“I hear the voice of the seven planets, who whisper to one another, ‘Blessings on the Father of the poor one: he is the one who tends the fruit tree. We have no Father and no one to tend our tree.’ Welcome to anyone life knows, and sorrow to whomever life ignores. Welcome to anyone life knows, and who stays on earth free from the world of imperfection where the planets live. They sit on rebel thrones and work with a whip. Gold and silver excite them, and they cast war into the world. They cast war into the world, and they will roast in fire. The evil will roast in fire, their glory gone. But my family and I will ascend and see the place of light where the sun does not go down, where lamps of light never dim, the place, the house to which your souls are called and invited in, souls of our kin, of the good, and of our believing brothers and sisters. There life is extolled.” ~Song from the Mandaean liturgy

Voice of Seven Planets

To man ancient peoples, the planets were also gods, and I think it is in that sense that this song refers to the seven planets. It is odd, though, that this song has them praising the true God. This may also be an allegorical reference to the energy centers of the human body.

Blessings on the Father

As this song is from the liturgy of the Mandaeans, it should naturally begin by blessing the Father, although He really doesn’t need our blessing, we need His. The statement that this Father of the poor is the one who “tends the fruit tree,” means that He is the one responsible for life and creation. As for being the Father of the Poor, “the poor” are those who have not been trapped in the constant pursuit of material gain. They don’t necessarily live in poverty, but they place spiritual growth above the endless pursuit for material goods that so many engage in these days.

Those who whisper that they have no Father are the ones listening to the false gods of matter. They are lost souls unless they become awakened.

Life Knows

You might think that life knows everyone, but this is talking about those who have become spiritually awake and are living eternally, as opposed to those who have only a temporary life in the realm of matter. The soul is always immortal, but if you don’t awaken it and unite with it, you are not one of those who have eternal life.

Rebel Thrones

Those who sit on rebel thrones and seek gold and silver are the leaders who have turned away from God and embraced materialism. They are rebels because, in the distant past, kings took advice from priests and followed God’s Law. Today, few if any political leaders truly follow God. As the song says, these evil ones will eventually “roast in fire,” but that should be taken as an allegory. The point is, they won’t go to Heaven unless they change.

Place of Light

The song ends by saying that those who follow The Way, will go to the Place of Light, where the sun never goes down. This, of course, is Heaven, the highest dimension of reality, the highest level of consciousness that we humans can reach.

“The Phrygians also say that the Father of all is an almond, not the tree, but that preexistent almond that has within itself the perfect fruit, palpitating and moving in its interior. It tore open its own womb and brought forth its invisible and unnamable and ineffable child, of whom we are speaking. To tear open is to tear open and cut through, just as physicians call scarifications the incisions that they make in inflamed bodies or in those that contain some tumor. So the Phrygians call almond the being from which the invisible one came forth and was begotten, and “through whom everything came into existence and apart from him the nonexistent was made.” The being so born is called a flute player because what was born is a harmonious breath or spirit. “God is a spirit. Therefore the true worshipers will worship neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit.” The worship of the perfect ones is spiritual, not carnal. The spirit is there where the father and the son are named, the son born of the father. He is the many-named one, many-eyed, incomprehensible, toward which every nature strives, and each in its own way. He is the expressed word of god, which is the word of declaration of the great power. So the word is sealed and hidden and veiled, lying in the dwelling on which the root of all is founded, the root of aeons, powers, thoughts, gods, angels, envoy spirits—existent and nonexistent, generated and ungenerated, incomprehensible and comprehensible, years, months, days, hours, and an indivisible point from which the smallest being will come forth, part by part, to grow. The nonexistent, underived, indivisible point will, by its own thought, become an incomprehensible greatness. This is the kingdom of heaven, the grain of mustard seed, the indivisible point existing in the body, which no one but the spiritual ones alone know. This is the meaning of the words, ‘there are no words or language, whose voices are not heard.’” ~The Naassene sermon

Like an Almond

I doubt that the Pyrygians said the Father of All was an almond. I think it is more likely that they said He was like an almond, at least in certain ways. To some of the ancient civilizations, the almond symbolized Purity, perfection, faith, fertility, hope, grief, and luck, and in Numbers 17:8 and Hebrews 9:4, Aaron’s rod sprouts sweet almonds for the followers of God’s laws, with the promise that forsaking these laws will turn the almonds bitter and inedible.  So to say that the Father was an almond is to say that He is perfection, purity, and the source of all hope for humanity.

