THE LAST SUPPER
BY Andreas Akakpo

During the afternoon of this Thursday, when Philip reminded the Master about the approaching Passover and inquired concerning his plans for its celebration, he had in mind the Passover supper which was due to be eaten on the evening of the next day, Friday. It was the custom to begin the preparations for the celebration of the Passover not later than noon of the preceding day. And since the Jews reckoned the day as beginning at sunset, this meant that Saturday’s Passover supper would be eaten on Friday night, sometime before the midnight hour.
The apostles were, therefore, entirely at a loss to understand the Master’s announcement that they would celebrate the Passover one day early. They thought, at least some of them did, that he knew he would be placed under arrest before the time of the Passover supper on Friday night and was therefore calling them together for a special supper on this Thursday evening. Others thought that this was merely a special occasion which was to precede the regular Passover celebration.
The apostles knew that Jesus had celebrated other Passovers without the lamb; they knew that he did not personally participate in any sacrificial service of the Jewish system. He had many times partaken of the paschal lamb as a guest, but always, when he was the host, no lamb was served. It would not have been a great surprise to the apostles to have seen the lamb omitted even on Passover night, and since this supper was given one day earlier, they thought nothing of its absence. After receiving the greetings of welcome extended by the father and mother of John Mark, the apostles went immediately to the upper chamber while Jesus lingered behind to talk with the Mark family. It had been understood beforehand that the Master was to celebrate this occasion alone with his twelve apostles; therefore no servants were provided to wait upon them.

THE DESIRE FOR PREFERENCE
When the apostles had been shown upstairs by John Mark, they beheld a large and commodious chamber, which was completely furnished for the supper, and observed that the bread, wine, water, and herbs were all in readiness on one end of the table. Except for the end on which rested the bread and wine, this long table was surrounded by thirteen reclining couches, just such as would be provided for the celebration of the Passover in a well-to-do Jewish household. As the twelve entered this upper chamber, they noticed, just inside the door, the pitchers of water, the basins, and towels for laving their dusty feet; and since no servant had been provided to render this service, the apostles began to look at one another as soon as John Mark had left them, and each began to think within himself, Who shall wash our feet? And each likewise thought that it would not be he who would thus seem to act as the servant of the others.
As they stood there, debating in their hearts, they surveyed the seating arrangement of the table, taking note of the higher divan of the host with one couch on the right and eleven arranged around the table on up to opposite this second seat of honor on the host’s right. They expected the Master to arrive any moment, but they were in a quandary as to whether they should seat themselves or await his coming and depend on him to assign them their places. While they hesitated, Judas stepped over to the seat of honor, at the left of the host, and signified that he intended there to recline as the preferred guest. This act of Judas immediately stirred up a heated dispute among the other apostles. Judas had no sooner seized the seat of honor than John Zebedee laid claim to the next preferred seat, the one on the right of the host. Simon Peter was so enraged at this assumption of choice positions by Judas and John that, as the other angry apostles looked on, he marched clear around the table and took his place on the lowest couch, the end of the seating order and just opposite to that chosen by John Zebedee. Since others had seized the high seats, Peter thought to choose the lowest, and he did this, not merely in protest against the unseemly pride of his brethren, but with the hope that Jesus, when he should come and see him in the place of least honor, would call him up to a higher one, thus displacing one who had presumed to honor himself.
With the highest and the lowest positions thus occupied, the rest of the apostles chose places, some near Judas and some near Peter, until all were located. They were seated about the U-shaped table on these reclining divans in the following order: on the right of the Master, John; on the left, Judas, Simon Zelotes, Matthew, James Zebedee, Andrew, the Alpheus twins, Philip, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Simon Peter. They are gathered together to celebrate, at least in spirit, an institution which antedated even Moses and referred to the times when their fathers were slaves in Egypt. This supper is their last rendezvous with Jesus, and even in such a solemn setting, under the leadership of Judas the apostles are led once more to give way to their old predilection for honor, preference, and personal exaltation.
They were still engaged in voicing angry recriminations when the Master appeared in the doorway, where he hesitated a moment as a look of disappointment slowly crept over his face. Without comment he went to his place, and he did not disturb their seating arrangement. They were now ready to begin the supper, except that their feet were still unwashed, and they were in anything but a pleasant frame of mind. When the Master arrived, they were still engaged in making uncomplimentary remarks about one another, to say nothing of the thoughts of some who had sufficient emotional control to refrain from publicly expressing their feelings.

BEGINNING THE SUPPER
For a few moments after the Master had gone to his place, not a word was spoken. Jesus looked them all over and, relieving the tension with a smile, said: “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you. I wanted to eat with you once more before I suffered, and realizing that my hour has come, I arranged to have this supper with you tonight, for, as concerns the morrow, we are all in the hands of the Father, whose will I have come to execute. I shall not again eat with you until you sit down with me in the kingdom which my Father will give me when I have finished that for which he sent me into this world.” After the wine and the water had been mixed, they brought the cup to Jesus, who, when he had received it from the hand of Thaddeus, held it while he offered thanks. And when he had finished offering thanks, he said: “Take this cup and divide it among yourselves and, when you partake of it, realize that I shall not again drink with you the fruit of the vine since this is our last supper. When we sit down again in this manner, it will be in the kingdom to come.”
Jesus began thus to talk to his apostles because he knew that his hour had come. He understood that the time had come when he was to return to the Father, and that his work on earth was almost finished. The Master knew he had revealed the Father’s love on earth and had shown forth his mercy to mankind, and that he had completed that for which he came into the world, even to the receiving of all power and authority in heaven and on earth. Likewise, he knew Judas Iscariot had fully made up his mind to deliver him that night into the hands of his enemies. He fully realized that this traitorous betrayal was the work of Judas, but that it also pleased Lucifer, Satan, and Caligastia the prince of darkness. But he feared none of those who sought his spiritual overthrow any more than he feared those who sought to accomplish his physical death. The Master had but one anxiety, and that was for the safety and salvation of his chosen followers. And so, with the full knowledge that the Father had put all things under his authority, the Master now prepared to enact the parable of brotherly love.

WASHING THE APOSTLES’ FEET
After drinking the first cup of the Passover, it was the Jewish custom for the host to arise from the table and wash his hands. Later on in the meal and after the second cup, all of the guests likewise rose up and washed their hands. Since the apostles knew that their Master never observed these rites of ceremonial hand washing, they were very curious to know what he intended to do when, after they had partaken of this first cup, he arose from the table and silently made his way over to near the door, where the water pitchers, basins, and towels had been placed. And their curiosity grew into astonishment as they saw the Master remove his outer garment, gird himself with a towel, and begin to pour water into one of the foot basins. Imagine the amazement of these twelve men, who had so recently refused to wash one another’s feet, and who had engaged in such unseemly disputes about positions of honor at the table, when they saw him make his way around the unoccupied end of the table to the lowest seat of the feast, where Simon Peter reclined, and, kneeling down in the attitude of a servant, make ready to wash Simon’s feet. As the Master knelt, all twelve arose as one man to their feet; even the traitorous Judas so far forgot his infamy for a moment as to arise with his fellow apostles in this expression of surprise, respect, and utter amazement.
There stood Simon Peter, looking down into the upturned face of his Master. Jesus said nothing; it was not necessary that he should speak. His attitude plainly revealed that he was minded to wash Simon Peter’s feet. Notwithstanding his frailties of the flesh, Peter loved the Master. This Galilean fisherman was the first human being wholeheartedly to believe in the divinity of Jesus and to make full and public confession of that belief. And Peter had never since really doubted the divine nature of the Master. Since Peter so revered and honored Jesus in his heart, it was not strange that his soul resented the thought of Jesus’ kneeling there before him in the attitude of a menial servant and proposing to wash his feet as would a slave. When Peter presently collected his wits sufficiently to address the Master, he spoke the heart feelings of all his fellow apostles.
After a few moments of this great embarrassment, Peter said, “Master, do you really mean to wash my feet?” And then, looking up into Peter’s face, Jesus said: “You may not fully understand what I am about to do, but hereafter you will know the meaning of all these things.” Then Simon Peter, drawing a long breath, said, “Master, you shall never wash my feet!” And each of the apostles nodded their approval of Peter’s firm declaration of refusal to allow Jesus thus to humble himself before them. The dramatic appeal of this unusual scene at first touched the heart of even Judas Iscariot; but when his vain glorious intellect passed judgment upon the spectacle, he concluded that this gesture of humility was just one more episode which conclusively proved that Jesus would never qualify as Israel’s deliverer, and that he had made no mistake in the decision to desert the Master’s cause.
As they all stood there in breathless amazement, Jesus said: “Peter, I declare that, if I do not wash your feet, you will have no part with me in that which I am about to perform.” When Peter heard this declaration, coupled with the fact that Jesus continued kneeling there at his feet, he made one of those decisions of blind acquiescence in compliance with the wish of one whom he respected and loved. As it began to dawn on Simon Peter that there was attached to this proposed enactment of service some signification that determined one’s future connection with the Master’s work, he not only became reconciled to the thought of allowing Jesus to wash his feet but, in his characteristic and impetuous manner, said: “Then, Master, wash not my feet only but also my hands and my head.” As the Master made ready to begin washing Peter’s feet, he said: “He who is already clean needs only to have his feet washed. You who sit with me tonight are clean—but not all. But the dust of your feet should have been washed away before you sat down at meat with me. And besides, I would perform this service for you as a parable to illustrate the meaning of a new commandment which I will presently give you.”
In like manner the Master went around the table, in silence, washing the feet of his twelve apostles, not even passing by Judas. When Jesus had finished washing the feet of the twelve, he donned his cloak, returned to his place as host, and after looking over his bewildered apostles, said: “Do you really understand what I have done to you? You call me Master, and you say well, for so I am. If, then, the Master has washed your feet, why was it that you were unwilling to wash one another’s feet? What lesson should you learn from this parable in which the Master so willingly does that service which his brethren were unwilling to do for one another? Verily, verily, I say to you: A servant is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than he who sends him. You have seen the way of service in my life among you, and blessed are you who will have the gracious courage so to serve. But why are you so slow to learn that the secret of greatness in the spiritual kingdom is not like the methods of power in the material world?
“When I came into this chamber tonight, you were not content proudly to refuse to wash one another’s feet, but you must also fall to disputing among yourselves as to who should have the places of honor at my table. Such honors the Pharisees and the children of this world seek, but it should not be so among the ambassadors of the heavenly kingdom. Do you not know that there can be no place of preferment at my table? Do you not understand that I love each of you as I do the others? Do you not know that the place nearest me, as men regard such honors, can mean nothing concerning your standing in the kingdom of heaven? You know that the kings of the gentiles have lordship over their subjects, while those who exercise this authority are sometimes called benefactors. But it shall not be so in the kingdom of heaven. He who would be great among you, let him become as the younger; while he who would be chief, let him become as one who serves.
Who is the greater, he who sits at meat, or he who serves? Is it not commonly regarded that he who sits at meat is the greater? But you will observe that I am among you as one who serves. If you are willing to become fellow servants with me in doing the Father’s will, in the kingdom to come you shall sit with me in power, still doing the Father’s will in future glory.”
When Jesus had finished speaking, the Alpheus twins brought on the bread and wine, with the bitter herbs and the paste of dried fruits, for the next course of the Last Supper.

LAST WORDS TO THE BETRAYER
For some minutes the apostles ate in silence, but under the influence of the Master’s cheerful demeanor they were soon drawn into conversation, and ere long the meal was proceeding as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred to interfere with the good cheer and social accord of this extraordinary occasion. After some time had elapsed, in about the middle of this second course of the meal, Jesus, looking them over, said: “I have told you how much I desired to have this supper with you, and knowing how the evil forces of darkness have conspired to bring about the death of the Son of Man, I determined to eat this supper with you in this secret chamber and a day in advance of the Passover since I will not be with you by this time tomorrow night. I have repeatedly told you that I must return to the Father. Now has my hour come, but it was not required that one of you should betray me into the hands of my enemies.”
When the twelve heard this, having already been robbed of much of their self-assertiveness and self-confidence by the parable of the feet washing and the Master’s subsequent discourse, they began to look at one another while in disconcerted tones they hesitatingly inquired, “Is it I?” And when they had all so inquired, Jesus said: “While it is necessary that I go to the Father, it was not required that one of you should become a traitor to fulfill the Father’s will. This is the coming to fruit of the concealed evil in the heart of one who failed to love the truth with his whole soul. How deceitful is the intellectual pride that precedes the spiritual downfall! My friend of many years, who even now eats my bread, will be willing to betray me, even as he now dips his hand with me in the dish.”
And when Jesus had thus spoken, they all began again to ask, “Is it I?” And as Judas, sitting on the left of his Master, again asked, “Is it I?” Jesus, dipping the bread in the dish of herbs, handed it to Judas, saying, “You have said.” But the others did not hear Jesus speak to Judas. John, who reclined on Jesus’ right hand, leaned over and asked the Master: “Who is it? We should know who it is that has proved untrue to his trust.” Jesus answered: “Already have I told you, even he to whom I gave the sop.” But it was so natural for the host to give a sop to the one who sat next to him on the left that none of them took notice of this, even though the Master had so plainly spoken. But Judas was painfully conscious of the meaning of the Master’s words associated with his act, and he became fearful lest his brethren were likewise now aware that he was the betrayer.
Peter was highly excited by what had been said, and leaning forward over the table, he addressed John, “Ask him who it is, or if he has told you, tell me who the betrayer is.”
Jesus brought their whisperings to an end by saying: “I sorrow that this evil should have come to pass and hoped even up to this hour that the power of truth might triumph over the deceptions of evil, but such victories are not won without the faith of the sincere love of truth. I would not have told you these things at this, our last supper, but I desire to warn you of these sorrows and so prepare you for what is now upon us. I have told you of this because I desire that you should recall, after I have gone, that I knew about all these evil plotting, and that I forewarned you of my betrayal. And I do all this only that you may be strengthened for the temptations and trials which are just ahead.”
When Jesus had thus spoken, leaning over toward Judas, he said: “What you have decided to do, do quickly.” And when Judas heard these words, he arose from the table and hastily left the room, going out into the night to do what he had set his mind to accomplish. When the other apostles saw Judas hasten off after Jesus had spoken to him, they thought he had gone to procure something additional for the supper or to do some other errand for the Master since they supposed he still carried the bag. Jesus now knew that nothing could be done to keep Judas from turning traitor. He started with twelve—now he had eleven. He chose six of these apostles, and though Judas was among those nominated by his first-chosen apostles, still the Master accepted him and had, up to this very hour, done everything possible to sanctify and save him, even as he had wrought for the peace and salvation of the others.
This supper, with its tender episodes and softening touches, was Jesus’ last appeal to the deserting Judas, but it was of no avail. Warning even when administered in the most tactful manner and conveyed in the most kindly spirit, as a rule, only intensifies hatred and fires the evil determination to carry out to the full one’s own selfish projects, when love is once really dead.

ESTABLISHING THE REMEMBRANCE SUPPER
As they brought Jesus the third cup of wine, the “cup of blessing,” he arose from the couch and, taking the cup in his hands, blessed it, saying: “Take this cup, all of you, and drink of it. This shall be the cup of my remembrance. This is the cup of the blessing of a new dispensation of grace and truth. This shall be to you the emblem of the bestowal and ministry of the divine Spirit of Truth. And I will not again drink this cup with you until I drink in new form with you in the Father’s eternal kingdom.” The apostles all sensed that something out of the ordinary was transpiring as they drank of this cup of blessing in profound reverence and perfect silence. The old Passover commemorated the emergence of their fathers from a state of racial slavery into individual freedom; now the Master was instituting a new remembrance supper as a symbol of the new dispensation wherein the enslaved individual emerges from the bondage of ceremonialism and selfishness into the spiritual joy of the brotherhood and fellowship of the liberated faith sons of the living God.
When they had finished drinking this new cup of remembrance, the Master took up the bread and, after giving thanks, broke it in pieces and, directing them to pass it around, said: “Take this bread of remembrance and eat it. I have told you that I am the bread of life. And this bread of life is the united life of the Father and the Son in one gift. The word of the Father, as revealed in the Son, is indeed the bread of life.”
This is the new Passover which I leave with you, even the memory of my bestowal life, the word of eternal truth; and of my love for you, the outpouring of my Spirit of Truth upon all flesh.”
And they ended this celebration of the old but bloodless Passover in connection with the inauguration of the new supper of the remembrance, by singing, all together, the one hundred and eighteenth Psalm.

THE FAREWELL DISCOURSE
After singing the Psalm at the conclusion of the Last Supper, the apostles thought that Jesus intended to return immediately to the camp, but he indicated that they should sit down. Said the Master: “You well remember when I sent you forth without purse or wallet and even advised that you take with you no extra clothes. And you will all recall that you lacked nothing. But now have you come upon troublous times. No longer can you depend upon the good will of the multitudes. Henceforth, he who has a purse, let him take it with him. When you go out into the world to proclaim this gospel, make such provision for your support as seems best. I have come to bring peace, but it will not appear for a time.
“The time has now come for the Son of Man to be glorified, and the Father shall be glorified in me. My friends, I am to be with you only a little longer. Soon you will seek for me, but you will not find me, for I am going to a place to which you cannot, at this time, come. But when you have finished your work on earth as I have now finished mine, you shall then come to me even as I now prepare to go to my Father. In just a short time I am going to leave you, you will see me no more on earth, but you shall all see me in the age to come when you ascend to the kingdom which my Father has given to me.”

THE NEW COMMANDMENT
After a few moments of informal conversation, Jesus stood up and said: “When I enacted for you a parable indicating how you should be willing to serve one another, I said that I desired to give you a new commandment; and I would do this now as I am about to leave you. You well know the commandment which directs that you love one another; that you love your neighbor even as yourself. But I am not wholly satisfied with even that sincere devotion on the part of my children. I would have you perform still greater acts of love in the kingdom of the believing brotherhood. And so I give you this new commandment: That you love one another even as I have loved you. And by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you thus love one another. “When I give you this new commandment, I do not place any new burden upon your souls; rather do I bring you new joy and make it possible for you to experience new pleasure in knowing the delights of the bestowal of your heart’s affection upon your fellow men. I am about to experience the supreme joy, even though enduring outward sorrow, in the bestowal of my affection upon you and your fellow mortals.
“When I invite you to love one another, even as I have loved you, I hold up before you the supreme measure of true affection, for greater love can no man have than this: that he will lay down his life for his friends. And you are my friends; you will continue to be my friends if you are but willing to do what I have taught you. You have called me Master, but I do not call you servants. If you will only love one another as I am loving you, you shall be my friends, and I will ever speak to you of that which the Father reveals to me. “You have not merely chosen me, but I have also chosen you, and I have ordained you to go forth into the world to yield the fruit of loving service to your fellows even as I have lived among you and revealed the Father to you. The Father and I will both work with you, and you shall experience the divine fullness of joy if you will only obey my command to love one another, even as I have loved you.”
If you would share the Master’s joy, you must share his love. And to share his love means that you have shared his service. Such an experience of love does not deliver you from the difficulties of this world; it does not create a new world, but it most certainly does make the old world new. Keep in mind: It is loyalty, not sacrifice, that Jesus demands. The consciousness of sacrifice implies the absence of that wholehearted affection which would have made such a loving service a supreme joy. The idea of duty signifies that you are servant-minded and hence are missing the mighty thrill of doing your service as a friend and for a friend. The impulse of friendship transcends all convictions of duty, and the service of a friend for a friend can never be called a sacrifice. The Master has taught the apostles that they are the sons of God. He has called them brethren, and now, before he leaves, he calls them his friends.

 

 

UNIVERSAL PEACE AND LOVE

By Deacon Sam Aboh

FRIDAY, April 3, AD 33, was referred to as Good Friday. It was the Friday preceding Easter Sunday - a day before the Jewish Sabbath.

Easter falls on the first Sunday following The Pascal Full Moon, the Full Moon on or  after March 21, the date of the Vernal(Spring) Equinox.

The Topic for the Lecture, incidentally, is the Theme for this year's Easter School - UNIVERSAL PEACE AND LOVE.  I will attempt to define the words "Universal", "Peace", "Love".

1. UNIVERSAL:  For the purpose of this Lecture, it means a phenomenon which exists or is existing every where, or something  that involves everyone.  Therefore, universal means  something that exists and  can be seen, felt, tasted, enjoyed, by all, and common to all members of a group or class - for example, characteristics and qualities, etc.

 Anything universal is not limited to any one nation or race, but extends world-wide.  So the spirit of this Lecture, and for that matter, the Theme for this Easter School, if I am permitted to paraphrase it, then it is "Peace  and Love for all peoples of the entire world".  Remember, we are living in a Global Village now; what affects one nation or race, affects all - we are all for one and one for all!

2. PEACE:   The term "peace" originates, most recently, from the Anglo-French "pes" and the old French "pais", meaning "peace, compact, agreement, tranquility, absence of hostility, harmony.  The Hebrew word is  SHALOM.  In Arabic, it is SALAAM.   Peace here means   an occurance of  harmony characterized by lack of violence, conflict behaviours, and the freedom from fear of violence.  Peace is a non-warring condition of  a nation, group of nations, and non-warring condition of individuals.

So, "peace" is an absence of hostility and retribution; "peace" suggests sincere attempts at reconciliation; the existence of healthy interpersonal or international relationships; prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare; the establishment of equality, and a  working political order that serves the true interests of all,  irrespective of race, colour, or creed.  The key to peace is the growth of some form of solidarity between  peoples or classes of people.

At personal level, peaceful behaviours  are:  co-operation,  respect for those in or out  of authority, kindliness, tolerance, patience, friendliness,  consideration for and unselfish behaviour towards others, spirit of service, being tolerant of others'  beliefs and behaviour -- leading to manifest good will.  So Jesus, the Christ, would lift up His open hand with the greeting "Peace be unto you", that is to say SHALOM, irrespective of the religious beliefs  of those He was addressing!

3.  LOVE:  The Ancient Greeks identified four  forms of LOVE.
     i)  Storge - Kinship or familiarity
    ii)  Philia - Friendship
   iii)  Eros - Sexual and or romantic desire
   iv)  Agape - Self-emptying or divine love

STORGE means  "love, affection", and especially of parents and children.  It means natural affection, like that felt by parents for their offspring.  This kind of love is descriptive of relationships within the family (kinship).

PHILIA means "affectionate regard, friendship", usually "between equals".  It is a dispassionate virtuous love.  Philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends, family and community, and it requires  virtue, equality  and familiarity.

EROS means "love, mostly of sexual passion.   The modern Greek word "erotas" means "intimate love".  It can also apply to dating relationship as well as marriage.  Plato refined his own definition:  ''Although eros is initially felt for a person, with  contemplation, it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even it becomes appreciation of beauty itself.  So the word "platonic" means "without physical attraction".

AGAPE means "love, especially brotherly love, charity; the love of God for man,  and of man for God".  Agape is used in the  Biblical passage known as the Love Chapter - 1 Cor. 13, and it is described there and throughout the New Testament as brotherly love, affection, goodwill, love, and benevolence.  Whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love; even without any self benefit.

Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one's children, and the  feelings for a spouse.  Agape is used by christians to express  the unconditional love of God for  His children.  Thomas Aquinas defines Agape love as "to will the good of another"

Love is the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.  It may also describe   compassionate and affectionate actions towards other human beings, one's self or animals.

Love, therefore, may be understood as a function to keep human beings together against menaces, and to facilitate  the continuation of the  species.

To ensure that peace and love prevail universally, mankind must work towards the eradication of Social Problems of any  kind for the peoples of this world  of  ours!

Social problems  are the cause of much anxiety, disharmony and war.

It has become evident that the march of civilization, the huge increase of production and wealth, and the development of education, have not been able to  eliminate poverty, nor have they done away with the ills that beset the masses, every where under the sun.
Latent in the hearts of the  people, there lies an instinctive longing for justice.

For peace and love to prevail in this global village of ours, it is necessary that there is a more equitable distribution of wealth and position.  Instead of a mutual goodwill, which, by bringing men together would  enable them to resolve the most serious problems , it is violence and with threats that the poor man demands his seat at the social banquet; bitterly likewise does the rich man entrench himself within his egotism and  refuse to relinquish the least  portion of his wealth to the needy. So the gap between the rich and the poor is broadened, and misunderstandings, hatred, and covetousness increase.

The state of war, or armed peace,  which weighs upon the nations of the world, contributes to these hostile sentiments.  Different governments are setting  a lamentable example  and assume a heavy responsibility for  developing war-like instincts to the detriment  of a peaceful and fruitful world.

Seeking universal peace and love, theories follow  upon theories, and institutions follow upon institutions, but man is still unhappy.Why?  Because mankind is still wicked and selfish,  The root of evil lies within us; in our passions and in our  errors.  This is what we should seek to alter.

To improve  society, and thereby  hasten the achievement of universal peace , harmony and love, the individual must first be improved.  That this  may come to pass, a knowledge of higher laws of progress and solidarity; a revelation of our inner nature and ultimate destiny are requisite.

Modern Society, under the spell of  materialism, perceives but little in the universe beyond the petty rivalry of man and the battle  for life.  As soon as it is established that every human being must be born many times over in this world, under going all manner of social conditions - the obscure and sorrowful existences occurring far more frequently, and ill-applied    wealth ever entailing crushing consequences  - then will every one understand that in striving to improve the condition of the needy; the lowly, the ailing, he is like-wise working  for himself, since he is bound to return to  this earth, and that there are nine chances to one of his being born to poverty, we shall strive to work for peace and love universally and globally here and now.

The enemies of universal peace and love and harmony are:  poverty, disease, injustice and war itself. Our duty is to labour with our utmost might for the elimination of these enemies of humanity.

Universal peace and love does not depend upon political changes, revolutions or any other social modifications.  So long as society remains corrupt, even so will its institutions be, no matter how many changes my intervene.

The only remedy for the achievement of universal peace, love and harmony lies in moral transformation to which The Western Wisdom Teachings show the way.

If man would but bestow upon  this task a little of that passionate interest which he devotes to politics, if  he would only pluck from his heart the root of his ailment, then would social iniquities soon cease to exist. Then the birth of universal peace would have been a reality, and there would love and harmony be established here on earth!

Ladies and Gentlemen, "Universal Peace and Love".

Thank you for your patience and tolerance.  SHALOM!

 

THE WAY TO PEACE    
By Augustine Michael Owusu

“ And when he drew nigh he saw the city, and wept over it saying, if thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things that belong unto peace!  For now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee around, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another ; because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation.” – Luke 19 : 41 – 44
Christ Jesus was nearing the end of His earthly journey. He had given His followers the teaching, “ Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, but He foresaw that because they would not heed, terrible destruction would come upon them. The prophesy was fulfilled some forty years later when upward of a million men, women, and children lost their lives, and not one stone was left upon another.
If Christ were here today, would He look out over the world and say the same words ? Everywhere we hear talk of peace. Even the most ardent militarists say they want peace: but do they, and we, truly know the things that belong unto peace ? The militarists, along with most of the rest of the world, appear to think it is through ever more terrible and destructive weapons of war, that peace is maintained. Many cannot seem to see, through the lessons of history, that wars add to the political, economic, and social problems of the world, rather than solve them. Indeed, it seems obvious that war intensifies every evil known to man : disease, poverty, cruelty, destruction, hatred, dictatorship. War debases our moral standards, cheapens all human life, nullifies sensitivity to suffering. There are those who believe that the great increase in crime, the wanton destruction of life and property, the proliferating use of guns, can all be traced to our acceptance of violence in war as a way of life. We have only to read the papers, or watch television, to recognize this state of defiance of law and order.
There are many hopeful signs everywhere that people are beginning to see the futility of war ,and preparation for war. There is a growing sentiment for disarmament. We have our Disarmament Conferences, our Non-aggression Pacts,  
and though stumbling and uncertain may be their accomplishments, still they are   a positive force towards peace.
Nations of the world spend twenty times more on military than they do on constructive progress. For the so-called security of an ever spiraling arms race,  the world is spending about $ 190 billion annually,and the figure goes steadily up.
There are countless church, government, and private organizations which work for peace and brotherhood – the Peace Corps, VISTA, CARE, Church World Service, and the greatest of all, the United Nations. Ineffective as it has thus far been in stopping war entirely, it still has performed tremendous service to the world in keeping peace in small areas, and in its social, economic, and health betterment of the underprivileged. The hope is that it can eventually become a world government which will do away with all armaments, except perhaps a small international police force. Each nation would only be required to give up that sovereignty which had to do with the making of war. Negotiation would be the way of settling all disputes. For this a body of international law would need to be worked out under the jurisdiction of a World Court.
All that has been stated here, however, is but preliminary to what will now be stated. The vital ingredient to the way to peace is a spiritual quality or force which can perhaps be defined as : “ Divine Love revealed through Christ. “ Love as a word has so many meanings that it seems necessary to define and limit it – there is no other English word which covers it. Many spiritual leaders continue to use the Greek word Agape to mean this universal concern and compassion which Christ Jesus taught and exemplified. It is the lack of this spiritual force or quality which is the cause, fundamentally, of our  ‘ warring madness,” and the underlying need of all our needs.
This love, this Agape, begins with the comprehension that all men are of one life, the life of God and as such are indeed brothers. In Him we live move and have our being- Acts 17 ; 28. Then all wars are civil wars, brother against brother, and we cannot, or should not, deny any brother the respect and human dignity which we wish for ourselves. We must identify ourselves with the needs , the sufferings, the longings of the people of the world. It is the power that can change the world. There is  only one thing that has power completely, and that is love:  because when a man loves he seeks no power and therefore he has power- Alan Paton.
The one rule for this way of life is, whatever action is taken is motivated by love – love for the enemy as well as for the victim. Force, even perhaps violence, may sometimes be justified, but even that can be redemptive when there is no hate, only a desire to prevent further violence. It is overcoming evil with good, hate with love, physical force with spiritual force. It is a willingness to accept suffering, never to inflict it. It is a belief in man’s innate capacity for goodness, a looking for the Divine Essence in every man, that Essence which makes us brothers.
There are many examples in history, and in our own time, of the redemptive power of this love. One of the best known is of Gandhi bringing freedom to India. He called this power  “ Ahimsa. “ It was not done all at once : there was suffering on the part of many people, but when it ended there was no aftermath of hatred.  India and England have since been the best of friends. Although Gandhi was not a Christian, in the usual sense of the word, he perfectly exemplified Christ’s  teachings and there by gained results which have been the marvel of the world. Wherever and wherever individuals have tried Ghandhi’s way of reconciliation, they have been convinced of its power. Nor do we need to be a saint to make it work:  we need only the faith that it will work because it is an expression of that Essence within us.
What do we know of Divine Love ? God so loved the world that He gave His only ( alone ) begotten Son, and that Son so loved the world that He gave His life for it. When Christ Jesus looked out over Jerusalem, He did not say,  “ As long as I can live comfortably, why should I worry about the rest of the world ? “ Nor did He say,  “ It is their destiny : let them bear it as best they may. “ No, Christ loved Jerusalem and its people with a Divine Love, and because He loved so profoundly, He grieved at their blindness and did His best to save them from their fate. How great is our love for humanity? Look to our service, for it is the measure of our love. Paul records in 1st Corinthians 10 verse 24 : “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. Again in St. Matthew 6 verse 33 reads “ But seek ye first the kingdom of  God , and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.”
There is no more vital issue before the world today than that of peace. As the world’s people learn this love, this Agape – and it seems it must be learned through suffering, and through compassion for suffering – then these other aspects of peace can be brought about : relief from poverty, disarmament, world government.
It is not an easy way. Certainly there are risks, and penalties for failures. There will be suffering, even death, but it is the only way. Sooner or later we must learn to walk it, as nations as well as individuals.We are one world whether we like it or not ; we of necessity stand or fall as a whole. Nothing can separate us from our common destiny despite the trouble and mis-understanding that come our way.
Peace is the greatest need of the human soul . The world is desperately in need of peace and we all long for it. After all, what is life worth without peace. Peace of Heart, Peace of Mind and Peace of Conscience. Raymond G. Swing, a great philosopher, said “ Peace is not the absence of war rather, it is the presence of Confidence. The presence of this kind of Confidence alone makes life worth living. People are grasping more and more after money as though that matters most in life. It is delusion and lie. There are lot of things money can buy but inward peace is not one of them . It is a gift from the Holy Spirit which is attained by living the life of Christ to the maximum. Then we become peacemakers and shall also be called the children of God.
My dear Sisters and Brothers, let us realize that there can be no peace worth having until militarism has received such a blow that it will not raise its head again for a long time. Peace is a matter of education, an impossible of achievement until we have learned to deal charitably, justly, and openly with one another, as nations as well as individuals. As long as we continue to manufacture arms, peace will not become established. It should become our aim and object to do all we can toward the abolition of militarism in all countries and the establishment of the principle of arbitration of difficulties.
Isaiah promises us that a new day will come when “ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Surely the knowledge of the Lord includes the knowledge of this Universal Love. Christ’s Kingdom will then have come on Earth, and war shall be no more.  May each of us , by our living and our loving, hasten that glorious day.
My dear sisters and brothers,” Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Peace be  unto you all and may the Roses bloom upon your cross.
 

 

CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE….AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD. JOSHUA 24:15
 BY Johnson Degboe.

Year in year out, Christians all over the world congregate at various convenient spots to celebrate Easter: the victory of Light over darkness and the victory of Life over death by Jesus Christ. The Crucifixion, that brutal and barbaric murder of the gentle Nazarine was the great sacrifice Jesus Christ made to redeem humanity. He braved the odds and exposed the Race Religion of Jehovah as an outmoded formula to redeem humanity. Initially, the Crucifixion sent shock waves through the spines of the Disciples of the murdered Christ. But the triumphant Resurrection of the Lord on the third day of internment produced the tonic that made the Word eternal and show-cased the efficacy of the Redemption formula of the Christ as the divine successor to the Religion of Jehovah that had outlived its relevance to human evolution.
The Resurrection: the victory of Life over death then became the ultimate goal of every true follower of the Christ. The Resurrection thus set the hearts of his first witnesses at peace and rejuvenated them to spread the New Religion to all men in the four corners of the World as directed by the Master Jesus Christ, irrespective of the imminent tortures and the attendant barbaric murders that laid in wait for these gallant first witnesses of the WORD that we access the Religion of Christ, the true Light of the World today. Thus, has “God rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the Kingdom of his dear Son, by whom we are set free…” through his blood. Col. 1:13-14
What then is the significance of Easter to the aspirant? One may ask. Attainment of eternal life! Every aspirant must therefore strive and imitate Jesus Christ. Each of us must live the Christ Ideal life and persistently render loving, self-forgetting service to others to prepare him to conquer death and become a beneficiary of eternal life. At that stage the aspirant can ask with scorn; “death where is thy sting?”
 Every true student of Christ must therefore work committedly to attain to victory of life over death and light over darkness. Easter then serves as an annual reminder to all followers of Christ of their universal goal – attainment of eternal life as demonstrated by our Lord and Redeemer so that where He is, we may be there also.
Easter is therefore evidence enough that the Race Religion of Jehovah had long ended. Humanity has been ushered into the Religion of the Son. The Religion of the Son is given to lift mankind to higher spiritual goals to attain eternal peace. As we strive individually and collectively to attain these higher spiritual goals that assure us of peace and love in the new dispensation and brace through the path shown mankind by our Lord and Saviour, why recall an option given the Israelites long before the advent of Christ? Has Joshua’s open choice to his generation thousands of years before Christ of any relevance to mankind in his struggle to transform himself from a mortal being into an immortal being and attain to the citizenship of the New Jerusalem? Are the circumstances that forced Joshua to give the Israelites the freedom to choose what god they would serve prevalent among us today to warrant this topic? Have those questionable lifestyles of the Israelites of old that starved them of peace and love spilled over to infest mankind to the Christian era? Or should mankind of the Christian era look to Joshua to lead them to the New Galilee, the New Jerusalem, that land of peace and love? These are many more of such searching questions may be racing through your minds as whether our topic: “choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as far for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. Joshua 24:15 is of any relevance to our general theme: “Universal Peace and Love”.
Truly, the world needs peace and love today more than at any other time in mankind’s history. There are civil wars and interstate wars, bloody revolutions and rumours of wars that disturb the peace all over the world. Some of these wars threaten mankind as potential enough to spark the Third World War. The havoc a third world war may unleash on the world with the proliferation of nuclear weapons is better imagined than described. Wars apart, there are occurrences of natural disasters and of course, the outbreak of infectious deadly diseases that disturb the peace all over the world.
The U.S arguably the most powerful nation in the world live under the threat of destabilization by Islamic militants. The Late Osama Bin Laden and his militant Al-Qaeda group had demonstrated how deadly they can be with their audacious 11th September, 2001 invasion of the U.S.
That attack left in its wake massive destruction of human lives and property and dented the military superiority of the U.S. France experienced an Islamic militant attack a couple of months ago. There are rumours of planned attacked on Western Europe. Western Europe therefore live under the fear of attacks from these militant Islamist groups and are therefore on high alert to avert any such invasion even though the militants often outwit them. Eastern Europe does not fare any better! There is a civil war in Ukraine reportedly being master minded by Russia thus attracting the intervention of the West. There is also the fracas between Serbia and Croatia that has found its way to The Hague on summons of genocide. The Middle East is by far the worst off. The Syrian government is fighting an Islamic Militant (IS) that wants to establish a radical Islamic State in that country. The Syrian war has attracted the super powers. And of course, there is the perennial stand-off between Israel and the State of Palestine the Far East does not fare any better. There is the ever present high tension between North and South Korea that the experts believe can ignite the Third World War, if not handled with patient diplomacy because of the deep-seated interests of the Super powers in the area.
 Africa has not known peace from the time of her independence struggles from the mid-1940s. Nigeria, the most populous country on the continent is being terrorized by “Boko Haram” , an Islamic radical group that is seeking to turn that country into an Islamic state. And the neighboring countries fear a spill over. They live in fear of militant attack. There are civil wars in Somalia, Libya, and Sudan just to mention a few. Ghana, our own country, has her own disturbances too that threaten national security and the peace. There are the “guinea fowl wars” of the North, numerous chieftaincy disputes, the “do or die” slogan of some of the major political parties and of course the excessive corruption in high places that many fear may spark off a bloody people’s revolt. These and other challenges send panic and fear among the populace thus starving the nation of peace and love.
The general unrest unleashed on the world by wars and rumours of wars is compounded by natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and hurricanes and bush fires. But these catastrophes according to the initiates are evidence of nature’s reaction to the inharmonious turmoil caused by evil and viscous thoughts, emotions and acts of humanity. In order words where mankind decides out of his own free will to perpetrate evil acts instead of good virtuous deeds to satisfy his lower nature desires of selfishness and greed, he certainly must reap what he has sown in accordance with the law of Cause and Effect or Karma. And the destruction caused by the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters leave the survivors in panic and fear. It is our wrong choices then that deny us peace.
There are also the outbreak of infections deadly diseases that sweep through the world killing millions of people causing fear and unrest among the survivors. One may readily cite HIV/AIDS, a sexually transmitted infectious deadly disease that broke out in the 1980s. The HIV/AIDS has since claimed millions of human lives and orphaned millions and millions of children. A cure for this deadly disease is yet to be found. Could the HIV/AIDS be a reminder to the world of mankind’s sexual excesses perhaps in excess of that of Sodom and Gomorrah? Before HIV/AIDS, humanity has been suffering from gonorrhea and syphilis both sexually transmitted diseases. There is also the “Ebola” a quick killing and infectious deadly disease that broke out in West Africa but quickly spread to other parts of the world; the U.S. not exempted.
Wars and rumours of wars, natural disasters and infectious deadly diseases as shown above starve the world of peace and love. But if we reap what we have sown in accordance with the Law or Consequence or Karma, then we are the architects of our own unrest, panic, pains and fears which deny us the Universal peace and love today. One can safely say then that the rampant militant Islamic attacks on the U.S and Western Europe may be the harvest of the brutal and bloody Christian wars: the Crusades, the Conquistadores and the Inquisitions that the early, Zealous Christians of the West unleashed on the world in their avowed aim to conquer the world for Christ. Remember those wars made the Christian Religion one of the bloodiest religions of the time (Max Heindel).
If humanity is the architect of his own tortuous life that denies him of the much needed Universal peace and love that the World urgently need today, what is the way forward for mankind to access the peace?
Simply put, mankind must turn to Jesus, “the Prince of Peace’ whose birth was heralded by the celestial song: “on earth Peace, Goodwill toward men”. But the Lord’s own pronouncement: “I come not to send peace but a Sword”, on the subject seems to contradict the celestial message of Universal peace that his birth is supposed to bring the world. A critical analysis of the situation however clears the perceived contradiction. Mankind’s lifestyles are diametrically opposed to the Christ Ideal lifestyle. The Christ Ideal lifestyles lead to peace and love. And for humanity to attain the much needed peace he needs a total transformation of his present self-destructive lifestyle of the Broadway to the Ideal self-disciplined, self-denial and infact, self-sacrificial life of the Christ – Narrow Path. But any attempt by anyone to switch from the Broadway to the Narrow path sparks off a fierce war within; this internal war is raging within every neophyte; between his higher desires and lower desires; that is between the god within and the evil. Remember Paul’s admonition: “know ye not that ye are gods”. The war within is fiercer and longer lasting than any war on the physical plane.
Every one requires a total commitment to the Christ Ideal life that is the Redemption formula contained in the Gospels of the New Testament to win the war within and attain peace. Everyone must thus destroy his old lifestyle structured on the Race Religion of Jehovah in order to assimilate the Redemption formula of the Christ Dispensation. It is this painful structural transformation that Christ Jesus meant when he said,”I came not to send peace but sword”. Max Handel’s explanation clears the perceived contraction. He said a woman who said she was tiding up her house must first disorganize things in the house in the short run before resetting them up to give their new outlook. In the same vein, the world requires a total transformation from the old order that denies it the much needed peace to a new structure that guarantees the peace. It is however not “a nine days wonder!” It is along and arduous change that spans over several lives. The individuals who make up the World population require a total conviction about the workability and the end result of the change in order to sustain it and live it through. And this calls for freedom of choice, and association. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve…” Hence the relevance of Joshua’s option is as valid to our generation just as the very day it was given the Israelites of old.
Even in the Old Dispensation, Joshua realized the pivotal role that freedom of choice and association play in the evolution of mankind hence his option to his generation. He set the good example: “But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua was well aware that if his generation turned to the Lord, their God and served him whole-heartedly, the Lord would deliver on his promise and free them from their enemies and give them the peace. But, pious as Joshua was, he did not force his people to worship their god, he rather gave his generation the option to decide out of their own free will whom to serve. Individual freedom in it’s entirely is therefore the basis of progressive spiritual development which in turn leads to the much needed peace. For, as we progress on the path of Attainment, we sacrifice the flesh (lower desires) and empower the higher self to lead us to live the higher life of loving, self-forgetting service to others that eventually break the chain of unrest and usher us into the Realm of peace and love.
Like the Israelites of Joshua’s generation, the world today needs peace and love. But mankind has refused to make the wise choice to serve the true God as revealed to him by his Redeemer, Jesus Christ. “He who wills may come!” that is the pious invitation to mankind to redeem himself from the mortal being he is today to the immortal being of tomorrow and become a citizen of the New Jerusalem where “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death neither sorrow, nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away… Behold, I make all things new…” Rev. 21:4-5. There are many options today as in Joshua’s time but there is only one WISE CHOICE – The True God through Jesus Christ.
Let us like Joshua and the gallant first Witnesses of the WORD, The Disciples, through whose sacrifices we access the Redemption formula, make the wise choice and shun the attractions of this world and carry our individual crosses and follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ to attain that eternal life that the Easter celebrations remind us of every year.
Reference:

• The Holy Bible.
• The Cosmos-Conception.
• The Work of the Invisible Helpers Vol. 2.

 

 

 

“STUMBLING BLOCKS “
BY J.M. Addo

Heredity: “It is the sum of experience which the souls of men carry from one life through death into reincarnation (rebirth). It is in no wise transmitted from parent to child but its leading trait is attracted by the live trait in the parents. The lesser traits are reduced by cultivation or else they dormant according to environment.
It is not well: thou who has reaped, must now sow. Must be able to hear; able to speak, conquer desire, attain self knowledge. Hear the voice of peace and let thy soul bloom.
“To stand is to have confidence. To hear is to have opened the door of thy soul. To see is to have attained perfection of my works. To speak is to have gotten the paws of helping others. To have conquered desire, is to have acquired control of self. To have self-knowledge is to have come unto me, when thou art able to impartially view the personal man that was thyself; to have seen thy soul in bloom, is to have had a momentary glimpse of that transfiguration which eventually makes thee man”.
“Stand aside in the coming battle, and though thou fightest, be not thou the warrior. Look for me, and let me be in thee. Obey my orders for battle. Obey me as if I were thyself. My orders thy desires, for I am thyself, yet infinitely more than thee. Look for me lest in the fever of battle thou pass me. I will not know thee if thou come unto me, Lo! I will fight in thee and will fill the void in thee. Then shall thou be unwearied, without me thou shall fall; with me, thou can’t fall, for I am the spirit.
Listen now to the song of life in thy heart. Say not “it is not there”. Listen deeper. This song is in every breast. It may be obscure, yet it is there. Not the most wretched outcast but it is in him, for all are the children of the father which is I. Listen to my song, for while thou are yet but man. I shall not speak continually, and thy strength must sometimes be in memory of Me. Inquire now of the Earth – matter of the air, of water, the wind; and seek the treasures of the snow. My peace I give unto thee.”
“What is perfection? Absolute harmony with His Infinite Creation.
Make the soul forgiving of all wrongs
Forgetful of selfish interests
Helpful of those having less light, more gloom, misery and sin to encounter.
Self-contained nature.
Man of sorrows – full of faith, hope and charity? Then it has heard the voice, and will not fall. But if the soul is not like that, then although it has the prophetic right, and knowest all things, though it have faith to removing mountains, yet shall it be only the more like Satan and the worse its fate. Faith therefore achieves only when knowledgeable also, through long study, and opens the way to attainment and power.
What is Will?  It is the fiat of consciousness. At the will of animal soul, its result will be only a subjective thought which shall energize muscles to do an objective reality conforming to the subjective plan. If it be of the human soul, it will be of greater intensity and nobler, but still the brain through its muscle must render its fiat into material force, “Obey me,” and it shall obey. Because our spirits are as our Father and one with Him, and the Will of the spirit shall need mediate brain nor muscle, but shall find every natural power its direct servant, and this is the faith whereof the Christ spoke.
“I have told you, and yet you hearing, hear not. Why not? It is because our Father is not yet manifest in you. But when you hearing heard, understand, then shall the twain be one. For it is so written in the book of life.
“If I have but the seed, the herb shall come forth after its kind when planted. But if I have not the seed, my poor human soul wisdom could not make the herb grow. Having seed, I could bring God’s immanent  fire to aid its germination. Seeing it sprouting and watching it growing mildly was astonishing.  Yet, such a feat is considered as magic by humanity.
However, ours is a display of inherent power of the Human Principle and will be common to you when you become developed in the Human.  Earthly man is yet only in the mind of his humanity in a few favoured cases, but is very largely in his animality. Most mankind is merely animal, not human, save by courtesy. Yet, the dawn of the glorious new era is at hand, and in its fullness of days Christ shall come again to it and enter into hearts of his own, and it shall be the father that shall enter and by Messiahs.  Be ye, then prepared for the coming of the spirit, for no man knoweth the day and hour thereof.
In Luke 21: 34-36, 34 - “it is written and take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime your hearts be over changed with suffering and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares.”
35 – “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 
36 – “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and stand before the Son of man”.
Mark 13:32 says: “Then shall they see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory”.
In John 6:13, the passage reads; How be it, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and he will show you things to come”.
Rev. 20: 13,15 it is written: 13 – And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to other works.
15 – “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast out into the lake of fire”.
In Gen. 1:12, it is also written: “And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after its kind and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself, after his kind and God saw that it was good”.
In Mark 7:21-23, we read: “For from within out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, lusciousness and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man”.
Proverbs 6:16-19. It is also written: “These three things doth the Lord hate; yes seven are an abomination unto him. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imagination, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
In Gal 5:19-21 we read: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Hatred, envying, drunkenness, reveling and such like of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in the past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom.
And finally in Proverbs 3:27-28, it is again written: “withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go and come again, and tomorrow I will give, when thou hast it by thee”.  
Now, consider these emotions that we are daily struggling to subdue. Love, hatred, hope, despair, greed, indifference, envy. What are these?
Envy, greed, hatred have no place in nature which is close kin to that soul of love, Jesus. Indifference, sloth, despair, these can have no room in a soul which we describe as that of an Elder Brother.

• Indifference:- lack of interest, concern or sympathy. Apathy about/towards, nonchalance about, lack of interest in, disregard for.
• Mediocrity:- ordinariness, commonplaceness, lack of inspiration, passableness, adequacy, inferiority.
• Envy:- occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Envy is said to be one of the most potent causes of unhappiness, not only is the envious person unhappy by his envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others. Although envy is seen as something negative, it is also believed to be a driving force the movement towards democracy and must be endured to achieve a more just social system. However, psychologists have recently suggested that there may be two types of envy; Malicious Envy and Benign Envy.  Benign Envy being proposed as a type of positive motivational force. Envy is a sin of the flesh. It is among the things that come from the heart, defiling a person. Envy comes into being when man lacks things, a circumstance that exists when God is not approached for provision or when provision is used for one’s own selfish passions and pleasures. I leave the possible causes for us to identify. If we can do so, then we can bring this under control and overcome its influence on our lives.
• Greed:- also known as avarice, cupidity or covetousness is the inordinate desire to possess wealth, goods or objects of abstract value with the intension to keep it for one’s self, far beyond the dictates of basic survival and comfort. It is applied to a markedly high desire for and pursuit of wealth, status and power. It is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. The purpose for greed and any actions associated with it is possibly to deprive others potential means (perhaps of basic survival and comfort or future opportunities accordingly, or to obstruct them there from as a measure and majority competitive advantage, thus insidious and tyrannical or otherwise having negative connotation. 
• Hatred: is a deep and emotional extreme of dislike. It can be directed against individuals, groups, entities, objects or ideas. It is often associated with feelings of anger, disgust and a disposition towards hostility. Hate depletes energy in a person and weakens his composure, leading him towards incidents that may involve physical assault, destruction of property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters (hate mail). Those who commit hate crimes target victims because of their perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, gender, religion, social orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity or political affiliation.
• Despair:- Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behaviour, feelings and sense of well being. People with depressed mood can feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, ashamed or restless. They may lose interest in activities that were once pleasurable experience, loss of appetite or overeating, have problems concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions and may contemplate, attempt or commit suicide, excessive sleeping, fatigue, aches, pains, digestive problems, or reduced energy may also be present. Depressed mood is a feature of some psychiatric syndrome such as major depressive disorder but it may also be a normal reaction to life events such as bereavement, a symptom of some bodily ailments, or a side effect of some drugs and medical treatments.
• Love
•  Finally what are Illusion and Delusion?

A delusion is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary. As pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion or other effects of perception. Delusions typically occur in the context of neurological or mental illness, although they are not tied to any particular disease and have been found to occur in the context of many pathological states (both physical and mental). However, they are of particular diagnostic importance in psychotic disorders including schizophrenia, paraphrenia, manic episodes of bipolar disorders and psychotic depression. 
There are three main criteria for a belief to be considered delusional;

• Certainly (held with absolute conviction)
• Incorrigibility (not changeable by compelling counter argument or proof to the contrary)
• Impossibility or falsity of content( palpably bizarre, or potently untrue).

Furthermore, when a false belief involves a value judgment, it is only considered devolution if it is so extreme that it cannot be, or never can be proven true. For example, a man claiming that he flew into the sun and flew back home. This would be considered a delusion, unless he was speaking figuratively.
There are four different categories of delusions;

• Bizarre Delusion:- a delusion is very strange and completely implausible.
• Non-Bizarre Delusion:- one that, though false, it at least possible, e.g. the affected person mistakenly behaves as though he is under constant police surveillance.
• Mood-Congruent Delusion:- any delusion with content consistent with either a depressive or manic state. e.g. a depressed person believes that news anchors on television highly disapprove of him or a person in a maniac state might believe she is a powerful deity.
•   Mood-Neutral Delusion:- A delusion that does not relate to the sufferer’s emotional state, for example, a belief that an extra limb is growing out of the back of one’s head is neutral to either depression or mania.

Grandiose Delusions are distinct from grandiosity, in that the sufferer does not have insight into his loss of touch with reality. An individual is convinced he has special powers, talents, or abilities. Sometimes, the individual may actually believe they are a famous person or character.
The delusions are generally fantastic, often with a supernatural, science-fictional, or religious bent. In colloquial usage, one who overestimates one’s own abilities, talents, stature, or situation is sometimes said to have delusions of grandeur. This is generally due to excessive pride, rather than any actual delusions.
Illusion:- An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulations. Though illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may occur with any of the human senses, but visual illusions (optical Illusions) are the most well known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses. For example, individuals watching a ventriloquist will perceive the voice is coming from the dummy since they are able to see the dummy mouth the words. Some illusions are based on general assumptions the brain makes during perception.
The human brain constructs a world inside our head based on what it samples from the surrounding environment. However, sometimes, it tries to organize this information it thinks best while other times it fills in the gaps. This way in which our brain works is the basis of an illusion.
Measure and weigh these stumbling blocks and if you find any act, clear it/them completely from your pathway. May the Roses bloom upon your Cross!

