Zagreus--don't be so hard on yourself. If I am not mistaken, what you preach (and you do preach
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) is peace between people, right? You want folks to come together. From my perspective, it seems that you really, really want everyone to see things the way you do, because it works for you. You have seen something, and it is hard to explain. Orthodox anything does not fit. I can sometimes see what you are saying, and while I can't exactly embrace every bit of it, I still see your heart's desire. My advice, for what it is worth--and my apology if it isn't that much--is to concentrate on sharing what you know can be understood, and leave the rest up to the listener. If what you have to say has merit, it will grow.
Thank you much, InLove, this is very helpful. You are right regarding my hope that there would be greater peace between
all people, and between peoples ... a sustainable, liveable Peace.
I am starting to remember how important it is to keep in touch with the Vision in its pristine clarity, the idea that
we CAN do it. Some people say things like,
"not until Hell freezes over," and I am inclined to smile, nod in understanding, and laugh about the unlikelihood of us
seeing it anytime soon.
I'd say it's pretty darnimportant that we try to take care of the planet, and even strive to establish that
peace among men which I think is the precursor, the prerequisite, to Christ's Reappearance.
There has been so much emphasis,
of late, at CR, on
the past, on history, and now - on the evolution of Jesus' NAME. I sometimes become much too engrossed in a topic, or in just one side, angle, or facet of an issue ... and lose perspective, so one of the things that is helpful about what you say,
InLove, is that it allows me more easily
disengage.
Thank you, for that.
I fear that I have responded, quite like a sucker, to a word, an idea, and that very
personality ... whom and which has a certain magnetism
for many of us, yet it somehow still manages to get the better of me at times. A year or so ago, I did not hestitate to say,
`Yeshua ben Joseph' or
`the Nazarene' ... in an effort to help
me distinguish, just personally, between the
Jesus of 2000 years ago ... and the Christ.
These two, for me, are as different as Juan and myself, or you and I. I think between what I shared - based on my own researches, meditations, findings and experience, what Thomas has shared from similar sources, the discussion from juan, Chris, yourself, and all other folks ... there's a lot been said that helps cast light on
the evolution of the name, `Jesus'
- and how we get this spelling and pronunciation, relative to how it was said 2000 years ago.
But is this all we're looking at? If the question is,
was Jesus a Jew? ... then I'm not sure how much of that
even could be up for discussion. Perhaps Jesus was also an Essene; I maintain that he was, while Thomas is not inclined along these same lines. I think Jesus left the Essene community because he fulfilled his
purpose there, and also because he had certain differences. Not simply differences of
opinion, or
belief, as any two of us here may have. I think the Essenes shared all they could with Jesus, prepared him as best they were able, and that as Jesus
the man began to mature, he had likewise offered the Essenes all that they were capable of receiving, all that they were ready to hear. So he set out,
a wandering Therapeute (Healer) ... and traveled.
I smile (if I remember to keep my wits about me) when people clamor to disprove the notion that Jesus traveled Eastward, as far - say - as India, Tibet, Kashmir. Maybe he went to Egypt, Greece, as well as the Far East. Some will say,
there was no Buddhism, but he didn't go to become a Buddhist. The
Himalayan Branch of the Lodge of Masters far predates what we know of in the West as
Buddhism.
Even with my wits about me, I become a little disheartened, a little saddened, when people say things like,
"The religions will never agree, they will never resolve their differences, there CANNOT be resolution between them - after all, they disagree on so many points, etc." And especially when those who KNOW better - having at least done SOME research - say things like,
"Theosophy is purely syncretic; it is an effort to combine various philosophies into one, and force a fit artificially."
I would expect this, InLove, if you will please
pardon me for using you as an example ... from YOU! From
anyone who has not looked into what the Theosophists believe, what women like Blavatksy, or Alice Bailey, Helena Roerich, and others have
taught. You have even said, a time or two, that you weren't sure what
a typical Theosophist believes - or something along these lines. Thus, if you
misunderstood and thought that esotericists are engaged in some kind of effort to
do away with religious differences, intentionally overlooking what is
unique, and
especially helpful from each individual faith tradition ... ah well,
I would understand!!!
Yet, what we find, is that
you, InLove, even without having read article after article, or all manner of
commentary on things like Theosophical teachings, are a better peacemaker, and understand
the whole point of them ... than those who ARE familiar -
or at least who claim to be. Funny, isn't it, how those who SLAM Blavatsky have not taken the time to actually READ what she wrote ... to study it in depth,
or in the VERY LEAST - to take a few of the most important, prominent ideas, and PONDER THEM.
No, it's not funny ... for this is exactly what it means to
prejudge. Or to allow rumor, gossip, hearsay, slander, false accusation,
FALSE WITNESS - in short - to cloud our judgment. Forgive me, please, for my rant; it is just that I am seeing on
a handful of threads at CR, that people DO NOT really want to get along. People would rather
sow discord, or else
water this weed when they see it spring forth.
Someone posts on another thread an example of some common beliefs among the worlds various religions. No one said that differences weren't valid, valuable. No one said,
Buddhists must forsake the Tripitaka and embrace Deism/Theism. No one said, forsake your own spiritual path, and
choose to walk that of another, or one that is less meaningful to you. What was posted, was simply a beautiful example of some of the common teachings, amongst the world's great religions.
I do not know who the poster was/is. It was not me, or anyone here under another
handle, that I am aware of. My jaw almost dropped, however, when I saw how quickly this person was POUNCED on. I am ASHAMED.
Christ comes to
remove these kind of differences, and
life the veil of our misunderstandings ... NOT further
entrench us in our little, human camps - based on
outworn ideologies, separative attitudes, self-righteous mindsets, and unwillingness to cooperate. Yeah, I go overboard plenty often, I come off sounding enlightened, what-have-you, I know. I know. What I ALSO do, as often as I can, is try to just say,
Please pardon my error, and FORGIVE this ... and see past it long enough not to miss the point.
Thanks, InLove, for helping. My 101 Danish friend, with whom I studied (esoteric teaching) earlier tonight, reminded me, as you have, that
we are trying. And she spoke beautifully, as she always does, this time of
being acolytes for Christ ... and the very slow, but definite process, whereby we may learn to be
Christ-LIKE. This is a difficult, even dangerous concept. It is so, so very easy to misunderstand, and to
run away with, such that even she - who knows me well - was careful to say, that we have a LONG way to go ...
yet this is the GOAL.
I feel that one of the
saddest things we could possibly do ... is to confuse
the Christ, Who is the Lord of Love
, with any ONE MAN (or person) ... for even the most loving man who comes to my mind (my pastor of childhood), was as yet perhaps far from the spiritual attainment of a Jesus, much less the Christ.
But the Christ Presence,
as a very real energy, or Force, has
always been present upon our planet, ever since Humanity's arrival here - if not also before (since there is a similar function, or presence, relative to
all lesser kingdoms - the animal, vegetable, mineral). This, somehow, I just KNOW.
My studies tell me that, whether or not we are tracing the previous incarnations of
the exact same Individuality, or Avatar, nevertheless, there have
always been Divine Representatives, Incarnations
, of the 2nd Aspect of Godhead ... upon planet Earth. This predates Atlantis, and Theosophists list
Vyasa, Zoroaster, Thoth-Hermes and Orpheus (prior incarnations of Shakyamuni Buddha) as earlier holders of the
`Office' of Christ. This fascinates me, and I have studied
a little of each of these figures, yet more so the spiritual
motifs, the
zodaical backdrop, and the
idea of spiritual Liberation - or Salvation - which surrounded each of these figures.
