Bebolb tbe Gbrist! ITn Ever^ ©ne. H Gospel of Xove. Celestia "Root Xanfl. JBebolb tbe Cbrtst! AN EPIC OF THE NEW THEISM By Ittrs, Cefestia Root Eang Author of " Son of Man; or the Sequel to Evolution 2>o sour wotft ano 1T eball Know sou." — JEmereon .# Published at jiog Vincennes Ave. C hie ago iqo6 "p'b 153-3 As lover to the loved, I Dedicate this little volume to : All Soul's Church, Unitarian, Washington, D. C. — The Author. "When we have broken our god of tradition, and ceased from our god of rhetoric, then, may God fire the heart with his presence. "I, the Imperfect, adore my own Perfect." — Emerson. Attain the Self, and you will behold the Christ. The union of the incarnate soul with the Self con- stitutes the soul's conscious immortality here in this present life, and the life to come. A creation of importance can be produced only when its author isolates himself ; it is ever a child of solitude. — Goethe. As souls attain the higher plane of consciousness, they come into possession of the truths of that plane, which they have entered. That Paul was "all things to all men" was his con- fession that he had not risen above compromising with the self. Copyright, 1906, by Celestia Root Lang. 2 Gift Au f (Pe 26 Ja '07 SYNOPSIS. The Epic, of the Divine Life deals with the super- conscious plane. Personages : The Blessed One, personates the Higher Self, and Alindah; the awakened soul, sitting at the feet of the Blessed One taking knowledge. The Master is not so much an instructor, by giving knowledge, as a readjuster of the spiritual knowledge which she already possesses; hence her first object is to ask questions and by that means to destroy doubt; to re- adjust or destroy any lingering dogmas or preconceived ideas. It will be obvious, as the epic proceeds, how her idea of the Self "rises," and her conception of what the new life involves, and lastly, her resolve to obey. Alindah places herself in the position of a disciple that she may be guided in her present difficult task; knowing that having reaped she must sow, she desires to do it in an acceptable manner. The honor claimed for the Guru, Master, or spiritual guide is excessive; in the Bhagavate Purana, he is put on a level with Deity itself. This fact is mentioned hop- ing that it may overcome the ambiguousness, to the West- ern ear, of many of the devotional expressions. Alindah takes down the fragments of converse, from time to time, which she heads "Notes" and later writes out in full; which represents a continued conversation. Eternal Truth is one, that there is no dividing line is clearly seen by the wise ; neither is there any monopoly. The Supreme Spirit animates all the material world; it is therefore in nature, but nature is not in it. Men generally, scientists in particular, see only the lower of the Divine dual nature, which veils the higher spiritual part. The material world is called illusion because it deludes men into supposing that there is nothing else. In his proper nature the Supreme is Spirit only. The soul is an eternal portion of the One Supreme Spirit. The soul never began to be; it can never die; nor can it ever grow old. At the death of the body, which utterly perishes or returns to dust when the soul abandons it, it enters a new body. The doctrine of Re- incarnation is distinctly taught. The soul being immortal it is capable in the body of rising to communion with God, its divine Self ; its highest state here is to enjoy that communion; its proper destiny to return to that eternal source from which it sprung. The Triad, or Trinity ; Father, Holy Ghost, and Son ; in Sanscrit, Atma-Buddhi-Manas. The Son is the em- bodied soul within the material body of everyone; the "prodigal" soul; the Holy Ghost is that which manifests, which has neither substance nor existence, one with the Father "in heaven," the all-pervading, the Christ, the Self, within each soul seated. I say "in heaven," be- cause every man, as to his spirit, is in the spiritual world, without separation from his body in the natural world; hence, "Our Father who art in heaven." Alindah finds that she is standing between two great armies; that of materialism, trying to erect a church of constructive liberalism without religion as a basis. On the other hand, ecclesiastical dogmatism firmly planted upon their established interpretation of the Scriptures. That she stands between these two armies to make a way for those who have come out from the orthodox in- terpretation, but have not swung round to the other ex- treme; who still hold to the divine teachings of the be- loved Master. She would re-unite love and devotion, love and wor- ship. "Love, the greatest thing in the world," if it be not devotion is nothing; love and devotion to the One, the inmost. On the side of science she would lend her aid in establishing the fact of a complete set of inner faculties of perception in man. That the whole is constituted of the visible and invisible; that no science is complete that ignores the invisible realms of consciousness or vibra- tion; that while our normal consciousness is in the lower rates of vibration, sensation, there is an actual gradation from the lower to the higher rates which we may term degrees of consciousness; and as the soul rises into these states illumination follows, always accompanied with adoration; devotion, then, might serve as a test, whether the illumination is intellectual or spiritual, genuine or spurious, whether the soul has become, or is only seeing by a reflected light which it calls its own. She would serve both religion and science; and if science can not make use of a truthful and honest sub- ject to demonstrate these higher truths which belong to science ; where is she to look for aid ? PREFACE. The author regards all these subjects from her point of view, the super-conscious, as an independent thinker on her own plane. The Epic is written in lines of ten measures, rhythmic prose, for the sake of epitome. She accepts Dryden's idea, that a poet is a maker, a creator as the word implies; and he who can not create, hath his name for nothing. It is the creation and not the style that has been her care. Those who would meas- ure all literature by the rules of Rhetoric would strip "Leaves of Grass" of its freshness and beauty, leaving only dry stubble. This work will have no charm for the ordinary reader, it will attract the attention of those who are nearing the new consciousness; and if this lofty contact can really rouse them they will become as one of the divine in their desire to give rather than to take; the selfishness which prompts men's actions in ordinary life will suddenly desert them; and these are not so few as some might fancy; those who really desire the inner meaning of the teachings of the Great Master, those who are no longer satisfied with the orthodox interpretation and are still seeking for the spiritual meaning. Having attained the faculty of inner sight she is able to read the cypher in which the parables are written ; she would give, "without money and without price" the hidden meaning of the gospel to those who are ready to receive it through her writings. She would render unto Cgesar, our material nature, that which belongs to Caesar; and unto God, our Higher nature, that which belongs to God. That the inner meaning hidden within the letter of this work will quicken the spiritual life of all those souls who are ready to receive it is the expectation of The Author. BEHOLD THE CHEIST! CHAPTER THE FIRST. Alindah spoke. I thank thee ray Father, Soul Supreme ! That thou hast to me the knowledge given, That mine inner eyes have opened ; to see The soul within me to be the Master; The Higher Self, the Christ, and Lord of Lords. That within this soul they all are seated. Thou art the One inmost eternal Lord. I am no longer body, I am soul ! I thank Thee that I know myself to be. The Soul is One; of finer forces than All Nature's forces are; brawn and brain. I love Thee, the best as friend and lover, When to me Thou are thus manifested. By what name to call Thee I know not, Lord ! Thou hast been with me alway; I call Thee My own, for Thou hast never left me. Thou must be a part of me, and I A part of Thee, my Higher Self Thou art. To me the One altogether lovely ! The best of Beings, the mystic One ! Thou revealest Thyself to me alone. As friend and lover to the loved; Master I honor Thee as my beloved Guru. Of Thy ambrosial words I never tire; At Thy feet I sit a rapt listener. When Thou givest to me the eye divine Thy myriad forms I see; that Thou art not In me alone, but the Christ in every one. I adore Thee in myself, Soul Supreme ! When this All within my soul I see, Lord, I would fall on my face and worship Thee. 'Tis thus, by sincere devotion, that we A recognized portion of Thee become. Thou speakest to me Thine own love words Through the voice in my soul that is soundless. The soul in us, Thy seat and kingdom is ; We need not wait for heavenly bliss, 'tis here Within the soul ; a joyous two fold life ! Thou art the seat of knowledge, Soul supreme Containing all the wisdom of the past Of sage and seer, which is at our command; Hence do we mortals little know our greatness. The Blessed One. To those in union with the Soul supreme, There is no death, or birth; the soul has doffed Its mortal coil, and donned immortal robes. Invisible to mortals here below, Save to such as have themselves attained. Thus the mystic Christ dwells unobserved Protected by this divine illusion, That the soul in man may be perfected. Alindah. Thou inmost One, how may I know Thee? The Blessed One. Thou wilt know, for knowing is becoming ; Thou'lt be one with me, wilt be as myself. Alindah. No speech but the divine voice can reach Thee, No ear can hear Thee but the divine ear; No eye but the divine eye can see Thee. Thou sittest isolated and alone. Yet Thy seat is within the soul of man. The undivided, in the divided. And still another higher existence yet; Thy eternal Self, I desire to see; Thou, Lord and Kuler of the Universe ! If Thou deemest that it my eyes can see Show now to me, Thy wond'rous form divine? The Blessed One. Look now within thy soul, the inmost see. Alindah. When lo ! I saw my own Self extended ! No line of separateness anywhere. With myriads of arms and feet and faces, With eyes all aglow, and arm9 extended, I saw the lowest soul that walks the earth, In darkness sitting to be a part of me. This great- mystery fills my soul with awe. That my friend, my enemy, my lover; Then, are only extensions of myself, No one can be ignored, not the vilest ! I groan! that in this body I should see, Millions on millions that are yet to come. I see in my Self the seed-giving Sire, One with myself, and one with those to come. This mystery, I can not understand! Show me, Thou, Soul Supreme, how this can be? The Blessed One. The Christ in thee, the undivided, Lord, Of this created Universe the seat; The formless Self, is one with me Supreme, When thou hast reached the heights, then thou art That. Soul, wilt thou now go on from height to height? Or, be terrified by thy greater Self ; Aud thus be drawn back by thy lesser nature? 'Tis thine to choose, this, the moment of choice. Alindah. I will proceed, Lord, guided by Thy will. I would be Thy vehicle, through whose eyes, Thou mightest behold the things Thou hast made. As, the Master, Witness, friend and lover, That thou mayest be sought after and found. 'Tis mine, to feel that the eye of the Self Is on all my work. It is done for Thee. My choice is made, I have naught to say ! 10 The Blessed One. I have anointed thy head and thy feet. And thine eyes, that the Path they may see; Thy feet, that they may tread it for Me. Alindah. If soul is eternal, every portion Of soul is eternal, then in the vilest Human body ; we can not separate from such. Then God is no respecter of persons; Of no account is personality. Personality is but a mechanism, That, with the span of man's life will perish. The Blessed One. Not till the bonds of personality Are loosed, can the mystery of Self be seen. And not till then, can you grasp and guide it ; Not till then can you use all its powers, And devote them to a worthy service. Alindah. I am not myself, I am as one sent ; I've joined the heavenly host of witnesses; I know not whereunto to put my hand; At what point in the work of the Master's I am most needed ; 'tis for Thee to say ! The Blessed One. n To strip off the husks and reveal the core, Of the Doctrine of the kingdom of God. Alindah. How can I, assail with my frail arrows Fastnesses that are now hoary with Time? How now uproot errors whose giant seeds Were sown centuries past? That now have sprung And spread their branches throughout the nations. What am I, that of me Thou askest this? What am I, "that Thou art mindful of me? Or, the Son of Man, that thou visitest him ?" The Blessed One. Put forth thine hand, be but my instrument ! Use all the powers, I vouchsafe to thee. Be not dismayed, for they are slain by me. Thou shalt conquer in the field thy foes. My arm already hath destroyed them all. Alindah. My life, in the divine life is centered; The life upon which my soul has entered. My soul its great joy can no longer hold. It breaks into rapt strains of rejoicing ! The day spring from on high hath vis'ted me. Earth has no language in which to express The excessive joy of the soul's rapture. The redeemed shall come to Zion, the city Of our God, with gladness and rejoicing. The Prodigal soul redeemed from the bonds 12 Of matter, returns to his Father's house. Poets, this land of rapture have entered, Ne'er knowing that it was the "Kingdom" Spoken of by prophet, mystic, and seer. Ne'er knowing it was the "Promised Land," "Beulah Land," with milk and honey flowing. My work is done, my redemption is sure; My Redeemer I now see face to face. My soul looks up, it breathes its native air; It speaks once again its native language. I have raised the Self by myself and found God. Without expectation of finding Him. I have attained Thee by overcoming self. To consume it on self, I ask nothing. Chapter the first; Attain the Self, and you will he- hold the Christ. CHAPTEE THE SECOND. Alindah. Tell me, Mystic One, what Thou meanest By the "Kingdom" ? Thou bewilderest me By its many meanings; tell me plainly. The Blessed One. The soul who said, "My mind my kingdom is," Was on the mind plane, doing its work there. The plane of scholars and scientists. They, looking through the veil of matter, Through a glass darkly; know no higher plane. J3 The higher plane (within) is the soul plane. Here the soul can say, my soul my kingdom is ; This is the spiritual kingdom, called Kingdom of heaven, and kingdom of God, The Eternal seat, and the highest way. That seat no sun enlightens, nor moon, Nor fire ; they who attain it nevermore Return. That seat is my supreme abode. As real, to one who has entered it, As the conscious plane is ; and more real, For what is real, never ceases to be. Only the soul has a real existence: The forms and conditions of matter : Have only a conditional existence. The dividing line is seen by the wise. Those on the super-conscious plane clearly see, Possessing spiritual knowledge, (sight) Where the intellect is in darkness. The soul on the inner plane works thereon. Alindah. tell me ! What Thou meanest by Redeemed ? The Blessed One. Souls redeemed from the bonds of matter, Those who have worked out their own salvation Through successive re-incarnations. Alindah. Then, Did Moses and the prophets know Of the doctrine of Re-incarnation? J4 The Blessed One. Moses, in the ancient mysteries, was A master. They were once the splendor Of Egypt, and re-incarnation is one Of the doctrines of the ancient mysteries. Alindah. Then why did not Moses teach this doctrine To the children of Israel? Great One? The Blessed One. The children of Israel were mere babes, Just out of the "flesh pots of Egypt," Symbol of the lowest plane of the soul, The lowest step on the ladder of ascent. A man can choose between virtue and vice, But not until he is a man ; neither can A babe nor an animal so choose. The Secret doctrine, or the doctrine Of the myst'ries, is written in cypher. In the first five books of the Old Testament ; Moses, this precious legacy bequeathed To future generations. The soul, then Sojourned, "forty years in the wilderness" Before it was ready to cross the "Jordan," And turn its face toward the "promised land." Alindah. great One, tell me, who am bewildered, Who the Bedeemer is ? Where may I seek Him ? 