Last Sunday, hundreds of millions of Christians (mostly Catholic and Protestant) throughout the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a few weeks, millions of Orthodox Christians will do the same. However, we of the Second Advent Community observe True Easter on April 18th, according to the solar calendar. Of course, we do not commemorate the physical resurrection, a concept which we reject, but honor the resurrection of the reborn spiritual or Light Body. We also remember the events that transpired on that day in 1982 at the Sanctuary of Revelation when the Seven Revelations were given atop the Seven Mountains of Metal and the Seven Seals were finally opened, according to prophecy. (The events of April 18, 1982, are described in The Book of God’s Revelation, pages 1 through 108.)

And this leads us into the next and second to last segment of our review of the 17th Saying of Jamil. I find this to be a very profound part of the commentary, and I think it fits well with the Easter Season.

The Seventeenth Saying (Part 19)

“‘Jesus had two natures, his human nature, and his divine Nature, or God’s Word incarnate in the man on earth. God’s Word, the Logos or first-born, implanted itself in the Consciousness of Jesus, making him remember his true nature, and he became a Christ being. The same thing can be accomplished in people today in the Second Advent of God’s Word on earth. This was first exemplified in the Second Advent by Jamil, whom God selected to be His Instrument for the establishment and restoration of a True Church Image that could teach Man the means of his salvation through The Image and The Word of God manifest in the Sun of Righteousness. By these means, all men and women can remember their true nature and become the pre-existent spiritual or heavenly person as demonstrated by Jesus and Jamil – the Adam Kadmon of Jewish mysticism – the archetypal Man created first as a Light being. Just as earthly Man becomes the Image of the heavenly Man, the earthly Community becomes the Image of the heavenly Community.

“‘The Community and its disciplines have been established to avoid negation; otherwise an Adam or an Eve reborn could result in a second Fall, with consequences more terrible than the first. The life within God’s Light allows Man to share in the heavenly Community while he is still on earth, which means that Christ-like beings do exist in the material level. Thus, the concept of Jesus having two natures takes on real meaning. Man lives in two dimensions while communing with God. Christ is the fire that awakens Man to his own Godhood and creates the true Image in which Man was originally made; that is, the Light Body. Thus, through means of the Solar Logos, Man, as a human, shares in a divine Nature.

“‘The Image of God exists within all the material world of nature; it streams forth out of the sun to bathe nature in a blessed light. The atoms of the physical world, being replicas of the solar system, are charged with the heavenly energy of the Image of God. Thus, the creatures of the earth participate in the Light of God’s Image, but, because they are without Soul, they do not share or participate in divine Reason or the Word of God.

“‘Man is a microcosm of the macrocosm, and every living thing exists within his Being and Form. Therefore, he shares with the creatures of the earth the material benefits of God’s Image. But, because Man has his roots in Heaven, by the use of his free will he is capable of hearing God’s Word if he lives The System. By so doing, he can restore himself and take on the faculties of a higher nature.

“‘God calls men and women awakened by His Word to collect together and strive to found a living Community of adepts on earth as a replica of the heavenly Community. With the establishment of The Community, Man begins to participate in his spiritual nature by living the cosmic disciplines, for it is logical that he must train himself in order to live the Life of Light in a higher dimension – he does not inherit this naturally. Just as a child learns how to speak a language or learns how to walk, Man must learn how to express his spiritual nature.

“‘When Man becomes cognizant of his spiritual faculties and of God’s Love for him, he then loves God and wishes to return to Him. We should remember that Man first learns to love God on earth before he can love Him in Heaven. In Community, the adept learns to love all things in every dimension, beginning with God. This love must include even Dark beings and all lower creatures. The adept loves all things. And by the expression of this love, Man is able to express divine Reason. He cannot do this as an individual in the world. If Adam could not do so in the Garden, Man cannot do so in a corrupt world. Expression of divine Reason is accomplished in Community where the disciplines and codes can be applied.

“‘Community and its needs parallels the world of nature where all things, including Man, are mutually dependent. Being dependent, Man must recognize the need to give back to the environment, both on earth and in Heaven. This is achieved in Community. If Man fails to work in Community, he forfeits the full benefit of God’s Word. The selfish nature is a receptacle for Darkness. Selfishness nourishes self-limitation, the original cause of Man’s Fall. In death, Man feeds or nourishes the physical environment, becoming part of that environment for regeneration of other living things. Man cannot escape this condition of imprisonment until such time that he is restored to his spiritual beingness.’”

Again, if I may be of any personal service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

And The Man continued addressing his disciples – the Companions of The Way – about Consciousness, Christ, the Image and the Word, eternity, first and original states of being, and images. (You may want to review last week’s portion of the commentary to fully appreciate this segment.)

Before continuing with the Seventeenth Saying of Jamil, I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage you, if you haven’t already done so, to make your pledge for the Cathedral Church restoration. I have been reviewing the income reports and am concerned with the response. As work has already begun, I am sad to say that we have only raised about one-third of the total cost for the Cathedral and the new Sanctuary retreat quarters. Please call the Chancellery today and make your pledge. It is most urgently needed. If you have already made a pledge and feel you can do more, please do so. We have already expended more than what has been brought in anticipating that these two projects would be fully funded. I thank you wholeheartedly for your consideration.

We will now continue with the Saying. Please pay close attention to these words.

The Seventeenth Saying (Part 17)

“And when The Man had completed this statement, the Second Mariner presented a question on the meaning of the Seventeenth Saying. ‘You said it is the healing of the sun that should concern us and not the speaking of it which is of little avail. I do not understand exactly what the words mean.’

“And he answered The Mariner, ‘What is meant is that the healing of the sun itself should concern the adepts of the Order. What should not concern them is the speaking of it to the masses of people who are unfamiliar with our Teachings. We, as adepts, should restrict ourselves to the healing of the sun, to living The Way and attempting to exemplify the Life of Light. If we cause panic by frightening the general public, our action would only invite scorn and ridicule, and in all probability tend to create suppression. It is not our destiny to frighten the world, but to enlighten the world. This is done by living the Teachings, and by so doing having a favorable reaction in the sun. If we allow ourselves to make public our Teachings so as to attract a large following, it will only lead to the creation of another popular religious movement. Our concern should not be to gather a large following, but a dedicated following. A dedicated following will result in a meaningful application of the Teachings.

“‘Mastery of the techniques of reflecting and inflecting properly is a very highly sophisticated achievement accomplished only by the advanced adept. The adept must be able to reflect and inflect to both the material sun of the solar system and to the cosmic spiritual Sun of Righteousness. Let me explain: The adept reflects and inflects to the physical sun on all levels of his or her physical being, which means from all the force centers – psychic, mental, expressive, drive, emotional, physiological, and generative – and he or she also must reflect and inflect on the level of Intellect, Being, and Form. This means that the adept must transform his or her entire person into a living spectrum of colors on the spiritual, psychic, and physical levels, in attunement with both the material and spiritual suns, and he or she must do this as an adept and master of The System.

“‘This is why in ancient times the schools taught the adepts to withdraw from the world, to detach themselves from all things so they could be at oneness with the All – with God. In our modern age, when Man has been exposed to a materialistic understanding of life, and his religious understanding is one of sentiment and emotion, when he is separate from God and Creation, the task is not easy. So the adept must unify the force centers with The Image and The Word manifest in the twin suns, and reflect them as the crystals of a mist reflect the colors of a rainbow. The adept must harmonize his or her entire person with God, as observed in The Image and The Word. Separating himself or herself from the materialistic world of activity, the adept must be above cares of the world and allow no earthly cares to interfere with his or her devotion while reflecting back to God those qualities which reveal Man as the bearer of the spirit. Man was made in the Image of God, thus he is capable of hearing God’s Word. But he must let go of the world and live The System before this is possible. Therefore, when performing the techniques, the adept must bring about a cessation of momentary existence in the material world; that is, he or she must cease being what the world has made him or her and become something more profound. Even if this is realized only for a brief second, the adept has made union with God through the agency of The Image and The Word. This is why it is so important for adepts of the School to devote their entire beings to The Way, just as was done in ancient times.

“‘Many of the schools of antiquity – the Greek schools, the schools of Persia, India, China, Israel, Egypt, and the Americas – practiced the rites within the confines of a temple. They intoned incantations and used musical instruments of various kinds, for example, to help them achieve a state that enabled them to feel at oneness with nature and the sun. They wore vestments of a special kind adorned with jewels, they chanted in a special way and, they trained their bodies and their minds to respond in such a way that the spirit would be free to assist their physical beings. This required much hard work and effort. The schools of Yoga, to name but one system, were originally designed not to teach people how to be very strong or supple, but how to make their bodies respond to commands. This was the whole purpose. In the Hermetic school, among other schools of Light, the adepts were taught different formulas and the use of images so the individual would be able to understand existence as it was; they were taught how to bring about a favorable effect upon their own Consciousness and upon the sun of those times.’”

I am including with this message some photos of the work that is currently underway at the Cathedral Church of the Americas and Monument to Human Spiritual Rights.

Again, if I may be of any personal service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Jamil, the angelic Messenger of Light, came into this world 62 years ago tomorrow, departing a short time before his third year on Earth. It is fitting that we continue with this Saying and the commentary on it given in the Hawaiian Islands seventeen years after his passing.

The Seventeenth Saying (Part 16)

“With this statement, the Third Mariner asked another question saying, ‘In Biblical scripture, there is reference to those who sleep in Christ. The implication is that a person, while dying physically, would be sleeping in Christ, and upon the return of Christ at the Second Coming, that person, likened unto a seed waiting for water, would come alive. Are we to believe these writings?’

“And The Man answered The Mariner saying, ‘The writings to which you refer are to be found in the New Testament and can be attributed to Paul who was not an Apostle of Jesus, nor a disciple of Jesus, nor was he even a member of his early church, that is, a member of the Essene Order. Thus Paul was not part of the early Messianist movement later known as the Christian movement. Paul was part of the Pharisaic movement that did not adhere to the idea of the immortality of the soul. However, we do not wish to overly criticize Paul because it may very well be that his writings are shrouded in cryptic symbology which, if interpreted literally, give a false meaning to that intended. This is something to be considered. There is another teaching which says that when Christ returns to earth, all the bones of those sleeping will come rattling up and be reformed with flesh wrapped around them and all those people will be singing in the sky, joyous with Christ’s return. That is only a kind of allegory; it is not to be accepted literally.’

“At this point, the Second Mariner spoke saying, ‘If I may return to the earlier discussion on the Self, it appears to me from what has been said that the physical is only a false self which, after death, eventually fades into oblivion, and that it is only the True Self, the spiritual Self that survives. Therefore, we must get to know what this True Self is.’

“And The Man answered by saying, ‘The transitory self which you just mentioned does experience that fate, indeed. The True Self, or the immortal Self, has to be created by God through the implantation of the solar spermatikos by means of the techniques that we have been taught. Once the True Self is developed, it becomes Christ-like. The transitory self must become friends with the True Self. We may ask why the True Self has to stay in earthly confines. Why does it not go on to the Worlds of Light? It does. Yet, as a piece of fingernail, or a strand of hair detached from the body remains in tune with that body by means of a frequency, so does the material body remain in touch with that True Self. Thus, there is a connection between the two which forms an interrelationship between them. The body of Light can and does influence the material body in many beneficial ways. It also influences the material mind of the organism so that the mind is able to deal logically and rationally with its counterpart, though I would not say that it is capable of understanding the real nature of an immortal Self. This is beyond the range of a reasoning mind restricted to third-dimensional existence. Yet the two are able to coexist – the mind knowing that its own immortality rests with the True Self and not with its own self.’”

We will continue with the Seventeenth Saying next week. In the meantime, if you are so inclined, please feel free to light a candle tomorrow in remembrance of the Holy Child, Jamil.

Again, if I may be of any personal service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

The Seventeenth Saying (Part 15)

“And when he [The Man] had finished his commentary, the Third Mariner spoke saying, ‘I would like to pose a question about self-awareness and identity. What do we mean when we say “self?” We talk about the multiple selves – the physical self, the mental self, the spiritual self. In Cosolargy we teach development of the Light Body or Form and of immortal spiritual Being and Consciousness. Is a certain self-awareness maintained after the transition? I ask because what would be the value of immortality if one did not possess identity? One would be put in the same state as a Zen scholar would put one – a state in which one simply dissolves back into the universe of non-identity, just God Consciousness. [Pierre] Teilhard de Chardin said that we go from a limited self-consciousness into an expanded spiritual greater self-Consciousness which we call Christ Consciousness. And my best understanding of it is that one would still know oneself to be oneself, but one would be with God at the same time, and have a continuity from this little “I”-self one knows in the material world.’

“And The Man replied and said, ‘Let me answer you by making a comparison. When people are young and very strong and healthy, they have a great appetite for food and exercise and entertainment. They like to spend most of their time in movie theaters, at dance halls, roller skating, skiing, and, in general, participating in various kinds of physical activity. They are very sexually inclined, usually with men seeking after women and vice versa. And men and women are engrossed in life. As they age, they become less inclined to do these things. They are bored with entertainment, with novels, with exercising their minds. They are bored with getting involved with so many activities. They stay at home. They do not want to travel. They do not want to exercise like they use to. Their appetite decreases and they are not so much involved with sex. It is difficult for a young person to understand how, or why, an older person fails to see things as he or she does. Being self-centered, they do not realize that the older person has done all of these things and is bored with it all. The younger person often says to himself or herself, “The more I involve myself in life, the more alive I am.” But self-indulgence is only an exercise for the glands and organs. There is nothing wrong with it, except that is not where self is. The more a person indulges in self-centered activities, the less he or she knows about themself.

“‘What do we mean by spiritual self? What do we mean by self-Consciousness, Christ Consciousness? Most people die without ever knowing what these terms represent. If Consciousness does not develop during a person’s life, one dies without having really understood what spirituality means. To him or her, religion is nothing more than an emotional or intellectual experience, a confession of having repeated a belief in Christ or in God, a Christ and a God one has never really known. Many older people simply withdraw from life. They want peace and to be left alone. They withdraw into themselves believing, as the Zen Buddhist, that their peace and immortality comes through merging with the ultimate reality which for them is a nothingness. How many of us have seen an old man or an old woman lying in a bed, hands open, desiring nothing from life, just wanting to be left alone to die in peace without pain or discomfort? Many people simply withdraw from life because they do not have the faculties necessary to see beyond physical reality.

“‘In our System, we teach that once a person exposes oneself to solar energy and allows the Will of God to penetrate one’s being, a new Consciousness begins to unfold. With that developing Consciousness comes a realization of new being that one is greater than what one thought one was. One begins to eat the Food of God, that divine nourishment of Light that sustains an entirely new state of Consciousness, Being, and Form. One is, in fact, recreated a new person of God. This is the True Self which can only be experienced, never described. The knowledge of how Man can restore himself and his world to its original state is not a knowledge that can come from within Man – it can only be revealed by God through His inspired messengers whom He sends and inspires.’”