Tore Open Its Womb

Aying that God tore open His womb is an odd way to put it, but nonetheless an accurate way to say that Gog created everything from Himself as He was all that existed. If you think that God is male and doesn’t have a womb, you are thinking of God as a human, which He isn’t. God is not male or female, and yet He is both, because God is everything, so in the sense that He has a center of creation from which all things are “born,” He does have a womb.

Invisible and Unnameable Child

Here, again, the quote uses allegory. This is not a reference to Jesus, though it may be a reference to Christ. Jesus was a man who was, for a time, a messiah and a Christ, but the Christ spirit is immortal and has existed forever. The Naassene sermon calls him unnameable because Christ is a name we have given him, not what God named him.

True Worshipers

It is true that God is spirit so we must worship Him in spirit. When the Naassene’s say that true worshipers don’t worship In Jerusalem or on a mountain, they mean that worship is a spiritual thing rather than a physical one. So it is not necessary to go to a special place to Worship, except to go to your own spirit and spiritual faculties. In order to do that, you must awaken and develop those spiritual faculties. The best way to do that is to use the Light of the Spiritual Sun or Son of Righteousness.

The Word is Sealed

It was true that the word was “ sealed and hidden and veiled,” but it is no longer so. It is being revealed through the Light of the Son of Righteousness, but only to those ready to hear it, and willing to use this Divine Knowledge to further the Goal of God to redeem the world, rather than to benefit themselves. We benefit from spiritual development, but the primary goal should be to redeem the world.

“Life is the constant accumulation of knowledge, the storing up of the result of experiences. The law of cause and effect is in constant operation, and we reap what we sow – not as a matter of punishment, but as the effect following the cause. Theology teaches us that we are punished for our sins, but the higher knowledge shows us that we are punished by our mistakes instead of for them. The child who touches a hot stove is punished by reason of the act itself, not by some higher power for having ‘sinned.’ Sin is largely a matter of ignorance and mistake. Those who have reached a higher plane of spiritual knowledge have borne upon them such a convincing knowledge of the folly and unwisdom of certain acts and thoughts, that it becomes almost impossible for them to commit them. Such persons do not fear there is some superior being waiting to strike them to the earth with a mighty club for doing certain things, simply because that intellighence has laid down an apparently arbitrary law forbidding the commission of the act.

“On the contrary, they know that the higher intelligences are possessed of nothing but intense love for all living creatures, and are willing and ready to help them, so far as possible under the workings of the Law.” ~William Walker Atkinson

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect is something we learned about in science class in grade school. If great force is shot out of the engines of a rocket (cause), the rocket will be pushed upwards (effect). But many don’t understand that this law also applies to human behavior, in which case it is often called Karma. Most people think of cause and effect as being an immediate thing. The rocket doesn’t wait until weeks after the engine is fired to launch into space. But with karma, the effect may be delayed for days, weeks, or even years. Yet it is still a form of cause and effect.

Reap what we Sow

It is part of this law that we must reap what we sow, or perhaps more accurately, as we sow. The effect may be a very obvious thing, but not always. A person who swindles people out of a great deal of money (cause) may not ever go broke but may suffer from incurable and painful illnesses (effect).

Occasionally we will see an obvious case of instant karma where the effect matches the cause, such as the story a few years back of the guy who loved to fish but didn’t catch fish to eat. He would just throw the fish onto the deck of his boat to die slowly. One day while he was doing that, a shark jumped up and grabbed him, pulling him into the water and killing him. Obvious tit-for-tat.

Not Punishment

Atkinson is correct in saying that the working of this scientific law is not punishment. For centuries, many have said that God punishes us for doing wrong, but that is not the case. It is simply the law of cause and effect at work. God may be disappointed in us at times, but he doesn’t punish us. It is Satan who punishes those who don’t listen to him, not God. Of course, some will argue that since God must have created the law of cause and effect, He is punishing us indirectly. I would disagree with that because God is simply letting the law function to maintain a certain amount of order in the universe, and help us learn from our mistakes. That isn’t punishment.

