December 4, 2019
The Tenth Saying (Part 9 of our series)
“And the Third Mariner asked a second question. ‘The second part of my question is this: What is the relationship of these teachings to men and women of the Earth? To men and women who have grown in a spiritual manner, yet the manner of their growth has been oriented towards Darkness, towards the power of Darkness. Is it one of dissociation and uninvolvement, or is there a role for this Community and its ministers to play in relationship to these people?’
“Following these words The Man took a handful of brilliant crystals from a bag and poured them out on the table. Doing this he said: ‘Look at these beautiful stones. You can see they radiate light. They sparkle, they are very colorful, they have energy. Ordinary stones do not have light, nor do they sparkle. What is the difference between a jewel and a dull stone? One is valuable and one is not. Why is a jewel valuable ? Because it is brilliant; its facets reflect light.’
“And The Man took several jade and opal pieces and showed them to the seafarers, saying: ‘A gemstone is different from a regular stone. One is precious and one is not because of the light contained therein. People, to become precious stones of God, must turn from the ways of the world, absorb Light, and then become transformed to brilliant stones, cut, faceted and worked by the Hand of God so they reflect Light. It is not for us mortals to judge people; we can but instruct those who come to us without reservation, hoping all men and women will be transformed into fellow beings of Light.’
“And again the Third Mariner spoke. ‘Is there hope for those people of the Earth who are like the uncut and unpolished stones, like crystals that do not shine? If there is a potential within all people for growth, there must be a relationship that those of Light can establish with those of the Earth and help them uncover their natural beauty.’ And The Man answered saying: ‘Yes, there is hope for all people of the world. But unless a person is reborn through the Light of God’s Messianic Sun, redeemed from the world by means of a new birth in which the Soul is given life and personality and Consciousness, he is not immortal. If all people were immortal simply by the fact that they are alive, then man and woman would need no redeemer or assistance from God. There would be no need for holy teachers like Jesus, Jamil, and other holy ones to come into the world. Nor would there be any need for an illuminated religion teaching the proper means by which a person attains salvation. Teachers of Light have the obligation of teaching all people how to attain their immortality. But it is up to every person to receive the teaching worthily; this means living the life in community as taught by Jamil.
“‘Our Community is different from any other community in the world. There is none like it. Its objectives are unique; no community teaches the Light as we do nor possesses the sacred writings and knowledge of The System which provides immortality. It boasts enlightened teachers. Though small in numbers, the teachers have guarded over the sacred scripture and writings. It is small only because mankind is not knowledgeable of its existence. Or people reject its concepts.
“‘Men and women who come to the Community experience transformation. They become more dependent upon sunlight, less dependent upon other sources of energy to sustain them. Slowly their aspirations change – they begin to turn from the world of matter to spiritual aspirations. They want to know God. They want to communicate the “good news” of this testament to their fellow man and woman. They wish to share The Teaching with others. No one wants to aspire to the Light at the exclusion of their fellow. Therefore, members of this Church are more dedicated to the service of God than to the state and society. They are free individuals, independent, living in a Community as Disciples of Christ. They are pursuing a different form of knowledge. It is neither secular nor religious in the orthodox sense. It is unique and different. The net result of community living is higher goals which must be met or lived in order to survive as individuals. And the first prerequisite of a teacher is to share The Teaching with others so that the race, as we know it, may survive.
“‘Any member of The Community is actually participating and contributing to the generation of a new species among men and women. They are maintaining a Communion with God, in which He speaks to them. The Community is dedicated to the higher life. In order to solve the problems of the world, Man needs to know his true identity and origins. Today, there is a kind of breakdown in society because people are tired of contributing to the abuse of the ecology for material ends, and thereby to their own destruction. Man is beginning to see that there is much more to life than enslavement to the economic and political structure. Man was not meant to devote all his energies to material ends, but rather to high philosophical concepts and to his own participation in the Godhead as a spiritual being; immortal, created in the image of Light by a supreme Maker whom he does not know but would like to know. The world has been drugged, hypnotized by ideologies based on a partial view of the Universe. Man was not designed to live like an animal, laboring simply for material goods and destined to die after having contributed his working life to the world’s system.
“‘Man needs to awaken. To do this Man must develop higher faculties. We are the prototype of the new race to come. We are telepathic, sensitive. We converse with one another on the mysteries of the Universe, on the concepts of God, being unafraid or unashamed to use a religious language. We talk about Christ, Buddha, Moses, Confucius, Mohammed, Lao Tzu, and numerous other religious figures freely; we feel they belong as much to us in this Community as to any other community. We are unprejudiced as to race, creed, religion, or nationality. We are blessed by a special Grace of God given in the Sun of Righteousness. Because we apply a unique system of spiritual unfoldment, we have developed higher powers of observation and Consciousness. We are in contact with the Intelligence of God come in sunlight. We posses a more refined sense of judgement which allows us to carry on a dialogue with God freely as dignified bearers of the human Spirit. We are in a sense the protectors, the guardians, of The Teachings and of mankind. First and foremost our goal is to free the individual, the people, from enslavement to the material ways of the world. This is not to say that we are opposed to material things or even to the world in general. We are opposed to the system of the material world which enslaves mankind to the Earth forever and keeps men ignorant of their immortality.’
“And to this the Third Mariner said: ‘Is the process of transformation into spiritual beings the same for the preordained as it is for men and women of the Earth?’ Then The Man asked each of the mariners to pick up the stones he had placed on the table and examine them closely. When they had done this he said: ‘These gem stones were not always brilliant as you see them. Once they were found and polished, the fire locked up within was released. And you see them as they are, beautiful and bright. Even a diamond which shines brighter than other stones is rough, coarse, and dull in the original state. A diamond is like a person, placed within the Earth. The diamond must needs be identified, cut, and polished to release the light within. People, like gem stones and jewels, have the capacity of being more valuable than they appear in the world. What they need is to be transformed into a higher state; the material is there but needs to be worked by God’s Hand. People, being bound to earth, enslaved to material gain and unenlightened philosophy, have no way of changing from their coarse state. Only a religious discipline can release the fire and the Light which is their true nature. All people are not diamonds; some are pearls, others opals, others crystals, and so forth; but each individual is more than he or she seems.
“‘A teacher is like a miner who finds the rough stone. And having found it, he says to the stone: “I know not what you are. If you but submit to the polishing system and experience the disciplines of the Church, the Light that is within you will manifest, and you will become precious. And if we but make the facets on the stone, God’s Sun shedding Light upon you will turn you into a dazzling display of Light.” A person must needs place faith in the teacher to be able to accept this. He’s never seen himself as a brilliant stone, only as a rough or dull stone. But if he follows the disciplines and submits to the polishing, behold, a beautiful gem or jewel comes forth.’
“And The Man took up a white fire opal, resplendent with light, and said: ‘Look at this beautiful opal. It is filled with all the colors of the rainbow because it was polished. Once this stone has been changed to a fiery display of light and color, it will never be as it was; it has become precious. All people are as this opal; unless they are cut and polished they will never be as God intended them to be. In this respect all people are equal. But all people do not submit to the polishing. Such is the way of the world. This is the law. We did not make the world, and we certainly did not make the law. We may question the world and the law; but submit we must, or suffer. I would say, in answer to your question, that all men and women who join the Order, and submit to the polishing, will become illuminated. Some may shine more brilliantly than others; but all are formed out of the same matrix, and regardless of size, color, shape, or form, all are of one material. All human beings are from the family of precious stones. Some polish more easily than others, some contain more Light than others; but everyone who submits to the polishing process is changed from dullness to brilliance.
“‘It is the same with a man or a woman who is drugged but once awakened leaves the world of dreams and illusions and enters the world of wakefulness and reality. The awakened leave their bed of dreams, stand upon their own two feet, and participate in a living world. Appearances can be deceiving, a sleeping person is not the same as an awakened one. The value of The Teaching is that it awakens people from a drugged sleep and it transforms them from a life of illusion to one of reality. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to awaken people. They have been drugged so long they do not wish to awaken or emerge from their dream world.’”
