Levi
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World and of The Church Universal

INTRODUCTION

BY

EVA S. DOWLING, A. Ph.D.,

SCRIBE TO THE MESSENGER

THE BOOK

The full title of this book is “The Aquarian Age Gospel of Jesus, the Christ of the Piscean Age,” and the critical reader is apt to ask a number of pertinent questions concerning it. Among the many anticipated questions these are perhaps the most important:

1 What is an Age?

2 What is the Piscean Age?

3 What is the Aquarian Age?

4 What is meant by the Christ as the word is used in this book?

5 What relationship existed between Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ?

6 Who is Levi, the transcriber of this book?

7 What are the Akashic Records?

1 What is an Age? Astronomers tell us that our sun and his family of planets revolve around a central sun, which is millions of miles distant, and that it requires something less than 26,000 years to make one revolution. His orbit is called the Zodiac, which is divided into twelve signs, familiarly known as Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. It requires our Solar System a little more than 2100 years to pass through one of these signs, and this time is the measurement of an Age or Dispensation. Because of what Astronomers call “the precession of the Equinoxes” the movement of the sun through the signs of the Zodiac is in order reverse from that given above.

Exact Time of the Beginning of an Age. Regarding this matter there is a disagreement among astronomers; but in this Introduction we are not called upon to give the reasons of the various investigators for their opinions; there are enough well authenticated facts for our present purposes. It is conceded by all critical students that the sun entered the zodiacal sign Taurus in the days of our historic Adam when the Taurian Age began; that Abraham lived not far from the beginning of the Arian Age, when the sun entered the sign Aries. About the time of the rise of the Roman empire the sun entered the sign Pisces, the Fishes, and the Piscean Age began, so that early in this Age Jesus of Nazareth lived.

2 What is the Piscean Age? This question requires further consideration. The Piscean Age is identical with the Christian Dispensation. The word Pisces means fish. The sign is known as a water sign, and the Piscean Age has been distinctly the age of the fish and its element, water.

In the establishment of their great institutions John the Harbinger and Jesus both introduced the rite of water baptism, which has been used in some form in all the so-called Christian Churches and cults, even to the present time. Water is the true symbol of purification. Jesus himself said to the Harbinger before he was baptized: “All men must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul.” (Aquarian Gospel 64:7.)

Fish was a Christian Symbol. In the earlier centuries of the Christian Dispensation the fish was everywhere used as a symbol. In his remarkable book, “Christian Iconography,” Didron says:

“The fish, in the opinion of antiquarians generally, is the symbol of Jesus Christ. The fish is sculptured upon a number of Christian monuments, and more particularly upon the ancient sarcophagi. It is also upon medals, bearing the name of our Savior and also upon engraved stones, cameos and intaglios. The fish is also to be remarked upon the amulets worn suspended from the necks by children, and upon ancient glasses and sculptured lamps.

“Baptismal fonts are more particularly ornamented with the fish. The fish is constantly exhibited placed upon a dish in the middle of the table, at the Last Supper, among the loaves, knives and cups used at the banquet.”

In the writings of Tertullian we find this statement: “We are little fishes in Christ our great fish.”

The last two thousand years, comprising the Piscean Age, has certainly been one of water and the many uses of that element have been emphasized, and sea and lake and river navigation has been brought to a high degree of efficiency.

3 What is the Aquarian Age? The human race is today standing upon the cusp of the Piscean-Aquarian Ages. Aquarius is an air sign and the New Age is already noted for remarkable inventions for the use of air, electricity, magnetism, etc. Men navigate the air as fish do the sea, and send their thoughts spinning around the world with the speed of lightning.

The word Aquarius is derived from the Latin word aqua, meaning water. Aquarius is, however, the water bearer, and the symbol of the sign, which is the eleventh sign of the Zodiac, is a man carrying in his right hand a pitcher of water. Jesus referred to the beginning of the Aquarian Age in these words:

“And then the man who bears the pitcher will walk forth across an arc of heaven; the sign and signet of the Son of Man will stand forth in the eastern sky. The wise will then lift up their heads and know that the redemption of the earth is near.” (Aquarian Gospel 157:29, 30.)

The Aquarian Age is pre-eminently a spiritual age, and the spiritual side of the great lessons that Jesus gave to the world may now be comprehended by multitudes of people for the many are now coming into an advanced stage of spiritual consciousness; so with much propriety this book is called “The Aquarian (or Spiritual) Gospel of Jesus, the Christ.”

An Important Event. The transfer of dominion from one Age to another is an important event in the world of Cherubim and Seraphim. Among the manuscripts of Levi we have found a most remarkable paper describing the transfer of dominion from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age, but it is difficult to determine whether it is a recital of facts or a prophetic statement. We reproduce the paper in full.

THE CUSP OF THE AGES

“In Spirit I was caught away into the realms of Akasha; I stood alone within the circle of the sun.

“And there I found the secret spring that opens up the door to Wisdom and an understanding heart.

“I entered in and then I knew.

“I saw the four and twenty Cherubim and Seraphim that guard the circle of the sun, the mighty ones who were proclaimed by masters long ago ‘the four and twenty ancient ones.’

“I heard the names of every Cherubim and Seraphim, and learned that every sign in all the Zodiac is ruled by two – a Cherubim and Seraphim.

“And then I stood upon the cusp where Ages meet. The Piscean Age had passed; the Aquarian Age had just begun.

“I saw the guardian Spirits of the Piscean Age; Ramasa is the Cherubim; Vacabiel is Seraphim.

“I saw the guardian Spirits of the Aquarian Age, and Archer is the Cherubim; Sakmaquil is the Seraphim.

“These four great spirits of the Triune God stood close together on the cusp, and in the presence of the sacred Three – the God of Might, the God of Wisdom, and the God of Love – the scepter of Domain, of Might, of Wisdom and of Love was there transferred.

“I heard the charges of the Triune God; but these I may not now reveal.

“I heard the history of the Piscean Age from Piscean Cherubim and Seraphim, and when I took my pen to write Ramasa said:

“Not now, my son, not now; but you may write it down for men when men have learned the sacred laws of Brotherhood, of Peace on earth, good-will to every living thing.

“And then I heard the Aquarian Cherubim and Seraphim proclaim the Gospel of the coming Age, the age of Wisdom, of the Son of Man.

“And when the crown was lifted from the head of Ramasa and placed upon the head of Archer of the Aquarian Age; and when the royal scepter was transferred from Seraphim Vacabiel to Seraphim Sakmaquil there was deep silence in the courts of heaven.

“And then the goddess Wisdom spoke, and with her hands outstretched she poured the benedictions of the Holy Breath upon the rulers of Aquarius.

“I may not write the words she spoke, but I may tell the Gospel of the coming age that Archer told when he received the crown.

“And I may breathe to men the song of praise that Seraphim Sakmaquil sung when she received the royal scepter of the newborn age.

“This Gospel I will tell, and I will sing this song in every land, to all the people, tribes and tongues of earth.”

4 What is Meant by “the Christ,” as the Word is Used in This Book? The word Christ is derived from the Greek word Kristos and means anointed. It is identical with the Hebrew word Messiah. The word Christ, per se, does not refer to any particular person; every anointed person is christed. When the definite article “the” is placed before the word christ a definite personality is indicated, and this personality is none other than a member of the Trinity, the Son who had a glory with the Father-Mother before the worlds were formed.

According to the teachings of all ancient masters this Son is Love; so the Christ is Love, and Love is God, since God is Love.

Another remarkable manuscript found in Levi’s Akashic portfolio gives the clearest possible ideal of the Christ, or Love of God. It is presumed that this manuscript is a direct transcription from the Akashic Records and its importance demands its reproduction here in full.

THE CHRIST

“Before creation was the Christ walked with the Father God and Mother God in Akasha.

“The Christ is son, the only son begotten by Almighty God, the God of Force and God omniscient, God of thought; and Christ is God, the God of Love.

“Without the Christ there was no light. Through Christ all life was manifest; and so through him all things were done, and naught was done in forming worlds or peopling worlds without the Christ.

“Christ is the Logos of Infinities and through the word alone are Thought and Force made manifest.

“The Son is called the Christ, because the Son, the Love, the universal Love, was set apart, ordained to be creator, Lord, preserver and redeemer of all things, of everything that is, or evermore will be.

“Through Christ, the protoplast, the earth, the plant, the beast, the man, the angel and the cherubim took up their stations on their planes of life.

“Through Christ they are preserved; and if they fall it is the Christ who lifts them up; and if they sell themselves to sin the Christ redeems.

“Now Christ, the universal Love, pervades all spaces of infinity, and so there is no end to love.

“From the great heart of Love unnumbered spirits were sent forth to demonstrate the height, the depth, the width, the boundlessness of Love.

“To every world and star and moon and sun a master spirit of this Love divine was sent; and all were full anointed with the oil of helpfulness, and each became a Christ.

“All glorious in his majesty is Christ, who spread the pure white robe of Love o’er all the planes of earth – The Christ of earth, its heaven, its graves.

“In course of time the protoplast, the earth, the plant, the beast, the man sold out their birthrights unto sin; but Christ was present to redeem.

“Hid in the holiest place in all infinities is locked the scroll that bears the record of the purposes of God, the Triune God, and there we read:

“Perfection is the ultimate of life. A seed is perfect in its embryotic life, but it is destined to unfold, to grow.

“Into the soil of every plane these seeds, which were the Thoughts of God, were cast – the seeds of protoplast, of earth, of plant, of beast, of man, of angel and of cherubim, and they who sowed the seeds, through Christ, ordained that they should grow, and should return at last, by effort of unnumbered years, to the great granary of thought, and each be a perfection of its kind.

“And in the boundless blessedness of Love the man was made the Lord of protoplast, of earth, of plant, of beast; and Christ proclaimed: Man shall have full dominion over everything that is upon these planes of life; and it was so.

“And he who gave the lordship unto man declared that he must rule by Love.

“But men grew cruel and they lost their power to rule, and protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast became at enmity with man; he lost his heritage; but Christ was present to redeem.

“But man had lost his consciousness of right; he could no longer comprehend the boundlessness of Love; he could see naught but self, and things of self; but Christ was there to seek the lost and save.

“So that he might be close to man in all the ways of life, that man might comprehend the mighty spirit of the Love, the Christ of earth made manifest to human eyes and ears by taking his abode in some pure person, well prepared by many lives to be a fit abiding place of Love.

“Thus Christ made manifest Love’s power to save; but men forgot so soon, and so Christ must manifest again, and then again.

“And ever since man took his place in form of flesh the Christ has been manifest in flesh at first of every age.”

5 What relationship existed between Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ? Orthodox Christian ecclesiastics tell us that Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ were one; that the true name of this remarkable person was Jesus Christ. They tell us that this man of Galilee was the very eternal God clothed in flesh of man that men might see his glory. Of course this doctrine is wholly at variance with the teachings of Jesus himself and of his apostles. The Aquarian Masters in council have formulated an answer to this question that so well covers all the information required that we give it in full:

“Jesus was an ideal Jew, born in Bethlehem of Judea. His mother was a beautiful Jewish girl named Mary. As a child Jesus differed but little from other children only that in past lives he had overcome carnal propensities to such an extent that he could be tempted like others and not yield. Paul was right when to the Hebrews he said: ‘He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ – Hebrews 4:15.

“Jesus suffered as other men suffer, and was made perfect through suffering; for this is the only way to perfection. His life was an example of attainment by the way of crosses and cruel treatment. Paul was right again when he said: ‘It became him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons into glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.’ – Hebrews 2:10.

“In many respects Jesus was a remarkable child, for by ages of strenuous preparation he was qualified to be an avatar, a savior of the world, and from childhood he was endowed with superior wisdom and was conscious of the fact that he was competent to lead the race into the higher ways of spiritual living. But he was conscious also of the fact that he must attain the mastery by trials, bufferings, temptations and sufferings. And all his life was spent in attaining. After his death, burial and resurrection he appeared in materialized form before the Silent Brothers in the temple of Heliopolis, in Egypt, and said:

“‘My human life was wholly given to bring my will to tune with the deific will; when this was done my earth-tasks all were done.

“‘You know that all my life was one great drama for the sons of men; a pattern for the sons of men. I lived to show the possibilities of man.

“‘What I have done all men can do, and what I am all men shall be.’” – Aquarian Gospel 178:43, 46.

“Jesus was the name of the man and it was the only appropriate name for this kind of a man. The word means Savior and Jesus was in more senses than one a savior.

The word Christ means “the anointed one,” and then it is an official title. It means, The Master of Love. When we say “Jesus the Christ” we refer to the man and to his office; just as we do when we say Edward, the King, or Lincoln, the President. Edward was not always King, and Lincoln was not always President, and Jesus was not always Christ. Jesus won his Christship by a strenuous life, and in the Aquarian Gospel, chapter 55, we have a record of the events of his christing, or receiving the degree Christ. Here is where he was coronated by the highest earth authorities as the Christ-King; properly speaking, ‘The Master of Love’; and after this was done he entered at once upon his Judean and Galilean ministry.

“We recognize the facts that Jesus was man and that Christ was God, so that in very truth Jesus the Christ was the God-man of the ages.”

The Nazarene’s Testimony. Jesus himself made the matter clear. Once when he was speaking to a congregation in Bethany the people called him King and he stood forth and said:

“‘I am not sent to sit upon a throne to rule as Caesar rules; and you may tell the ruler of the Jews that I am not a claimant for his throne.

“‘Men call me Christ, and God has recognized the name; but Christ is not a man. The Christ is universal Love, and Love is King.

“‘This Jesus is but man who has been fitted by temptations overcome, by trials multiform, to be the temple through which the Christ can manifest to men.

“‘Then hear, you men of Israel, hear! Look not upon the flesh; it is not king. Look to the Christ within who shall be formed in every one of you, as he is formed in me.

“‘When you have purified your hearts by faith, the king will enter in and you will see his face.’” – Aquarian Gospel 68:10–14.

Surely this question has been answered. Jesus was man; Christ was Divine Love – the Love of God, and after thirty years of strenuous life the man had made his body fit to be the temple of the holy breath and Love took full possession, and John well said when he declared:

“‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’”

6 Who was Levi, the Transcriber of this Book? Regarding the personality of Levi we are permitted to write but little. Suffice it to say that he is an American citizen, and has been a close student of the religions of the world from childhood. When but a boy he was impressed with the sensitiveness of the finer ethers and believed that in some manner they were sensitized plates on which sounds, even thoughts, were recorded. With avidity he entered into the deeper studies of etheric vibration, determined to solve the great mysteries of the heavens for himself. Forty years he spent in study and silent meditation, and then he found himself in that stage of spiritual consciousness that permitted him to enter the domain of these superfine ethers and become familiar with their mysteries. He then learned that the imaginings of his boyhood days were founded upon veritable facts, and that every thought of every living thing is there recorded.

In his manuscript entitled “The Cusp of the Ages,” a part of which we have already reproduced in this Introduction, we find the following copy of the Commission, which Levi received from Visel, the Goddess of Wisdom, or the Holy Breath.

LEVI’S COMMISSION

“And then Visel the holy one stood forth and said:

“O Levi, son of man, behold, for you are called to be the message bearer of the coming age – the age of spirit blessedness.

“Give heed, O son of man, for men must know the Christ, the Love of God; for Love is sovereign balm for all the wounds of men, the remedy for every ill.

“And man must be endowed with Wisdom and with Power and with an Understanding heart.

“Behold the Akasha! Behold the Record Galleries of Visel where every thought and word and deed of every living thing is written down.

“The needs of men are manifold, and men must know their needs.

“Now, Levi, hearken to my words: go forth into these mystic Galleries and read. There you will find a message for the world; for every man; for every living thing.

“I breathe upon you now the Holy Breath; you will discriminate, and you will know the lessons that these Record Books of God are keeping now for men of this new age.

“This age will be an age of splendor and of light, because it is the home age of the Holy Breath; and Holy Breath will testify anew for Christ, the Logos of eternal Love.

“At first of every age this Logos is made manifest in flesh so man can see and know and comprehend a Love that is not narrow, circumscribed.

“Twelve times in every revolution of the sun this christed Love of God is made full manifest in flesh upon the planes of earth, and you may read in Akasha the wondrous lessons that these Christs have taught to men; but you shall publish not to men the lessons of the Christs of ancient times.

“Now, Levi, message bearer of the Spirit Age, take up your pen and write.

“Write full the story of The Christ who built upon the Solid Rock of yonder circle of the sun – the Christ who men have known as Enoch the Initiate.

“Write of his works as prophet, priest and seer; write of his life of purity and love, and how he changed his carnal flesh to flesh divine without descending through the gates of death.

“And you may write the story of Melchizedec, the Christ who lived when Abram lived, and pointed out to men the way to life through sacrifice; who gave his life a willing sacrifice for men.

“And you may write the story of the Prince of Peace, The Christ who came as babe in Bethlehem, and traveled every way of life that man must tread.

“He was despised, rejected and abused; was spit upon, was crucified, was buried in a tomb; but he revived and rose a conqueror over death that he might show the possibilities of man.

“A thousand times he said to men; ‘I came to show the possibilities of man; what I have done all men may do, and what I am all men shall be.’

“These stories of The Christ will be enough, for they contain the true philosophy of life, of death and of the resurrection of the dead.

“They show the spiral journey of the soul until the man of earth and God are one forevermore.”