Higher Intelligences

Atkinson says that the spiritually developed person understands the law of karma, and avoids violating it, even though they know that “higher intelligences” do not punish us, but instead love us despite our faults. That is true, but we must understand that what Mr. Atkinson calls higher intelligences should more accurately be called higher levels of consciousness. Intelligence is associated with the brain and the physical world and is the realm and power of Satan. God, on the other hand, is the Supreme Consciousness.

Advanced spiritual people also understand that if they use spiritual knowledge and abilities for material purposes, they will find their spiritual gifts fading, or disappearing entirely.

Develops Step by Step

“Do not regard lightly the immaterial substance of the Soul, beloved one. The immotal Soul is a precious vessel. See how great the heavens and the earth are, and yet God was not satisfied with them, but only with thee. Consider thy dignity and thy nobility, that to thy succor the Lord came in person, not by the medium of angels, to recall those who were lost, those who were wounded, and to restore to thee the primal fashioning of the pure Adam. For Man was master from the sky above to the things beneath, and capable of discerning the affections, without any connection with devils, pure from sin, the Image and Likeness of God. But by transgression, he was lost, and wounded, and brought to death. Satan has darkened his mind. In one thing this is so, and in another, he lives and discerns, and has a will.

“When the Holy Ghost comes, … sin is eradicated, and man recovers the primal fashioning of the pure Adam. Man, however, by the power of the Spirit and the spiritual regeneration, not only comes to the measure of the first Adam but is made greater than he.” ~St. Macarius the Egyptian

Do not Regard the Soul Lightly

There are many people in this materialistic age who don’t believe they have a soul at all. As sad as those people are, even worse are those who do believe they have a soul, but treat it as something trivial. Some see it as a kind of lifesaver to be used only after physical death. Others think they need to do nothing to develop the soul, it came to them fully developed. Why they would think that I don’t know. We are not born with a fully developed body but have to work to develop it to its full potential. We are not born with the mind of a genius but have to develop our mind along with the body. The same is true of the soul, if not more so. We enter the physical world with our spiritual faculties in a dormant state, somewhat like being in a coma. If they are not awakened and developed, they will be wasted. The first step of spiritual regeneration is awakening the spirit. Then it must be developed in a fully conscious Soul.

Recall Those Who Were Lost

God does call to us to return to Heaven where we belong, but few hear the call. That is because the call is spiritual in nature and can only be heard by our spiritual faculties, but those faculties must first be awakened. If they are not awakened, that call is not heard or is heard very vaguely by the mind. It is why some wealthy people are never satisfied with what they have, but always want more. Deep down they feel something is missing in their lives, but they don’t realize it is something spiritual, so they keep trying to satisfy that need with material wealth.

Man Was Master

Before the Great Fall, Man was master over many things as trusted servants of God. After the fall, many people still think they are the masters, but in fact, they are being led and controlled by the forces of Darkness. Only those who have turned to God and seek spiritual regeneration can escape from the control of darkness. Even for them, it is not easy, but it can be done if one develops love, humility, and trust in God. The power of spirit is that it can give back to Man that mastery.

Wounded and Brought to Death

When humans were pure spirits living in Heaven, we experienced no illness, hunger, or death. But after the Great Fall symbolized in the story of Adam and Eve, we became material beings and now experienced illness, death, and many other negative things. Death does not affect the Soul, so that is another reason to seek its regeneration, or more accurately, awakening and development.

When the Holy Ghost Comes

There may have been various ways that the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit came to people in the past, but we are now in the age of the Sun of Righteousness, so it comes to us through the Light of the Spiritual Sun. We must turn to that Sun with pure hearts and minds to experience the power of the “regenerated” soul.

“The painter, however great his natural powers, can hardly dispense with some technical training; the musician is wise if he acquaints himself at least with the elements of counterpoint. So too the mystic. It is true that he sometimes seems to spring abruptly to the heights, to be caught into ecstasy without previous preparation: as a poet may startle the world by a sudden masterpiece. But unless they be backed by discipline, the sudden and isolated flashes of inspiration will not long avail for the production of great works. ‘Ordina quest’ amore, o tu che m’ami’¹ is the imperative demand made by Goodness, truth, and Beauty, by every aspect of reality, upon the human soul. Lover and philosopher, saint, artist, and scientist, must alike obey or fail.

