And Jesus left the multitudes and went with his disciples up to Mary’s home; and as they sat about the board to dine he said, My little flock, fear not; it is your Father’s will that you shall rule the kingdom of the soul.
A ruler in the house of God is servant of the Lord of Hosts, and man cannot serve God except by serving men. (Aquarian Gospel 112:1-3)
My little flock, fear not; it is your Father’s will that you shall rule the kingdom of the soul. Here we have one of so many indications that Levi Dowling is conveying to us the actual teachings of Jesus as compared to the official Gospels whose texts have been filtered through the minds of imperial servants of a state religion.
The kingdom we are to inherit and rule is not the external “heaven” that exoteric religion throughout the world promises its followers, but our own soul, our complete psychic makeup which comprises our individual existence within God. We are to rule ourselves. Only in that way will we be truly free sons of God, living consciously within God.
A ruler in the house of God is servant of the Lord of Hosts, and man cannot serve God except by serving men. Yet in our freedom we are servants of God. How can that be, since God needs nothing from us? We are servants of God by serving his other divine sons who are struggling upward along with us. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).
A servant in the house of God cannot be servant in the house of wealth; nor in the synagogue of sense. If you are tied to lands, or bonds, or wealth of earth, your hearts are knit to things of earth; for where your treasures are there are your hearts.
Dispose of all your wealth, distribute it among the poor, and put your trust in God, and you nor yours will ever come to want. This is a test of faith, and God will not accept the service of the faithless one. (Aquarian Gospel 112:4-7)
A servant in the house of God cannot be servant in the house of wealth; nor in the synagogue of sense. Many people do good to others from egotistical, selfish motives. So it is not enough to just serve others; the proper mindset must prevail in the servers. Those who are centered on material gain and sense-enjoyment cannot serve in the house of God because they cannot enter the house of God, which is not a building but a state of consciousness that reflects the divine in all things.
If you are tied to lands, or bonds, or wealth of earth, your hearts are knit to things of earth; for where your treasures are there are your hearts. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Mammon means treasure or riches. As Jesus says, if we are intent on earthly acquisitions our heart will be centered on earthly things rather than heavenly. Whatever we may say, our hearts will be turned from God and fixed on earth. For: “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). Therefore: “purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8).
Dispose of all your wealth, distribute it among the poor, and put your trust in God, and you nor yours will ever come to want. This is a test of faith, and God will not accept the service of the faithless one. This is the way to be single-minded, though few like the idea and fewer still will follow it.
The time is ripe; your Master comes upon the clouds; the eastern sky is glowing with his presence now. Put on reception robes; gird up your loins; trim up your lamps and fill them well with oil, and be prepared to meet your Lord; when you are ready, he will come.
Thrice blessed are the servants who are ready to receive their Lord. Behold, for he will gird himself, and will prepare a sumptuous feast for every one, and he himself will serve.
It matters not when he shall come; it may be at the second watch; it may be at the third; but blessed are the servants who are ready to receive. You cannot leave your door ajar and go to sleep, and wait in blissful ignorance of the fleeting time; for thieves will surely come and take away your goods and bind and carry you away to robbers’ dens.
And if you are not carried forth, the Master when he comes will not regard a sleeping guard as friend, but as a foe. Beloved, these are times when every man must be awake and at his post, for none can tell the hour nor the day when man shall be revealed. (Aquarian Gospel 112:8-16)
“When [Jesus] was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20, 21).
Therefore the preceding verses cannot be literal or material, but purely spiritual, a matter of the inner disposition of each individual.
The time is ripe; your Master comes upon the clouds; the eastern sky is glowing with his presence now. Nothing happens before the time. However incomprehensible or chaotic the world around us may seem, it is at all times really a manifestation of precise laws. Again, evolution is the bedrock reality. So when the aspirant has ripened, has evolved enough, the Master approaches. Now the Master can take many forms: direct revelation from Spirit, a wise or fully illumined teacher, finding a needed teaching from some source or even from personal intuition: whatever will move us along the evolutionary path. It may be amazing and glamorous or it may be completely mundane. Many years ago a woman told me about how her husband who seemed devoid of any spiritual awareness was instantly awakened and transformed just by hearing a single word–eternity–from a conversation as he was walking down a street. His life was totally revolutionized and he became an active spiritual teacher for the rest of his life. There is no knowing what treasure is buried in the field of our subconscious just awaiting the right trigger or Master.
