Divine Wisdom
“God is not force alone; for wisdom is his counterpart” (Aquarian Gospel 97:1).
Because of our materialistic perspective we are more impressed by power (strength) than by any other quality. Further, in human society “might is right” often becomes the settled fact, power winning out over ethics and intelligence again and again. Consequently there is emphasis on God’s power in most religions, often being the sole reason for worshipping God or heeding his revelations. It is only natural that those who seek power should assume they can find it in God, for they conceive of God as being just like themselves, only without limitation. This is why in religion we find such perversions as divine tyranny, anger, retribution, placation and patronage of the obedient, faithful and fearful. But Jesus tells us that Divine Wisdom is equal to Divine Power, that all things are done in Wisdom-Truth by God, that everything God does is preceded and dictated by Wisdom. Therefore the idea that God can be angered or placated and thereby provoked to punish or reward human beings is utter blasphemy.
Divine Father/Divine Mother
“When cherubim instructed man in wisdom’s ways they said that wisdom is the Mother of the race, as force is Father of the race. The man who honors the almighty and omniscient God is blessed, and in the tables of the law we read, Pay homage to your Father and Mother of the race, that your days may be prolonged upon the land that they have given you” (Aquarian Gospel 97:2-4).
When human beings first appeared on the earth they were not alone, but accompanied by highly evolved intelligences who taught them the ways of human life, which included the ways of divine life and wisdom. All that is good is born from wisdom, not raw power. In fact, power must always be subordinated to wisdom. That is why Divine Order is often depicted as being feminine. Without a father there is no conception, but without a mother there is neither conception or birth. So Wisdom is both the beginning and the fruition of evolution. Therefore we must honor our divine Father and Mother by elevating ourselves to the highest levels of power and knowledge. In this way we become their worthy “children” and live in harmony with the Divine Order.
Now Jesus is going to speak of misuse of power which results from the lack of wisdom on the part of the transgressor.
Killing
“The letter of the law commands; you shall not kill; and he who kills must stand before the judgement seat. A person may desire to kill, yet if he does not kill he is not judged by law. The spirit of the law avers that he who shall desire to kill, or seeks revenge, is angry with a man without sufficient cause, must answer to the judge” (Aquarian Gospel 97:5-7).
There are four aspects of killing in relation to the divine law.
- The prohibition of killing is an absolute of the divine law or divine order (ritam).
- Whoever kills will indeed come into judgment for it by means of the laws of karma, of action and reaction.
- If a person wishes to kill, but for some reason does not, he is not a murderer and is not judged to be one. For him there is no karma from killing, since no killing actually took place.
- However, those who wish to kill, seek revenge on another, or are angry with someone without any real provocation shall be judged for their negative and destructive feelings and will. Such feelings tremendously darken and twist the mind and are a potent force of self-destruction. Those who harbor such feelings attack themselves and spiritually maim or even slay themselves.
Evil speech
“And he who calls his brother soulless vagabond shall answer to the council of the just; and he who calls his brother a degenerate, a dog, fans into life the burning fires of hell within himself” (Aquarian Gospel 97:8, 9).
Every human being is our “brother” and is so intimately linked with us on invisible levels that our brother truly is our self. Therefore if we insult or harm anyone we harm both that person and ourself. These two insults are examples of the transgression in speech that Jesus is warning us against.
Reconciliation
“Now, in the higher law we read that if your brother is aggrieved by something you have done, before you offer unto God your gifts, go forth and find your brother and be reconciled to him. It is not well to let the sun go down upon your wrath. If he will not be reconciled when you have laid aside all selfish pleas, have waived all selfish rights, you will be guiltless in the sight of God; then go and offer unto God your gifts” (Aquarian Gospel 97:10-12).
It is evident from Jesus’ words that since God is present in the heart of all people, to be estranged from another can cause estrangement from God.
It is an absolute necessity that we do not permit ill-will to remain in our hearts for even a short time, and we must strive to never let it be retained from one day to the next. For both our sakes and those that we are in conflict with with, everything must be done to resolve the situation. Even if the other person is completely in the wrong and we are blameless, still we should seek reconciliation in all humility. Often people are bound by their anger or displeasure and cannot free themselves, so the “other side” must attempt to heal the situation. Although a person should not engage in falsehood, if possible it is sometimes necessary to make apology to the person who is in the wrong, keeping in mind that perhaps we do not realize the effect our words or deeds may have had on them.