15 The Blessed One. The Higher Self or soul; the real Self, Is the redeemer of the soul incarnate In the body; the prodigal soul. "Why art thou cast down; my soul, why Art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in (thy) God, for I shall yet, see My redeemer (higher Self), face to face." The incarnate soul binds the divine soul In the linga (subtle body), to matter. And mediately to the gross body. The subtle body, by the "modes" of nature Is formed of finer elements of matter. The real Soul comes not in contact with matter. The subtle body accompanies the soul In all its incarnations, till the soul From matter has attained deliverance. The soul, which is the true Self, never acts. Its proper state that of impersonality And repose ; actions are due to the "modes." Knowing this, the wise allow the actions Of the "modes" to go on unconcerned. Those who think the soul acts look for reward As of heaven, not for deliverance, nor, Eedemption, nor salvation from matter. He, who is not deluded, and who knows The Higher Self to be the Christ, and one With the Supreme Spirit. Knowing all, He worships the Christ within himself, With his whole nature. It is certain We can not have a church, in aught but name, Without the spirit of worship and devotion. J6 Alindah. Tell me, Great One! what is to take the place Of outward worship, as formulated By the different creeds, when these creeds Shall have crumbled to dust, and decayed ? The Blessed One. Inner devotion, for outward worship. Devotion to the One, the inmost Self. To attain spiritual knowlwedge, sight; Whereby the soul works out its salvation, And deliverance from the "modes" of nature; And attains a higher state of consciousness, Union with the Supreme ; called by Jesus, The kingdom of heaven ; by the Hindus Nirvana, and in modern phraseology The super-conscious, or inner plane. Alindah. If these eternal truths could be couched In plain language, that the deluded soul Might read, many would turn from the outward Form of worship, no longer satisfying, And look within themselves to find the Christ. The Blessed One. The Churches will hear a voice crying to them ; Let my people go ! That they may serve God In the inner temple of their own souls. Not in outward form, "Know ye not, that ye \7 Are (now) the temple of the living God"? The greatest commandment this: "Thou shalt love The Lord thy God (within thee) with all thy soul And with all thy strength ; and Him only Shalt thou serve; and love thy neighbor as thyself. Alindah. Oh how near and easily recognized, The literal "heaven on earth"; which has been The Holy quest of the Christian and poet. Tell me, mystic one, Who was Jesus? In our devotion what place does he occupy ? For thou alone canst destroy this doubt. The Blessed One. In Jesus, the manifested Christ, In his mystic form was represented. There are three categories of spirits. In One; the lowest the soul in man, (son) The next, the Christ, the eternal Lord, The highest manifested in outer form, Who adjoins His proper spiritual form, Co-existent with the Supreme Spirit Identified with it; Universal. The highest is the Supreme Spirit. Alindah. Which of these classes do him service, those Who worship the Christ as manifested Through Jesus, or in his spiritual form? 18 The Blessed One. In the first form he is manifested, In the spiritual he is unmanifested. The spiritual worship is the higher ; Two difficult for the mass of mankind. The soul must attain super- consciousness E'er it can see him in his spiritual form. As he is only seen by the soul alone. Worship the Christ, manifested in Jesus. Until within thyself he is discerned, Is my decree; do everything for him. When thou knowest the spiritual Christ, Thou'lt know the Supreme ; the inmost, the One. Jesus, in cypher, gave the Three in One. In the parable of the "Prodigal Son." The "prodigal," is the incarnate soul; While the Elder brother remains one With the Father, pure spirit; the Self. When thou seest that every incarnate soul Is a prodigal son; thou seest indeed. And that the work of the incarnate soul Is to free itself from the bonds of matter, And return to its Father's house : become Again, one with the Christ and the Father. Thou will see indeed, by the inner sight. Alindah. Oh, if every one could see their own soul As a prodigal son; it is certain That the incarnate soul would rouse itself From its sleep, and loose the bonds of matter. By what way may the soul set itself free? J9 The Blessed One. There are two ways; by devotion alone, Or, without attachment by devotion Of works. Do thou every appointed work. Alindah. Oh, thou mystic one, What did Jesus mean When he said: Of myself I can do nothing? The Blessed One. Had Jesus been the Christ incarnate Which could not be; the Christ is impersonal, Jesus refers to his personal self, Without the light of the Christ within him, Which he also designates as the Father; "The Father in me doeth the works." Jesus often personated the Christ; Which he had a divine right to do As he represented the Christ in himself. Alindah. Why is Jesus called The Light of the World? The Blessed One. The Light of the world cannot be Jesus, But the Christ, who is all-pervading. 'Tis thine the inner meaning to unveil Of the teachings of Jesus, now hidden In parable, and in cypher, beneath 20 The ecclesiasticism of ages. To unveil the face of the true sun, As the light of all things luminous. This eternal Supreme spirit, without Beginning, devoid of the modes of nature, Works and is not stained, even when embodied, As individual souls. As the ether That pervades a"U things through its subtlety ; Is not stained, as one sun illumines All the world, so the soul illumines The whole of primordeal matter. Chapter the second: The soul frees itself from pre- conceived ideas. CHAPTER THE THIRD. Alindah. The work to which I have put my hand; I pray for guidance thou eternal Lord: Eenew each day thy spirit within me. The Blessed One. The doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, Eelates entirely to the plane of the soul ; The super-conscious within our conscious plane. Alindah. Then the only place to find the Unknown, And the Unknowable is within the soul. at The Blessed One. Scientists have not reached it ; Intellect In its highest flight, hath not found its abode. The eagle-like eye of the human soul In its flight, hath not discovered it. I will be sought after for my own sake, Saith the inmost, the high and Holy One. Alone by devotion, may I be known; Those who see Me must see by inner sight. Those who hear Me, by the inner hearing, Those who speak to Me, by the inner voice; They only are able to stand in my presence Who are prepared to taJce knowledge. Such only, can serve the inner Master. Alindah. Tell me, Oh my beloved Guru, How these Which thou callest faculties of the soul, Within our sense organs may be developed? The Blessed One. This of which I speak thou hast experienced. Thou couldst not with thy mortal eye see Me, Nor with thy mortal ear hear my voice. Then give of that which thou thyself hast earned, Of many reincarnations the fruit. Thou art thyself, a living example. Thou hast within thine own soul developed The doctrine which thou art to unveil. Alindah. The way and the truth, I can only see As the inner Light shines upon the path. The Blessed One. It shall be a cloud unto thee by day ; It shall shield thee from those who know thee not; Thy lamp is lit; on the soul plane 'tis seen. Go on thy way ; thou'lt receive nought but scorn ! 'Tis the lot of Master, Mystic and Seer. Thou art not better than the Masters. Alindah. If this doctrine is the eternal Truth, Why should not the mortal soul desire it ? The Blessed One. Because it antagonizes the self, The reign of the personal self must cease; To its Higher Self it becomes subject. To It the hords of millions are as naught. For It knows Itself to be eternal. Dwelling on a higher plane of being, What to the soul are these few fleeting years? It knows this world to be but a school In which the soul gains experience. That nature is in all her unfoldment But the lower nature of the Supreme. Nature in Spirit; not Spirit in nature. It is above all Nature, Soul Supreme. Yet in and through all Nature manifested; The Knowing and the Known; knowledge itself. Without the organs of sense as the ear, Yet the possessor of all the senses ! The Supreme, encompassing the Universe. Alindah. How can ministers of the gospel, who see Thy eternal form compass the universe, Teach that Thou art a Personal God? In Jesus, thy only son, begotten? How so belittle thy eternal Self? The Blessed One. They have not attained the spiritual plane. Having eyes, they see not ; ears they hear not That which is within the veil of matter; Neither can they take knowledge, though one be sent. They must become; they must be born again. The re-birth, they must themselves accomplish Before they can see the inner Master, Or their cry can reach his list'ning ear. This is a great mystery vouchsafed To know only to few mortals here below. The choice unto all is freely given, And the door an open door to heaven. There's but one road, the straight and narrow way, Of becoming; the Path easy to find. Alindah. Why so much time lost in preaching of sin And repentance, and an angry Father? 24 The Blessed One. This is but the outward form of teaching The "letter" of the gospel in the place Of the spiritual meaning of the text. The spirit of the doctrine will deliver Every soul from the bondage of matter. Alindah. A life of devotion is not enough To lay at thy feet, Thou Eternal Soul! It is my desire to know thee fully. How great thou art. How great is the Self ! The Blessed One. Know the higher Self and thou wilt know Me. Know Me fully and thou wilt know the Soul; Soul is one; if thou offer sacrifice to me; Art devoted to me, then thou art devoted To the Highest, the inmost, the Supreme. Alindah. God, my God, thou art within my soul; I knew it not. I thank Thee, Soul Supreme ! That thou bast thus revealed thyself to me. Three in One, my soul, the Christ and the Father. The Blessed One. 25 The name that thou giv'st to Me matters not. The soul creates; the soul the body makes; Each incarnation casts in finer mould. The Body to the divisible belongs; Man's soul to the indivisible; hence All sense of separateness destroy. Alindah. / am spirit in this body; I, the Soul, Created this body for my own use, Hence the soul in man is a creator. Why did Jesus call himself, Son of Man? The Blessed One. Son of man; name which to himself he gave. As the representative of the Christ Within himself; as being best suited, As an object of worship, limited To the capacities of the soul incarnate. Son of man stands for his higher nature As being one with the Christ and one With the Father ; hence the name Son of man, Is used as a synonym for the Christ. Alindah. Explain further, Oh thou best of beings, These mysteries to me. Who was Joseph? The Blessed One. Joseph was father to Jesus, in his Human form. The words of the messenger 26 To Mary related but to the soul Which was to be incarnate in Jesus, As a representative of the Christ. Hence, no miraculous, immaculate Conception, herald' the birth of Jesus. No "Virgin Mary" to be thus worshiped. Alindah. Who was the soul incarnate in Jesus? The Blessed One. A Master, who had attained the highest seat Offered himself a sacrifice to become Again incarnate, and suffer once more The pangs of death in the human body, That he might restore the long lost doctrine Of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, Which were lost through length of time. To do this Jesus sacrificed himself. We may call him the Lord of Sacrifice, And offer devotion to him as a Master Who has again attained the highest seat. Alindah. How did Jesus, after his crucifixion, Manifest himself to his disciples? The Blessed One. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." He spoke of his spiritual, 27 Or subtle body in which he would manifest Himself to their inner sight in three days. With the divine eye they saw his divine form Thou too now by the divine eye, may see The impersonal form of the Self, Illusive, because only visible To those who have attained the inner sight. To none other can he his form reveal. Alindah. What is the Sacrament of the Last Supper? The Blessed One. This was to signify the union with the Self Of which I speak. Do this, the outward form, Until the Christ is formed within thee; Till in the kingdom we sit together And drink the nector; eat ambrosial food, The union of the soul with the Supreme, Of which the "cup" and "bread" are symbols. The doctrine of the kingdom of heaven Within the ''letter/' is a great myst'ry Which none can see save those who have attained The inner sight and thereby take knowledge, Within you, a well of living water Which is the fount from which speech arises; A fountain of living water flowing, "Springing up into everlasting life." When the eternal Truth is brought to light, The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven Will be the beginning of the spiritual Renaissance, the coming of the Christ; The Son of man, within the soul of man. 28 Alindah. My soul rejoices exceedingly, That I have found the Christ whom I adore, What to m,e, is outward form of worship ? I sit, at the sacred banquet, for those Who have attained the kingdom of heaven. Chapter the Third: The Kingdom of the Soul Man's Higher Nature — the Doctrine of the Mysteries. CHAPTER THE FOURTH. Alindah. Thou speakest to me of incarnation; The soul everywhere seated in bodies; I would hear more of thy ambrosial words. The Blessed One. I was never non-existent, nor thou, Nor the soul within the bodies of men ; Nor shall one of us ever cease to be. Many have been the births of thee and me; All these I knew, but thou knowest them not. As a man layeth off his old garments, And taketh those that are new, so the soul Entereth into bodies which are new. Birth, youth, old age, and death, are accidents Of the embodied soul ; with patience bear, And await thy deliverance from matter. The lower self, none but the strong can kill. 29 The weak must wait its fruition, its death, Through innumerable incarnations. But the strong can kill the "snake" of self And thus become divine, the Son of Man. By coming into possession of their divine Inheritance; the inner faculties. Thus becoming one with the Higher Self. Which is one with the Christ and the Father. Dost thou know me fully how great I am! Alindah. I see thee now, as never before seen By me; Thou eternal, best of Beings. Thou speakest of the "snake," what meanest thou? And what is meant by Jesus' Temptation? The Blessed One. The serpent; symbol of the lower self; Is the enemy that must be overcome, Which drove Jesus into the wilderness To be tempted by his lower nature. The tempter showed Jesus all the kingdoms Of the earth, and promised they should be his If he would fall down and worship him. "Get thee behind me satan," was his answer. And thus ended his last battle with self. Alindah. The serpent tempting Eve in the garden Of Eden; explain to me the meaning? 30 The Blessed One. "Now the serpent (the lower self) was more Subtle than any beast of the field." The self was the serpent which tempted Eve and Drove out from the garden the happy pair, And caused the soul to don its "coat of skin/' The symbol of the "fall" into matter. Alindah. What is Nature, and what is matter? And how does matter bind down the soul? What is that thou call'st the "modes" of Nature? The Blessed One. Everything that binds the soul to matter Is its foe; and an enemy to the soul. Primordial matter, out of which All material things are created, Has three constituent elements: "Goodness," "Passion" and "Darkness," called "modes." And without the modes of Nature, "Nothing was made that was made ;" Modes have their seat in Nature, and bind down The eternal incarnate soul in the body. There is nothing here in earth; nor yet Among the gods in heaven, which is free From the three modes, which are born of Nature. Of these, "goodness," binds the incarnate soul, By the attachment (bond) of happiness, And of knowledge ; "Passion," having the nature 31 Of desire, the source of attachment And craving, binds the embodied soul By the attachment of works, action; "Darkness,"' born of ignorance, binds the soul By stupidity, idleness, and sleep. The action of the modes causes a new birth, By combination of the constituent Elements, which is never absolutely good. Alindah. What is that which thou, best of Beings, CalPst "bonds of action"? How does action Bind the embodied soul? What is Karma, (Cause and effect) and what deliverance? The Blessed One. Every action wrought with some purpose Connected with self; though it may be The hope of gaining heaven, is followed By the necessary condition of a good, Or evil effect, in another body. This result is called "the boDds of action," That to which the work necessarily Binds the doer; called cause and effect. Benounce all attachment to the fruit of works. Thus man engaged in work, works not at all. His acts do not bind him to a future birth. All works are thus exposed to the danger Of gain or loss; the result of actions. The constituent elements form The nature of the soul in the next body, As it receives the entire mental form 32 Which it had in its former body, And by that former habit is led on, Even without the action of the Will. All works, except works of devotion, Unless they are done without attachment, Connect the soul with bodily conditions; Their result, in the next life in the body. Salvation, is deliverance from matter. They who are established in "goodness" go On high. Those whose nature is of "passion," Dwell in the middle place; return to earth; Those of "darkness" who abide in a state Of vile qualities, return to earth again. The death of what is born is certain, And certain too the birth of what has died. Therefore, it is not meet for thee to mourn Over that which can not be prevented. In the primal state all things are unseen ; In the middle state they are again seen, But become uunseen in the state of death. What cause for grief should there be in this? This primeval soul within the body Of every one, is indestructible. Therefore, thou oughtst not to grieve for it. Alindah. What am I to understand in this world By sin, and repentance? best of Beings! The Blessed One. Know, that even the wise man's tendencies Are those which conform to his own nature. 33 All beings follow their nature; what then Will opposition effect, which they work out, Whether it be of "goodness" or "passion." The soul gains its final deliverance, By its own power and its higher Self. The three-fold gate of passion, wrath and avarice. Are the ruin of the soul. Everyone must Eenounce these three. The man who becomes free From these gates of darkness works out The deliverance of his own soul. And thus he goes to the highest seat. He who worships the Supreme Spirit Does not perish; nor go the evil way. All souls are a part of the Supreme Soul, And their highest happiness to become One with Him. It is certain that a state May be obtained here in which the soul Will rise above the limitations Of the body and become, in a sense, Incorporeal. Jesus speaks of this state As the kingdom of heaven (within you), When all the desires cherished cease, Then the mortal becomes immortal; Even here he attains to the Supreme. Chapter the Fourth. — The Doctrine of Reincarnation, Karma, Modes of Nature, and Bonds of Action. 34 CHAPTER THE FIFTH. Alindah. Great One ! What are my inner eyes to see Of eternal Truth that they have not seen, And my ears to hear that they have not heard? Thou fillest all space 'twixt earth and heaven Without and within; looking without I see thy manifested lower nature; Within, thy higher nature, the eternal Self. How does the soul surmount the "modes of nature" And gain its deliverance from matter? The Blessed One. Whoever knows Nature in her modes, and Knows Me the creative power in himself, In whatsoever state he is on earth, That soul will never again come to birth. Alindah. Man having surmounted the modes, by what May he be known? How does he carry himself? 35 The Blessed One. He who hates uot any living creature, And looks upon all beings as himself; He who regards alike both friend and foe. When the embodied soul has passed beyond The three modes, from which all bodies sprung, Freed from birth and death it eats immortal food. Alindah. Those which thou callest the inner senses; Does Jesus speak of these in his doctrine Of the kingdom of heaven; where mentioned? The Blessed One. 'Tis hidden in cypher within the words Of the parable ; Seed growing secretly. The inner senses are likened unto A man who planteth seed in his garden. He watcheth it both morning and evening. At first it sendeth out the tender blade; The voice of conscience within the soul; Then the ear appears; the still small voice; And then the full grown corn in the ear; The fully developed inner senses. Then he putteth in immediately The sickle, because the harvest has come. Thine own soul hath been growing secretly For the past twenty years, since first the blade Appeared; now, thou puttest in the sickle, Because the harvest has come ; Seest thou ? 36 Alindah. Mystic One, thou who canst read the cypher, Show me the parable of the ten virgins? The Blessed One. The -five virgins, who had oil in their lamps, Are likened unto the five inner senses. These were ready when the Bridegroom, Master, Or mystic Son of man, came to go in To the wedding; union of the Soul and Self. But the five foolish virgins, who had not The five innner senses thus developed; Whose lamps had gone out, were themselves shut out. To them, the inner kingdom was closed. "Watch! for ye know not the day nor the hour, When the Son of man cometh"; equivalent to, Watch ! for ye know not the day nor the hour When the re-birth will take place within you Which will unite you to the Higher Self And thus develop the mystic Christ in you. When the inner senses are developed; is The coining of the mystic Son of man, Whose fan is in his hand, and who's floor; The super-conscious or inner planes, He will thoroughly purge, and separate The wheat, divine knowledge, from the chaff Of ignorance, and superstition; Into his garner he will gather the wheat, And burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. 89 Alindah. 0, thou mystic one ! there is none other That can purge my soul of its ignorance And superstition, and burn the chaff By the bright flame of knowledge, but thyself. The Blessed One. The flame of intuitive knowledge, burns Up ignorance, as fire burns moist wood. When the mortal soul comes into the state Where it can take knowledge, all doors open. When it passes over the tangled path Of delusion and knows itself to be, It will then attain to a disdain Of what has been, or shall be revealed Hereafter; it finds all knowledge in the Self. They are those who sit with him at the banquet And drink of that sacred nectar, and eat Ambrosial food. Jesus in symbol Spoke of this sacred nectar as his blood And the ambrosial food as his flesh. Alindah. The Jews ask: "How can this man give us His flesh to eat," and his disciples said: "This is an hard saying, who can hear it ?" The Blessed One. Jesus spoke in the person of the Christ. "Except ye are able to eat of the flesh 38 Of the Son of man"; mystic Christ, "and drink His blood, ye have no," spiritual, "life in you.* Whosoever eateth this immortal food, And drinketh of this sacred nectar, The same dwelleth in me, and I in him. In symbol, it is the pearl of great price ; Again, the treasure hidden in a field; The grain of mustard seed; and the leaven. Which was hidden in three measures of meal Till it leavened the whole lump. Seest thou? Alindah. Great One! Why was it three measures, not two? The Blessed One. It refers to man's composite nature, Three in one, body, soul, and spirit. Again, the parable of the sheep and goats; The sheep are those who hear the inner roice, The voice of the Master, which is soundless. None can take knowledge till they hear his voice. Alindah. The inner meaning of the parables are '•Like apples of gold in pictures of silver." The Blessed One. Parables seen from the impersonal Extend over an area of time so vast; Impossible for the human mind To apprehend; as seen from the inner plane, 39 The parable of the Prodigal Son Extends from the soul's fall into matter; Its journey through matter and its return To spiritual consciousness; its Fathers house. How comprehend so vast an extent of time? Parables are the epitome of great truths, Which if written out would make a volume. The only way they can be grasped, is by Rising to an impersonal point of view. Chapter the Fifth: The Inner Meaning of the Parables, Seed Growing Secretly, and the Ten Virgins. CHAPTER THE SIXTH. Alindah. Thou art the One, engraven on my heart, None know Thee, Mystic One, but to adore. The Blessed One. Few there be who know Me, the inmost one. They see not the Spirit within them seated. They see not, though intent on seeing Me. Alindah. All hail to Thee alone, eternal Lord! With greater honor than the Guru bears. Thou art creator, within this body ! The Blessed One. They know not Me, second in the Godhead, The unborn and eternal, the Lord God. And the creator of this universe. By my mystic illusion I am born. When piety decays I reveal myself From age to age within the soul of man. Alindah. As the creator of the Universe, Thou revealest thyself to me, Great One ! As the ineffable mystery of the Self My own higher nature, How can I know Thee? The Blessed One. Only by devotion can I be known; And my mystic form be seen by thee. Alindah. Thou art nameless to me, eternal Self, By what name may I call thee, Great One? The Blessed One. Men, know not any origin of Me. They look for Me, the unmanifested In a bodily form; not knowing Me, As the uncreated and eternal Lord. They call me the Christ, and so I am, Emmanuel ; God within the soul of man. 41 I reveal myself to thee as the Master. None but thee can hear this holy converse. What thou createst comes from within. If thou wouldst create high and holy thoughts Then thou must have my spirit within thee My words, they are spirit and they are life. Alindah. I am then this great mystery to unveil, The Christ in me, the Christ in every one. The Blessed One. Not by philosophy am I to be found, Which lacks the element of devotion. Nor by any science, nor by knowledge Only by devotion may I be obtained. This is my decree, may it thus be known. I may be known as repose, quietism, Service, devotion, tender affection, and Union; As friend and lover to the loved. I may be known as the Lord of Yoga, Mystic union with the Supreme Spirit. Do all thou doest for Me, in my name, So shalt thou be in Me, and I in thee, So shalt thou be dear to me, as myself. Alindah. Thou revealest thyself, as life in forms And formless life thou art o'er all supreme ! 42 The Blessed One. What thou writest on the spiritual plane Out of thy spiritual force is created. Thou art of that mUch force depleted. Know thou, that whatsoever thou doest, It is produced by one part of thyself. If on the animal plane then 'tis brawn ; On the intellectual plane, brain stuff, Matter in its finer modified forms; On the super-conscious plane 'tis spirit. In that thou art in me, and I in thee. Alindah. Lo ! I've sought Thee these many years ; now, I've found Thee within me to be so Great, That I am overwhelmed, I have no strength With awe my lips are sealed, my voice is gone, I can only hear thy ambrosial words. I can no longer take them down in notes. Great One, at what point I stand I know not, But at each point I behold and tremble. As the path which I am now to tread Is revealed to me, I behold its glory; Beyond the power of imagination. What have I to do with all this knowledge That thou hast, Great One, revealed to me. The Blessed One. The Master's work to give knowledge to thee, Thine to give to those who do not yet stand Where thou standst The work 'tis sublime 43 By knowing those with whom the work is shared. Masters do their work, then claim their reward. The laborer is worthy of his hire. Alindah. mystic One ! thou art the alchemist, Thou canst turn basest metals into gold; Thou didst turn water into wine, of old. All powers which our human powers transcend Are within thy mystic form concealed. To know Thee truly is to know them all! The Blessed One. No cry of self reaches the Master's ear. From compassion alone the divine give, Those who upon themselves the power consume; The black side of their own nature evoke. From their deeds they too receive their reward. Alindah. If I were the alchemist I would not care To turn base metals into gold, but turn Again the face of the prodigal soul Toward its spiritual inheritance; Toward its divine possibilities. The Blessed One. The term Religion means binding back; The soul must turn again to its first estate That of pure spirit, one with the Father. Alindah. Great One, the base metal is in thy hand. The doctrine of Yoga; The Mysteries, And the kingdom of heaven, these three unite Into one comprehensive religion, which, When one knows, nothing more needs to be known, By the incarnate soul while here below. The Blessed One. If thou couldst see these three systems are one. They have but one root, the eternal Truth. The soul being one there can be but one Eule of life, for all incarnate souls alike. And but one Path for mortal man to tread. Alindah. I am soul, the divine life I now live, in Myst'ry too great to solve from day to day; I could not live it without thy dear voice To cheer me on my isolated way. My work is on the inner plane divine, Below it, others must the problem solve. On whatever plane the soul is, it does its work. The Blessed One. This is the incarnate soul, the divine soul The Higher Self works not at all: is not stained Though it is everywhere seated in bodies. 45 Alindah. That the soul must be in darkness left, To grope its way, stirs my heart with pity. The Blessed One. Thou rememberst Lazarus, in the bosom Of Abraham. The soul calling to him To send Lazarus across the great gulf With a drop of water to cool his tongue ; In the fierce flames of this world's afflictions Tormented; rememberst thou the answer? They'd not change though one were sent from the dead. The incarnate soul makes its own bed in hell, This underworld, and change it will not Till the soul is satiate with desire; That which binds it to this lower world. Between the ordinary man, and one Who can take knowledge, the distance is great, Immensely great to one on the divine plane. The return of the prodigal soul, is The Path of the soul's evolution; For this, the soul's progress, nature exists. This universe has been spread out by Me; My unmanifested material nature. This is my lower nature, but I dwell Not in it. Behold my royal myst'ry ! I dwell not in it in my higher nature. All things dwell in Me, I do not dwell in them. I am the sustainer, o'er all Supreme. My spirit which is the source of all things Sustains all things but dwells not in them. 46 I will show thee what must be known, Divine and human to gain immortality, Which, when thou knowst, thou wilt not Again come to this trouble of mind. The Supreme Spirit, without beginning, Is without and within all beings, Not discerned because of his subtlety. To be known as the sustainer of all. He is knowledge, its object, and its end, The Supreme seated in the souls of men. He who worships Me, the eternal Lord; And discerns this Spirit within himself Is fitted to become one with Me. Alindah. Those who strive but do not gain the goal. The divine life, or super-conscious plane, What then becomes of them, mystic one? The Blessed One. Those who strive go not on the evil way. After enjoying that heavenly world, For unnumbered years they are born again; And thus they strive again for perfection. They are what they have gained in former lives Thus they are that much farther on the Path. Alindah. Great One, this is the reason for the classes Of mankind, fragments of the divine, Who are struggling by our side, is it not? 47 The Blessed One. Tis the law of necessity; Karma. Think not that thou canst stand aside From the bad man, or the foolish man, They are thyself, though in a less degree Than your friend or Master; remember thou That the sin and shame of the world, is thy Sin and shame, thy Karma immutably Interwoven with the great Karma. Blame them not, shrink not from them, give thy aid, To help keep back the powers of darkness. Alindah. tell me, Mystic One, Did Jesus teach The law of Karma in his docrine? The Blessed One. The lesson, by the Great Master, was taught In many parables in various ways, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap," not only In this present life, but in the life to come, In this lower world in your next body. 'Tis the bonds of action, the fruit of works, That binds the soul in the bonds of matter. Let the work by thy care, but not the fruit Of works; do thy work without attachment; Thus shalt thou be free from the bonds of action. Meditation is better than knowledge, Eenunciation than meditation. Eenounce all works in Me; find thy refuge In Me; Know that thou art dear to Me. 46 Chafter the Sixth: The Self can be Attained only by Devotion; The Doctrine of Yoaa, The Mysteries and the Kingdom of Heaven are one. CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. Alindah. God ! Christ ! Krishna ! or Friend !— How easy is worship when we have come Into That which contains them all; What matters the name for impersonality. That I live "with Christ in God" is as literal A fact, as that I live in this body. 1 worship Thee with my whole nature; My eye being single, fixed on the One My body is full of Light, in my body I am one with Thee as in spirit. The Blessed One, Holy One, the Master, The Self, are all synonyms for the One. Also, Christ, the eternal, and Lord of Lords The One to whom our devotion is due. The highest point of human thought and seat; All space between is filled by Thee alone. Thou God, Universal Soul, Spirit Supreme Again, and yet again, all hail to Thee ! I am, imperishable eternal soul; If I am That, then, I am That I am. Down brawn ! be still b/ain ! you are my servants. I am then, a surmounter of the modes. Stand at my right hand while I make the modes My footstool ; on the modes I plant my feet. 49 I plant myself on my Higher nature. I belong not to Nature ; I am soul ! I have now passed over the delusion. The Blessed One. Not till thou standst aside from self, Will the Self reveal Itself to thee. This is not so strange as it might seem; The great Nature of which thou art a part, Hath speech and it is never silent. Also, the great spiritual Nature Of which thou art a part, hath power of speech; To those who hear with the inner hearing. Alindah. Great is the Soul ! and greatly to be praised ! I am happy in the knowledge of the Soul. That knowledge, is meat and drink indeed ! "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." There is none other to whom to go. Thou, Great One, hath the words of eternal life. My soul still cries out to know Thee fully ; Thou, who art the Lord of devotion! Thine eye surveyst the whole Universe, Mine is limited. What wouldst thou have me see, That eye hath not seen ? mystic One ! The Blessed One. Now that thou hast passed over delusion, Thou'lt disdain that which has been revealed, Or what shall be revealed hereafter. 