The morning of the Wednesday of the week was come, and Jesus with the twelve went out to Olivet to pray; and they were lost in prayer for seven hours. Then Jesus called the twelve close to his side and said, This day the curtain parts and we will step beyond the veil into the secret courts of God. And Jesus opened up to them the meaning of the hidden way, and of the Holy Breath, and of the light that cannot fail. He told them all about the Book of Life, the Rolls of Graphael, the Book of God’s Remembrance where all the thoughts and words of men are written down. He did not speak aloud to them; he told the secrets of the masters in an undertone, and when he spoke the name of God there was a silence in the courts of heaven for half an hour, for angels spoke with bated breath. And Jesus said, These things may not be spoken out aloud; they never may be written down; they are the messages of Silenceland; they are the Breathings of the inner heart of God. (Aquarian Gospel 158:1-6)
This day the curtain parts and we will step beyond the veil into the secret courts of God. The mind has many levels of consciousness, that may be thought of as rooms that are divided from other rooms by heavy veils. Only when the energies and states appropriate to a room have been fully perceived or mastered can the individual consciousness move beyond the veil into the next room. There a higher level of consciousness and power is encountered, and there, too, lessons must be learned and insights gained before the next veil can be moved aside and the further room entered.
This is not a matter of teaching or learning, but of expansion of consciousness achieved through evolution of the energy systems of the individual. The changes and perceptions do not come from without, but from within. A true teacher does not only expound philosophies or metaphysics, but also instructs the student in the methods of self-development by which he opens the inner treasury of spirit-consciousness. Instruction is needed, but it means absolutely nothing without the requisite application through diligent practice. No matter how great the teacher, the disciple must become as great and greater as he moves onward through veil after veil until he steps beyond either rooms or veils into the realm of the Absolute from which he came and to which he now returns.
Jesus is now going to open to the chosen twelve that which heretofore has been unknown territory to them: the secret courts of God.
And Jesus opened up to them the meaning of the hidden way, and of the Holy Breath, and of the light that cannot fail. The hidden way is the inner way, the way of opening and expanding consciousness through meditation. Solomon speaks of “the secret places of the stairs” (Song of Solomon 2:14). These are stages along the ascent to God. The power which enables the yogi to attain the heights of spirit consciousness is the Holy Spirit, the Agia Pneuma, which literally means “the Holy Breath” as is found in the Aquarian Gospel. How to access that divine transforming power is the purpose of yoga. The light that cannot fail is the light of the spirit, both the individual spirit, the jivatman, and the supreme, universal Spirit, the Paramatman. This light shines forever and cannot be diminished or extinguished. This is our true nature, our true self.
He told them all about the Book of Life, the Rolls of Graphael, the Book of God’s Remembrance where all the thoughts and words of men are written down. The universe is formed of intelligent Consciousness, the consciousness that is God. Since God is eternal, so is the universe, and that implies that nothing is lost at any time, that all which takes place in creation is impressed forever in the etheric levels known as the akashic records. It of course is not a literal book nor material scrolls, but living consciousness itself, a Cosmic Memory. It is this which Levi Dowling accessed to discover the truth life and teachings of Jesus that he might pass them on to us. This was a lifetime endeavor because he first had to develop the ability to tune into those records and then be able to determine what in this infinite “library” he would “read.” It was only at the very end years of his life that he managed this perfectly and left us this most precious heritage in which aspirants were able to behold the true face of Jesus and find his true words of wisdom. Besides Dowling, only Paramhansa Yogananda later in the twentieth century gave to the world the authentic teaching of Jesus the Christ.
He did not speak aloud to them; he told the secrets of the masters in an undertone, and when he spoke the name of God there was a silence in the courts of heaven for half an hour, for angels spoke with bated breath. Whether Jesus spoke in a quiet voice or this means that he communicated with the disciples through an inner voice, we do not know. But that the wisdom of the masters of spiritual life of all ages was imparted by him, of that we can be sure. And when he spoke to them the name of God, by means of it they entered into the divine silence that is the nature of spirit-consciousness itself, the Silent Yet Spoken Word that is the inmost treasure of the yogi: Om.
And Jesus said, These things may not be spoken out aloud; they never may be written down; they are the messages of Silenceland; they are the Breathings of the inner heart of God. It is not that these sacred things are secret like the secrets of earthly minds. Rather, that they are knowledge beyond words, movements of consciousness that can only be known by those who experience them directly. The light and power of the Holy Spirit has two modes: sound and silence. Through the sound we reach the silent communications that “are the Breathings of the inner heart of God.” Only adept yogis understand these words of Jesus, the Great Yogi. Yogananda coined the term “Yogi-Christs” in reference to perfectly liberated masters, among which Krishna, Buddha and Jesus were numbered. Yoga is the path to Christhood.