“Transcendental genius, then, obeys the laws which govern all other forms of genius, in being susceptible of culture; and, indeed, cannot develop its full powers without an educative process of some kind. This strange art of contemplation, which the mystic tends to practice during the whole of his career—which develops step by step with his vision and his love—demands of the self which undertakes it the same hard dull work, the same slow training of the will, which lies behind all supreme achievement, and is the price of all true liberty.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Technical Training

What Ms. Underhill means by technical training is not training in the use of technology such as computers or cell phones. What she means is training that is specific to the discipline you want to learn, such as the artist studying perspective, or the musician studying music theory. Many people today who are calling themselves “spiritual,’ or “awakened,” think that little training is necessary. You simply have to become aware that there is something more than the physical. While that is the first step in the spiritual journey, it is hardly all of it. There is much to learn and it is best learned through a reputable school or teacher. This was the convention at the time Ms. Underhill was writing.

Note: The quote uses “him” or “his” when referring to a mystic. It doesn’t mean a mystic or spiritual student can’t be a woman.

Caught into Ecstasy

As Underhill notes, there may be a rare case of a person who is suddenly caught in spiritual ecstasy with no preparation or training. Those cases, though, are quite rare, so waiting for that to happen is a foolish plan. Also, those who do have this sudden ecstasy generally either lose it or go insane because they don’t know how to deal with it. It is far better to prepare for it.

Backed by Discipline

In the ancient mystery schools, the mystic learned discipline, among other things. In fact, part of the trial period that most new students were put through was so the teacher could evaluate their ability to become disciplined. The reason it is important to be disciplined is that the undisciplined person is far more easily misled by the forces of darkness, and led away from the true path of Enlightenment. A large part of the training in modern armies is training in discipline. This is necessary so the soldier will not fail on the battlefield. The battle of Light and Darkness is a different kind of battle, but still demands discipline and training.

Obeys the Laws

The sensible spiritual aspirant understands that like those learning anything else, she must obey the laws. That means, in this case, primarily the Laws of God, but also the Laws of Nature while we live in the world of matter. It is also generally a good idea to obey the laws of man as well, except when they conflict with the Laws of God.

Develops Step by Step

This is a very important point Underhill makes. The mystic doesn’t develop overnight. The great mystery schools of the past took years to develop a mystic, not because they were inefficient, but because it is required. That need hasn’t magically disappeared in our age, despite having the help of the Spiritual Sun of Righteousness. Spiritual development is not something that happens instantly, or even quickly. It takes years of discipline.

“A slave longs for freedom and doesn’t hope to own a master’s estate. A child claims the father’s legacy, but those who inherit the dead are dead. Heirs to the living are alive and are heirs to life and death. The dead are heirs to nothing. How can the dead inherit? Yet if the dead inherits the living, the living won’t die and the dead will survive.

“Those who sow in winter reap in summer. Let us sow in the world to reap in summer. Winter is the world, summer the other realm. It is wrong to pray in winter. From winter comes summer. If you reap in winter you will not reap. You will pull up young plants. At the wrong season no crop is yours. Even on the days of the Sabbath the field is barren.” ~The Gospel of Philip

The Slave Longs for Freedom

Yes, the slave longs for freedom. We all long for that which we don’t have. The sick long for good health, the blind long to see, etc. There may be a few slaves who wish to be masters with slaves of their own, but most simply want to be free. We must understand, though, that almost everything in the quote above is allegorical. While it may be true in a physical sense, it is the spiritual equivalent that Philip is writing about.

Those Who Inherit the Dead

This is a line that is, I think, obviously allegorical. Obviously, no one inherits the bodies of dead people or animals. This is talking about those who inherit material goods. While having material goods, through inheritance or otherwise, doesn’t make us dead, if it is all we have and all we desire, then we are indeed among the living dead. Our primary desire should be for the spiritual. We should desire a true awakening of the spirit, a full development of the soul, and finally, unity with God. We are among the living if we desire those spiritual things above all else.

