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Wisdom

Hoffman's portrait of ChristPart 30 of the Aquarian Gospel for Awakening

“Again Lamaas asked, Of wisdom what have you to say? And Jesus said, It is the consciousness that man is aught; that God and man are one; that naught is naught; that power is but illusion; that heaven and earth and hell are not above, around, below, but in; which in the light of aught becomes the naught, and God is all” (Aquarian Gospel 22:22-24).

Wisdom in the Bible

In the Greek texts of the Old Testament “apocrypha” many of the books are called “wisdom books” dealing with Wisdom as a divine power, if not actually Divine Being. In early Christianity the Christ is often equated with Wisdom.

The Greeks texts of the Old and New Testaments use the word sophia for wisdom. It does mean wisdom, but comes from the root word sophos, which literally means clear in the sense of unobstructed transparency. From clarity of inner sight comes wisdom. Again we find ourselves in the practical realm of meditation. As with Understanding, Wisdom is not abstract but eminently practical, for sophia also is derived from phronimos, which means practical skill or acumen. Most interesting is another root of sophia: phren, which means to master or discipline, implying that only the disciplined and self-controlled can attain wisdom. And it particularly means control of the emotions and senses. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8).

It is the consciousness that man is aught

Note, Jesus is not speaking of belief or acceptance of an external authority regarding the nature of man, but “the consciousness that man is aught.” This is real wisdom for it is experience of things as they are. Without the cultivation of consciousness through meditation, how could this arise? It cannot.

Again, “aught” means both one and substantial–actually existing. It may seem hard to think that anyone could not believe in their own reality, but it we look around us we will see that most people utterly ignore the truth of their being and live as though they were not what they actually are. Instead they live as “nothings” in the pursuit of nothing. Also, “aught” means that we are unities, not dualities as we presently think and live. Now Jesus tells us of a further unity.

[It is the consciousness] that God and man are one

“I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). This is the consciousness of Christhood, of the state that is Christhood. In Spirit there is absolute unity. God and man are one in the Oneness that is God. Now, there is a difference between being one with God and identical with God. The wave is one with the ocean, but it is not identical with–the same as–the ocean. The ocean is the wave, but the wave is not the ocean. There is perfect unity, but there is a distinction between God and man. It is crucial for us to realize this, otherwise we fall into the sophistry of “I am God.” Certainly God can say of Himself: “I am God; and beside Me there is no other.” But man cannot. They are undeniably one, but the oneness comes from God’s Being.

[It is the consciousness] that naught is naught

“It is a wise child that knows its own father,” and it is a wise child that knows who is not his father–including himself. To see Nothing for what it is–nothing–is no small accomplishment. This, too, is not intellectual only, but a matter of interior consciousness. It is foolish to tell people to stop running after illusions when illusion is all they now. True spiritual teaching imparts the way for people to know for themselves the actuality of things, to truly see what is real and what is unreal. And we need not define it for them; they will see for themselves: everything but God is naught.

[It is the consciousness] that power is but illusion

The Divine Energy, the Holy Breath, the Holy Spirit, is real, but She manifests as illusion (power). At first the illusion bewilders us, but in time it becomes our instructor leading us to wisdom and thus beyond itself to the Son and thence to the Father. Again, through meditation we experience the Real. Then, outside of meditation when we experience the unreal we shall know it for what it is and no longer be confused by it, but rather uplifted by the very thing that once cast us down. When we understand the illusory nature of phenomena we do not reject or turn from it, but learn from it, for that is its purpose. Yet this insight will deliver us from great anxiety and fear. No matter how unpleasant a dream may be, when we know it is a dream we are not distressed by it. We may even laugh at it. And even better, we may decide to awaken from it. But first we must understand that it is only a dream. Our dreams are not real, but we are. The cosmic dream is not real, but the Cosmic Dreamer is. We and God are dreaming, but God knows it and we usually do not. But when the divine image matures in us, then we, too, shall know the dream for what it is, and the Great Dreamer and ourselves–the little dreamers–for what we are. As Tennyson wrote:

Flower in the crannied wall,

I pluck you out of the crannies,

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,

Little flower–but if I could understand

What you are, root and all, and all in all,

I should know what God and man is.

What God and man IS.

[It is the consciousness] that heaven and earth and hell are not above, around, below, but in [us]

This is a remarkable truth. We sit in the motion picture theater and seem to be on the ocean, on top of mountains, or speeding over the plains–in the vast outdoors–and yet we are tucked away inside in our theater seats. In the same way all experience occurs within, even though the experienced may be outside us. Yet, since space is part of the great illusion, it is correct to say that everything is inside us, in the part of us that transcends “in” and “out.” There is a further meaning to this. Heaven, earth, and hell are essentially states of consciousness that are symbolized by the external forms the Holy Breath projects onto the screen of our awareness. We choose whether we live in heaven, earth, or hell by the attunement of our consciousness. It is all up to us. “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (II Timothy 2:7).

Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis: Faith 

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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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