 

 

  THE SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE OF GRATITUDE
BY Anthony Owusu

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20
“The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” ~Mother Teresa
Gratitude has long been recognized as an essential virtue in all of the world’s great religious traditions. Scriptures abound with admonitions to express gratitude for God’s blessing and to practice gratitude in our daily lives. The Book of Psalms, for instance, is rife with songs giving thanks to God, such as Psalm 100: 3-4:
Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It means learning to live your life as if everything were a miracle, and being aware on a continuous basis of how much you have been given. Gratitude shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. Giving thanks makes people happier and more resilient, it strengthens relationships, it improves health, and it reduces stress.
Gratitude is not the same as indebtedness. While both emotions occur following help, indebtedness occurs when a person perceives that they are under an obligation to make some repayment of compensation for the aid. The emotions lead to different actions; indebtedness can motivate the recipient of the aid to avoid the person who has helped them, whereas gratitude can motivate the recipient to seek out their benefactor and to improve their relationship with them.
Gratitude, contrary to what we might believe, is not necessarily a sensation that overwhelms us in the face of blessings. Gratitude is simply choosing to notice, and appreciate, all the good things that we experience in our daily lives. Whatever happens in your life, big or small, and even good or bad, you can choose to be grateful. What happens to us is often not our choice, but how we react to what happens is always our choice- conscious or not. Being grateful means choosing not to ignore and take for granted all the wonderful things in our lives and our world.
Christian Conceptions
Gratitude has been said to mold and shape the entire Christian life. Martin Luther referred to gratitude as "The basic Christian attitude" and today it is still referred to as "the heart of the gospel." As each Christian believes they were created by a personal God, Christians are strongly encouraged to praise and give gratitude to their creator. In Christian gratitude, God is seen as the selfless giver of all good things and because of this, there is a deep sense of gratefulness which enables Christians to share a common bond, shaping all aspects of a follower’s life. Gratitude in Christianity is an acknowledgment of God’s generosity that inspires Christians to shape their own thoughts and actions around such ideals.[1] Instead of simply a sentimental feeling, Christian gratitude is regarded as a virtue that shapes not only emotions and thoughts but actions and deeds as well. Jonathan Edwards writes in his A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections that gratitude and thankfulness toward God are among the signs of true religion. Because of this interpretation, modern measures of religious spirituality include assessments of thankfulness and gratitude towards God. Allport (1950) suggested that mature religious intentions come from feelings of profound gratitude and Edwards (1746/1959) claimed that the "affection" of gratitude is one of the most accurate ways of finding the presence of God in a person’s life. In a study done by Samuels and Lester (1985) it was contended that in a small sample of Catholic nuns and priests, out of 50 emotions, love and gratitude were the most experienced emotion towards God.
In the Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican Churches, the most important rite is called the Eucharist; the name derives from the Greek word eucharistia for thanksgiving.
According to Cicero, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others."
Robert Emmons, perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude, argues that gratitude has two key components, which he describes in a Greater Good essay, “Why Gratitude Is Good.”
“First,” he writes, “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we have received.”
In the second part of gratitude, he explains, “we recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves. … We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you are of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”
 Do we have difficulty with bitterness, selfishness, selfpity, negativism, or pride? An attitude of gratitude can change those things and literally transform your life.
There are four levels of living. People in the lowest level constantly complain. These folks are always griping and complaining. Rather than being humbly grateful, they are despondently hateful.
The second level is just a bit higher. These are not people who are constantly complaining; they just never give thanks for anything. They take things for granted.
The third level are those who thank God for the obvious blessings, when things are going good and everything is fine.
But the fourth level, the highest level, are those who give thanks always for all things. This is the attitude that will change our lives.
A large body of recent work has suggested that people who are more grateful have higher levels of subjective well-being. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships. Grateful people also have higher levels of control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpret and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem. Grateful people also have less negative coping strategies, being less likely to try to avoid the problem, deny there is a problem, blame themselves, or cope through substance use. Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep.
Gratitude has been said to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any character trait. Numerous studies suggest that grateful people are more likely to have higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress and depression.
Be grateful to the people in your life. Give friends, family, and strangers a smile or a kind word. Think about the joy that others bring to your life in their words, actions, and simply their presence. Stop dwelling on the thing that your partner forgot to do, and start dwelling on the many good things that he or she does (if you can’t find any good things, then why the heck are you with this person?). Try to overlook the mess and noise your kids make, and think about the joy they give you.
By neglecting to appreciate the things that are good in our lives, we not only show a lack of gratitude, but we can actually fail to see and enjoy the blessings that life is giving us. If there is a beautiful sunset in the sky and you have the curtains closed, you will miss out on enjoying the spectacle that is on offer. We often fail to benefit from, notice, and enjoy the good things in life in this way.
Sure, there are plenty of things in life that can be frustrating, disappointing, or even downright painful. But, guess what? Dwelling on them doesn’t make them go away- it just brings them into focus and increases their ability to affect you. Here’s an idea- try expressing gratitude, even for the things you don’t want.
By choosing to dwell on negativity and frustration in a difficult situation, you not only experience the circumstances, but you feel really bad about them. By choosing gratitude, and to look for the good in any situation, you still experience less than desirable circumstances, but you can feel a whole lot better about them, and you can almost always gain something from an experience. Whether it is learning, strength, or a renewed faith in the world and the people in it, gratitude can bring us many gifts- if we choose to accept them. 
The words thank you can be used in many ways, and are one of the simplest and most versatile tools for expressing gratitude.

• ”Thank you” can be a prayer of gratitude. For the incredible gift of life, a simple expression of gratitude can foster feelings of deep connection with our Divine life source. We can also gain peace and increased feelings of security by thanking our Higher Power for the support and love that surround us always. Expressing our appreciation for the miracles in our lives reinforces our feelings of joy and wonder, and allows more and more miracles to unfold.
• ”Thank you” allows us to acknowledge the blessings and gifts that are always around us. This expression of gratitude can simply be a silent moment of appreciation for the small and large blessings that are too easily overlooked. Remembering to be thankful is the key. Making a list of things we are thankful for each evening can be a very effective way of focusing on the good things in our lives, and ending the day with a feeling of abundance and wellbeing. Doing this not only allows us to truly enjoy the blessings in our lives, but creates a positive magnetic energy that draws even more good to us.
• Expressing gratitude helps us to value ourselves and the choices we make and actions we take. Try giving yourself credit for as many things you have done each day as you can, however small those things may seem. The more you appreciate yourself for your actions, the better and easier it will feel to keep taking more, and larger, positive actions.
• Try replacing fears, worries, or feelings of lack with the use of “thank you” as a mantra (a word or phrase repeated over and over). Expressing gratitude in a non-specific repetition can be very effective in calming a troubled mind, and overcoming fear and negativity.
• Expressing gratitude as an affirmation is a powerful way to attract more of what we want into our lives. By affirming that we are grateful for all that is manifesting in our lives, we allow ourselves to become centered in an increasing cycle of abundance and joy.
• ”Thank you” can also serve as a reminder to keep giving back. When we feel blessed, grateful and abundant, we want to share those blessings. By allowing our joy to spill over into the lives of those around us, the flow of goodness increases, as we give and receive with joy.
• Expressing gratitude, in action or words, to those around us for the gifts, joy, and learning that they bring us, helps to complete the positive cycle of energy. We allow others to feel appreciated, and we also reinforce our own feelings of appreciation by expressing them.

For many of us it’s a considerable challenge to be grateful for everything. Being thankful for a raise at work or for a special favor is easy. Giving thanks for things we often take for granted, like good health, requires a bit more thoughtfulness and effort. But giving thanks for difficult and painful experiences—like getting cancer or losing a loved one—can challenge the best of us.
Circumstances like these challenge us to remember that life is not about having everything exactly the way we want it, day in and day out. We are here to learn and to grow and to serve. Sometimes our souls must be tempered by trials, just as steel must be tempered to become stronger and fit for its purpose. We must also remember that we don’t always know what’s best for us, or even what’s good for us . . . as anyone in recovery who has worked a thorough 1st Step should know very well.
When facing such challenges, let us heed the example of Job, who never turned his back on God and who never lost his faith that there was some purpose to be served by his suffering, even if he could not fathom it. If we want to learn to be happy regardless of what life throws at us, we must learn to look beyond our personal discomfort in order to appreciate and be grateful for the underlying blessings it may have in store.

One of the most powerful ways to open our hearts, to allow God to remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, is to get in touch with our thankfulness, our gratitude.
Being grateful does not protect us from rejection, pain, or sorrow; it doesn't protect us from any of that. But if we are able to incorporate gratitude into our basic attitude toward life and make it a part of the ground of our being, it gives us another way of responding to what is taking place. Counting our blessings does not mean that we no longer feel the grief that we feel, or the confusion, or the sorrow. It means we are feeling all of that, and we are also feeling a sense of warmth, peace, and connection.
Expressing gratitude needs to be more than just an occasional activity; we need it to become a constant background to our lives. The expression of gratitude doesn’t always need to be verbal; a deep inner feeling of appreciation radiates to all around us and increases others’ joy as well as our own.
Gratitude is the fundamental hallmark of spirituality and an indispensable element of our Christian identity.  The immediate result of continual thanksgiving is the following: when our Lord ascertains that we respond with gratitude to His gifts, He gives us richer gifts and never ceases from doing good to us: For such is our Master, that, whenever He sees that we are grateful for what has already come our way, He bestows lavish gifts on us and never desists from doing good to us, rewarding the gratitude of those who show obedience. In emphasizing this idea, Abba Isaac the Syrian adds that, when he who is benefitted thanks God, it is as if he provokes His Goodness to give greater gifts than the previous ones: Gratitude on the part of one who receives provokes the Giver [God] to give greater gifts than before.

We should also keep in mind that constant remembrance of God's gifts ultimately proves to be our best instructor in the virtuous life, since it unceasingly prompts us to strive gratefully to reciprocate God's love: Remembrance of benefactions [and gratitude for them] will be a suitable instructor for us in the virtuous way of life.

The Divine Chrysostom asks: What then? Are we to show gratitude for all that happens to us? And he immediately replies:
“Yes. Even if it be disease or poverty..., for seen and unseen benefits..., and for those which we receive against our will; ...but also whenever we are either in poverty, or in sicknesses, or are being insulted, then let us intensify our thanksgiving; thanksgiving, I mean, not in words, nor with the tongue, but in deeds and works, in mind and in heart; let us give thanks to Him with all our souls”.
The height of holiness to which thanksgiving exalts us, especially in unpleasant occurrences, is so great that the Saints consider those who show gratitude to be equal to the Holy Martyrs. Nothing is holier than that tongue which gives thanks to God in evil circumstances; truly in no respect does it fall short of that of Martyrs; both alike are crowned, both the former and the latter.
Let us give thanks to God continually. For, it is outrageous that when we enjoy His benefaction to us in deed every single day, we do not acknowledge the favor with so much as a word; and this, when the acknowledgment confers great benefit on us. He does not need anything of ours, but we stand in need of all things from Him.
I extend to each of you today an invitation. It is an invitation to cultivate gratefulness as your basic attitude toward life. It is an invitation to cultivate gratefulness as the very ground of your being. Gratefulness is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It makes the difference between just going through the motions and really being alive. Gratefulness is the difference between having a heart of stone and receiving a heart of flesh from the Lord.
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy 

 

 

