There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

"The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

"Jesus answered Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "And Nicodemus again said: "How can these things be?"

The Nazarene explained to Nicodemus that the second birth must be of the Soul. He used the word "Spirit," which in Biblical phraseology is analogous to our use of the word "Soul." The flesh born of other flesh is necessarily of the flesh and is earthly - the natural man - and all men understand this birth.

The Soul, i.e., the spiritual inner self, must be first conceived, then born through the efforts of the awakened mind. This is being born of water, the Baptism of St. John. It is essential to comprehend the truth at least in part so that through the medium of awakened thought, enlightened desire and exalted work the new birth may be brought about and then may one see and enter the kingdom of God. That is to say, be reborn as a Soul being - a being having gained Consciousness of Oneness with the Cosmic Soul, or God as Father and Creator.

Nicodemus was undoubtedly of high standing in his own sphere of action, for otherwise he would not have been made the questioner. He was a great man among the Jews, versed in the philosophy and religious teachings and practices of the day. He was a leader in civil and religious affairs. He understood many things pertaining to the world of his day and its government; but spiritually, things regarding the Soul or Immortal man were still foreign to him. He was in great spiritual darkness and came to the Master of Light for information; and though the great Teacher uttered words of sublime significance, to him they were mere phrases of mystery.

He readily comprehended, just as do the masses of our day, that it is impossible for the grown physical man to again return to his mother's womb and be reborn in the flesh; but he could not even begin to understand the meaning of a spiritual birth, therefore he questioned again: "How can these things be?" His mind, great as it was, could comprehend only physical facts; things the eyes could see and the touch feel.

Jesus went on to explain to him that: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, (1) even so must the Son of man (the carnal self) be lifted up."
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(1) This reference to Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness is entirely a sex arcanum and has reference to the debased practice of men, the "Sin that destroys the Soul," the one sin which is almost universally committed and which, more than all else, debases men and holds them in bondage. For specific instructions see The Mystery of Sex; Race Regeneration. Philosophical Publishing Company, Quakertown, PA.
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The Master-Teacher explained to Nicodemus that men continue to live in darkness because they lack knowledge of the Light; that the non-good is representative of darkness (ignorance), hates the Light and will not come into the Light, because the Light (truth) would destroy or dispel the darkness. He expounded the doctrine that possession of the Light brings the realization that there is no real or lasting enjoyment or profit in evil deeds or sacrifices to the flesh, although men throughout the ages have deluded themselves by the false belief that it is profitable to take undue advantage of others. He explained the mystery that evil loses its power over man in the ratio that man gains understanding; that all evil is of the night and its darkness and that the supposed benefits are delusions and snares. He also taught that the desires and lusts of the flesh are governed by the gross passions represented by the night of life or the "serpent creeping upon its belly upon the ground," hence the necessity of "lifting up the serpent," and that the truth and the Light, which bring freedom, never come to man's heart and mind so long as he clings to his sensual (especially sexual) fleshy or sense desires.

The Nazarene was most explicit in his answers to the questions of Nicodemus, clearly explaining that many like him came seeking, though still held so firmly in the meshes of earthly desires and loath or wholly unwilling to give up the things that hold them in bondage. He made the positive statement that no man can comprehend these spiritual truths until he has experienced the rebirth - the coming into consciousness of a new and full life - that of Soul awakening.

"How can these things be?"

This has been the cry of the ages, but now as in the past the multitudes have consistently refused to order their lives in accordance with the teachings; being bound to little things; things so small as the opinion of friends; the fear of members of the family; some little vice or habit. The masses are forever turning away from the messengers of truth. They prefer to follow the numerous charlatans who offer almost anything that may be asked for in exchange for blind obedience and money, or the things money will buy. This has no reference to the established churches.

"How can these things be?"

The Nazarene further said: "As the son of man is lifted up." That is to say, man must first recognize that the ways of the flesh - the son of man is of the flesh, mortal - are the ways of death. The beginning of life on the earth plane is also the beginning of death. Acceptance of this truth is the Annunciation. It is listening to St. John the Baptist's cry in the wilderness. Having recognized this truth he must seek further and learn the method of REgeneration; must discontinue the purely carnal life which includes malice, hatred, deceit, licentiousness and all the other passions that degrade. He must begin to transmute hatred into forgiveness; deceit into honesty; license into love and fair-dealing. This is the Passover - the passing from one state of being into another state of being. Having traveled thus far, he must make conscious effort to regenerate and rejuvenate his entire being, and all this without for a moment interfering with his duties to his family, his fellow men, the state and those things that are normal and natural.

