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PREFACE | |
Book Two of the Essene Gospel of Peace | |
I have to begin this preface with a great confession: this is not my first translation of Book Two | |
of the Essene Gospel of Peace; it is my second. The first effort took many years to complete, and | |
it was composed painstakingly and literally, with hundreds of cross references and abundant | |
philological and exegetical footnotes. When it was finished, I was very proud of it, and in a glow | |
of selfsatisfied accomplishment, I gave it to my friend, Aldous Huxley, to read. Two weeks later, | |
I asked him what he thought of my monumental translation. "It is very, very bad, he answered. | |
"It is even worse than the most boring treatises of the patristics and scholastics, which nobody | |
reads today. it is so dry and uninteresting, in fact, that I have no desire to read Book Three." I | |
was speechless, so he continued. "You should rewrite it, and give it some of the vitality of your | |
other books-make it literary, readable and attractive for twentieth century readers. I'm sure the | |
Essenes did not speak to each other in footnotes! In the form it is in now, the only readers you | |
will have for it may be a few dogmatists in theological seminaries, who seem to take masochistic | |
pleasure in reading this sort of thing. However," he added with a smile, "you might find some | |
value in it as a cure for insomnia; each time I tried to read it I fell asleep in a few minutes. You | |
might try to sell a few copies that way by advertising a new sleep remedy in the health | |
magazines-no harmful chemicals, and all that." | |
It took me a long time to recuperate from his criticism-. I put aside the manuscript for years. | |
Meanwhile, I continued to receive thousands of letters from many readers from all parts of the | |
world of my translation of Book One of the Essene Gospel of Peace, asking for the second and | |
third books promised in the preface. Finally, I got the courage to start again. The passing of the | |
years had mellowed my attitude and I saw my friend's criticism in a new light. I rewrote the | |
entire manuscript, treating it as literature and poetry, coming to grips with the great problems of | |
life, both ancient and contemporary. it was not easy to be faithful to the original, and at the same | |
time to present the eternal truths in a way that would appeal to twentieth century man. And yet, it | |
was vitally important that I try; for the Essenes, above all others, strove to win the hearts of men | |
through reason, and the powerful and vivid example of their li ves. | |
Sadly, Aldous is no longer here to read my second translation. I have a feeling he would have | |
liked it (not a single footnote!), but I will have to leave the final judgment to my readers. If | |
Books Two and Three will become as popular as Book One, my efforts of many, many years will | |
be amply rewarded. | |
EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY | |
San Diego, California | |
the first of November, 1974. | |
INTRODUCTION | |
There are three paths leading to Truth. The first is the path of the consciousness, the second that | |
of nature, and the third is the accumulated experience of past generations, which we receive in | |
the shape of the great masterpieces of all ages. From time immemorial, man and humanity have | |
followed all three paths. | |
The first path to Truth, the path of the consciousness, is that followed by the great mystics. They | |
consider that the consciousness is the most immediate reality for us and is the key to the | |
universe. it is something which is in us, which is us. And throughout the ages the mystics have | |
made the discovery that the laws of human consciousness contain an aspect not found in the laws | |
governing the material universe. | |
A certain dynamic unity exists in our consciousness, where one is at the same time many. it is | |
possible for us to have simultaneously different thoughts, ideas, associations, images, memories | |
and intuitions occupying our consciousness within fragments of a minute or a second, yet all this | |
multiplicity will still constitute only a single dynamic unity. Therefore the laws of mathematics, | |
which are valid for the material universe and are a key to its understanding, will not be valid in | |
the field of consciousness, a realm where two and two do not necessarily make four. The mystics | |
also found that measurements of space, time and weight, universally valid in nature and | |
throughout the material universe, are not applicable to the consciousness, where sometimes a few | |
seconds seem like hours, or hours like a minute. | |
Our consciousness does not exist in space and therefore cannot be measured in spatial terms. It | |
has its own time, which is very often timelessness, so temporal measurements cannot be applied | |
to Truth reached by this path. The great mystics discovered that the human consciousness, | |
besides being the most immediate and the inmost reality for us, is at the same time our closest | |
source of energy, harmony and knowledge. The path to Truth leading to and through the | |
consciousness produced the great teachings of humanity, the great intuitions and the great | |
masterpieces throughout the ages. Such then is the first path to or source of Truth, as the Essene | |
traditions understand and interpret it. | |
Unfortunately, the magnificent original intuitions of the great masters often lose their vitality as | |
they pass down the generations. They are very often modified, distorted and turned into dogmas, | |
and all too frequently their values become petrified in institutions and organized hierarchies. The | |
pure intuitions are choked by the sands of time, and eventually have to be dug out by seekers of | |
Truth able to penetrate into their essence. | |
Another danger is that persons following this path to Truth, the path of the consciousness-may | |
fall into exaggerations. They come to think that this is the only path to Truth and disregard all | |
others. Very often, too, they apply the specific laws of the human consciousness to the material | |
universe where they lack validity, and ignore the laws proper to the latter sphere. The mystic | |
often creates for himself an artificial universe, farther and farther removed from reality, till he | |
ends by living in an ivory tower, having lost all contact with reality and life. | |
The second of the three paths is the path of nature. While the first path of the consciousness | |
starts from within and penetrates thence into the totality of things, the second path takes the | |
opposite way. Its starting point is the external world. it is the path of the scientist, and has been | |
followed in all ages through experience and through experiment, through the use of inductive | |
and deductive methods. | |
The scientist, working with exact quantitative measurements, measures everything in space and | |
time, and makes all possible correlations. | |
With his telescope he penetrates into far-distant cosmic space, into the various solar and galactic | |
systems; through spectrum analysis he measures the constituents of the different planets in | |
cosmic space; and by mathematical calculation he establishes in advance the movements of | |
celestial bodies. Applying the law of cause and effect, the scientist establishes a long chain of | |
causes and effects which help him to explain and measure the universe, as well as life. | |
But the scientist, like the mystic, sometimes falls into exaggerations. While science has | |
transformed the life of mankind and has created great values, for man in all ages, it has failed to | |
give entire satisfaction in the solution of the final problems of existence, life and the universe. | |
The scientist has the long chain of causes and effects secure in all its particles, but he has no idea | |
what to do with the end of the chain. He has no solid point to which he may attach the end of the | |
chain, and so by the path to Truth through nature and the material universe he is unable to | |
answer the great and eternal questions concerning the beginning and end of all things. | |
The greatest scientists recognize that in the metaphysical field beyond the scientific chain there is | |
something else - continuing from the end of that chain. However, there are also the dogmatic | |
scientists who deny any other approach to Truth than their own, who refuse to attribute reality to | |
the facts and phenomena which they cannot fit neatly into their own categories and | |
classifications. | |
The path to Truth through nature is not that of the dogmatic scientist, just as the first path is not | |
that of the one-sided mystic. Nature is a great open book in which everything can be found, if we | |
learn to draw from it the inspiration which it has given to the great thinkers of all ages. if we | |
learn her language, nature will reveal to us all the laws of life and the universe. | |
It is for this reason that all the great masters of humanity from time to time withdrew into nature: | |
Zarathustra and Moses into the mountains, Buddha to the forest, Jesus and the Essenes to the | |
desert-and thus followed this second path as well as that of the consciousness. The two paths do | |
not contradict one another, but harmoniously complete one another in full knowledge of the laws | |
of both. It was thus that the great teachers reached wonderful and deeply profound truths which | |
have given inspiration to millions through thousands of years. | |
The third path to Truth, is the wisdom, knowledge and experience acquired by the great thinkers | |
of all ages and transmitted to us in the form of great teachings, the great sacred books or | |
scriptures, and the great masterpieces of universal literature which together form what today we | |
would call universal culture. | |
In brief, therefore, our approach to Truth is a threefold one: through consciousness, nature and | |
culture. | |
In the following chapters we shall follow this threefold path leading to Truth and shall examine | |
and translate some of the great sacred writings of the Essenes. | |
There are different ways of studying these great writings. One way-the way of all theologians | |
and of the organized Churches-is to consider each text literally. This is the dogmatic way | |
resulting from a long process of petrification, by which truths are inevitably transformed into | |
dogmas. | |
When the theologian follows this most easy but one-sided path, he runs into endless | |
contradictions and complications, and he reaches a conclusion as far removed from the truth as | |
that of the scientific interpreter of these texts who rejects them as entirely valueless and without | |
validity. The approaches of the dogmatic theologian and the exclusivist scientist represent two | |
extremes. | |
A third error is to believe, as do certain symbolists, that these books have no more than a | |
symbolic content and are nothing more than parables. With their own particular way of | |
exaggeration these symbolists make thousands of different and quite contradictory interpretations | |
of these great texts. | |
The spirit of the Essene traditions is opposed to all three of these ways of interpreting these | |
ageless writings and follows an entirely different approach. | |
The Essene method of interpretation of these books is, on the one hand, to place them in | |
harmonious correlation with the laws of the human consciousness and of nature, and, on the | |
other, to consider the facts and circumstances of the age and environment in which they were | |
written. This approach also takes into account the degree of evolution and understanding of the | |
people to whom the particular master was addressing his message. | |
Since all the great masters had to adapt their teaching to the level of their audience, they found it | |
necessary to formulate both an exoteric and esoteric teaching. The exoteric message was one | |
comprehensible to the people at large and was expressed in terms of various rules, forms and | |
rituals corresponding to the basic needs of the people and the age concerned. Parallel with this, | |
the esoteric teachings have survived through the ages partly as written and partly as unwritten | |
living traditions, free from forms, rituals, rules and dogmas, and in all periods have been kept | |
alive and practiced by a small minority. | |
It is in this spirit of the interpretation of the Truth that the Essene Gospel of Peace will be | |
translated in the following pages. Rejecting the dogmatic methods of literal and purely scientific | |
interpretation as well as the exaggeration of the symbolists, we shall try to translate the Essene | |
Gospel of Peace in the light of our consciousness and of nature, and in harmony with the great | |
traditions of the Essenes, to whose brotherhood the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves | |
belonged. | |
THE VISION OF ENOCH | |
THE MOST ANCIENT REVELATION | |
God Speaks to Man | |
I speak to you. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I spoke to you | |
When you were born. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I spoke to you | |
At your first sight. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I spoke to you | |
At your first word. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I spoke to you | |
At your first thought. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I spoke to you | |
At your first love. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I spoke to you | |
At your first song. | |
Be still | |
Know I am | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the grass of the meadows. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the trees of the forests. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the valleys and the hills. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the Holy Mountains. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the rain and the snow. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Tam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the waves of the sea. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the dew of the morning. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the peace of the evening. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Tam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the splendor of the sun. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the brilliant stars. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the storm and the clouds. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I speak to you | |
Through the thunder and lightning. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God | |
I speak to you | |
Through the mysterious rainbow. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I will speak to you | |
When you are alone. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God | |
I will speak to you | |
Through the Wisdom of the Ancients. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Tam | |
God | |
I will speak to you | |
At the end of time. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I will speak to you | |
When you have seen my Angels. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
I will speak to you | |
Throughout Eternity. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God | |