PEACE ON EARTH AND THE GOSPEL OF GLADNESS
by Louis Agbe

Transgression of cosmic law
In the opening chapters of the Bible we find a commandment given to infant humanity, who had been permitted the freedom of the Garden of Eden, a state of bliss. Only one restriction was placed upon them, namely "of the Tree of KNOWLEDGE thou shalt not eat." When we analyze this command in the light of such sentences as, "Adam KNEW Eve and she bore Cain"; "Adam KNEW Eve and she bore Seth"; and Mary's question, "How shall I conceive, seeing I KNOW NOT A MAN?" we readily understand that humanity was prohibited from indulging the passional nature. The esoteric teaching supplies us with a further knowledge that this function was exercised only at certain times of the year under the guidance of the angels, when the interplanetary lines of force were propitious, and consequently, parturition was painless. In view of this knowledge we can also understand the so-called curse, "in pain shalt thou bear thy children," the reason being that the Procreative act is undertaken at times when the planetary vibrations are not suited to this purpose.
The promise of redemption
Thus sin or the transgression of cosmic law entered into the world and has caused untold trouble. To correct this THE RELIGION OF JEHOVAH was given to mankind. This is a religion of law, prescribing penalties for transgressions and pitting the fear of the law against the desires of the flesh. We are told that the law was a taskmaster to bring mankind to Christ. However, man rebelled against it all the time, and it required the most severe visitations to keep them anywhere near the line of moral conduct desired. Under this regime of Jehovah mankind was divided into nations which were used to punish one another for their transgressions by war and pestilence. They were also used as clubs to secure obedience, and the Old Testament closes with a promise to the battered and bleeding nations that, "the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in its wings." Then comes the RELIGION OF CHRIST and the angelic message which heralded the birth, "on earth peace, and among men good will." This is in the beginning of the New Testament. At the end is a vision of the consummation, when all nations shall flock to a heavenly city where lust and passion have no place- -where there is no marriage because death has ceased to make the birth of bodies necessary, where peace and true love reign, where the perfect love inculcated by the religion of Christ has cast out the fear engendered under the religion of Jehovah. This is the Biblical account that the law of sin and death may be overcome by love, which will restore immortality.
The work of Jehovah and His Angels
We recall from our Philosophy that when man fell from the Garden of Eden, he descended deeper and deeper into matter- and came into this wilderness of the world – the physical world and put on a coat of clay; his erstwhile ethereal body formed a skeleton within and became solid. This solidification was aided particularly by the inauguration of flesh eating during the Atlantian Epoch. At the same time he gradually lost his spiritual perception, but the memory of heaven was always with him, and he knew himself to be an exile from his true home, the heaven world. In order to enable him to forget this fact and apply himself with undivided attention to conquering the material world, a new article of diet, namely, wine, was added in the fifth or Aryan Epoch. Because of indulgence in this counterfeit spirit of alcohol during the millenniums which have passed since man came up out of Atlantis, humanity has become ferocious, materialistic and greedy. He has become a war machine and has for millenniums been warring against each other and unknowingly against its best interest.
As we were told, the Race-religions inaugurated by Jehovah were to lead mankind to Christ. But as the fundamental principle of a Race-religion is separation, inculcating self-seeking at the expense of other men and nations, it is evident that if the principle is carried to its ultimate conclusion it must necessarily have an increasingly destructive tendency and finally frustrate evolution, unless succeeded by a more constructive religion. That is precisely the reason why the intervention of Christ became necessary. Under the regime of Jehovah unity is impossible. Therefore the Christ, Who possesses as a lowest vehicle the unifying life spirit, must enter into the dense human body. He must appear as a man among men and dwell in this body, because only from within is it possible to conquer the Race-religion, which influences man from without. 
The Mission of Christ and Universal Brotherhood
When the Savior Christ Jesus was crucified His body was pierced in five places; in the five centers where the currents of the vital body flow; and the pressure of the crown of thorns caused a flow from the sixth also. When the blood flowed from these centers, the great Sun-spirit was liberated from the physical vehicle of Jesus and found Himself in the Earth, with individual vehicles. The already existing planetary vehicles He permeated with His own vehicles and, in the twinkling of an eye, diffused His own desire body over the planet, which has enabled Him thenceforth to work upon the Earth and its humanity from within.
He took away the sin of the world (not of the individual) by His cleansing blood, which gave Him entrance to the Earth and its humanity. He purified the conditions and we owe it to Him that we are able to gather for our desire bodies purer desire-stuff than formerly, and He continues working to help us, by making our external environment constantly purer through His annual ingress into our earth. Also the etheric rays of the Christ as indwelling Planetary Spirit, radiating outward constantly through man from the center of the earth and being absorbed by him, constitute the “INNER URGE” to higher endeavor, which is the chief factor at the present time in impelling man onward in his evolution.
Even with the saving grace of Christ, war and strife are still going on in the world.  In many nations of the world, war-weary people are groaning in agony, praying for peace. The earth today is in the midst of change so revolutionary that it affects every kingdom, every element connected with the evolution of the planet and its inhabitants. This includes not only minerals, plant, animals and human kingdoms, but those higher life waves working as group spirits. Never in the history of the earth has there been such upheaval, such wars extending to almost every nation, on land and sea, in the air and in the depths. What is even more frightening and devastating is that man is not warring with a pride in physical prowess, as of old, but with the cruel ingenuity of a mentality so advanced that now none are safe, none are certain of life. The greatest battle of the ages is going on between the forces of evil and good- Lucifer against God – it does not matter whether it is the cold war between the super powers, the Arab Spring, radical islamisation, Al-Caeda, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, economic war among nations, genocide and ethnic cleansing, disease such as Ebola or HIV/AIDS, environmental pollution and degradation, and above all the war between the lower and the higher natures.
In the Gleanings of a Mystic, page 112, Max Heindel says: “Christ himself when he was upon earth said ‘I came not to bring peace but a sword,’ for it was evident to Him that as long as humanity was divided into races and nations there could be no peace on earth and goodwill among men. Only when nations have become united in a universal brotherhood is peace possible. The barriers of nationalism, ethnicity and tribalism must be done away with……” The world must become the patriot’s country. The sorrows, suffering and the losses mankind is now encountering will be the means of bringing man nearer to the realization of the words of the Christ: “I am the Resurrection and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25). Each sorrow, each loss which man encounters during these stressful times is resurrecting him. Each sacrifice is lifting him higher in consciousness until, at length, the Christ within – illumined and radiant – will become to him a living reality, and he shall understand the saying of Jesus “One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.” So these wars and strives are a cleansing process to lift man out of the doldrums of sin onto the pedestal of Christ consciousness, where love, peace and universal brotherhood and friendship reign.
The work of the aspirant in the liberation process
We are told that in the Sixth Epoch (The New Jerusalem) there will be but one Universal Brotherhood, under the Leadership of the Returned Christ, but the day and the hour no man knows; that depends upon how soon a sufficient number of people shall have commenced to live the life of Fellowship and Love, which is to be the hall-mark of the new dispensation. For now the Christ is groaning and travailing in the cramping confines of the earth waiting for that day of liberation. For the aspirant who seeks to be a co-worker with Christ in the liberation of the earth and his brethren, this drama of salvation by Christ is also played in his life. The birth of the Christ within is first felt with great joy – the ideals of the aspirant soar high, and he or she is carried away by a wonderful feeling of oneness with God. When the transformation takes place, he is lifted up. He is no longer satisfied with worldly pleasures. He begins to seek for the good. Where before, we sought only to gratify the outer person, we now seek the divine; the potential Christ which is within each of us.
In The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, it is stated that at the Service held every night at midnight, the etheric Temple in Germany is the focus of all the thoughts of hate and disturbance in the world, that these thoughts are there disintegrated and transmuted, and that this is the basis of social progress in the world. It is also known that saintly Spirits, on the path of liberation as described above, grieve and suffer greatly at disturbances in the world, at the discord and the hate, and that they send out from themselves individually thoughts of love and kindness which is melting down the evil in the world. The associated efforts of such orders as that of the Rosicrucian Fellowship are directed in the same channels of effort when the world is still, so far as physical exertions are concerned, and is therefore more receptive to the spiritual influence, namely, midnight. At that time they endeavor to attract and transmute these thought arrows of hate and discord, suffering thus their small share while trying to lift a few of the thorns from the Savior's crown in the process.
To contribute to this great work, we as spiritual aspirant must imitate the Christ, the Elder Brothers and all saintly souls as above whose life inspire us to tread the narrow way. Any pure, loving, uplifting prayers or thoughts directed towards individuals or trouble spots around the world, the Healing, the Temple and other Devotional Services we performed, and our world peace meditation all are contributing toward the liberation of the Christ within and without and to world peace and goodwill. When we stand by people in their problems, speak words of encouragement and commendation to someone who needs you, smile to someone you meet on the street, visit someone who is sick, speak words of comfort to those who mourn or are sorrowful or are challenged in one way or another, lend a helping hand in a menial job when needed, receive and are kind to strangers, when we are kind to animals and have a desire to make them happy or to sooth their pain, when we give a lift to a stranger who requests it, or give to charity, we contribute to world peace and hasten the glad day of universal brotherhood, the liberation of the Christ and our own liberation from the cross of matter. We are becoming visible and invisible helpers.
The gospel of gladness
I would like to tell you an inspiring story of a little girl called Pollyanna. Most of us already know this story.
Pollyanna was the little daughter of a missionary, whose salary was so meager that he could scarcely obtain the bare necessities of life. From time to time barrels filled with old clothes and odds and ends arrived at the mission for distribution. Pollyanna hoped that someday a barrel might come containing a little doll. Her father had even written to ask if the next barrel might not contain a discarded doll for his child. The barrel came, but instead of the doll it contained a pair of small crutches. Noticing the child's disappointment her father said: "There is one thing we can be glad of and grateful for, that we have no need of the crutches." It was then they began "playing the game," as they called it, of looking for and finding something for which to be glad and thankful, no matter what happened, and they always found it. For example, when they were forced to eat a very scant meal at a restaurant, not being able to afford the dainties on the menu, they would say: "Well, we are glad we like beans," even though their eyes would rest on the roast turkey and its prohibitive price. Then they started to teach the game to others, making many a life the happier for learning it, among them some in whom the belief had become fixed that they could never again be happy.
At last they were really starving, and Pollyanna's mother had to go to heaven to save the expense of living. Soon her father followed, leaving Pollyanna dependent upon the bounty of a rich but crabbed and inhospitable old maiden aunt in Vermont. Despite the unwelcome reception and undesirable quarters assigned her at first, the little girl saw nothing but reasons for gladness; she literally radiated joy, drawing under her spell maid and gardener and in time even the loveless aunt. The child's roseate mind soon filled the bare walls and floor of her dingy attic room with all manner of beauty. If there were no pictures, she was glad that the little window opened upon a landscape scene more beautiful than any artist could paint, a carpet of green and gold the like of which not even the cleverest of human weavers had ever woven. If her crude washstand were without a mirror, she was glad that the lack of it spared her seeing her freckles; and what if they were freckles, had she not reason to be glad they were not warts? If her trunk were small and her clothes few, was there not reason for gladness that the unpacking was soon done and over? If her parents could not be with her, could she not be glad that they were with God in heaven? Since they could not talk to her, ought she not to rejoice that she could talk to them?
Flitting birdlike over field and moor she forgot the supper hour, and being ordered upon her return to the kitchen to make her meal there of bread and milk, she said to her aunt who expected tears and pouting, "Oh, I am so glad you did it, because I am so fond of bread and milk." Not a harsh treatment, and there were many of them at first, but that she imagined some kindly motive back of it and gave it a grateful thought.
Her first convert was the housemaid, who used to look forward with dread to the weekly wash day and face Monday in a surly mood. It was not long before our little glad girl and Nancy feeling gladder on Monday morning than on any other morning, because there was not another wash day for a whole week. One day when Nancy remonstratingly said to her, "Sure, there is nothing in a funeral to be glad about," Pollyanna promptly answered, "Well, we can be glad it isn't ours." To the gardener, who complained to her that he was bent half over with rheumatism, she also taught the glad game by telling him that being bent half over he ought to be glad that he saved one-half the stooping when he did his weeding.
Near her home in a palatial mansion lived an elderly bachelor, a sullen recluse. The more he rebuffed her, the cheerier she was and the oftener she went to see him because no one else did. In her (Pollyanna’s) innocence and pity she attributed his lack of courtesy to some secret sorrow, and therefore she longed all the more to teach him the glad game. She did teach it to him, and he learned it, thought it was hard work at first. When he broke his leg, it was not easy to get him to be glad that but one leg was broken, and admit it would have been far worse if these legs had been as numerous as those of a centipede and he had fractured all of them. Her sunshiny disposition succeeded at last in getting him to love the sunshine, open the blinds, pull up the curtains, and open his heart to the world. He wanted to adopt her, but failing in this, he adopted a little orphan boy whom she had chanced to meet by the wayside.
She made one lady wear bright colors, who had before worn only black. Another lady, rich and miserable because her mind was centered upon past troubles, had her attention directed by Pollyanna to the miseries of others, and being taught through the glad game how to bring gladness into their lives, this lady brought an abundance of it also into her own. All unknown to the little girl she reunited in happy home life a couple about to separate, by kindling within their hearts that had grown cold a strong love for their little ones. By and by the whole town began to play the glad game and teach it to others. Under its influence men and women became different beings: the unhappy became happy, the sick became well, those about to go wrong found again the right path, and the discouraged took heart again.
Soon the leading physician in town found it necessary to prescribe Pollyanna as he would some medicine. "That little girl," he said, "is better than a six-quart bottle of tonic. If anyone can take a grouch out of a person it is she; a dose of Pollyanna is more curative than a store full of drugs." But the greatest miracle which the glad game worked was the transformation effected in the character of her prim, puritanical aunt. She who had accepted Pollyanna in her home as a matter of stern family duty, developed under her little niece's treatment a heart that fairly overran with affection. Soon Pollyanna was taken out of her bare attic room to a beautifully papered, pictured, carpeted, and furnished room on her aunt's floor. And so the good she did reacted upon herself.
The story is fiction, but it is based upon facts rooted in cosmic law. What that little girl did with respect to the people in her environment, we as students of the Rosicrucian teachings can and ought to do in our own individual spheres, both in regard to the matters which pertain to intercourse with our relatives and immediate associates and with respect to the world at large.
Great are the birth pangs by which altruism is being born in millions of human hearts, but through the superlative suffering of war, strife, hunger,  disease, and deprivation, humanity is becoming gentler, nobler, and better than ever before.
We can imitate Pollyanna, and if we are only sufficiently sincere, our views will spread and take root in other hearts; then because thoughts are things and good thoughts are more powerful than evil since they are in harmony with the trend of evolution, the day will soon come when we shall be able to gain the ascendancy and help establish permanent peace, goodwill and universal brotherhood on earth.

