IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 658

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART CCXLVII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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There was a point in my own Life where I thought that I could be a disciple of the Master while still conducting my Life in this world according to the ways of the world but I did come to realize the folly of my premise, to use the term from our discussion on the Buddha. Of course I am not alone in this folly as there are many who do believe that this IS possible and there are teachings that promote this rather impossible possibility. The correction of my own understanding comes from rightly discerning the words of the Master as His instructions on this aspect of Life are clear and concise and we have been meaning to address these again for quite some time, ever since we premised that the ideas that the Master puts forth need not be accomplished from the perspective and living an ascetic Life but by living in such a way that we prudently take what we need for living in a “take no thought” (Luke 12:22) way. We should understand here that this is just a part, albeit a necessary part of True discipleship, and that there is still the reality of keeping His words in their entirety of which this idea of “take no thought” is but one aspect.

It is however a most important aspect for those who Truly expect to be accounted worthy in any particular Lifetime and we should understand the following in this respect:

• Not ALL men are ready at this time, in this particular Lifetime, to accomplish this goal as they are not attentive at all to the promptings of the Soul but are working out whatsoever must be worked out in the Life in form in which they are involved. This premise is far beyond our own understanding of Life but from the reality of the range of different ‘styles’ of Life that we see today in the world, we can see that this IS a valid theory. We should understand at the same time that this CAN BE accomplished in short time by any who CAN so take that control of their Life, strive as the Master tells us, in the world that they can overcome the illusion and the glamour but we should understand that in the complexity of Life there are many who have not yet gained that ability to put mind before emotion and for these this IS likely a more difficult endeavor than it is for those who CAN and DO think along the more spiritual lines. Here we remember that the Master tells us of this difficulty saying: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). We use this saying often to help us to understand the difficulty and here we use it to emphasize that should one strive, ALL things ARE possible. However, for the unthinking man whose Life is governed by emotion there is little likelihood that this will be accomplished except in that rather unknown arena of devotion, devotion strong enough by the suited person that he CAN and DOES overcome the world through keeping His words and this likely is the method taken and used by many in the past. We should note here that the criteria DOES NOT  change….one MUST still keep His words.
• There are many who are more ready to enter into the right relationship with their own Souls as the ‘reward’ for past accomplishment, past spiritual collateral, which brings a man to a more ready position to hear and to heed his own Soul. For the most part this is done blindly at first and can start at an early age and in this select category of men there is still the need to heed the call; and heeding the call IS NOT the end all, it is a beginning. There is still the matter of Repentance and then Transformation which can occur in fits and starts throughout one’s Life and never amount to any real advancement but, at the same time can add to that spiritual collateral that one may have. Heeding the call of the Soul and KNOWING the direction that one must travel is much different than doing so as the man is yet in this world and the difficulty that the Master tells us of is still in play….and, there is still the need to strive. There is the need as well that the man recognize the illusion and the glamour of the world and in this recognition, put himself into a position to understand the duality that ensues and, in the effort to continually make the right choices and right decisions, we can see the reality of striving. There need not be any understanding this illusion and glamour by name but just the general reality that one’s thoughts and feelings that are of and for the self, ARE of the world. We should note here that it IS NOT the place of any man to KNOW the state of his brother nor to judge others based upon one’s view of what and where another might be.
• There are yet others who have been able to take the ideas in the previous point to Repentance, others who ARE Transforming and who understand that reality of what they are doing as they strive to keep His words and it is in this group that we find ourselves as aspirants. This is also NOT and end, it IS a means to one’s continued advancement toward the strait gate that opens into the Kingdom and here there is yet much to do before one can say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And, one can fall from ‘grace’ while in this conditional state of the aspirant, one can fall back into the ways of the world, attracted by the illusions and the glamours which so obnubilate his reality, and there is much on this in the words of the Buddha that we have been studying over the last several posts. This is a difficult position as when one does go back to focus upon the self and the world, he can be entombed for the remainder of his Lifetime or until another round of Repentance becomes possible and in this we can see our idea of fits and starts. The Master tells us something about the man who goes back saying: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” and we should see in these words the difficulty that one may face having lost for a time all that he may have previously gained. In this same series of sayings from the Master we find as well this one which tells us of the necessity to be singular in one’s focus upon the Kingdom; Jesus tells us: “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” in response to the aspirants request that asks “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father” (Luke 9:62, 59-60). We should see in these words the totality of one’s commitment as it rises above the worldly attachments, even above family as we have read in His requirement for discipleship.
• Another group exists who are disciples of the Master, disciples of the Christ Within, which IS to say that they ARE keeping His words and this even if they never heard of Him nor have heard His word, as this impetus to the Good, the Beautiful and the True stems from one’s own Soul. The reality of hearing the words of the Master is NOT the Way but a means to the Way and they bring the attention of the man in the world away from the self in the world and toward the God of whom the Master speaks. This of course can be said about most any Truly spiritual teaching, from most any True religious leader who himself is keeping the words of the master within. and from the teachings of every Avatar that has ever served to help free us from the vanity of this world. There are disciples ALL over this Earth and, as the Master tells us, “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20) and this should be understood in this context as well as in the negative context in which it is offered. Repeating some ideas from a previous post here should serve to further clarify our understanding and we should remember here that this is but our understanding of the meaning of these words, that the True disciple IS that High Calling that begins in keeping His words and ends in the rare and unique ability to, in the Master’s words: “say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20). These words from previous essays are from the works of our Tibetan brother who tells us those words that are italicized; the balance are our thoughts:

  • We are told by one of the Masters that a whole generation of enquirers may only produce one adept. We proceeded to point out that the adept can be seen by us as the disciple as he is described by the Christ, the one who forsakes ALL and the one who keeps ALL of the words of the Master; this is not the simple learning boy as the word is commonly understood to mean. The Master is quite clear on this distinction. With this in mind let us look at the full text of this statement on the adept which is a part of an explanation of the idea of Enquire the Way. The text goes thus:

    • Enquire the Way. We are told by one of the Masters that a whole generation of enquirers may only produce one adept. Why should this be so? For two reasons:

      • First, the true enquirer is one who avails himself of the wisdom of his generation, who is the best product of his own period and yet who remains unsatisfied and with the [Page 584] inner longing for wisdom unappeased. To him there appears to be something of more importance than knowledge and something of greater moment than the accumulated experience of his own period and time. He recognises a step further on and seeks to take it in order to gain something to add to the quota already gained by his compeers. Nothing satisfies him until he finds the Way, and nothing appeases the desire at the centre of his being except that which is found in the house of his Father. He is what he is because he has tried all lesser ways and found them wanting, and has submitted to many guides only to find them “blind leaders of the blind”. Nothing is left to him but to become his own guide and find his own way home alone. In the loneliness which is the lot of every true disciple are born that self-knowledge and self-reliance which will fit him in his turn to be a Master. This loneliness is not due to any separative spirit but to the conditions of the Way itself. Aspirants must carefully bear this distinction in mind.

      • Secondly, the true enquirer is one whose courage is of that rare kind which enables its possessor to stand upright and to sound his own clear note in the very midst of the turmoil of the world. He is one who has the eye trained to see beyond the fogs and miasmas of the earth to that centre of peace which presides over all earth’s happenings, and that trained attentive ear which (having caught a whisper of the Voice of the Silence) is kept tuned to that high vibration and is thus deaf to all lesser alluring voices. This again brings loneliness and produces that aloofness which all less evolved souls feel when in the presence of those who are forging ahead.

    • A paradoxical situation is brought about from the fact that the disciple is told to enquire the Way and yet there is none to tell him. Those who know the Way may not speak, knowing that the Path is constructed by the aspirant as the spinner spins its web out of the centre of his own being. Thus only those souls flower forth into adepts in any specific generation who have “trodden the winepress of the wrath of God alone” or who (in other words) have worked out their karma alone and who have intelligently taken up the task of treading the Path.**

While the whole of this outline is not intended to be a compilation of the stages of man in the world today, it is nonetheless a guideline to the relative nature of the man in the world from a spiritual perspective and we would go so far as to say that the opportunities for True spiritual advancement have never been greater than they are in our more mentally focused humanity today. Today we CAN and DO see with greater clarity the futility of worldly pursuits and many CAN and DO see this without religion in this rather secular world. There are many in the world today for whom the reality of “love thy neighbor” is a working ethic in their Lives and these men are spread across ALL religions and NO religion as well.

While it was our intention to expound upon the ideas on the Master’s admonition to “take no thought and to relate this to our understanding of the Master’s pronounced criteria for discipleship which is to forsake ALL, we did not quite get there and it is from here that we will pick up in the next post. We should however keep our focus upon Love which IS the central point of ALL that we are saying here regardless of whether we have used the word or not as this IS the central point in the teachings of the Master as well.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	Potency	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Great Invocation	In relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life	Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within	Heart of God	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within	Mind of God	Way

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

Staying on the theme of Love we repeat again the sayings of the Apostle Paul that put this Love into perspective.

But earnestly desire the best gifts.

And yet I show you a more excellent way.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,

I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy,

and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,

and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,

but have not love, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

and though I give my body to be burned,

but have not love, it profits me nothing.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13,13

(New King James Version)

Regardless of our daily theme, the underlying theme of our posts and of this entire blog is Love. In these words from Paul we should be able to see the overriding importance of Love in the Life of each of us. This is a common theme throughout the gospels and the other writings of the apostles and a theme that is not nearly understood. In our theme today regarding Paul’s writings to the Romans and in the previous discussions on them we seek to impart the better understanding of the reality of Life, the Life of the True man as the Christ Within, the Soul, as it is from this perspective that we can gain that revelation of Truth and, as Paul says above, be free from the condemnation and the vanity of Life in form, free from the illusion and the glamour. We repeat here what we said about these verses in a prior post:

Today’s Quote of the Day from the Apostle Paul is his testimony to the power of Love. After speaking at length about the gifts of the Spirit that one should desire in order to be of service to the Lord, he says plainly that Love is a more excellent way. Love in the context of these verses is not the sentimental or affectionate kind that we ordinarily think of but rather benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. This defining of Love is covered in some depth in a previous post; In the Words of Jesus part 47.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ** A TREATISE ON WHITE MAGIC OR THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLE BY ALICE A. BAILEY COPYRIGHT © 1951 BY LUCIS TRUST