As he more and more comes into the habit of doing the things belonging to the greater life, he will gradually arouse the Divine Spark which has so long been lying dormant within himself. This Spark will then ultimately burst forth into a flame and become the "Light" that lightest every man that came into the world; the Light that is on "neither land nor sea." When the Divine Spark has been brought into full consciousness, when man's full estate (the kingdom of heaven within) has been attained, and the Fires from heaven have descended upon and mingled with those within, then the baptism of the Holy Ghost has descended. This is Cosmic Consciousness and man will know that THESE THINGS CAN BE. This is the rebirth. Man has been lifted up. He is no longer merely human; he is no longer on the path of death; his footsteps are in the way of life; he has in truth been transformed from the son of man into the Son of God.

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." There is no offer here of the forgiveness of sin; of salvation by faith; of the doctrine of substantiation. There is no apology for the positive statement; nor is there any qualification; UNLES A MAN BE BORN AGAIN HE CANNOT SEE (ENTER) THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

One of the most frequent questions we meet is that of those who are more or less on the Path of life (righteousness, in the language of the scriptures) is: "What then of those we love - of father, mother, brother and sister, dear friends and those who have befriended us, and who may not even have heard of this great Law, or having heard of it, have never been given the interpretation of its application to life, and who cannot therefore live the enlightened life?"

There is but one answer to this: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven."

The complement of this hard saying, and one that equally rends the heartstrings of the kindly disposed, is the Master-Teacher's answer to his mother when she found him preaching to the elders and reprimanded him for neglecting her: "Woman, what have I to do with thee, I am about my Father's business."

This is an explicit and unqualified command. Once we are about the business of lifting up the son of man, we must not, dare not, permit anyone to interfere, irrespective of how much we love them or how near they are to us. In these two statements we have the WHOLE OF THE LAW.

Man must be lifted up. He must change from a life of evil or carnality to that of goodness, though the word "goodness" is not truly apropos; it has a sense of smugness. Man must change to a life of rightness; doing those things that have no harmful reaction on the self or others; things that are constructive and of benefit to humanity at large.

First of all, the thought life must be changed. With a change of thought will come different desires, and as a result, there will be higher aspiration. There must be a feeling that though still of the earth, a part of the great human family, one is also linked with the Cosmic world, through which we may contact the Law, call it God or what you will. The Nazarene, it should be noted, nowhere claimed to be the only son of God, though the creeds make God say: "This is my only begotten son."

Contrary to the pretension of man's unwillingness to face the whole truth, because of the lack of desire to live the WHOLE OF THE LAW, the Nazarene repeatedly states that we may one and all become the Sons of God; that we are part of Him; that we came from Him and may return to Him. He is our Creator. We in turn are His messengers; His representatives on earth.

Unfortunately, though as a matter of truth, we are most frequently prototypic of the trusted messenger in the army, who, sent forth to deliver a confidential message to a friendly ally, betrays the trust by placing the information into the hands of the enemy. Man is most frequently a traitor not only to all that is highest, but in the same ratio, to himself.

Every one of us is given a message; the question is, will we deliver it? This message is one of goodwill, of fellowship, of service, of love. It is an opportunity which has wide ramification; the privilege of pointing out to our fellow-man, more by the life we live, than by words, the Path to an ennobling and all-embracing life. How few of us are even partially loyal to the trusts placed in us? Let each one answer this question in his own heart.

When we change or transmute hatred and jealousy into a forgiving spirit and goodwill, when we have a kind word and encouraging gesture for our fellow man instead of general faultfinding and belittling gossip, we have to that degree entered the Path leading to the new birth; have made that much progress toward bringing the Soul into its birthright - Consciousness. On the contrary, it is immaterial how exalted our opinion may be of ourselves, our understanding, wisdom and culture; if at the same time we are ever ready to speak ill of our fellow creatures and create conditions which will further lower them, making their life more difficult, we have not as yet taken the first step toward the greater life and our rebirth is as far off as it was when we first made our entry into this mundane sphere.