I speak to you. | |
Be still | |
Know | |
Iam | |
God. | |
FROM THE ESSENE BOOK OF MOSES | |
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS | |
And Mount Sinai was altogether in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the | |
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. | |
And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses | |
up to the top of the mount: and Moses went up. | |
And the Lord called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying, Come unto me, for I would give | |
thee the Law for thy people, which shall be a covenant for the Children of Light. | |
And Moses went up unto God. And God spake all these words, saying, | |
I am the Law, thy God, which hath brought thee out from the depths of the bondage of darkness. | |
Thou shalt have no other Laws before me. | |
Thou shalt not make unto thee any image of the Law in heaven above or in the earth beneath. I | |
am the invisible Law, without beginning and without end. | |
Thou shalt not make unto thee false laws, for I am the Law, and the whole Law of all laws. If | |
thou forsake me, thou shalt be visited by disasters for generation upon generation. | |
If thou keepest my commandments, thou shalt enter the Inftnite Garden where stands the Tree of | |
Life in the midst of the Eternal Sea. | |
Thou shalt not violate the Law. The Law is thy God, who shall not hold thee guiltless. | |
Honor thy Earthly Mother, that thy days may be long upon the land, and honor thy Heavenly | |
Father, that eternal life be thine in the heavens, for the earth and the heavens are given unto thee | |
by the Law, which is thy God. | |
Thou shalt greet thy Earthly Mother on the morning of the Sabbath. | |
Thou shalt greet the Angel of Earth on the second morning. | |
Thou shalt greet the Angel of Life on the third morning. | |
Thou shalt greet the Angel of Joy on the fourth morning. | |
Thou shalt greet the Angel of Sun on the fifth morning. | |
Thou shalt greet the Angel of Water on the sixth morning, | |
Thou shalt greet the Angel of Air on the seventh morning- | |
All these Angels of the Earthly Mother shalt thou greet, and consecrate thyself to them, that thou | |
mayest enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life. | |
Thou shalt worship thy Heavenly Father on the evening of the Sabbath. | |
Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Eternal Life on the second evening. | |
Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Work on the third evening. | |
Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Peace on the fourth evening. | |
Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Power on the fifth evening, | |
Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Love on the sixth evening. | |
Thou shalt commune with the Angel of Wisdom on the seventh evening. | |
All these Angels of the Heavenly Father shalt thou commune with, that thy soul may bathe in the | |
Fountain of Light, and enter into the Sea of Eternity. | |
The seventh day is the Sabbath: thou shalt remember it, keep it holy. The Sabbath is the day of | |
the Light of the Law, thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, but search the Light, the | |
Kingdom of thy God, and all things shall be given unto thee. | |
For know ye that during six days thou shalt work with the Angels, but the seventh day shalt thou | |
dwell in the Light of thy Lord, who is the holy Law. | |
Thou shalt not take the life from any living thing. Life comes only from God, who giveth it and | |
taketh it away. | |
Thou shalt not debase Love. It is the sacred gift of thy Heavenly Father. | |
Thou Shalt not trade thy Soul, the priceless gift of the loving God, for the riches of the world, | |
which are as seeds sown on stony ground, having no root in themselves, and so enduring but for | |
a little while. | |
Thou shalt not be a false witness of the Law, to use it against thy brother: Only God knoweth the | |
beginning and the ending of all things, for his eye is single, and he is the holy Law. | |
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's possessions. The Law giveth unto thee much greater gifts, | |
even the earth and the heavens, if thou keep the Commandments of the Lord thy God. | |
And Moses heard the voice of the Lord, and sealed within him the covenant that was between the | |
Lord and the Children of Light. | |
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tablets of the Law were in his | |
hand. | |
And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the | |
tablets. | |
And the people knew not what became of Moses, and they gathered themselves together and | |
brake off their golden earrings and made a molten calf. And they worshipped unto the idol, and | |
offered to it burnt offerings. | |
And they ate and drank and danced before the golden calf, which they had made, and they | |
abandoned themselves to corruption and evil before the Lord. | |
And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the | |
dancing, and the wickedness of the people: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tablets | |
out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. | |
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin, | |
ye have denied thy Creator. I will go up unto the Lord and plead atonement for thy sin. | |
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, thou hast seen the desecration of thy Holy | |
Law. For thy children lost faith, and worshipped the darkness, and made for themselves a golden | |
calf. Lord, forgive them, for they are blind to the light. | |
And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, at the beginning of time was a covenant made between | |
God and man, and the holy flame of the Creator did enter unto him. And he was made the son of | |
God, and it was given him to guard his inheritance of the firstborn, and to make fruitful the land | |
of his Father and keep it holy. And he who casteth out the Creator from him doth spit upon his | |
birthright, and no more grievous sin doth exist in the eyes of God. | |
And the Lord spoke, saying, Only the Children of Light can keep the Commandments of the | |
Law. Hear me, for I say thus: the tablets which thou didst break, these shall nevermore be written | |
in the words of men. As thou didst return them to the earth and fire, so shall they live, invisible, | |
in the hearts of those who are able to follow their Law. To thy people of little faith, who did sin | |
against the Creator, even whilst thou stood on holy ground before thy God, -I will give another | |
Law. It shall be a stem law, yea, it shall bind them, for they know not yet the Kingdom of Light. | |
And Moses hid the invisible Law within his breast, and kept it for a sign to the Children of | |
Light. And God gave unto Moses the written law for the people, and he went down unto | |
them, and spake unto them with a heavy heart. | |
And Moses said unto the people, these are the laws which thy God hath given thee. | |
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. | |
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. | |
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. | |
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. | |
Honor thy father and thy mother. | |
Thou shalt not kill. | |
Thou shalt not commit adultery. | |
Thou shalt not steal. | |
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. | |
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor thy neighbor's wife, nor anything that is thy | |
neighbor's. | |
And there was a day of mourning and atonement for the great sin against the Creator, which did | |
not end. And the broken tablets of the Invisible Law lived hidden in the breast of Moses, until it | |
