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Chapter One Hundred Sixty

Hoffman's portrait of ChristPart 172 of the Aquarian Gospel for Awakening

On Thursday morning Jesus called to him the twelve disciples, and he said to them, This is God’s remembrance day, and we will eat the paschal supper all alone.

And then he said to Peter, James and John, Go now into Jerusalem and there prepare the pasch. And the disciples said, Where would you have us go to find the place where we may have the feast prepared? And Jesus said, Go by the fountain gate and you will see a man who has a pitcher in his hand. Speak unto him and say: This is the first day of unleavened bread; the Lord would have you set apart your banquet hall where he may eat his last Passover with the twelve. Fear not to speak; the man whom you will see is Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews, and yet a man of God. And the disciples went and found the man as Jesus said, and Nicodemus hastened to his home; the banquet hall, an upper room, was set apart, the supper was prepared.

Now, in the afternoon the Lord and his disciples went up to Jerusalem and found the feast in readiness. And when the hour had come to eat the feast, the twelve began to strive among themselves, each anxious to secure the honored seats. And Jesus said, My friends, would you contend for self just as the shadow of this night of gloom comes on? There is no honored seat at heaven’s feast except for him who humbly takes the lowest seat.

And then the Lord arose and took a basin full of water and a towel, and bowing down, he washed the feet of all the twelve and dried them with the towel. He breathed upon them and he said, And may these feet walk in the ways of righteousness forevermore.

He came to Peter and was about to wash his feet, and Peter said, Lord, would you wash my feet? And Jesus said, You do not comprehend the meaning of the thing I do, but you will comprehend. And Peter said, My master, no, you shall not stoop to wash my feet. And Jesus said, My friend, if I wash not your feet you have no part with me. And Peter said, Then, O my Lord, wash both my feet, my hands, my head. And Jesus said to him, He who has taken first his bath is clean, and has no need to wash, except his feet. The feet are truly symbols of the understanding of the man, and he who would be clean must, in the living stream of life, wash well his understanding every day.

Then Jesus sat with his disciples at the table of the feast and said, Behold the lesson of the hour: You call me master; such I am. If, then, your Lord and master kneel and wash your feet, should you not wash each other’s feet and thus show forth your willingness to serve? You know these things, and if you do them, blessed thrice are you. (Aquarian Gospel 160:1-23)

There is no honored seat at heaven’s feast except for him who humbly takes the lowest seat. God is the most perfectly humble being. See how he does all things for all who exist, yet remains invisible to them most of the time. Indifference and ingratitude are the payment he receives from human beings for his loving providence, yet he continues his care for them. He gives all to those who have nothing to give in return. He wishes nothing for them but freedom. Therefore in the kingdom of heaven the highest place is given to those who are perfected in humility.

For many years in church we often sang the song:

If thou wouldst have the dear Savior from heaven
Walk by thy side from the morn till the even,
There is a rule that each day you must follow:
Humble thyself to walk with God.

Just as the Lord, in the world’s early ages,
Walked and communed with the prophets and sages,
He will come now if you meet the conditions:
Humble thyself to walk with God.

Just as the stream finds a bed that is lowly,
So Jesus walks with the pure and the holy;
Cast out thy pride, and in heartfelt contrition
Humble thyself to walk with God.

Humble thyself and the Lord will draw near thee,
Humble thyself and His presence shall cheer thee;
He will not walk with the proud or the scornful,
Humble thyself to walk with God.

He breathed upon them and he said, And may these feet walk in the ways of righteousness forevermore. Breathing upon something is way an adept infuses it with power. So Jesus breathed upon the apostles’ feet he had washed and bestowed on them the destiny and power to “walk in the way of righteousness forevermore.”

And Jesus said, You do not comprehend the meaning of the thing I do, but you will comprehend. This is an important lesson for an aspirant, especially a yogi, to learn. True religion comes from the highest realms of consciousness, and can seem totally pointless and even foolish if not insane to those in the grip of worldly ignorance. Yet if a person perseveres in practice and observance, in time he will benefit and come to understand the purpose of what before was incomprehensible to him. The same applies to advice given by spiritually advanced people. More than once I was told to do something I thought completely silly, but when I did as directed, great understanding came to me. Please do not think I am advocating mindless and unquestioning obedience, but it must be realized that often wisdom appears foolish to those who themselves lack wisdom.

Practice of meditation can seem very silly and worthless when first presented to someone. I remember the first time I learned a meditation technique I was so disgusted at what seemed its silliness that I considered walking out of the class. I had been cheated! But fortunately the teacher said right then: “Now sit and do it for a while.” I did, and found it astoundingly effective. When after sufficient practice of that method I was instructed in a much more powerful and elaborate practice I laughed and thought: “God must have a great sense of humor. Imagine that such a strange process could help in realizing God!” But when I did it the first time I thought I would fly up and bounce off the ceiling.