 

THE FOOTWASHING
By Dr. Peter Brown

My dear Sisters and Brothers
The Way of the Passion of Christ Jesus is a sacred, solemn subject for us all.  For us now, we want to study the scene of the Foot-washing.
Bible verses: John 13 :1 – 9
1 ¶ Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
This is the scene of the Footwashing.
A certain attitude of learning spiritual subjects
There is a certain way with which we study this scene of the Foot-washing.  The subject with which we are about to speak is so lofty that it brings with it the spirit in which it must be spoken.  As, for instance, we cannot speak of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a political spirit but only from a religious point of view, so can we only speak of the work of Christ Jesus in a spirit wherein the aspirant is striving not to grasp the subject, but to be grasped by it.  It is a condition which consists essentially in the bowing of the soul before the lofty nature of the subject.   When this happens, the person grows capable of so absorbing the subject into herself that she becomes its mouthpiece.  There is no other way of getting to know the Mysteries of Christianity as they are known in Spiritual Science.  Then, in the reverently silent soul, they shine out at the hour ordained for them according to their individual destiny.
Knowing the meaning of the Mysteries
It is, however, not only the attitude towards the Passion-mysteries which depends upon one’s destiny, but also the knowledge of their meaning.  For the stages of the Passion show the path of the guiltless Christ Jesus through the retributive consequences of the Fall of Man.  The stages of the Passion are the stages of the consequences resulting from the Fall of Man which the Christ took upon Himself as representative of humanity – or, as St. Paul expresses it, as “the new Adam.”
Effect of Christ’s Sacrifice
The effect of this sacrifice is that the consequences of the universal Fall of Man are annulled for every human being in so far as he wipes out and makes good the consequences of his “individual fall into sin”.  Grace always begins to operate when strenuous endeavor has determined the individual’s destiny.  In Goethe’s Faust is a passage that reads: “Whoever striving, spares no pains, him can we well redeem.” This expresses precisely the fact that the intervention of the Grace which redeems from the consequences of the Fall – that is, the consequence of the Mystery of Golgotha – depends on the ordering of the individual’s debt of destiny.
The work of Grace
It is the work of Grace – the concrete result of the Mystery of Golgotha -  that becomes the deed by means of which the universal consequence of the Fall of Man was blotted out.
But the blotting can only take effect when man has settled his own personal debt of destiny – that is, the consequence of his free initiative.  The settling of the consequences of the individual fall into sin is, in essence the same series of experiences (though in each several case the circumstances will be at different level and differently disposed) which, raised to the highest degree, were presented and lived through in the succession of the stages of Christ Jesus’ Passion. 
Balancing Debts of Destiny and Gaining Knowledge
The steps of the path trodden by the guiltless must be trodden by Man in his guilt.  Christ’s undeserved stages of suffering are well-merited stages of suffering for those striving on this path seeking truth and the life of the Spiritual World.  Yet, while consciously striving towards this goal, the stages on the path balances out their debts of destiny whilst becoming at the same time stages of knowledge.
Spiritual Exercises: Origin and Form Changeless
Those who know that the destiny path of mankind consists in experiencing the stages of Christ Jesus’ Passion have created from this knowledge spiritual exercises containing in condensed and simple form the essentials of this path. Why?  By this means, it was given to individual men to enable them waken within themselves the forces required to undergo the trials of the consequences of our Fall.
These exercises changed their form – but only their form – according to the stage of evolution of mankind; the moral content of the exercise remained, however - and remains forever – unchanged, because it is in fact the Christ-impulse upon which all depends throughout the whole evolution of Earth.
Methods of Concentration
Whether we concentrate on the Gospel-pictures, such as the Crucifixion, the Entombment and the Resurrection, or, for instance, on the image of the Rose Cross, the spiritual and moral content is the same, for the Rose Cross is just as surely an expression of death and resurrection as are the Gospel-pictures we have mentioned.  The images in which the moral and spiritual contents were expressed had to be altered in the late Middle Ages; they had now to be drawn from the observation of Nature, whereas up to that time men had devoted themselves to pictures drawn from the Gospels.
This change was bound to take place because the progressive consciousness of later humanity could no longer make use of the Gospels as a starting-point.  The Gospels became themselves an object of knowledge, instead of as a source of knowledge as they had been hitherto.  However, the purpose of the images used for the newer exercises was the same as that of the old images; namely:  to waken in the aspirant the forces necessary for Foot-washing, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, Cross-bearing, Death, Entombment and Resurrection.  The difference introduced on the path of evolution with respect to the change of form in the exercises consist in this: that formerly men had made the Gospel-pictures their starting-point and had lived so intensively in them that they rose as Imaginations before – or Inspirations  in – the aspirant; whereas, later, men made their start from images which did not demand an unconditional belief in the Gospel tradition, but which, nevertheless, led, as a result of intensive work on them, to the rise of Imaginations and Inspirations which then revealed themselves as the pictures presented in the Gospels with their accompanying word-contents.
The mystical Christian path associated with the condition of belief in the evangelistic tradition, led directly from the pictures handed down to the seeing of spiritual facts.  The Rosicrucian path of knowledge, on the other hand, led from self-created pictures and images to the seeing of the same spiritual facts.
Christian Initiation – a Command and an Impulse
But seeing the spiritual facts of the path of Christian Initiation is not just a mere vision of them, nor even a mere comprehension; it also has the significance of a destiny stage on which that which is seen represents a command and an impulse for the inner attitude of the soul in a definite situation of life.  Thus, for instance, the inner-meeting with the Foot-washing in the spiritual sense, is the experience both of a principle and of a basic force in the Spiritual World.  And in this case it is the experience of the relationship desired by the Spiritual World between above and below – a relationship which at the same time, determines the whole method of the Christian occultism of the West.
For there are three pictures, three profoundly symbolic images, which indicate both the moral attitude and also the governing principles of the methods of the three occult streams:  “Fleeing upwards,” “Mounting the Throne,” and “Foot-washing.”
Indian Yoga : Fleeing upwards
Let us study, first, as its method is practiced today.  With what is the Indian yoga essentially concerned?  It deals with a definite alteration of the system of currents in the human organism.  The so-called “Kundalini-fire,: dormant in the abdomen, is awakened and guided upward into the head.  There it must produce sufficient impact to press through the cranium and free the ego from the spell which confines it within the skull.  The point is to feel the body as a prison, and by the help of the practice of yoga, to effect a flight from this prison.  The endeavor in yoga is so to regulate the relationship between above and below that the below shall be abandoned by the fleeing Ego.  So, the Ego, driven out by the Snake-fire (kundalini), is to flee upward on wings of thought.  The winged serpent with the human head in flight from the realm of enchantment  -  this is the picture on which the yoga endeavor is based.
Mounting the Throne
Let us look at another picture that forms the foundation of another method.  There is a very widespread endeavor to acquire power over human nature by the help of occultism.  Here also the idea is to regulate the system of currents in the human organism in conformity with the goal to be attained.  Here indeed, it is not a question of effecting an emancipation of the consciousness, but of handling and governing the condensed and strengthened currents of the lower body.  Here the Ego consciously makes a firm foundation for itself in the human organism for the purpose of developing power.  It prepares for itself a support in the lower man on which it can depend. And it depends on this support not in the sense of morality, but in the sense of a supply of force for the development of power.  So the man makes, so to speak a throne for himself and ascends it without being crowned by other anointing or empowering hands from above.  Ascent of the throne without crowning is the picture which underlies this method, which like the Indian yoga, is wide-spread.
The Foot-washing
Now the picture of the Foot-washing stands in marked contrast to the two indicated above.  For Bowing (down) stands in opposition to the upward fleeing of the winged Snake, and the Washing of the Feet stands in contrast to the Ascent of the Throne.  Just as the pictures contradict one another, so also the methods of spiritual development, the principles of which are expressed in those pictures, are distinct both as regards their actual contents and also with respect to their moral essence.  For Christian schooling depends neither on flight from the prison of the body, nor on the exploiting of the body for the purpose of developing power.  The aim of Christian schooling is to cause the forces of the higher man to descend into the lower man, even to the feet  -  shining through and metamorphosing the lower forces.
Thus the process of Meditation practiced according to the acceptation of the Christian Rosicrucian school is that the light of consciousness   -  or the light of the spirit -  shining out in the head is made so intensive and forceful that it will reach from the head to the larynx, from the larynx to the heart, and finally from there to the feet, with purifying and transforming effect.  Here also the aim is a purposeful regulation of the system of currents in the human organism, but the regulation takes place in such a way that the Ego guides its currents downward in order to bring about a gradual, inner transformation of the lower man in the direction of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.  The relationship of above and below are so regulated here that the higher bows before the lower, in order to serve the lower  -  as is shown in the scene of the Foot-washing.
What happens in Meditation
In Meditation, the principle of Foot-washing is the criterion of the spiritual happenings within the human organism. In it there is a real Washing of the Feet by the higher man stooping to the lower.  In actual reality, the higher man generally wishes this to be so and makes an effort to achieve it; nevertheless. The stream of spiritual force which flows from the higher to the lower as an active influence from the Spiritual World is sent down as Grace.
Usually it is the Guardian Angel, or some other exalted being of the Spiritual World, who stoops to the man in Meditation, and “washes his feet”; that is, sends down the strength of the Spirit even to his feet.  For Foot-washing is the fundamental attitude of the beings of the Spiritual World.  There the higher serve the lower:  Archai serve Archangels, for instance; Archangels serve Angels; and angels, Men.
So the real process of meditation does not mean only an attitude of the higher man to the lower, it means at the same time a concrete act of Foot-washing on the part of the beings of the Spiritual World towards the man who is meditating.  Hence it is a matter of overwhelming importance that the whole man should produce the condition whereby he may become the object of the Foot-washing accomplished by the Spiritual World.
Inner processes as preparation for another
However, these inner processes are only preparations for another, for man has to learn to give proof of the Foot-washing not only within himself, but also outwardly through his deeds.  It is his task not only to be the object of Foot-washing, but gradually to become the subject of it, to do for others, on his own initiative, what has been done for him.
When a man has recognized his duty, he will endeavor to do for humanity something more than is required merely by the external conditions of life, something which he will resolve to do as freely as he resolved on the work of Meditation.  He will devote himself to some undertaking suitable for contributing to the penetration of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful into a sphere of human existence in which the Good, the True, and the Beautiful do not exist.
Christian Esoteric Groups
Then when men who have resolved on service for mankind find one another, then they may form communities which exist not for their own sake, but for the benefit of humanity.  And this is how the stream of small and larger communities of Christian occultism has arisen in the world.  They carry on work in the world which is almost as little known and recognized as the work done among men by the Angels.  This work, in so far as it is of importance, is based on the foot-washing principle, which is the principle not only of the Christian Rosicrucian method of spiritual training, but also the foundation of the whole of its work in the world.
Other Groups?
On the contrary, however, other occult currents work using other principles corresponding to their particular training methods; for the nature of the work is the fruit of the training. As coconuts are the fruit of the coconut tree, so the influence of a spiritual school is the image of its method of training.
Now though Foot-washing is certainly the fundamental principle of Christian spiritual activity, the actual effect of this activity can, in the present age, be regarded only as an ideal of the future. Why? Because the activity proceeding from Man himself reaches in the present age no further than to the “feet” of the higher man; that is, to the “feet” of the head-man.
The “feet” of the head-man are situated, however, in the organisation of the ears where they touch upon the drums of the ears.  And to this degree of Foot-washing only; that is, to the cleansing of the “feet” situated in the ears, does the effect of human “Foot-washing” reach, as a rule, today.  In rare cases it may reach to the “feet” of the thorax-man in the middle of the body; but the cleansing of the hands of this second man is still, really, an ideal to be striven for today.  The feet of the lower man, however, that is, the real feet, will only feel the effect in the 6th Epoch later in future.
In the present age, the task of objective Foot-washing is bounded by the injunction: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  It can only be fulfilled for the “feet” which are hidden in the ears.  This, therefore, gives a special importance to the spoken word, to the proclamation of the spoken word in the present age.  So the “herald” has to “bow” to the ear of the listener; that is, to his power of comprehension.  But the possibilities of Foot-washing in the future will grow ever greater and greater, until at last the high example  of Foot-washing given by Christ-Jesus himself will be attained. At that time, it will be possible to transmit not only the purifying thought, but also the moral life of will from man to man.
The power of Good, and not merely the understanding of it, will then be carried over from one man to another. And this is the meaning of the Foot-washing as described in St. John’s Gospel.
My dear Sisters and Brothers,  “May the Roses bloom upon your cross.”
References:
The Bible (KJV)
Rays May/June 1999 – of Valentin Tomberg
The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception
Star Gates
The Rosary Mysteries

 

SOUND, SILENCE, AND THE PROCESS OF SOUL GROWTH
by Anthony Nyamful

I would like to begin this lecture with a question. If you are asked to choose between an old violin and a new one, which of the two will you choose and why?  According to Max Heindel, one of the means of getting access to deeper mysteries is through the law of analogy. We are thus going to draw an analogy between an old violin and a new one. It is known by all violin builders that old violins sound better than new ones. Furthermore, because they have stood the test of time and atmospheric conditions, violin players prefer old violins to new ones. For anything to vibrate it must do so in a substance less dense than the vibrating object. A vibrating string of a violin vibrates as a whole within the air surrounding it because the air is less dense than the string. Furthermore, there is no force in the air to repel the motion of the sting. The string rebounds because of its own tension. The physical atoms within the string, however, are still in a state of vibrating when the string comes to rest. The protons and electrons composing the atom are in vibration within the atom. This therefore means that there must be other forces of higher energy setting the electrons, protons and other parts of the atom into vibration. Thus finally, we must arrive at the quintessence in which all that is vibrates. Such a final state of sound may be referred to as the silence within silence or the Absolute Being. A part of this Absolute Being manifest as the Supreme Being, (A single supreme tone, referred to by John the beloved as the Word) who in turn manifests part of Himself as the seven cosmic planes forming the harmony of the Spheres.
From the above deductions, old violins have been sounded several times thus imitating the principle of creation or manifestation as has been the case with the Supreme Being. In order words, the increase of consciousness through involution and evolution. The new violin, on the other hand, has little experience in manifestation or little experience in soul growth. This may be likened to that of young soul, hence it is moved easily as compared to an individual who is not easily moved by circumstances of all sorts. We imitate this natural phenomenon when we begin to walk on the path of attainment. In other words by changing our consciousness from one state to another. Nonetheless, how we are able to do so depends on our level of spiritual attainment. What will make one react noisily, angrily, passionately will not move another person. Hence the statement by St. Paul, “None of these things move me”.
Nonetheless, sincere students of the science of the soul are naturally anxious to grow in grace that they may serve so much better in the Great Work of Human upliftment. Being humble and modest they are only too painfully aware of their shortcomings, and frequently while casting about for means to facilitate progress they ask themselves, "What hinders?" Some, particularly in bygone ages when life was lived less intensely than now, realized that the everyday life among ordinary humanity had many drawbacks. To overcome these and further their soul growth they withdrew from the community to a monastery or to the mountains where they could give themselves over to the spiritual life undisturbed. We know, however, that that is not the way. It is too well established in the minds of most of our students that if we run away from an experience today, it will confront us again tomorrow, and that the victor's palm is earned by overcoming the world, not by running away from it. The environment in which we have been placed by the Recording Angels was our own choice when we were at the turning point of our life cycle in the Third Heaven, we then being pure spirit unblinded by the matter which now veils our vision. Hence it is undoubtedly the one that holds lessons needed by us, and we should make a serious mistake if we tried to escape from it altogether.