Rebirth must begin in the mind; a reversal of the mental process. If we are in the habit of permitting the mind to drift into thinking thoughts we would be ashamed to voice before others, we are thereby degrading, lowering ourselves, and we are departing farther from the possibility of rebirth. The mind is the thinker; it is the creator; it is the builder - the son of Joseph the carpenter who is as yet no more than a son of man. The mind is the generator of good or ill; the current that will construct or elevate; degrade and destroy. The mind must undergo a change so as to think constructively and ennoblingly. Mind must seek desires that lift up, for: "If I be lifted up, I will lift up all men unto me." If the thoughts be lifted up, then so will the whole being. It is uplifting thought, followed by desire, that will begin the Soul building process.

The Soul is similar to a huge vessel filled with divers cargo. Among this cargo will be found many beautiful things, but it is predominated by the grossest rubbish in so far as their usefulness is concerned. The Soul, like the ship, must carry its freight into port. There are but two ports to reach. One of these is the port of death; the other is the port of continued life. Man's rebirth begins within himself. He alone is able to bring this about. Others can be of help to him by pointing the way, by encouraging, directing and guiding him, but he himself must follow the Path, do the work and have the strength to stand firmly against all opposition. All of us were thrown into space by the Great Creator (Jehovah), the Cosmic urge, God, call it what you will. We were all creatures of God, but we were dissatisfied, we wanted to know, to experience, and so fell, "were thrown into space by our desires," and became the sons of men.

The "fall" was easy, the climb upward is much more difficult but the reward is worth a lifetime of struggle for man cannot conceive of a greater treasure than to raise himself from a "worm of the dust" creature to a God-begotten child whose Soul is filled with Wisdom and Light.

We all have the opportunity to become Sons of God. When the Christos appears, which cannot be until we have prepared the temple, lighted the Sacred Fire upon the inner Altar of the Soul, and have prepared ourselves for the heavenly baptism, then in truth shall we have "become like Him, for we shall be as He is," and shall "stand face to face," with our own Soul, which has been reborn into the likeness of the Universal Christ, the Cosmic Soul.

Much of the misunderstanding, the wickedness, the degradation and cruelty of mankind today is due to false interpretation (often for purely selfish purposes of men and institutions) of the philosophical and religious teachings of those who were Masters, Saviors and Christs to the race at various stages of their earth habitation.

Man has run away from the real inner self and has hidden his face - turned his face away - as did Adam and Eve from the face of God while they were yet in the garden, but had already betrayed their better selves. We have allowed, aye, forced the inner self - the real self - to shift for itself. We have starved it for want of proper "food," given it a stone instead of bread, and have covered it with a vast pile of debris; failing to recognize that in doing so we actually placed behind ourselves the very things we were seeking; just as did the Knights of King Arthur's time, when, though in quest of the Holy Grail, they sought and fought in every corner of the world; ignorant of the fact that it lay hidden within themselves.

Humanity has about-faced; turned its back to the Light and is dwelling in a state of darkness. In some instances mankind is again trying to pierce the veil to find the Sun. In reality, the Sun is within each and every one. The Soul of man is the sun to his body, just as the sun in the heavens is the soul of the world and the light thereof. Instead of turning toward the East for Light and following the path of the sun to the West, mankind has foolishly reversed the procedure and has turned to the West and continues to live in darkness, therefore in ignorance and ignobleness.

The Nazarene was born in "the West," that is, of the flesh, but became the Son of God - of the Light or Holy Ghost, through his own efforts. In like manner are all of us born of the flesh, but we have the privilege of being reborn (regenerated) into Sons of God.

All the Initiates of ancient Egypt understood the conception of Christ as Osiris; the name given to their Savior in the same manner that the designation "Christ" was given to the Divine Essence of the Father dwelling within man at the beginning of the "Christian" age. Osiris, to the Egyptians, was the Sun or Son of God. To Christians during the past nearly two thousand years Christ is looked upon as the "Light of the World," and the Son of the Father. Osiris was to the Egyptians the principle representing truth, love and perfection in the same sense as the Christ is symbolic of these virtues to us of the present day.