The feet are truly symbols of the understanding of the man, and he who would be clean must, in the living stream of life, wash well his understanding every day. Meditation alone is the daily purification of the mind and heart that will keep them ready to receive divine wisdom through intuition.

You know these things, and if you do them, blessed thrice are you. Blessing of body, mind and soul come to those who learn and apply the wisdom of the saints and master yogis.

And then he said, This is an hour when I can truly praise the name of God, for I have greatly wished to eat with you this feast before I pass the veil; for I will eat it not again until anew I eat it with you in the kingdom of our Father-God. And then they sang the Hebrew song of praise that Jews were wont to sing before the feast.

And then they ate the pasch and as they ate, the master said, Behold, for one of you will turn away this night and will betray me into wicked hands. And the disciples were amazed at what he said; they looked into each other’s face in wonderment; they all exclaimed, Lord, is it I?

And Peter said to John, who sat beside the Lord, To whom does he refer? And John put forth his hand and touched the master’s hand and said, Which one of us is so depraved as to betray his Lord?

And Judas said, Lord, is it I? And Jesus said, He is the one who now has put his hand with mine into the dish. They looked, and Judas’ hand was with the hand of Jesus in the dish. And Jesus said, The Prophets cannot fail; the son of man must be betrayed, but woe to him who shall betray his Lord.

And from the table Judas rose at once; his hour had come. And Jesus said to him, Do quickly what you are to do. And Judas went his way. (Aquarian Gospel 160:24-35)

Here we see that all things were known to Jesus and that he revealed them to his disciples so it would be understood that nothing was fate or misfortune, but the divine will and plan.

And when the pasch was done the Lord with the eleven sat a while in silent thought. Then Jesus took a loaf of bread that had been broken not and said, This loaf is symbol of my body, and the bread is symbol of the bread of life; and as I break this loaf, so shall my flesh be broken as a pattern for the sons of men; for men must freely give their bodies up in willing sacrifice for other men. And as you eat this bread, so shall you eat the bread of life, and never die. And then he gave to each a piece of bread to eat.

And then he took a cup of wine and said, Blood is the life, this is the life-blood of the grape; it is the symbol of the life of him who gives his life for men. And as you drink this wine, if you shall drink in faith, you drink the life of Christ.

And then he supped and passed the cup, and the disciples supped; and Jesus said, This is the feast of life, the great Passover of the son of man, the Supper of the Lord, and you shall often eat the bread and drink the wine. From henceforth shall this bread be called Remembrance bread; this wine shall be Remembrance wine; and when you eat this bread and drink this wine remember me. (Aquarian Gospel 160:36-43)

There are many interpretations of this sacred action. There is abundant evidence that in the churches possessing unbroken Apostolic Succession the bread and wine are transformed and transfused with the consciousness of Christ that manifested as his immaculate body and blood. Uninvolved with the arguments and theories set forth by both believers and unbelievers, the wise simply partake of that consciousness and are enlivened by it.

Those not in churches of the Apostolic Succession have experienced that those obeying the command of Jesus and partaking of the elements that symbolize his body and blood also receive an inward spiritual vivification beyond rational understanding.

Both are constrained to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).

Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis

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The Aquarian Gospel—Commentary and Text

The Aquarian Gospel for Awakening—A Commentary on the Aquarian Gospel
by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke)

