23 Apr 1999
Flesh and Bones
A reader asks a natural question. What is important about attaining a state where we do not have to die a physical death? Why not just leave the body behind and go to the higher worlds?
First let us examine the record we have of the one historical person who has overcome death, namely, Jesus in cooperation with the Christ. We know His body lay in the tomb for three days and then after this period there was a resurrection where the body disappeared. Now many believe that the disappearance of the body was a symbolic thing to give faith to the followers of Christ, that in reality Jesus was resurrected in a spiritual body and his real body either evaporated or was disposed of by the disciples.
Why could this not likely to be true? Because if it was, it is an outright deception, and the Brotherhood of Light does not deceive. They may withhold information but they do not create a situation purely for the intention of deception. In addition to this we have the appearance of Jesus in a physical body after the resurrection:
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
“And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. Luke 24:33-43
Notice here that Jesus walked through the wall and appeared to the apostles. Because he materialized out of the blue the disciples thought they had seen a spirit, but to correct them Jesus let them feel his hands and feet, and then to clinch it he ate their fish in front of them. He still had a physical body, yet he could disappear and reappear at will as if he were a spirit.
The Purpose of the Body
“Question: What advantages would a person have who could materialize in a physical body at will over one who has left his body behind? Would this be an ability that you would want to acquire?”
“Suppose you think your body is not perfect as Rick was questioning. Do you suppose you would be stuck with it for eternity if you followed in the footsteps of the Master? If you had funny looking ears you wouldn’t want to be laughed at for eternity, would you?”
Robin made a very beautiful poetic comment that I cannot pass over:
“The limitation removed by the physical body is that of using the senses which are available only to the body. Without a body, one does not see the beautiful sunset, smell the perfumed scarlet rose, nor feel the silkiness of the dust of a butterfly’s wing.”
Even though there are great beauties in the other spheres, it is true that the perceptions and feelings we have here are unique in the scheme of things. The feelings of all the other worlds added together are not complete until the physical is added. Here we have the possibility of obtaining a “fullness of joy,” as well as a fullness of liberation, which fullness cannot be obtained without the aid of a physical body.
As we said earlier, it takes around a thousand lifetimes to obtain liberation. When your body dies, it seems that it is left behind to be forgotten, but such is not the case. When you die you take one atom of the body with you. Alice A. Bailey calls this the “permanent atom.”
When the time comes to incarnate again, you, in cooperation with your Solar Angel, actually participate in the creation of your new body. The permanent atom that you take with you is like a great computer program that has all the data necessary to recreate the body when it is activated. It is also used to create a better program for your next life.
Progressive incarnation is a little like the evolution of a computer program. I remember back, ages and ages hence, when I bought Microsoft Word version one for my Mac. That was its first incarnation. But then version two was released. Version two took all that worked and was good about version one (at least in theory) and incorporated it in the new incarnation along with added improvements. This process has continued until we now have version 8 which is in Office 98. (As of 1999)
Now there are still some things I like better about version five so I will open it now and then and use it. Then when I retrieve my older writings I find that I cannot even open them with the new versions, so I may have to go back to version three or earlier.
It is similar with our physical bodies. Life after life we seek to make a better, tougher, healthier, more resourceful body. As we do this, we carry with us the permanent atom (programs) of bodies past. Then we reach a point where we start putting our attention on beauty as well as function. During these lives we also have a great interest in the outward beauty of music, art, painting, architecture, creating… This interest stimulates us so that after we pass out of incarnation, and revise our program for the next body, we put more attention on increasing its beauty and symmetry.
If you have lived 600 lives, for instance, you would have a chain of 600 computer programs within your permanent atom that interplay to create body number 601. Until you reach the point of liberation, however, you will not have the power to recreate your old bodies at will. When you do reach “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” you then gain access to all past programs and have power to activate them and create a body at will.