50 Alindah. It is now my inmost soul's desire, That this work shall be complete in knowledge ; Not for my sake but for the sake of the work. Thou art Lord, the Soul o'er all supreme. To know Thee the highest consecration; Obtained only through years of devotion. Great One, my soul bows down and worships thee. All hail to Thee ! all hail, eternal Lord ! Explain the problem by John propounded, "In the begining was the Word !" Great One. The Blessed One. In the beginning was the Word, (the Christ) And the Christ was with God, and the Christ Was God. 1 The same was in the beginning With God, all things were made by Him ; 2 without Him, was not anything made that was made. 3 In him was life ; and the life was the Light Of men; the Light shineth in darkened souls, The darkened souls comprehended it not; That the Christ, was the true Light which lighteth Every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, (in the souls of men), And the world was made by Him, and the world (Made by the souls of men — ) knew him not. And the Word was made flesh, (manifested In Jesus), and dwelt among us; and we Beheld his glory ; the glory, as, Of the only begotten (spiritual) son. Of the Father; full of grace and Truth. 1. Equal with God. 2. As the creator. 3. Out of prima matter. 51 No man hath seen God at any time, The only begotten (spiritual) son, the Christ Which is in the bosom of the Father, 6 (Who has never been incarnate) declared Him, (Through his manifestation in Jesus). But as many as receive him, (in themselves) Which is born (in them) not of blood, nor, Of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, But of God; to them, gave he power, to become The sons of God; even to them that believe. (That the Christ is the Spirit within them). The Word means soul ; thou too art the Word Made flesh, embodied the same as in Jesus. The Christ is the Light ; the Supreme, the Flame Thou'lt enter the Light, but not touch the Flame. Alindah. This knotty problem, thou hast made clear To me, Great One, as never before seen; Over which I have pondered many years. Explain to me the parable of "Sowing the Seed." The Blessed One. Seed, is also a symbol for, soul. The seed, or Word, which the sower sowed, Were souls; some seeds (souls) fell by the wayside, Incarnate in bodies that were short lived, Others in bodies dwarfed by worldly riches ; Others in bodies that brought forth fruit, An hundred-fold ; these souls were perfected, 4. Social world. 5. Equal with the Father, pure spirit. 52 Thot* who entered the kingdom here on earth ; Who returned again to their Father's houae. Alindah. I worship Thee, in spirit and in truth. Great One, thou seekst such to worship Thee. The Blessed One. Men will compass land and sea, to make one Proselyte, and when he is made, man ! He is still subject to his lower nature. Men will cross seas more lands to discover And leave the vast possessions within them ; Faculties of inner sight, hearing, and speech; Undiscovered, and, undeveloped. But man, being a materialist, Will let this rich fruitage go to waste, That which has taken asons to perfect. Oh ! Jerusalem ! Oh ! Jerusalem ! Which stoned the prophets and laid waste, Thy house 1 is left unto thee — desolate ! He that putteth his trust in worldly gain, Is the man who built his house on the sand ; The storm came, and great was the fall thereof. Men go on building their eternal house Laying the foundations in the underworld ; Expecting the door of the higher nature To open into the kingdom of heaven. Thy house will be left unto thee, desolate ! 1. The inner temple. Alindah. Thou fillst me with awe, Oh majestic One, When I behold thy awful power divine. Then the triple worlds tremble, Soul supreme. I see not thy beginning mean nor end. Thou fillest all space twixt earth and heaven, With inner sight and hearing developed, With sense unchained, even now, I can not Comprehend thy wondrous mystic nature, Without thou givest to me the eye divine. Thy soundless voice I cannot comprehend, Audible to my inner sense of hearing, Nor with inner sense of sight perceive Thee. Canst thou, to me, reveal this mystery? I await thy answer with bated breath. The Blessed One. Thou art one with the Knowing and the Known Thou art now one with the eternal Self. The three are equal. Atma-Buddhi-Manas. Father, Holy Ghost, and Son ; three in One. The Quartemary within the Triangle; Thou hast solved the myst'ry of the symbol. And now its full meaning is known to thee. The Prodigal's return to his Father's house. Lo ! to go no more out for evermore. The mystic Son of man has come to birth ! The mystic Son of man is born on earth! Glory, on earth to God in the Highest, With the seven-pointed Star thou art crowned, Symbol of the divine Light within thee. 54 Alindah. All this has long been known within myself, My gracious Lord ! I accept it now from thee. All hail ! Thrice welcome from Thee, Holy One. Thrice welcome coming from the soundless voice; From the presence which hath neither substance Nor existence; that which is invisible Alike to the inner and outer senses. All hail to Thee, all hail ! thou mystic One I see Thee, as ne'er before seen by me. The Blessed One. The power the disciple shall covet, is, That he shall be as nothing in the eyes of men. Follow thou, the footsteps of the masters. This for thy good, for thou art dear to me. Thou hast now been "baptized with the spirit" And with "fire/' knowest now what that means ? And the cloven tongues of fire, a symbol, Which thou canst now read as an open book. Thou hast passed through the fiery furnace. Chapter the Seventh; The Meaning of, "In the Beginning was the Word," and the Parable "Sowing the Seed." 65 CHAPTER THK EIGHTH. Alindah. Thou God seest me, Thou art within me. Thou sayst, meditation is devotion. Lo ! these many years I have worshiped Thee. How shall I, by meditating, know Thee ? In what forms of being mayst thou, Mystic One, be comprehended by me? Thou alone knowest thyself by thyself. Best of beings! Creator of all things! The God of Gods. Euler of the Universe ! Declare to me thy mystic nature, By which these worlds are pervaded by thee ? The Blessed One. I am the soul, seated in every creature. Alindah How art thou, the dice-play of the fraudulent? And the splendor of the splendid, Great one ? That thou art both, I can not understand; None but thee can destroy this ignorance From none but thee, can I take knowledge. The Blessed One. I am not these things, but the animating soul Which gives to each its power of excellence. Actions are done by the modes of nature, The proper nature of each is in action. Si I take not to myself the deeds of any, Good or evil, actions are not mine. I have not the nature of the modes. If the constitution of the modes be evil The action will be evil. The tree is known By its fruit; are the words of the master. The human soul stands responsible For the use to which it puts this power, The divine Soul, never assumes life ; It always existed in the Supreme. It, becomes a separate existence An individualized soul, only, When invested with bodily forms. Thus made a part of the existent world. Hast this been heard; hast thy trouble of mind Born of ignorance, been destroyed ? Alindah. My trouble has been destroyed, by thy favor. Whence is the power we call inspiration ? Is that too, from thee? Best of beings! How, that inspiration can be evil. 0, Great One, I cannot understand, How it can be low and even vulgar, Why one will produce a good work, others Works do harm ; both from inspiration ? The Blessed One. Intuition, is a faculty of the soul; Inspiration, a faculty of the brain. Inspiration may come from emotion; Intuition always comes from the Silence. 57 Down modes, be still brain, if thou wouldst hear The voice of the Silence through the inner ear. The serpent, the lower self, may inspire A man to commit a bad deed for gain. Look well to the source of inspiration ; Let it be thy servant, not thy master. That which is done for self, is never pure, 'Tis never absolutely good: 'tis mixed. Do thy work, regardless of blame or praise, In that only, canst thou serve the Highest. So shalt thy work go down through the ages. Alindah. What are the two ways ? Thou best of Beings ! The Blessed One. There are two, deemed to be, eternal ways Of the world; by one, men go on the way In which there is no return; by the other They return again to this world of death. The devotee who possesses this knowledge, Attains to the supreme primeval seat. Alindah. The undivided thou, the highest point Of human thought, and seat supreme of all. Knowing how great thou art, may I in naught Dishonor thee, in word or thought, Great One. He that is in me, is greater than he That is in the world; he that is in me, Is the undivided, in the world 1 divided. 1. Nature. 58 May we walk in the Light of God. the Light Within us. If we find it not within us It is useless to look for it elsewhere. Who was Buddha, Oh best of beings? The Blessed One. The Master Buddha, the Light of Asia, The Master Krishna, the Light of India, And the Master Jesus, are all, but different Manifestations of the One Eternal Self. There's but one Eule of life for all Nations, And only one open door to heaven. "For straight is the gate, and narrow the way, That leads to Life, 1 and few there be that find it." The doctrine taught by these three masters Concealed in cypher, is one and the same; It is the Path of becoming, every time A soul returns to its Father's house, The mystic Son of Man has come to birth. The mystic Son of Man is born on earth, It matters not what country or Nation. Alindah. Why is this doctrine hidden in cypher, Why not so plainly written, that those Who run may read? tell me, mystic one? 1. Divine life. 59 The Blessed One. Super-nature prevents this, by its own law. They must be able to read for themselves. Entrance into Life 1 is marked by this power. The doctrine is a profound mystery. Each one must unravel it for himself. The Masters, in giving out their wisdom Hid its meaning in the words which framed it. It is for the Hindus to worship The Eternal Lord as Brahma, for us As the Christ, and the Buddhist as Buddha. In this there's no discrepancy, to the wise. All worship alike the Supreme Spirit; The Knowing and the Known, the highest seat. Alindah. How can I, the least in the kingdom, Give utterance to these eternal Truths? The Blessed One. Be but my instrument ; be not dismayed, Fight ! thou shalt conquer in the world thy foes. 1 My arm already hath destroyed them all. Knowest thy foes are of thine own creating? Alindah. What of Universalism ; the doctrine That all men will be ultimately saved? 1. The lower self. to The Blessed One. That is the doctrine of evolution, By the slow process of reincarnation; They know it not, even those who teach it. All will enter, in the far spaces of time, Those straight gates. Time is the great deluder. The soul is shut out from knowing its God; Blinded through all the far spaces of Time To the Light, to the eternal life within. Its deliverance from matter may be found, By those who so desire, by a shorter route, By devotion thou wilt over pass, all Cults and creeds. Give thyself to devotion. Alindah. I see not the steadfast continuance Of this devotion, which thou hast said, To be obtained through equanimity; For the heart which desires, is fickle; It is turbulent, strong and obstinate, Its restraint seems to be as difficult As that of the wind, thou mystic one! The Blessed One. Doubtless, but it is restrained by practice, And by indifference to worldly gain. He who is master of himself obtains it. Alindah. Ask and you shall receive, sounds to me like Something too easy to be credible. 6t The Blessed One. But, know that the disciple can not ask In the mystic sense used in this cypher, till He has attained the power to help others. The divine give; 'tis the law, and thou too Must give, e'er thou canst be of their kin. Know, that the answer comes from thine own plane Of being; the ordinary man asks With his mind only, and the voice of mind, Know thou, is heard only on the mind plane. Alindah. A bad man asks and he receives; his prayer Is answered, e'en to commit a bad deed, How dost thou account for this, Great one? The Blessed One. He draws his answer, the thing itself, From his own plane of being; his own will, The creator of his deed, hence his answer. Primordial matter is the source Of all material things on all planes; It is eternal, both past and future. Uncreated, and having in itself, A potentiality of issuing forth, And forming all inaminate existences. It is unconsciously acted upon By the Will, or by desire, thus the soul Is a creator; thought, will, and resolve Are matter in its modified forms, Also, desire, hatred, pleasure, pain. 62 Know that Nature and Spirit, are both Without beginning; know that variations Of material forms spring from Nature. In the activity of the organs Of action, nature is called the cause. But in the perception, of pleasure And pain; know that spirit is called the cause. If thou wouldst ask for things spiritual, Thou must rise to the spiritual plane. If thou askest on the plane of desire Thy answer will be the object of desire. Alindah. Jesus said that which cometh out of the man, That, defileth the man, How is this? The Blessed One. It cometh out of his lower nature. For from within, out of the heart of man, Out of the lower self, proceed evil, Murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness; All these evil things come from within His lower nature and defile the man. The lower nature in cypher is called The "serpent," know that this all-devouring, And all-defiling, is here thy foe. Chapter the Eighth: The Doctrine Taught by Krishna, Buddha and Jesus Hidden in Cypher, is One. , «s CHAPTER THE NINTH. Alindah. What sayst thou of Theosophy, Great One? The Blessed One. The Wisdom Eeligion was withdrawn, The shepherd smitten, the sheep scattered, lest It should become a cult, the "letter" taught In place of the inner meaning; 'twill appear Again at the close of this century. Alindah. I want pure truth without being mixed With my preconceived ideas of Truth. All knowledge is seated in Thee, Great One; Thou art the Master, the re-adjuster. My soul waits for Thee, Lord of devotion, Thy pleasure; to speak or to be silent. What did Jesus mean by the worm that dieth not; And the fire that is not quenched, Great One? 64 The Blessed One. Desire, is born of the "passion" mode, An unquenchable flame; it is desire That causes the soul to re-incarnate; The flame burneth till desire is quenched. The lower self is the worm that dieth not. Jesus said; "Thou shalt no more come out thence, Till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing," — Of thy Karma; working out thy salvation. Desire lives when the man has accumulated Unto himself innumerable existences. He who would enter upon the path of power Must tear desire out of his heart; and then The heart will bleed; the whole life of the man Seems to be utterly dissolved; this ordeal Must be endured; it may come at the first Step of the perilous ladder which leads To the Path of divine life, it may not come Until the last; it has to be endured; fix The energies of thy soul upon the task. Live not in the present nor the future, but, In the eternal; desire can not flourish there. Alindah. Jesus asked them; "Whom say ye that I am*? The Blessed One. Peter, replying said; "Thou art the Christ." Upon this rock I will build my church. Stress has been laid upon Peter as the "rock" 66 Instead of the rock, — the Christ in Jesus. Peter, is the rock on which is builded The Church of St. Peter's at Rome; and Mary The mother of Jesus, is the corner stone. Jesus, and the Christ, are left in the background. "Call not any man your Master, for one Is your Master, even the Christ," within you. Alindah. Again, "What think you of Christ, whose son was he? They say unto him, "The son of David." How then, doth David, in spirit, call him Lord? If David called him Lord, how is he his son? The Blessed One. The "Christ" has alway been in the world : called By different names in other nations. The "Christ" is only an appellation for, That, Which is nameless and incomprehensible. Chapter the Ninth: The Christ, is the Rock upon which the Church is to be Builded, and not Peter. CHAPTER THE TENTH. The Blessed One. Soul, why hastest thou to catch a bubble! Soul, why hastest thou to overtake Time ! Thou soul, art both Time and the bubble. In thy mortal body, the bubble, In thy spiritual nature Time. In thy mortal body, thou hast not yet, Filled thy belly with husks; not yet ready To turn thy face towards thy Father's house. With pleasure the soul must be satiate, And wear out pain, ere the eyes will see That light which illumines the spaceless soul, And the Path which leads to the supreme goal. Alindah. I, am the imperishable eternal Self In this body seated; 'tis my moral soul 1 That is incarnate within this body. I now see the mystery for myself. 