ON LOVE; PART DCXLIX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is 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.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
In the last essay we took again our thoughts on James’ words that the aspirant and disciple who IS struggling with temptation, the man who IS weak in the face of temptation, should “call for the elders of the church“. Here we noted that since doctrines have supplanted much of the Truth of the Master’s words, there IS little likelihood that a man whose vision IS the Truth of the Master’s words would find elders in the conventional church that would be suited to help him. This IS NOT said to disparage the churches but to highlight the idea that the aspirant and the disciple whose vision IS in Love as we see above in the Master’s words on Universal Love; the man who understands the dynamics of James words that tell him that “the friendship of the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4) and the man who KNOWS the reality of James’ saying that we should be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22), will find little help among men whose view of these things IS diluted or changed according to his doctrines.
In light of this rather clear Truth, we noted that the apostle likely intended that we could look past this reality and see that the True elder in each Life IS his own Soul who IS the first master that every man must meet; it IS through one’s own Soul that he can make contact with the Greater Soul of which he IS a part and that Greater Soul IS Our God and the Christ. We took this understanding then to show the reality as it exists in the Life of the man who IS striving toward the Kingdom and who IS yet somewhat encumbered by the illusion and the glamour which allows for the temptations of the world to afflict him as his Life IS one of duality, one where he IS: in a state of transition between the new and the old states of being. He is vibrating between the condition of soul awareness and form awareness. He is “seeing double” **. In these words from our Tibetan brother we get a deeper understanding of the reference from James to the “double minded“, the man who on the one hand strives toward the Kingdom of God and on the other can still have desire for the comforts and the pleasures of Life in the world. It IS this desire for the things of the world that IS the reality behind James’s words on patience which we have been studying, as well as the general theme of the entire epistle where we read about the perils of temptation and can see his ideas regarding both the man who succumbs and the man who resists. Our current sayings again are:
“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold , the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:7-16).
Our view IS of course that until a man has overcome his attachments and attractions to the things of the world and the self in the world, until he has realized that the comforts and the pleasures of the world offer him NO thing of True substance but are fleeting and temporal, that he IS subject to this duality and to the temptations that this duality allows. Our Tibetan brother tell us that the disciple IS one who: has tasted the joys of life in the world of illusion and has learnt their powerlessness to satisfy and hold him ** and it IS in this place we stand, KNOWING that to resist the temptations IS the right Path. In this James tells us that “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12) and this crown IS that state of being where one can say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In our words above we have James’ words on patience, on the working patience of the husbandman and the man who Truly strives, and we have examples for our added encouragement and hope; and we should note that the word rendered in James’ saying that “we count them happy which endure” IS of the same root and meaning as the word rendered as blessed above. Here and in many other places we should try to see this idea of blessed as that a thing IS accomplished, a spiritual thing, and the reward taken; here the reward IS the overcoming of temptations….individually and as the whole.
Until the aspirant and the disciple can overcome however, he IS yet caught in the world of things and in that sense of duality in which he sees both ways and feels the effect of both poles; it IS in his seeing and being tempted by the world and the things of the world that James offers us these tools of prayer, of refraining from joy and that we should “call for the elders of the church“. In prayer we see the reality of communion, that the afflicted man should commune with his Inner self, his Soul, as in this focus the temptations will subside. In refraining from joy we should see the reality that whatsoever one has or gains that IS worldly should NOT cause one to be joyous or merry and that the idea of singing serves to bring a man back to his focus upon the Truth and to understand the fleeting and temporal nature of those things that would otherwise, in a carnal state, bring such joy. Then, in this idea of the elders, as seen from our perspective that there ARE few to call upon and our understanding that the apostle KNOWS this as well, we should see the reality that IS presented in the first two, that in communion and focus upon the things of God and one’s own Soul, remedy can be found. Here we should try to see that extra effort in time of weakness that must be stronger than the prayer and the singing; it must be a forceful call upon one’s own Inner sense to dissipate whatsoever IS the cause of the weakness. In this we should see the reality of duality and the role of focus as in ALL three of these tools offered by James, focus IS at the center and in the last this focus should be forced upon the carnal instincts that one is wrestling with in his mind which IS seeking reason to DO.
Here, each of us must try to see the apostle’s idea in our own terms; here IS the reality of the idea of confession which IS our own admission of the faulty thinking that we are in the midst of as we struggle with this temptation; here we must find the wherewithal to convince one’s own self of the futility of the temptations that ARE impinging upon our focus upon the things of God. This IS a very difficult enterprise. It IS in this sense that we should see the idea of the elder and understand that even if there IS another who can offer us guidance, counsel or advice, the resolution IS still found within; it is still within one’s own sense of duality and one must still find that point of admission, and then that point of communion which we see in James’ words above framed as confession and prayer. Here we must break away from the common understanding of these ideas and try to see the relationship of this calling upon one’s own Soul, one’s own Inner self and Christ Within, to the words from the Apostle John that we discussed in the last post.
John tells us of the anointing, the unction, and in this Greek word we should see the idea of Christ which IS from a kindred Greek word, and again we must look past doctrines which define these ideas according to their purposes. Seeing the Anointed as the Christ and the anointed as the Christ Within, the unction as John tells us, should give us the ability to see James’ words more clearly and to understand that it IS this Inner man, this Christ Within, this Soul, that James refers to as the deeper sense of the elder and of whom we read in the Buddha’s works as the master. John tells us that “the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” and in this we should understand why James would tell us to call upon this Power. It IS the Soul, the elder, the Christ Within, that IS the “unction from the Holy One“ and it IS through this divine aspect of man that he can “know all things” (1 John 2:27,20). While the subject here in John’s words may NOT seem to be related to our ideas from James, this IS ONLY because we DO NOT understand the reality of John’s use of the the word rendered as anitchrist; that this word is a combination of the idea of anti or against and of christos and which means against the anointing. In this we should see that James IS offering us this same idea as he tells us to go to the anointing, to the elders, to help one stand against the forces of the world which are arrayed against him in temptations.
James tells us that we should DO these things so that we can be healed and in this word there is the greater idea of being made whole and this idea can take this word away from illness or some physical malady. There are two words that are rendered as heal in the New Testament; the one, therepeuo, refers to the curing of illnesses and physical problems while the other, laomia from our saying above, is used in the same context but also in the idea of making one whole which includes the more psychic components that would be needed in our understanding of correcting one’s sense of focus and taking it off of the temptations in the world. This IS in our view the reality of James teaching here and we can see in all three tools the underlying idea of communing with one’s self which IS seeking to bring the Love and the Power of the Soul to bear on the personality in greater degree so as to deflect the mental and the emotional reactions to the things of the world. Here we should try to see the idea that these mental and emotional reactions to the things of the world ARE the essence of temptation and that the personality that IS these psychic components, IS attempting to use its will to overcome the higher will of the Soul.
James ends our selection of verses by saying that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” and in this the KEY word IS righteous. We should understand this word in its fullest sense here and then by degree as well; in the fullest sense the righteous man IS the man who IS a DOER of the word, the man that IS keeping his words in the fullest sense. This man IS the completed disciple and it IS ONLY this man that can command anything in prayer as we learn from the Master’s own words saying: “whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). Can we see the relationship here? We must remember that the spiritual reality of prayer IS not for intercession from Our God who DOES NOT intercede, nor IS prayer intended as requests of God for things of the world; True spiritual prayer IS ONLY in regard to spiritual things, ways and means of bringing the Love and the Power of God and the God Within to bear on Life in the world. And the Master’s words from above should be seen in the same way and in the reality of “he shall have whatsoever he saith” we should see the fullness of the Power and the Love of the True disciple who can radiate such Power and Love as a service and a benefit for ALL men.
This IS the reality of righteousness; there IS NO shortcut here. There IS ONLY the fullness of keeping his words. For the aspirant, for the man who strives to be in this righteousness, perhaps we can see that there can be a measure of the results of this communion of the Soul with his expression in the world; perhaps for this man the idea can be that this prayer availeth some and it IS in this some and in this much that the man focused upon the things of God can find whatsoever help that he may need to stave off the effects of temptation and prevent any idea of sin.
Our view of these ideas are our sense of the reality and the intent of this section of James’ Epistle and here in these idea we should be able to see the culmination of the apostle’s previous words. It IS in our working patience that we can endure ALL that comes to us from the world and it IS in our own communion with our own Souls in prayer that we are able to draw upon a greater measure of the Love and the Power that IS ever available to us. James’ tells us to “swear not” and in this we should see that we ARE NOT to resort to carnal ways to show this patience but to spiritual ways; to the communion of prayer. In the endurance of Job and of the prophets we see James’ examples and while these are not so much about temptation, they ARE yet examples for us to see and to follow. These men showed by their own patient work that they could endure any hardship and here we should understand that most ALL hardships DO contains a bit of temptation; perhaps NOT temptation to DO this or that, but the temptation to NOT DO the spiritual and righteous thing in favor of something more carnal and easy. James gives us yet another example as he closes outhis epistle saying:
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know , that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:17-20).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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 Chris.t |
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.
This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse those forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.
Mantram of Unification
The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.
Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.
Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.
The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.