The eastern sky of our spiritual awareness begins to be activated within us. That is the presence of the Master. Again, that takes many forms. One person heard the words spoken out of the air: “Christ comes today!” and that day she met Yogananda. Another one of Yogananda’s disciples told me that one morning she began singing a song spontaneously about enlightenment. The words just emerged of themselves. That evening she met Yogananda.
Put on reception robes; gird up your loins; trim up your lamps and fill them well with oil, and be prepared to meet your Lord; when you are ready, he will come. Do not just sit and wait for the Master: prepare yourself.
Put on reception robes. First you must clothe yourself in those states of mind and heart that will make you ready and able to receive the Master. Without them you may not even know he has come.
Gird up your loins. Then you must discipline yourself and make yourself capable of real and far-reaching changes.
Trim up your lamps and fill them well with oils. Your mind and senses must be purified, empowered and oriented toward subtle perception.
When you are ready, he will come. His advent will not be the Master’s choice, it will be yours. The moment you are truly ready, then he will come. The only choice that enters into it is yours. That is why Swami Sri Yukteswar one told an erudite ignoramus: “I recommend an unheard-of experiment. Examine your thoughts unremittingly for twenty-four hours. Then wonder no longer at God’s absence.”
Thrice blessed are the servants who are ready to receive their Lord. Behold, for he will gird himself, and will prepare a sumptuous feast for every one, and he himself will serve. When we are ready, everything will be supplied to us. Nothing will be lacking.
It matters not when he shall come; it may be at the second watch; it may be at the third; but blessed are the servants who are ready to receive. It does not matter if the Master comes early or late: just as long as he comes. Then only blessedness prevails for those who have prepared themselves. Those not so prepared might as well not meet the Master for they will either not recognize him or have no interest in him. This I have seen repeated over and over. The great masters will be met and the unprepared will wander off without having any idea of what they are leaving behind, and which is now lost to them for this incarnation.
Over and over I have been equally amazed at the mercy and generosity of the masters and at the utter incomprehension and disregard for them of those that considered themselves sincere (even fervent) seekers. I have seen masters open the door and offer all that was needed, only to have their bounty unseen or ignored as the seekers drifted off into the mists of ignorance. This is a terrible and tragic thing indeed.
I once met a woman who complained to me that she had spent three years in India searching and not finding a single worthy teacher. When I questioned her I found that she had met many great saints and masters but had not “seen” them. One of the most surprising phenomena I have encountered was the ability of so many people to shrug off their contact with Swami Sivananda, saying he was just a sweet old man but nothing more.
You cannot leave your door ajar and go to sleep, and wait in blissful ignorance of the fleeting time; for thieves will surely come and take away your goods and bind and carry you away to robbers’ dens. That is, the supposed seekers will only find thieves and robbers and become their disciples, sinking further into the mire of ignorance and evil. This I have witnessed also.
And if you are not carried forth, the Master when he comes will not regard a sleeping guard as friend, but as a foe. I have seen many that did not have the misfortune to be duped by a false teacher be absolutely stonewalled by real masters. Many saints were so kind as to be open to people I brought to meet them, though nothing came of it. But other times when I brought obvious duds to meet the saints, they were adamant in their refusal to even speak with them. As one saint asked me about a man I had brought to him: “Why carry around empty space?” Whoops!
Beloved, these are times when every man must be awake and at his post, for none can tell the hour nor the day when man shall be revealed. No wonder Yogananda used to come out on the platform and call out to the people: “How do you feel?” And have them call back: “Awake and ready!” Awake and ready is what we must be at all times.
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching:… Be ye therefore ready also” (Luke 12:(35-37, 40).
And Peter said, Lord is this parable for us, or for the multitudes? And Jesus, Why need you ask? God is not a man that he should show respect for one and cast another off. Whoever will may come and gird himself, and trim his lamp, and find a turret in the tower of life where he may watch, and be prepared to meet the Lord. (Aquarian Gospel 112:17-19)
And Peter said, Lord is this parable for us, or for the multitudes? And Jesus, Why need you ask? God is not a man that he should show respect for one and cast another off. This is very different from what we find in the Bible. There it is presented that Jesus deliberately blinded people by teaching in parables they would not understand so only the “elect” or the chosen would learn the truths of the kingdom. Here we see that was not so. Jesus’ teaching was for anyone who would (and could) listen and follow. Acceptance and rejection is never on God’s part, but on ours.
Whoever will may come and gird himself, and trim his lamp, and find a turret in the tower of life where he may watch, and be prepared to meet the Lord. Those who will elevate their consciousness and be vigilant in preparing and watching for the Lord will not be disappointed.
But you, as children of the light, have come, and you have learned the language of the court, and may stand forth and lead the way.
But you may wait, and think that you are ready to receive the Lord, and still he does not come.
And you may grow impatient and begin to long for carnal ways again, and may begin to exercise your rule; to beat, and otherwise maltreat the servants of the house, and fill yourselves with wine and meat. (Aquarian Gospel 112:20-23)
But you, as children of the light, have come, and you have learned the language of the court, and may stand forth and lead the way. But you may wait, and think that you are ready to receive the Lord, and still he does not come. And you may grow impatient and begin to long for carnal ways again, and may begin to exercise your rule; to beat, and otherwise maltreat the servants of the house, and fill yourselves with wine and meat. This is extremely important since most people in the West who take up Eastern spiritual life usually abandon it eventually or settle down to a pointless mediocrity (usually with a statue of the Dancing Shiva somewhere in their house being the only momento of their past involvement) and get absolutely nowhere. This, too, I have been observing for over half a century.
Most people revert to the ways of their childhood and youth, retaining not a speck of oriental wisdom or ways. “It is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (II Peter 2:22). This is often very much the case. Returning to alcohol, meat, nicotine and sometimes other drugs, they erase whatever opening their minds ever underwent, and trivialization of every aspect of life usually results. The senses and powers of the mind that were once their servants are now neglected and abused as they fill themselves with wine and meat, unless they choose to become dedicated vegetarians and vegans solely for the purposes of health.
The philosophy and disciplines of the East evaporate very quickly when left aside. Such people rarely even engage in an “I used to be” reminiscence of their Eastern past unless it be to imply that someone presently with an Eastern involvement is childish, ridiculous or ignorant.
And what will say the Lord when he shall come? Behold, for he will cast the faithless servant from his house; and many years will come and go before he can be cleansed, and be thought worthy to receive his Lord.
The servant who has come into the light, who knows the Master’s will and does it not; the trusted guard who goes to sleep within the turret of the tower of life, shall feel the lash of justice many times, while he who does not know his Master’s will and does it not, will not receive the graver punishment. (Aquarian Gospel 112:24-27)
And what will say the Lord when he shall come? Behold, for he will cast the faithless servant from his house; and many years will come and go before he can be cleansed, and be thought worthy to receive his Lord.
The servant who has come into the light, who knows the Master’s will and does it not; the trusted guard who goes to sleep within the turret of the tower of life, shall feel the lash of justice many times, while he who does not know his Master’s will and does it not, will not receive the graver punishment.
This is not because God is vengeful or miffed, but because it is a very strong act of will to turn from spirit back to darkness. Such an action is called a sankalpa in Sanskrit, a life-changing wish, desire, resolution or intention: an empowered act of will that persists in its effect. The opportunity tossed aside so easily is regained only with great effort and often great suffering. The waves of karma can rise and engulf such a person, carrying them far away from any hope of a quick or easy return. This is just how it is. We should not be afraid, but we should be cautious and prudent. It is true that ignorance and unawareness can mitigate the effects of spiritual folly, but not to such a degree that it is worth chancing the effects of turning from the pursuit of higher life and consciousness.
The man who comes and stands before the open door of opportunity and does not enter in, but goes his way, will come again and find the door made fast, and when he calls, the door will open not, the guard will say, you had the pass-word once, but you threw it away and now the Master knows you not; depart.
And verily I say to you, To whom much has been given, much is required; to whom a little has been given, a little only is required. (Aquarian Gospel 112:28-31)
The man who comes and stands before the open door of opportunity and does not enter in, but goes his way, will come again and find the door made fast, and when he calls, the door will open not, the guard will say, you had the pass-word once, but you threw it away and now the Master knows you not; depart. This is an awful picture and I wish it was an exaggeration, but it is not. I have seen more than one person in this condition: wanting to return but finding the way blocked by the results of their own action. Of course this will not last forever: in the end we all take the road home to God.
And verily I say to you, To whom much has been given, much is required; to whom a little has been given, a little only is required. This is true as well; it is a matter of totally precise karmic reaction. Life is a precious thing, but it is also a perilous thing when trifled with.
Oh, what an awful picture
To some it will come true;
And, oh, my brother, sister,
Shall it be I or you?
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis