Filename: +quot;RC1004.TXT+quot; Source: +quot;Ancient and Modern Initiation+quot; by Max
Filename: "RC1004.TXT"
Source: "Ancient and Modern Initiation" by Max Heindel
[PAGE 92]
THE LAST SUPPER AND THE FOOTWASHING:
We are told in the Gospels which relate the story of the Christian Mystic
Initiation, how on the night when Christ had partaken of the Last Supper
with His disciples, His ministry being finished at that time, He rose from
the table and girded Himself with a towel, then poured water into a basin
and commenced to wash His disciples' feet, an act of the most humble ser-
vice, but prompted by an important occult consideration.
Comparatively few realize that when we rise in the scale of evolution, we
do so by trampling upon the bodies of our weaker brothers; consciously or
unconsciously we crush them and use them as stepping-stones to attain our
own ends. This assertion holds good concerning all the kingdoms in nature.
When a life wave has been brought down to the nadir of involution and en-
crusted in mineral form, that is immediately seized upon by another slightly
higher life wave, which takes the disintegrating mineral crystal, adapts it
[PAGE 93]
to its own ends as crystalloid, and assimilates it as part of a plant form.
If there were no minerals which could thus be seized upon, disintegrated,
and transformed, plant life would be an impossibility. Then again, the
plant forms are taken by numerous classes of animals, masticated to a pulp,
devoured, and made to serve as food for this higher kingdom. If there were
no plants, animals would be an impossibility; and the same principle holds
good in spiritual evolution for if there were no pupils standing on the
lower round of the ladder of knowledge and requiring instruction, there
would be no need for a teacher. But here there is one all-important differ-
ence. The teacher grows by GIVING to his pupils and serving them. From
their shoulders he steps to a higher rung on the ladder of knowledge. HE
LIFTS HIMSELF BY LIFTING THEM, but nevertheless he owes them a debt of
gratitude, which is symbolically acknowledged and liquidated by the foot
washing--an act of humble service to those who have served him.
When we realize that nature, which is the expression of God, is con-
tinually exerting itself to create and bring forth, we may also understand
that whoever kills anything, be it ever so little and seemingly insig-
nificant, is to that extent thwarting God's purpose. This applies par-
ticularly to the aspirant to the higher life, and therefore the Christ ex-
horted His disciples to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves
notwithstanding. But no matter how earnest our desire to follow the precept
of harmlessness, our constitutional tendencies and necessities force us to
[PAGE 94]
kill at every moment of our lives, and it is not only in the great things
that we are constantly committing murder. It was comparatively easy for the
seeking soul symbolized by Parsifal to break the bow wherewith he had shot
the swan of the Grail knights when it had been explained to him what a wrong
he had committed. From that time Parsifal was committed to the life of
harmlessness so far as the great things were concerned. All earnest aspir-
ants follow him readily in that act once it has dawned upon them how subver-
sive of soul growth is the practice of partaking of food which requires the
death of an animal.
But even the noblest and most gentle among mankind is poisoning those
about him with every breath and being poisoned by them in turn, for all ex-
hale the death-dealing carbon dioxide, and we are therefore a menace to one
another. Nor is this a far-fetched idea; it is a very real danger which
will become much more manifest in course of time when mankind becomes more
sensitive. In a disabled submarine or under similar conditions where a num-
ber of people are together the carbon dioxide exhaled by them quickly makes
the atmosphere unable to sustain life. There is a story from the Indian Mu-
tiny of how a number of English prisoners were huddled in a room in which
there was only one small opening for air. In a very short time the oxygen
was exhausted, and the poor prisoners began to fight one another like beasts
in order to obtain a place near that air inlet, and they fought until nearly
[PAGE 95]
all had died from the struggle and asphyxiation.
The same principle is illustrated in the ancient Atlantean Mystery
Temple, the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, where we find a nauseating stench
and a suffocating smoke ascending from the Altar of Burnt Offerings, where
the poison-laden bodies of the UNWILLING VICTIMS sacrificed for sin were
consumed, and where the light shone but dimly through the enveloping smoke.
This we may contrast with the light which emanated clear and bright from the
Seven-branched Candlestick fed by the olive oil extracted from the chaste
plant, and where the incense symbolized by the WILLING SERVICE of devoted
priests rose to heaven as a sweet savor. This we are told in many places,
was pleasing to Deity, while the blood of the unwilling victims, the bulls
and the goats, was a source of grief and displeasure to God, who delights
most in the sacrifice of prayer, which helps the devotee and harms no one.
It has been stated concerning some of the saints that they emitted a
sweet odor, and as we have often had occasion to say, this is no mere fanci-
ful story--it is an occult fact. The great majority of mankind inhale dur-
ing every moment of life the vitalizing oxygen contained in the surrounding
atmosphere. At every expiration we exhale a charge of carbon dioxide which
is a deadly poison and which would certainly vitiate the air in time if the
pure and chaste plant did not inhale this poison, use a part of it to build
bodies that last sometimes for many centuries or even millennia as instanced
in the redwoods of California, and give us back the rest in the form of pure
[PAGE 96]
oxygen which we need for our life. These carboniferous plant bodies by cer-
tain further processes of nature have in the past become mineralized and
turned to stone instead of disintegrating. We find them today as coal, THE
PERISHABLE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE MADE BY NATURAL MEANS IN NATURE'S LABORATORY.
But the Philosopher's Stone may also be made artificially by man from his
own body. It should be understood once and for all that the Philosopher's
Stone is not made in an exterior chemical laboratory, but that the body is
the workshop of the Spirit which contains all the elements necessary to pro-
duce this ELIXIR VITAE, and that the Philosopher's Stone is not exterior to
the body, but THE ALCHEMIST HIMSELF BECOMES THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. The
salt, sulphur, and mercury emblematically contained in the three segments of
the spinal cord, which control the sympathetic, motor, and sensory nerves
and are played upon by the Neptunian spinal Spirit Fire, constitute the es-
sential elements in the alchemical process.
It needs no argument to show that indulgence in sensuality, brutality,
and bestiality makes the body coarse. Contrariwise, devotion to Deity, an
attitude of perpetual prayer, a feeling of love and compassion for all that
lives and moves, loving thoughts sent out to all beings and those inevitably
received in return, all invariably have the effect of refining and spiritu-
alizing the nature. We speak of a person of that sort as breathing or radi-
ating love, an expression which much more nearly describes the actual fact
than most people imagine, for as a matter of actual observation the
[PAGE 97]
percentage of poison contained in the breath of an individual is in exact
proportion to the evil in his nature and inner life and the thoughts he
thinks. The Hindu Yogi makes a practice of sealing up the candidate for a
certain grade of Initiation in a cave which is not much larger than his
body. There he must live for a number of weeks breathing the same air over
and over again to demonstrate practically that he has ceased exhaling the
death-dealing carbon dioxide and is beginning to build his body therefrom.
The Philosopher's Stone then is not a body of the same nature as the
plant, thought it is pure and chaste, but it is A CELESTIAL BODY such as
that whereof St. Paul speaks in the 5th chapter of Second Corinthians, a
body which becomes immortal as a diamond or a ruby stone. It is not hard
and inflexible as the mineral; it is A SOFT DIAMOND or ruby, and by every
act of the nature described the Christian Mystic is building this body,
though he is probably unconscious thereof for a long time. When he has at-
tained to this degree of holiness it is not necessary for him to perform the
foot washing so far as concerns the physical pupil who helps him to rise,
but he will always have the feeling of gratitude, symbolized by that act,
toward those whom he is fortunate enough to attract to himself as disciples
and to whom he may give the living bread which nourishes them to immortal-
ity.
Students will realize that this is part of the process which eventually
culminates in the Transfiguration, but it should also be realized that in
the Christian Mystic Initiation there are no set and definite degrees. The
[PAGE 98]
candidate looks to the Christ as the author and finisher of his faith, seek-
ing to imitate Him and follow in His steps through every moment of exist-
ence. Thus the various stages which we are considering are reached by pro-
cesses of soul growth which simultaneously bring him to higher aspects of
all these steps that we are now analyzing. In this respect the Christian
Mystic Initiation differs radically from the processes in vogue among the
Rosicrucians, in which an UNDERSTANDING upon the part of the candidate of
that which is to take place is considered indispensable. But there comes a
time at which the Christian Mystic must and does realize the path before
him, and that is what constitutes Gethsemane, which we will consider in the
next chapter.
[PAGE 99]
GETHSEMANE:
THE GARDEN OF GRIEF:
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.
"And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this
night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be
scattered. But after that I am risen I will go before you into Galilee.
"But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
"And Jesus saith unto him, Verily, I say unto thee that this day, even in
this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
"But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not
deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
"And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and He saith to
His disciples, Sit ye here while I shall pray. And He taketh with Him Peter
and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and
[PAGE 100]
saith unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here
and watch. And He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed
that if it were possible the hour might pass from him. And He said, Abba,
Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: Nev-
ertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh and findeth
them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst not thou
watch one hour? Watch ye and pray lest ye enter into temptation. The
spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." --MARK, 14:26-38.
In the foregoing Gospel narrative we have one of the saddest and most
difficult of the experiences of the Christian Mystic outlined in spiritual
form. During all his previous experience he has wandered blindly along,
that is to say, blind to the fact that he is on the Path which if consis-
tently followed leads to a definite goal, but being also keenly alert to the
slightest sigh of every suffering soul. He has concentrated all his efforts
upon alleviating their pain physically, morally, or mentally; he has served
them in any and every capacity; he has taught them the gospel of love, "Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"; and he has been A LIVING EXAMPLE to all
in its practice. Therefore he has drawn to himself a little band of friends
whom he loves with the tenderest of affection. Them has he also taught and
served unstintingly, even to the foot washing. But during this period of
service he has become so saturated with the sorrows of the world that he is
[PAGE 101]
indeed a MAN of SORROWS and acquainted with grief as no one else can be.
This is a very definite experience of the Christian Mystic, and it is the
most important factor in furthering his spiritual progress. So long as we
are bored when people come to us and tell us their troubles, so long as we
run away from them and seek to escape hearing their tales of woe, we are far
from the Path. Even when we listen to them and have schooled ourselves not
to show that we are bored, when we say with our lips only a few sympathetic
words that fall flat on the sufferer's ear, we gain nothing in spiritual
growth. It is absolutely essential to the Christian Mystic that he become
so attuned to the world's woe that he feels every pang as his own hurt and
stores it up within his heart.
When PARSIFAL stood in the temple of the Holy Grail and saw the suffering
of Amfortas the stricken Grail King, he was mute with sympathy and compas-
sion for a long time after the procession had passed out of the hall, and
consequently could not answer the questions of Gurnemanz, and it was that
deep fellow feeling which prompted him to seek for the spear that should
heal Amfortas. IT WAS THE PAIN OF AMFORTAS FELT IN THE HEART OF PARSIFAL BY
SYMPATHY WHICH HELD HIM FIRMLY BALANCED UPON THE PATH OF VIRTUE WHEN TEMPTA-
TION WAS STRONGEST. It was that deep pain of compassion which urged him
through many years to seek the suffering Grail King, and finally when he had
found Amfortas, this deep, heartfelt fellow feeling enabled him to pour
forth the healing balm.
[PAGE 102]
As it is shown in the soul myth of Parsifal, so it is in the actual life
and experience of the Christian Mystic: he must drink deeply of the cup of
sorrow, he must drain it to the very dregs so that by the cumulative pain
which threatens to burst his heart he may pour himself out unreservedly and
unstintedly for the healing and helping of the world. Then Gethsemane, the
garden of grief, is a familiar place to him, watered with tears for the sor-
rows and sufferings of humanity.
Through all his years of self-sacrifice his little band of friends had
been the consolation of Jesus. He had already learned to renounce the ties
of blood. "Who is my mother and my brother? They that do the will of my
Father." Though no true Christian neglects his social obligations or with-
holds love from his family, the spiritual ties are nevertheless the stron-
gest, and through them comes the crowning grief; through the desertion of
his spiritual friends he learns to drink to the dregs the cup of sorrow. He
does not blame them for their desertion but excuses them with the words,
"The Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak," for he knows by his
own experience how true this is. But he finds that in the supreme sorrow
they cannot comfort him, and therefore he turns to THE ONLY SOURCE OF COM-
FORT, THE FATHER IN HEAVEN. He has arrived at the point where human endur-
ance seems to have reached its limit, and he prays to be spared a greater
ordeal, but with a blind trust in the Father he bows his will and offers all
unreservedly.
That is the moment of realization. Having drunk the cup of sorrow to the
dregs, being deserted by all, he experiences that temporary awful fear of
[PAGE 103]
being utterly alone which is one of the most terrible if not the most ter-
rible experience that can come into the life of a human being. All the
world seems dark about. He knows that in spite of all the good he has done
or tried to do the powers of darkness are seeking to slay him. He knows
that the mob that a few days before had cried "Hosannah" will on the morrow
be ready to shout "Crucify! Crucify!" His relatives and now his last few
friends have fled, and they were also even ready to deny.
But when we are on the pinnacle of grief we are nearest to the throne of
grace. The agony and grief, the sorrow and the suffering borne within the
Christian Mystic's breast are more priceless and precious than the wealth of
the Indies, for when he has lost all human companionship and when he has
given himself over unreservedly to the Father a transmutation takes place:
the grief is turned to compassion, the only power in the world that can for-
tify a man about to mount the hill of Golgotha and give his life for human-
ity, not a sacrifice of death but a LIVING SACRIFICE, lifting himself by
lifting others.
[PAGE 104]
THE STIGMATA AND THE CRUCIFIXION:
As we said in the beginning of this series of articles, the Christian
Mystic Initiation differs radically from the Occult Initiation undertaken by
those who approach the Path from the intellectual side. But all paths con-
verge at Gethsemane, where the candidate for Initiation is saturated with
sorrow which flowers into compassion, a yearning mother love which has only
one all-absorbing desire; to pour itself out for the alleviation of the sor-
row of the world to save and to succor all that are weak and heavy-laden, to
comfort them and give them rest. At that point the eyes of the Christian
Mystic are opened to a full realization of the world's woe and his mission
as a Savior; and the occultist also finds here the heart of love which alone
can give zest and zeal in the quest. By the union of the mind and the heart
both are ready for the next step, which involved the development of the
STIGMATA, a necessary preparation for the mystic death and resurrection.
[PAGE 105]
The Gospel narrative tells the story of the STIGMATA in the following words,
the opening scene being in the Garden of Gethsemane:
"Judas then having received a band of men and officers from the chief
priests and Pharisees came thither with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus therefore knowing all things that should come upon Him went forth and
said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
said unto them, I am He.....Then the band and the captain and the officers
of the Jews took Jesus and bound Him and led Him away to Annas first.....The
high priest then asked of His disciples and of His doctrine. Jesus answered
him, I spake openly to the world.....Why asketh though me? Ask them which
heard me what I have said unto them; behold they know what I have said. Now
Annas had sent Him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.....Then they led
Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment.....
"Pilate then went out unto them and said, What accusation bring you
against this man? They answered and said unto him, If He were not a male-
factor we would not have delivered Him unto thee.....Then Pilate entered
into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto Him, Art
though the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of
thyself or did others tell it to thee of me?.....My kingdom is not of this
world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that
I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence.
[PAGE 106]
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou
sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I
into the world that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is
of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said unto Him, What is
truth?.....Then he went out again unto the Jews and saith unto them, I find
in Him no fault at all. But we have a custom that I should release unto you
one at the Passover; will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of
the Jews? Then cried they all again saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.
now Barabbas was a robber. Pilate therefore took Jesus and SCOURGED Him.
And the soldiers platted A CROWN OF THORNS and put it on His head, and they
put on Him a purple robe and said, Hail, King of the Jews; and they smote
him with their hands.
"Pilate therefore went forth again and saith unto them, behold I bring
Him forth unto you that ye may know that I find no fault in Him. Then came
Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate
saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore, and of-
ficers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, Crucify Him. Pilate
saith unto them, Take ye Him and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him.
The Jews answered him, We have a law and by our law He ought to die, because
He made Himself the Son of God.....Pilate sought to release Him, but the
Jews cried out saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's
friend; whoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.....They cried
[PAGE 107]
out, Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. Pilate saith unto them,
Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but
Caesar. Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And
they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went forth
into a place called the PLACE OF A SKULL, which is, in the Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they CRUCIFIED Him and two others with Him, one on either side and
Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And
the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
We have here the account of how the STIGMATA or punctures were produced
in the Hero of the Gospels, though the location is not quite correctly de-
scribed, and the process is represented in a narrative form differing widely
from the manner in which these things really happen. But we stand here be-
fore one of the Mysteries which must remain sealed for the profane, though
the underlying mystical facts are as plain as daylight to those who know.
The physical body is not by any means the real man. Tangible, solid, and
pulsating with life as we find it, it is really the most dead part of the
human being, crystallized into a matrix of finer vehicles which are invis-
ible to our ordinary physical sight. If we place a basin of water in a
freezing temperature, the water soon congeals into ice, and when we examine
this ice, we find that it is made up of innumerable little crystals having
various geometrical forms and lines of demarcation. There are etheric lines
of forces which were present in the water before it congealed. As the water
[PAGE 108]
was hardened and molded along these lines, so our physical bodies have con-
gealed and solidified along the etheric lines of force of our invisible vi-
tal body, which is thus in the ordinary course of life inextricably bound to
the physical body, waking or sleeping, until death brings dissolution of the
tie. But as Initiation involves the liberation of the REAL MAN from the
body of sin and death that he may soar into the subtler spheres at will and
return to the body at his pleasure, it is obvious that before that can be
accomplished, before the object of Initiation can be attained, the
interlocking grip of the physical body and the etheric vehicle which is so
strong and rigid in ordinary humanity, must be dissolved. As they are most
closely bound together in the palms of the hands, the arches of the feet,
and the head, the occult schools concentrate their efforts upon severing the
connection at these points, and produce the STIGMATA invisibly.
The Christian Mystic lacks knowledge of how to perform the act without
producing an exterior manifestation. The STIGMATA develop in him spontane-
ously by constant contemplation of Christ and unceasing efforts to imitate
Him in all things. These exterior STIGMATA comprise not only the wounds in
the hands and feet and that in the side but also those impressed by the
crown of thorns and by the scourging. The most remarkable example of stig-
matization is that said to have occurred in 1224 to Francis of Assisi on the
mountain of Alverno. Being absorbed in contemplation of the Passion he saw
a seraph approaching, blazing with fire and having between its wings the
[PAGE 109]
figure of the Crucified. St. Francis became aware that in hands, feet, and
side he had received externally the marks of crucifixion. These marks con-
tinued during the two years until his death, and are claimed to have been
seen by many eyewitnesses, including Pope Alexander the Fourth.
The Dominicans disputed the fact, but at length made the same claim for
Catherine of Sienna, whose STIGMATA were explained as having at her own re-
quest been made invisible to others. The Franciscans appealed to Sixtus the
Fourth who forbade representation of St. Catherine to made with the STIG-
MATA. Still the fact of the STIGMATA is recorded in the Breviary Office,
and Benedict the 13th granted the Dominicans a Feast in commemoration of it.
Others, especially women who have the positive vital body, are claimed to
have received some or all of the STIGMATA. The last to be canonized by the
Catholic Church for this reason was Veronica Giuliana (1831). More recent
cases are those of Anna Catherine Emmerich, who became a nun at Agnetenberg;
L'Estatica Maria Von Moerl of Caldero; Louise Lateau, whose STIGMATA were
said to bleed every Friday; and Mrs. Girling of the Newport Shaker commu-
nity.
But whether the STIGMATA are visible or invisible the effect is the same.
The spiritual currents generated in the vital body of such a person are so
powerful that the body is scourged by them as it were, particularly in the
region of the head, where they produce a feeling akin to that of the crown
of thorns. Thus there finally dawns upon the person a full realization that
[PAGE 110]
the physical body is a cross which he is bearing, a prison and not the real
man. This brings him to the next step in his Initiation, viz., the cruci-
fixion, which is experienced by the development of the other centers in his
hands and feet where the vital body is thus being severed from the dense ve-
hicle.
We are told in the Gospel story that Pilate placed a sign reading, 'JESUS
NAZARENUS REX JUDAEOREM" on Jesus' cross, and this is translated in the au-
thorized version to mean, "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." But the
initials INRI placed upon the cross represent the names of the four elements
in Hebrew: IAM, water; NOUR, fire; RUACH, spirit or vital air; and
IABESHAH, earth. This is the occult key to the mystery of crucifixion, for
it symbolizes in the first place the salt, sulphur, mercury, and azoth which
were used by the ancient alchemists to make the Philosopher's Stone, the
universal solvent, the ELIXIR-VITAE. The two "I's" (IAM and IABESHAH) rep-
resent the saline lunar water: a, in a fluidic state holding salt in solu-
tion, and b, the coagulated extract of this water, the "SALT OF THE EARTH";
in other words, the finer fluidic vehicles of man and his dense body.
N (NOUR) in Hebrew stands for fire and the combustible elements, chief among
which are SULPHUR and PHOSPHORUS so necessary to oxidation, without which
warm blood would be an impossibility. The Ego under this condition could
not function in the body nor could thought find a material expression.
R (RUACH) is the Hebrew equivalent for the spirit, AZOTH, functioning in the
MERCURIAL mind. Thus the four letters INRI placed over the cross of Christ
[PAGE 111]
according to the Gospel story represent composite man, the Thinker, at the
point in his spiritual development where he is getting ready for liberation
from the cross of his dense vehicle.
Proceeding further along the same line of elucidation we may note that
INRI is the symbol of the crucified candidate for the following additional
reasons:
IAM is the Hebrew word signifying water, the fluidic LUNAR, moon element
which forms the principal part of the human body (about 87 per cent). This
word is also the symbol of the finer fluidic vehicles of desire and emotion.
NOUR, the Hebrew word signifying fire, is a symbolic representation of the
heat-producing red blood laden with martial Mars iron, fire, and energy,
which the occultist sees coursing as a gas through the veins and arteries of
the human body infusing it with energy and ambition without which there
could be neither material nor spiritual progress. It also represents the
sulphur and phosphorus necessary for the material manifestation of thought
as already mentioned.
RUACH, the Hebrew word for spirit or vital air, is an excellent symbol of
the Ego clothed in the mercurial Mercury mind, which makes MAN and enables
him to control and direct his bodily vehicles and activities in a rational
manner.
IABESHAH is the Hebrew word for earth, representing the solid fleshy part
which makes up the CRUCIFORM EARTHY BODY crystallized within the finer ve-
hicles at birth and severed from them in the ordinary course of things at
[PAGE 112]
death, or in the extraordinary event that we learn to die the mystic death
and ascend to the glories of the higher spheres for a time.
This stage of the Christian Mystic's spiritual development therefore in-
volves a reversal of the creative force from its ordinary downward course
where it is wasted in generation to satisfy the passions, to an upward
course through the tripartite spinal cord, whose three segments are ruled by
the moon, Mars, and Mercury respectively, and where the rays of Neptune then
lights THE REGENERATIVE SPINAL SPIRIT FIRE. This mounting upward sets the
pituitary body and the pineal gland into vibration, opening up the spiritual
sight; and striking the frontal sinus it starts the CROWN OF THORNS throb-
bing with pain as the bond with the physical body is burned by the sacred
Spirit Fire, which wakes this center from its age-long sleep to a throbbing,
pulsating life sweeping onward to the other centers in the FIVE-POINTED
STIGMATIC STAR. They are also vitalized, an the whole vehicle becomes aglow
with a golden glory. Then with a final wrench the great vortex of the de-
sire body located in the liver is liberated, and the martial energy con-
tained in that vehicle propels upward the SIDEREAL VEHICLE (so-called be-
cause the STIGMATA in the head, hands, and feet are located in the same
positions relative to one another as the points in a five-pointed star),
which ascends through THE SKULL (Golgotha), while the CRUCIFIED CHRISTIAN
utters his triumphant cry, "Consummatum est" (it has been accomplished), and
soars into the subtler spheres to seek Jesus whose life he has imitated with
such success and from whom he is thenceforth inseparable. Jesus is his
Teacher and his guide to the kingdom of Christ, where all shall be united in
one body to learn and to practice the RELIGION OF THE FATHER, to whom the
kingdom will eventually revert that He may be All in All.
[Continued with file "RC1005.TXT"]
End of File
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