However, if the person is incorrigible and clings to his ill-will for whatever reason, if we have done our best then we are free of all blame, no longer have any responsibility for the situation, and nothing is impeding our communication with God.
Debtors
“If you owe aught to any man and cannot pay; or if a man shall claim a greater sum than is his due, it is not well that you dispute his claims. Resistance is the sire of anger; there is no mercy and no reason in a wrathful man” (Aquarian Gospel 97:13, 14).
These word were spoken long before the days of written, legal contracts, so they are not as compelling as they were. In these times the wise thing is to have a contract with others in all matters involving money or commitments. If, however, the situation is not clear-cut and we do not have a clear, indisputable contract, then we should be willing to go ahead and give what is demanded. In such situations we should never be adversarial if someone mistakenly or intentionally demands something not really owed to them. Instead we should give what is demanded and go on in peace. Often “standing up for our rights” gets us nowhere but deeper in the swamp.
Courts?
“I tell you it is better far to suffer loss than go to law, or call upon the courts of men to judge of right and wrong” (Aquarian Gospel 97:15).
At the beginning of the sixth chapter of First Corinthians, Saint Paul censures those that take a fellow Christian to the secular courts rather than appealing to the local congregation to assist in their reconciliation. But Jesus advises that no recourse should ever be made to the civil courts. However, the courts of today in modern democracies are utterly different from those of the Roman Empire, so whether this applies to us is to be considered by each person.
Nevertheless, we should at all times seek to follow the counsel of Saint Paul:
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).
And:
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
This certainly conforms with Jesus later words:
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep among a pack of wolves; and you must be as wise as serpents and as harmless as the doves” (122:20).
The law of God
“The law of carnal man would say, Eye for eye and tooth for tooth; resist encroachment on your rights. But this is not the law of God. The Holy Breath would say, Resist not him who would deprive you of your goods. He who would take your coat by force is still a brother man and you should gain his heart, which by resistance cannot be done; give him your coat and offer him still more and more; in time the man will rise above the brute; you will have saved him from himself” (Aquarian Gospel 97:16-19).
Again, this was spoken in a very different era of history. It is up to us to decide what is appropriate to our modern times when many conflicts can be decided legally, whereas when Jesus was speaking it was a matter between two people and could involve great bitterness and even violence. The principle, though, to not push back if it is at all possible–and sensible–is always the best. Love and patience do not reform the incorrigible and we must be aware of that and judge our “adversary” accordingly.
Be generous
“Refuse not him who calls for help and give to him who asks to borrow aught” (Aquarian Gospel 97:20).
Again, good sense must be used here, otherwise there was no reason for Jesus to tell us to be wise–not just harmless.
Strike not
“And if a man shall strike you in a fitful, or an angry way, it is not well to smite him in return. Men call him coward who will not fight and thus defend his rights; but he is much the greater man who is assailed, is smitten and does not smite; who is maligned and answers not, than he who smites the smiter and reviles the one who slanders him” (Aquarian Gospel 97:21-23).
This is a very important spiritual principle, and it should not be a matter only of conduct but of attitude and disposition of heart. But notice that this is not speaking of criminal behavior, but of personal conflict of a normal social kind. It is certainly better to be wise and thought a fool, but there is no virtue in being a fool.
Love and mercy
“It has been said in olden times that man shall love his friend and hate his foe; but, lo, I say, be merciful unto your foes; bless those who slander you; do good to those who do you harm and pray for those who trample on your rights. Remember, you are children of the God who makes his sun to rise alike upon the evil and the good, who sends his rain upon the unjust and the just” (Aquarian Gospel 97:24-26).
This is the only way to be like God, who is bountiful to both the good and the bad. It is not easy to follow this, but it is part of our “high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:4).
The way of Light
“If you do unto other men as they do unto you, you are but slaves, but followers in the way to death. But you, as children of the light, must lead the way. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When you do good to those who have done good to you, you do no more than other men; the publicans do that. If you salute your friends and not your foes, you are like other men; the publicans have set the pace.
“Be perfect as your Father-God in heaven is” (Aquarian Gospel 97:27-32)
The first paragraph is completely clear, though not as easy to practice as it is to read. The last sentence of this chapter conveys the whole idea: we must become perfect image-likenesses of God because we are a part of God and the manifestation of that truth is our our only purpose for existing.
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospels for Yogis: Aspects of the Higher Law – 2