Levi in Prophecy. About two thousand years ago Elihu, who conducted a school of the prophets in Zoan, Egypt, referred to Levi thus:

“This age will comprehend but little of the works of Purity and Love; but not a word is lost, for in the Book of God’s Remembrance a registry is made of every thought and word and deed;

“And when the world is ready to receive, lo, God will send a messenger to open up the book and copy from its sacred pages all the messages of Purity and Love.

“Then every man of earth will read the words of life in the language of his native land, and men will see the light.

“And man again will be at one with God.” – Aquarian Gospel 7:25–28.

Further references to the personality of Levi are, seemingly, unnecessary. It matters but little who he is; his work in the transcription of the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus, the Christ, stands unimpeachable. The lessons of this book all bear the stamp of the Nazarene, for no man except the world’s greatest master could have touched the high chords of divine Love and Wisdom which characterize the pages of this marvelous book.

7 What are the Akashic Records? Akasha is a Sanskrit word, and means “Primary substance,” that out of which all things are formed. According to Aquarian philosophy, it is the first stage of the crystallization of spirit. This philosophy recognizes the fact that all primordial substance is spirit; that matter is spirit moving at a lower rate of vibration, becoming, as one master expressed it, a coagulum.

This Akashic, or primary substance, is of exquisite fineness and is so sensitive that the slightest vibrations of an ether any place in the universe registers an indelible impression upon it.

This primal substance is not relegated to any particular part of the universe, but is everywhere present. It is in very fact the “Universal Mind” of which our metaphysicians speak.

When the mind of man is in exact accord with the Universal Mind man enters into a conscious recognition of these Akashic impressions, and may collect them and translate them into any language of earth with which he is familiar.

In the infinite One manifest we note the attributes of Force, Intelligence and Love, and a person may be in full accord with one of these attributes and not with the others. One may enter fully into the spirit of the God of Force and not be imbued with the spirit of Intelligence; or one may be wholly absorbed with the spirit of Divine Love and be far removed from both Intelligence and Force. Furthermore, a person may enter fully into the consciousness of Holy Breath, or Supreme Intelligence, and be not at all in rapport with either Love or Force. Knowledge is not gained through the spirit of either Force or Love. It is only from Universal Mind, which is Supreme Intelligence, called by Oriental scholars the Akashic Records, and by Hebrew masters, the Book of God’s Remembrance, that knowledge of any kind can be obtained.

Consciousness; we note three phases of it:

1 Consciousness of the omnipotence of God and man.

2 Christ consciousness, or consciousness of Divine Love.

3 Consciousness of the Holy Breath, or of Supreme Intelligence.

We must bear in mind that one of these phases of consciousness does not necessarily imply either of the others. People are frequently found who are completely filled with the Love of God, are far advanced in the science of Christ consciousness, who are absolutely ignorant; have not the slightest conception of the laws of natural things or of spiritual things; are not in rapport with the great Teacher which is the Holy Spirit.

The Akashic Records. The imperishable records of life, known as the Akashic Records, are wholly in the domain of Supreme Intelligence, or Universal Mind, and the Akashic Record reader must be in such close touch with the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Breath, as the ancient masters call this spirit of Supreme Intelligence, that every thought vibration is instantly felt in every fibre of his being.

Differentiation. Since all space is charged with the vibrations of thoughts of all kinds how may the Akashic Record reader differentiate and gather only the thoughts and life events of a particular person or group of persons?

Every person has his own distinct vibration and when the reader fully understands the law of discrimination his whole being is tuned for the reception of the one particular tone and rhythm, and it is impossible for any other tone or rhythm to make the slightest impression upon him. This principle is demonstrated in wireless telegraphy.

It required many years for Levi to learn the Law of Differentiation, and to come in rapport with the tones and rhythms of Jesus of Nazareth, Enoch and Melchizedec and their co-laborers. But under the direction of the Spirit of Supreme Intelligence, he has attained unto this accomplishment, and now he instantly feels in all his being the slightest vibrations that come from any of these great centers and, of course, all of his transcriptions are true to the letter.

Man

“What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visiteth him?” This was the earnest question of David, the Hebrew Psalmist, and the 8th Psalm is given wholly to the contemplation of man, the crowning work of manifest creation. Among the many great lessons that Levi has been permitted to gather from the Akashic Records, or the Universal Mind, we find one on Man in which his descent into physical matter and his final ascent into an eternal oneness with God is so graphically described that it certainly merits a place in this Introduction, and we give it in full:

“Time never was when man was not.

“If life of man at any time began a time would come when it would end.

“The thoughts of God cannot be circumscribed. No finite mind can comprehend things infinite.

“All finite things are subject unto change. All finite things will cease to be, because there was a time when they were not.

“The bodies and the soul of men are finite things, and they will change, yea, from the finite point of view the time will come when they will be no more.

“But man himself is not the body, nor the soul; he is a spirit and is part of God.

“Creative Fiat gave to man, to spirit man, a soul that he might function on the plane of soul; gave him a body of the flesh, that he might function on the plane of things made manifest.

“Why did creative Fiat give to spirit man a soul that he might function on the plane of soul?

“Why did creative Fiat give to soul a body of the flesh that it might function on the plane of things that are made manifest?

“Hear, now, ye worlds, dominions, powers and thrones!

“Hear, now, ye cherubim, ye seraphim, ye angels and ye men!

“Hear, now, O protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast!

“Hear, now, ye creeping things of earth, ye fish that swim, ye birds that fly!

“Hear, now, ye winds that blow, ye thunders and ye lightnings of the sky!

“Hear, now, ye spirits of the fire, of water, earth and air!

“Hear, now, O everything that is, or was, or evermore will be, for Wisdom speaks from out the highest plane of spirit life:

“Man is a thought of God; all thoughts of God are infinite; they are not measured up by time, for things that are concerned with time begin and end.

“The thoughts of God are from the everlasting of the past unto the never ending days to come – And so is man, the Spirit-man.

“But man, like every other thought of God, was but a seed, a seed that held within itself the potencies of God, just as the seed of any plant of earth holds deep within itself the attributes of every part of that especial plant.

“So spirit-man, as seed of God, held deep within himself the attributes of every part of God.

“Now, seeds are perfect, yea, as perfect as the source from which they come; but they are not unfolded into life made manifest.

“The child in utero is perfect as the mother is.

“So man, the seed, must be deep planted in a soil that he might grow, unfold, as does the bud unfold to show the flower.

“The human seed that came forth from the heart of God was full ordained to be the lord of plane of soul, and of the plane of things made manifest.

“So God, the husbandman of every thing that is, threw forth this human seed into the soil of soul; it grew apace, and man became a living soul; and he became the lord of all the kingdom of the soul.

“Hark, now, let every creature hear, The plane of soul is but the ether of the spirit plane vibrating not so fast, and in the slower rhythm of this plane the essences of life are manifest; the perfumes and the odors, the true sensations and the all of love are manifest.

“And these soul attributes become a body beautiful.

“A multitude of lessons man must learn upon the plane of soul; and here he tarries many ages until his lessons are all learned.

“Upon the boundary of the plane of soul the ether began to vibrate slower still, and then the essences took on a garb; the perfumes and the odors and the true sensations and the all of love were clothed in flesh; and man was clothed in flesh.

“Perfected man must pass through all the ways of life, and so a carnal nature was full manifest, a nature that sprang forth from fleshly things.

“Without a foe a soldier never knows his strength, and thought must be developed by the exercise of strength.

“And so this carnal nature soon became a foe that man must fight, that he might be the strength of God made manifest.

“Let every living thing stand still and hear!

“Man is the lord of all the plane of manifests; of protoplast, of mineral, of plant, of beast; but he has given up his birthright, just to gratify his lower self, his carnal self.

“But man will full regain his lost estate, his heritage; but he must do it in a conflict that cannot be told in words.

“Yea, he must suffer trials and temptations manifold; but let him know that cherubim and seraphim that rule the stations of the sun, and spirits of the mighty God who rule the solar stars are his protectors and his guides, and they will lead to victory.

“Man will be fully saved, redeemed, perfected by the things he suffers on the plane of flesh, and on the plane of soul.

“When man has conquered carnal things his garb of flesh will then have served its purpose well and it will fall, will be no more.

“Then he will stand untrammeled on the plane of soul where he must full complete his victories.”

“Unnumbered foes will stand before the man upon the plane of soul; there he must overcome, yea, overcome them every one.

“Thus hope will ever be his beacon light; there is no failure for the human soul, for God is leading on and victory is sure.

“Man cannot die; the spirit man is one with God, and while God lives man cannot die.

“When man has conquered every foe upon the plane of soul the seed will have full opened out, will have unfolded in the Holy Breath.

“The garb of soul will then have served its purpose well, and man will need it never more, and it will pass and be no more.

“And man will then attain unto the blessedness of perfectness and be at one with God.”

SECTION I

ALEPH

Birth and Early Life of Mary, Mother of Jesus

CHAPTER 1

Palestine. Birth of Mary. Joachim’s feast. Mary is blest by the priests. His prophecy. Mary abides in the temple. Is betrothed to Joseph.

Augustus Cæsar reigned and Herod Antipas was ruler of Jerusalem.

2 Three provinces comprised the land of Palestine: Judea, and Samaria, and Galilee.

3 Joachim was a master of the Jewish law, a man of wealth; he lived in Nazareth of Galilee; and Anna, of the tribe of Judah, was his wife.

4 To them was born a child, a goodly female child, and they were glad; and Mary was the name they gave the child.

5 Joachim made a feast in honor of the child; but he invited not the rich, the honored and the great; he called the poor, the halt, the lame, the blind, and to each one he gave a gift of raiment, food, or other needful thing.

6 He said, The Lord has given me this wealth; I am his steward by his grace, and if I give not to his children when in need, then he will make this wealth a curse.

7 Now, when the child was three years old her parents took her to Jerusalem, and in the temple she received the blessings of the priests.

8 The high priest was a prophet and a seer, and when he saw the child he said,

9 Behold, this child will be the mother of an honored prophet and a master of the law; she shall abide within this holy temple of the Lord.

10 And Mary did abide within the temple of the Lord; and Hillel, chief of the Sanhedrim, taught her all the precepts of the Jews, and she delighted in the law of God.

11 When Mary reached the age of womanhood she was betrothed to Joseph, son of Jacob, and a carpenter of Nazareth.

12 And Joseph was an upright man; and a devoted Essenes.

SECTION II

BETH

Birth and Infancy of John, the Harbinger, and of Jesus

CHAPTER 2

Zacharias and Elizabeth. Prophetic messages of Gabriel to Zacharias, Elizabeth and Mary. Birth of John. Prophecy of Zacharias.

Near Hebron in the hills of Judah, Zacharias and Elizabeth abode.

2 They were devout and just, and every day they read the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms which told of one to come, strong to redeem; and they were waiting for the king.

3 Now, Zacharias was a priest, and in his turn he led the temple service in Jerusalem.

4 It came to pass as Zacharias stood before the Lord and burned the incense in the Holy Place, that Gabriel came and stood before his face.

5 And Zacharias was afraid; he thought that some great evil was about to come upon the Jews.

6 But Gabriel said, O man of God, fear not; I bring to you, and all the world, a message of good will, and peace on earth.

7 Behold, the Prince of Peace, the king you seek, will quickly come.

8 Your wife will bear to you a son, a holy son, of whom the prophet wrote,

9 Behold, I send Elijah unto you again before the coming of the Lord; and he will level down the hills and fill the valleys up, and pave the way for him who shall redeem.

10 From the beginning of the age your son has borne the name of John, the mercy of the Lord; his name is John.

11 He will be honored in the sight of God, and he will drink no wine, and from his birth he will be filled with Holy Breath.

12 And Gabriel stood before Elizabeth as she was in the silence in her home, and told her all the words that he had said to Zacharias in Jerusalem.

13 When he had done the service of his course, the priest went home, and with Elizabeth rejoiced.

14 Five months passed by and Gabriel came to Mary in her home in Nazareth and said,

15 Hail Mary, hail! Once blessed in the name of God; twice blessed in the name of Holy Breath; thrice blessed in the name of Christ; for you are worthy, and will bear a son who shall be called Immanuel.

16 His name is Jesus, for he saves his people from their sins.

17 When Joseph’s daily task was done he came, and Mary told him all the words that Gabriel spoke to her, and they rejoiced; for they believed that he, the man of God, had spoken words of truth.

18 And Mary went with haste to tell Elizabeth about the promises of Gabriel; together they rejoiced.

19 And in the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth did Mary tarry ninety days; then she returned to Nazareth.

20 To Zacharias and Elizabeth a son was born, and Zacharias said,

21 Most blessed be the name of God, for he has opened up the fount of blessings for his people, Israel.

22 His promises are verified; for he has brought to pass the words which holy prophets spoke in olden times.

23 And Zacharias looked upon the infant John, and said,

24 You will be called the prophet of the Holy One; and you will go before his face, and will prepare his way.

25 And you will give a knowledge of salvation unto Israel; and you will preach the gospel of repentance and the blotting out of sins.

26 Behold, for soon the Day Star from on high will visit us, to light the way for those who sit within the darkness of the shadowland, and guide our feet unto the ways of peace.

CHAPTER 3

Birth of Jesus. Masters honor the child. The shepherds rejoice. Zacharias and Elizabeth visit Mary. Jesus is circumcised.

The time was nearly due for Jesus to be born, and Mary longed to see Elizabeth, and she and Joseph turned their faces toward the Judean hills.

2 And when upon their way they came to Bethlehem the day was done, and they must tarry for the night.

3 But Bethlehem was thronged with people going to Jerusalem; the inns and homes were filled with guests, and Joseph and his wife could find no place to rest but in a cave where animals were kept; and there they slept.

4 At midnight came a cry, A child is born in yonder cave among the beasts. And lo, the promised son of man was born.

5 And strangers took the little one and wrapped him in the dainty robes that Mary had prepared and laid him in a trough from which the beasts of burden fed.

6 Three persons clad in snow-white robes came in and stood before the child and said,

7 All strength, all wisdom and all love be yours, Immanuel.

8 Now, on the hills of Bethlehem were many flocks of sheep with shepherds guarding them.

9 The shepherds were devout, were men of prayer, and they were waiting for a strong deliverer to come.

10 And when the child of promise came a man in snow-white robe appeared to them, and they fell back in fear. The man stood forth and said,

11 Fear not! behold I bring you joyful news. At midnight in a cave in Bethlehem was born the prophet and the king that you have long been waiting for.

12 And then the shepherds all were glad; they felt that all the hills were filled with messengers of light, who said,

13 All glory be to God on high; peace, peace on earth, good will to men.

14 And then the shepherds came with haste to Bethlehem and to the cave, that they might see and honor him whom men had called Immanuel.

15 Now, when the morning came, a shepherdess whose home was near, prepared a room for Mary, Joseph and the child; and here they tarried many days.

16 And Joseph sent a messenger in haste to Zacharias and Elizabeth to say, The child is born in Bethlehem.

17 And Zacharias and Elizabeth took John and came to Bethlehem with words of cheer.

18 And Mary and Elizabeth recounted all the wondrous things that had transpired. The people joined with them in praising God.

19 According to the custom of the Jews, the child was circumcised; and when they asked, What will you call the child? the mother said, His name is Jesus, as the man of God declared.

CHAPTER 4

Consecration of Jesus. Mary offers sacrifices. Simeon and Anna prophesy. Anna is rebuked for worshipping the child. The family returns to Bethlehem.

Now, Mary took her son, when he was forty days of age, up to the temple in Jerusalem, and he was consecrated by the priest.

2 And then she offered purifying sacrifices for herself, according to the custom of the Jews; a lamb and two young turtle doves.

3 A pious Jew named Simeon was in the temple serving God.

4 From early youth he had been looking for Immanuel to come, and he had prayed to God that he might not depart until his eyes had seen Messiah in the flesh.

5 And when he saw the infant Jesus he rejoiced and said, I now am ready to depart in peace, for I have seen the king.

6 And then he took the infant in his arms and said, Behold, this child will bring a sword upon my people, Israel, and all the world; but he will break the sword and then the nations will learn war no more.

7 The master’s cross I see upon the forehead of this child, and he will conquer by this sign.

8 And in the temple was a widow, four and eighty years of age, and she departed not, but night and day she worshipped God.

9 And when she saw the infant Jesus she exclaimed, Behold Immanuel! Behold the signet cross of the Messiah on his brow!

10 And then the woman knelt to worship him, as God with us, Immanuel; but one, a master clothed in white, appeared and said,

11 Good woman, stay; take heed to what you do; you may not worship man; this is idolatry.

12 This child is man, the son of man, and worthy of all praise. You shall adore and worship God; him only shall you serve.

13 The woman rose and bowed her head in thankfulness and worshipped God.

14 And Mary took the infant Jesus and returned to Bethlehem.

CHAPTER 5

Three magian priests honor Jesus. Herod is alarmed. Calls a council of the Jews. Is told that prophets had foretold the coming of a king. Herod resolves to kill the child. Mary and Joseph take Jesus and flee into Egypt.

Beyond the river Euphrates the magians lived; and they were wise, could read the language of the stars and they divined that one, a master soul, was born; they saw his star above Jerusalem.

2 And there were three among the magian priests who longed to see the master of the coming age; and they took costly gifts and hastened to the West in search of him, the new-born king, that they might honor him.

3 And one took gold, the symbol of nobility; another myrrh, the symbol of dominion and of power; gum-thus the other took, the symbol of the wisdom of the sage.

4 Now when the magians reached Jerusalem the people were amazed, and wondered who they were and why they came.

5 And when they asked, Where is the child that has been born a king? the very throne of Herod seemed to shake.

6 And Herod sent a courtier forth to bring the magians to his court.

7 And when they came they asked again, Where is the new born king? And then they said, While yet beyond the Euphrates we saw his star arise, and we have come to honor him.

8 And Herod blanched with fear. He thought, perhaps, the priests were plotting to restore the kingdom of the Jews, and so he said within himself, I will know more about this child that has been born a king.

9 And so he told the magian priests to tarry in the city for a while and he would tell them all about the king.

10 He called in council all the Jewish masters of the law and asked, What have the Jewish prophets said concerning such a one?

11 The Jewish masters answered him and said, The prophets long ago foretold that one would come to rule the tribes of Israel; that this Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

12 They said, The prophet Micah wrote, O Bethlehem Judea, a little place among the Judean hills, yet out of you will one come forth to rule my people, Israel; yea, one who lived in olden times, in very ancient days.

13 Then Herod called the magian priests again and told them what the masters of the Jewish law had said; and then he sent them on the way to Bethlehem.

14 He said, Go search, and if you find the child that has been born a king, return and tell me all, that I may go and honor him.

15 The magians went their way and found the child with Mary in the shepherd’s home.

16 They honored him; bestowed upon him precious gifts and gave him gold, gum-thus and myrrh.

17 These magian priests could read the hearts of men; they read the wickedness of Herod’s heart, and knew that he had sworn to kill the new born king.

18 And so they told the secret to the parents of the child, and bid them flee beyond the reach of harm.

19 And then the priests went on their homeward way; they went not through Jerusalem.

20 And Joseph took the infant Jesus and his mother in the night and fled to Egypt land, and with Elihu and Salome in ancient Zoan they abode.

CHAPTER 6

Herod learns of the supposed mission of John. The infants of Bethlehem are massacred by Herod’s order. Elizabeth escapes with John. Because Zacharias cannot tell where his son is hidden, he is murdered. Herod dies.

Now, when the magian priests did not return to tell him of the child that had been born a king, King Herod was enraged.

2 And then his courtiers told him of another child in Bethlehem, one born to go before and to prepare the people to receive the king.

3 This angered more and more the king; he called his guards and bid them go to Bethlehem and slay the infant John, as well as Jesus who was born to be a king.

4 He said, Let no mistake be made, and that you may be sure to slay these claimants to my throne, slay all male children in the town not yet two years of age.

5 The guards went forth and did as Herod bade them do.

6 Elizabeth knew not that Herod sought to slay her son, and she and John were yet in Bethlehem; but when she knew, she took the infant John and hastened to the hills.

7 The murderous guards were near; they pressed upon her hard; but then she knew the secret caves in all the hills, and into one she ran and hid herself and John until the guards were gone.

8 Their cruel task was done; the guards returned and told the story to the king.

9 They said, We know that we have slain the infant king; but John, his harbinger, we could not find.

10 The king was angry with his guards because they failed to slay the infant John; he sent them to the tower in chains.

11 And other guards were sent to Zacharias, father of the harbinger, while he was serving in the Holy Place, to say, The king demands that you shall tell where is your son.

12 But Zacharias did not know, and he replied, I am a minister of God, a servant in the Holy Place; how could I know where they have taken him?

13 And when the guards returned and told the king what Zacharias said, he was enraged and said,

14 My guards, go back and tell that wily priest that he is in my hands; that if he does not tell the truth, does not reveal the hiding place of John, his son, then he shall die.

15 The guards went back and told the priest just what the king had said.

16 And Zacharias said, I can but give my life for truth; and if the king does shed my blood the Lord will save my soul.

17 The guards again returned and told the king what Zacharias said.

18 Now, Zacharias stood before the altar in the Holy Place engaged in prayer.

19 A guard approached and with a dagger thrust him through; he fell and died before the curtain of the sanctuary of the Lord.

20 And when the hour of salutation came, for Zacharias daily blessed the priests, he did not come.

21 And after waiting long the priests went to the Holy Place and found the body of the dead.

22 And there was grief, deep grief, in all the land.

23 Now Herod sat upon his throne; he did not seem to move; his courtiers came; the king was dead. His sons reigned in his stead.

SECTION III

GIMEL

Education of Mary and Elizabeth in Zoan

CHAPTER 7

Archelaus reigns. Mary and Elizabeth with their sons are in Zoan and are taught by Elihu and Salome. Elihu’s introductory lesson. Tells of an interpreter.

The son of Herod, Archelaus, reigned in Jerusalem. He was a selfish, cruel king; he put to death all those who did not honor him.

2 He called in council all the wisest men and asked about the infant claimant to his throne.

3 The council said that John and Jesus both were dead; then he was satisfied.

4 Now Joseph, Mary and their son were down in Egypt in Zoan, and John was with his mother in the Judean hills.

5 Elihu and Salome sent messengers in haste to find Elizabeth and John. They found them and they brought them to Zoan.

6 Now, Mary and Elizabeth were marveling much because of their deliverance.

7 Elihu said, It is not strange; there are no happenings; law governs all events.

8 From olden times it was ordained that you should be with us, and in this sacred school be taught.

9 Elihu and Salome took Mary and Elizabeth out to the sacred grove near by where they were wont to teach.

10 Elihu said to Mary and Elizabeth, You may esteem yourselves thrice blest, for you are chosen mothers of long promised sons,

11 Who are ordained to lay in solid rock a sure foundation stone on which the temple of the perfect man shall rest – a temple that shall never be destroyed.

12 We measure time by cycle ages, and the gate to every age we deem a mile stone in the journey of the race.

13 An age has passed; the gate unto another age flies open at the touch of time. This is the preparation age of soul, the kingdom of Immanuel, of God in man;

14 And these, your sons, will be the first to tell the news, and preach the gospel of good will to men, and peace on earth.

15 A mighty work is theirs; for carnal men want not the light; they love the dark, and when the light shines in the dark they comprehend it not.

16 We call these sons, Revealers of the Light; but they must have the light before they can reveal the light.

17 And you must teach your sons, and set their souls on fire with love and holy zeal, and make them conscious of their missions to the sons of men.

18 Teach them that God and man were one; but that through carnal thoughts and words and deeds, man tore himself away from God; debased himself.

19 Teach that the Holy Breath would make them one again, restoring harmony and peace;

20 That naught can make them one but love; that God so loved the world that he has clothed his son in flesh that man may comprehend.

21 The only Savior of the world is love, and Jesus, son of Mary, comes to manifest that love to men.

22 Now, love cannot be manifest until its way has been prepared, and naught can rend the rocks and bring down lofty hills and fill the valleys up, and thus prepare the way, but purity.

23 But purity in life men do not comprehend; and so, it, too, must come in flesh.

24 And you, Elizabeth, are blest because your son is purity made flesh, and he shall pave the way for love.

25 This age will comprehend but little of the works of Purity and Love; but not a word is lost, for in the Book of God’s Remembrance a registry is made of every thought, and word, and deed;

26 And when the world is ready to receive, lo, God will send a messenger to open up the book and copy from its sacred pages all the messages of Purity and Love.

27 Then every man of earth will read the words of life in language of his native land, and men will see the light, walk in the light and be the light.

28 And man again will be at one with God.

CHAPTER 8

Elihu’s lessons. The unity of life. The two selfs. The devil. Love the savior of men. The David of the light. Goliath of the dark.

Again Elihu met his pupils in the sacred grove and said,

2 No man lives unto himself; for every living thing is bound by cords to every other living thing.

3 Blest are the pure in heart; for they will love and not demand love in return.

4 They will not do to other men what they would not have other men do unto them.

5 There are two selfs; the higher and the lower self.

6 The higher self is human spirit clothed with soul, made in the form of God.

7 The lower self, the carnal self, the body of desires, is a reflexion of the higher self, distorted by the murky ethers of the flesh.

8 The lower self is an illusion, and will pass away; the higher self is God in man, and will not pass away.

9 The higher self is the embodiment of truth; the lower self is truth reversed, and so is falsehood manifest.

10 The higher self is justice, mercy, love and right; the lower self is what the higher self is not.

11 The lower self breeds hatred, slander, lewdness, murders, theft, and everything that harms; the higher self is mother of the virtues and the harmonies of life.

12 The lower self is rich in promises, but poor in blessedness and peace; it offers pleasure, joy and satisfying gains; but gives unrest and misery and death.

13 It gives men apples that are lovely to the eye and pleasant to the smell; their cores are full of bitterness and gall.

14 If you would ask me what to study I would say, yourselfs; and when you well had studied them, and then would ask me what to study next, I would reply, yourselfs.

15 He who knows well his lower self, knows the illusions of the world, knows of the things that pass away; and he who knows his higher self, knows God; knows well the things that cannot pass away.

16 Thrice blessed is the man who has made purity and love his very own; he has been ransomed from the perils of the lower self and is himself his higher self.

17 Men seek salvation from an evil that they deem a living monster of the nether world; and they have gods that are but demons in disguise; all powerful, yet full of jealousy and hate and lust;

18 Whose favors must be bought with costly sacrifice of fruits, and of the lives of birds, and animals, and human kind.

19 And yet these gods possess no ears to hear, no eyes to see, no heart to sympathize, no power to save.

20 This evil is a myth; these gods are made of air, and clothed with shadows of a thought.

21 The only devil from which men must be redeemed is self, the lower self. If man would find his devil he must look within; his name is self.

22 If man would find his savior he must look within; and when the demon self has been dethroned the savior, Love, will be exalted to the throne of power.

23 The David of the light is Purity, who slays the strong Goliath of the dark, and seats the savior, Love, upon the throne.

CHAPTER 9

Salome’s lessons. The man and the woman. Philosophy of human moods. The triune God. The Septonate. The God Tao.

Salome taught the lesson of the day. She said, All times are not alike. Today the words of man may have the greatest power; tomorrow women teaches best.

2 In all the ways of life the man and woman should walk hand in hand; the one without the other is but half; each has a work to do.

3 But all things teach; each has a time and season for its own. The sun, the moon have lessons of their own for men; but each one teaches at the appointed time.

4 The lessons of the sun fall down on human hearts like withered leaves upon a stream, if given in the season of the moon; and so with lessons of the moon and all the stars.

5 Today one walks in gloom, downhearted and oppressed; tomorrow that same one is filled with joy.

6 Today the heavens seem full of blessedness and hope; tomorrow hope has fled, and every plan and purpose comes to naught.

7 Today one wants to curse the very ground on which he treads; tomorrow he is full of love and praise.

8 Today one hates and scorns and envies and is jealous of the child he loves; tomorrow he has risen above his carnal self, and breathes forth gladness and good will.

9 A thousand times men wonder why these heights and depths, these light hearts and these sad, are found in every life.

10 They do not know that there are teachers everywhere, each busy with a God-appointed task, and driving home to human hearts the truth.

11 But this is true, and every one receives the lessons that he needs.

12 And Mary said, Today I am in exaltation great; my thoughts and all my life seem lifted up; why am I thus inspired?

13 Salome replied, This is a day of exaltation; day of worship and of praise; a day when, in a measure, we may comprehend our Father-God.

14 Then let us study God, the One, the Three, the Seven.

15 Before the worlds were formed all things were One; just Spirit, Universal Breath.

16 And Spirit breathed, and that which was not manifest became the Fire and Thought of heaven, the Father-God, the Mother-God.

17 And when the Fire and Thought of heaven in union breathed, their son, their only son, was born. This son is Love whom men have called the Christ.

18 Men call the Thought of heaven the Holy Breath.

19 And when the Triune God breathed forth, lo, seven Spirits stood before the throne. These are the Elohim, creative spirits of the universe.

20 And these are they who said, Let us make man; and in their image man was made.

21 In early ages of the world the dwellers in the farther East said, Tao is the name of Universal Breath; and in the ancient books we read,

22 No manifesting form has Tao Great, and yet he made and keeps the heavens and earth.

23 No passion has our Tao Great, and yet he causes sun and moon and all the stars to rise and set.

24 No name has Tao Great, and yet he makes all things to grow; he brings in season both the seed time and the harvest time.

25 And Tao Great was One; the One became the Two; the Two became the Three, the Three evolved the Seven, which filled the universe with manifests.

26 And Tao Great gives unto all, the evil and the good, the rain, the dew, the sunshine and the flowers; from his rich stores he feeds them all.

27 And in the same old book we read of man: He has a spirit knit to Tao Great; a soul which lives within the seven Breaths of Tao Great; a body of desires that springs up from the soil of flesh.

28 Now spirit loves the pure, the good, the true; the body of desires extols the selfish self; the soul becomes the battle ground between the two.

29 And blessed is the man whose spirit is triumphant and whose lower self is purified; whose soul is cleansed, becoming fit to be the council chamber of the manifests of Tao Great.

30 Thus closed the lesson of Salome.

CHAPTER 10

Elihu’s lessons. The Brahmic religion. Life of Abram. Jewish sacred books. The Persian religion.

Elihu taught; he said, In ancient times a people in the East were worshippers of God, the One, whom they called Brahm.

2 Their laws were just; they lived in peace; they saw the light within; they walked in wisdom’s ways.

3 But priests with carnal aims arose, who changed the laws to suit the carnal mind; bound heavy burdens on the poor, and scorned the rules of right; and so the Brahms became corrupt.

4 But in the darkness of the age a few great masters stood unmoved; they loved the name of Brahm; they were great beacon lights before the world.

5 And they preserved inviolate the wisdom of their holy Brahm, and you may read this wisdom in their sacred books.

6 And in Chaldea, Brahm was known. A pious Brahm named Terah lived in Ur; his son was so devoted to the Brahmic faith that he was called A-Brahm; and he was set apart to be the father of the Hebrew race.

7 Now, Terah took his wife and sons and all his flocks and herds to Haran in the West; here Terah died.

8 And Abram took the flocks and herds, and with his kindred journeyed further west;

9 And when he reached the Oaks of Morah in the land of Canaan, he pitched his tents and there abode.

10 A famine swept the land and Abram took his kindred and his flocks and herds and came to Egypt, and in these fertile plains of Zoan pitched his tent, and here abode.

11 And men still mark the place where Abram lived – across the plain.

12 You ask why Abram came to Egypt land? This is the cradleland of the initiate; all secret things belong to Egypt land; and this is why the masters come.

13 In Zoan Abram taught his science of the stars, and in that sacred temple over there he learned the wisdom of the wise.

14 And when his lessons all were learned, he took his kindred and his flocks and herds and journeyed back to Canaan, and in the plains of Mamre pitched his tent, and there he lived, and there he died.

15 And records of his life and works and of his sons, and of the tribes of Israel, are well preserved in Jewish sacred books.

16 In Persia Brahm was known, and feared. Men saw him as the One, the causeless Cause of all that is, and he was sacred unto them, as Tao to the dwellers of the farther East.

17 The people lived in peace, and justice ruled.

18 But, as in other lands, in Persia priests arose imbued with self and self desires, who outraged Force, Intelligence and Love;

19 Religion grew corrupt, and birds and beasts and creeping things were set apart as gods.

20 In course of time a lofty soul, whom men called Zarathustra, came in flesh.

21 He saw the causeless Spirit, high and lifted up; he saw the weakness of all man appointed gods.

22 He spoke and all of Persia heard; and when he said, One God, one people and one shrine, the altars of the idols fell, and Persia was redeemed.

23 But men must see their God with human eyes, and Zarathustra said,

24 The greatest of the Spirits standing near the throne is the Ahura Mazda, who manifests in brightness of the sun.

25 And all the people saw Ahura Mazda in the sun, and they fell down and worshipped him in temples of the sun.

26 And Persia is the magian land where live the priests who saw the star arise to mark the place where Mary’s son was born, and were the first to greet him as the Prince of Peace.

27 The precepts and the laws of Zarathustra are preserved in the Avesta which you can read and make your own.

28 But you must know that words are naught till they are made alive; until the lessons they contain become a part of head and heart.

29 Now truth is one; but no one knows the truth until he is the truth. It is recorded in an ancient book,

30 Truth is the leavening power of God; it can transmute the all of life into itself; and when the all of life is truth, then man is truth.

CHAPTER 11

Elihu’s lessons. Buddhism and the precepts of Buddha. The mysteries of Egypt.

Again Elihu taught; he said, The Indian priests became corrupt; Brahm was forgotten in the streets; the rights of men were trampled in the dust.

2 And then a mighty master came, a Buddha of enlightenment, who turned away from wealth and all the honors of the world, and found the Silence in the quiet groves and caves; and he was blest.

3 He preached a gospel of a higher life, and taught man how to honor man.

4 He had no doctrine of the gods to teach; he just knew man, and so his creed was justice, love and righteousness.

5 I quote for you a few of many of the helpful words which Buddha spoke:

6 Hate is a cruel word. If men hate you, regard it not; and you can turn the hate of men to love and mercy and good will, and mercy is as large as all the heavens.

7 And there is good enough for all. With good destroy the bad; with generous deeds make avarice ashamed; with truth make straight the crooked lines that error draws, for error is but truth distorted, gone astray.

