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Here Comes the Ego

Hoffman's portrait of ChristPart 68 of the Aquarian Gospel for Awakening

Diligence and appreciation

“The Logos waited seven days, and then was taken to the Hall of Fame, a chamber rich in furnishings, and lighted up with gold and silver lamps. The colors of its ceilings, decorations, furnishings and walls were blue and gold. Its shelves were filled with books of master minds; the paintings and the statues were the works of highest art.

“And Jesus was entranced with all this elegance and these manifests of thought. He read the sacred books, and sought the meanings of the symbols and the hieroglyphs” (Aquarian Gospel 50:1-4).

Jesus had said that he had no interest in rest, and he proved that by diligently studying the books of wisdom he found there. At the same time, though, he admired the artistic genius in the other objects. This shows us that a fervent seeker after truth does not develop a narrow-minded intellect which rejects anything that is not “practical” and “useful.” Rather, his mental horizons expand and he comes to appreciate creativity and enjoy its creations. Yet he never loses his priorities, and values spiritual wisdom and progress above all.

Appeal to ego

“And when he was absorbed in deepest thought, a priest approached and said, Behold the glory of this place: my brother, you are highly blest. Few men of earth, so young, have reached such heights of fame.

“Now, if you do not waste your life in search for hidden things that men can never comprehend, you may be founder of a school of thought that will insure you endless fame; for your philosophy is deeper far than that of Plato, and your teachings please the common people more than those of Socrates.

“Why seek for mystic light within these antiquated dens? Go forth and walk with men, and think with men, and they will honor you. And, after all, these weird initiations may be myths, and your Messiah hopes but base illusions of the hour. I would advise you to renounce uncertain things and choose the course that leads to certain fame” (Aquarian Gospel 50:5-11).

This assault was on many fronts and they should be examined.

First comes the flattery: how special and privileged you are–even though in a few more sentences Jesus will be told that his admittance to the Hall of Fame was useless. How, then, could it be fortunate and a sign of personal worth? This is often the case when someone wants to rob us of something. They compliment us on its possession and then try to make us disregard it and give it up.

Next he is told that he is wasting his life “in search for hidden things that men can never comprehend.” This implies that he is stupid and deluded. Flatterers always despise those they fawn upon and plot the deprivation of what they have gained.

Then back to flattery with the assurance that if he will give up his mystical orientation and become a “practical philosopher,” helping people live their lives rather than run away from them, he will become a great leader of others. After all, he is already greater than Plato or Socrates, and his teaching will “please the common people” more than theirs. Of course, anyone with good sense knows that only uncommon people attain anything of lasting value. As the poem says:

To every man there openeth
A Way, and Ways, and a Way,
And the High Soul climbs the High Way,
And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
And in between, on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth
A High Way, and a Low.
And every man decideth
The way his soul shall go.
The common people drift around in the misty flats.

There is another aspect to this. For some reason Westerners are especially prone to setting themselves up as teachers when they have really learned and experienced very little. I have personally known people who wrote books on things they had only just learned and had never really assimilated or proved themselves in. (Some asked me to help them in writing the books, and some wanted me to write them for them.) This is very true in religion. One man I knew wrote an “authoritative” book on the Eastern Orthodox Church before he even joined it, having only about four to six month’s experience and study of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Those who wasted their time with the early years of The Mother Earth News will remember the articles and lengthy letters that gave detailed instructions on “how to” ending with: “I have never really done this myself, but it should work.” One article–with photos–was on how to make your own home sawmill, ending with these very words. The next issue had a letter in it explaining that if you followed those directions you might kill yourself!

The West is filled with half-baked teachers and movements who did not resist the temptation Jesus wisely rejected.

“Go forth and walk with men, and think with men, and they will honor you.” This is such hackneyed bilge. I heard it all my life, once from the lips of a supposed yogi I had invited to speak at a yoga seminar I taught in a university in northern California. It was the appeal of a spiritual sellout in hope that others might become like him.

Finally the tempter wants Jesus to doubt the reality of the mystery teachings, and especially to doubt his ability to become the Christ, the Messiah. Don’t be it–just have others think you are it–this is the trap fallen into daily by the ego-blinded.

The struggle and the victory

“And thus the priest, a demon in disguise, sung siren songs of unbelief; and Jesus meditated long and well on what he said. The conflict was a bitter one, for king Ambition is a sturdy foe to fight. For forty days the higher wrestled with the lower self, and then the fight was won. Faith rose triumphant; unbelief was not. Ambition covered up his face and fled away, and Jesus said,

“The wealth, the honor, and the fame of earth are but the baubles of an hour. When this short span of earthly life has all been measured out, man’s bursting baubles will be buried with his bones, yea, what a man does for his selfish self will make no markings on the credit side of life. The good that men for other men shall do becomes a ladder strong on which the soul may climb to wealth, and power and fame of God’s own kind, that cannot pass away. Give me the poverty of men, the consciousness of duty done in love, the approbation of my God, and I will be content.

“And then he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, My Father-God, I thank thee for this hour. I ask not for the glory of myself; I fain would be a keeper of thy temple gates, and serve my brother man.

“Again was Jesus called to stand before the hierophant; again no word was said, but in his hands the master placed a scroll on which was written, FAITH.

“And Jesus bowed his head in humble thanks; then went his way” (Aquarian Gospel 50:12-24).

There is no need for comment, just emulation.

Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis: Blessed are the Merciful

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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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