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.’”

We will be concluding our review of the Seventeenth Saying of Jamil over the next several weeks. As you can see, the commentary is one of the longer ones. I anticipate there will be about 20 parts in total. So, let us continue with The Man still speaking to the Companions of The Way.

The Seventeenth Saying (Part 13)

“‘Some people believe that God is everywhere, and that everyone is heir to goodness and will attain his or her immortality without any kind of effort, without any kind of legitimate development on his or her part. They believe that a person will become immortal and exist with God in the future. There is no proof, scientific or otherwise, for this. Man does have responsibility in the cosmos. Man is not as a dumb animal, allowed to do what he will when he wants to without consequence. Man is responsible for his acts, and any misconduct on his part will certainly be dealt with by the laws of God. You have all seen how the light of the sun, its brilliance, and its field, can be altered by the environment. If one is in an environment such as a bank, lawyer’s office, hospital, or similar places, and looks at the sun, one will find that the sun is very harsh. The result can be a headache. If you are at a temple, or in a park outside of the confines of a city, you will find that the sun is bland, easy to look at, and the result is a beneficial response of the sun. What does this tell us? It means that Consciousness, Intellect, mind, emotion – all of our states and degrees of life – affect us and our environment, and can affect our states of being.

“‘For example, the sun can be many things to many people. The sun can be very benevolent to one person in a benevolent environment and very adverse or damaging to another person in a negative environment. It is like looking into a magic mirror. You see the true image in reverse. This is a very important point to remember. Adepts learn, from the moment of their initiation into the Order, that they cannot fool the sun. They cannot deceive the face of God. They cannot look at the Eye of God without being observed for what they are. This indicates that Man is a responsible creature and dictates, in accordance with divine laws of the universe, what his destiny will be in this life and beyond.

“‘An evil person may see a Christ being as a very ugly creature that makes him very nervous and upset. He does not want that being around him. A spiritual person will see a Christ person for what he or she is. A spiritual person will see the Sun of Righteousness in all its glory and splendor. As if drinking from a fountain of Light, a spiritual person will be restored and invigorated by the beauty and brilliance of the Sun. An evil person who looks upon the face of the sun will see nothing but a brilliant orb that can blind him. Again, the Sun, God, and beings in Christ are not the same thing to all people.’”

Many of you have inquired about Convocation this year, and we have had some preliminary discussions in this regard. I will be getting more information to you next week, so please bear with us. We appreciate your patience. Thank you.