8 And pain will follow him who speaks or acts with evil thoughts, as does the wheel the foot of him who draws the cart.

9 He is a greater man who conquers self than he who kills a thousand men in war.

10 He is the noble man who is himself what he believes that other men should be.

11 Return to him who does you wrong your purest love, and he will cease from doing wrong; for love will purify the heart of him who is beloved as truly as it purifies the heart of him who loves.

12 The words of Buddha are recorded in the Indian sacred books; attend to them, for they are part of the instructions of the Holy Breath.

13 The land of Egypt is the land of secret things.

14 The mysteries of the ages lie lock-bound in our temples and our shrines.

15 The masters of all times and climes come here to learn; and when your sons have grown to manhood they will finish all their studies in Egyptian schools.

16 But I have said enough. Tomorrow at the rising of the sun we meet again.

CHAPTER 12

Salome’s lessons. Prayer. Elihu’s concluding lessons. Sums up the three years’ course of study. The pupils return to their homes.

Now, when the morning sun arose the masters and their pupils all were in the sacred grove.

2 Salome was the first to speak; she said, Behold the sun! It manifests the power of God who speaks to us through sun and moon and stars;

3 Through mountain, hill and vale; through flower, and plant and tree.

4 God sings for us through bird, and harpsichord, and human voice; he speaks to us through wind and rain and thunder roll; why should we not bow down and worship at his feet?

5 God speaks to hearts apart; and hearts apart must speak to him; and this is prayer.

6 It is not prayer to shout at God, to stand, or sit, or kneel and tell him all about the sins of men.

7 It is not prayer to tell the Holy One how great he is, how good he is, how strong and how compassionate.

8 God is not man to be bought up by praise of man.

9 Prayer is the ardent wish that every way of life be light; that every act be crowned with good; that every living thing be prospered by our ministry.

10 A noble deed, a helpful word is prayer; a fervent, an effectual prayer.

11 The fount of prayer is in the heart; by thought, not words, the heart is carried up to God, where it is blest. Then let us pray.

12 They prayed, but not a word was said; but in that holy Silence every heart was blest.

13 And then Elihu spoke. He said to Mary and Elizabeth, Our words are said; you need not tarry longer here; the call has come; the way is clear, you may return unto your native land.

14 A mighty work is given you to do; you shall direct the minds that will direct the world.

15 Your sons are set apart to lead men up to righteous thoughts, and words, and deeds;

16 To make men know the sinfulness of sin; to lead them from the adoration of the lower self, and all illusive things, and make them conscious of the self that lives with Christ in God.

17 In preparation for their work your sons must walk in many thorny paths.

18 Fierce trials and temptations they will meet, like other men; their loads will not be light, and they will weary be, and faint.

19 And they will know the pangs of hunger and of thirst; and without cause they will be mocked, imprisoned, scourged.

20 To many countries they will go, and at the feet of many masters they will sit, for they must learn like other men.

21 But we have said enough. The blessings of the Three and of the Seven, who stand before the throne, will surely rest upon you evermore.

22 Thus closed the lessons of Elihu and Salome. Three years they taught their pupils in the sacred grove, and if their lessons all were written in a book, lo, it would be a mighty book; of what they said we have the sum.

23 Now, Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth with Jesus and his harbinger, set forth upon their homeward way. They went not by Jerusalem, for Archelaus reigned.

24 They journeyed by the Bitter Sea, and when they reached Engedi hills they rested in the home of Joshua, a near of kin; and here Elizabeth and John abode.

25 But Joseph, Mary and their son went by the Jordan way, and after certain days they reached their home in Nazareth.

SECTION IV

DALETH

Childhood and Early Education of John the Harbinger

CHAPTER 13

Elizabeth in Engedi. Teaches her son. John becomes the pupil of Matheno, who reveals to him the meaning of sin and the law of forgiveness.

Elizabeth was blest; she spent her time with John, and gave to him the lessons that Elihu and Salome had given her.

2 And John delighted in the wildness of his home and in the lessons that he learned.

3 Now in the hills were many caves. The cave of David was a-near in which the Hermit of Engedi lived.

4 This hermit was Matheno, priest of Egypt, master from the temple of Sakara.

5 When John was seven years of age Matheno took him to the wilderness and in the cave of David they abode.

6 Matheno taught, and John was thrilled with what the master said, and day by day Matheno opened up to him the mysteries of life.

7 John loved the wilderness; he loved his master and his simple fare. Their food was fruits, and nuts, wild honey and the carob bread.

8 Matheno was an Israelite, and he attended all the Jewish feasts.

9 When John was nine years old Matheno took him to a great feast in Jerusalem.

10 The wicked Archelaus had been deposed and exiled to a distant land because of selfishness and cruelty, and John was not afraid.

11 John was delighted with his visit to Jerusalem. Matheno told him all about the service of the Jews; the meaning of their sacrifices and their rites.

12 John could not understand how sin could be forgiven by killing animals and birds and burning them before the Lord.

13 Matheno said, The God of heaven and earth does not require sacrifice. This custom with its cruel rites was borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands.

14 No sin was ever blotted out by sacrifice of animal, of bird, or man.

15 Sin is the rushing forth of man into the fens of wickedness. If one would get away from sin he must retrace his steps, and find his way out of the fens of wickedness.

16 Return and purify your hearts by love and righteousness and you shall be forgiven.

17 This is the burden of the message that the harbinger shall bring to men.

18 What is forgiveness? John inquired.

19 Matheno said, It is the paying up of debts. A man who wrongs another man can never be forgiven until he rights the wrong.

20 The Vedas says that none can right the wrong but him who does the wrong.

21 John said, If this be true where is the power to forgive except the power that rests in man himself? Can man forgive himself?

22 Matheno said, The door is wide ajar; you see the way of man’s return to right, and the forgiveness of his sins.

CHAPTER 14

Matheno’s lessons. The doctrine of universal law. The power of man to choose and to attain. The benefits of antagonisms. Ancient sacred books. The place of John and Jesus in the world’s history.

Matheno and his pupil, John, were talking of the sacred books of olden times, and of the golden precepts they contained, and John exclaimed,

2 These golden precepts are sublime; what need have we of other sacred books?

3 Matheno said, The Spirits of the Holy One cause every thing to come and go in proper time.

4 The sun has his own time to set, the moon to rise, to wax and wane, the stars to come and go, the rain to fall, the winds to blow;

5 The seed times and the harvest times to come; man to be born and man to die.

6 These mighty Spirits cause the nations to be born; they rock them in their cradles, nurture them to greatest power, and when their tasks are done they wrap them in their winding sheets and lay them in their tombs.

7 Events are many in a nation’s life, and in the life of man, that are not pleasant for the time; but in the end the truth appears: whatever comes is for the best.

8 Man was created for a noble part; but he could not be made a free man filled with wisdom, truth and might.

9 If he were hedged about, confined in straits from which he could not pass, then he would be a toy, a mere machine.

1 °Creative spirits gave to man a will; and so he has the power to choose.

11 He may attain the greatest heights, or sink to deepest depths; for what he wills to gain he has the power to gain.

12 If he desires strength he has the power to gain that strength; but he must overcome resistances to reach the goal; no strength is ever gained in idleness.

13 So, in the whirl of many-sided conflicts man is placed where he must strive to extricate himself.

14 In every conflict man gains strength; with every conquest he attains to greater heights. With every day he finds new duties and new cares.

15 Man is not carried over dangerous pits, nor helped to overcome his foes. He is himself his army, and his sword and shield; and he is captain of his hosts.

16 The Holy Ones just light his way. Man never has been left without a beacon light to guide.

17 And he has ever had a lighted lamp in hand that he may see the dangerous rocks, the turbid streams and treacherous pits.

18 And so the Holy Ones have judged; when men have needed added light a master soul has come to earth to give that light.

19 Before the Vedic days the world had many sacred books to light the way; and when man needed greater light the Vedas, the Avesta and the books of Tao Great appeared to show the way to greater heights.

20 And in the proper place the Hebrew Bible, with its Law, its Prophets and its Psalms, appeared for man’s enlightenment.

21 But years have passed and men have need of greater light.

22 And now the Day Star from on high begins to shine; and Jesus is the flesh-made messenger to show that light to men.

23 And you, my pupil, you have been ordained to harbinger the coming day.

24 But you must keep that purity of heart you now possess; and you must light your lamp directly from the coals that burn upon the altar of the Holy Ones.

25 And then your lamp will be transmuted to a boundless flame, and you will be a living torch whose light will shine wherever man abides.

26 But in the ages yet to come, man will attain to greater heights, and lights still more intense will come.

27 And then, at last, a mighty master soul will come to earth to light the way up to the throne of perfect man.

CHAPTER 15

Death and burial of Elizabeth. Matheno’s lessons. The ministry of death. The mission of John. Institution of the rite of baptism. Matheno takes John to Egypt, and places him in the temple at Sakara, where he remains eighteen years.

When John was twelve years old his mother died, and neighbors laid her body in a tomb among her kindred in the Hebron burying ground, and near to Zacharias’ tomb.

2 And John was deeply grieved; he wept. Matheno said, It is not well to weep because of death.

3 Death is no enemy of man; it is a friend who, when the work of life is done, just cuts the cord that binds the human boat to earth, that it may sail on smoother seas.

4 No language can describe a mother’s worth, and yours was tried and true. But she was not called hence until her tasks were done.

5 The calls of death are always for the best, for we are solving problems there as well as here; and one is sure to find himself where he can solve his problems best.

6 It is but selfishness that makes one wish to call again to earth departed souls.

7 Then let your mother rest in peace. Just let her noble life be strength and inspiration unto you.

8 A crisis in your life has come, and you must have a clear conception of the work that you are called to do.

9 The sages of the ages call you harbinger. The prophets look to you and say, He is Elijah come again.

10 Your mission here is that of harbinger; for you will go before Messiah’s face to pave his way, and make the people ready to receive their king.

11 This readiness is purity of heart; none but the pure in heart can recognize the king.

12 To teach men to be pure in heart you must yourself be pure in heart, and word, and deed.

13 In infancy the vow for you was made and you became a Nazarite. The razor shall not touch your face nor head, and you shall taste not wine nor fiery drinks.

14 Men need a pattern for their lives; they love to follow, not to lead.

15 The man who stands upon the corners of the paths and points the way, but does not go, is just a pointer; and a block of wood can do the same.

16 The teacher treads the way; on every span of ground he leaves his footprints clearly cut, which all can see and be assured that he, their master, went that way.

17 Men comprehend the inner life by what they see and do. They come to God through ceremonies and forms.

18 And so when you would make men know that sins are washed away by purity in life, a rite symbolic may be introduced.

19 In water wash the bodies of the people who would turn away from sin and strive for purity in life.

20 This rite of cleansing is a preparation rite and they who thus are cleansed comprise the Church of Purity.

21 And you shall say, You men of Israel, hear; Reform and wash; become the sons of purity, and you shall be forgiven.

22 This rite of cleansing and this church are but symbolic of the cleansing of the soul by purity in life, and of the kingdom of the soul, which does not come with outward show, but is the church within.

23 Now, you may never point the way and tell the multitudes to do what you have never done; but you must go before and show the way.

24 You are to teach that men must wash; so you must lead the way, your body must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul.

25 John said, Why need I wait? May I not go at once and wash?

26 Matheno said, ’Tis well, and then they went down to the Jordan ford, and east of Jericho, just where the hosts of Israel crossed when first they entered Canaan, they tarried for a time.

27 Matheno taught the harbinger, and he explained to him the inner meaning of the cleansing rite and how to wash himself and how to wash the multitude.

28 And in the river Jordan John was washed; then they returned unto the wilderness.

29 Now in Engedi’s hills Matheno’s work was done and he and John went down to Egypt. They rested not until they reached the temple of Sakara in the valley of the Nile.

30 For many years Matheno was a master in this temple of the Brotherhood, and when he told about the life of John and of his mission to the sons of men, the hierophant with joy received the harbinger and he was called the Brother Nazarite.

31 For eighteen years John lived and wrought within these temple gates; and here he conquered self, became a master mind and learned the duties of the harbinger.

SECTION V

HE

Childhood and Early Education of Jesus

CHAPTER 16

The home of Joseph. Mary teaches her son. Jesus’ grandparents give a feast in his honor. Jesus has a dream. His grandmother’s interpretation. His birthday gift.

The home of Joseph was on Marmion Way in Nazareth; here Mary taught her son the lessons of Elihu and Salome.

2 And Jesus greatly loved the Vedic hymns and the Avesta; but more than all he loved to read the Psalms of David and the pungent words of Solomon.

3 The Jewish books of prophecy were his delight; and when he reached his seventh year he needed not the books to read, for he had fixed in memory every word.

4 Joachim and his wife, grandparents of child Jesus, made a feast in honor of the child, and all their near of kin were guests.

5 And Jesus stood before the guests and said, I had a dream, and in my dream I stood before a sea, upon a sandy beach.

6 The waves upon the sea were high; a storm was raging on the deep.

7 Some one above gave me a wand. I took the wand and touched the sand, and every grain of sand became a living thing; the beach was all a mass of beauty and of song.

8 I touched the waters at my feet, and they were changed to trees, and flowers, and singing birds, and every thing was praising God.

9 And some one spoke, I did not see the one who spoke, I heard the voice, which said, There is no death.

10 Grandmother Anna loved the child; she laid her hand on Jesus’ head and said, I saw you stand beside the sea; I saw you touch the sand and waves; I saw them turn to living things and then I knew the meaning of the dream.

11 The sea of life rolls high; the storms are great. The multitude of men are idle, listless, waiting, like dead sand upon the beach.

12 Your wand is truth. With this you touch the multitudes, and every man becomes a messenger of holy light and life.

13 You touch the waves upon the sea of life; their turmoils cease; the very winds become a song of praise.

14 There is no death, because the wand of truth can change the dryest bones to living things, and bring the lovliest flowers from stagnant ponds, and turn the most discordant notes to harmony and praise.

15 Joachim said, My son, today you pass the seventh milestone of your way of life, for you are seven years of age, and we will give to you, as a remembrance of this day, whatever you desire; choose that which will afford you most delight.

16 And Jesus said, I do not want a gift, for I am satisfied. If I could make a multitude of children glad upon this day I would be greatly pleased.

17 Now, there are many hungry boys and girls in Nazareth who would be pleased to eat with us this feast and share with us the pleasures of this day.

18 The richest gift that you can give to me is your permission to go out and find these needy ones and bring them here that they may feast with us.

19 Joachim said, ’Tis well; go out and find the needy boys and girls and bring them here; we will prepare enough for all.

20 And Jesus did not wait; he ran; he entered every dingy hut and cabin of the town; he did not waste his words; he told his mission everywhere.

21 And in a little time one hundred and three-score of happy, ragged boys and girls were following him up Marmion Way.

22 The guests made way; the banquet hall was filled with Jesus’ guests, and Jesus and his mother helped to serve.

23 And there was food enough for all, and all were glad; and so the birthday gift of Jesus was a crown of righteousness.

CHAPTER 17

Jesus talks with the rabbi of the synagogue of Nazareth. He criticises the narrowness of Jewish thought.

Now, Rabbi Barachia of the synagogue of Nazareth, was aid to Mary in the teaching of her son.

2 One morning after service in the synagogue the rabbi said to Jesus as he sat in silent thought, Which is the greatest of the Ten Commands?

3 And Jesus said, I do not see a greatest of the Ten Commands. I see a golden cord that runs through all the Ten Commands that binds them fast and makes them one.

4 This cord is love, and it belongs to every word of all the Ten Commands.

5 If one is full of love he can do nothing else than worship God; for God is love.

6 If one is full of love, he cannot kill; he cannot falsely testify; he cannot covet; can do naught but honor God and man.

7 If one is full of love he does not need commands of any kind.

8 And Rabbi Barachia said, Your words are seasoned with the salt of wisdom that is from above. Who is the teacher who has opened up this truth to you?

9 And Jesus said, I do not know that any teacher opens up this truth for me. It seems to me that truth was never shut; that it was always opened up, for truth is one and it is everywhere.

10 And if we open up the windows of our minds the truth will enter in and make herself at home; for truth can find her way through any crevice, any window, any open door.

11 The rabbi said, What hand is strong enough to open up the windows and the doors of mind so truth can enter in?

12 And Jesus said, It seems to me that love, the golden cord that binds the Ten Commands in one, is strong enough to open any human door so that the truth can enter in and cause the heart to understand.

13 Now, in the evening Jesus and his mother sat alone, and Jesus said,

14 The rabbi seems to think that God is partial in his treatment of the sons of men; that Jews are favored and are blest above all other men.

15 I do not see how God can have his favorites and be just.

16 Are not Samaritans and Greeks and Romans just as much the children of the Holy One as are the Jews?

17 I think the Jews have built a wall about themselves, and they see nothing on the other side of it.

18 They do not know that flowers are blooming over there; that sowing times and reaping times belong to anybody but the Jews.

19 It surely would be well if we could break these barriers down so that the Jews might see that God has other children that are just as greatly blest.

20 I want to go from Jewry land and meet my kin in other countries of my Fatherland.

CHAPTER 18

Jesus at a feast in Jerusalem. Is grieved by the cruelties of the sacrificers. Appeals to Hillel, who sympathizes with him. He remains in the temple a year.

The great feast of the Jews was on, and Joseph, Mary and their son, and many of their kin, went to Jerusalem. The child was ten years old.

2 And Jesus watched the butchers kill the lambs and birds and burn them on the altar in the name of God.

3 His tender heart was shocked at this display of cruelty; he asked the serving priest, What is the purpose of this slaughter of the beasts and birds? Why do you burn their flesh before the Lord?

4 The priest replied, This is our sacrifice for sin. God has commanded us to do these things, and said that in these sacrifices all our sins are blotted out.

5 And Jesus said, Will you be kind enough to tell when God proclaimed that sins are blotted out by sacrifice of any kind?

6 Did not David say that God requires not a sacrifice for sin? that it is sin itself to bring before his face burnt offerings, as offerings for sin? Did not Isaiah say the same?

7 The priest replied, My child, you are beside yourself. Do you know more about the laws of God than all the priests of Israel? This is no place for boys to show their wit.

8 But Jesus heeded not his taunts; he went to Hillel, chief of the Sanhedrim, and he said to him,

9 Rabboni, I would like to talk with you; I am disturbed about this service of the pascal feast. I thought the temple was the house of God where love and kindness dwell.

10 Do you not hear the bleating of those lambs, the pleading of those doves that men are killing over there? Do you not smell that awful stench that comes from burning flesh?

11 Can man be kind and just, and still be filled with cruelty?

12 A God that takes delight in sacrifice, in blood and burning flesh, is not my Father-God.

13 I want to find a God of love, and you, my master, you are wise, and surely you can tell me where to find the God of love.

14 But Hillel could not give an answer to the child. His heart was stirred with sympathy. He called the child to him; he laid his hand upon his head and wept.

15 He said, There is a God of love, and you shall come with me; and hand in hand we will go forth and find the God of love.

16 And Jesus said, Why need we go? I thought that God is everywhere. Can we not purify our hearts and drive out cruelty, and every wicked thought, and make within, a temple where the God of love can dwell?

17 The master of the great Sanhedrim felt as though he was himself the child, and that before him stood Rabboni, master of the higher law.

18 He said within himself, This child is surely prophet sent from God.

19 Then Hillel sought the parents of the child, and asked that Jesus might abide with him, and learn the precepts of the law, and all the lessons of the temple priests.

20 His parents gave consent, and Jesus did abide within the holy temple in Jerusalem, and Hillel taught him every day.

21 And every day the master learned from Jesus many lessons of the higher life.

22 The child remained with Hillel in the temple for a year, and then returned unto his home in Nazareth; and there he wrought with Joseph as a carpenter.

CHAPTER 19

Jesus at the age of twelve in the temple. Disputes with the doctors of the law. Reads from a book of prophecy. By request of Hillel he interprets the prophecies.

Again the great feast in Jerusalem was on, and Joseph, Mary and their son were there. The child was twelve years old.

2 And there were Jews and proselytes from many countries in Jerusalem.

3 And Jesus sat among the priests and doctors in the temple hall.

4 And Jesus opened up a book of prophecy and read:

5 Woe, woe, to Ariel, the town where David dwelt! I will dismantle Ariel, and she shall groan and weep:

6 And I will camp against her round about with hostile posts;

7 And I will bring her low and she shall speak out of the earth; with muffled voice like a familiar spirit shall she speak; yea, she shall only whisper forth her speech;

8 And foes unnumbered, like the grains of dust, shall come upon her suddenly.

9 The Lord of hosts will visit her with thunder and with tempest, and with storm; with earthquake, and with devouring flames.

10 Lo, all these people have deserted me. They draw to me with speech, and with their lips they honor me; their hearts are far removed from me; their fear for me is that inspired by man.

11 And I will breathe an adverse breath upon my people, Israel; the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost; the understanding of their prudent men shall not be found.

12 My people seek to hide their counsel from the Lord, so that their works may not be seen. They fain would cover up their works with darkness of the night, and say, Who sees us now? Who knows us now?

13 Poor, foolish men! shall that which has been made say of its maker, He is naught, I made myself?

14 Or shall the pot speak out and say to him, who made the pot, You have no skill; you do not know?

15 But this will not forever be; the time will come when Lebanon will be a fruitful field, and fruitful fields will be transformed to groves.

16 And on that day the deaf will hear the words of God; the blind will read the Book of God’s Remembrance.

17 And suffering ones will be relieved, and they will have abundant joy; and every one that needs will be supplied; and it will come to pass that all the foolish will be wise.

18 The people will return and sanctify the Holy One, and in their heart of hearts, lo, they will reverence him.

19 When Jesus had thus read he put aside the book and said, You masters of the law, will you make plain for us the prophet’s words?

20 Now, Hillel sat among the masters of the law, and he stood forth and said, Perhaps our young rabboni who has read the word will be interpreter.

21 And Jesus said, The Ariel of the prophet is our own Jerusalem.

22 By selfishness and cruelty this people has become a stench unto the Elohim.

23 The prophet saw these days from far, and of these times he wrote.

24 Our doctors, lawyers, priests and scribes oppress the poor, while they themselves in luxury live.

25 The sacrifices and the offerings of Israel are but abomination unto God. The only sacrifice that God requires is self.

26 Because of this injustice and this cruelty of man to man, the Holy One has spoken of this commonwealth:

27 Lo, I will overturn, yes, I will overturn, it shall be overturned, and it shall be no more until he comes whose right it is and I will give it unto him.

28 In all the world there is one law of right, and he who breaks that law will suffer grief; for God is just.

29 And Israel has gone far astray; has not regarded justice, nor the rights of man, and God demands that Israel shall reform, and turn again to ways of holiness.

30 And if our people will not hear the voice of God, lo, nations from afar will come and sack Jerusalem, and tear our temple down, and take our people captive into foreign lands.

31 But this will not forever be; though they be scattered far and wide, and wander here and there among the nations of the earth, like sheep that have no shepherd guide,

32 The time will come when God will bring again the captive hosts; for Israel shall return and dwell in peace.

33 And after many years our temple shall be built again, and one whom God will honor, one in whom the pure in heart delights will come and glorify the house of God, and reign in righteousness.

34 When Jesus had thus said, he stepped aside, and all the people were amazed and said, This surely is the Christ.

CHAPTER 20

After the feast. The homeward journey. The missing Jesus. The search for him. His parents find him in the temple. He goes with them to Nazareth. Symbolic meaning of carpenter’s tools.

The great feast of the pasch was ended and the Nazarenes were journeying toward their homes.

2 And they were in Samaria, and Mary said, Where is my son? No one had seen the boy.

3 And Joseph sought among their kindred who were on their way to Galilee; but they had seen him not.

4 Then Joseph, Mary, and a son of Zebedee, returned and sought through all Jerusalem, but they could find him not.

5 And then they went up to the temple courts and asked the guards, Have you seen Jesus, a fair-haired boy, with deep blue eyes, twelve years of age, about these courts?

6 The guards replied, Yes, he is in the temple now disputing with the doctors of the law.

7 And they went in, and found him as the guards had said.

8 And Mary said, Why Jesus, why do you treat your parents thus? Lo, we have sought two days for you. We feared that some great harm had overtaken you.

9 And Jesus said, Do you not know that I must be about my Father’s work?

10 But he went round and pressed the hand of every doctor of the law and said, I trust that we may meet again.

11 And then he went forth with his parents on their way to Nazareth; and when they reached their home he wrought with Joseph as a carpenter.

12 One day as he was bringing forth the tools for work he said,

13 These tools remind me of the ones we handle in the workshop of the mind where things are made of thought and where we build up character.

14 We use the square to measure all our lines, to straighten out the crooked places of the way, and make the corners of our conduct square.

15 We use the compass to draw circles round our passions and desires to keep them in the bounds of righteousness.

16 We use the ax to cut away the knotty, useless and ungainly parts and make the character symmetrical.

17 We use the hammer to drive home the truth, and pound it in until it is a part of every part.

18 We use the plane to smooth the rough, uneven surfaces of joint, and block, and board that go to build the temple for the truth.

19 The chisel, line, the plummet and the saw all have their uses in the workshop of the mind.

20 And then this ladder with its trinity of steps, faith, hope and love; on it we climb up to the dome of purity in life.

21 And on the twelve-step ladder we ascend until we reach the pinnacle of that which life is spent to build – the Temple of Perfected Man.

SECTION VI

VAU

Life and Works of Jesus in India

CHAPTER 21

Ravanna sees Jesus in the temple and is captivated. Hillel tells him about the boy. Ravanna finds Jesus in Nazareth and gives a feast in his honor. Ravanna becomes patron of Jesus, and takes him to India to study the Brahmic religion.

A royal prince of India, Ravanna of Orissa in the south, was at the Jewish feast.

2 Ravanna was a man of wealth; and he was just, and with a band of Brahmic priests sought wisdom in the West.

3 When Jesus stood among the Jewish priests and read and spoke, Ravanna heard and was amazed.

4 And when he asked who Jesus was, from whence he came and what he was, chief Hillel said,

5 We call this child the Day Star from on high, for he has come to bring to men a light, the light of life; to lighten up the way of men and to redeem his people, Israel.

6 And Hillel told Ravanna all about the child; about the prophecies concerning him; about the wonders of the night when he was born; about the visit of the magian priests;

7 About the way in which he was protected from the wrath of evil men; about his flight to Egypt-land, and how he then was serving with his father as a carpenter in Nazareth.

8 Ravanna was entranced, and asked to know the way to Nazareth, that he might go and honor such a one as son of God.

9 And with his gorgeous train he journeyed on the way and came to Nazareth of Galilee.

10 He found the object of his search engaged in building dwellings for the sons of men.

11 And when he first saw Jesus he was climbing up a twelve-step ladder, and he carried in his hands a compass, square and ax.

12 Ravanna said, All hail, most favored son of heaven!

13 And at the inn Ravanna made a feast for all the people of the town; and Jesus and his parents were the honored guests.

14 For certain days Ravanna was a guest in Joseph’s home on Marmion Way; he sought to learn the secret of the wisdom of the son; but it was all too great for him.

15 And then he asked that he might be the patron of the child; might take him to the East where he could learn the wisdom of the Brahms.

16 And Jesus longed to go that he might learn: and after many days his parents gave consent.

17 Then, with proud heart, Ravanna with his train, began the journey toward the rising sun; and after many days they crossed the Sind, and reached the province of Orissa, and the palace of the prince.

18 The Brahmic priests were glad to welcome home the prince; with favor they received the Jewish boy.

19 And Jesus was accepted as a pupil in the temple Jagannath; and here he learned the Vedas and the Manic laws.

20 The Brahmic masters wondered at the clear conceptions of the child, and often were amazed when he explained to them the meaning of the laws.

CHAPTER 22

The friendship of Jesus and Lamaas. Jesus explains to Lamaas the meaning of truth, man, power, understanding, wisdom, salvation and faith.

Among the priests of Jagannath was one who loved the Jewish boy. Lamaas Bramas was the name by which the priest was known.

2 One day as Jesus and Lamaas walked alone in plaza Jagannath, Lamaas said, My Jewish master, what is truth?

3 And Jesus said, Truth is the only thing that changes not.

4 In all the world there are two things; the one is truth; the other falsehood is; and truth is that which is, and falsehood that which seems to be.

5 Now truth is aught, and has no cause, and yet it is the cause of everything.

6 Falsehood is naught, and yet it is the manifest of aught.

7 Whatever has been made will be unmade; that which begins must end.

8 All things that can be seen by human eyes are manifests of aught, are naught, and so must pass away.

9 The things we see are but reflexes just appearing, while the ethers vibrate so and so, and when conditions change they disappear.

10 The Holy Breath is truth; is that which was, and is, and evermore shall be; it cannot change nor pass away.

11 Lamaas said, You answer well; now, what is man?

12 And Jesus said, Man is the truth and falsehood strangely mixed.

13 Man is the Breath made flesh; so truth and falsehood are conjoined in him; and then they strive, and naught goes down and man as truth abides.

14 Again Lamaas asked, What do you say of power?

15 And Jesus said, It is a manifest; is the result of force; it is but naught; it is illusion, nothing more. Force changes not, but power changes as the ethers change.

16 Force is the will of God and is omnipotent, and power is that will in manifest, directed by the Breath.

17 There is a power in the winds, a power in the waves, a power in the lightning’s stroke, a power in the human arm, a power in the eye.

18 The ethers cause these powers to be, and thought of Elohim, of angel, man, or other thinking thing, directs the force; when it has done its work the power is no more.

19 Again Lamaas asked, Of understanding what have you to say?

20 And Jesus said, It is the rock on which man builds himself; it is the gnosis of the aught and of the naught, of falsehood and of truth.

21 It is the knowledge of the lower self; the sensing of the powers of man himself.

22 Again Lamaas asked, Of wisdom what have you to say?

23 And Jesus said, It is the consciousness that man is aught; that God and man are one;

24 That naught is naught; that power is but illusion; that heaven and earth and hell are not above, around, below, but in; which in the light of aught becomes the naught, and God is all.

25 Lamaas asked, Pray, what is faith?

26 And Jesus said, Faith is the surety of the omnipotence of God and man; the certainty that man will reach deific life.

27 Salvation is a ladder reaching from the heart of man to heart of God.

28 It has three steps; Belief is first, and this is what man thinks, perhaps, is truth.

29 And faith is next, and this is what man knows is truth.

30 Fruition is the last, and this is man himself, the truth.

31 Belief is lost in faith; and in fruition faith is lost; and man is saved when he has reached deific life; when he and God are one.

CHAPTER 23

Jesus and Lamaas among the sudras and visyas. In Benares. Jesus becomes a pupil of Udraka. The lessons of Udraka.

Now, Jesus with his friend Lamaas went through all the regions of Orissa, and the valley of the Ganges, seeking wisdom from the sudras and the visyas and the masters.

2 Benares of the Ganges was a city rich in culture and in learning; here the two rabbonis tarried many days.

3 And Jesus sought to learn the Hindu art of healing, and became the pupil of Udraka, greatest of the Hindu healers.

4 Udraka taught the uses of the waters, plants and earths; of heat and cold; sunshine and shade; of light and dark.

5 He said, The laws of nature are the laws of health, and he who lives according to these laws is never sick.

6 Transgression of these laws is sin, and he who sins is sick.

7 He who obeys the laws, maintains an equilibrium in all his parts, and thus insures true harmony; and harmony is health, while discord is disease.

8 That which produces harmony in all the parts of man is medicine, insuring health.

9 The body is a harpsichord, and when its strings are too relaxed, or are too tense, the instrument is out of tune, the man is sick.

10 Now, everything in nature has been made to meet the wants of man; so everything is found in medical arcanes.

11 And when the harpsichord of man is out of tune the vast expanse of nature may be searched for remedy; there is a cure for every ailment of the flesh.

12 Of course the will of man is remedy supreme; and by the vigorous exercise of will, man may make tense a chord that is relaxed, or may relax one that is too tense, and thus may heal himself.

13 When man has reached the place where he has faith in God, in nature and himself, he knows the Word of power; his word is balm for every wound, is cure for all the ills of life.

14 The healer is the man who can inspire faith. The tongue may speak to human ears, but souls are reached by souls that speak to souls.

15 He is the forceful man whose soul is large, and who can enter into souls, inspiring hope in those who have no hope, and faith in those who have no faith in God, in nature, nor in man.

16 There is no universal balm for those who tread the common walks of life.

17 A thousand things produce inharmony and make men sick; a thousand things may tune the harpsichord, and make men well.

18 That which is medicine for one is poison for another one; so one is healed by what would kill another one.

19 An herb may heal the one; a drink of water may restore another one; a mountain breeze may bring to life one seeming past all help;

20 A coal of fire, or bit of earth, may cure another one; and one may wash in certain streams, or pools, and be made whole.

21 The virtue from the hand or breath may heal a thousand more; but love is queen. Thought, reinforced by love, is God’s great sovereign balm.

22 But many of the broken chords in life, and discords that so vex the soul, are caused by evil spirits of the air that men see not; that lead men on through ignorance to break the laws of nature and of God.

23 These powers act like demons, and they speak; they rend the man; they drive him to despair.

24 But he who is a healer, true, is master of the soul, and can, by force of will, control these evil ones.

25 Some spirits of the air are master spirits and are strong, too strong for human power alone; but man has helpers in the higher realms that may be importuned, and they will help to drive the demons out.

26 Of what this great physician said, this is the sum. And Jesus bowed his head in recognition of the wisdom of this master soul, and went his way.

CHAPTER 24

The Brahmic doctrine of castes. Jesus repudiates it and teaches human equality. The priests are offended and drive him from the temple. He abides with the sudras and teaches them.

Four years the Jewish boy abode in temple Jagannath.

2 One day he sat among the priests and said to them, Pray, tell me all about your views of castes; why do you say that all men are not equal in the sight of God?

3 A master of their laws stood forth and said, The Holy One whom we call Brahm, made men to suit himself, and men should not complain.

4 In the beginning days of human life Brahm spoke, and four men stood before his face.

5 Now, from the mouth of Parabrahm the first man came; and he was white, was like the Brahm himself; a brahman he was called.

6 And he was high and lifted up; above all want he stood; he had no need of toil.

7 And he was called the priest of Brahm, the holy one to act for Brahm in all affairs of earth.

8 The second man was red, and from the hand of Parabrahm he came; and he was called shatriya.

9 And he was made to be the king, the ruler and the warrior, whose highest ordained duty was, protection of the priest.

10 And from the inner parts of Parabrahm the third man came; and he was called a visya.

11 He was a yellow man, and his it was to till the soil, and keep the flocks and herds.

12 And from the feet of Parabrahm the fourth man came; and he was black; and he was called the sudras, one of low estate.

13 The sudras is the servant of the race of men; he has no rights that others need respect; he may not hear the Vedas read, and it means death to him to look into the face of priest, or king, and naught but death can free him from his state of servitude.

14 And Jesus said, Then Parabrahm is not a God of justice and of right; for with his own strong hand he has exalted one and brought another low.

15 And Jesus said no more to them, but looking up to heaven he said,

16 My Father-God, who was, and is, and ever more shall be; who holds within thy hands the scales of justice and of right;

17 Who in the boundlessness of love has made all men to equal be. The white, the black, the yellow and the red can look up in thy face and say, Our Father-God.

18 Thou Father of the human race, I praise thy name.

19 And all the priests were angered by the words which Jesus spoke; they rushed upon him, seized him, and would have done him harm.

20 But then Lamaas raised his hand and said, You priests of Brahm, beware! you know not what you do; wait till you know the God this youth adores.

21 I have beheld this boy at prayer when light above the light of sun surrounded him, Beware! his God may be more powerful than Brahm.

22 If Jesus speaks the truth, if he is right, you cannot force him to desist; if he is wrong and you are right, his words will come to naught, for right is might, and in the end it will prevail.

23 And then the priests refrained from doing Jesus harm; but one spoke out and said,

24 Within this holy place has not this reckless youth done violence to Parabrahm? The law is plain; it says, He who reviles the name of Brahm shall die.

25 Lamaas plead for Jesus’ life; and then the priests just seized a scourge of cords and drove him from the place.

26 And Jesus went his way and found a shelter with the black and yellow men, the servants and the tillers of the soil.

27 To them he first made known the gospel of equality; he told them of the Brotherhood of Man, the Fatherhood of God.

28 The common people heard him with delight, and learned to pray, Our Father-God who art in heaven.

CHAPTER 25

Jesus teaches the sudras and farmers. Relates a parable of a nobleman and his unjust sons. Makes known the possibilities of all men.

When Jesus saw the sudras and the farmers in such multitudes draw near to hear his words, he spoke a parable to them; he said:

2 A nobleman possessed a great estate; he had four sons, and he would have them all grow strong by standing forth and making use of all the talents they possessed.

3 And so he gave to each a share of his great wealth, and bade them go their way.

4 The eldest son was full of self; he was ambitious, shrewd and quick of thought.

5 He said within himself, I am the oldest son, and these, my brothers, must be servants at my feet,

6 And then he called his brothers forth; and one he made a puppet king; gave him a sword and charged him to defend the whole estate.

7 To one he gave the use of lands and flowing wells, and flocks and herds, and bade him till the soil, and tend the flocks and herds and bring to him the choicest of his gains.

8 And to the other one he said, You are the youngest son; the broad estate has been assigned; you have no part nor lot in anything that is.

9 And then he took a chain and bound his brother to a naked rock upon a desert plain, and said to him,

10 You have been born a slave; you have no rights, and you must be contented with your lot, for there is no release for you until you die and go from hence.

11 Now, after certain years the day of reckoning came; the nobleman called up his sons to render their accounts.

12 And when he knew that one, his eldest son, had seized the whole estate and made his brothers slaves,

13 He seized him, tore his priestly robes away and put him in a prison cell, where he was forced to stay until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.

14 And then, as though they were but toys, he threw in air the throne and armor of the puppet king; he broke his sword, and put him in a prison cell.

15 And then he called his farmer son and asked him why he had not rescued from his galling chains his brother on the desert sands.

16 And when the son made answer not, the father took unto himself the flocks and herds, the fields and flowing wells,

17 And sent his farmer son to live out on the desert sands, until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.

18 And then the father went and found his youngest son in cruel chains; with his own hands he broke the chains and bade his son to go in peace.

19 Now, when the sons had all paid up their debts they came again and stood before the bar of right.

20 They all had learned their lessons, learned them well; and then the father once again divided the estate.

21 He gave to each an equal share, and bade them recognize the law of equity and right, and live in peace.

22 And one, a sudras, spoke and said, May we who are but slaves, who are cut down like beasts to satisfy the whims of priests – may we have hope that one will come to break our chains and set us free?

23 And Jesus said, The Holy One has said, that all his children shall be free; and every soul is child of God.

24 The sudras shall be free as priest; the farmer shall walk hand in hand with king; for all the world will own the brotherhood of man.

25 O men, arise! be conscious of your powers, for he who wills need not remain a slave.

26 Just live as you would have your brother live; unfold each day as does the flower; for earth is yours, and heaven is yours, and God will bring you to your own.

27 And all the people cried, Show us the way that like the flower we may unfold and come unto our own.

CHAPTER 26

Jesus at Katak. The car of Jagannath. Jesus reveals to the people the emptiness of Brahmic rites, and how to see God in man. Teaches them the divine law of sacrifice.

In all the cities of Orissa Jesus taught. At Katak, by the river side, he taught, and thousands of the people followed him.

2 One day a car of Jagannath was hauled along by scores of frenzied men, and Jesus said,

3 Behold, a form without a spirit passes by; a body with no soul; a temple with no altar fires.

4 This car of Krishna is an empty thing, for Krishna is not there.

5 This car is but an idol of a people drunk on wine of carnal things.

6 God lives not in the noise of tongues; there is no way to him from any idol shrine.

7 God’s meeting place with man is in the heart, and in a still small voice he speaks; and he who hears is still.

8 And all the people said, Teach us to know the Holy One who speaks within the heart, God of the still small voice.

9 And Jesus said, The Holy Breath cannot be seen with mortal eyes; nor can men see the Spirits of the Holy One;

10 But in their image man was made, and he who looks into the face of man, looks at the image of the God who speaks within.

11 And when man honors man he honors God, and what man does for man, he does for God.

12 And you must bear in mind that when man harms in thought, or word or deed another man, he does a wrong to God.

13 If you would serve the God who speaks within the heart, just serve your near of kin, and those that are no kin, the stranger at your gates, the foe who seeks to do you harm;

14 Assist the poor, and help the weak; do harm to none, and covet not what is not yours;

15 Then, with your tongue the Holy One will speak; and he will smile behind your tears, will light your countenance with joy, and fill your hearts with peace.

16 And then the people asked, To whom shall we bring gifts? Where shall we offer sacrifice?

17 And Jesus said, Our Father-God asks not for needless waste of plant, of grain, of dove, of lamb.

18 That which you burn on any shrine you throw away. No blessings can attend the one who takes the food from hungry mouths to be destroyed by fire.

19 When you would offer sacrifice unto our God, just take your gift of grain, or meat and lay it on the table of the poor.

20 From it an incense will arise to heaven, which will return to you with blessedness.

21 Tear down your idols; they can hear you not; turn all your sacrificial altars into fuel for the flames.

22 Make human hearts your altars, and burn your sacrifices with the fire of love.

23 And all the people were entranced, and would have worshipped Jesus as a God; but Jesus said,

24 I am your brother man just come to show the way to God; you shall not worship man; praise God, the Holy One.

CHAPTER 27

Jesus attends a feast in Behar. Preaches a revolutionary sermon on human equality. Relates the parable of the broken blades.

The fame of Jesus as a teacher spread through all the land, and people came from near and far to hear his words of truth.

2 At Behar, on the sacred river of the Brahms, he taught for many days.

3 And Ach, a wealthy man of Behar, made a feast in honor of his guest, and he invited every one to come.

4 And many came; among them thieves, extortioners, and courtesans. And Jesus sat with them and taught; but they who followed him were much aggrieved because he sat with thieves and courtesans.

5 And they upbraided him; they said, Rabboni, master of the wise, this day will be an evil day for you.

6 The news will spread that you consort with courtesans and thieves, and men will shun you as they shun an asp.

7 And Jesus answered them and said, A master never screens himself for sake of reputation or of fame.

8 These are but worthless baubles of the day; they rise and sink, like empty bottles on a stream; they are illusions and will pass away;

9 They are the indices to what the thoughtless think; they are the noise that people make; and shallow men judge merit by the noise.

10 God and all master men judge men by what they are and not by what they seem to be; not by their reputation and their fame.

11 These courtesans and thieves are children of my Father-God; their souls are just as precious in his sight as yours, or of the Brahmic priests.

12 And they are working out the same life sums that you, who pride yourselves on your respectability and moral worth, are working out.

13 And some of them have solved much harder sums than you have solved, you men who look at them with scorn.

14 Yes, they are sinners, and confess their guilt, while you are guilty, but are shrewd enough to have a polished coat to cover up your guilt.

15 Suppose you men who scorn these courtesans, these drunkards and these thieves, who know that you are pure in heart and life, that you are better far than they, stand forth that men may know just who you are.

16 The sin lies in the wish, in the desire, not in the act.

17 You covet other people’s wealth; you look at charming forms, and deep within your hearts you lust for them.

18 Deceit you practice every day, and wish for gold, for honor and for fame, just for your selfish selves.

19 The man who covets is a thief, and she who lusts is courtesan. You who are none of these speak out.

20 Nobody spoke; the accusers held their peace.

21 And Jesus said, The proof this day is all against those who have accused.

22 The pure in heart do not accuse. The vile in heart who want to cover up their guilt with holy smoke of piety are ever loathing drunkard, thief and courtesan.

23 This loathing and this scorn is mockery, for if the tinseled coat of reputation could be torn away, the loud professor would be found to revel in his lust, deceit, and many forms of secret sin.

24 The man who spends his time in pulling other people’s weeds can have no time to pull his own, and all the choicest flowers of life will soon be choked and die, and nothing will remain but darnel, thistles, burs.

25 And Jesus spoke a parable: he said, Behold, a farmer had great fields of ripened grain, and when he looked he saw that blades of many stalks of wheat were bent and broken down.

26 And when he sent his reapers forth he said, We will not save the stalks of wheat that have the broken blades.

27 Go forth and cut and burn the stalks with broken blades.

28 And after many days he went to measure up his grain, but not a kernel could he find.

29 And then he called the harvesters and said to them, Where is my grain?

30 They answered him and said, We did according to your word; we gathered up and burned the stalks with broken blades, and not a stalk was left to carry to the barn.

31 And Jesus said, If God saves only those who have no broken blades, who have been perfect in his sight, who will be saved?

32 And the accusers hung their heads in shame; and Jesus went his way.

CHAPTER 28

Udraka gives a feast in Jesus’ honor. Jesus speaks on the unity of God and the brotherhood of life. Criticises the priesthood. Becomes the guest of a farmer.

Benares is the sacred city of the Brahms, and in Benares Jesus taught; Udraka was his host.

2 Udraka made a feast in honor of his guest, and many high born Hindu priests and scribes were there.

3 And Jesus said to them, With much delight I speak to you concerning life – the brotherhood of life.

4 The universal God is one, yet he is more than one; all things are God; all things are one.

5 By the sweet breaths of God all life is bound in one; so if you touch a fiber of a living thing you send a thrill from center to the outer bounds of life.

6 And when you crush beneath your foot the meanest worm, you shake the throne of God, and cause the sword of right to tremble in its sheath.

7 The bird sings out its song for men, and men vibrate in unison to help it sing.

8 The ant constructs her home, the bee its sheltering comb, the spider weaves her web, and flowers breathe to them a spirit in their sweet perfumes that gives them strength to toil.

9 Now, men and birds and beasts and creeping things are deities, made flesh; and how dare men kill anything?

10 ’Tis cruelty that makes the world awry. When men have learned that when they harm a living thing they harm themselves, they surely will not kill, nor cause a thing that God has made to suffer pain.

11 A lawyer said, I pray you, Jesus, tell who is this God you speak about; where are his priests, his temples and his shrines?

12 And Jesus said, The God I speak about is every where; he cannot be compassed with walls, nor hedged about with bounds of any kind.

13 All people worship God, the One; but all the people see him not alike.

14 This universal God is wisdom, will and love.

15 All men see not the Triune God. One sees him as the God of might; another as the God of thought; another as the God of love.

16 A man’s ideal is his God, and so, as man unfolds, his God unfolds. Man’s God today, tomorrow is not God.

17 The nations of the earth see God from different points of view, and so he does not seem the same to every one.

18 Man names the part of God he sees, and this to him is all of God; and every nation sees a part of God, and every nation has a name for God.

19 You Brahmans call him Parabrahm; in Egypt he is Thoth; and Zeus is his name in Greece; Jehovah is his Hebrew name; but everywhere he is the causeless Cause, the rootless Root from which all things have grown.

20 When men become afraid of God, and take him for a foe, they dress up other men in fancy garbs and call them priests,

21 And charge them to restrain the wrath of God by prayers; and when they fail to win his favor by their prayers, to buy him off with sacrifice of animal, or bird,

22 When man sees God as one with him, as Father-God, he needs no middle man, no priest to intercede;

23 He goes straight up to him and says, My Father-God! and then he lays his hand in God’s own hand, and all is well.

24 And this is God. You are, each one, a priest, just for yourself; and sacrifice of blood God does not want.

25 Just give your life in sacrificial service to the all of life, and God is pleased.

26 When Jesus had thus said he stood aside; the people were amazed, but strove among themselves.

27 Some said, He is inspired by Holy Brahm; and others said, He is insane; and others said, He is obsessed; he speaks as devils speak.

28 But Jesus tarried not. Among the guests was one, a tiller of the soil, a generous soul, a seeker after truth, who loved the words that Jesus spoke; and Jesus went with him, and in his home abode.

CHAPTER 29

Ajainin, a priest from Lahore, comes to Benares to see Jesus, and abides in the temple. Jesus refuses an invitation to visit the temple. Ajainin visits him at night in the farmer’s home, and accepts his philosophy.

Among Benares’ temple priests was one, a guest, Ajainin, from Lahore.

2 By merchantmen Ajainin heard about the Jewish boy, about his words of wisdom, and he girt himself and journeyed from Lahore that he might see the boy, and hear him speak.

3 The Brahmic priests did not accept the truth that Jesus brought, and they were angered much by what he said at the Udraka feast.

4 But they had never seen the boy, and they desired much to hear him speak, and they invited him to be a temple guest.

5 But Jesus said to them, The light is most abundant, and it shines for all; if you would see the light come to the light.

6 If you would hear the message that the Holy One has given me to give to men, come unto me.

7 Now, when the priests were told what Jesus said they were enraged.

8 Ajainin did not share their wrath, and he sent forth another messenger with costly gifts to Jesus at the farmer’s home; he sent this message with the gifts:

9 I pray you, master, listen to my words; The Brahmic law forbids that any priest shall go into the home of any one of low estate; but you can come to us;

10 And I am sure these priests will gladly hear you speak. I pray that you will come and dine with us this day.

11 And Jesus said, The Holy One regards all men alike; the dwelling of my host is good enough for any council of the sons of men.

12 If pride of caste keeps you away, you are not worthy of the light. My Father-God does not regard the laws of man.

13 Your presents I return; you cannot buy the knowledge of the Lord with gold, or precious gifts.

14 These words of Jesus angered more and more the priests, and they began to plot and plan how they might drive him from the land.

15 Ajainin did not join with them in plot and plan; he left the temple in the night, and sought the home where Jesus dwelt.

16 And Jesus said, There is no night where shines the sun; I have no secret messages to give; in light all secrets are revealed.

17 Ajainin said, I came from far-away Lahore, that I might learn about this ancient wisdom, and this kingdom of the Holy One of which you speak.

18 Where is the kingdom? where the king? Who are the subjects? what its laws?

19 And Jesus said, This kingdom is not far away, but man with mortal eyes can see it not; it is within the heart.

20 You need not seek the king in earth, or sea, or sky; he is not there, and yet is everywhere. He is the Christ of God; is universal love.

21 The gate of this dominion is not high, and he who enters it must fall down on his knees. It is not wide, and none can carry carnal bundles through.

22 The lower self must be transmuted into spirit-self; the body must be washed in living streams of purity.

23 Ajainin asked, Can I become a subject of this king?

24 And Jesus said, You are yourself a king, and you may enter through the gate and be a subject of the King of kings.

25 But you must lay aside your priestly robes; must cease to serve the Holy One for gold; must give your life, and all you have, in willing service to the sons of men.

26 And Jesus said no more; Ajainin went his way; and while he could not comprehend the truth that Jesus spoke, he saw what he had never seen before.

27 The realm of faith he never had explored; but in his heart the seeds of faith and universal brotherhood had found good soil.

28 And as he journeyed to his home he seemed to sleep, to pass through darkest night, and when he woke the Sun of Righteousness had arisen; he had found the king.

29 Now, in Benares Jesus tarried many days and taught.

CHAPTER 30

Jesus receives news of the death of his father. He writes a letter to his mother. The letter. He sends it on its way by a merchant.

One day as Jesus stood beside the Ganges busy with his work, a caravan, returning from the West, drew near.

2 And one, approaching Jesus, said, We come to you just from your native land and bring unwelcome news.

3 Your father is no more on earth; your mother grieves; and none can comfort her. She wonders whether you are still alive or not; she longs to see you once again.

4 And Jesus bowed his head in silent thought; and then he wrote. Of what he wrote this is the sum:

5 My mother, noblest of woman kind; A man just from my native land has brought me word that father is no more in flesh, and that you grieve, and are disconsolate.

6 My mother, all is well; is well for father and is well for you.

7 His work in this earth-round is done, and it is nobly done.

8 In all the walks of life men cannot charge him with deceit, dishonesty, nor wrong intent.

9 Here in this round he finished many heavy tasks, and he has gone from hence prepared to solve the problems of the round of soul.

10 Our Father-God is with him there, as he was with him here; and there his angel guards his footsteps lest he goes astray.

11 Why should you weep? Tears cannot conquer grief. There is no power in grief to mend a broken heart.

12 The plane of grief is idleness; the busy soul can never grieve; it has no time for grief.

13 When grief comes trooping through the heart, just lose yourself; plunge deep into the ministry of love, and grief is not.

14 Yours is a ministry of love, and all the world is calling out for love.

15 Then let the past go with the past; rise from the cares of carnal things and give your life for those who live.

16 And if you lose your life in serving life you will be sure to find in it the morning sun, the evening dews, in song of bird, in flowers, and in the stars of night.

17 In just a little while your problems of this earth-round will be solved; and when your sums are all worked out it will be pleasure unalloyed for you to enter wider fields of usefulness, to solve the greater problems of the soul.

18 Strive, then, to be content, and I will come to you some day and bring you richer gifts than gold or precious stones.

19 I’m sure that John will care for you, supplying all your needs; and I am with you all the way, Jehoshua.

20 And by the hand of one, a merchant, going to Jerusalem, he sent this letter on its way.

CHAPTER 31

Brahmic priests are enraged because of Jesus’ teaching and resolve to drive him from India. Lamaas pleads for him. Priests employ a murderer to kill him. Lamaas warns him and he flees to Nepel.

The words and works of Jesus caused unrest through all the land.

2 The common people were his friends, believed in him, and followed him in throngs.

3 The priests and rulers were afraid of him; his very name sent terror to their hearts.

4 He preached the brotherhood of life, the righteousness of equal rights, and taught the uselessness of priests, and sacrificial rites.

5 He shook the very sand on which the Brahmic system stood; he made the Brahmic idols seem so small, and sacrifice so fraught with sin, that shrines and wheels of prayer were all forgot.

6 The priests declared that if this Hebrew boy should tarry longer in the land a revolution would occur; the common people would arise and kill the priests, and tear the temples down.

7 And so they sent a call abroad, and priests from every province came. Benares was on fire with Brahmic zeal.

8 Lamaas from the temple Jagannath, who knew the inner life of Jesus well, was in their midst, and heard the rantings of the priests,

9 And he stood forth and said, My brother priests, take heed, be careful what you do; this is a record-making day.

10 The world is looking on; the very life of Brahmic thought is now on trial.

11 If we are reason-blind; if prejudice be king today; if we resort to beastly force, and dye our hands in blood that may, in sight of Brahm, be innocent and pure,

12 His vengeance may fall down on us; the very rock on which we stand may burst beneath our feet; and our beloved priesthood, and our laws and shrines will go into decay.

13 But they would let him speak no more. The wrathful priests rushed up and beat him, spit upon him, called him traitor, threw him, bleeding, to the street.

14 And then confusion reigned; the priests became a mob; the sight of human blood led on to fiendish acts, and called for more.

15 The rulers, fearing war, sought Jesus, and they found him calmly teaching in the market-place.

16 They urged him to depart, that he might save his life; but he refused to go.

17 And then the priests sought cause for his arrest; but he had done no crime.

18 And then false charges were preferred; but when the soldiers went to bring him to the judgment hall they were afraid, because the people stood in his defense.

19 The priests were baffled, and they resolved to take his life by stealth.

20 They found a man who was a murderer by trade, and sent him out by night to slay the object of their wrath.

21 Lamaas heard about their plotting and their plans, and sent a messenger to warn his friend; and Jesus hastened to depart.

22 By night he left Benares, and with haste he journeyed to the north; and everywhere, the farmers, merchants and the sudras helped him on his way.

23 And after many days he reached the mighty Himalayas, and in the city Kapivastu he abode.

24 The priests of Buddha opened wide their temple doors for him.

CHAPTER 32

Jesus and Barata. Together they read the sacred books. Jesus takes exception to the Buddhist doctrine of evolution and reveals the true origin of man. Meets Vidyapati, who becomes his co-laborer.

Among the Buddhist priests was one who saw a lofty wisdom in the words that Jesus spoke. It was Barata Arabo.

2 Together Jesus and Barata read the Jewish Psalms and Prophets; read the Vedas, the Avesta and the wisdom of Guatama.

3 And as they read and talked about the possibilities of man, Barata said,

4 Man is the marvel of the universe. He is a part of everything, for he has been a living thing on every plane of life.

5 Time was when man was not; and then he was a bit of formless substance in the molds of time; and then a protoplast.

6 By universal law all things tend upward to a state of perfectness. The protoplast evolved, becoming worm, then reptile, bird and beast, and then at last it reached the form of man.

7 Now, man himself is mind, and mind is here to gain perfection by experience; and mind is often manifest in fleshy form, and in the form best suited to its growth. So mind may manifest as worm, or bird, or beast, or man.

8 The time will come when everything of life will be evolved unto the state of perfect man.

9 And after man is man in perfectness, he will evolve to higher forms of life.

10 And Jesus said, Barata Arabo, who taught you this, that mind, which is the man, may manifest in flesh of beast, or bird, or creeping thing?

11 Barata said, From times which man remembers not our priests have told us so, and so we know.

12 And Jesus said, Enlightened Arabo, are you a master mind and do not know that man knows naught by being told?

13 Man may believe what others say; but thus he never knows. If man would know, he must himself be what he knows.

14 Do you remember, Arabo, when you was ape, or bird, or worm?

15 Now, if you have no better proving of your plea than that the priests have told you so, you do not know; you simply guess.

16 Regard not, then, what any man has said; let us forget the flesh, and go with mind into the land of fleshless things; mind never does forget.

17 And backward through the ages master minds can trace themselves; and thus they know.

18 Time never was when man was not.

19 That which begins will have an end. If man was not, the time will come when he will not exist.

20 From God’s own Record Book we read: The Triune God breathed forth, and seven Spirits stood before his face. (The Hebrews call these seven Spirits, Elohim.)

21 And these are they who, in their boundless power, created everything that is, or was.

22 These Spirits of the Triune God moved on the face of boundless space and seven ethers were, and every ether had its form of life.

23 These forms of life were but the thoughts of God, clothed in the substance of their ether planes.

24 (Men call these ether planes the planes of protoplast, of earth, of plant, of beast, of man, of angel and of cherubim.)

25 These planes with all their teeming thoughts of God, are never seen by eyes of man in flesh; they are composed of substance far too fine for fleshly eyes to see, and still they constitute the soul of things;

26 And with the eyes of soul all creatures see these ether planes, and all the forms of life.

27 Because all forms of life on every plane are thoughts of God, all creatures think, and every creature is possessed of will, and, in its measure, has the power to choose,

28 And in their native planes all creatures are supplied with nourishment from the ethers of their planes.

29 And so it was with every living thing until the will became a sluggish will, and then the ethers of the protoplast, the earth, the plant, the beast, the man, began to vibrate very slow.

30 The ethers all became more dense, and all the creatures of these planes were clothed with coarser garbs, the garbs of flesh, which men can see; and thus this coarser manifest, which men call physical, appeared.

31 And this is what is called the fall of man; but man fell not alone for protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast were all included in the fall.

32 The angels and the cherubim fell not; their wills were ever strong, and so they held the ethers of their planes in harmony with God.

33 Now, when the ethers reached the rate of atmosphere, and all the creatures of these planes must get their food from atmosphere, the conflict came; and then that which the finite man has called, survival of the best, became a law,

34 The stronger ate the bodies of the weaker manifests; and here is where the carnal law of evolution had its rise.

35 And now man, in his utter shamelessness, strikes down and eats the beasts, the beast consumes the plant, the plant thrives on the earth, the earth absorbs the protoplast.

36 In yonder kingdom of the soul this carnal evolution is not known, and the great work of master minds is to restore the heritage of man, to bring him back to his estate that he has lost, when he again will live upon the ethers of his native plane.

37 The thoughts of God change not; the manifests of life on every plane unfold into perfection of their kind; and as the thoughts of God can never die, there is no death to any being of the seven ethers of the seven Spirits of the Triune God.

38 And so an earth is never plant; a beast, or bird, or creeping thing is never man, and man is not, and cannot be, a beast, or bird, or creeping thing.

39 The time will come when all these seven manifests will be absorbed, and man, and beast, and plant, and earth and protoplast will be redeemed.

40 Barata was amazed; the wisdom of the Jewish sage was revelation unto him.

41 Now, Vidyapati, wisest of the Indian sages, chief of temple Kapavistu, heard Barata speak to Jesus of the origin of man, and heard the answer of the Hebrew prophet, and he said,

42 You priests of Kapavistu, hear me speak: We stand today upon a crest of time. Six times ago a master soul was born who gave a glory light to man, and now a master sage stands here in temple Kapavistu.

43 This Hebrew prophet is the rising star of wisdom, deified. He brings to us a knowledge of the secret things of God; and all the world will hear his words, will heed his words, and glorify his name.

44 You priests of temple Kapavistu, stay! be still and listen when he speaks; he is the Living Oracle of God.

45 And all the priests gave thanks, and praised the Buddha of enlightenment.

CHAPTER 33

Jesus teaches the common people at a spring. Tells them how to attain unto happiness. Relates the parable of the rocky field and the hidden treasure.

In silent meditation Jesus sat beside a flowing spring. It was a holy day, and many people of the servant caste were near the place.

2 And Jesus saw the hard drawn lines of toil on every brow, in every hand. There was no look of joy in any face. Not one of all the group could think of anything but toil.

3 And Jesus spoke to one and said, Why are you all so sad? Have you no happiness in life?

4 The man replied, We scarcely know the meaning of that word. We toil to live, and hope for nothing else but toil, and bless the day when we can cease our toil and lay us down to rest in Buddha’s city of the dead.

5 And Jesus’ heart was stirred with pity and with love for these poor toilers, and he said,

6 Toil should not make a person sad; men should be happiest when they toil. When hope and love are back of toil, then all of life is filled with joy and peace, and this is heaven. Do you not know that such a heaven is for you?

7 The man replied, Of heaven we have heard; but then it is so far away, and we must live so many lives before we reach that place!

8 And Jesus said, My brother, man, your thoughts are wrong; your heaven is not far away; and it is not a place of metes and bounds, is not a country to be reached; it is a state of mind.

9 God never made a heaven for man; he never made a hell; we are creators and we make our own.

10 Now, cease to seek for heaven in the sky; just open up the windows of your hearts, and, like a flood of light, a heaven will come and bring a boundless joy; then toil will be no cruel task.

11 The people were amazed, and gathered close to hear this strange young master speak,

12 Imploring him to tell them more about the Father-God; about the heaven that men can make on earth; about the boundless joy.

13 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, A certain man possessed a field; the soil was hard and poor.

14 By constant toil he scarcely could provide enough of food to keep his family from want.

15 One day a miner who could see beneath the soil, in passing on his way, saw this poor man and his unfruitful field.

16 He called the weary toiler and he said, My brother, know you not that just below the surface of your barren field rich treasures lie concealed?

17 You plow and sow and reap in scanty way, and day by day you tread upon a mine of gold and precious stones.

18 This wealth lies not upon the surface of the ground; but if you will but dig away the rocky soil, and delve down deep into the earth, you need no longer till the soil for naught.

19 The man believed. The miner surely knows; he said, and I will find the treasures hidden in my field.

20 And then he dug away the rocky soil, and deep down in the earth he found a mine of gold.

21 And Jesus said, The sons of men are toiling hard on desert plains, and burning sands and rocky soils; are doing what their fathers did, not dreaming they can do aught else.

22 Behold, a master comes, and tells them of a hidden wealth; that underneath the rocky soil of carnal things are treasures that no man can count;

23 That in the heart the richest gems abound; that he who wills may open up the door and find them all.

24 And then the people said, Make known to us the way that we may find the wealth that lies within the heart.

25 And Jesus opened up the way; the toilers saw another side of life, and toil became a joy.

CHAPTER 34

The Jubilee in Kapavistu. Jesus teaches in the plaza and the people are astonished. He relates the parable of the unkept vineyard and the vine dresser. The priests are angered by his words.

It was a gala day in sacred Kapavistu; a throng of Buddhist worshippers had met to celebrate a Jubilee.

2 And priests and masters from all parts of India were there; they taught; but they embellished little truth with many words.

3 And Jesus went into an ancient plaza and he taught; he spoke of Father-Mother-God; he told about the brotherhood of life.

4 The priests and all the people were astounded at his words and said, Is this not Buddha come again in flesh? No other one could speak with such simplicity and power.

5 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, There was a vineyard all unkept; the vines were high, the growth of leaves and branches great.

6 The leaves were broad and shut the sunlight from the vines; the grapes were sour, and few, and small.

7 The pruner came; with his sharp knife he cut off every branch, and not a leaf remained; just root and stalk, and nothing more.

8 The busy neighbors came with one accord and were amazed, and said to him who pruned, You foolish man! the vineyard is despoiled.

9 Such desolation! There is no beauty left, and when the harvest time shall come the gatherers will find no fruit.

10 The pruner said, Content yourselves with what you think, and come again at harvest time and see.

11 And when the harvest time came on the busy neighbors came again; they were surprised.

12 The naked stalks had put forth branch and leaf, and heavy clusters of delicious grapes weighed every branch to earth.

13 The gatherers rejoiced as, day by day, they carried the rich fruitage to the press.

14 Behold, the vineyard of the Lord! the earth is spread with human vines.

15 The gorgeous forms and rites of men are branches, and their words are leaves; and these have grown so great that sunlight can no longer reach the heart; there is no fruit.

16 Behold, the pruner comes, and with a two-edged knife he cuts away the branches and the leaves of words,

17 And naught is left but unclothed stalks of human life.

18 The priests and they of pompous show, rebuke the pruner, and would stay him in his work.

19 They see no beauty in the stalks of human life; no promises of fruit.

20 The harvest time will come and they who scorned the pruner will look on again and be amazed, for they will see the human stalks that seemed so lifeless, bending low with precious fruit.

21 And they will hear the harvesters rejoice, because the harvest is so great.

22 The priests were not well pleased with Jesus’ words; but they rebuked him not; they feared the multitude.

CHAPTER 35

Jesus and Vidyapati consider the needs of the incoming age of the world.

The Indian sage and Jesus often met and talked about the needs of nations and of men; about the sacred doctrines, forms and rites best suited to the coming age.

2 One day they sat together in a mountain pass, and Jesus said, The coming age will surely not require priests, and shrines, and sacrifice of life.

3 There is no power in sacrifice of beast, or bird, to help a man to holy life.

4 And Vidyapati said, All forms and rites are symbols of the things that men must do within the temple of the soul.

5 The Holy One requires man to give his life in willing sacrifice for men, and all the so-called offerings on altars and on shrines that have been made since time began, were made to teach man how to give himself to save his brother man; for man can never save himself except he lose his life in saving other men.

6 The perfect age will not require forms and rites and carnal sacrifice. The coming age is not the perfect age, and men will call for object lessons and symbolic rites.

7 And in the great religion you shall introduce to men, some simple rites of washings and remembrances will be required; but cruel sacrifice of animals, and birds the gods require not.

8 And Jesus said, Our God must loathe the tinseled show of priests and priestly things.

9 When men array themselves in showy garbs to indicate that they are servants of the gods, and strut about like gaudy birds to be admired by men, because of piety or any other thing, the Holy One must surely turn away in sheer disgust.

10 All people are alike the servants of our Father-God, are kings and priests.

11 Will not the coming age demand complete destruction of the priestly caste, as well as every other caste and inequality among the sons of men?

12 And Vidyapati said, The coming age is not the age of spirit life and men will pride themselves in wearing priestly robes, and chanting pious chants to advertise themselves as saints.

13 The simple rites that you will introduce will be extolled by those who follow you, until the sacred service of the age will far outshine in gorgeousness the priestly service of the Brahmic age.

14 This is a problem men must solve.

15 The perfect age will come when every man will be a priest and men will not array themselves in special garb to advertise their piety.

SECTION VII

ZAIN

Life and Works of Jesus in Tibet and Western India

CHAPTER 36

Jesus in Lassa. He meets Meng-ste who aids him in reading the ancient manuscripts. He goes to Ladak. Heals a child. Relates the parable of the king’s son.

In Lassa of Tibet there was a master’s temple, rich in manuscripts of ancient lore.

2 The Indian sage had read these manuscripts, and he revealed to Jesus many of the secret lessons they contained; but Jesus wished to read them for himself.

3 Now, Meng-ste, greatest sage of all the farther East, was in this temple of Tibet.

4 The path across Emodus heights was difficult; but Jesus started on his way, and Vidyapati sent with him a trusted guide.

5 And Vidyapati sent a message to Meng-ste, in which he told about the Hebrew sage, and spoke for him a welcome by the temple priests.

6 Now, after many days, and perils great, the guide and Jesus reached the Lassa temple in Tibet.

7 And Meng-ste opened wide the temple doors, and all the priests and masters gave a welcome to the Hebrew sage.

8 And Jesus had access to all the sacred manuscripts, and, with the help of Meng-ste, read them all.

9 And Meng-ste often talked with Jesus of the coming age, and of the sacred service best adapted to the people of the age.

10 In Lassa Jesus did not teach. When he had finished all his studies in the temple schools he journeyed toward the West. In many villages he tarried for a time and taught.

11 At last he reached the pass, and in the Ladak city, Leh, he was received with favor by the monks, the merchants, and the men of low estate.

12 And in the monastery he abode, and taught; and then he sought the common people in the marts of trade; and there he taught.

13 Not far away a woman lived, whose infant son was sick nigh unto death. The doctors had declared, There is no hope; the child must die.

14 The woman heard that Jesus was a teacher sent from God, and she believed that he had power to heal her son.

15 And so she clasped the dying infant in her arms and ran with haste and asked to see the man of God.

16 When Jesus saw her faith he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,

17 My Father-God, let power divine o’ershadow me, and let the Holy Breath fill full this child that it may live.

18 And in the presence of the multitude he laid his hand upon the child and said,

19 Good woman you are blest; your faith has saved your son. And then the child was well.

20 The people were astonished and they said, This surely is the Holy One made flesh, for man alone cannot rebuke a fever thus and save a child from death.

21 Then many of the people brought their sick, and Jesus spoke the Word, and they were healed.

22 Among the Ladaks Jesus tarried many days; he taught them how to heal; how sins are blotted out, and how to make on earth a heaven of joy.

23 The people loved him for his words and works, and when he must depart they grieved as children grieve when mother goes away.

24 And on the morning when he started on his way the multitudes were there to press his hand.

25 To them he spoke a parable; he said, A certain king so loved the people of his land that he sent forth his only son with precious gifts for all.

26 The son went everywhere and scattered forth the gifts with lavish hand.

27 But there were priests who ministered at shrines of foreign gods, who were not pleased because the king did not through them bestow the gifts.

28 And so they sought to cause the people all to hate the son. They said, These gifts are not of any worth; they are but counterfeits.

29 And so the people threw the precious gems, and gold and silver in the streets. They caught the son and beat him, spit upon him, drove him from their midst.

30 The son resented not their insults and their cruelties; but thus he prayed, My Father-God, forgive these creatures of thy hand; they are but slaves; they know not what they do.

31 And while they yet were beating him he gave them food, and blest them with a boundless love.

32 In certain cities was the son received with joy, and he would gladly have remained to bless the homes; but he could tarry not, for he must carry gifts to every one in all the king’s domain.

33 And Jesus said, My Father-God is king of all mankind, and he has sent me forth with all the bounties of his matchless love and boundless wealth.

34 To all the people of all lands, lo, I must bear these gifts – this water and this bread of life.

35 I go my way, but we will meet again; for in my Fatherland is room for all; I will prepare a place for you.

36 And Jesus raised his hand in silent benediction; then he went his way.

CHAPTER 37

Jesus is presented with a camel. He goes to Lahore where he abides with Ajainin, whom he teaches. Lesson of the wandering musicians. Jesus resumes his journey.

A caravan of merchantmen were journeying through the Kashmar vale as Jesus passed that way, and they were going to Lahore, a city of the Hand, the five-stream land.

2 The merchantmen had heard the prophet speak, had seen his mighty works in Leh, and they were glad to see him once again.

3 And when they knew that he was going to Lahore and then across the Sind, through Persia and the farther West, and that he had no beast on which to ride,

4 They freely gave to him a noble bactrian beast, well saddled and equipped, and Jesus journeyed with the caravan.

5 And when he reached Lahore, Ajainin and some other Brahmic priests, received him with delight.

6 Ajainin was the priest who came to Jesus in the night time in Benares many months before, and heard his words of truth.

7 And Jesus was Ajainin’s guest; he taught Ajainin many things; revealed to him the secrets of the healing art.

8 He taught him how he could control the spirits of the air, the fire, the water and the earth; and he explained to him the secret doctrine of forgiveness, and the blotting out of sins.

9 One day Ajainin sat with Jesus in the temple porch; a band of wandering singers and musicians paused before the court to sing and play.

10 Their music was most rich and delicate, and Jesus said, Among the high-bred people of the land we hear no sweeter music than that these uncouth children of the wilderness bring here to us.

11 From whence this talent and this power? In one short life they surely could not gain such grace of voice, such knowledge of the laws of harmony and tone.

12 Men call them prodigies. There are no prodigies. All things result from natural law.

13 These people are not young. A thousand years would not suffice to give them such divine expressiveness, and such purity of voice and touch.

14 Ten thousand years ago these people mastered harmony. In days of old they trod the busy thoroughfares of life, and caught the melody of birds, and played on harps of perfect form.

15 And they have come again to learn still other lessons from the varied notes of manifests.

16 These wandering people form a part of heaven’s orchestra, and in the land of perfect things the very angels will delight to hear them play and sing.

17 And Jesus taught the common people of Lahore; he healed their sick, and showed to them the way to rise to better things by helpfulness.

18 He said, We are not rich by what we get and hold; the only things we keep are those we give away.

19 If you would live the perfect life, give forth your life in service for your kind, and for the forms of life that men esteem the lower forms of life.

20 But Jesus could not tarry longer in Lahore; he bade the priests and other friends farewell; and then he took his camel and he went his way toward the Sind.

SECTION VIII

CHETH

Life and Works of Jesus in Persia

CHAPTER 38

Jesus crosses Persia. Teaches and heals in many places. Three magian priests meet him as he nears Persepolis. Kaspar, and two other Persian masters, meet him in Persepolis. The seven masters sit in silence seven days.

Four-and-twenty years of age was Jesus when he entered Persia on his homeward way.

2 In many a hamlet, town and neighborhood he paused a while and taught and healed.

3 The priests and ruling classes did not welcome him, because he censured them for cruelty to those of low estate.

4 The common people followed him in throngs.

5 At times the chiefs made bold to try to hinder him, forbidding him to teach or heal the sick. But he regarded not their angry threats; he taught, and healed the sick.

6 In time he reached Persepolis, the city where the kings of Persia were entombed; the city of the learned magi, Hor, and Lun, and Mer, the three wise men,

7 Who, two-and-twenty years before, had seen the star of promise rise above Jerusalem, and who had journeyed to the West to find the new-born king;

8 And were the first to honor Jesus as the master of the age, and gave him gifts of gold, gum-thus and myrrh.

9 These magi knew, by ways that masters always know, when Jesus neared Persepolis; and then they girt themselves, and went to meet him on the way.

10 And when they met, a light much brighter than the light of day, surrounded them, and men who saw the four stand in the way declared they were transfigured; seeming more like gods than men.

11 Now, Hor and Lun were aged men, and Jesus placed them on his beast to ride into Persepolis; while he and Mer led on the way.

12 And when they reached the magi’s home they all rejoiced. And Jesus told the thrilling story of his life, and Hor and Lun and Mer spoke not; they only looked to heaven, and in their hearts praised God.

13 Three wise men from the North were in Persepolis; and they were Kaspar, Zara and Melzone; and Kaspar was the wisest master of the magian land. These three were at the home of Hor and Lun and Mer when Jesus came.

14 For seven days these seven men spoke not; they sat in silence in the council hall in close communion with the Silent Brotherhood.

15 They sought for light, for revelation and for power. The laws and precepts of the coming age required all the wisdom of the masters of the world.

CHAPTER 39

Jesus attends a feast in Persepolis. Speaks to the people, reviewing the magian philosophy. Explains the origin of evil. Spends the night in prayer.

A feast in honor of the magian God was being held, and many men were gathered in Persepolis.

2 And on the great day of the feast the ruling magian master said, Within these sacred walls is liberty; whoever wills to speak may speak.

3 And Jesus standing in the midst of all the people, said, My brothers, sisters, children of our Father-God:

4 Most blest are you among the sons of men today, because you have such just conceptions of the Holy One and man.

5 Your purity in worship and in life is pleasing unto God; and to your master, Zarathustra, praise is due.

6 Well say you all, There is one God from whose great being there came forth the seven Spirits that created heaven and earth; and manifest unto the sons of men are these great Spirits in the sun, and moon, and stars.

7 But in your sacred books we read that two among these seven are of superior strength; that one of these created all the good; the other one created all that evil is.

8 I pray you, honored masters, tell me how that evil can be born of that which is all good?

9 A magus rose and said, If you will answer me, your problem will be solved.

10 We all do recognize the fact that evil is. Whatever is, must have a cause. If God, the One, made not this evil, then, where is the God who did?

11 And Jesus said, Whatever God, the One, has made is good, and like the great first Cause, the seven Spirits all are good, and everything that comes from their creative hands is good,

12 Now, all created things have colors, tones and forms their own; but certain tones, though good and pure themselves, when mixed, produce inharmonies, discordant tones.

13 And certain things, though good and pure, when mixed, produce discordant things, yea, poisonous things, that men call evil things.

14 So evil is the inharmonious blending of the colors, tones, or forms of good.

15 Now, man is not all-wise, and yet has will his own. He has the power, and he uses it, to mix God’s good things in a multitude of ways, and every day he makes discordant sounds, and evil things.

16 And every tone and form, be it of good, or ill, becomes a living thing, a demon, sprite, or spirit of a good or vicious kind.

17 Man makes his devil thus; and then becomes afraid of him and flees; his devil is emboldened, follows him away and casts him into torturing fires.

18 The devil and the burning fires are both the works of man, and none can put the fires out and dissipate the evil one, but man who made them both.

19 Then Jesus stood aside, and not a magus answered him.

20 And he departed from the throng and went into a secret place to pray.

CHAPTER 40

Jesus teaches the magians. Explains the Silence and how to enter it. Kaspar extols the wisdom of Jesus. Jesus teaches in the groves of Cyrus.

Now, in the early morning Jesus came again to teach and heal. A light not comprehended shown about, as though some mighty spirit overshadowed him.

2 A magus noted this and asked him privately to tell from whence his wisdom came, and what the meaning of the light.

3 And Jesus said, There is a Silence where the soul may meet its God, and there the fount of wisdom is, and all who enter are immersed in light, and filled with wisdom, love and power.

4 The magus said, Tell me about this Silence and this light, that I may go and there abide.

5 And Jesus said, The Silence is not circumscribed; is not a place closed in with wall, or rocky steeps, nor guarded by the sword of man.

6 Men carry with them all the time the secret place where they may meet their God.

7 It matters not where men abide, on mountain top, in deepest vale, in marts of trade, or in the quiet home; they may at once, at any time, fling wide the door, and find the Silence, find the house of God; it is within the soul.

8 One may not be so much disturbed by noise of business, and the words and thoughts of men if he goes all alone into the valley or the mountain pass.

9 And when life’s heavy load is pressing hard, it is far better to go out and seek a quiet place to pray and meditate.

10 The Silence is the kingdom of the soul which is not seen by human eyes.

11 When in the Silence, phantom forms may flit before the mind; but they are all subservient to the will; the master soul may speak and they are gone.

12 If you would find this Silence of the soul you must yourself prepare the way. None but the pure in heart may enter here.

13 And you must lay aside all tenseness of the mind, all business cares, all fears, all doubts and troubled thoughts.

14 Your human will must be absorbed by the divine; then you will come into a consciousness of holiness.

15 You are within the Holy Place, and you will see upon a living shrine the candle of the Lord aflame.

16 And when you see it burning there, look deep within the temple of your brain, and you will see it all aglow.

17 In every part, from head to foot, are candles all in place, just waiting to be lighted by the flaming torch of love.

18 And when you see the candles all aflame, just look, and you will see, with eyes of soul, the waters of the fount of wisdom rushing on; and you may drink, and there abide.

19 And then the curtains part, and you are in the Holiest of All, where rests the Ark of God, whose covering is the Mercy Seat.

20 Fear not to lift the sacred board; the Tables of the Law are in the Ark concealed.

21 Take them and read them well; for they contain all precepts and commands that men will ever need.

22 And in the Ark, the magic wand of prophecy lies waiting for your hand; it is the key to all the hidden meanings of the present, future, past.

23 And then, behold, the manna there, the hidden bread of life; and he who eats shall never die.

24 The cherubim have guarded well for every soul this treasure box, and whosoever will may enter in and find his own.

25 Now Kaspar heard the Hebrew master speak and he exclaimed, Behold, the wisdom of the gods has come to men!

26 And Jesus went his way, and in the sacred groves of Cyrus, where the multitudes were met, he taught and healed the sick.

CHAPTER 41

Jesus stands by a healing fountain. Reveals the fact that faith is the potent factor in healing and many are healed by faith. A little child teaches a great lesson of faith.

A flowing spring that people called the Healing Fount, was near Persepolis.

2 And all the people thought that at a certain time of year their deity came down and gave a virtue to the waters of the fount, and that the sick who then would plunge into the fount and wash would be made whole.

3 About the fount a multitude of people were in waiting for the Holy One to come and potentize the waters of the fount.

4 The blind, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, and those obsessed were there.

5 And Jesus, standing in the midst of them, exclaimed, Behold the spring of life! These waters that will fail are honored as the special blessing of your God.

6 From whence do healing virtues come? Why is your God so partial with his gifts? Why does he bless this spring today, and then tomorrow take his blessings all away?

7 A deity of power could fill these waters full of healing virtue every day.

8 Hear me, you sick, disconsolate: The virtue of this fount is not a special gift of God.

9 Faith is the healing power of every drop of all the waters of this spring.

10 He who believes with all his heart that he will be made whole by washing in this fount will be made whole when he has washed; and he may wash at any time.

11 Let every one who has this faith in God and in himself plunge in these waters now and wash.

12 And many of the people plunged into the crystal fount; and they were healed.

13 And then there was a rush, for all the people were inspired with faith, and each one strove to be among the first to wash, lest all the virtue be absorbed.

14 And Jesus saw a little child, weak, faint and helpless, sitting all alone beyond the surging crowd; and there was none to help her to the fount.

15 And Jesus said, My little one, why do you sit and wait? Why not arise and hasten to the fount and wash, and be made well?

16 The child replied, I need not haste; the blessings of my Father in the sky are measured not in tiny cups; they never fail; their virtues are the same forevermore.

17 When these whose faith is weak must haste to wash for fear their faith will fail, have all been cured, these waters will be just as powerful for me.

18 Then I can go and stay a long, long time within the blessed waters of the spring.

19 And Jesus said, Behold a master soul! She came to earth to teach to men the power of faith.

20 And then he lifted up the child and said, Why wait for anything? The very air we breathe is filled with balm of life. Breathe in this balm of life in faith and be made whole.

21 The child breathed in the balm of life in faith, and she was well.

22 The people marveled much at what they heard and saw; they said, This man must surely be the god of health made flesh.

23 And Jesus said, The fount of life is not a little pool; it is as wide as are the spaces of the heavens.

24 The waters of the fount are love; the potency is faith, and he who plunges deep into the living springs, in living faith, may wash away his guilt and be made whole, and freed from sin.

SECTION IX

TETH

Life and Works of Jesus in Assyria

CHAPTER 42

Jesus bids the magians farewell. Goes to Assyria. Teaches the people in Ur of Chaldea. Meets Ashbina, with whom he visits many towns and cities, teaching and healing the sick.

In Persia Jesus’ work was done and he resumed his journey towards his native land.

2 The Persian sage went with him to the Euphrates; then with a pledge that they would meet again in Egypt land the masters said, Farewell.

3 And Kaspar went his way unto his home beside the Caspian Sea; and Jesus soon was in Chaldea, cradle land of Israel.

4 In Ur, where Abraham was born, he tarried for a time; and when he told the people who he was, and why he came, they came from near and far to speak to him.

5 He said to them, We all are kin. Two thousand years and more ago, our Father Abraham lived here in Ur, and then he worshipped God the One, and taught the people in these sacred groves.

6 And he was greatly blessed; becoming father of the mighty hosts of Israel.

7 Although so many years have passed since Abraham and Sarah walked these ways, a remnant of their kindred still abide in Ur.

8 And in their hearts the God of Abraham is still adored, and faith and justice are the rocks on which they build.

9 Behold this land! It is no more the fruitful land that Abraham loved so well; the rains come not as in the former times; the vine is not productive now, and withered are the figs.

10 But this shall not forever be; the time will come when all your deserts will rejoice; when flowers will bloom; when all your vines will bend their heads with luscious fruit; your shepherds will again be glad.

11 And Jesus preached to them the gospel of good will, and peace on earth. He told them of the brotherhood of life, and of the inborn powers of man, and of the kingdom of the soul.

12 And as he spoke, Ashbina, greatest sage of all Assyria, stood before his face.

13 The people knew the sage, for he had often taught them in their sacred halls and groves, and they rejoiced to see his face.

14 Ashbina said, My children of Chaldea, hear! Behold, for you are greatly blest today, because a prophet of the living God has come to you.

15 Take heed to what this master says, for he gives forth the words that God has given him.

16 And Jesus and the sage went through the towns and cities of Chaldea and of the lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates;

17 And Jesus healed a multitude of people who were sick.

CHAPTER 43

Jesus and Ashbina visit Babylon and remark its desolation. The two masters remain in company seven days; then Jesus resumes his homeward journey. Arrives in Nazareth. His mother gives a feast in his honor. His brothers are displeased. Jesus tells his mother and aunt the story of his journeys.

The ruined Babylon was near, and Jesus and the sage went through her gates and walked among her fallen palaces.

2 They trod the streets where Israel once was held in base captivity.

3 They saw where Judah’s sons and daughters hung their harps upon the willows, and refused to sing.

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