and now gathered around Him, demanding teaching and
healing. Putting aside His mental and physical fatigue, He attended to
the wants of the crowd. Healing now, and then teaching, He threw
Himself into His work with fervor and zeal. There were over five
thousand people gathered together around Him, and toward evening the
cry went up that there was not sufficient food in the camp to begin to
feed the multitude. A great tumult arose among the crowd, and
complaints and even curses began to be heard. The spiritual wants were
forgotten, and the physical began to manifest itself in a most
insistent manner. What was to be done?
He called together those of His company who had been entrusted with
the care of the food which the little company carried with it. And, to
His sorrow, He learned that the entire stock of food consisted of five
loaves of bread and two fishes. And the little band carried
practically no money with it, for they depended upon the hospitality
of the country and the offerings by the faithful. The disciples
advised that the Master order the crowd to disperse and return to
Bethseda for food. But Jesus felt loath to do this, particularly when
there were so many invalids in the gathering who had traveled so many
miles to see Him, and who had not yet been healed. And so He decided
to give the company its food by means of His power.
He bade His people divide the multitude into little groups of fifty
people, who were then instructed to be seated for a meal. Then He
ordered the scanty supply of available food to be brought before Him,
and, placing His hands over it, He offered a blessing, then ordered
His people to serve the throng. They began to serve out the food with
looks of wonder and amazement. Had the Master lost His senses? But in
some way the food seemed miraculously to increase and multiply, until
at last all of the five thousand had been fully supplied and their
hunger appeased. And then, after all had been served and had eaten,
the scraps and fragments which were gathered up filled many wicker
baskets and were distributed to the poorer people in the company for
tomorrow's use.
But trouble arose. The people, with well filled stomachs, feeling that
here indeed was royal bounty and the power with which to feed them
forever free of charge, began to wax enthusiastic and shouts ascended.
"The Messiah! King of the Jews! Provider of the People! Son of David!
Ruler over Israel!" were the words which soon swept the crowd off of
its feet. And then some of the bolder ones, or else the hired spies
who wished to place Him in a compromising position, began to suggest
that the crowd form itself into an army and march from city to city
with Jesus at its head, until at last they would place Him upon the
throne of Israel at Jerusalem. Jesus, recognizing the peril to His
mission, managed to dissuade the hot-heads from their plans, but still
fearing that the authorities might come down upon the assemblage,
ordered that the Twelve take the boat and put out for the other side
of the lake. He sent them off as a precaution, but He, Himself,
remained with the crowd and faced the threatened danger.
He retired to the hills near by and spent the night in meditation.
Then early in the morning, He noticed that a storm was rising over the
lake and that the tiny boat containing His disciples would be in great
danger. In a few moments they might be overwhelmed. He wished to be
with them to comfort and re-assure them. No boat being handy, he
stepped boldly out upon the water and walked rapidly toward the
direction in which He knew the boat must be. Scarcely conscious of the
occult power of levitation that He was using to overcome the power of
gravitation, He moved rapidly toward His followers. Soon He overtook
them, and they, seeing a white figure moving swiftly over the water
toward them, were affrighted, believing it to be a spirit or ghost.
"It is I, be not afraid!" called out the Master to them. Then Peter
cried out, "Lord, if Thou it be, direct me to walk to Thee also on the
waves!" And the Master, smiling, so directed him. And Peter, whose
latent occult power was aroused by his great faith in the Master,
sprang over the side and took several steps toward Him. But, suddenly
losing his faith and courage, his power also left him, and he began to
sink beneath the waves. But the Master grasped his hand and led him in
safety to the boat and both entered it. Then the crew fell to and with
great enthusiasm righted the boat and proceeded to the shore near
Capernaum.
In the case of Peter and his experience in walking on the water, we
have a striking instance of the well known power of the mental
attitude of Faith in the manifestation of occult power. All occultists
know this, and without feeling an implicit faith in the Power with
them, they do not attempt certain forms of manifestation. They know
that with Faith miracles may be performed which are impossible
otherwise. So long as Peter held his Faith he was able to counteract
certain laws of nature by means of other laws not so well known. But
as soon as Fear took the place of Faith his power left him. This is an
invariable occult principle, and in the recital of this story of Peter
on the water is to be found a whole volume of occult instruction--to
those who are able to read it.
Arriving safely on the shores of the lake, Jesus resumed His work
while the ever-present gathering of people went on in its accustomed
way. But on the opposite shore of the lake the crowd who had been fed
on the loaves and fishes were in an angry mood. They cried out that
they had been deserted by their leader, and that the expected loaves
and fishes--the free meals that they had expected would continue--had
been denied them. They also complained bitterly that the reign of
miracles had not continued. And they began to revile the Master that
they had acclaimed the night before. And so Jesus experienced the
ingratitude and the unreasonable words of the public just as all great
teachers have done. The seekers after the loaves and the fishes,
demanding to be fed and clothed without their own work--the seekers
after miracles, demanding fresh wonder-workings--have ever been the
bane of the great Teachers of the Truth. It is a hard and bitter
truth, but all teachers and true lovers of the Truth must learn to
meet and understand it. The mob which reveres a spiritual Master today
is equally ready to rend him to pieces tomorrow.
And still more trouble arose from this mistaken kindness which led
Jesus to feed the crowd by His occult powers, which, by the way, He
knew to be in opposition to the well-established custom of the Occult
Brotherhoods. The formalists, Pharisees and Scribes, having heard of
the occurrence, gathered about the Master and accused Him of violating
one of the forms and ceremonies prescribed by the ecclesiastical
authorities--the rite which required the faithful to wash their hands
before beginning a meal. They accused Him of heresy and false
teaching, which tended to lead the people away from their accustomed
ceremonies and observances. Jesus waxed indignant and, turning on His
critics, hurled burning replies upon them. "Ye hypocrites!" He cried,
"You cling to the commandments of men and neglect the commandments of
God! You cleanse your hands but not your souls! You are the blind
leaders of the blind, and both yourselves and your followers fall in
the mire and ditches! Away with you and your hypocrisy!" But the
adverse comment aroused by His actions would not down, and,
discouraged and disheartened by the evidences of the barrenness of the
soil in which He had been sowing the precious seeds of the Truth, He
gathered together His followers and departed into Tyre and Sidon, a
quieter region, that He might rest and meditate over new plans and
work. He could see the beginning of the end.
To understand the nature of the position of the Master at this time,
it must be remembered that His strong hold had ever been with the
masses of the people, who were His enthusiastic admirers. So long as
He remained entrenched in the heart of the populace, the temporal and
ecclesiastical authorities dared not attack Him without a popular
uprising of no mean proportions. But now that they had managed to wean
away His public from Him they pressed Him harder and harder with their
persecutions and complaints. And so at last they had managed to render
Him almost an unpopular outcast. They forced Him away from the larger
towns, and now He was wandering among the less populous regions of the
country, and even there the spies and agents of the authorities hunted
Him down, seeking to further entrap and compromise Him.
About this time Jesus revealed to His apostles the facts of His Divine
origin which was now plain to Him. He also told them of the fate which
awaited Him, and which He had willingly chosen. He told them not to
expect the fruits of His work at this time, for He was but sowing the
seeds of the fruit which would not grow and bear fruit for many
centuries. He gave them the Mystic secret of the nature of His work,
which is taught to the Initiates of the Occult Brotherhoods even unto
this day. But even these chosen men scarcely grasped the true import
of His teachings, and once He was rendered almost broken hearted at
over-hearing a discussion among them regarding high offices which they
hoped to acquire.
Jesus now felt that the time had come for Him to move on to Jerusalem
to meet there the crowning act of His strange career. And, knowing
full well that such a course would be virtually thrusting His head
into the very jaws of the lion of ecclesiastical and temporal
authority, He set His feet firmly on the road which led to Jerusalem,
the capital city, and the center of ecclesiastical influence. And that
road was a hard one to travel, for, as He neared the capital, His
enemies increased in number and the opposition to Him grew stronger.
At one village He had been denied the right of shelter, an indignity
almost unknown in Oriental lands. In another place a large rock was
hurled at Him and wounded Him severely. The mob had turned against Him
and was repaying His kind services with abuse and personal violence.
And this is ever the lot of the teacher of the Truth who scatters the
sacred pearls of Truth before the swine of the unworthy multitude of
people. Over and over again has this fact been brought home to those
who would labor for the good of the world. And still we hear the
querulous complaint that the Inner Teaching is reserved for the
Few--why not scatter it broadcast among the people? The stake, the
rack, the stones, the prison cell, the cross and their modern
prototypes--these are the silent answers to the question.
Moving on toward Jerusalem the little company reached Perea, a number
of miles from Bethany, at which latter place dwelt a family of His
friends--the two sisters, Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus.
At this place He was met by a messenger from Bethany, who bore the sad
news that His friend Lazarus was sick unto death, and who also begged
the Master to return to Bethany and cure the man. But this Jesus
refused to do, and allowed several days to pass without answering the
summons. At the end of the several days He started toward Bethany,
telling His disciples that Lazarus was dead. And reaching Bethany they
found that it was indeed so--Lazarus was dead and in the tomb.
Jesus was received with scowling antagonism. The people seemed to say,
"Here is this heretical imposter again. He feared to come even to the
aid of His dying friend. His power has failed Him and He now stands
discredited and exposed!" Then came Martha, who reproached the Master
with His indifference and delay. He answered her that Lazarus should
rise again, but she doubted His word. Then came Mary, whose grief
brought tears even from the Master, who had seen so much of human
suffering as to have found his eyes refuse to weep.
Then asked the Master, "Where have you laid him away?" and they took
Him to the tomb, followed by the curious mob hungering for the sight
of more wonders from the man whom they feared even while hating and
reviling Him. Jesus stood before the dreary tomb and bade the men roll
away the stone that closed the mouth of the tomb. The men hesitated,
for they knew that a corpse lay within, and they even perceived the
characteristic odor of the tomb issuing therefrom. But the Master
insisting upon it, they rolled away the stone and Jesus stood full in
front of the dark opening to the cavern.
He stood there for a few moments wrapt in meditation and showing
evidences of strong mental concentration. His eyes took on a strange
look, and in every muscle He showed that He was summoning to the task
every particle of the power at His command. He was throwing off the
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