came to pass that the Children of Light appeared in the desert, and the angels walked the earth. | |
THE COMMUNIONS | |
And it was by the bed of a stream, that the weary and afflicted came again to seek out Jesus. And | |
like children, they had forgotten the Law; and like children, they sought out their father to show | |
them where they had erred, and to set their feet again upon the path. And when the sun rose over | |
the earth's rim they saw Jesus coming toward them from the mountain, with the brightness of the | |
rising sun about his head. | |
And he raised his hand and smiled upon them, saying, "Peace be with you." | |
But they were ashamed to return his greeting, for each in his own way had turned his back on the | |
holy teachings, and the Angels of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father were not with | |
them. And one man looked up in anguish and spoke: "Master, we are in sore need of your | |
wisdom. For we know that which is good, and yet we follow evil. We know that to enter the | |
kingdom of heaven we must walk with the angels of the day and of the night, yet our feet walk in | |
the ways of the wicked. The light of day shines only on our pursuit of pleasure, and the night | |
falls on our heedless stupor. Tell us, Master, how may we talk with the angels, and stay within | |
their holy circle, that the Law may burn in our hearts with a constant flame?" | |
And Jesus spoke to them: | |
"To lift your eyes to heaven | |
When all mens' eyes are on the ground, | |
Is not easy. | |
To worship at the feet of the angels | |
When all men worship only fame and riches, | |
Is not easy. | |
But the most difficult of all | |
Is to think the thoughts of the angels, | |
To speak the words of the angels, | |
And to do as angels do. " | |
And one man spoke: "But, Master, we are but men, we are not angels. How then can we hope to | |
walk in their ways? Tell us what we must do." | |
And Jesus spoke: | |
"As the son inherits the land of his father, | |
So have we inherited a Holy Land | |
From our Fathers. | |
T'his land is not a field to be ploughed, | |
But a place within us | |
Where we may build our Holy Temple. | |
And even as a temple must be raised, | |
Stone by stone, | |
So will I give to you those stones | |
For the building of the Holy Temple; | |
That which we have inherited | |
From our Fathers, | |
And their Fathers’ Fathers." | |
And all the men gathered around Jesus, and their faces shone with desire to hear the words which | |
would come from his lips. And he lifted his face to the rising sun, and the radiance of its rays | |
filled his eyes as he spoke: | |
"The Holy Temple can be built | |
Only with the ancient Communions, | |
Those which are spoken, | |
Those which are thought, | |
And those which are lived. | |
For if they are spoken only with the mouth, | |
They are as a dead hive | |
Which the bees have forsaken, | |
That gives no more honey. | |
Communions are a bridge | |
Between man and the angels, | |
And like a bridge, | |
Can be built only with patience, | |
Yea, even as the bridge over the river | |
Is fashioned stone by stone, | |
As they are found by the water's edge. | |
And the Communions are fourteen in number | |
As the Angels of the Heavenly Father | |
Number seven, | |
And the Angels of the Earthly Mother | |
Number seven. | |
And just as the roots of the tree | |
Sink into the earth and are nourished, | |
And the branches of the tree | |
Raise their arms to heaven, | |
So is man like the trunk of the tree, | |
With his roots deep | |
In the breast of his Earthly Mother, | |
And his soul ascending | |
To the bright stars of his Heavenly Father. | |
And the roots of the tree | |
Are the Angels of the Earthly Mother, | |
And the branches of the tree | |
Are the Angels of the Heavenly Father. | |
And this is the sacred Tree of Life | |
Which stands in the Sea of Eternity. | |
The first Communion is with the Angel of Sun | |
The Angel of Sun, | |
She who cometh each morning | |
As a bride from her chamber, | |
To shed her golden light on the world. | |
O thou immortal, shining, swift-steeded | |
Angel of the Sun! | |
There is no warmth without thee, | |
No fire without thee, | |
No life without thee. | |
As green leaves of the trees | |
Do worship thee, | |
And through thee is the tiny wheat kernel | |
Become a river of golden grass, | |
Moving with the wind. | |
Through thee is opened the flower | |
In the center of my body. | |
Tnerefore will I never hide myself | |
From thee. | |
Angel of Sun, | |
Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother, | |
Enter the holy temple within me | |
And give me the Fire of Life! | |
The Second Communion is with the Angel of Water | |
The Angel of Water, | |
She who makes the rain | |
To fall on the and plain, | |
Who fills the dry well to overflowing. | |
Yea, we do worship thee, | |
Water of Life- | |
From the heavenly sea | |
The waters run and flow forward | |
From the never-failing springs. | |
In my blood flow | |
A thousand pure springs, | |
And vapors, and clouds, | |
And all the waters | |
T'hat spread over all the seven Kingdoms. | |
All the waters | |
The Creator hath made Are holy. | |
The voice of the Lord | |
Is upon the waters: | |
The God of Glory thundereth; | |
The Lord is upon many waters. | |
Angel of Water, | |
Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother, | |
Enter the blood that flows through me, | |
Wash my body in the rain | |
That falls from heaven, | |
And give me the Water of Life. | |
The third Communion is with the Angel of Air | |
The Angel of Air, | |
Who spreads the perfume | |
Of sweet-smelling fields, | |
of spring grass after rain, | |
of the opening buds of the | |
Rose of Sharon. | |
We worship the Holy Breath | |
Which is placed higher | |
Than all the other things created. | |
For, lo, the eternal and sovereign Luminous space, | |
Where rule the unnumbered stars, | |
Is the air we breathe in | |
And the air we breathe out. | |
And in the moment betwixt the breathing in | |
And the breathing out | |
Is hidden all the mysteries of the Infinite Garden. | |
Angel of Air, | |
Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother, | |
Enter deep within me, | |
As the swallow plummets from the sky, | |
That I may know the secrets of the wind | |
And the music of the stars. | |
The fourth Communion is with the Angel of Earth | |
The Angel of Earth, | |
She who brings forth corn and grapes | |
From the fulness of the earth, | |
She who brings children | |
From the loins of husband and wife. | |
He who would till the earth, | |
With the left arm and the right, | |
Unto him will she bring forth | |
An abundance of fruit and grain, | |
Golden-hued plants | |
Growing up from the earth | |
During the spring, | |
As far as the earth extends, | |
As far as the rivers stretch, | |
As far as the sun rises, | |
To impart their gifts of food unto men. | |
This wide earth do I praise, | |
Expanded far with paths, | |
The productive, the full-bearing, | |
Thy Mother, holy plant! | |
Yea, I praise the lands | |
Where thou dost grow | |
Sweet-scented swiftly spreading, | |
The good growth of the Lord. | |
He who sows corn, grass and fruit, | |
Soweth the Law. | |
And his harvest shall be bountiful, | |
And his crop shall be ripe upon the hills | |
As a reward for the followers of the Law, | |
The Lord sent the Angel of Earth, | |
Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother | |
To make the plants to grow, | |
And to make fertile the womb of woman, | |
That the earth may never be without | |
The laughter of children. | |
Let us worship the Lord in her! | |
The fifth Communion is with the Angel of Life | |
The Angel of Life, | |
She who gives strength and vigor to man. | |
For, lo, if the wax is not pure, | |
How then can the candle give a steady flame? | |
Go, then, toward the high-growing trees, | |
And before one of them which is beautiful, | |
High-growing and mighty, | |
Say these words: | |
‘Hail be unto thee! O good, living tree, | |
Made by the Creator!’ | |
Then shall the River of Life | |
Flow between you and your Brother, | |
The Tree, | |
And health of the body, | |
Swiftness of foot, | |
Quick hearing of the ears, | |
Strength of the arms | |
And eyesight of the eagle be yours. | |
Such is the Communion | |
With the Angel of Life, | |
Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother. | |
The sixth Communion is with the Angel of Joy | |
The Angel of Joy, | |
She who descends upon earth | |
To give beauty to all men. | |
For the Lord is not worshipped with sadness, | |
Nor with cries of despair. | |
Leave off your moans and lamentations, | |
And sing unto the Lord a new song: | |
Sing unto the Lord, all the earth. | |
Let the heavens rejoice | |
And let the earth be glad. | |
Let the field be joyful, | |
Let the floods clap their hands; | |
Let the hills be joyful together Before the Lord. | |
For you shall go out with joy | |
And be led forth with peace: | |
The mountains and the hills | |
Shall break forth before you into singing. | |
Angel of Joy, | |
Holy messenger of the Earthly Mother, | |
I will sing unto the Lord | |
As long as I live: | |
I will sing praise to my God | |
While I have my being. | |
The Seventh Communion is with Our Earthly Mother | |
Our Earthly Mother, | |
She who sends forth her Angels | |
To guide the roots of man | |
And send them deep into the blessed soil. | |
We invoke the Earthly Mother! | |
The Holy Preserver! | |
The Maintainer! | |
It is She who will restore the world! | |
The earth is hers, | |
And the fulness thereof the world, | |
And they that dwell therein. | |
We worship the good, the strong, | |
The beneficent Earthly Mother | |
And all her Angels, | |
Bounteous, valiant, | |
And full of strength; | |
Welfare-bestowing, kind, | |
And health-giving. | |
Through her brightness and glory | |
Do the plants grow up from the earth, | |
By the never-failing springs. | |
Through her brightness and glory | |
Do the winds blow, | |
Driving down the clouds | |
Towards the never-failing springs. | |
The Earthly Mother and I are One. | |
I have my roots in her, | |
And she takes her delight in me | |
According to the Holy Law. " | |
Then there was a great silence, as the listeners pondered the words of Jesus. And there was new | |
strength in them, and desire and hope shone in their faces. And then one man spoke: "Master, we | |
are filled with eagerness to begin our Communions with the Angels of the Earthly Mother, who | |
planted the Great Garden of the Earth. But what of the Angels of the Heavenly Father, who rule | |
the night? How are we to talk to them, who are so far above us, who are invisible to our eyes? | |
For we can see the rays of the sun, we can feel the cool water of the stream where we bathe, and | |
the grapes are warm to our touch as they grow purple on the vines. But the Angels of the | |
Heavenly Father cannot be seen, or heard, or touched. How then can we talk to them, and enter | |
their Infinite Garden? Master, tell us what we must do." | |
And the morning sun encircled his head with glory as Jesus looked upon them and spoke: | |
"My children, know you not that the Earth | |
And all that dwells therein | |
Is but a reflection of the | |
Kingdom of the Heavenly Father? | |
And as you are suckled and comforted | |
By your mother when a child, | |
But go to join your father in the fields | |
When you grow up, | |
So do the Angels of the Earthly Mother | |
Guide your steps | |
Toward him who is your Father, | |
And all his holy Angels, | |
That you may know your true home | |
And become true Sons of God. | |
While we are children, | |
We will see the rays of the sun, | |
But not the Power which created it; | |
While we are children, | |
We will hear the sounds of the flowing brook, | |
But not the Love which created it; | |
While we are children, | |
We will see the stars, | |
But not the hand which scatters them | |
Through the sky, | |
As the farmer scatters his seed. | |
only through the Communions | |
With the Angels of the Heavenly Father, | |
Will we learn to see the unseen, | |
To hear that which cannot be heard, | |
And to speak the unspoken word. | |
The first Communion is with the Angel of Power | |
The Angel of Power, | |
Who fills the sun with heat, | |
And guides the hand of man | |
In all his works. | |
Thine, O Heavenly Father! | |
Was the Power, | |
When thou didst order a path | |
For each of us and all. | |
Through thy power | |
Will my feet tread the | |
Path of the Law; | |
Through thy power | |
Will my hands perform thy works. | |
May the golden river of power | |
Always flow from thee to me, | |
And may my body always turn unto thee, | |
As the flower turns unto the sun. | |
For there is no power save that | |
From the Heavenly Father; | |
All else is but a dream of dust, | |
A cloud passing over the face of the sun. | |
There is no man that hath power | |
Over the spirit; | |
Neither hath he power in the day of death. | |
Only that power which cometh from God | |
Can carry us out from the City of Death. | |
Guide our works and deeds, | |
O Angel of Power, | |
Holy messenger of the Heavenly -Father! | |
The second Communion is with the Angel of Love | |
The Angel of Love, | |
Whose healing waters flow | |
In a never-ending stream | |
From the Sea of Eternity. | |
Beloved, let us love one another: | |
For love is of the Heavenly Father, | |
And every one that loveth | |
Is born of the Heavenly Order | |
And knoweth the Angels. | |
For without love, | |
A man's heart is parched and cracked | |
As the bottom of a dry well, | |
And his words are empty | |
As a hollow gourd. | |
But loving words are as a honeycomb | |
Sweet to the soul; | |
Loving words in a man's mouth | |
Are as deep waters, | |
And the wellspring of love | |
As a flowing brook. | |
Yea, it was said in the ancient of days, | |
Thou shalt love thy Heavenly Father | |
With all thy heart, | |
And with all thy mind, | |
And with all thy deeds, | |
And thou shalt love thy brothers | |
As thyself | |
The Heavenly Father is love; | |
And he that dwelleth in love | |
Dwelleth in the Heavenly Father, | |
And the Heavenly Father in him. | |
He that loveth not is as a wandering bird | |
Cast out of the nest; | |
For him the grass faileth | |
And the stream has a bitter taste. | |
And if a man say, | |
I love the Heavenly Father | |
But hate my brother, | |
He is a liar: | |
For he that loveth not his brother | |
Whom he hath seen, | |
How can he love the Heavenly Father | |
Whom he hath not seen? | |
By this we know the Children of Light: | |
T'hose who walk with the Angel of Love, | |
For they love the Heavenly Father, | |
And they love their brethren, | |
And they keep the Holy Law. | |
Love is stronger | |
Than the currents of deep waters: | |
Love is stronger than death. | |
The third Communion is with the Angel of Wisdom | |
The Angel of Wisdom, | |
Who maketh man free from fear, | |
Wide of heart, | |
And easy of conscience: | |
Holy Wisdom, | |
The Understanding that unfolds, | |
Continuously, | |
As a holy scroll, | |
Yet does not come through learning. | |
All wisdom cometh | |
From the Heavenly Father, | |
And is with him for ever. | |
Who can number the sand of the sea, | |
And the drops of rain, | |
And the days of eternity? | |
Who can find out the height of heaven, | |
And the breadth of the earth? | |
Who can tell the beginning | |
Of wisdom? | |
Wisdom hath been created | |
Before all things. | |
He who is with out wisdom | |