But we have received a mind for a definite purpose--to reason about things and conditions so that we may learn to discriminate between essentials and non-essentials, between that which is designed to hinder for the purpose of teaching us a virtue by overcoming it, and that which serves as a hindrance, jars our sensibilities and wrecks our nerves without any compensating spiritual gain. It will be of the greatest benefit if we can learn to differentiate for the conservation of our strength, accepting only that which we must endure for the sake of our spiritual well-being. We shall then save much energy and have much more zest in profitable directions than now. The details of that problem are different in every life; however, there are certain general principles which it will benefit us all to understand and apply to our lives, and among them is the effect of silence and sound on soul growth.
At first blush it may surprise us when the statement is made that sound and silence are very important factors in soul growth, but when we examine the matter we shall soon see that it is not a far-fetched notion. Consider first the graphic expression, "War is hell," and then call up in imagination a war scene. The sight is appalling, even more so to those who see it with the undimmed spiritual vision than to those who are limited to physical sight, for the latter can at least shut their eyes to it if they want to, but the whole horror lies heavily upon the heart of the Invisible Helper who not only hears and sees but feels in his own being the anguish and pain of all the surrounding suffering as Parsifal felt in his heart the wound of Amfortas, the stricken Grail king; in fact, without that intensely intimate feeling of oneness with the suffering there could be no healing or help given. But there is one thing which no one can escape, the terrible noise of the shells, the deafening roar of the cannon, the vicious spitting of the machine guns, the groans of the wounded, and the oaths of a certain class among the participants. We shall need no further argument to agree that it is really a "hellish noise" and as subversive of soul growth as possible. The battle field is the last place anyone with a sane mind would choose for the purpose of soul growth, though it is not to be forgotten that much of this has been made by noble deeds of self-sacrifice there; but such results have been achieved in spite of the condition and not because of it. Nonetheless, according to Max Heindel, there is no war greater than that which takes under the breast of man as he treads on the path of attainment.
On the other hand, consider a church filled with the noble strain of a Gregorian chant or a Handel oratorio upon which the prayers of the aspiring soul wing their way to the Author of our Being. That music may surely be termed "heavenly" and the church designated as offering an ideal condition for soul growth, but if we stayed there permanently to the neglect of our duties we should be failures in spite of the ideal condition.   There remains, therefore, only one safe method for us, namely, to stay in the din of the battle field of the world, endeavoring to wrest from even the most unpromising conditions the material of soul growth by unselfish service, and at the same time to build within our own inner selves a sanctuary filled with that silent music which sounds ever in the serving soul as a source of upliftment above all the vicissitudes of earthly existence. Having that "living church" within, being in fact under that condition "living temples," we may turn at any moment when our attention is not legitimately required by temporal affairs to that spiritual house not made with hands and live in its harmony. We may do that many times a day and thus restore continually the harmony that has been disturbed by the discords of terrestrial intercourse.
  How then shall we build that temple and fill it with the heavenly music we so much desire? What will help and what will hinder? The little things are particularly important, for the neophyte needs to take even the slightest things into account. If we light a match in a strong wind it is extinguished before it has gained a fair start, but if the little flame is laid on a brush heap and given a chance to grow in comparative calm, a rising wind will fan the flame instead of extinguishing it. Great Souls may remain serene under conditions which would upset the ordinary aspirant, hence he should use discrimination and not expose himself unnecessarily to conditions subversive of soul growth; what he needs more than anything is poise, and nothing is more inimical to that condition than noise.
  It is undeniable that our communities are "Bedlams," and that we have a legitimate right to escape some noises if possible, such as the screeching made by street cars rounding a curve. The loud blatant music by party makers or funerals at night. We do not need to live on such a corner to the detriment of our nerves or endeavors at concentration, but if we have a sick, crying child that requires our attention day and night, it does not matter how it affects our nerves, we have no right in the sight of God or man to run away or neglect it in order to concentrate. These things are perfectly obvious and produce instant assent, but the things that help or hinder most are, as said, the things that are so small that they escape our attention entirely. When we now start to enumerate them, they may provoke a smile of incredulity, but if they are pondered upon and practiced they will soon win assent, for judged by the formula that "by their fruits ye shall know them," they will show results and vindicate our assertion that "Silence is one of the greatest helps in soul growth," and should therefore be cultivated by the aspirant in his home, his personal demeanor, his walk, his habits, and paradoxical as it seems, even his speech.
It is a proof of the benefit of religion that it makes people happy, but the greatest happiness is usually too deep for outward expression. It fills our whole being so full that it is almost awesome, and a boisterous manner never goes together with that true happiness for it is the sign of superficiality. The loud voice, the coarse laugh, the noisy manner, the hard heels that sound like sledge hammers, the slamming of doors, and the rattling of dishes are the signatures of the unregenerate, for they love noise, the more the merrier, as it stirs their desire bodies. For their purpose church music is anathema; a blaring brass band is preferable to any other form of entertainment, and the wilder the dance, the better. But it is otherwise, or should be, with the aspirant to the higher life.
On the other hand, if the aspirant is placed in a position of responsibility to a family; it is his duty to strive to alter conditions by precept and example, particularly by example, so that in time that refined, subdued atmosphere which breathes harmony and strength may reign over the whole house. It is not essential to the happiness of children that they be allowed to shout at the top of their voices or to race pell-mell through the house, slamming doors and wrecking furniture in their mad race; it is indeed decidedly detrimental, for it teaches them to disregard the feelings of others in self-gratification. They will benefit more than mother by being shod with rubber heels and taught to reserve their romps for outdoors and to play quietly in the house, closing doors easily, and speaking in a moderate tone of voice such as mother uses.
In childhood we begin to wreck the nerves that bother us in later years, so if we teach our children the lessons above indicated, we may save them much trouble in life as well as further our own soul growth now. It may take years to reform a household of these seemingly unimportant faults and secure an atmosphere conducive to soul growth, especially if the children have grown to adult age and resent reforms of that nature, but it is well worth while. We can and must at least cultivate the virtue of silence in ourselves, or our own soul growth will be very small. Perhaps if we look at the matter from its occult point of view in connection with that important vehicle, the vital body, the point of this necessity will be clearer.
We know that the vital body is ever storing up power in the physical body which is to be used in this "School of Experience," and that during the day the desire body is constantly dissipating this energy in actions which constitute experience that is eventually transmuted to soul growth. So far so good, but the desire body has the tendency to run amuck if not held in with a tight reign. It revels in unrestrained motion, the wilder the better, and if unbridled makes the body whistle, sing, jump, dance, shout on top of our voices, quarrel easily, gossip and do all the other unnecessary and undignified things which are so detrimental to soul growth. While under such a spell of inharmony and discord the person is dead to the spiritual opportunities in the physical world, and at night when he leaves his body the process of restoration of that vehicle consumes so much time that very little, if any, time is left for work, even if the person has the inclination to think seriously of doing such work.
Therefore, we ought by all means to flee from noises which we are not obliged to hear, and cultivate personally the quiet yet kindly demeanor, the modulated voice, the silent walk, the unobtrusive presence, and all the other virtues which make for harmony, for then the restorative process is quickly accomplished and we are free for the major part of the night to work in the invisible worlds to gain more soul growth. Let us in this attempt at improvement of ourselves remember to be undaunted by occasional failures, remembering Paul's admonition to continue in well-doing with patient persistence. Nonetheless, we should remember that one of the best means of achieving this is by constantly remembering a closer walk with the God within.

 

 

FORMS OF FEAR
By Mr. M. K. A Akrasi

Dictionary meaning of “Fear”; “An uneasy feeling that something may happen contrary to one’s desire.
That is:-

• The possibility that something dreaded or unwanted may occur.”
• To respect highly;
• To feel reverence for;
• To be afraid of :
• Profound reverence toward God;
• Anticipation or awareness of danger.
• Fear the Lord your God, serve Him – Deut. 6; 13
• A man who fear God and shuns evil – Job 1: 8
• Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Psalm 111:10
• To work out for salvation with Fear and trembling. Philp 2:12. Etc.
• IN THE RING OF NIBELUNG by Richard Wagner:-
• Fear is defined “It’s the clutch of grim horror when the limbs shiver, shaken, with terror….  And the Heart hammers within you, as if to escape your breast”
• 2 Timothy 1:7 says; ”Our God is a God of hope and has not given us a spirit of FEAR, but of power and of LOVE and of a sound mind (King James Verse)”
• “Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But FEAR is a choice” by Will Smith.

Example: When your leg is broken, fear, anger, pain are sets within you. The pain is not a serious issue, rather it is the broken bone that needs attention. The pain is a signal that something has gone wrong in the leg and needs immediate attention or treatment.
Your anger is why it should happen to you and what caused the accident.
Your Fear is that your leg would be amputated. In spiritual sense, there is no fear at all. Fear don’t exist, rather we create it. Therefore beneath the Fear is anger, pain, sadness, jealousy, envy, vengefulness, despair etc. These apply to all vices in our life in the world. I have chosen ANGER as a basis of FORM OF FEAR.
ANGER is an iceberg of phenomenon. It is the apex of larger structure all of which is invincible except the very top.
ANGER is the snow on the summit of an otherwise bare mountain.
ANGER lashes out at a target.
That ANGER is another person, group of people, or the Universe.
ANGER is righteous and self-important.
ANGER does not listen, respect, or care about others.
ANGER makes others wrong, to blame inferior or inadequate.
ANGER cares only about itself. ANGER wants what it wants, when it wants it, on the terms that it wants it. IT assumes the role of judges, jury and executioner. There is no appeal. ANGER is the pottery on the desert floor. IT is a trace of a buried building. IT points to much greater discoveries waiting to be revealed.  ANGER is a minor discovery compared with the larger treasurers that lies beneath it, waiting to be unearthed. Most individuals who became angry frequently think that they are familiar with their emotions because of their outburst. They are not; they do not know what they are feeling, beyond the rage that roars through them like a storm, devastating all in its path until it exhausted itself and only damage remains. Angry outbursts are painful experience, but they are not emotions explorations.
Example: Some animals snarl, hiss or growl when threatened by a larger animals. They cannot defend themselves, so they puff up, raise fur or their backs, and show teeth.
Anger, serves the same purpose in humans. An individual who is angry is frightened. Only a frightened individual attacks.
However, all hostility originates in FEAR. FEAR is the birthplace of every impulse that is not LOVING. A LOVING individual is FEARLESS. An angry, jealous, vengeful, or depressed person is filled with FEAR. The difference between being FEARLESS and being FEARFUL is the difference between a life of fulfillment and a life of dissatisfaction.
FEAR makes people lie to others. Gen. 18:15. Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh” but the angel said, “Yes, you did laugh”.
Love is Fearless. IT does not threaten any form of Life. Love is a friend to all. LOVE naturally supports and cares for others. IT does NOT fight fear any more than the sun fights darkness. LOVE does not know FEAR. Where one is, the other cannot be. ANGER prevents LOVE and isolates the one who is angry.
“FEAR cuts deeper than swords”.
ANGER is the agony of believing that you are not capable of being understood, and that you are not worthy of being understood. It is a wall that separates you from others as effectively as if it were concrete, thick, and very high. There is no way through it, under it, or over it. The connection between their anger and their FEAR is not one that most people make. Anger seems to generate courage beyond what is normally available. That happens when anger becomes so compulsive that it results in violence.
An Angry individual appears not to be frightened at all. Actually, He or She is terrified. It is not courage that launches the attack, but uncontrollable terror, as when small animal, corned and defenseless, hisses, snarls and then attacks.
Between terror and anger lies another experience – PAIN. In other words, beneath ANGER lies PAIN, and beneath that PAIN lays FEAR.
Until you have the courage to face and experience the PAIN that lies beneath your ANGER, you will continue to become angry. Your ANGER is a way of resisting the experience of your PAIN.
The Universe or the individual is directing your attention to an inner dynamic that needs to be examined. The inner dynamic is not your ANGER; it is the cause of your anger. That is your PAIN.
Challenging your ANGER begins the process of healing what causes it. This is the CAUSES AND EFFECT often spoken off in the Rosicrucian Fellowship teachings.
Max Heindel stated that:-

•  “FEAR curtains power to work for others.
• FEAR frustrates conscious helper ship.
• FEAR prevents Disciples from dominating demons.
• FEAR is the second great obstacle on the path of the aspirant.
• FEARLESSNESS is the first attribute in search for TRUTH.
• When one creates FEAR, it lives and obtains fresh nourishments from every new thought of FEAR until at last our whole environment is vibrant with gloom.
• FEAR OR WORRY plays with the physical body, we know how these emotions change digestion; interfere with the metabolic changes and with elimination of waste.
• Fear when created expresses itself as skepticism, cynicism and pessimism may be likened to water when it has frozen, for the Desire Bodies of such people are almost motionless, and nothing one can say or do seems to have the powe r to alter the condition. I may lose my position and find myself staving upon the street; everything I undertake seems to go wrong; my neighbors are slandering me and trying to undermine my social position; my husband or wife does not care for me anymore, my children are neglecting me; and a thousand and one kindred suggestions present themselves to mind.”
• Fear, One of the greatest dangers in any form of occult study is of being afraid.
• FEAR not for there is nothing to fear of; even elementals do not hurt anyone
• FEAR has been written in the Bible 365 times (Three hundred and Sixty-Five).
• Perfect Love cast out FEAR, says St. Paul, so cultivate LOVE, and FEAR will VANISH.

Questions;

• Why do we Fear?
• Why should babies Fear?
• Why should Children Fear?
• Why should nations Fear?

It is because the environment has been filled and polluted with FEAR in the world.
Thank you;
Refer;-

• The Web of Destiny by Max Heindel
• Probationers Book by Max Heindel
• Wisdom of the Ancients by Lobsang Rampa
• The Heart of the Soul by Gary Zukav & Linda Francis
• Holy Bible – King James Version.