This explains the story in the 24th chapter of Luke, where Jesus visited disciples who were old friends, but did not recognize Him. They did not recognize him because He appeared in a body from a past life. Then something strange happened; as the Master talked to them, His wisdom seemed strangely familiar. Gradually it began to dawn on them that they were in the presence of Christ and we are told: “their eyes were opened and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight.” Luke 24:31
Most of us are many lifetimes away from reaching the perfection of Jesus, or the Christ, but within our soul there is a knowing that the day will come when we, the students, will become as our Master. When this day of attainment comes, we will not leave our physical bodies behind as many teach, for leaving them behind would cause us to suffer a great limitation.
And what is that limitation? Without the power to access a physical body at will, we have no direct participation with the physical world. The power of spiritual entities to influence and affect humanity is not nearly as powerful as would be a Master in a physical body.
Verily, in the present, the visitation of a Master in the flesh who has overcome death is rare, but the time will come when mortals and immortals shall mingle freely and be able to speak and shake hands with each other. Yes, they shall be able to hug each other also.
A Master is one who has overcome physical death and has power to manifest in all three worlds of form at will. There are many Masters unknown to us who have come to earth from other worlds, but beginning with Christ, they are being replaced by evolving entities who are native to this earth. This group of Masters is sometimes called the Spiritual Hierarchy of the planet, and the Masters, along with their dedicated disciples who have not yet overcome death, are called the Brotherhood of Light by some. This is the phrase I often use.
There are many astral entities, which are far from being Masters, who think themselves wise and seek to have influence on the physical plane. Such entities cannot manifest in the flesh. Some have power to project an astral image, but if you try to touch them, your hand will pass through. If you touch a true Master you will feel his or her body.
There are some very advanced entities who have not yet sought to master the physical plane as exists on earth, but they generally leave teaching up to those who have achieved mastery here. Lower astral entities will seek to use the body of an unconscious channel and gather disciples around him for his own glory.
There are many entities on the other side who are not Masters, who have embraced the light and seek to aid humanity in a positive way. These “angels” do not deceive and do not seek to present themselves as greater than they are. They only seek to aid in the manifesting of the will of God, and mainly work through the medium of the soul with the “still small voice.”
We are told that “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” I Cor 15:26 Why do you suppose death is called an “enemy?” There is a major achievement in conquering this enemy before death is destroyed.
Elijah, Moses and Abraham reached this point. Moses just seemed to disappear and his body was never found, and Elijah was said to have been taken into heaven without tasting death. Abraham and Sarah’s bodies were renewed so they could have a child at the age of 100. These are hints about a major point in evolution we reach before the final mastery. What is this achievement?
28 Apr 1999
The Last Enemy
Why do you suppose death is called an “enemy”?
Death is called the last enemy because its power over us is the last obstacle to overcome before maximum freedom is obtained on the physical plane. It is true there are other glorious worlds beyond this one, but there will be times when we will want to manifest in the physical world for one reason or another. Overcoming physical death allows us this freedom. There are other obstacles in other spheres, but physical death is the greatest on this plane.
Before Christ, physical death was partially overcome by disciples who reached the fourth and fifth initiations. These disciples received a rejuvenation of their bodies and lived for an extended period on the physical plane. The Christ did something different. He allowed His body to be virtually destroyed, and then rebuilt it, demonstrating complete power of the Spirit over the body.
In addition, He demonstrated that the body could be folded up into spirit, and that while keeping the ability to manifest physically, He could manifest and travel to all worlds whether material or spirit.
Glenys asked why Paul was blinded by a vision of Christ, John saw a glorious Christ in vision but others saw Him through normal eyes. If Christ were to manifest clear down to the physical level, we could then look upon him as a normal man, for the glory that blinded Paul would be hidden by the physical body. On the other hand, if a high entity is consciously dwelling on a higher plane, and we ascend in consciousness to meet that entity, then we will “see him as he is”. If the entity is quickened by spiritual light, he will have a presence brighter than the sun.
Peter, James and John saw the true glory of Christ on the mount of transfiguration where they saw His face “shine as the sun.” (Mat 17:2) Here their eyes saw beyond the illusion of the body, and they saw their Master as He was.
Copyright by J J Dewey
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