Ruby,
et al,
Ruby said:
I did not want to throw out the entire Jesus story with its festival of Christmas, nor could I conscientiously embrace the story of Jesus as a historical saviour who effected a cosmic change via his death and resurrection. It violates everything that is intellectually known to constitute reality.
I can certainly relate. Christmas has always been a very meaningful, uplifting, and positive time of the year for me, despite the materialism that increasingly swallows up a bit more of the "Christmas Spirit" each year ...
There is something wonderful about seeing the change in people, inexplicable to some, yet
objective nonetheless. It's also the
one time of the year that I am willing to go and attend (Lutheran) church with my parents - at the midnight service. The lighting of the candles brings back some of my favorite memories over 30+ years, and the `Market Street Brass' - a well-known local quartet - has become a mainstay, even the highlight, of the service. The trumpeter goes absolutely NUTS in playing
Go Tell It One the Mountain, outdoing himself each year as the entire congregation sings along in amusement.
But of course, neither
cosmic change - nor even some kind of supposed
mystical transformation/salvation at the individual level -
could possibly be linked to the physical death of
ANY one person .... 2100 years ago. This not only defies all logic, but it is an insult to our intelligence! Further, it is
contrary to the entire mission and emphasis of the Teachings of Jesus himself! Lamentably, the Church heaped mystery & superstition upon Jesus'
death, while his life was
already enigmatic enough. His untimely death ... was most unfortunate, but could NEVER be a cause for celebration!
And yet, rather than celebrating his LIFE,
churchianity simply swallows whole the fables that have arisen, and instead of WORKING toward the Salvation which Christ promised to all, the gullibility of the many is taken advantage of, and a
vicarious atonement through faith alone is preached in earnest! When even
ONE person from among Humanity has earned his or her true, Spiritual salvation in this manner, the very stars shall fall from the sky - for the balance of HEAVEN Itself will have been violated ...
Meanwhile, only logic, Reason, and good sense have suffered.
I am curious to hear of
The Pagan Christ, and will have to read up. My own knowledge is quite limited in this area ... though of course, we know well that the historical birth of Jesus of Nazareth did not occur in December - but was moved to this time of the Solstice for important & symbolic reason!
I would humbly suggest that
any Christian who resents
in the slightest an association between Paganism and Christianity - should seek
immediately to educate him or herself (if only slightly) so as to realize what a great
HONOR this is!!! To see things in any other light ... is, again, unfortunate and lamentable. Not that I don't understand or recognize the effect of the dogma, having had this preached to me as often as any, I dare say. Remember, I am in North Carolina, USA ... close enough to the
shiny brass buckle of the Bible Belt.
It couldn't be much worse (!) ... umm, unless I'd been born in the Vatican, I suppose!
Ruby said:
I can easily believe that the story of Jesus was one of the Mystery Religions that was floating around the place in the middle of the first century AD/CE, and that for some reason or other it survived when others died out.
Well, again, as I mentioned in my last post, I don't think we can substantiate too many of the events of Jesus' life according to what we read in
The Holy Bible - save beyond the broadest of brushstrokes. Historically, this is quite inadequate, owing largely to what's NOT present, but also owing to the fact that what we
do find has been arranged as an allegory. The FIVE GREAT EVENTS which we were meant to focus on - as
mileposts - in Christ's life, are as follows:
- The Birth at Bethlehem ... symbolic of the CHRIST WITHIN every human heart (bursting into activity - a definite event)
- The Baptism at Jordan ... symbolic of the Purfication through which every disciple must pass
- The Transfiguration on the Mount ... emphasizing the definite consecration of the personality to a life of Service
- The Renunciation, or Crucifixion ... whereby the personality life as a whole is laid utterly at the altar of the God within
- The Resurrection/Ascension experience ... wherein a man FULFILLS his Responsibility and PERFECTS his nature, as in Ephesians 4:13
These are the FIVE Initiations as taught for
untold ages in the East, emphasized in
every Mystery Tradition in both East & West, and presently being
reinstated even in outward format ... as esoteric schools are gradually founded around the world, including dozens of Mystery Schools which serve as entrances for the
masses into the life of Christ. And the sooner the Christian Church, in all its many arms and warring members, can
assemble itself into a cooperative, coordinated BODY (of which Christ spoke), the sooner Christ, Master Jesus, and the other Great Ones will be able to use it more fully to the Purpose for which it was established.
I have little doubt that the Initiate Jesus traveled to Egypt as part of his
necessary training 2100 years ago, and what additional work there I might only imagine. Very likely he would have
recapitulated one or more of the
above Initiations ... which we are told quite clearly that he had
already undergone in previous incarnations as
two Joshuas and a Jeshua! Probably (or perhaps) the 2nd & 3rd Initiations were recapitulated. But Jesus may
also have needed to fulfil some work in connection with the charging, recharging, placing or unearthing of various occult
talismans, which carry powerful spiritual currents and energize, purify and prepare places around the world - in accordance with Divine Plan. These would
surely have been involved to some degree 2100 years ago in connection with the service Jesus was rendering, and in connection with the
much Higher Work of his own Master, the soon-to-be Christ.
It is taught that in the immediate, next incarnation of the High Initiate Jesus, he was
Appollonnius of Tyana, wherein a
definite work became his mission - involving both many healings, as he himself had formerly done, and also a much more extensive involvement in connection with the esoteric talismans just mentioned. A brief example from the
Teachings of Living Ethics (Agni Yoga Teachings, of Helena Roerich), is fitting:
"During his journeys Apollonius of Tyana would sometimes say to his disciples, “Let us tarry here. This place is pleasing to me.” From these words his pupils knew that a magnet was concealed there or that the Teacher intended to bury a magnet there. The sensing of magnets is accomplished by means of a particular current connected with the power of Agni. In the course of time science may investigate these magnetic waves, for they are not exhausted for centuries. Magnets have been set like milestones in places of special significance. When a ploughman carries with him a bit of his native soil, he recalls, as it were, the ancient custom of bringing a handful of earth as an irrefutable token. And now you also know how some commemorative soil was brought. Its destiny is not simple; an evil one wished to scatter it, but a benign hand intentionally concealed the treasure and it remained forgotten. Still, the thought attached to this offering exists and is more effective than one might think—thus thought lives on. An object magnetized by thought, verily, has power. Thus, without superstition, but quite scientifically, one should study the stratifications of thought—they are the work of Fire." (Fiery World I, 342)
We learn from various sources that as Jesus of Nazareth made an
incredible sacrifice and underwent the
4th Initiation (or
Renunciation/Crucifixion) upon the Cross ... his
own Master simultaneously passed through two
much Higher Initiatory experiences - the
6th, which has the title `Chohan' (meaning
`Lord of the Dharma'), and the
7th, or
Bodhisattva Initiation. It is the
7th Initiation which makes of man a `Christ,' esoterically - and the
Lord Maitreya (as He is known in the East) is the FIRST member of our current Humanity to hold this title. But the
eventual experience of EVERY human individual one day passing to this high level of spiritual evolution is as much a part of the Divine PLAN ... as "the birds and the bees," so to speak - or the opening of the tightly-closed bud to reveal the
beauty of the Lotus Flower within!
Again, that the Church seized upon the Universal Truths that Christ taught, and has fought SO HARD throughout the centuries to imprint HER stamp of
origin, authority, or exclusivity upon them ... is but a testament to the
evils which still plague and dangerously threaten Humanity. I refer here to the
evils of ignorance,
of superstition, and of FEAR - which the Church has so successfully instilled into the average western heart. Christ and the Masters know these methods as the same
kleshas, or
poisons, in far more DEADLY form ... as the lesser, but also dangerous vices which threaten our outer lives, and darken our health (examples: addictions, violence, crime, etc.).
And the Church will fight hard to retain Her power ... as we are seeing ... while the
saddest casualties are the hearts of the faithful - doing only what they have
long been told is necessary to guarantee their salvation - from a NON-EXISTENT evil ... save, in most cases, for the evils which the
Church, herself, has engendered!!! This is not to say that there is no
natural, struggling element (or elemental nature, to be more precise) against which we must do battle as we journey toward Spiritual Salvation or Enlightenment. I did not say this. But the Church presents a twisted, distorted travesty of the facts. And again, many of her greatest proponents, even her purest of Contributors - though Christ's ambassadors and Representatives in
all other fashion - are yet deceived by the propaganda of the ages. And so they suffer ....
But it is not so with each & every pontiff, every prelate, every Bishop. There are those who wear the crown of thorns, yet are not pierced by the vestments. And while they may
also do the work of their good-hearted but unknowing brethren, they are a dozenfold
or a hundredfold more effective, for they move and work
without error - or with far less naïveté. One such Teacher as this I know to be a
Baptist Reverend, and esoterically she is verily as a Voice
Crying in the Wilderness ... and she is Heard. Another Teacher of equal standing - appropriately enough
was this same Biblical presence to whom I have just referred ... and though his appearance would give
no indication of that fact (nor would he himself confirm it) - the gift of
true-seeing would lead
many a searching soul to his heart, in the subtle world. The
Work of God, indeed.
I do not say that the misguided Popes ("
Innocent"!?!
) ... and various ecclesiastical authorities have always been
themselves the finally-culpable authors of the evils of the church, though much corruption indeed
squarely rests upon their shoulders. And I do have
some respect for a Luther, a Calvin, a Bernard of Clairvaux (family, in a former life?) ... and a goodly numbers of the more noble of the Papacy. For all I know,
I myself might have authored a portion of the corruption I so readily expose!!!
But that changes things
not one whit! Besides, it was likely the taking of many a Saracen life upon the battlefield of which I was guilty ... but that's neither here nor there.
What I say about the church is
not simply opinion, it is quite defensible. And while some may be able to ease their proverbial consciences by shifting the
blame of witch-burning from one group of zealous fanatics to another ... I would submit that they've missed the point entirely!!! It's not just that "
'alf the story has never been told," as Rasta-man Bob Marley
sings - it's that even so, the
wrong part has been emphasized! And not simply
the errors of tradition, but unfortunately, additional forces have been at work in distoring the Gospel Story of 2100 years ago. These, too, are spoken of by the Master Jesus in the 2nd half of
`Vision of the Nazarene' - which I encourage the
unbiased reader to borrow, or
buy. I challenge the skeptic to
read what the Master says,
then come back to the argument.
As for the idea that Jesus of Nazareth may well have survived the crucifixion by entering a samadhi/satori ... this is absolutely within the realm of the possible. It would have been
most advantageous to both the Arhat Jesus as well as to his Master, the Christ, to have been able to continue using the consecrated and specially-prepared vessel (Jesus' body)
post-Crucifixion.
Those who object will need to so on more substantial ground than the simple fact that
tradition maintains thus-and-such, or
the Bible indicates thus-and-such. GOOD SENSE tells me that we are speaking of a set of personality equipment (etheric-physical body, astral-emotional body, and mental body) which was
exceedingly pure and powerful. NOT EASILY had the Initiate Jesus prepared himself for the WORK which the Christ had wrought
through him ... and thus, even though all future work would of necessity be conducted
in secret (out of the public eye, lest they
crucify him a second time! ), still, the good would FAR outweigh the unnecessary abandonment of the personality equipment. Besides, the
magnetism alone which is possible in the outer world by the maintaining of an objective form by the Master or Arhat (High Initiate) is
substantial. The benefit to the Master's Disciples (the 12 Apostles, and many, many more) would have been
tremendous!
[SIZE=-1]Ça suffit comme ça ...
taijasi
[/SIZE]