And then the master taught the twelve the lessons they should teach to other men. He sometimes taught in parables; he said, You call to mind the words of yesterday about the coming of the son of man. Now, you shall teach to other men what I have spoken and am speaking unto you; teach them to pray and not to faint; to be prepared at every moment of the day, for when they least expect him, then the Lord will come. (Aquarian Gospel 158:7-9)
The major difficulty the yogi must overcome is the tendency to eventually fade away (“faint”). Every yogi I have known began by being fervent in spirit, dedicated and rejoicing in the unfoldment of their awareness through their diligent practice. But after a while–earlier for some and later for others–nearly all of them began to cool off, to become matter-of-fact in their attitude, rote in practice and finally to slack off increasingly. Oh, most kept their paraphernalia and claimed to be yogis and would say the right words if required, but the melody had ended. Increasingly they turned back to the ways of the world they had left behind and became again what they were before yoga, though without admitting it. At the end of their life, as Omar Khayyam said, they left through the door they entered. To them Jesus says in the book of Revelation: “Thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4).
The yogi must be vigilant, on guard against that which would deflect him from the path, and intent on the continuing dawn of consciousness that has begun in him. Everyone experiences moments of power that can change the direction of their life. This happens in every department of human life, including the spiritual life. Therefore we must be always on the watch, seize those moments and shape our life accordingly. The advent of God-consciousness comes in a split second. Only the watchful and quick are able to catch onto it and rise through it into a higher level of evolution and consciousness. There are many such fleeting events and only the devoted and watchful can take advantage of them. These are moments when eternity opens to the individual. Only those who immediately step into those eternal moments will succeed in spiritual life. Often failure to grasp one such moment results in a lifetime of failure.
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:32, 33, 37). Spiritual life is the most serious and demanding endeavor of which a human being is capable. This we must realize and act accordingly.
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13:44-46).
A man went to a distant land and left his house and all his wealth in care of servants; five to guard his house and five to guard his barns and herds. The servants waited long for his return, but he came not, and they grew careless in their work; some spent their time in revellings and drunkenness, and some slept at their posts. And night by night the robbers came and carried off the wealth from house and barn, and drove away the choicest of the herds. And when they knew that much of all the wealth that they were left to guard had been purloined, they said, We cannot be to blame; if we had known the day and hour when our Lord would come again we would have guarded well his wealth, and suffered not the thieves to carry it away; he surely is at fault because he told us not.
But after many days the Lord returned, and when he knew that thieves had robbed him of his wealth, he called his servants and he said to them, Because you have neglected what was given you to do, have spent your time in revellings and sleep, behold you all are debtors unto me. What I have lost by your neglect, you owe to me. And then he gave them heavy tasks to do, and bound them to their posts with chains, where they remained till they had paid for all the goods their Lord had lost through their neglect.
Another man locked up his wealth and went to sleep, and in the night time robbers came, unlocked his doors, and when they saw no guard, they entered in and carried off his wealth. And when the man awoke and found his doors ajar and all his treasures gone, he said, If I had known the hour when the thieves would come I would have been on guard. Beware, my friends, beware! and be prepared at every hour, and if your Lord shall come at midnight or at dawn, it matters not, for he will find you ready to receive. (Aquarian Gospel 158:10-20)
This continues the theme of being on guard and vigilant. But this is not about watching for the Lord, but of watching so thieves will not steal what we have. For carelessness and wrong actions rob us of all spiritual merit and growth. We must be watching for the coming of God because we want to be with him, and we must also be watching for the approach of evil so we can avoid it or drive it away.
A man went to a distant land and left his house and all his wealth in care of servants; five to guard his house and five to guard his barns and herds. The servants waited long for his return, but he came not, and they grew careless in their work; some spent their time in revellings and drunkenness, and some slept at their posts. And night by night the robbers came and carried off the wealth from house and barn, and drove away the choicest of the herds. We have five outer senses and five inner senses so we can watch over our external life and our internal life. Both our material and our spiritual life must be dedicated to purification and growth in conformity with the will and plan of God. But if our inner and outer powers are not used aright, we will suffer great loss and be guilty of laxity. It will not happen all at once, but gradually the thieves of wrong thoughts, words and deeds will carry away whatever good we may have and leave us spiritually empty and poor.
And then he gave them heavy tasks to do, and bound them to their posts with chains, where they remained till they had paid for all the goods their Lord had lost through their neglect. God is merciful and will not condemn us to eternal darkness or pain, but we will have to reap the negative spiritual karma we created through indifference, laziness and transgression. Bound to the round of birth and death, of reincarnation, we will have to pay our karmic debts. We must regain what we lost, and that will be to our benefit. For God loves us with an eternal love and wants us to be revealed as his eternal children and to live with him, one with him forever.