But there is hope for even the living dead. The quote says that if the dead inherit the living, they will survive. This means that if the materialist develops their spiritual self, and puts the spirit above the body and mind, they will join the living by becoming eternal. Only those who awaken and develop the soul do that.

Sow in Winter to Reap in Summer

Just as with similar tales about sowing and reaping in the Bible, and other Scripture, this is an allegorical type of sowing and reaping. In this case, winter refers to being trapped in the cold and darkness of the realm of matter. Summer is the Light, Joy, Peace, and freedom of Heaven, or the Spiritual realm. SO Philip is saying that if we want to reap eternal life in Heaven, we must sow the seeds of spiritual development now, while we are in the realm of matter. Many think they should wait until they are physically dead to worry about the development of the soul. That is like thinking you should learn how to swim after the boat you are on sinks. That is too late. We must do it now, while we are still alive in a physical form. Only then can the mind and spirit become fully integrated so that we can become complete beings in the spiritual realm. So don’t try to reap if you haven’t yet sowed, and don’t wait for summer to do the sowing that should have been done in winter.

“The name of the father is the son. It is he who, in the beginning, gave a name to him who came from him, while he remained the same, and he conceived him as a son. He gave him his name, which belonged to him—he, the father, who possesses everything that exists around him. He possesses the name; he has the son. It is possible for the son to be seen. The name, however, is invisible, for it alone is the mystery of the invisible about to come to ears completely filled with it through the father’s agency. Moreover, as for the father, his name is not pronounced but is revealed through a son. Thus, then, the name is great. Who, then, has been able to pronounce a name for him, this great name, except him alone to whom the name belongs and the children of the name, in whom the name of the father is at rest, and who themselves in turn are at rest in his name, since the father has no beginning? It is he alone who conceived it for himself as a name, in the beginning before he had created the eternal beings, that the name of the father should be supreme over them—that is, the true name, which is secure by his authority and by his perfect power. For the name is not drawn from lexicons, nor is his name derived from common name-giving. It is invisible. The father alone gave the son a name, because he alone saw him and because he alone was capable of giving him a name. For he who does not exist has no name. For what name would one give him who did not exist? Nevertheless, he who exists exists also with his name, and he alone knows it, and to him alone the father gave a name. He is the father, his name is the son. … When it pleased the father, then, that his son should be his pronounced name, and when he who has come from the depth disclosed this name, he divulged what was hidden, because he knew that the father was absolute goodness. For this reason, indeed, the father brought this particular one forth, that he might speak concerning the realm and his place of rest from which he had come forth, and that he might glorify the fullness, the greatness of his name and the sweetness of the father.” ~The Gospel of Truth

Name of the Father

I don’t think that when the Gospel of Truth says “the name of the Father is the son,” that it literally means that God’s name is “The Son”. Neither does it mean that God’s name and the name of the son are the same. It means that the name of God is known through His creation, and the son is the first creation of God. It also means that the name of God is revealed through the son, and the son is the eternal spirit known as Christ to most of us. The quote adds that God’s true name is great, and only “pronounced” by God, and the true Children of God.

Children of God

We have been told that we are all Children of God, and that is true to a certain degree. But the vast majority of us are unrealized Children of God because we have never awakened and developed our spiritual faculties. Those few who have developed those faculties are the ones who truly know God.

That He Might Speak

The quote adds that God created the son and gave him a name so that “ he might speak concerning the realm and his place of rest from which he had come forth.” In other words, it is the job of the son to teach the lost souls how to return to God and Heaven. So the son is born in human form to bring the truth to us. This has happened several times, but the message tends to get lost, or at least greatly distorted, after a few centuries. The son teaches the truth of God, so we can say that he reveals the name of God, in a sense. And now that we are in the End Times, we must all start to listen to the message, and follow the teachings, before it is too late.