Is like unto him that saith to the wood, | |
‘Awake’, and to the dumb stone, | |
‘Arise, and teach!' | |
So are his words empty, | |
And his deeds harmful, | |
As a child who brandishes his father's sword | |
And knoweth not its cutting edge. | |
But the crown of wisdom | |
Makes peace and perfect health | |
To flourish, | |
Both of which are the gifts of God. | |
O thou Heavenly Order! | |
And thou, Angel of Wisdom! | |
I will worship thee and | |
The Heavenly Father, | |
Because of whom | |
The river of thought within us | |
Is flowing towards the | |
Holy Sea of Eternity. | |
The fourth Communion is with the Angel of Eternal Life | |
The Angel of Eternal Life, | |
Who brings the message of eternity | |
To man. | |
For he who walks with the Angels | |
Shall learn to soar | |
Above the clouds, | |
And his home shall be | |
In the Eternal Sea | |
Where stands the sacred Tree of Life. | |
Do not wait for death | |
To reveal the great mystery; | |
If you know not your Heavenly Father | |
While your feet tread the dusty soil, | |
There shall be naught but shadows for thee | |
In the life that is to come. | |
Here and now | |
Is the mystery revealed. | |
Here and now | |
Is the curtain lifted. | |
Be not afraid, O man! | |
Lay hold of the wings of the | |
Angel of Eternal Life, | |
And soar into the paths of the stars, | |
The moon, the sun, | |
And the endless Light, | |
Moving around in their | |
Revolving circle forever, | |
And fly toward the Heavenly Sea Of Eternal Life. | |
The fifth Communion is with the Angel of Work | |
The Angel of Work, | |
Who sings in the humming of the bee, | |
Pausing not in its making of golden honey; | |
In the flute of the shepherd, | |
Who sleeps not lest his flock go astray; | |
In the song of the maiden | |
As she lays her hand to the spindle. | |
And if you think that these | |
Are not as fair in the eyes of the Lord | |
As the loftiest of prayers | |
Echoed from the highest mountain, | |
Then you do indeed err. | |
For the honest work of humble hands | |
Is a daily prayer of thanksgiving, | |
And the music of the plough | |
Is a joyful song unto the Lord. | |
He who eats the bread of idleness | |
must die of hunger, | |
For a field of stones | |
Can yield only stones. | |
For him is the day without meaning, | |
And the night a bitter journey of evil dreams. | |
The mind of the idle | |
Is full of the weeds of discontent; | |
But he who walks with the | |
Angel of Work | |
Has within him a field always fertile, | |
Where corn and grapes | |
And all manner of sweet-scented | |
Herbs and flowers grow in abundance. | |
As ye sow, so Shall ye reap. | |
The man of God who has found his task | |
Shall not ask any other blessing. | |
The sixth Communion is with the Angel of Peace | |
The Angel of Peace, | |
Whose kiss bestoweth calm, | |
And whose face is as the surface | |
Of untroubled waters, | |
Wherein the moon is reflected. | |
I will invoke Peace, | |
Whose -breath is friendly, | |
Whose hand smooths the troubled brow. | |
In the reign of Peace, | |
There is neither hunger nor thirst, | |
Neither cold wind nor hot wind, | |
Neither old age nor death. | |
But to him that hath not peace in his soul, | |
There is no place to build within | |
The Holy Temple; | |
For how can the carpenter build | |
In the midst Of a whirlwind? | |
The seed of violence can reap | |
Only a harvest of desolation, | |
And from the parched clay | |
Can grow no living thing. | |
Seek ye then the Angel of Peace, | |
Who is as the morning star | |
In the midst of a cloud, | |
As the moon at the full, | |
As a fair olive tree budding forth fruit, | |
And as the sun shining on the temple | |
Of the most High. | |
Peace dwells in the heart of silence: | |
Be still, and know that I am God. | |
The seventh Communion is with the Heavenly Father | |
The Heavenly Father, | |
Who is, | |
Who was, and | |
Who ever shall be. | |
O Great Creator! | |
Thou didst create the Heavenly Angels, | |
And thou didst reveal the | |
Heavenly Laws! | |
7‘hou art my refuge and my fortress, | |
Thou artfrom everlasting. | |
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place | |
In al | generations. | |
Before the mountains were brought forth, | |
Or ever thou hadst formed the earth, | |
Even from everlasting to everlasting, | |
Thou art God. | |
Who hath made the waters, | |
And who maketh the plants? | |
Who to the wind | |
I Hath yoked the storm-clouds, | |
The swift and even the fleetest? | |
Who, O Great Creator! | |
Is the fountain of Eternal Life | |
Within our souls? | |
Who hath made the Light and the Darkness? | |
Who hath made sleep | |
And the zest of the waking hours? | |
Who spread the noontides | |
And the midnight? Thou, | |
O Great Creator! | |
Thou hast made the earth By thy power, | |
Hath established the world By thy wisdom, | |
And hath stretched out the heavens By thy love. | |
Do thou reveal unto me, O Heavenly Father, | |
Thy nature, | |
Which is the power of the | |
Angels of thy Holy Kingdom. | |
Immortality and the Heavenly order | |
Hast thou given, O Creator, | |
And the best of all things, Thy Holy Law! | |
I will praise thy works | |
With songs of thanksgiving, | |
Continually, | |
In all the generations of time. | |
With the coming of day | |
I embrace my Mother, | |
With the coming of night, | |
I join my Father, | |
And with the outgoing | |
Of evening and morning | |
I will breathe Their Law, | |
And I will not interrupt these Communions Until the end of time " | |
And over heaven and earth was a great silence, and the peace of the Heavenly Father and the | |
Earthly Mother shone over the heads of Jesus and the multitude. | |
FROM THE ESSENE BOOK OF JESUS | |
THE SEVENFOLD PEACE | |
And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain, and his disciples came unto him, and | |
all those who hungered for his words. And seeing them gathered, he opened his mouth and | |
taught them, saying: | |
"Peace I bring to thee, my children, | |
The Sevenfold Peace | |
Of the Earthly Mother | |
And the Heavenly Father. | |
Peace I bring to thy body, | |
Guided by the Angel of Power; Peace I bring to thy heart, | |
Guided by the Angel of Love; Peace I bring to thy mind, | |
Guided by the Angel of Wisdom. Through the Angels of | |
Power, Love and Wisdom, | |
Thou shalt travel the Seven Paths | |
Of the Infinite Garden, | |
And thy body, thy heart and thy mind | |
Shall join in Oneness | |
In the Sacred Flight to the Heavenly Sea of Peace. | |
Yea, I tell thee truly, | |
The paths are seven | |
Trough the Infinite Garden, | |
And each must be traversed | |
By the body, the heart and the mind As one, | |
Lest thou stumble and fall | |
Into the abyss of emptiness. | |
For as a bird cannot fly with one wing, | |
So doth thy Bird of Wisdom | |
Need two wings of Power and Love | |
To soar above the abyss | |
To the Holy Tree of Life. | |
For the body alone | |
Is an abandoned house seen from afar: | |
What was thought beautiful | |
Is but ruin and desolation | |
When drawing near. | |
Are body alone | |
Is as a chariot fashioned from gold, | |
Whose maker sets it on a pedestal, | |
Loath to soil it with use. | |
But as a golden idol, | |
It is ugly and without grace, | |
For only in movement | |
Doth it reveal its purpose. | |
Like the hollow blackness of a window | |
When the wind puts out its candle, | |
Is the body alone, | |
With no heart and no mind | |
To fill it with light. | |
And the heart alone | |
is a sun with no earth to shine upon, | |
A light in the void, | |
A ball of warmth drowned | |
In a sea of blackness. | |
For when a man doth love, | |
Aat love turneth only to | |
Its own destruction | |
When there is no hand to stretch forth | |
In good works, | |
And no mind to weave the flames of desire | |
Into a tapestry of psalms. | |
Like a whirlwind in the desert | |
Is the heart alone, | |
With no body and no mind | |
To lead it singing | |
through the cypress and the pine. | |
And the mind alone | |
Is a holy scroll | |
Which has worn thin with the years, | |
And must be buried. | |
The truth and beauty of its words | |
Have not changed, | |
But the eyes can no longer read the faded letters, | |
And it falleth to pieces in the hands. | |
So is the mind without the heart | |
To give it words, | |
And without the body | |
To do its deeds. | |
For what availeth wisdom | |
Without a heart to feel | |
And a tongue to give it voice? | |
Barren as the womb of an aged woman | |
Is the mind alone, | |
With no heart and no body To fill it with life. | |
For, lo, I tell thee truly, | |
The body and the heart and the mind | |
Are as a chariot, and a horse, and a driver. | |
The chariot is the body, | |
Forged in strength to do the will | |
of the Heavenly Father | |
And the Earthly Mother. | |
The heart is the fiery steed, | |
Glorious and courageous, | |
Who carries the chariot bravely, | |
Whether the road be smooth, | |
Or whether stones and fallen trees | |
Lie in its path. | |
And the driver is the mind, | |
Holding the reins of wisdom, | |
Seeing from above what lieth | |
On the far horizon, | |
Charting the course of hoofs and wheels. | |
Give ear, O ye heavens, | |
And I will speak; | |
And hear, O earth, | |
The words of my mouth. | |
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, | |
My speech shall distil as the dew, | |
As the small rain | |
Upon the tender herb, | |
And as the showers upon the grass. | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who is strong in body, | |
For he shall have oneness with the earth. | |
Thou shalt celebrate a daily feast | |
With all the gifts of the Angel of Earth: | |
The golden wheat and corn, | |
The purple grapes of autumn, | |
The ripe fruits of the trees, | |
The amber honey of the bees. | |
Thou shalt seek the fresh air | |
of the forest and of the fields, | |
And there in the midst of them | |
Shalt thou find the Angel of Air. | |
Put off thy shoes and clothing | |
And suffer the Angel of Air | |
To embrace all thy body. | |
Then shalt thou breathe long and deeply, | |
That the Angel of Air | |
May be brought within thee. | |
Enter into the cool and flowing river | |
And suffer the Angel of Water | |
To embrace all thy body. | |
Cast thyself wholly into his enfolding arms, | |
And as often as thou movest the air with thy breath, | |
Move with thy body the water also. | |
Thou shalt seek the Angel of Sun, | |
And enter into that embrace | |
Which doth purify with holy flames. | |
And all these things are of the | |
Holy Law of the Earthly Mother, | |
She who did give thee birth. | |
He who hath found peace with the body | |
Hath built a holy temple | |
Wherein may dwellforever | |
The spirit of God. | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Fulfill this peace with thy body. | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who is wise in mind, | |
For he shall create heaven. | |
The mind of the wise | |
Is a well-ploughed field, | |
Which giveth forth abundance and plenty. | |
For it thou showest a handful of seed | |
To a wise man, | |
He will see in his mind's eye | |
A field of golden wheat. | |
And if thou showest a handful of seed | |
To a fool, | |
He will see only that which is before him, | |
And call them worthless pebbles. | |
And as the field of the wise man | |
Giveth forth grain in abundance, | |
And the field of the fool | |
Is a harvest only of stones, | |
So it is with our thoughts. | |
As the sheaf of golden wheat | |
Lieth hidden within the tiny kernel, | |
So is the kingdom of heaven | |
Hidden within our thoughts. | |
If they be filled with the | |
Power, Love and Wisdom | |
of the Angels of the Heavenly Father, | |
So they shall carry us | |
To the Heavenly Sea. | |
But if they be stained | |
With corruption, hatred and ignorance, | |
They shall chain our feet | |
To pillars of pain and suffering. | |
No man can serve two masters; | |
Neither can evil thoughts abide in a mind | |
Filled with the Light of the Law. | |
He who hath found peace with the rnind | |
Hath leamed to soar beyond | |
The Realm of the Angels. | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Fulfill this peace with thy body. | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who is pure in heart, | |
For he shall see God. | |
For as the Heavenly Father hath given thee | |
His holy spirit, | |
And thy Earthly Mother hath given thee | |
Her holy body, | |
So shall ye give love | |
To all thy brothers. | |
And thy true brothers are all those | |
Who do the will of thy Heavenly Father | |
An d thy Earthly Mother. | |
Let thy love be as the sun | |
Which shines on all the creatures of the earth, | |
And does not favor one blade of grass | |
For another. | |
And this love shall flow as a fountain | |
From brother to brother, | |
And as it is spent, | |
So shall it be replenished. | |
For love is eternal. | |
Love is stronger | |
Than the currents of deep waters. | |
Love is stronger than death. | |
And if a man hath not love, | |
He doth build a wall between him | |
And all the creatures of the earth, | |
And therein doth he dwell | |
In loneliness and pain. | |
Or he may become as an angry whirlpool | |
Which sucks into its depths | |
All that floats too near. | |
For the heart is a sea with mighty waves, | |
And love and wisdom must temper it, | |
As the warm sun breaks through the clouds | |
And quiets the restless sea. | |
He who hath found peace with his brothers | |
Hath entered the kingdom of Love, | |
And shall see God face to face. | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Fulfill this peace with thy body. | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who doth build on earth | |
Thekingdom of heaven, | |
For he shall dwell in both worlds. | |
Thou shalt follow the Law of the Brotherhood, | |
Which saith that none shall have wealth, | |
And none shall be poor, | |
And all shall work together | |
In the garden of the Brotherhood. | |
Yet each shall follow his own path, | |
And each shall commune with his own heart. | |
For in the Infinite Garden | |
There are many and diverse flowers: | |
Who shall say that one is best | |
Because its color is purple, | |
Or that one is favored | |
Because its stalk is long and slender? | |
Though the brothers | |
Be of different complexion, | |
Yet do they all toil | |
In the vineyard of the Earthly Mother, | |
And they all do lift their voices together | |
In praise of the Heavenly Father. | |
And together they break the holy bread, | |
And in silence share the holy meal | |
Of thanksgiving. | |
There shall be no peace among peoples | |
Til there be one garden of the brotherhood | |
Over the earth. | |
For how can there be peace | |
When each man pursueth his own gain | |
And doth sell his soul into slavery? | |
Thou, Child of Light, | |
Do ye gather with thy brothers | |
And then go ye forth | |
To teach the ways of the Law | |
To those who would hear. | |
He who hath found peace | |
With the brotherhood of man | |
Hath made himself | |
The co-worker of God | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Fulfill this peace with thy body. | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who doth study the Book of the Law, | |
For he shall be as a candle | |
In the dark of night, | |
And an island of truth | |
In a sea of falsehood | |
For know ye, that the written word | |
Which cometh from God | |
Is a reflection of the Heavenly Sea, | |
Even as the bright stars | |
Reflect the face of heaven. | |
As the words of the Ancient Ones | |
Are etched with the hand of God | |