Sri Krishna, from India, is listed as an earlier incarnation (or expression) of the Christ, such that a
distinction is made, in terms of the
Individuality who is reincarnating, between Christ and Buddha. Edgar Cayce entertwines these, and even lists the
Joshuas and
Jeshuas as the same individual. Yet when the Master Jesus enters in, a
third soul is under consideration ... if I am not mistaken. The simple notion that three or four of sequential incarnations were ALL amongst the Jewish people, with precisely the same
Name ... is in & of itself, a source of much fascination for me.
Why would this be?
And I have observed the pattern in several other cases, where I believe I have had insight into prior births (NOT things I have read; mostly things that have just come to me). Again,
why would this be?
I don't know, it's all very fascinating, but I think if it doesn't speak to us on some individual, personal level, then we are right to push it aside ... and seek answers that
do satisfy. If the sketches of David Anrias do not resonate, but those of Del Parson do, then we should use what works. It seems to me, that if the SLIGHTEST of the hoopla and fanfare, which the
vast majority of evangelicals
preach (I have plenty of 6th ray, I know, I know) ... is true, then we are quite remiss if we carry on as if Jesus of Nazareth is
up there somewhere, out of touch with the world today.
I think he probably has an interest in forums and discussion boards like this one, if
not this very one (and who knows) ... because his work, more so even than the vast majority of the Masters, has
everything to do with (Western) religion, esp. Christianity, and with preparing the way for the Christ. The Reappearance, it seems to me, is not something
way out in terms of time-frame; it is immiment. So Christ, too, Who is for me a
Planetary Avatar ... may also, have an interest in something like CR. He works, after all, through GROUPS ... say the esotericists, and those who speak of Aquarius & Aquarian energies.
I suppose I'm such a damn
dramatist that I really wouldn't know what he meant ... but I do feel, at least at the moment, that I have an inkling of what the Master J. was saying, in
Vision of the Nazarene, where we read:
My soul was a veritable target for the spears of baneful thoughts that were hurled at Me.
God's Prophets,
one in particular, has been an especial magnet for such
barbs and jabs ... and if I have gone out of my way to defend her (and her Sister Torchbearers for the Cause), then it is because I
know whereof I speak, and because I have found Wisdom, Love, and Strength -
both in the Timeless Truths which she/they have helped to bring to the modern world, and also in
her devotion, her commitment to her Teachers.
Every Master has his garden. He receives his students there, if they are ready to seek him. I sometimes just want to say to people,
Yes, Jesus is real, and a beautiful, amazing Presence (Cyril Scott calls him `Great One,' `Radiant One,' and `Shining One') - with an amazing human form, when need be, and otherwise, a direct expression of the Divine. And so, likewise, are the other Masters, some of Whom we can name, others Who must preserve their anonymity. Yet Christ is Lord of all, and if we would serve Him, we must first learn to serve the Master, and the Ashram. If we would do this, then we must first learn to serve the Soul - the Master within, the true Master of our Life. To serve the soul, means to serve Humanity, for the soul indwells every human form. To be "first," we must be "last."
I think that what really needs "preaching" is not just that
Christ and His Church are on the way, but that we must
prepare for Them. This is the work of the Forerunner, yet I don't think many people really imagine what it might be like ...
if Christ actually came back to Earth, with His group of Masters, and stayed. People want to be swept away, taken up into the cloud of glory
with Christ, and relieved of all their earthly burdens.
What I have learned, is that the Kingdom of Heaven shall be established on Earth ...
through Humanity, and with Humanity's cooperation - NOT DESPITE Humanity, or FOR Humanity.
It's unpopular to say this, sometimes ... and there is ever a pendulum swinging one way or the other, with respect to dualities ... but as it has come to rest squarely within my being at this time,
I have said what I have said.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, InLove; after yours, and that of my study partner, I think I'll give myself yet a third ...
and keep in mind the significance of those gathered in Christ's name.
The keynote of the disciple, for Aquarius:
Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty men.
Love and Light to all,
~zagreus