“The Hermetic Fragments teach that the whole universe is ruled by intelligent and semi-intelligent Forces and Power. Christian theology admits and even enforces belief in such, but makes an arbitrary division and refers to them as ‘Angels” and “Devils’. Science denies the existence of such, and ridicules the very idea. Spirituaalists believe in the Spirits of the Dead, and, outside of these, deny entirely any other kind or class of invisible beings. The Occultists and Kabalists are thus the only rational expounders of the ancient traditions, which have now culminated in dogmatic faith on the one hand, and dogmatic denials on the other. For, both belief and unbelief embrace but one small corner of the infinite horizons of spiritual and physical manifestations, and thus both are right from their respective standpoints, and both are wrong in believing they circumscribe the whole within their own special and narrow barriers.” ~H. P. Blavatsky

A Living Universe

Our universe is teaming with life, yet science has difficulty finding it by looking in too narrow a way for it. Science expects all life to be very similar to life on Earth and that is too narrow a viewpoint. In addition, much that science considers none living things are in fact alive also. What science doesn’t understand is that the life force is one of the strongest forces in the universe and will generate life with whatever material it has available and in whatever environment that material exists.

Forces and Powers

As we develop spiritually, we will learn that there isn’t much difference between forces, powers, and beings. And if beings of many kinds are alive, then forces and powers can be living things also. We should note that when we talk about forces and powers on a spiritual level, forces are things like gravity and centrifugal force, while powers are the governors of the realm of darkness, the realm of matter. So as you can see, there is no firm division between beings and powers, or even beings and forces.

Spirits

Blavatsky says that Christians believe that spirits exist, but insist on categorizing them all as Angels or Devils. Then she says that spiritualists believe only in the spirits of the dead, making it seem as if the spirit only exists after a person dies. Both of those limited concepts of spirits are wrong. There are spiritual beings who have never lived as physical beings. There are also spirits other than Angels or Devils. Blavatsky then adds that only “ Occultists and Kabalists” have the correct idea of spirits by following ancient traditions. That may have been true at one time, but I think there are spiritual people today who are aware that all living beings have a spirit. Not just humans, but dogs, frogs, trees, and all living things have a spirit. And since everything is alive on some level, everything has a spirit. Native Americans knew that long ago. They believe that even mountains, wind, and rivers have spirits, and they are correct. The universe is teaming with life, both physical and spiritual. It is far more alive than our current science believes.

“What, then, is that which he wants such a one to think? “I am like the shadows and phantoms of the night.” When morning comes, this one knows that the fear that had been experienced was nothing. Thus they were ignorant of the father; he is the one whom they did not see. Since there had been fear and confusion and a lack of confidence and double-mindedness and division, there were many illusions that were conceived by them, as well as empty ignorance—as if they were fast asleep and found themselves a prey to troubled dreams. Either they are fleeing somewhere, or they lack strength to escape when pursued. They are involved in inflicting blows, or they themselves receive bruises. They are falling from high places, or they fly through the air with no wings at all. Other times, it is as if certain people were trying to kill them, even though there is no one pursuing them; or they themselves are killing those beside them, and they are stained by their blood. Until the moment when they who are passing through all these things—I mean they who have experienced all these confusions—awaken, they see nothing because the dreams were nothing. It is thus that they who cast ignorance from them like sleep do not consider it to be anything, nor regard its properties to be something real, but they renounce them like a dream in the night and they consider the knowledge of the father to be the dawn. It is thus that each one has acted, as if asleep, during the time of ignorance, and thus a person comes to understand, as if awakening. And happy is the one who comes to himself and awakens. Indeed, blessings on one who has opened the eyes of the blind.” ~The Gospel of Peace

Shadows and Phantoms of the Night

The Gospel of Peace is not talking about actual shadows and phantoms here, but of those that visit us in dreams. Dreams may be warnings about things that may happen in the future or things that are happening at present without our conscious knowledge—for example, a dream meaning showing us an illness we have inside that we are unaware of. Yet we should not fear such dreams as they are only trying to help us, so the writer of the quote is correct in saying that the fear experiences in the dream, he knows was nothing when he is awake. Unfortunately, many are not so sure about dreams, or they may take the dream symbols too literally (a good dream dictionary could help with that). Some just ignore dreams entirely, and that too is foolish. Dreams are sent to help us, not frighten us.

Some shadows and phantoms may be things that are believed by those who have not become spiritually awakened, and are false beliefs. By acting on, and living in accordance with such beliefs, they live a false life and are easily manipulated by those who love to control people. They are as if they remained asleep and living in a dream world.