And then, behold, a marriage was announced, and virgins, ten of them, were set apart to meet the bridegroom when he came. The virgins clothed themselves in proper garbs, and took their lamps and sat in waiting for the watch to say, Behold, the bridegroom comes! Now, five were wise; they filled their lamps with oil; and five were foolish, for they carried empty lamps. The groom came not at the expected time; the virgins were a-weary with their watch and slept. At midnight came the cry, Behold, the bridegroom comes! The virgins rose; the wise ones quickly trimmed their lamps and went forth ready to receive the groom. The foolish virgins said, We have no oil, our lamps burn not. They sought to borrow from the wise, who said, We have no oil to spare; Go to the merchant men and buy and fill your lamps and then come forth to meet the groom. But while they went to purchase oil, the bridegroom came; the virgins who were ready with their lamps all trimmed went with him to the marriage feast. And when the foolish virgins came the door was shut, and though they knocked and called aloud, the door was opened not. The master of the feast exclaimed, I know you not! and in disgrace the virgins went their way. (Aquarian Gospel 158:21-31)
Once more we have the two themes: be watchful and ready for the coming of higher consciousness and life, and do not neglect the spiritual life. The lamps the young women had represent the outer life which must be kept clean and ready for use. But we are not just bodies, we are spirits. In fact, the bodies continually fall away from us, but our nature as spirit remains. Therefore the foolish only have an external religion of outer observance. The wise also purify their their outer life and conform it to divine laws, but they also have an inner, spiritual life symbolized by the oil. They have awakened spiritual consciousness and experience. Therefore they will not be strangers to God on the day when they leave their bodies and rise to the spiritual world. They will be received with rejoicing“into everlasting habitations” (Luke 16:9). But the foolish will be turned back to this world to be born over and over until they cultivate spiritual consciousness in themselves. Then they, too, will be wise and join the wise in the higher worlds.
Again I say to you, and you shall say to them who follow you, Be ready every moment of the day and night, because when you expect him not, the Lord will come. Behold, when he will come with all his messengers of light, the Book of Life, and that of Records, shall be opened up–the books in which the thoughts and words and deeds are written down. And every one can read the records he has written for himself, and he will know his doom before the judge shall speak, and this will be the sifting time. According to their records men will find their own. (Aquarian Gospel 158:32-36)
This is an explanation of the real judgment which we experience at the end of every life. And the message is simple: Be Ready.
The judge is Righteousness, the king of all the earth, and he will separate the multitudes as shepherds separate the sheep and goats. The sheep will find their places on the right, the goats upon the left, and every man will know his place. And then the judge will say, to those upon the right, You blessed of the Father-God, come unto your inheritance, which was prepared for you from times of old. You have been servants of the race; and I was hungry and you gave me bread; was thirsty and you gave me drink; was naked and you gave me clothes; was sick, you ministered to me; and was in prison and you came to me with words of cheer; I was a stranger and in your homes I found a home. Then will the righteous say, When did we see you hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned or a stranger at our gates and ministered to you? And then the judge will say, You served the sons of men, and whatsoever you have done for these, that you have done for me.
The judge will say to those upon the left, Depart from me; you have not served the sons of men. I was hungry and you gave me naught to eat; was thirsty and you gave me naught to drink; I was a stranger and you drove me from your door; I was imprisoned and was sick, you did not minister to me. Then these will say, When did we thus neglect to care for you? When did we see you hungry, thirsty, sick, a stranger or in prison and did not minister to you? And then the judge will say, Your life was full of self; you served the self and not your fellow man, and when you slighted one of these, you slighted and neglected me.
Then will the righteous have the kingdom and the power, and they who are unrighteous shall go forth to pay their debts, to suffer all that men have suffered at their hands. (Aquarian Gospel 158:37-48)
Here again we see that there is no condemnation or damnation, but rather the necessity to reap negative karma and wisely accrue positive karma so we will be placed on the right hand of God and Christ.
They who have ears to hear and hearts to understand will comprehend these parables.
When he had finished all these parables he said, You know that in two days the great Passover feast will come, and lo, the son of man will be betrayed into the hands of wicked men. And he will give his life upon the cross, and men will know that he, the son of man, is son of God. Then Jesus and the twelve returned to Bethany. (Aquarian Gospel 158:49-52)
The “ears to hear and hearts to understand” are in our inner bodies, in our souls. If they are opened then we will comprehend all the mysteries of God and his Christ. Yoga is the way of opening, the way into the everlasting kingdom.
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis