The Book of Ascension

The Book of Ascension Mystic Inspiration about The Path of Spiritual Ascension from our mortal world to the heavens above. The Essenes of Kosmon (1938)  Chapter the First The suffering in the world is due to man`s cleaving unto the path of evil. This is the way of self and the seven tetracts: which is to say, these seven tetracts are the inheritance of all men born of the earth. Anash--which is persistent stubborness by word or thought, and the delight in destruction. Zimmah--wicked device. Negativing every good thing by holding it up to ridicule. It is the joking evil. Ra-- the delight in being bad; the flesh evil. Belayyal--is worthlessness, inertia. Aven--vanity and self conceit. Dibbah--love of slender and the reporting of evils; the enticing of evil. Satan--the leader of the other six, and is desire for self glorification and ledership to rule over others. Shall we not strive to cleave unto the Path of Light that the tetracts ensnare us not? That we shall not enhance the sorrow and suffering in the world? Yea, even more then this, shall we not by our lives given to holiness and service seek to strengthen the power of the overcoming in the hearts of our fellowmen? So shall the blessed words Amereth and Aheba be known unto mortals, and every soul born into earth shall receive of the Great Forgiveness; that is to say, shall have power to negative the tetracts` influences and find redemption from inherited evil and the tendency to evil. So that when at last men shall cease to multiply evil on earth, the reign of Kosmon truly shall have come. Unto this end let us labour, acknowledging before the Throne of Light our tendency to the enthralment of the tetracts, and being firm in faith, determine never more to turn from the Path, and so advance the glory of the Father on earth. Full well we know, that when we seek the path of declension the spirits of lower Hada seek to enter the sphere of our life, and once taking their abode in our immediate surroundings, how hard it may be to cause them to leave us when we at last truly desire to rise away from earth. 2  Moreover, we by our ascension, aid all those who seek the way of the higher life. It is this thought that inspires us this morn of ascension. Fain would we rise above the limitations of our elemental surroundings. Fain would we seek to unfold in the All Light. Unto this end have we gathered, and putting away the desires of earth, strive to enter the delights of heaven. Jehovih saith : I am to thy spirit as is the sun to a ray of light. I am the light that illumineth thy soul. Therefore let us realise the presence within the soul of spark which is the Creator`s Presence. Magnify and make active this power. Glorify His Holy Name, so shall we live and grow, yea, by the very redemptive power of Aheba shall we change. Even the vital atomic processes shall be quickened, and a new life shall dawn within us. Living in this new world of delight, all that is unholy shall flee away. The serpent shall not bind us to the earth. Let us seek the Light. Let us search diligently, and discover what most we need to aid the unfolding of the soul`s true power, and ardently desiring that which is best, seek the Light in prayer, and on the wheel of Ormazd make an outward and visible sign of the soul`s true desire. Here stand the holy angels of the Presence, those who strive to do the Father`s Will by coming to our aid. Peradventure, by uniting with us they shall in aiding us, further the Kingdom of Light on earth. Theirs is not the glory, the glory is the Father`s. Yet we by our very nature partake of this same glory, and the angels who come to us, ever in that glory shine. Think also of that great resurrection into the higher worlds, of those who, by the very impulse that we give, rise to the higher heights, carried forward by the impetus of grace and the outflowing of the Light. Hard may be the striving, suffering is the way of the cross of creation. Yet the spirit is perfected through trial, and the gods themselves have gone the same path. This is the Path of Attainment, and in it is the glory of individualisation perfected. Let us this day look for strengthening on the path of forthgoing. Let us here await the coming of Aheba, and that same Aheba shall be the very help the angelic company shall bring into our surroundings, strengthening our pupose, aiding our hearts to face the problems of life. The influence they bring shall stay with us. Their souls shall blend with ours, so that this power shall be a lasting power. 3  Thus did our ancient master and teacher, Zarathustra, establish a ready means to our aid. Thus did he command those of his day to set up the wheel of Ormazd, that any who would might pray, that in thus seeking, the way of ministry by the angels in light should be made possible unto mortals. Come therefore, let the heart be centred in the mistery of the redemption. Come, and in this unity make manifest on earth the ministry of angels , and arising out of this service a new song shall gladden the skies, even the song of the redeemed by love. Hail ! 4  Chapter the Second (Harvest) In times of great rejoicing we should seek the Father in prayer. It is not sufficient to confine our supplications to times of perplexity. For what greater need have we than that no matter what grade we may have attained, there are still greater heights unto which we have to climb. Remembering also, that there are those around us that need our help, even our help through prayer. Moreover, are we not aware that there are powers associated with the heights unto which we have attained, and that these powers can be commanded only by those who have reached this at-one-ment with them. Therefore it is written in the Holy Word that those who have attained in some measure are responsible for those who are in the grades below. Prayer directed in a particular way will be more effective in the way it is directed then if addressed in a general way; though the united prayer of those in faith will bring results in proportion to the effort put forth, and the Will of the All Light as touching the matter. By prayer we set the whole universe of soul vibrating with our expressed desire, even as a stone cast into the pool causes the surface to be thrown into rhythmic waves. Yet it is even more then that, it is the identification of ourself with the All One as an expression of His Love, Wisdom and Power. By this coming into at-one-ment the universe of one`s very being is awakened and the soul is free. O child of faith, we have but to rise away from matter to acknowledge that the soul is es, and that He who lives and reigns at the centre and the circumference is indeed He who permeates the whole.Do we not also say that His attributes are Wisdom, Love and Power? We desire that these attributes shall be unfolded within us, so that we often pray Unfold within me Thine attributes O Jehovih, that I may manifest forth Thy Light. That is an all-embracing prayer. Shall we not also ask for whatever may help us in the path of unfoldment? That would be a particular prayer. When we identify ourselves with the Father by faith through prayer, we affirm our sonship with Him. So that it shall come to pass, we being quickened in the Light shall receive of His Love through the ministry of His angels who work to do His Will. 5  Prayer is the lifting up of the heart to the Heavenly Father expressing its inmost desire. The power in prayer lies in the fact that if we put into some form of expression that which we feel, it becomes creative by the power of thought. Faith, which is the affirmation of the heart and mind, when expressed in prayer immediately puts us into attunement with Jehovih. It is as if the whole universe of angelic life hears a note struck at its centre, and the vibrating of this note rang out throughout the whole of the celestial realm. By prayer we start a vibration. By prayer we make manifest the light of faith that is within us. Thus it is that prayer, even momentarily, link us with the source of our origin, Jehovih. Then, for what shall we ask? Pray for what ye will, but let it be direct, soul- centred, without doubt or fear as to that for which ye ask being true and right. Since all things that affect us on the external planes, which maybe described as themes in the order of our destiny or fate, have their origin on the internal planes, it will follow that a direct answer to prayer will quicken the process of our development. So shall we unfold, and our destiny be revealed to us as a scroll that is unrolled before our eyes. So that even as we pray let us rejoice, because to know the Will of the All Light is to rejoice in the Light. To rejoice in the All Light is to dispel all darkness from our eyes. Father! I rejoice in Thee. This joy quickens my soul. The inner fire of pure emotion, free from passion, fear or misgiving, causes the holy ones to draw near, as we are at once companions with them. Their presence becomes an objective reality, and in this association the deeper communion is enhanced. By their radiant presence we are inspired to attain unto the grades of their particular unfoldment, and this means for us transcendence, which in its turn means that we cannot be limited by corporeal things as hitherto, we are now free in the light of heavenly love. The spirits of the lower planes who hitherto had an object in ensnaring us, find that they now have no power to enter into the aura which we have built up. We are free in the light, and so it is that when the harvest has come, and the earth has brought forth its abundance, it is well to rejoice in the bounteousness of the Giver of all gifts. Because, if we do so, we once again identify our relationship with Him in rejoicing. For, He is Joy. 6  To rejoice, to make happy, to look on the bright side of things, is to manifest this joy. Seeing that Jehovih is joy, it will follow that it is creative, since the Father is the Creator. It is this rejoicing, the very delight in being, in living in conscious unity with the Source of life that can at last negative fear, gloom, misgiving and doubt, the great negators. To feel rejoicing, is to start the soul vibrating with spheres of light that produce hatmony, symmetry and music. Men have faced death fearlessly in rejoicing; the martyr has gone to the stake rejoicing.The evil workers for hell have often been confounded by the rejoicing of those in the light. So we lift up our hands and cry O my Father, Thou hast given me a world of delight and in it I would rejoice. The sun riseth each morning and speaks of the renewal of hope. At high-noon, I see how Thou hast blest me with strength and the will to do, and when the shadows of evening fall, I watch the sun sink in the western sky, and sweet peace comes o`er my soul for what the day has brought. In the springtime, the sower went forth trusting in Thy promise, and cast his grain where he had prepared the soil. Then Thou didst send rain and warmth, and slowly the green blades appeared, and in the sun-lit skies of summer days the blades developed and from its depths came forth the ear. Around, I see the world coming into Kosmon. The springtime of Thy great promise is eternally renewed, and the workers in Light are renewed in hope. Now, as we witness the harvest home, the soul sings its cry of rejoicing. Yea, we rejoice, for have we not seen the rainbow arch over the land of Ong, high in the sky like the descending hosts of etherean angels radiant in the glow of mistery? Transfixed I have stood, and the soul has bathed in the tranquil light of the descending and transcending joy, even the rejoicing of angel hosts. Therefore, Father, I rejoice in Thee. Because thou hast blest me I rejoice, yea, I am happy because Thou art my Father unto whom no man can forever attain. I rejoice because Thou hast guided me through the snares and pitfalls of life and that now is the harvest home. 7  Bringing the fruits of my labour to Thy shrine, I swear again to cleave forever unto the Holy Way. Without Thee, O Father, life is dark. Without Thee love is not, for Thou art Life, and Thou art Love, now and forever. --Amen. 8  Chapter the Third Foivitat of Zarathustra saith: When a pure man dieth, his soul for three days remaineth near the head of his corporeal body, reciting prayers and anthems; but on the fourth day he waketh to his condition and riseth and goeth forth. The first living creature he seeth is parodars, a flying person of great beauty. He saluteth her enquiring who she is? She answereth him saying` I am thine own soul and good thoughts. I am the law thou hast builded on the corporeal earth. Behold me I am thyself, and now thou seest thine own self. I am most beautiful because thine earth thoughts were pure. Put away thyself, and come thou and inhabit myself. I am the part that can transcend to Nirvana, the second heaven, thou art the part that dwelleth as a druj, a bound spirit. On the fifth day, the pure man putteth away self and inhabiteth the parodars, and so ascendeth and becometh a lord in heaven. If an evil man die, his soul remaineth at his feet three days. On the fourth it goeth abroad but because of its clouds, it beholdeth not parodars, the smothered bird; but it goeth into places that offend the nose, to the places that offend the ears, to the places that blind the eyes, and like a druj cannot speak truth, cannot find love, cannot learn. Brethren, is it not possible that in walking the devious ways of earth, contacting its influences, prone to its desires, we shall attract unto our path many who have not risen above the bondage? Yet nevertheless, we shall have power in our hands to inspire them to rise above the bondage, or otherwise allow ourselves to become the prey to their depressing influences. The way of the spirit is emancipation. Let us call to mind the words of Sakaya: For it is given unto you by the Father that ye can begin your own resurrection while ye are here in the corporeal body. Consider then what ye can do that will raise you in spirit, for this is resurrection. First to purify yourselves. Second, to do all the good ye can. Third, to affiliate. Without these that can be no resurrection. Therefore, O Brethren, in taking the path of ascension, we shall not only purify our own hearts, but also raise others who may be lingering near the threshold and in our surroundings. Since therefore, these two things are accomplished let us hasten in time to accomplish the Will of the Light within our lives. Above all else do we not desire peace? Yet how often we are distressed by things over which we have no control. 9  Let us hasten to secure the highest peace, and call to mind the words given to us in the Book of the Arc of Bon: The highest peace is the peace of the soul which cometh of the consciousness of having done the wisest and the best in all things according to one`s own light. For after all, is not the earth life but the beginning, wherein we are as in a womb moulding our souls into the condition which will come upon us after death? In which case we should with alacrity seize upon the passing time , and appropriate it to doing righteous works to one another. Yea, this day we will seek the strength that shall give unto us the victory. We will seek this by the holy power of spiritual expression. We will now even in this hour unite with the Angels of the Presence, and seek the light in prayer. Our request, whatever it may be, shall come direct from the heart. Our faith shall be the measure of that we receive. Then going forth by the light of faith, despair, fear, doubt and depression shall flee away, and those who linger on the threshold of life, shall by the living impulse of our aspiration be impelled to climb the heights of spiritual emancipation. So may it be.--Amen. 10  Chapter the Fourth Let us not suppose that the spirits of the dead at all times find eternal peace. The bonds that bind to earth are often severed long after the soul hath taken its departure from the form of clay. The earth draws back again those who are wedded to its lure, the earth and its land of shadows bind by the magnetic chain, those who know no higher world. How then shall one in darkness open the gates of light? Some power, some theme, some impulse given to the soul, some subtle or mighty urging could carry it above its bonds. But when the soul is a stranger to these things, or when it slumbers unawakened to the highr worlds, no mere urging, no mere calling may have the power to arouse. What then is the power which can arouse? we ask: and Kosmon answereth in no uncertain way: That which can the sleeper arouse, that which wakes the slumbering heart, is the ray of light that lightens up the way. The ray is a manifesting of the Word, and since we all are expressions of the Word, we are linked in some arcane way with others who are of that ray which quickened us into earthly being. What is the ray that quickened us into life, into the form that we now hold? It is the power of the stars, the sun, the moon, the might threads of being interwoven into the web of the destiny that is ours. The lineal ray descending to the Kosmon day from time when since the human race began. The lords of light can unfold for us the mistery of the line of light. They found for us the dwelling place. They watched us coming forth into the earthly day. Then linked unto an earthly heritage, impelled by the heritage of Es, we sought the earth, impelled by the two fold ray. One to inspire us on the path of earthly life, one to guide us to the higher way. Where in the past some falterer on our ray �who by some close link is bondman to our soul-failed, then we the reflex of that failure bear; and bearing nobly, shall redeem the soul that gave it heritage. So we O Watchers of the Kosmon Dawn, can influence some, and others influence scarce at all. For only Iesu can quicken all. Will you then, Watchers at the Dawn, call on some one soul to seek the light, and finding in your heart a quickening power, like the lightening`s flash or the comet`s sweep, now send it forth to those who in the darkness dwell. So by the holy power 11 shall the past be redeemed. Even by the light that burns within. As we rise, so shall others rise, by the very impulse of our will, by the inmost seeking of the heart, if also, we in our daily striving overcome, and in out overcoming burn away the dross. This pure, refined gold of life is the treasure we can offer to Him who gave us life. Then to the wheel once more we turn, and on the cross our plea we make that from our path some obstacle shall be removed. Or better far, we in faith and will, that obstacle ourself shall have the power to overcome. Thus in our daily striving on the Path, the soul its strengthening shall receive, and in receiving, we shall impart unto those who sojourn and e`en linger on the way. Yea, let us ask the Father in His Name, that the crowning light of His most Holy Love shall remove all barriers from the way that prevent us from coming to the Light. So shall we grow strong in faith, so shall we affirm by His most holy Name. So shall we treasure up the gold that shall change the darkness into the light of day. Thus in the Ascensional Mass we seek the Light once more, and by the power of the Holy Word become renewed in faith and love. Hence, as we aspire, our hearts resound in unison with the mighty song of joy. That song which set the suns aglow with living fire. The song that brings the smiling earth to give plenty, beauty, a bounteous store. The song the angel hosts forever sing. The song that welleth to the skies. The song of blessedness for all. The song of those redeemed by love. Aheba-Ave. Amereth-Hail. 12  Chapter the Fifth (New Year) Every new beginning is a renewal of hope, and a constant renewal carries us on day by day until time is resolved into eternity. Each stage of the journey is marked by some incident which, in itself, is the climax of many little incidents, just as the seconds of time compose the minutes and minutes the hours. Just as every effect has had a cause, so the effects of things that are past are causes of things that shall yet be. Everything that is to be is conditioned by everything that has been. This truth opens our eyes to the great mistery of destiny and it would truly seem that the deeds we do live after us. Bearing this fact in mind, we perceive that we are each individually responsible for the things that are to be; this also reminds us of the words of Oahspe as touching the grades of resurrection : He that serveth himself one half and serveth others one-half shall stand grade fifty. He that serveth himself three-quarters and others one-quarter shall stand grade twenty-five. He that serveth himself one-quarter and others three-quarters shall stand grade seventy-five. He that serveth himself only, shall stand grade one. He that serveth others wholly shall stand grade ninety-nine; and whoso serveth accordingly himself or others, shall stand in grade even as his works manifest. Applying this teaching to those who have lived and toiled on earth and who have now left this plane of physical manifestation, we shall see that many who have died even within our own recollection, must have died low in the grades. Peradventure, many are thus still tied by the bonds that bind to earth. But for them there is hope. For them resurrection and ascension in the grades is possible. It is possible because they can start even now to serve others. And even in joyful service, can serve humanity still toiling on the earth plane. Perhaps today there are some with us who have lingered in the grades, who would fain now rise to height of wisdom, love and power, but who cannot do so until they too have learned to serve. The plan of resurrection is by service; it is in service to All Light, and the service to others is service to the one All Light. How sweet this thought at the opening of a new year. It is a thought that shall stir us to fresh endeavor. It is a thiught that will quicken a new hope within our souls. 13 It will promp us to turn from the past to live in the present, that a bright future may ever be unfolding before us. The Faithist believes, and truly so, that every good thought, every good deed, yea every kind word, advances him in the grades.This is the ever turning unto Jehovih; and if we turn unto Him every day we shall not be far from Him in the end. So instead of repining on the way over things that might have been , we renew our covenant each day, determining constantly to turn from evil and strive to do good. And in this silent affirmation of the heart, we create conditions for the power of the angelic world to work the will of Jehovih. Then His messengers come guided by the star that ever leads to the cradle of fresh endeavour, even the star of true initiation. Bright star of hope, shine on until at last this hope has been realised and my soul enters the fulness of etherean bliss, in the day of its final and glorious emancipation. Esfoma, I see thee, and in seeing cry aloud, All hail! 14  Chapter the Sixth Thor said: To induce men and angels to find the way of resurrection, this is the greatest of all teaching. Man saith: O God, raise up thy servant. And the Lord saith: Hold up thy hands, and I will lift thee up. But man will not. Man saith: Send wise and holy angels to me , O Lord, to guide me in righteousness and good works. And the Lord saith: As thou asketh of God, even so do thou to thy fellows. But man will not. As is with man on earth, even so do we find it in Hada..... To teach him to undo all his past, and to make full restitution unto others, this is the work of Gods and Lords over spirits of darkness, The greatest of all teaching is to induce men and angels to find the way of resurrection. This fact is eternally true, and includes the making of full restitution unto others. Since to begin the Second Resurrection is to unite in a Brotherhood, we can see that a manifold labour on the path of attainment includes making restitution by labouring for others on the path of ascension, and this by uniting in a Brotherhood to that end. What kind of a Brotherhood shall this be? Shall it be a brotherhood that cares only for the physical welfare of mankind? Or shall it be one that cares equally for the spiritual as well as the physical welfare? Again, by advancing the spiritual welfare are we not equally advancing the physical welfare of man? Does not the higher govern, or at least include the lower? The spiritual includes the physical. We shall discover this through angel communion. We shall find the key to ascension by associating with the angels of ascension. The great fact of angelic communion has revealed to us again and again that we should reach up to the angelic states rather then we should expect them to descend to our plane. Not that they will not do this, but that the better way is to reach up to them. Whilst we are in the world, we are not conscious of the bondage of the earth plane, excepting that we feel in some particular way the call of that which keeps us from aspiring to the higher worlds. But out of the body we shall become acutely conscious of the earth-bond: because we are no longer in material embodiment, yet find that we cannot enter fully the life of spiritual experience. 15 If, however , we earnestly strive after the exalted goal of attainment, we shall find that the earth-bond naturally becomes less and less powerful, and that the spiritual life becomes more and more an actual realisation. To those who have in some measure attained to this realisation, the power is given to assist others to reach up to the ready sources of their own aid. The particular angels of our individual specific life ray will reach down to, and assimilate with us, so that those forces which belong to the inner planes of our starry destiny, will naturally conform to the will of those who have in any measure transcended them. The great principle of growth is to receive and impart, and this applies equally in spiritual as in corporeal things. We shall give even as we have received, of that very power which has aided us to the present point of our unfoldment. How shall we know to whom to extend the help of the prayer of faith? How shall we find the dwellers beyond the veil whom we fain would guide to the higher way? Now the answer to this is by affirming that it is the solar way. Even as the sun is to the light of day, so is Jehovih to the understanding of all the living. Jehovih through His Light shall make manifest by His Holy Word the power of the voice, , that when we pray for those who are in darkness, the soul shall impart an impulse to all those who are in association through this immaterial attraction. A line of light shall go out from the inmost centre of our being unto those who are on our path or ray of descent. Yea, those who throng life`s gateway....those who dog the footsteps of the pure as well as the impure. Those who are in the bonds unto Uz and confined in the dregs of lower Hada will feel this radiant message, and a pure desire will thrill their hearts....their resurrection is made possible for them. It is difficult O sons and daughters of radiant power, to take up such a task as this? To be consistent, yea, to be insistent in the seeking to raise up those who are ruled over by the darkness. What a life`s work this will be for some who care to undertake it. Make this your path, ye that seek the way of resurrection--the noble path of attainment. Make it a part of your life`s mission and the germ of happiness will increase in the soul because its power will be reflected back from those who have been aided by your prayers. 16  Slowly yet surely the consciousness will unfold on the inner planes of glory. Yes, brethren, just as the day follows the night, so will the night time of the soul give place to the sweet assurance of the spiritual reality of the presence of angels. The day of uprising will come, and the Sun of the soul will illuminate the path by its radiant splendour. You shall live, and live unto the renewal of grace constantly. Around about this world there falls A shadow from the underworld, A cry of terror rends the air A stigma mars the beauty of the fair. There is no crown without a cross, there is no gain without a loss. But, who would live to himself alone? Or kill to gain a lordly throne? When once the sun of righteousness hath found the waking soul to bless. ___________________________ The shadow from the underworld- When the banner of light shall be unfurled, by the sons and daughters in Light who come- Shall pass away in the harvest home of souls redeemed through Amereth Of love that triumphs over death. There is a cross that is a cross of light And in the loss of earth we gain a height. 17  Chapter the Seventh (vernal equinox) Just as the rising sun ushers in another day, even so, O seeker on the path, the dawn of a new life is a newer understanding of the Great Spirit. This understanding is the awakening of the heart which has hitherto slumbered in the sleep of not knowing. To start to know the Great Spirit is the putting aside of all limitations of consciousness, and the opening of the heart to atunement with all his creations. We have felt sympathy before, but to feel sympathy and not know why, is to be confused by our own limitations. But, now we understand that His great Love Who created us has created all, because His love is life, and we are a part of the Universal Life. Planethary sympathies, yea, and more; sympathies with everything that lives-- a seeking for corresponding harmonies. These sympathies are an effort of the soul to find the joy from which it is alien. It is the desire for at-one-ment; and just as we reach up, so do the angels of the ascension reach down to us. Therefore look up to them in this awakening. They will enable us by the power that their presence inspires to master the seven tetracts, and in this mastery we shall be lifted up. Behold then in the awakening the quickening of the faculties that belong to the spirit self, and with this quickening a new consciousness of the self appears. It is here that we need self abnegation. It is when we discern the many as one, that the door of salvation from the great illusion is open wide. So does the elder brother of the Lodge cry out at dawn: All was. All is All ever shall be. So shall he who sees that the many are one, find a throbbing note in the universe, and cry aloud with the elder brother: All things have speech. This then is the awakening: when the heart begins to feel that something lives within which is eternal, and there is no death. This something stirring within has been called the Breath of Dawn; and this first breath of awakening will quicken the voice within, even the silent voice; and peace shall come, and distruction hurt no more the gossamer threads of the spirit`s garment. Then will the soul feel sympathy for suffering, but let not the soul be cast down because of suffering. 18  When the heart responds to the call of love, then let not the soul become immersed in that which is unlovely, lest the sky become o`er cast with the clouds of illusion, and in seeing not clearly, mistake the shadow for the substance. Over and above all there is One, and His all-seeing Eye is ever upon us. There is no separation save the illusion of separateness; and there are three spiritual resurrections which will take us out of the valley of the illusion, the realm of Uz. When the three resurrections have been consummated in our spiritual unfoldment, we shall know the love adorable in all its fulness. And then before us stretches the vastness of the great emancipation whose final goal is Nirvanic bliss. O OM! Receive us. I once stood in the pronaos of a temple and I found the door within was close, and turning, found one by my side who said to me Why turn back? And I answered, Behold, the door is closed and locked, and as I looked at him my desire to go in was greater then ever. Then he took a key from under his cloak, and after he had explained the key, he bade me put it in the lock and turn it, saying that he also desired to enter. Wondering why he had not turned the key himself, I did as he commanded, when lo! The door opened, and I saw the courts within, even to the innermost, with its seven branched candlestick. On looking around I found my guide had gone, but since he had told me that love was the key, and that he had bestowed it unto me, I felt happy , and lo! All around me shone the dawn. Someday, I shall see again him who bestowed unto me the key, but not till I reach the chamber wherein the Master sits surrounded by his disciples. Let any who hear in hearing understand. This love of which we speak is heavenly, and such is its potency that it can change base metal into gold--and who are or what shall change the heart of the world? Tis when the Iesu come, messengers of love, the love that faileth not, that ever lightens up the inner chamber. May the dawning of a new life for us, be the harbinger of the dawn of the new light in the world, even unto its redemption. Salutation in the name of the ONE. 19  Chapter the Eighth (Hidan) The glowing splendour of the summer sun perfects the growing harvests. Even so, O sojourner on the path of forthgoing, is Jehovih unto the soul. He is the Sun of our life. In His Life we live. In Him we have our being. But how may we comprehend this living in Him as apart from living separate from Him? Here, O worshipper, is the mystery of the knowledge of the great unity. We think of Him as One unto Whom we must aspire , desiring before all else at-one- ment with Him. At the same time, realising that there is a power seated in the soul which is from Him, yet which enables us to approach Him in the fulness. This immanence of being is a power of His Love in expression so we are not perfect unto that state where self is lost in the All Self, but we have that power to become perfect. This power ever acting as an impulse, urges us on every moment of our life. When we have awakened fully to a consciousness of this power, and moreover, when we move according to the behest of this impulse, then are we hastening the day of that consummating when the self is merged into the All Self. This wonderful attaining accomplished as it is in stages is more and more the stilling of heart and mind by the great peace, sometimes called the holy mother love. It is a feeling of wonderful and spiritual security. Fear of the world, fear of failure, fear of loss of health, fear of death; all these pass away and become as naught. The consciousness of a great overshadowing becomes more and more real; and with this realisation we receive constant tokens of the ministry of angels. When we have entered this true peace of the heart and felt this holy love embracing us--when O disciple, we are stepping out firmly on the Emeth path, then have we entred the Hidan state of our unfolding in the All One. And this is the summer of our mystic life. This is the Summerland of our great delight. Holy is he who giveth thee the key. Perfected unto holiness art thou who receiveth it. There is no consciousness apart from light, and he who is in the darkness of the abyss shines as a sun in that degree of splendour comparable to the state he is in. A little light in a dark place place may wholly illuminate the darkness, whereas in the light of day, its illumination is imperceptible. 20  Therefore, if we take to heart this teaching, we shall see that so long as one has consciousnees so long has that one light. The more we enlarge in the light, and become merged in the grater splendour, the more do we share in the All Consciousness. What man is happy in isolation? Who loves to be separated from the things loved? Whether the things loved be gems, flowers, children or stars? So then our most earnest desire will be to help those whose light seemeth great against the darkness of the abyss. We want no limitations of consciousness. We want the limited to enter the larger and fuller light, even the Hidan splendour--the sublimity of an immortal love. May all those who are limited in their ideas and ideals of spiritual association, come out into this fuller, this vaster rapture; and the perfection of an everlasting joy will dispel the caotic mists of the departing night of ignorance. I will seek the harmonious in everything that is right. I will not forever dwell on the dark side of things . That which I do not now understand I shall grow to know as I grow into the at-one-ment. Then the great joy will never leave. Then the great love will constantly surround me. Then also shall my understanding be open even as a book is open. Then shall I dwell in the light of Hidan. Anubis, thou shalt weigh my heart against a feather, and if I fail in my firm resolve, then may the darkness chide me with its loneliness. Come unto me, Aheba, and give me rest. -- Amen. 21  Chapter the Ninth Sometimes the seeker asks : Does Jehovih care for his children? How can we answer this question otherwise than by affirming our at-one-ment with Him? Before we were born, even when our earthly habitation was being prepared for us , His Lords had prepared the plan of our destiny; but they did not create this destiny, the cross of fate from which there is no appeal. The destiny was and is in accordance with the order of the universe of which we are living units. This order is harmony. Then asks the seeker: Is this destiny, this order which is a harmony, the cause of my sorrow, pain, fear and even death? And the great angel of the overshadowing answers: Beloved of earth, be rid of the idea of time, because this order, this harmony was in the beginning and in the beginning was the Word. The Word is being expressed not in time, but time is the effect of the expression of the Word-Creation. Hence, thy life is the coming into expression of this harmonious whole, and as sorrow and joy, pain and happiness, are so strangely mingled, it is due to the birthing of thy higher self which shall trascend even time. Even so, in this coming into a unity from which we are now separate, we shall experience joy unending. Man multiplies things which bring sorrow and pain; the angels are forever counteracting the effects of this. Out of disorder, order is created, and finally men arise and become as gods. Does Jehovih know of my sorrow, my pain? Let us answer this by saying: I am part of the whole. Jehovih dwells within me, He knows. Can He, or will He help me? He manifests Himself through His creations. Therefore He is my Ever-Present Helper. How will He help me? When I realise that he is within all, beyond yet over all, then by faith His Will is made manifest, and doubt and fear depart away. So by prayer I again make manifest this faith, and love creates a new force within the soul, and the higher destiny, even that of angelhood, sets to naughts may cares and pains. 22  So I come again to Thee, source of my origin, hope of my soul; and here with me are the angels of the Presence of God who read the scroll, mystic horoscope of my eternal destiny. Someday when I stand out in the starry firmament of the angel lands and all about me are those who have been by love redeemed, then I shall say: All was well.` So today I renew my my covenant to put not my trust in earthly things, but to turn again the wheel of the holy Sangha and to recite the sacred words of power. To rest my mind on the jewel of the holy word; my trust in the power of the holy law. Therefore, in the solemn hour of this the renewal of my vow, come to me beloved brothers of the mystic ray, come and help me on the path, and teach me above all else, O teach me patience. I put my trust in Thee, Ormazd. I pin my hope on the power of Thy Word. I revere the Order of the Lords of Light. I am not alone. I rest myself on Thee, O Father.My thoughts shall be directed by Thee. Calm and filled with repose my soul. Passive and filled with light my heart. To those who are blind, the light is naught. To those who have eyes to see, the light is all. Open Thou mine eyes that I may see, and in seeing doubt no more. O Om, I come to Thee. 23  Chapter The Tenth If we were to await the awakening of the best within us before we sought the light in prayer, then we would have missed so much that would have helped us in our need. If we pray only when in distress or sorrow, then do we seemingly make the Light our servant and not the Lord of everlasting Day. Who will cavil at the Light knowing that there is a way of understanding life`s trials as a means of gaining strength? Prayer will aid us in our rejoicing to realise a greater joy. Prayer will aid us in our sorrow to gain relief from suffering. Unfulfilled wishes do not always mean unanswered prayer. Oftimes the Father cometh in a way we wot not of. There is a power in prayer, and every time we pray we evoke this power ; and right at our doors, this power lies, we may use it if we will. Again and anon, the watchers at the gate stand by our side. Do we feel their presence only when we rejoice, or do we feel them in the hour of our need? Is their presence a reality we have sought, or do we but vaguely apprehend their coming? Let us break down the barriers of the physical obduracy. Let us triumph by the power that comes through prayer. If there is a problem, then pray the father that its solution may be revealed to you . The angels knowing that we desire their aid, will gladly help us by every means at their command. But we make the conditions. We mingle our flame with theirs. Constant prayer focuses the mind toward the Father. By constantly turning to Him we awaken the higher self. O that every worshipper, every seeker, might realise this! We make, we mould by every act born of right desire. Do we desire aright? Who is there that could always desire aright while shrouded in materiality? Let our prayer constantly be : May I desire aright. Yet often we are troubled to know what a right desire may be. Often something we have wished for when granted unto us deceives us. Again,beloved, it is the truth that right desire comes from freedom. Freedom comes through spiritual unfoldment. Unfoldment is preceded by the awakening. O that we might be awakened instead of groping for things that are illusory. 24  So now has come again the morning hour when hope has been renewed with the rising of the sun. Again we will seek the Light in prayer, and over and above all our prayer shall be : May I be awakened in Thy Love, O mighty Builder of creation`s order. The world has called me ; I have seen its substance and its shadow. The earth is beautiful, if only men had eyes to see its beauty. But who could find its beauty without first finding Thee, Sun of my Soul? My past. I leave behind, I begin anew. I take fresh heart because I know the angels will guide me: and if I be sensitive to their guiding love, and if my faith is fixed on Thee, then they will fail me never. The wheel of the Order is a symbol of truth. I will be true, O One All Light. Yet in the world where darkness sometimes reigns, I may lose my way unless some hand is there to guide me. Quicken my spirit with a power of true discernment that I may know when angels guide. Thou, O Father shall be my strength, my strong house in the time of storm. There is no darkness when fear is banished Give me faith that I may know the way. Thus it is beloved seekers, that everytime we turn to the wheel, which is the Law of righteousness made evident, we once again adjust the forces within, and all around us. Once again we claim the freedom, treading the earth with silent feet. No man shall feel the weight of my arm upon him, yet will I run to the afflicted anf lift them up. Softly the air flows through the sacred channels of the fire. Softly it stirs the warmth of a might love. Soon I shall see and, in seeing, know. But now to realise that all about me are those who stand watching at the gate. Father, I breathe a prayer today: May those who are unredeemed from misdeeds that the past has wrought, find e`en this day some power that shall lift them unto Thee, Peace, O Brethren, peace. 25  Chapter the Eleventh God said: ...whoso doth a good work in truth, righteousness, wisdom and love, my only angels are commanded to extend their sphere of usefulness and light. When we survey the magnitude of the created universe, our souls rise in exaltation at the vastness of it all. There is a mighty something which appears to elude our grasp. This something is the meaning of the universe. Yet away back in the recesses of our mind, we are seemingly conscious of the meaning. However, now that we have awakened into a knowledge of the truth--our relationship with the universe and each other--we turn instinctively to the path of works. We want to express the power of Light that now moves within us. We have seen the glories of the father, and we at once desire to show them onto others. But the world is indifferent. We speak but are not heard; we strive to draw others into the way of Light, but our efforts seem in vain. Of what use then is this path of works? We come this holy day to seek the Light in prayer; peradventure, some ray of truth shall be vouch safed to us even come to us from God. Whose doth a good work in truth, righteousness, wisdom and love, my holy angels are commanded to extend their sphere of usefulness and light. Here then let us seek to know what we can best do. Ask help on it even at the shrine, and according to the promise of God, even so will the holy angels extend it. We have to begin and to begin in faith. Through faith is all power and glory attained. There is someone for whom we can pray this morning. By our prayer we shall create within their aura a manifestation of spiritual activity. The angels who minister will find this activity and minister through it. We have thus begun to work. It is a simple theme. It is bound to bring a good result. Sometimes one is held down through adverse spirit or drujic influence. Without stopping to ask the cause of this adversity, our prayer on that one`s behalf will be the means of breaking the drujic bond. Someone may be averse to us. We may desire that the aversion should cease. Prayer to that end will start the powers of harmony into a rythmic manifestation through prayer radiations; the rest is clear. 26  Thus do we begin our efforts on the path of good works, and it is like the dawn of a new day after a night that has been shrouded in the blackest gloom--the darkness of non-knowledge. Desiring good for others brings a reflex back to us, and e`en before the prayer is finished the answer has returned. Awaken, heart of mine, there is a new hope that adorns the life; it is by seeking we shall find the origin, and grope a way back to the meaning of it all. Some day on starry heights we shall sing the song of exaltation because we gained the ascension through service given to others. Some day we shall see the little thread of gold that bound us unto others even when we were unconscious of it. I feel a strange power steals o`er my soul, it is the light of eternity calling, and fain would I awayand in sweet detachment dwell. But wait, O heart of mine, there is someone yet we must seek out and help on redemption`s way. Let us go together. To labour with thee is sweet indeed. 27  Chapter the Twelfth. When some dark happening distresses the heart and mind of those who would fain see a brighter and happier world they cry aloud: Is the effort worth while? The sun shines, the flowers open their petals to its beams, the birds sing among Nature`s garment of green Is the effort worth while? The child opens its eyes at the wonder of it all, as yet unable to grasp the meaning of its first sensations, only vaguely conscious that it needs a mother. The man with consciousness of self asks the meaning of want, sin, suffering and death. A cloud hangs over the world and oppresses it. O for some great sage to tell us the meaning of it all. Yet it needs no sage to tell us that happiness is possible. The birds sing amongst the folds of Nature`s garment. The winged insects seek the heart of the flower. The child vaguely grasping the first meanings, cries aloud with sheer delight of being. The germ of happiness is within every soul. Is it possible to remove the cloud of obsession that oppresses the world? Ever and anon the seeker cries: Give me light. Here then is the key. Our first effort to remove sin, sorrow, suffering, want and crime is to remove the cause of those things. If the evil that men do lives after them, how does it live? Trascendental science teaches how evil lives. Impressed on the soul of things are thoughts, words and acts, as if by some subtle process the ethe caught them up and made them live. These living elemental forces are caught in the web of life, and lo, suffering and crime are made manifest in the flesh again. Weaker mortals born with hereditary tendencies, respond to these subtle powers and crime is the result. Strong men and martial withal, delight in war, and war makes these energies living vortices of hate, death dealing. There is a legend, perhaps tis true, that long ago there was a fair land on which men saw truth flourish; they dwelt in love, and worshipped sincerely. Then self arose, and some say that false priests seeking only their own ends despoiled the beauty of this fair paradise. Then came sin and sorrow and death from diseases, until finally the land was swallowed up in a vast seismic disturbance, and the waters closed over that fair 28 place. But alas, the evil lived in the soul of things, lived on, strangely mingled with the good. Then in another part of the world, there arose a body of initiates who sought to restore the light of love, purity and truth. For many years one branch of the brotherhood lived in Egypt. All through its long dinasties they laboured. Kings reigned and passed away, false lights waxed and waned. They laboured and worked on with all energy of their hidden hope to restore the earth to purity and truth again. Egypt, thou didst give to us of thine ancient sciences, the misteries of colour, harmony and form. Revealed the Science of numerology, the key to rules in architecture. Symbols of song that move in tune with the starry sphere above. And then within the crypts of wondrous build, thine adepts left the body in trance and learned the misteries of the unseen worlds. Year by year rose the waters of the Nile, bringing nourishment to the growing grain. The birds nested among the rushes, the same sun shone on the golden sands as year succeeded year. Today the sun shines on thine ruins, O Egypt, land of our fathers. Yet, it is well, it is well, for the Brotherhood still lives, working still to remove obsessing evils. Working to restore psychic health and power of resistance to evil. Seeking to make potent the link between man and his higher self. Working from the higher planes of spirit, they send out through the ethe, vast and mighty tones of rhythmic and soul cleansing energies, awakening within the heart the song of seeking. Isis seeking her stricken lord. The soul seeking its higher power. They labour on knowing that Osiris has risen, that Ptah was a symbol of the life-builders, and that the great mother-love ever broods over all. Knowing that some day man shall be free, that the past shall be wholly redemeed; that sin shall pass away. So labour the grat ones for the well-being of the race. Shall we not link our hands in theirs? The birds sing in the branches proclaiming life and happiness. Men ask: What is the use of war? The physician fights disease and triumphs calling the ancient science to his aid. The song of the beloved is heard throughout the land. The growth of knowledge in man is Jehovih. He, Jehovih is the All One. 29  Life is continous and love is everlasting, for there is no death. The rain falls, then the sun shines, and lo, a rainbow in the sky appears. Our earthly life is but a little span, the life of Es is a higher call. The child becomes the man and wonders still, in wondering he seeks, in seeking strives, until at last all things become as new, for the well being of others urges him on. The ancient masters overshadow and quicken the theme. Nature sings her chant of praise. There is a rainbow in the sky, it is the sign of Spe-ta; the rejoicing of those who have attained--attained emancipation through ascension. Brothers, let us also find the way. Amen. Amen. Amen Ra. 30  Chapter the Thirteenth Out of the great night of spiritual desolation the soul cries for light. Yet no reply comes save the echo of the cry from the surrounding rocks of materialism. Efforts to climb beyond the set boundaries of the material environment are thwarted by the limitations of heredity. What is our hope if all our efforts are met with opposition? Those who guide us often themselves need more then we a guide. Shall we calmly wait for the end and trust to the relief that death may give? There come to us words of wisdom uttered by the teachers who have from time to time appeared and talked with men. There is a way: the key is Transcendence. Cease wrestling with the physical. Listen not to the call of senses, and now for one brief hour live in the abnegation of the material world. Then softly shall come to the soul the inner consciousness of the Unseen, like some sweet zephyr that greets the traveller on a hot and dusty road. The material world by its very contiguity has affirmed its existence, and we have forgotten to listen to the still small voice within; and as the spiritual light burned low so passed away the hope which is eternal. Once again would I turn my weary steps homeward, and with a faith renewed, strive to gain the heights of freedom from the material plane. There once lived in eastern lands a holy brotherhood known by name as the Essenes. In holiness and purity of life lived they, giving up wordly things and seeking trascendence in meditation, prayer and soul communion. In joy of the interior life they lived until there ap [... excerpt truncated; full document held on file, contact an admin for the complete text ...]