Dawn of the Father

Those who make the effort to awaken their spiritual faculties experience the Knowledge of the Father, which is Wisdom and Truth. Such people escape the illusions of false beliefs and teachings by false teachers and prophets. Such people are happy and blessed, just as the Gospel of Peace says. Sadly, there are many today who call themselves awake, and even believe it is true, but the majority of them have been fooled by false teachings just as much as those who believe in materialism and capitalism. The real mystery schools of the ancients spent years helping one to awaken. The real spiritual schools of today do likewise. Those who claim they can awaken you with a simple meditation technique taught in an hour are teaching falsehoods.

“Peter, messenger of Jesus the anointed, to Philip, our beloved brother, and our fellow messenger, and the brothers who are with you: greetings. I want you to understand, our brother, that we received orders from our lord, the savior of the whole world, that we should come together to teach and preach concerning the salvation that was promised us by our lord Jesus the anointed. But you were separated from us, and you did not wish us to come together and learn how to orient ourselves that we might tell the good news. So would it be agreeable to you, our brother, to come according to the orders of our god Jesus?

“When Philip received and read this, he went to Peter, rejoicing with gladness. Then Peter gathered the others. They went to the mountain called Olivet, where they used to gather with the blessed anointed one when he was in the body. When the messengers came together and fell on their knees, they prayed in this way, saying, Father, father, father of the light, you who possess the incorruptions, hear us, just as you have taken pleasure in your holy child Jesus the anointed. For he has become for us a luminary in the darkness. Yes, hear us. And they resumed again and prayed, saying, Child of life, child of immortality, you who are in the light, child, deathless anointed, our redeemer, give us strength because they are searching for us to kill us.” ~The Letter of Peter to Philip

Brother and Messenger

The Letter of Peter to Philip was found as part of the Nag Hamadi Library, probably written around 200 AD. It begins with Peter addressing Philip as a “beloved brother and fellow Messenger.” Peter refers to Philip as a brother because he is a fellow apostle of Jesus. He also refers to him as a fellow messenger because Philip, like Peter, is tasked with spreading the teachings of Jesus—the real teachings of Jesus, not the false ones later introduced by Paul. It appears that Philip has gone off on his own to teach and spread The Word, and Paul wants him to rejoin the others.

Learn to Orient Ourselves

Here Peter gently chides Philip for going off to teach on his own rather than staying with the group and continuing to learn how to “Orient” himself. By this, Peter means learning how to practice the spiritual development techniques that Jesus taught them, perhaps including some advanced ones that Peter knows, but Philip doesn’t. Peter then asks Philip if he will return to the group if it is the orders of Jesus rather than Peter. In the Quote, Peter calls Jesus, “our god Jesus”. This is a giveaway that this was not actually written by the Apostle, Peter, as Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the messenger of God, but not God Himself.

Mountain Called Olivet

This is the same mountain called the Mount of Olives, where Jesus prayed on the night the authorities took him to be judged and murdered. It may be that this was simply a convenient place to meet, and practicing spiritual development techniques is often done on a mountaintop, but I think there is another reason for mentioning that they met on Mount Olivet. The olive tree and the olives on it have a lot of spiritual symbology. In many ancient societies, the olive tree was considered a link between the material and the spiritual, the Earth and Heaven. As such, it could also be a symbol of the Spiritual Sun. Therefore, it could mean that Peter and Philip practiced spiritual solar growth techniques together. Green olives can represent abundance, while black ones represent protection and power. Peter may be telling Philip that by coming together, they will have greater power and abundance. Not power in the sense of a king or dictator, but a spiritual power that can overcome the evil of the world.

If the olives are purple, this is a very spiritual color and is associated with the crown energy center. And because purple olives are connected with bright sunlight, they are a reminder to stay connected to the sun.

Father of the Light

So when Peter and Philip met, they prayed together saying, “Father, Father of the Light.” They are not speaking of just any light, but of the Divine Light that comes to us primarily through the Spiritual Sun¹. So overall, these few paragraphs from the beginning of Peter’s letter are a reminder to Philip, and therefore to all who read it, that we can get greater benefits when we practice spiritual techniques as part of a community. Of course, there are times when we must be physically away from our spiritual community, but we must remember to get together occasionally to recharge our batteries, in a manner of speaking.