1. Lower manas. The soul is dual. 67 The union of my mortal soul, with the Self Constitutes my soul's immortality. A greater mystery, than any other Mystery, has now been solved by me. Thou, Mystic One, my human soul adores. The Blessed One. Thou art now prepared for a further Path, Now that the secret of this great lesson is told; In it lies the mystery of the new way, The path leads out of all human experience. Utterly beyond human perception. Art thou ready, Soul, to tread the new way? Alindah. I am one with thee 1 , joy unspeakable! I am in myself the Christ, the mystic one. None but Thee, could have revealed this to me. I am now, the Warrior, Eternal Truth, The day of the great peace, hath dawned at last, He, has become one with me, — forever. Be still, my soul, and know that I am God. 2 I no longer, am the divine fragment Separate, but am one, with the whole. This is the bread, that came down from heaven, If a man eat of it he shall never die. He must become one with his divine Self. This, is the law of immortality; then, This mortal consciousness, will never die; Thou, mortal soul, hast donned immortal robes. Thou, has become one with thy Higher Self. 1. The Self. 2. To my lower self. 6& The Blessed One. This day ! in thee, the mystic Christ is born ! The mystic Son of Man is born on earth. In thee, is brought to light the mystery. Of the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, Which thou, for long years, hast sought to fathom. Alindah. My lips with amazement are dumb, Great one. At this sacred converse between us two, My mortal soul, and my own Higher Self. For twenty years or more thy voice I've heard. To fathom this mystery, my great desire Has been; through years of meditation. I've sought to bring out, what was revealed Within, too subtle to be couched in words. To be able to voice this mystery. I would have dipped my pen in the blood Of my heart, my inmost soul to reveal; The eternal Truth within me hidden, Which of myself alone, I had not power To bring forth this awe inspiring mystery. The Blessed One. Thou canst now unveil the inner meaning Of the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven. As taught by the Master in parables. Within the soul is the Light of the world The only Light that can be shed on the Path. It is beyond you, but you have reached it, And in reaching it, you have lost yourself. 69 Alindah. To rest thy human body I would lie Prone on my face at thy dear feet, Great one ! My soul overflowing with devotion. Never sated with thy ambrosial words. When thou sayst to me, Arise and stand My limbs tremble, I have no strength in me; In the kingdom of heaven 1 I am the least. For time, to comprehend my new estate; Time, to survey this vast inner world, Time to sit at the banquet of those returned; Drink of the nectar and eat ambrosial food, With the redeemed, at my Lord's great supper. To behold the faces of beloved Messiahs, Of Masters, prophets, mystics and seers, Those that have been martyrs for the Truth's sake; That have taught the doctrine of the kingdom; The doctrine of the mysteries, and Yoga. 1 Oh Glorious throng, all hail ! all hail ! All hail ! myriads of glorified forms. All hail to Thee, eternal Lord, all hail ! All hail to Thee, Supreme, o'er all supreme. Thou seem'st to me to touch the skies; Thy splendor to light the Universe. I see thee as a mass of light glowing - Bright as the blaze of burning fire and sun, And with thy radiance heats the Universe. Vast on every side beyond all bound. None is thine equal, who in all the worlds Surpass thee, thou of boundless power. To thee I bow, Be gracious, God Supreme! Therefore, saluting thee, and bending low. 1. The super-conscious plane. 3. Union with the Self. 70 I ask thy grace, God, whose praise is meet. Be gracious then, Lord, as sire to son. This marvel having seen, ne'er seen before. My soul rejoices, Yet is moved by awe. I turn to Thee, Great one, who art to me, As friend to friend, as lover to the loved And ask of Thee, tell me why, Mystic one, The throng of the Eedeemed is not so great. As the myriad souls that have been incarnate Since the beginning of Time's awful sway? Souls their journey took ; donned their "coat of skin," Passed through the fires of the underworld, Tried in the fierce flames of experience, Ere they could regain their Father's house. Where are the unnumbered dead, great one! That have left their footprints in the burning sand? Which in my mortal form I cannot see, for My divine form is still veiled in mystery. Thou must continue to be sight to me. The Blessed One. The seven-pointed star adorns thy brow, Past, and future are known to thee now. The unnumbered dead are still evolving, An endless procession of birth and death. The great wheel revolves, and on it are bound The rich and the poor, the great and the small; Each has his moment of good fortune, When the- wheel brings him uppermost; the king Eises and falls, the poet is feted, then Forgotten, the slave is happy, and again 71 Discarded; each in his turn is crushed, As the merciless wheel turns on forever. Life is a drama; the incarnate soul, 1 the actor. The Scenes, its progress through the underworld., Behind the scene the potent power lies, The divine soul, 2 sitting in isolation, Is the Light that guides the soul on the Path. The soul, in Dante's "Divine Comedy," The Tragedy of the underworld, Was in the "Inferno." The lowest step Of the soul in matter. "Paradise Lost" The soul had risen to an eminence Whence looking backward to its lost estate, And forward to "Paradise Eegained." In "Pilgrim's Progress," the soul on its way, Its face turned toward its Father's house, With the delectable mountains in sight. In the early dramatists, and Shakespeare, The soul fighting with its lower nature, Was about to sell itself to the devil, Like Faust; like Hamlet, worsted in battle. In mortal combat wounded, it fights on. Alindah. tell me, Great one, when will the fight end? And the soul pass on within the precinct? My soul sickens; the first and second scenes Are heart rending. Is there nothing better To look upon, or to look forward to? Still the soul clings to the underworld. Will it never pass beyond delusion, and 1. The soul is dual. 2. The Higher Self. 72 Be awakened out of its sensuous sleep? Are we never to have the third scene complete; The glad return of the prodigal soul, With joy, and singing, to its Father's house? What can be done, to hasten the time, To awaken the soul out of death's sleep? The Blessed One. The soul in darkness, sees not its own Light. Torturing the mass of elements, seated In the body, and Me, who dwells within it. Alindah. What is meant by the soul being lost? Thou, Best of Beings, destroy this doubt. The Blessed One. The Soul loses its individuality. In its next body, only the essence Of its former consciousness is saved. It can recall nothing of its past life; Although safely stored in the higher Self, All of which comes into its possession, When it becomes one with its Higher Self. Alindah. All this, I have verified in myself. The Blessed One. The Higher Self cannot all this knowledge 73 Keveal, while the soul is veiled in matter, The soul in each age creates its religion; Passing through the fires of passion, it paints, And on its religion engraves the fires Of hell. Jesus in nowise taught the doctrine Of hell, in its literal meaning. Souls that have passed through the fire Will teach a gospel of glad tidings, The watchword will be, "Joy, comrade, joy!" They will all be taught of God, within, The soul, the Higher Self, and the Master. The eternal Christ within them seated, Of all the souls seeking for perfection, Few know M e, the Self, the eternal Lord. Alindah. In gazing on the ineffable myst'ry Of my own higher nature, I am dumb. My tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth. In my experience of the greater life, I'm Weighted by a sense of unreality. To be one with thee, to breathe the same air, To lift my head, to claim my inheritance, To claim the use of sight, hearing, and speech, On the super-conscious plane of being. I fold my weary hands, and rest My head on thy beloved breast; Thus sweetly abiding in Thee, I am Thee and Thou art me. Chapter the Tenth. The Union of the Incarnate Soul with the Self, Constitutes the Soul's Conscious Im- mortality. 74 CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH, Alindah. Thou 1 art the vine. I am only a branch, And my Father 2 is the husbandman : Every branch in Thee/ that beareth not fruit, Thou purgeth it that it may bring forth fruit. Except I abide in thee, and thou in me, I can bring forth no spiritual fruit. The Blessed One. Every soul represents the Trinity. 4 This eternal Truth, is hidden in cypher, In the Master's parable of the "Vine." 7, the Christ, am the true vine, my Father, Who is one with me, "is the husbandman." "And ye," (incarnate souls), "are the branches." Here, we have the Trinity ; three in One. The husbandman, the vine, and the branches. There could be no closer union than this. The branch cannot bear fruit except it abide In the vine; the life of the vine, flowing 1. The Self or Christ. 2. Eternal Self. 3. The Self is Universal. 4. Or Triad. 75 Into the branch, and the life in the branch Flowing back into the vine. This simile From Nature, shows what is meant by abide; To become one, I am you, and you are me. Except ye abide in the Higher Self, The life cannot flow into the branch. Here, we have the embodied soul one part, The Higher nature two parts of the Trinity. Alindah. What happens to the soul, if 11 does not Abide in the Higher nature, Great one ! The Blessed One. The souls wither : they have no life in them. Men gather, and cast them into the "fire"; They come back again in a new body, And pass through the "fire" of experience. Alindah. What a wealth of spiritual knowledge, Is stored in the parables of the Master; To those who are able to read the cypher! Jesus said, "What have I to do with thee, " 'Tis not lawful to take the children's bread And give it unto dogs." Yet the dogs Eat of the crumbs that fall from the table. Those that have ears to hear, let them hear. The spiritual sight must first be attained; The inner plane of consciousness from which 76 Jesus spoke, ere one can read the cypher In which all the parables are written. Being able to read the cypher is to see; One must have attained to speech, to be able To translate the cypher into language, Which the intellect can only apprehend. In close connection with that of the "Vine" Is the parable of the barren fig tree; The soul that has produced only leaves, And no fruit, an example of the soul That has not become one with the Self. Thou must speak from thine one plane of being, And speak the joyous tidings of the soul. Not under laws of Ehetoric's control, From nature's laws thy soul has freed itself. Here, the laws of Ehetoric do not obtain. Conforming to the worid, the soul is held In the bonds of action ; thy soul is free. After being set free if it then conforms, 'Tis like Penelope weaving her web, Only to unravel, and weave it again. The soul has the power of communication, Without being governed by this world's laws. Alindah. I accept the language of the soul, Also its logic and its Ehetoric. How I would love to sing Thy praises; that I could speak, if I cannot sing, Thy praises forth to all the sentient world. No voice on earth with cadence so sweet, To my inner ear no voice so complete. 77 I am like Spinoza, "God intoxicated"; God my lower, God my Higher nature. The Blessed One Now thou seest that thou art one with Me In thy body as well as in thy soul. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, Those that knew not the Christ within them, But thou, to those who have attained the Christ. Thou hast now no need to receive succor From any living being, knowest thou this? In compelling the ears to listen, only To the eternal Silence, the being We call man, becomes that, which is no longer Man, but something above, and beyond. He stands at the threshold of divinity. The creed of knowledge, he will follow In jDlace of any of the man made creeds. He at once becomes an intrinsic part Of the divine life, as he has been An intrinsic part of the intellectual life, Of the great nature to which he belongs. The "Elder Brothers" are the pioneers; The first to enter the inner kingdom. The kingdom of heaven, must be taken, By violence; so said the Great Master; By some, the inner senses must be opened By force of will indomitable; By the use of the great engine of Faith. Faith is the engagement or covenant Between man's divine Self and lesser self. If a man believes he has the knowledge Within himself, he can claim and use it. 78 Into the Supreme Self will he enter; Whose thoughts are centered in the Supreme. As men devote themselves to Me, even so Do I honor them, in every age. Alindah. When the light broke on my inner vision, It revealed to me a new world of being; Of immensity and grandeur; I stood Awe struck; that mortal man holds the key To these inner mansions; plane within plane. "In my Father's house" (the spiritual domain) Are many mansions (planes of consciousness). If it were not so, I would have told you. I came to prepare you for a place, That where / am, you may be also; That what I have attained, you may attain. Greater works than these shall ye do, when You have become one with the Father. The Blessed One. No two need see the Self just the same. On the inner planes, to see is to be. Alindah. To be caught up where I can see the whole Universe seated in One, is sight indeed. Of what use is faith, love, and devotion ? For one drop, in the great ocean of being To worship the whole ; to worship the One ? 79 My soul, my inmost soul desires to know, I await thy answer, Thou Mystic one! The Blessed One. Devotion and worship are the power, With which to draw from the spiritu'l source, They are the human soul's dynamics; Without this engine the soul is powerless, It drifts on the great ocean of being A rudderless ship ; a boat without a helm. The soul draws from its own plane of being. All phenomena belongs to Nature. It is matter in a modified form ; In it there is nothing spiritual; It all belongs to man's lower nature, All produced from primordial matter, Of which the incarnate soul must free itself. Jesus in cypher taught the law of Karma. Whatever ye shall bind (to you) on earth That shall be bound (to you) in heaven. Whatever ye shall loose (let go of) on earth Shall be loosed (from you) in heaven; 'twill not Cling to you in your next incarnation. The Son of Man is come to save (restore) That which was lost (the Ancient Mysteries), The doctrine of the kingdom of heaven. Alindah. My heart's devotion, I lay at thy feet, My surrender of self, most complete. From the inner fount, the sweet waters flow 80 And permeate, with a radiant glow, My whole being, body, soul and spirit. All by the bright lamp of knowledge lit. If my brain to finer notes had been strung, As poet, or lyrist, I might have sung ; Thy language reproduced in sweeter lays, As in the long past Homeric days. Thou art the same mystic one, age to age, That has written thy message, page on page. That informs the soul with praise and song As time, and eternity, roll along. Thy hand, that unfolds the eternal scroll, The constant evolution of the soul. When, the divine eye to us is given, We see in ourselves the divine "leaven," That leavened all the three measures of meal, Body, soul, and spirit; herein we feel Our oneness with Thee, thou Soul Supreme; If in prose, verse, or rhyme, I clothe my theme, Through the voice of the Silence, the words come, When my own brain thoughts are still and dumb. Chapter the Eleventh: When the Inner Senses are Developed, the Being ive Call Man, is no Longer Man; He Stands on the Threshold of Divinity. 81 CHAPTER THE TWELFTH. Alindah. Mystic One, my mortal soul is o'erwhelmed With the sense of responsibility; Looking on the conscious plane I no longer Seem to see bodies; all I see is souls, Incarnate souls, bodies but their instruments. The Blessed One. One Ego, on two planes of consciousness, See now, thy myriad forms and faces, As have never before been seen by thee. See now, thy sovereign mystic form divine; See all the varied hosts of living things ; See thy Self, with unnumbered arms and feet And eyes, and faces infinite in form. Thou'lt see not either source, or means, or end Of the Self thy universal form, and Lord. Thy strength, thy arms> are infinite alike; Could this thy wondrous form be seen, Crowds would behold thee with amaze. Not by study, good works, or austere rights, Can the divine form be seen by mortal soul. 82 My form in thee, that thou hast seen, is one Hard to see, only by exclusive devotion, Can it be seen, as thou hast seen it now. Be not afraid, or in thy mind distressed, For having seen this divine form of thine. Be free from fear, and with a joyful heart, See now that other form of thine again. Alindah. Having seen again, this my human form, I have now become composed in mind, And have returned to my proper nature. Now, my own transfiguration I have seen; A momentary glimpse of myself obtained, That will eventually be my divine form, The blazing light recognized, without Falling back in terror, before a phantom. The Blessed One. Now, the transfiguration of Jesus Before his disciples thou canst understand; Thou canst know, only as thou becomest. Alindah. Tell me, Great one, how in mystic form Jesus showed himself to his disciples? The Blessed One. The disciples saw Jesus' mystic form Through the eye divine, as thou thy form hast seen. 83 Alindah. How did he reveal himself to the two Marys, And talk with them in audible voice ? The Blessed One. The soundless voice was heard by inner ear ; The inner voice, many times heard by thee. Those, now, that have ears to hear, let them hear. "A little while, and thou shalt not see me; Again, a little while, and thou'lt see me, "Because I go" (become one) "with the Father." The disciples among themselves questioned What this meant. Thou the mystery hast sglved. Alindah. My soul cries out to Thee, thou Great one, Who stands first on the ray of knowledge On which I have entered. Give me guidance ! In the work where I have put my hand ; Leave me not until it is completed. The Blessed One. No further canst thou go than thou becomest. Thou obtainest strength not by thine own right, But because thou art a part of the whole. Every man is a mystery to friend And enemy alike, and to himself; He does not know why he does this, or that. Beside himself there is the divine part, The power over which he has no control. 84 Alindah. I sit at thy feet, thy loved disciple, To be taught of thee, thou mystic one. The Blessed One. Peace I give unto thee, thou art as myself; They who renounce all works in M&; whose Chief object I am, who in meditation Serve me with an exclusive devotion; Their souls being stayed on Me, I raise From the ocean of this mortal world Without delay. Fix thy soul on me alone, Let thy mind be stayed on Me ; then shalt thou Dwell in Me, and thou shalt know Me fully. Alindah. Eaising of Lazaras, and the widow's son ? I await with bated breath thy answer ; None can this doubt destroy but thee, Great one. The Blessed One. The soul had not left its house of clay. Entranced it lay; at call of Jesus' voice It awoke and came back to life again. Only the "beloved disciple" mentioned This incident in his gospel of Jesus. All things done on the spiritual plane Are as miracles to the mortal eye. 85 Alindah. Nicodemus asked of Jesus the question, Sayst thou that we must be born again? The Blessed One. Didst thou note the hidden sarcasm In Jesus' answer? "Art thou a master," As thou claimest to be, "And knowest not The eternal law of reincarnation ?" Jesus was still speaking in parable; He in cypher taught the so-called master The spiritual law of re-birth, or The doctrine of the kingdom of heaven Herein taught by the voice of the Master. Alindah. Apostle Paul speaks of the carnal mind Being at enmity with God. What does He mean by the "carnal mind," Great one ? The Blessed One. The lower nature at enmity with The Higher Self; the enmity between The incarnate soul and the divine soul. There is no part of the gospel of Jesus, Written in cypher, which thou canst not For thyself interpret. Knowest thou this? 86 Alindah. Paul says : It is written that Abraham Had two sons, the one by a bondwoman; — The "modes," bound by the bonds of matter— The other by a free woman; that he Who was of the bondwoman was born After the flesh, the incarnate soul, but he Of the free woman was born by promise (Yet to come), this, was the divine soul in each. "Which things are written in allegory." As then, he that was born after the flesh, Persecuted him that was born, by the law Of the spirit, even so it is now. Paul in looking through a glass darkly Evidently did not see the Christ In himself, only the Christ in Jesus. Paul was not yet "risen" to the inner state Of seeing the Christ within himself ; Hence he could only preach the Christ in Jesus. It is not expedient for me to glory, I will speak of visions and revelations; "I knew a man in Christ (whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth)," says Paul; "Such an one caught up to the third heaven. How he was caught up into Paradise. And heard unspeakable words, not lawful For a man to utter; of such an one, Will I glory." That was his higher Self, The Christ in himself, of which he had a glimpse. "Yet, of myself, but in my infirmities." 87 The Blessed One. To distinguish between the Christ and Jesus, Look thou, outside of thyself for Jesus, But look within thyself for the Christ. The soul through its experience in matter Has built up its individuality For its own use; it has known itself only As a separate self ; struggling alone Through these various experiences In the body ; but when it awakens To the knowledge that it is one with The real Self, the eternal Lord, it then Enters into a state of reality. It begins now to live in its own world, The region of the Divine and the Wise. It must needs build an organization Fine enough to transmit its messages Ere its voice can be heard by mortal ear. The soul passes through innumerable Beincarnations ere it gains this power Which few in any century attain. Chapter the Twelfth: The Trans-figuration: The Self Revealed to the Inner Sight. sa CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH. Alindah. My soul cries out for God, I have no joy For aught around ; joy unspeakable ! When thy loved voice I hear, mystic one ! The tide in the great ocean of being Ebbs and flows; I cannot expect the tide Of spiritual being to flow away And never ebb, contrary to nature. By no other means is thy presence known But through the soundless voice, Blessed One. When that is still, my soul cries out for God. Give to my soul, this day, its daily bread, Is the inner meaning of the Lord's Prayer ; The prayer voices the soul's cry for its God, Whose kingdom and Glory is within us. My soul, thy kingdom is, thou Great one, Thou Universal Lord, and soul Supreme. Not knowing this, thy wondrous majesty, From carelessness or even in my love, If I dishonored thee, at times in mirth, I pray thee pardon it, eternal Lord. This is the essence of my soul's devotion, My morning prayer, to thee, Great one. What for Thee wouldst Thou have me see or do ! God as' the author of evil ; and the power Of the evil one, have been in me expunged; Long since burned out by the fire of knowledge. 89 The Blessed One. To millions of souls in darkness sitting That have seen no Light, freely give to then There is no purifier of the soul Equal to knowledge ; whatever thou doest Get knowledge. It burns up the dross, The past accumulation of ignorance Taken on by the soul, in successive Incarnations in its mortal body. The soul is continually becoming. Alindah. Strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal son, the Christ within me, I ought in my strength to glory, like Paul. I can glory only in mine infirmities ; Myself, I have laid upon the altar, That I may give this doctrine to the world. The Blessed One. Thy faith in the Christ within thee hath made Thee whole, which is the same as to say Thy sins are forgiven thee. Perceivest thou ? Alindah. The Son of man hath power to forgive sin. How doth he obtain this power, Great one? 90 The Blessed One. From the spiritual plane sin is not ; Every man is working out his own nature, Hence, there are no sins to be forgiven. Alindah. How is the Son of man able to heal? How did Jesus feed the five thousand souls? How did he break to them the bread of life ? The Blessed One. The Self has the power of healing in Itself; Jesus had only to cause it to act. All things are made of primordial matter, Which is acted upon by the spiritual will. Jesus, knowing this secret of nature, Had only to will it into action. It lies in knowledge of the power of the will, The Spiritual will lies beyond the human soul, All do not desire to use this power, While others would put it to a bad use. Man must become this power ere he can use it. Herein lies the secret of the mystery. Thou canst not use thy strength in two ways ; Thou canst not store thy power and use it, too ; The same laws on the higher plane obtain. Alindah: I would praise thee, thou mystic one, for Out of the silence, the answers have come. 91 My soul hungers fiercely, longs intensely, And worships ardently, thou Great one. I vibrate between two planes of consciousness. Coming back to the conscious plane is painful. Haw may this be obviated, Great one? The Blessed One. Formulate what thou desirest to know. Alindah. What to ask I know not, mystic one ; There is nothing that I desire more Than that thou wilt reveal thyself to me, In whatever way thou deemst that I Can best comprehend Thee, Great one. I live in thee, a two-fold joyous life. How live this two-fold joyous life in one? The Blessed One. Live, and breathe, and have thy being in Me„ By my oneness, and my divisible nature; My divisible, thy lower nature ; My oneness thy higher nature. Perceivest thou? All living things have their being in Me, But I am not in their lower nature. In my proper nature I dwell not in them. Alindah. My body is formed by the modes of Nature, Out of primordial matter. This is thy 92 Unmanifested material nature. Matter, that which is neither soul nor spirit ; That which knows matter, — matter-knowing — is soul. Our human soul 1 has its seat in Nature, And to thy divisible nature, belongs. Which is thy lower nature, Great one, And soul and spirit thy higher nature; To my lower nature, life and death belong ; In my material nature is the divided, My higher nature the undivided. The Blessed One. Knowledge by which one, eternal essence Is seen in all creatures, undivided, In the divided, is knowledge indeed. Alindah. The re-birth, I've found to be birth indeed. I have not passed through without a struggle. I stand aside from matter and see myself As soul, this is attained by becoming. My soul has freed itself and stands aloof Guiding my life to its future greatness. Not to draw Thee down to me, but myself Lift up to Thee. In Thee I rejoice. That thou mayest be obtained by me ; Hail to thee, Master ! ready to answer. The Blessed One. To see by the intellect is one ; to become, — The great gulf, the abyss, must be passed. 1. Mind. 93 Alindah. What wouldst thou have my inner eyes see On this side the gulf, that they have not seen ; Or further side of that which lies between? The Blessed One. With Paul, the kingdom of heaven, was yet A promise, not yet therein entered, only As he saw his own transfiguration ; What he called visions and revelations. John on the Isle of Patmos, entered in. He too, saw, as vision and revelations. Neither Paul, nor John became one with the Christ Their own Highest Self, within themselves. They saw the Christ manifested only In Jesus. Jesus was their Lord and Master. They taught not the spiritual meaning, They had not attained to spiritual knowledge. Jesus said of John the Baptist, The least In the kingdom of heaven is greater Than he. The inner sight he had not attained. Alindah. I ask the question ; and the answer give Through the voice in me which is soundless ; Then two separate lives, in one I live. The Blessed One. Herein is revealed thy mystic nature, Seeing, hearing and speaking on two planes. The mystic son of man, thou hast become. 94 Alindah. My own nature, as now revealed, is so great That I behold it with amazement. The Blessed One. Thou art finite, while I am infinite. My speech voices thy inmost desires. I fill the aching void, within thy soul, If thy soul be stayed on Me, thou canst not Strike one blow amiss ; knowest thou this ? Pass Me not by ; do thou all things for Me. Alindah. What is Spiritualism ? What place In religion should it occupy ? The Blessed One. Spiritualists, attain not to Me. They halt, on the astral plane intent. And with phenomena amuse themselves. Thinking they have attained all there is to know They are on the first step of the ladder That leads upward from the conscious plane. Learn the lesson, but tarry not too long. Each plane must be known by experience. Chapter the Thirteenth: Knowledge of the Spiritual Will; How Jesus Fed the' Five Thousand Souls. 95 CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH. Alindah. I have fed and rested this animal, 1 On which I am astride, what now for me, What new lands discover, what heights to see. The Blessed One. This animal hath served thy purpose well ! It hath carried thee through all thy bodies, In every climate and in every land. Many have been thy births, from age to age, Which I know, but thou knowest them not. Of the treasury, of past knowledge stored, The eternal repository in the Self, Thou holdest the key, perceivest thou this? The storehouse out of which thou are drawing, The knowledge that hath made thee divine. He that knows Me, the unborn eternal, And the Supreme Spirit, knows the whole work, The doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, In no other way couldst thou have revealed, Or, unveiled the doctrine, but by hecoming. Thou hast re-traveled the Path of thy soul, And traced its footprints in the burning sand, Back to the entrance of thy Father's house; The mystery within a mystry, hast solved. 1. Incarnate soul. 96 Alindah. This mortal brain, so blind, so dead, so dumb, Eadiant with divine Light has become; The Supreme, revealed, resplendent as a sun, Bowing low and trembling; I salute Thee! God, in thy body 1 I see all the gods, And all the varied host of living things ; Thou art eternal law's undying guardian, The everlasting cause, thou seemst to me. The world, soul Supreme ! justly hath delight In thy great glory, and obeys thy law ! Why should they not adore thee, eternal Self, infinite God of Gods ! the world's abode, The treasure house supreme of all the worlds. From Thee the all has sprung, boundless form; All hail to thee, a thousand times all hail ! The infinite in power of boundless force. The All thou dost embrace ; then thou art All ! Father of all this fixed and moving world. And thee we celebrate with songs sublime; Our crowns of rejoicing lay at thy feet. 1 look within my soul, and Thee behold. thou Holy one; thou Mystic one, all hail! My eternal Lord, my soul salutes thee. thou best of beings, thou Blessed One. In the knowledge that we are one, I glory, 1 am finite, but thou art infinite; I acknowledge no greater master than Thee. Where am I this day, to take up the work? Not my will, but thine be done, Great one. I hold a certain knowledge within myself, Which I have not had power to express. 1. This universe. 97 Thou the obscure fount from which speech flows, Thou art both the fountain and the speech. Thou art the seer and the thing seen. This discourse of the Supreme mystery, Which for my welfare thou hast uttered, Has taken away all my delusion. For, from Thee I have heard of the birth And death of beings and of thy greatness; Even so thou hast declared thyself to be. Supreme Lord ! greatest of Beings ! What is the office of the Holy Ghost, The second person in the Trinity? The Holy Spirit, sanctifier of souls ; And when may he thus be distinguished ? thou re-adjuster, no one but Thee, Can for me re-adjust the Trinity. 1 would be a fool to dare to rush in Where angels fear to tread, Great one. The Blessed One. This All is known to me, and on me hangs As a string of pearls hangs upon a thread. Father, Holy Ghost, and Son; the Son Being the embodied soul, in the body Of every one ; the prodigal soul, The Holy Ghost, the manifested one, Which has neither substance nor existence. One, with the Father, the all-pervading, The Christ, the higher Self, within you seated. Chapter the Fourteenth: Office of the Holy Ghost Second in the Trinity. 98 CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH. The Blessed One. The soul 1 is never born, and it never dies. It has never been brought into being, Nor shall it ever be brought hereafter; Unborn, undying, eternal, primeval, It is not slain when the body is slain; It is undying and all-pervading; Constant, immovable and eternal. Becoming a separate existence In the world of life, it draws to itself The five senses, and the manas* seated In Nature, which form the mortal soul. When the sovereign spirit enters a body, Or, leaves the body, these he takes with him, Presiding over the senses, and manas, He connects himself with objects of sense. Through his lower nature, formed of the modes. Devout men, who are intent thereon, See the soul, or Self, seated in themselves Those whose souls are undeveloped see it not. 1. Self. 2. Karma Manas, Desire. 99 Alindah. We as mortals, know not how great we are. Thy sovereign union of soul with matter, Is this, thy royal mystery, Great one? I would glorify Thee in this body. This body formed of the modes of Nature Is thy lower nature, thou art the prototype. I have a lower and higher nature. In my proper nature I am soul. I animate, and sustain this body. See then, this is my royal mystery, The sovereign union of soul with matter. When in the spirit, my higher being, I see and know things spiritual ; I then speak from my own Higher nature, Which has power of sight, hearing and speech. I live now, not in the world but with it. My horizon has extended itself To the width of the whole Universe. This is my reward for my years of toil, Searching for spiritual knowledge. Upon the altar, as an offering, I now lay the sacrifice of knowledge, Oh this royal mystery! this sovereign Union ! of spirit with matter, to know, Is ample reward for a life of toil. Joy unspeakable ! Joy unspeakable ! This is union with the divine being. What divine being is I now realize; Entering into my own divine nature; Coming in to my own inheritance, Prepared for me before the world was. Then, seated in this mortal body, — too In connection with the modes of nature ; In contact with objects of sense I enjoy. Then, this, is my two-fold joyous nature. Now I am to see with my divine eyes, And do my work with my human brain, The complement of my two-fold nature. From my desire to know thee fully, The answer has come, thou Mystic One. I thank thee Great one, Thou soul supreme That thine eye overlooks all that I do, Thou art my critic, and my witness, thou! That all I have written is according To thy word; to the best of my knowledge. Our holy converse is herein recorded. What is thy will in regard to this work? The Blessed One. Give to those who are devoted to Me, And withhold not thine hand, but freely give. Unto those that have more shall be given, This is the eternal law of heaven; To those who can take knowledge more is given. Give the inner meaning of the gospel, The doctrine of the kingdom of God. Alindah. It is meet for thee to declare fully, Thy divine perfections, by which these worlds Are constantly pervaded by Thee; Declare to me thy mystic nature. I am never sated in hearing thy voice. JO! The Blessed One. In my Higher nature, I am the Soul 1 Seated in the soul 2 of every creature. I am the beginning, and the middle, And the end of all things ; Alpha and Omega. I am the intellect in sentient beings, And of senses, I am the Manas. 3 I am the resplendent sun, and moon As the principle of life, I am in All beings and living things the breath. As air, I am in the wind and thunder-bolt. Of kinds of knowledge; I am the knowledge Of the Supreme Spirit. Of those who sneak, I am the speech. Also, Eternal Time. I am the sustainer, whose presence is On every side. I am death who seizes all. And the source of all that is to come; And whatever is of living things the seed I am That; there is nothing, whether Moving or fixed, that can exist without me. > Whatsoever thing is pre-eminent, Glorious or strong, know thou, that all Is the issue of a part of my power. I have in continuance established All this Universe, by one part of myself. Alindah. The Supreme is not these things, but He is The animating soul which gives to each Its power of excellence; Nature in God, In my lower nature as in the Self. Since I have known that we are inseparable, 1. Divine soul. 2. Incarnate soul. 3. Lower Manas. J02 There has come to my harassed spirit The great peace that passeth understanding. Thou alone givest me the devotion, Great One, by which I become one with Thee The Blessed One. He who is not deluded and knows Me, As the Supreme existence, knowing all He worships me with his whole nature. Thus, this most mysterious doctrine, Yoga, Has been declared by Me. By knowing this A man may become wise, and one who Has completed every work here below. To those constantly devout, who worship With the service of love, I give to them The mental devotion to be one with Me. In them, dwelling in their souls, I destroy From compassion, by the lamp of knowledge, The darkness which is born of ignorance. Here now again, my most mysterious words ; Thou art well beloved by Me; I will declare What is for thy good; devote thy soul to Me Be one with Me, then shalt thou know Me fully. He who shall teach this supreme mystery, 1 The doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, To those who worship Me, he, offering To me, this highest worship shall come to Me. Nor is there any one among mankind Who can do me better service, than he; Nor shall any other be more dear to me. By him who shall read this holy converse 1. Yoga. 103 Held by us, I may be sought through knowledge. Hast this been heard with thy soul fixed on Me? Hast thy trouble of mind been destroyed? Alindah. By thy favor, my trouble is destroyed, My doubts have disappeared, and I will act According to thy word, Blessed One. Alindah. Explain to me the Seven Principles? The Blessed One. Man in his real nature is a trinity. Spirit; Discernment, or Spiritual soul; And mind; requiring four mortal instruments Or vehicles, through which to work in matter. This trinity, is that called in Sanscrit, Atima-Buddhi-Manas. Atima is Spirit; Buddhi, the highest power of intellection; That which discerns; and Manas 1 is mind. This three-fold collection is the real man; The origin of the theological Trinity; — Father, Holy Ghost and Son, — three in One. The four lower principles are: Desire, Life Principle, Astral, and physical body. The nature of Manas, become dual As soon as it is attached to a body; As only lower Manas incarnates. 1. Lower Manas. 104 In the spiritual soul, we behold God. This is what the Ancients desired to see; But what the moderns do not believe in, The latter, preferring to throw away Their own right to be great in Nature; And to worship an imaginary God Made up of their imaginations, Not much different from weak human nature. Atma-Buddhi-Manas does not as yet, Fully incarnate in this race; they use And occupy the body, by means Of the entrance of Manas, the lowest Of the three, and the other two shine upon it From above, the Christ, and God in heaven; Symbolized by the old Jewish teaching, "The Heavenly Man," who stands with his head In heaven, and his feet in hell. That is, The head, Atima-Buddhi, yet in heaven, And the feet, Manas, walking in hell. Which is the body and physical life. Man is not yet fully conscious, hence Beincarnation must go on to complete The incarnation of the trinity The human brain is a fine organism, Which Manas uses to reason from premise To conclusion; this is the lower aspect, And not, as some have supposed, the highest And best gift belonging to man ; its other Aspect is the intuitional, which Knows and does not depend upon reason. Mind, becoming wholly intellectual, 105 The whole nature begins to tend downward. Intellect alone, is cold, heartless, selfish, &ot lighted up by Buddhi and Atma. The lower, and purely intellectual Is nearest to the principle of desire. The other side, the higher, has affinity For the spiritual principles above it. In this higher trinity, we have the God Above each one; this is Atima, called The Higher Self. The spiritual part Next, is Buddhi, united with Manas Forms the Divine Ego. 1 The inner Ego Who reincarnates, taking on body After body, gaining experience, — Through successive reincarnations, — And adding it to the Divine Ego, Is Manas, not united to Buddhi. "When we either wholly, or now and then, Become consciously united with Buddhi, In the body, where now it is seated. This is the complete meaning of "The Word Made flesh." It was so grand a thing in case Of Buddha, Krishna, and Jesus, to be Looked upon as a divine incarnation; Out of this comes the symbol of the cross. Manas is crucified, for the purpose Of raising up the thief 2 to paradise, Or, the return of the prodigal son, Who became incarnate in matter, To his Father's house, his real inheritance. The human propensities, belonging To lower Manas, are those which higher Manas, aided by Buddhi and Atma, 1. The Christ. 2. Lower Manas. (06 Has to fight and conquer. Higher Manas If able to act, becomes what we call Genius; if complete master, then a god. But memory, continually presents Pictures to lower Manas, and as the result, The higher consciousness is obscured. Adown the pathway of life we see men, Who are geniuses, or seers and prophets. In these, the higher power of Manas Is active, the person illuminated, Such, were the great sages of the past, Messiahs, like Buddha, Krishna, Jesus. Poets too, and others, are men in whom Higher Manas, now and then, sheds A bright ray on the prodigal below. Solomon's temple, — a symbol of Man, — Is noiselessly building from age to age Without sound of hammer or tool being heard. Man, could not live in his bodily temple Until the master-man, hidden from sight Within, carrying forward the plans, perfected The lower structure. Then asons must pass Ere the master might use the temple For its best and holiest purposes. The New Theism, the inner meaning Of the Old theology, is based on science For no science is complete which leaves out Any department of the universe ; Whether visible, or invisible. And that religion which depends solely On an assumed revelation, turns 107 From things and the laws governing them Is nothing but a delusion ; a foe To progress and man's highest development. Man cannot see God above him until He finds God within him, which will illumine His whole being with the flame of devotion. Intuition is the Light. Reason, your guide. Chapter the Fifteenth: The New Theism, the inner meaning of the Old Theology, Based on Science. CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH. Alindah. Thy voice, down through the ages echoes, Voiced by the sweet singer of Israel. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow Of death, thou art my rod and my staff. Though I make my bed in hell, thou'rt with me ; When thou saidst, seek ye my face, my heart Said unto thee, Thy face Lord will I seek. Cent'ries on cent'ries e're the divine man, — The Messiah, Mystic and Seer, walked the earth, The bible is the brown earth, in which The divine seed of the doctrine is hidden. <08 I kave sighed, that I should produce only leaves, I have come to the ripe fruitage of the soul. Its fruit too rare for the ordinary mind to reach, And now again I sigh, that I am alone, To eat of my own viands, to drink the wine Of my own experience; still I sigh. Then I remember the Son of Man, hath not Where to lay his head. There's no place for him; He came to his own and they knew him not. The soul on the intellectual plane is not ready To open its doors and welcome him in; To be lifted up one with the Higher Self, And thus to become one with the Christ. Super-consciousness on different planes? Is not David, speaking to his own soul, 1 The God within him, and not to the God Of Israel ? 2 It was not the God of Israel That would make his bed with him in hell, But of something, of which David was a part, And he a part of David, — inseparable, What was it, if it was not his Higher Self ? What is it in me, that causes my thought To blend with David's thought, if it is not The soul, or, the same status of the soul? I have unwittingly, without knowing it, Fallen into the same metric measure, Used by the sweet Psalmist, how is this? Is it not proof that the soul is one, that Individual souls are a part of one whole? The voice of God which Moses heard was not In the burning Bush; the voice was within him. 1. Higher Self. 2. The Almighty. 109 The Blessed One. The Higher Self in Moses was the God That spoke to the children of Israel, And engraved the Ten Commandments upon The tables of stone, on Mount Sinai, That the God of Moses and the prophets. Was none other, than the voice of the Self. The God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, Was the voice of the Higher Self in each. The Self today speaks with the same authority As the God of Moses and the prophets. Alindah. But why all this tabernacle service, Of sacrifice and burnt offerings ? The Blessed One. It was for souls little above the animal; Just coming out of the "flesh pots of Egypt." With nothing less than the eye divine Canst thou look back and see the status Of the embodied soul at that time. And follow its slow ascent through matter. How great the gulf between that age and this; Bemember, disciple, that though great The gulf may be, between a good man And the sinner, it is greater between The good man, and the man who has attained Knowledge, it is immeasurable Between the good man and the one On the threshold of divinity. HO Alindah. My soul thrills with joy; that I have joined The choir invisible; that heavenly host, — Who have plucked fruit from" the tree of knowledge, Which stands in the midst of the garden Of Eden, and have eaten of the fruit Of the tree of life; and read the symbol; The cherubims who stand at the parting Of the ways, with naming swords turned Every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 1 I have entered within the veil of myst'ry. David's Lord said unto David, "Thou art My Son, this day, have I begotten thee." Was not this, the voice of David's higher Self, Is not this the same voice that spoke to Jesus On the banks of the Jordan; saying, "This, is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased !" In David, as in Jesus, The mystic Son of Man, came to birth. In him the mystic Christ was born on earth. When the human soul becomes one with The divine soul, then can the divine soul say, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Alindah. Thou Mystic One that is within me born, I lavish my heart's wealth on thee alone, I fondly think of thee, and worship thee, That mine ear may be ravished by thy voice; Sweeter to me, than any lute or lyre 1. Divine life. Jli Touched by a lover, for his loved one's ear; Or the mating voice of the thrush in spring ; As love calls to love, through the wildwood bower; And love looks down to love, from lonely tower, Answering the call of love as soul to soul. The abandonment of love, for love's own. When the soul's own love, occupies the throne. Oh ! that viewless throne ; at that sacred shrine, Those who have not worshiped, know now what love is It hallows earth life with heavenly bliss; A halo encircling the loved one's brow; The radiant "symbol," from heaven seen, Is more brilliant than the crown of a queen. My soul is athirst for the fount of Love, The voice of the silence, its essence of speech. Which, only comes with knowledge and power, To the awakened soul, its richest dower. It comes like a gentle rap on your door, Announcing the presence of the loved one, The voice of the Master, ready to answer. The Holy One; in the heart's core enshrined, The illuminator of soul and mind; Easily perceived by the inner sight; In brightest noon-day, or in darkest night The voice is audible to the inner ear ; Bringing to the soul the sweet notes of cheer. Its sweet accent blending with every thought, Its light penetrating within each cell. The soul's sweetest note, no longer vibrant. I have no joy, the soundless voice is all ; I would not ask the voice to touch the strain, But lowly at the feet of love remain, Without desire to own the love, inspired m Nor waste its sweetness on my ear alone, But send out the "voice" that others may hear. The inspired herald of love and cheer. Alindah. Is not this union the meaning of the parable Of the king who made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them That were bidden to the wedding; but They would not come and made light of it? Then said he to his servants ; the wedding Is ready, but they which were bidden, "Were not worthy; then gathered they in, As many as they found, both bad and good, And the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests He saw there a man who had not on A wedding garment, Friend, how earnest thou In hither, not having a wedding garment And he was speechless. Then said the king Bind him hand and foot and take him away And cast him into outer darkness. The Blessed One. That soul must again be reincarnated, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, For many are called, but few are chosen" (attain) Son-ship or oneness with the Higher Self. Alindah. 113 Explain to me the parable of the "Tares," Sown by the evil one among the wheat. The Blessed One. Another parable set he forth before them, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto A man that soweth good seed in his field; The good seed is the soul, the evil seed Is the sub-soil or the lower nature, Which is necessary for its development. Hence the tares and the wheat had to grow Together until the time of harvest. I will say to the reapers, Gather up first The tares, bind them in bundles to burn them They must come back to earth again To gain, through the furnace of experience What they failed to learn in their past life. But gather the wheat into my barn, The higher or super-conscious plane. Another lesson in reincarnation, A hint to the wise is sufficient. Chapter the Sixteenth: In David as in Jesus, the Mystic Son of Man Came to Birth. 114 CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH. Alindah. Blessed One, upon what is the church Founded? Is it, the virgin birth of Jesus? The Blessed One. It is founded upon the statements Of St. Matthew, and St. Luke. Matthew says: "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, Of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Jesus being conceived of the Holy Ghost, (The Holy Ghost being his Father,) then, Jesus was not in the line of David; But in the line of his mother Mary. Hence, the first statement in St. Matthew Is false ; beginning, "The book, of the Generations of Jesus Christ the son Of David." Now the birth of Jesus Christ Was on this wise : When as 1 his mother Mary Was espoused to Joseph, before they came Together, she was found with child Of the Holy Ghost." 1. After. 115 "Now all this was done" (By God) "that it might be fulfilled which Was spoken of the Lord by the prophet," (God broke a law of nature to fulfill A prophecy), "Saying, Behold a virgin Shall be with child and bring forth a son." St. Luke says : "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God" (thus making God A personality) "into a city of Galilee, Named Nazareth. "To a virgin espoused To a man whose name was Joseph, Of the house of David; and the virgin's Name was Mary." "And the angel said Unto her . . . And Behold thou shalt (In the future) conceive in thy womb, And bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus." "Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man"? Mary denied to the angel the fact, that She was espoused to Joseph at this time. As, St. Mark, and St. John> make no mention Of the virgin birth of Jesus, (the immaculate Conception), all they have on which to base The doctrine, is the conflicting statements Of St. Matthew and St. Luke; which no doubt Were gathered from the common people, as, "All these sayings were noised about Throughout the hill-country of Judaea." U6 Seest thou naught in these statements On which to found the Christian doctrine ? ' Knowst, that, was an age of superstition. Lower manas, the faculty of reason, Was not developed at that age, as now. Jesus was not the founder of the church As it is not founded on the inner meaning Of his teaching, which are spiritual Law. Alindah. The teaching of the Creed makes all mankind Aliens; yet these aliens by worshiping Jesus, as the only begotten son, Are to save their souls, which they do not know They possess, from eternal punishment, Consistency, thou art a jewel! With all my being and with all my soul I worship Thee, the inmost One in Three. The Blessed One. The Holy of Holies is the inner Temple within the soul of every one. The higher Self, the divine High Priest. The senses, the outer court of the temple. Jacob wrestled with the Lord, his Higher Self, And till he blessed him would not let him go. Yet that it was his own Self he knew not. Alindah. With thee I've wrestled, lo ! these twenty years, With knowledge thou hast at last blessed me. 'Tis the essence of twenty years' research Since the first hour that I heard Thy voice. M7 The Blessed One. Thou art now a scholar and scientist, On the inner plane of consciousness, Where the laws of eternal being obtain. Materialists, who only one source Of knowledge admit; sense perception, Eefusing to admit the reality Of aught that is not cognizable By the senses, forego the knowledge Of the super-conscious plane of being; The existence of Spirit, Eternal; Supreme, which the senses cannot discern. They are fighting against their own interest ; They themselves are kicking against the pricks. The socialist and the reformer is, With sheer force, endeavoring to re-adjust That which arises out of nature itself. Alindah. Why does science ignore reincarnation; When it accepts its twin doctrine evolution; If the ascent of man is recognized, How can reincarnation as the process; Be rejected, as both lead to the same goal. How hold to one, and despise the other? The Blessed One. Science is on the material plane It has to solve the problems of the astral, The next higher plane, ere it can reach The super-conscious, which is the realm Of religion, man's higher nature. We should distinguish between the two. JJ8 Religion is not, if it's not spiritu'l It should body forth the dividing line Between things temporal, and eternal. Between the Known and the Unknown, Those on the farther side of the line reaching out To discover the things that belong to the higher nature Not living only on the temporary plane Not knowing that they have a higher nature To develop. The soul looking from The higher plane wonders why all these people Are eager to grasp these temporal things Which are not real, only vanishing points; Which the soul sees to be but temporary; Necessary while gaining experience. On the lower planes of primal matter. But this cannot be seen by the soul till it grasps Its individuality firmly, that thing which It has with pains created for its own use, And with which it purposes, as its intelligence Awakens to reach beyond individuality, To reach to the impersonal; for this The complex individuality was created. What to the least in the kingdom of heaven Are these temporary advantages? Those that are bibulous to the sea of light, Within their own body, pass through them Not presenting an obstacle in the way, The light shining through all, supreme. The darkened soul seeth it not, neither can see Till the eyes are opened to the inner light Then it will see as though it had always seen, Not only the present life; the vision extends Through vast ages, unnumbered existences, J19 Of which it has distinct glimpses. What to Jesus Was the temple of which the Jews boasted. Jesus would arouse the soul to the eternal, To its rightful inheritance, it is only Sojourning here, to gain cosmic-consciousness And free itself from the bondage of matter, Causing a new birth; not absolutely good. To accomplish this is the chief of sciences, Through which all the masters, seers and sages, Have passed through this world to the higher Perfection, where they are not again born In this world, not even in -a new creation. As many streams in rapid torrents flow Direct to ocean, so the souls of men Within the slow stream of evolution Borne adown by reincarnation; Enter in haste within thy mouths, death As moths towards a lighted taper rush With still increasing speed to perish there So come these multitudes adown the stream " With still increasing speed to perish there. Bushing from one incarnation to the next Without gaining the goal of evolution; Spiritual consciousness on all planes. Thinkers, why turn your back upon the Great Problem of Eeincarnation, why not turn Your energies towards solving it; each one For himself: You will have to reckon, with this Eternal law sooner or later. Nothing but reincarnation and Karma Will solve the problem, "Why some are born To honor and some to dishonor," J20 The result of their past life in the body "Some to wealth and others to want : Some In the midst of crime, ignorance And sorrow, others in happy conditions." Nothing but the Law of Eeincarnation And Karma; cause and effect, or Law Of Compensation, can equalize, these Conditions; and the reason, why these things are. Chapter the Seventeenth: The Law of Evolution and Reincarnation. CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH. Alindah. Buddha, Krishna, Jesus and the Masters Have each entered the One, and when we speak To them it matters not what name we use. As they are all contained in the One. At times we hear the voice of one, again Another; when the beloved words of Jesus, Or Emerson, are re-vibrated On the inner sense of hearing, then The mental form of Jesus or Emerson Follow as though to identify The words, and establish the proof. "My words They are spirit and they are life." They Were spoken from the inner plane And on those planes they vibrate and re-vibrate And those entering those planes hear them And see their connections and right relations J2I These words for instance, that have just now Vibrated on my inner hearing With a clear ringing sound, and yet To the organ of hearing soundless. "It were better for them if a millstone Were hanged about their neck, and they Were cast into the sea, than to offend One of these little ones." Who are these 'Little ones'? Those just entering the kingdom Of heaven, or planes of super-consciousness. To offend, or place obstacles in the way, Of one of these struggling ones, who have Come up through tribulation, that have Trodden the Path with bleeding feet; And know that the goal, the super-conscious Plane, cannot be attained through Flowery beds of ease; or through the pursuit Of worldly, health, happiness and prosperity; Those who have the courage to speak, that Which they know and have experienced. And have come in contact with, on the inner Planes which they have entered, though it be But, the least, (or first) in the kingdom. Jesus' words are spiritual Laws, which Obtain on the spiritual plane, and these Laws Violated, the effect is sure to follow. Not in the material simile, of the "millstone And sea," but in their spiritual equivalent. But comparatively few are able To discriminate between the false And the true. It is a mark of genius To be able to discern, that what is true Is true, and what is false is false. Only 122 Those who are seeking the way will find Help in these pages ; if they find a few crumbs The first reading, or find that they are in The same rate of vibration, that, alone, Should teach them to read it once again, Till they find what is hidden there for them. Some persons are born in a spiritual line Of heredity, I think that is true In my own case. They have the spiritual Or, inner faculties of the soul latent Hence they are more easily developed A few crumbs gathered here and a few there, Or line upon line, precept upon precept. It's a slow process and the goal, is not Attained by any one road, but, by becoming. As soon as I understood the Law Of Evolution, I saw that Eeincarnation Was its correlate; before I ever heard Of Theosophy or the Eastern Wisdom. Jesus used the simile of the mustard seed To illustrate, in cypher, the growth Or evolution of the soul. The smallest Of seeds when it is planted in the sub-soil, The lower nature, and when it is grown, It becomes the largest of herbs, so that the birds Of the air build their nests in its branches. The divine illusion ; when the finite Is able to clothe the eternal Self, With personality, God my God; And come within the embrace of the One Is the height of ecstacy : — Yoga. The union of the soul with the Supreme. J23 Alindah. ! thou Great one, I stand where I survey The two great armies contending for Truth The main body, ecclesiastical; All the religious teachers of past ages; Fathers, grandsires, maternal uncles, Brothers, sons, grandsons, and comrades; Fathers-in-law, and friends too, in the host, All our spiritual teachers of the past. In the left wing are all our scientists, Materialists, and dramatists; all The makers of history and literature. Who, out of the intellectual have wrought, All this host have been our much loved tutors They are worthy of honor, Great one ! Now, I look again, I see the right wing Of this most formidable armored host In it are the prophets, mystics and seers; Messiahs of every age and nation; And poets, who see the light but dimly. All these to the spiritual world belong. And Thou, the Universal Form and Lord The Christ, art the leader of the host. When all these I see drawn up in array, I am overcome with deepest pity. Having seen this kindred host in line And eager for the fray my limbs give way, My body trembles, and my arrows fall From my hand, I am not able to stand. These I wish not to slay, though otherwise We would ourselves be overcome by them. It would be better if they, arms in hand, J24 Should slay me, unresisting and unarmed. When these hosts I behold I stand malaise; My soul, is troubled and I lose my courage, I know not which would be the better lot, That we overcome them, or they overcome us. I am now stricken in soul by pity. And confused in mind about duty. Tell me plainly, what is the better course, Declare this to me. I am thy disciple. The Blessed One. Thou, art now in the right wing of the host Thou must contend for Truth or bring disgrace Upon thee. Give up this faintheartedness, Yield not to despondency, and arise; It becomes thee not, who hast attained. They will think thou hast withdrawn from fear. Thou wilt abandon thy proper duty, And thy honor; thou'lt be guilty of a crime. To those who are to follow in time to come. Behold now the invisible hosts Back of thee ; they, are invincible and sure. Thou hast not to lift thy hand, the hosts all Are slain by me; gird thyself for the contest. Alindah. Give me speech, with it equanimity That I may hold my human soul still Under the control of my divine will ; That I may reach to impersonality, The seat of the knowledge of the soul, Which human knowledge and science transcend. I now see where the transcendentalist t25 Derived name and school; knowledge of the soul, The highest point of human thought, and seat, O'er all churches and schools of thought supreme. The highest point the human soul has reached, The creative art of man has touched. ! for a human instrument so fine ; Finer than any seolian lyre, That it could vibrate in harmony When touched by the light of the Higher Self; Man, hath not reached the acme of his power. I belong to the transcendental school Of Emerson, our only American, Produced Messiah, mystic and seer. Why ? dare I, so honor and associate his name ? The Blessed One. Had he been born in a superstitious age, His would have been a vestal mother And a god-sire, as accorded to Plato; Because the age knew no other solution For the inception of a Divine man; Knew not that he is the finished production Of matter and Spirit, of Nature's "mode" Called "Goodness" ; of which the gods in heaven Are formed ; man here can reach no higher state, This is the accomplishment of his work. Had the Great Master, in this age appeared, Who taught, and was hated in Capernaum, Who as the Messiah, by the Jews rejected, He would, as a spiritual teacher, or Master Have been honored, and not worshiped as a God. 126 Those souls that are still in purgatory, Look for a personal God to bail them out. And pay, for the remission of their sins, The status of hosts of souls in matter. Another host of souls lift their voices, Some mutter in agony and lift their hands To God, and tremble with fear, for dread Of the punishment in the hereafter. Another host, the materialists, Are bound in chains of Liberalism. No one can speak, except through their organ, And voice their ideas, this, they call "liberal" ; Their teachings rasping; 'tis enough to make The units of harmony antagonistic. They ignore the divine part in themselves, And the divine fragment in those by their side. A most typical, "Dog in the manger" ; A church of constructive Liberalism, Builded on the sand for a foundation; Showing another strata of the soul. All stratas necessary to make the ladder, The wise see the soul on all these stratas, Different planes of human consciousness; They would not by sheer force, try to re-arrange "What has its deepest root in Nature's laws, But see in the evolution of the soul, A continual state of becoming Every soul is working on its own plane. Why disturb the equilibrium? When thou seest a world in which Law reigns Thou'lt not attempt to rearrange the order. 127 'Tis only those who have the higher planes Attained, that are "liberal," the others all Have their name for nothing ; they cannot yet Look back ard see the steps that they have climbed, Which gives the mystic his pre-eminence. The one who has attained most is the weakest, Meek and lowly. He opened not his mouth. Alindah. Oh, for a voice to cry in the wilderness, From whatever church or denomination, To those who are coming up to higher planes, To come into the right wing of the host, The followers of all our divine masters, The universal Form in each revealed. The Blessed One. You believe in God, — believe also in Me, The Universal Form and Lord in thee. In whosoever the soul and Higher Self Are one, there, prosperity, victory, And greatness are certain; so I judge. Chapter the Eighteenth: The Contending Hosts for Eternal Truth as Seen from the Super-Conscious Plane. ftt LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 016 235 716 5