2002-1-25 04:20:00
(Note: I am now placing '***' between quotes for clarification. - jjd)
"If you meet the Buddha upon the road, kill him." People think this is a cool statement but when you think about it, it is stupid. Suppose the first student of the Buddha killed him? The world would have missed a great light and the mission of Christ would not have been as successful as it was.
I believe the point of the original writer was that we should avoid any absolute authority outside of inner soul contact, but I would call this a bad choice of words.
When another great teacher incarnated after the Buddha, who was Jesus, they did crucify him. So do you think those who sentenced Jesus to death achieved greater enlightenment than those who sat at his feet and listened?
***
Attempts to gather the lights of the earth have been few. Moses made the first attempt in recorded history, but the lights he gathered out of Egypt were not much more enlightened than those who remained in Egypt.
Jesus made the next major attempt and was only able to gather a couple dozen around him capable of soul contact. That was still much better than Moses who only had two or three out of the millions. Even though the numbers around Jesus were few look at the effect their oneness had on history.
***
The trouble is that even if you or I were king of the world and had a responsibility to write the criteria for the restriction of freedom it still would be misinterpreted by future generations no matter how clear and accurate the presentation was.
The reason is that it takes a certain degree of soul contact to obtain a sense of the true principle of freedom. Therefore the best we can do as teachers is to present the principle as clear as word can be and attempt to inspire others to throw the principle of freedom across the soul so the desire for maximum freedom of spirit will burn in the hearts of the sons and daughters of this little planet.
The greatest temptation placed before us humans to assist the Dark Brothers is to get caught in the illusion that "to accomplish good, we must participate in an evil to remove freedom, for the trade off seems good."
***
There are two paths all of us face.
(1) The path of least resistance (2) The path of high resistance Notice that neither path is called the path of no resistance. This is because a path of no resistance would be a state of being that is impossible and not desirable for us in this reality.
As all human lives begin their incarnations they blindly tread the path of least resistance. If there are two choices the entity will pick the easy choice or the path of least resistance.
This continues for many lives until soul contact is established. Around this time the person becomes a disciple and switches paths and follows the path of high resistance.
Overcoming resistance increases becoming and growth. Thus the disciple switches from a path of very slow growth by trial and error to accelerated growth by overcoming resistances that were before avoided, but now faced square on.
***
We must become as open as a child to receive soul contact, but put away childish (unworkable methods) to keep it.
***
John K writes:
"I see Love as the 'good seed'. And I see that the 'good seed' has been scattered about in all our hearts. But the seed is not the plant, and no fruit is produced until the plant grows up from the seed."
JJ Response:
The first primary quality that is absolutely necessary in the working disciple is soul contact, and several of you have successfully named this.
The reason that love is not first on the list is that when one obtains this contact through the soul then we can be assured that the quality of love exists and is manifest in the person as more than an idealistic theory, but as a working principle.
We would say with John that love is the seed and soul contact is the plant. The plant is visible evidence that the seed was real and alive.
Unfortunately, there are many who teach love with many words, (see Philo in the book) but the seed is dead and never sprouts up and grows into the plant of soul contact. True love is a living , moving, growing entity.
Almost everyone you talk to believes they love truly and understand the feelings of love. Indeed there is a universal sense of its direction. But the obstacles to its fullness becoming manifest are legion indeed.
There are many who describe love in numerous ways and definitions, but is there some criteria by which we can tell for sure that the power of love is really growing and manifesting in any one individual?
There is, and when I give it to you your soul will verify the truth of this principle which is this: "He who truly loves will be loved in return." In other words, love gathers love to itself.
***
We have stated the first main quality of the disciple is Soul contact.
What is the second?
The phrase that best describes this second quality was used regularly by Alice A. Bailey as the ability to "keep the mind held steady in the light."
The mind is the key that opens the door between the human kingdom and the kingdom of God. This is knowledge that needs to be registered by the seekers of the world who think that "all you need is love."
Love is indeed a key, but it is the key to the correct use and influence of the mind. Thus love unlocks the correct use of mind and mind held steady in the light unlocks the door to the Kingdom of God and accepted discipleship.
We have all played with a magnifying glass. You can take the harmless rays of the sun and focus them through the glass on a piece of paper, and if you hold the glass steady at the right distance so focus is sustained then it will soon create fire.
The mind and the light of the Spirit are like this. The "universal Light" of the Spirit is always there like the sun at noonday and the mind is like a magnifying glass that captures this seemingly normal light and focuses it through purity and steadiness of intent until the spiritual fire is manifest.
The beginner seems to focus at random and creates a little fire from time to time. But slowly over a long period of trial and error the seeker learns to hold the mind steady so the light stays in focus at all times. Finally at this time the spiritual fire burns consistently, and this is what the higher lives look for. When they see your spiritual fire always there, always burning, always neutralizing negativity, illusion and high resistance of the lower worlds, then they realize that a new co-worker is in the making.
Holding your mind steady in the light creates a fire that burns a hole in the veil of the temple and thus "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matt 27:51) thus allowing the disciple to enter into the Holy of Holies or the Kingdom of God.
By contrast the Dark Brothers enter the world of lower mind not through the door of love but through desire and glamour. Because they are then caught in illusion they use their magnifying glass of mind to focus the dark into a black hole of the mind that is so powerful in its gravity that no light can manifest.
This is part of the meaning of the comment of Jesus: "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt 6:23
Copyright 2002 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved