taijasi
Gnōthi seauton
At first, the title of this thread may seem contradictory. How can something so apparently specific as the return of the Christ also be a teaching of something purporting to deal with Ageless Wisdom?
The answer to this lies partially in a consideration of the Universality of the Christ, both as a Princple and as an individual, spiritual Teacher, a Savior ... and largely in the recognition that Christ is not a figure specfic to the Christian Faith.
Other threads at C-R have discussed the origin of the term `christos,' which can be shown in the Greek Mystery Traditions to refer to a candidate for the Highest Initiations, while `chrestos' referred to the neophyte. Quoting H.P. Blavatsksy, who also quotes Eliphas Levi:
These may be summed up in no fewer than 21 similarities as follows:
At once that a person begins to recognize that the SAVIOR is in fact a teaching which is UNIVERSAL to all religions, s/he may begin to see the similarities and to realize that these commonalities by far eclipse the differences, or variations on the central myth.
And THIS is why it has been frequently taught, and is increasingly being made known - via all forms of media now available - that the World Savior has moved closer to Humanity than at any time during the past 2100 years ... just as He has been looked for by every world religion under a different name.
There are some students who are interested in the writings of Benjamin Creme, and who feel that his work has been helpful in famliarizing people worldwide with the current state of expectancy - both in esoteric, as well as in exoteric circles - of the World Savior. Undoubtedly, Creme's writings have helped to get the word out. But that is all the credit I would give them personally, as I feel that everything that is of value in what Creme has taught, was in fact already given out via the writings of Alice Bailey. And in my experience, there is a much, much larger consensus of opinion in esoteric circles that her writings emanate directly from the Spiritual Hierarchy.
The best resource for someone who is unfamiliar with what the Ageless Wisdom has to say about Christ's Return, is a book entitled, The Reappearance of the Christ, by Alice Bailey, published in 1948. From the very first paragraph of that book, we read:
The Reappearance of the Christ, we are told, will also consist of an Externalization' of several of the Hierarchy's Ashrams - consisting of the Masters and Their senior pupils, onto the physical plane ... as well as the `Restoration of the Mysteries,' which we can clearly and objectively observe as beginning to take place before us.
These Ashrams will not all externalize (from Spiritual levels onto the physical plane) for at least several hundred years time. Only a handful are today beginning to function exoterically, yet some are quite progressed along this line, and the advanced student will find his or way to them when the time is right. Not since Atlantean times, have the Ashrams been externalized in this manner ...
The Restoration of the Mysteries is something that can be observed, partially, by looking at the Theosophical teachings, and at the activity of similar groups over the past ~125 or 150 years. From the days of mid 19th Century Spiritualism, through the renewed interest in the 20th Century in Mysticism, Occultism and in all the various Mystery Traditions of old - including those of every nation ... we can see various efforts of the Great Ones that have been made to help restore the Mystery Teachings upon our planet, in order to assist Humanity once again in finding proper footing upon the Spiritual Path.
It may be that only 1 in 1,000 people will benefit, yet for those who choose this difficult Way, there can be no greater reward than the privilege of Service, and no greater Joy than to know that one is collaborating in the One Work, serving in the company of the Great Ones ... albeit at the Hem of the Garment.
The Reappearance of the Christ, in esoteric teaching as presented by Alice Bailey, has three definite phases, overlapping, yet each observable through objective events. One, which was long ago begun and continues in full flowering, has been " the stimulation of the spiritual consciousness in man, the evocation of humanity's spiritual demands on a large scale and the nurturing—on a worldwide scale—of the Christ consciousness in the human heart" (The Reappearance of the Christ, Ch.3).
This phase of the Work is well into its advanced stages, as we can objectively observe and bear witness to ...
To again quote from Ch. 3 of Reappearance:
I can bear witness, to the fact of the existence of the Adept Masters, the Teachersof HPB, of Alice Bailey, and of others ... in short, to the reality of the Hierarchy, or Great Lodge, and to the Elder Brothers.
I recognize, of course, that for some it is sufficient to study the Bible, or perhaps to recite from the Koran. There are beautiful prayers in every language, of every religion, and I am 100% confident that Christ (or Allah, or Lord Siva) hears them all, as our aspirations and noblest efforts rise through the ethers to Tushita Heaven.
Our Service to our Fellow Wo/Man, is what matters most, and to those who are truly learning to see beyond themselves, and to recognize that we are "all in it together," I know that Christ's protecting Hand, and that of His closest Masters and Disciples, is always extended in Blessing and in Guidance.
Again, I post in order to bear witness ... as well as to give myself something to look at, as a reminder.
NAMASKARA
The answer to this lies partially in a consideration of the Universality of the Christ, both as a Princple and as an individual, spiritual Teacher, a Savior ... and largely in the recognition that Christ is not a figure specfic to the Christian Faith.
Other threads at C-R have discussed the origin of the term `christos,' which can be shown in the Greek Mystery Traditions to refer to a candidate for the Highest Initiations, while `chrestos' referred to the neophyte. Quoting H.P. Blavatsksy, who also quotes Eliphas Levi:
Long before the cross or its sign were adopted as symbols of Christianity, the sign of the cross was used as a sign of recognition among adepts and neophytes, the latter being called Chrests (from Chrestos, man of tribulation and sorrow). Says E. Levi: "The sign of the cross adopted by the Christians does not belong exclusively to them. It is Kabalistic, and represents the opposition and quaternary equilibrium of the elements. We see by the Occult verse of the Paternoster that there were originally two ways of making it, or, at least two very different formulas to express its meaning -- one reserved for priests-initiates, the other given to neophites and the profane. Thus, for example, the initiate, carrying his hand to his forehead, said: To thee; then he added, belong: and continued, while carrying his hand to the breast -- the kingdom; then, to the left shoulder -- justice: to the right shoulder -- and mercy. Then he joined the two hands, adding: throughout the generating cycles: 'Tibi sunt Malchut et Geburah et Chassed per Aeonas' -- a sign of the Cross, absolutely and magnificently kabalistic, which the profanations of Gnosticism made the militant and official Church completely lose." (Dogma et Ritual, etc., Vol. II., p. 88.)
The sign of the cross adopted by the Latin Church was phallic from the beginning, while that of the Greeks was the cross of the neophytes, the CHREST. (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p.562)
But instead of proceeding into a lengthy explanation of esoteric philosophy, we can return - for the earlier point - to this reference to the Universality of the Savior which Sri Krishna of exoteric Hindusim makes in the Bhagavad Gita: The sign of the cross adopted by the Latin Church was phallic from the beginning, while that of the Greeks was the cross of the neophytes, the CHREST. (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p.562)
Whenever virtue declines and unrighteousness rises, I manifest Myself as an embodied being.
To protect the Saints and Sages, to destroy the evil-doers and to establish Dharma (righteousness), I am born from age to age. -Bhagavad Gita 4.7 and 4.8
An examination of every other of the world's major religions will allow even a schoolboy of perhaps 12 years old to realize that in fact, all religions have their Savior. There are differences of appearance, differences of detail, and variations on the central myth. Yet as one can learn by viewing the currently popular video prodution `Zeitgeist,' these myths are ALL based upon a central set of facts, or occult Wisdom. To protect the Saints and Sages, to destroy the evil-doers and to establish Dharma (righteousness), I am born from age to age. -Bhagavad Gita 4.7 and 4.8
These may be summed up in no fewer than 21 similarities as follows:
"The Jesus-story, it will now be seen, has a greater number of correspondences with the stories of former Sungods and with the actual career of the Sun through the heavens—
Let us enumerate some of these. There are (1) birth from a Virgin mother; (2) the birth in a stable (cave or underground chamber); and (3) on the 25th December (just after the winter solstice). There is (4) the Star in the East (Sirius) and (5) the arrival of the Magi (the `Three Kings'); there is (6) the threatened Massacre of the Innocents, and the consequent flight into a distant country (told also of Krishna and other Sungods). There are the Church festivals of (7) Candlemas (2nd February), with processions of candles to symbolise the growing light; of (8) Lent, or the arrival of Spring; of (9) Easter Day (normally on 25th March) to celebrate the crossing of the Equator by the Sun; and (10) simultaneously the outburst of lights at the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. There is (11) [page 61] the Crucifixion and death of the Lamb-God, on Good Friday, three days before Easter; there are (12) the nailing to a tree, (13) the empty grave, (14) the glad Resurrection (as in the cases of Osiris, Attis and others); there are (15) the twelve disciples (the Zodiacal signs); and (16) the betrayal by one of the twelve. Then later there is (17) Mid-summer Day, the 24th June, dedicated to the birth of the beloved disciple John, and corresponding to Christmas Day; there are the festivals of (18) the Assumption of the Virgin (15th August) and of (19) the Nativity of the Virgin (8th September), corresponding to the movement of the god through Virgo; there is the conflict of Christ and his disciples with the autumnal asterisms, (20) the Serpent and the Scorpion; and finally there is the curious fact that the Church (21) dedicates the very day of the winter solstice (when any one may very naturally doubt the re-birth of the Sun) to St. Thomas, who doubted the truth of the Resurrection!" - Pagan and Christian Creeds, by Edward Carpenter, p. 50.
It remains an option for the skeptical Christian, or Muslim, or person of whatever faith, just as the skeptical man of materialistic science, to discount these similarities, and to declare his or her own interpretations as somehow the `only correct and Divinely-revealed doctrine.' Yet such insistence is not only unreasonable and unfounded, unsupported by the facts - as we can see, it is also rather foolish, and childish. It is no different than the ostrich hiding its head in the sand, which may be a myth in reference to the actual bird, yet is objectively observable behavior in the case of the stubborn, zealous holdout! Let us enumerate some of these. There are (1) birth from a Virgin mother; (2) the birth in a stable (cave or underground chamber); and (3) on the 25th December (just after the winter solstice). There is (4) the Star in the East (Sirius) and (5) the arrival of the Magi (the `Three Kings'); there is (6) the threatened Massacre of the Innocents, and the consequent flight into a distant country (told also of Krishna and other Sungods). There are the Church festivals of (7) Candlemas (2nd February), with processions of candles to symbolise the growing light; of (8) Lent, or the arrival of Spring; of (9) Easter Day (normally on 25th March) to celebrate the crossing of the Equator by the Sun; and (10) simultaneously the outburst of lights at the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. There is (11) [page 61] the Crucifixion and death of the Lamb-God, on Good Friday, three days before Easter; there are (12) the nailing to a tree, (13) the empty grave, (14) the glad Resurrection (as in the cases of Osiris, Attis and others); there are (15) the twelve disciples (the Zodiacal signs); and (16) the betrayal by one of the twelve. Then later there is (17) Mid-summer Day, the 24th June, dedicated to the birth of the beloved disciple John, and corresponding to Christmas Day; there are the festivals of (18) the Assumption of the Virgin (15th August) and of (19) the Nativity of the Virgin (8th September), corresponding to the movement of the god through Virgo; there is the conflict of Christ and his disciples with the autumnal asterisms, (20) the Serpent and the Scorpion; and finally there is the curious fact that the Church (21) dedicates the very day of the winter solstice (when any one may very naturally doubt the re-birth of the Sun) to St. Thomas, who doubted the truth of the Resurrection!" - Pagan and Christian Creeds, by Edward Carpenter, p. 50.
At once that a person begins to recognize that the SAVIOR is in fact a teaching which is UNIVERSAL to all religions, s/he may begin to see the similarities and to realize that these commonalities by far eclipse the differences, or variations on the central myth.
And THIS is why it has been frequently taught, and is increasingly being made known - via all forms of media now available - that the World Savior has moved closer to Humanity than at any time during the past 2100 years ... just as He has been looked for by every world religion under a different name.
There are some students who are interested in the writings of Benjamin Creme, and who feel that his work has been helpful in famliarizing people worldwide with the current state of expectancy - both in esoteric, as well as in exoteric circles - of the World Savior. Undoubtedly, Creme's writings have helped to get the word out. But that is all the credit I would give them personally, as I feel that everything that is of value in what Creme has taught, was in fact already given out via the writings of Alice Bailey. And in my experience, there is a much, much larger consensus of opinion in esoteric circles that her writings emanate directly from the Spiritual Hierarchy.
The best resource for someone who is unfamiliar with what the Ageless Wisdom has to say about Christ's Return, is a book entitled, The Reappearance of the Christ, by Alice Bailey, published in 1948. From the very first paragraph of that book, we read:
When the times are ripe, the invocation of the masses is strident enough and the faith of those who know is keen enough, then always He has come and today will be no exception to this ancient rule or to this universal law. For decades, the reappearance of the Christ, the Avatar, has been anticipated by the faithful in both hemispheres—not only by the Christian faithful, but by those who look for Maitreya and for the Boddhisattva as well as those who expect the Imam Mahdi.
The following traditions also expect a World Savior, each according to a specific ancient title - holding esoteric meaning for followers of that spiritual path:
Hindusim --- Kalki Avatara
Judaism --- Messiah
Theosophy --- World Teacher
Zoroastrianism --- Saoshyant
And we can add to these the titles already mentioned: Judaism --- Messiah
Theosophy --- World Teacher
Zoroastrianism --- Saoshyant
Buddhism --- Maitreya, future Bodhisattva and Buddha
Christianity --- Christ the Savior
Islam --- Imam Mahdi, the Great Teacher
For the benefit of people who are not familiar with the esoteric tradition, which many tens of thousands of people in the world today uphold, here is what we understand regarding the Reappearance of this great figure Whom the world has always known ... Christianity --- Christ the Savior
Islam --- Imam Mahdi, the Great Teacher
The Reappearance of the Christ, we are told, will also consist of an Externalization' of several of the Hierarchy's Ashrams - consisting of the Masters and Their senior pupils, onto the physical plane ... as well as the `Restoration of the Mysteries,' which we can clearly and objectively observe as beginning to take place before us.
These Ashrams will not all externalize (from Spiritual levels onto the physical plane) for at least several hundred years time. Only a handful are today beginning to function exoterically, yet some are quite progressed along this line, and the advanced student will find his or way to them when the time is right. Not since Atlantean times, have the Ashrams been externalized in this manner ...
The Restoration of the Mysteries is something that can be observed, partially, by looking at the Theosophical teachings, and at the activity of similar groups over the past ~125 or 150 years. From the days of mid 19th Century Spiritualism, through the renewed interest in the 20th Century in Mysticism, Occultism and in all the various Mystery Traditions of old - including those of every nation ... we can see various efforts of the Great Ones that have been made to help restore the Mystery Teachings upon our planet, in order to assist Humanity once again in finding proper footing upon the Spiritual Path.
It may be that only 1 in 1,000 people will benefit, yet for those who choose this difficult Way, there can be no greater reward than the privilege of Service, and no greater Joy than to know that one is collaborating in the One Work, serving in the company of the Great Ones ... albeit at the Hem of the Garment.
The Reappearance of the Christ, in esoteric teaching as presented by Alice Bailey, has three definite phases, overlapping, yet each observable through objective events. One, which was long ago begun and continues in full flowering, has been " the stimulation of the spiritual consciousness in man, the evocation of humanity's spiritual demands on a large scale and the nurturing—on a worldwide scale—of the Christ consciousness in the human heart" (The Reappearance of the Christ, Ch.3).
This phase of the Work is well into its advanced stages, as we can objectively observe and bear witness to ...
To again quote from Ch. 3 of Reappearance:
The second indicated move of the Hierarchy would be the impressing of the minds of enlightened men everywhere by spiritual ideas embodying the new truths, by the "descent" (if I may so call it) of the new concepts which will govern human living and by the overshadowing of all world disciples and the New Group of World Servers by the Christ Himself. This planned move of the Hierarchy is progressing well; men and women everywhere and in every department of life are enunciating those new truths which should in the future guide human living; they are building those new organisations, movements and groups—large or small—which will familiarise the mass of men with the reality of the need and the mode of meeting it. This they are doing because they are driven thereto by the warmth of their hearts and by their loving response to human distress; without formulating it thus to themselves, they are, nevertheless, working to bring into visibility the Kingdom of God on Earth. No denial of these facts is possible, in view of the multiplicity of organisations, books and speeches.
And finally, regarding the third method of Christ's Reappearance, a final quote:
Thirdly we are told that Christ might come in Person and walk among men as He did before. This has not yet taken place but plans are being laid which will enable Him to do so. Those plans do not involve the birth of some nice child in some nice home on Earth; they will not produce the wild claims and the credulous recognition of the well-meaning and the unintelligent as is so frequently the case today, nor will someone appear and say: "This is the Christ. He is here or He is there." [However] belief in His coming is basic in the human consciousness. How He will come and in what manner is not yet stated ...
Alice Bailey taught her students not to expect the Reappearance, in its final phases, prior to 2025 AD. Yet this time is drawing near, and I can bear witness, even in just 18 years of exposure to the Ageless Wisdom in this lifetime, to the progress that is being made. I have met hundreds of fellow students, numerous Teachers of varying degrees ... and plenty of Initiates among the latter, each serving quietly yet powerfully to advance the Work. I can bear witness, to the fact of the existence of the Adept Masters, the Teachersof HPB, of Alice Bailey, and of others ... in short, to the reality of the Hierarchy, or Great Lodge, and to the Elder Brothers.
I recognize, of course, that for some it is sufficient to study the Bible, or perhaps to recite from the Koran. There are beautiful prayers in every language, of every religion, and I am 100% confident that Christ (or Allah, or Lord Siva) hears them all, as our aspirations and noblest efforts rise through the ethers to Tushita Heaven.
Our Service to our Fellow Wo/Man, is what matters most, and to those who are truly learning to see beyond themselves, and to recognize that we are "all in it together," I know that Christ's protecting Hand, and that of His closest Masters and Disciples, is always extended in Blessing and in Guidance.
Again, I post in order to bear witness ... as well as to give myself something to look at, as a reminder.
NAMASKARA