On the Holy Scrolls, | |
So is the Law engraved on the hearts of the faithful who do study them. | |
For it was said Of old, | |
That in the beginning there were giants | |
In the earth, | |
And mighty men which were of old, | |
Men Of renown. | |
And the Children of Light | |
Shall guard and preserve | |
Their written word, | |
Lest we become again as beasts, | |
And know not the Kingdom of the Angels. | |
Know ye, too, | |
That only through the written word | |
shalt thou find that Law | |
Which is unwritten, | |
As the spring which floweth from the ground | |
Hath a hidden source in the secret depths beneath the earth. | |
The written Law | |
Is the instrument by which | |
The unwritten Law is understood, | |
As the mute branch of a tree | |
Becomes a singing flute | |
In the hands of the shepherd. | |
Many there are | |
Who would stay in the tranquil | |
Valley of ignorance, | |
Where children play | |
And butterflies dance in the sun | |
For their short hour of life. | |
But none can tarry there long, | |
And ahead rise the somber | |
Mountains of learning. | |
Many there are | |
Who fear to cross, | |
And many there are | |
Who have fallen bruised and bleeding | |
From their steep and rugged slopes. | |
But faith is the guide | |
Over the gaping chasm, | |
And perseverance the foothold In the jagged rocks. | |
Beyond the icy peaks of struggle | |
Lies the peace and beauty | |
Of the Infinite Garden of Knowledge, | |
Where the meaning of the Law | |
Is made known to the Children of Light. | |
Here in the center of its forest | |
Stands the Tree of Life, | |
Mystery of mysteries. | |
He who hath found peace | |
With the teachings of the Ancients, | |
Through the light of the mind, | |
Through the light of nature, | |
And through the study of the Holy Word, | |
Hath entered the cloud-filled | |
Hall of the Ancients, | |
Where dwelleth the Holy Brotherhood, | |
of whom no man may speak. | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Fulfill this peace with thy body. | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who knoweth his Earthly Mother, | |
For she is the giver of life. | |
Know that thy Mother is in thee, | |
And thou art in her. | |
She bore thee | |
And she giveth thee life. | |
She it was who gaveth thee thy body, | |
And to her shalt thou one day | |
Give it back again. | |
Know that the blood which runs in thee | |
is born of the blood | |
Of thy Earthly Mother. | |
Her blood falls from the clouds, | |
Leaps up from the womb of the earth, | |
Babbles in the brooks of the mountains, | |
Flows wide in the rivers of the plains, | |
Sleeps in the lakes, | |
Rages mightily in the tempestuous seas. | |
Know that the air which thou dost breathe | |
Is born of the breath | |
Of thy Earthly Mother. | |
Her breath is azure | |
In the heights of the heavens, | |
Soughs in the tops of the mountains, | |
Whispers in the leaves of the forest, | |
Billows over the cornfields, | |
Slumbers in the deep valleys, | |
Bums hot in the desert. | |
Know that the hardness of thy bones | |
Is born of the bones | |
Of thy Earthly Mother, | |
Of the rocks and of the stones. | |
Know that the tenderness of thy flesh | |
Is born of the flesh | |
Of thy Earthly Mother, | |
She whose flesh waxeth yellow and red | |
In the fruits of the trees. | |
The light of thy eyes, | |
The hearing of thy ears, | |
These are born | |
Of the colors and the sounds | |
Of thy Earthly Mother, | |
Which doth enclose thee about, | |
As the waves of the sea enclose a fish, | |
As the eddying air a bird. | |
I tell thee in truth, | |
Man is the Son | |
Of the Earthly Mother, | |
And from her did the Son of Man | |
Receive his whole body, | |
Even as the body of the newborn babe | |
Is born of the womb of his mother. | |
I tell thee truly, | |
Thou art one with the Earthly Mother; | |
She is in thee, and thou art in her. | |
Of her wert thou born, | |
In her dost thou live, | |
And to her shalt thou return again. | |
Keep, therefore, her laws, | |
For none can live long, | |
Neither be happy, | |
But he who honors his Earthly Mother | |
And keepeth her laws. | |
For thy breath is her breath, | |
Thy blood her blood, | |
Thy bone her bone, | |
Thy flesh her flesh, | |
Thy eyes and thy ears | |
Are her eyes and her ears. | |
He who hath found peace | |
With his Earthly Mother | |
Shall never know death. | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Blessed is the Child of Light | |
Who doth seek his Heavenly Father, | |
For he shall have eternal life. | |
He that dwelleth in the secret place | |
Of the Most High | |
Shall abide under the shadow | |
of the Almighty. | |
For he shall give his Angels charge over thee, | |
To keep thee in all thy ways. | |
Know ye that the Lord hath been | |
our dwelling place | |
In all generations. | |
Before the mountains were brought forth, | |
Or ever he had formed | |
The earth and the world, | |
Even from everlasting to everlasting, | |
Hath there been love | |
Between the Heavenly Father | |
And his children. | |
And how shall this love be severed? | |
From the beginning | |
Until the ending of time | |
Doth the holy flame of love | |
Encircle the heads | |
Of the Heavenly Father | |
And the Children of Light: | |
How then shall this love be extinguished? | |
Ye that love thy Heavenly Father, | |
Do ye then his bidding: | |
Walk ye with his Holy Angels, | |
And find thy peace with his Holy Law. | |
For his Law is the entire Law: | |
Yea, it is the Law of laws. | |
Through his Law he hath made | |
The earth and the heavens to be one; | |
The mountains and the sea | |
Are his footstools. | |
With his hands he hath made us | |
And fashioned us, | |
And he gaveth us understanding | |
That we may learn his Law. | |
He is covered with Light | |
As with a garment: | |
He stretcheth out the heavens | |
Like a curtain. | |
He maketh the clouds his chariot; | |
He walketh upon the wings of the wind. | |
He sendeth the springs into the valleys, | |
And his breath is in the mighty trees. | |
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: | |
The strength of the hills is his also. | |
The sea is his, | |
And his hands formed the dry land. | |
All the heavens declare the Glory of God, | |
And the firmament showeth his Law. | |
And to his children | |
Doth he bequeath his Kingdom, | |
To those who walk with his Angels, | |
And find their peace with his Holy Law. | |
Wouldst thou know more, my children? | |
How may we speak with our lips | |
That which cannot be spoken? | |
It is like a pomegranate eaten by a mute: | |
How then may he tell of its flavor? | |
If we say the Heavenly Father | |
Dwelleth within us, | |
Then are the heavens ashamed; | |
If we say he dwelleth without us, | |
It is falsehood. | |
The eye which scanneth the far horizon | |
And the eye which seeth the hearts of men | |
He maketh as one eye. | |
He is not manifest, | |
He is not hidden. | |
He is not revealed, | |
Nor is he unrevealed. | |
My children, there are no words | |
To tell that which he is! | |
Only this do we know: | |
We are his children, | |
And he is our Father. | |
He is our God, | |
And we are the children of his pasture, | |
And the sheep of his hand. | |
He who hath found peace | |
With his Heavenly Father | |
Hath entered the Sanctuary | |
of the Holy Law, | |
And hath made a covenant with God | |
Which shall endure forever. | |
Know this peace with thy mind, | |
Desire this peace with thy heart, | |
Fulfill this peace with thy body, | |
Though heaven and earth may pass away, | |
Not one letter of the Holy Law | |
Shall change or pass away. | |
For in the beginning was the Law, | |
And the Law was with God, | |
And the Law was God. | |
May the Sevenfold Peace | |
Of the Heavenly Father | |
Be with thee always. | |