  1. The Mother of Jesus
  2. Prophecies of the Births of Saint John the Baptist and Jesus
  3. The Birth of Jesus
  4. Revelations in the Temple
  5. Coming of the Wise Men
  6. Herod’s Reaction
  7. Revelations in Egypt
  8. The Two Selfs
  9. Deliverance From Gods and Demons
  10. About God the Tao
  11. From India to Chaldea
  12. The Wisdom of Buddha
  13. God and Prayer
  14. The Mission of Jesus and John the Baptist
  15. Sin and the Forgiveness of Sin
  16. The Universal Law of Man’s Free Will and the Divine Will For Man
  17. Understanding Death
  18. The True Teacher
  19. The Value of Ritual
  20. The Law Behind All Laws
  21. Opening To The Truth
  22. In the Temple at the Age of Ten
  23. Revelation to the Teachers and People in the Temple
  24. Jerusalem to Nazareth
  25. Nazareth to India
  26. What is Truth?
  27. What Is Man?
  28. What is Power?
  29. Understanding
  30. Wisdom
  31. Faith
  32. Healing and Healers
  33. Conflict Over Caste
  34. The Destiny of All Men
  35. God and Man
  36. The Voice in the Heart
  37. Seeing the Unseeable
  38. To God Through Man
  39. Who Is Jesus?
  40. The Real Versus The Apparent
  41. The Brotherhood of Life
  42. God…and Man
  43. Relating To God
  44. The Worthy Host
  45. Come to the Light
  46. The Kingdom Revealed
  47. The King Revealed
  48. Perspective On Death
  49. Fire and Sword
  50. Evolution: The Path of Glory
  51. The Real Heaven
  52. Getting to the Essence
  53. New Perspective on Religion
  54. In Tibet and Ladakh
  55. Words to the Worthy
  56. The Thirty-Eighth Chapter
  57. The Origin of Evil
  58. The Silence
  59. The Source of Healing
  60. The Fivefold Gospel
  61. Homecoming
  62. In Athens
  63. The Oracle of Delphi
  64. The Real God
  65. Return to Egypt
  66. First Steps to Wisdom
  67. Strong in Will and Intent
  68. Here Comes the Ego
  69. Blessed are the Merciful
  70. Claiming Our Freedom
  71. The Great Test
  72. Comprehending Death
  73. The Christ!
  74. The Asembly of the Masters
  75. The Seven Pillars of the Aquarian Age – I
  76. The Seven Pillars of the Aquarian Age – II
  77. The Declaration of Jesus
  78. John the Baptist – I
  79. John the Baptist – II
  80. John the Baptist – III
  81. Baptism – Jesus and John
  82. Self-Examination and Temptation
  83. The First Disciples Follow Jesus
  84. Jesus’ First Sermon
  85. The King and the Kingdom
  86. Dealing With Challengers
  87. The First Miracle of Jesus
  88. Kings and Kingdoms
  89. The Temple of God
  90. What Is A Messiah?
  91. The Laws of Healing
  92. Nicodemus Finds The Kingdom
  93. The Prince of Peace
  94. Dealing With Spiritual Opposition
  95. The Opened Gate
  96. John the Baptist Speaks of the Christ
  97. John Speaks Further About Jesus
  98. The Woman at the Well
  99. The Disciples and Samaritans at the Well
  100. Jesus in Sychar
  101. More Wisdom In Samaria
  102. The Imprisonment of John the Baptist
  103. In Jerusalem
  104. The Insights of Jesus
  105. Sabbath Wisdom
  106. Prayer and Good Deeds
  107. Divine Laws and Principles for Seekers of the Divine
  108. A New Understanding of the Ten Commandments
  109. Aspects of the Higher Law – 1
  110. Aspects of the Higher Law – 2
  111. Aspects of the Higher Law – 3
  112. Aspects of the Higher Law – 4
  113. Chapter One Hundred One
  114. Chapter One Hundred Two
  115. Chapter One Hundred Three
  116. Chapter One Hundred Four
  117. Chapter One Hundred Five
  118. Chapter One Hundred Six
  119. Chapter One Hundred Seven
  120. Chapter One Hundred Eight
  121. Chapter One Hundred Nine
  122. Chapter One Hundred Ten
  123. Chapter One Hundred Eleven
  124. Chapter One Hundred Twelve
  125. Chapter One Hundred Thirteen
  126. Chapter One Hundred Fourteen
  127. Chapter One Hundred Fifteen
  128. Chapter One Hundred Sixteen
  129. Chapter One Hundred Seventeen
  130. Chapter One Hundred Eighteen
  131. Chapter One Hundred Nineteen
  132. Chapter One Hundred Twenty
  133. Chapter One Hundred Twenty One
  134. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Two
  135. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Three
  136. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Four
  137. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Five
  138. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Six
  139. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Seven
  140. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Eight
  141. Chapter One Hundred Twenty Nine
  142. Chapter One Hundred Thirty
  143. Chapter One Hundred Thirty One
  144. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Two
  145. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Three
  146. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Four
  147. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Five
  148. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Six
  149. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Seven
  150. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Eight
  151. Chapter One Hundred Thirty Nine
  152. Chapter One Hundred Forty
  153. Chapter One Hundred Forty One
  154. Chapter One Hundred Forty Two
  155. Chapter One Hundred Forty Three
  156. Chapter One Hundred Forty Four
  157. Chapter One Hundred Forty Five
  158. Chapter One Hundred Forty Six
  159. Chapter One Hundred Forty Seven
  160. Chapter One Hundred Forty Eight
  161. Chapter One Hundred Forty Nine
  162. Chapter One Hundred Fifty
  163. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-One
  164. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Two
  165. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Three
  166. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four
  167. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Five
  168. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Six
  169. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Seven
  170. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Eight
  171. Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Nine
  172. Chapter One Hundred Sixty
  173. Chapter One Hundred Sixty One
  174. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Two
  175. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Three
  176. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Four
  177. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Five
  178. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Six
  179. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Seven
  180. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Eight
  181. Chapter One Hundred Sixty Nine
  182. Chapter One Hundred Seventy
  183. Chapter One Hundred Seventy One
  184. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Two
  185. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Three
  186. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Four
  187. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Five
  188. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Six
  189. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Seven
  190. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Eight
  191. Chapter One Hundred Seventy Nine
  192. Chapter One Hundred Eighty
  193. Chapter One Hundred Eighty One
  194. Chapter One Hundred Eighty Two

The Text of the Aquarian Gospel—by Levi Dowling

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