The Egyptians taught the rebirth in the symbolism of the New Year, the New Year foreshadowing the dying of the old (the giving up of the carnal life) and the incoming or birth of the New (the spiritual life), the lifting up or arising of the flesh and its transmutation into the Immortal being.

The Isis of the Egyptians was the Immortal mother, the constant virgin giving birth at midnight (in the darkness) to the new Sun (Son) who was to rule over the world and bring them (renew) the Light which was to guide them. This new birth was made possible by the death of the flesh (Winter), death being the beginning of a new life.

There is not the slightest difference between the concepts of the Gnostic Christians and the teachings of the Nazarene, the carpenter's son. This is due to the fact that he received his final instructions and training in Egypt as had Moses before him. For this reason he so strongly dwelt on the motif that "As Moses lifted up the serpent [refined the carnal desires] in the wilderness [the body], even so must the Son of man [the mortal being] be lifted up [become a changed man]," if he is to inherit Immortal Life and become in truth a Son of God.

This "lifted up the serpent" is symbolic - it is emblematical of the living of the life as understood and practiced by the Initiates of Egypt, by all the world's Saviors, and as taught in all true initiatory rites of the present day.

In truth, the name Osiris means one who has become the Son of the Sun, or God. The term "Christ" or Christos has the same meaning for Christians.

We, the carnal, must die, even as does the old year, and must pass through hades (the fires of purification) in order to be reborn, or born anew. We also may be born of the virgin (in purity) and be lifted up as arises the sun in the heavens after its three days and three nights (an indefinite period of time) in the Winter solstice. All this is symbolic of the first birth, for is not the unborn child deep down in darkness or "hades" before it is born and sees the light of day, or the "sun"?

In seeking for the Light we are seeking for the "sun," the Soul is to become the Son or the Christos. All this also takes place within our own being as certainly as is the sun in the universe and arises anew each morning to give us light.

We alone are responsible for what we do, for what we are, for what we are to become. We cannot find another, or depend upon another, to save us; that other has himself to save as certainly as we are responsible for what we are to be. No one has the power to harm or to destroy us, anymore than we have the power to harm or destroy another.

If we harbor hate toward another, then we send forth vibrations that may or may not reach that other's Soul. In either case, these vibrations of hatred will be reflected back upon us and we cannot avoid receiving them, since they are the "children of our bosom," or, in modern parlance, "chickens come home to roost." This process, if continued, will gradually saturate our inner being with the poisons created by our own thoughts and reflected and impressed upon the Soul. The virulency of this poison will in time submerge the Soul and cause it to become wholly gross and evil.

Our thoughts and the desires which follow in their wake are at times so venomous that they cause sickness, sometimes insanity, possibly instant death, and we call it heart failure or apoplexy.

As a result of carnal passions the mind may inoculate the Soul with destructive poisons. The Soul in turn reflects this evil state upon or through the body. In this manner a continually active vicious circle is created which may be so evil, so potent, as to give birth to a creature such as we know as Hitler, or a Stalin.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Nazarene warned his hearers to beware of the feeling of hate or the thought of revenge. He clearly indicated that even love offerings to God became unacceptable if the heart of the one offering them held thoughts of hatred or malice toward another. Worship of God while evil exists in the heart cannot be made to harmonize; the two cannot be reconciled; the lion and the lamb cannot be made to lie down together until the lion is also turned into a lamb; hatred transmuted into love.

By permitting any of the destructive (degrading) passions to find a resting place in the mind and heart, we thereby give life to the forces whose tendency is to destroy, and which must ultimately do just that to the spiritual self, the Soul. That is the Law. One spoiled apple in an entire barrel will ultimately spoil all of the apples in that barrel. The Law of Hermes is: "As in the outer, so in the inner." As it is with the material, so must it be with the spiritual. Whatever we do or think LEAVES ITS IMPRESSION UPON THE SOUL . All evil must be paid for. "Thou shalt by no means come out thence, until thou hast paid the last farthing." Consider this statement well. There is no qualification to this decree, no indication of the forgiveness of the sin (evil), no holding forth of vicarious atonement. Thou, and thou alone, must pay to the utmost - the last farthing.

The Soul receives or, if you will, is impressed by, all the thoughts we think, by all the desires we have, be these good, bad or indifferent. It cannot prevent itself from receiving everything that is of the mind, any more than the disc prepared to make a phonograph record can prevent the impression being made on it; knowing this, we should be most selective of our thoughts, desires and acts.

The mind may receive thoughts sent out by others, but if the mind itself is strong and free from evils of a like nature, no impression is made on the mind, and consequently these thought waves never reach the Soul.

No one can force another to either love or hate him. He may govern another; may command obedience by the authority he possesses, and an appearance of reverence, but the heart must be first touched if either hate or love is to be aroused. The physical man alone may be governed by another who in one way or another is stronger, but the inner self, the Soul self, cannot be reached except by permission of the person to be reached.

The mind of the hypnotist may be powerful and may be able to mislead and destroy the mind and Soul of another, but only if that other mind is either of like nature or opens itself to such influences. If the mind be free from evil and refuses to accept the suggestions made, then no power on earth can reach it. Because of this, we alone are the savior or destroyer of ourselves. God gave no man sufficient power to take from us free choice of what we would think or do, consequently we alone are responsible.

Personal, individual responsibility is the Law.

When we love the things that are part of, or belong to the Soul (universally called the "Christ"), then do we truly love the real self, then the individuality brought into consciousness is the Christos. Once we reverence that inner self, we will do nothing that would degrade or destroy it. When we accept that which is not good, we are beginning to destroy the real self, and by these acts we confess that we do not really love the Soul, nor God, neither the Christ.

Always and forever, despite all protestations do we welcome, cherish and protect that which we really desire. When we see multitudes debasing themselves for power or the glitter of gold, giving way to lustful indulgences and evil practices, we need not judge, we know, and they themselves are aware, that they desire these temporal things and pleasures far more than the salvation of their own Soul.

There is a presence, an overshadowing being, always within us, though we are not always aware of its presence, nor able to see it with our mortal eyes.

This presence manifests itself in every movement, in all our actions.

This being smiles at us with gentle, caressing tenderness and purity when we choose the right; or it hides and shrinks within itself when we betray our better self by evil thoughts, desires and deeds.

This is the Soul.

Wherever we go, there it is with us. Whatever we do, we do to it also. It is always with us; is the more important part of us. Figuratively speaking, it drinks of the cup we drink; it partakes of the food we eat; it lives the life we lead. It has no choice of its own and at best it can only urge us to do otherwise when we are in the wrong. This Soul is the real; it continues to exist long after the mind and body with their temporal thoughts and desires have passed away, but, unfortunately for itself, it must continue to live that which the temporal, the personality, has made it until it can free itself of this undesirable inheritance.

The unawakened Soul lives in a darkness as of night, yet no night can be so dark as to prevent the Soul from seeking Light and constantly urging the mind to bring it to Light.

The Nazarene well said: "Though our evils be crimson, they may be made white as snow." The thoughts made pure, the desires made lofty and the aspirations noble, will transmute the dark evils into the purity of the whiteness of snow and the Soul will arise in the glory of Light.

We owe to ourselves, to the world we live in and, above all else, to the Soul the best we are capable of doing. Once we earnestly strive to bring this about we find that the effort is a good investment mentally, materially and spiritually.

Our thoughts are continually portrayed by our attitude toward humanity. However evil the humanity with whom they associated, the world Saviors and Initiates always display humility, compassion and a deep sorrow when in such surroundings. If we think love, if we feel affection, sympathy and compassion, then it is certain that we display it for the unfortunate, though in no sense condoning their evil. This attitude will develop within us the Christic Soul and we, more than others, will benefit as a result of the good we try to accomplish; the changes for the welfare of others we try to bring about. The philosophy of the Soul, of Christic endeavor and accomplishment, is not an external effort, enforced by superficial ceremony; it first of all is a philosophy that influences the mind to think correctly and constructively, thereby reaching the heart, and finally the Soul.

Such an attitude and philosophical teaching does not countenance wrong or evil. Individuals who are converted to such a philosophy are uncompromising to those who do otherwise than good; but this does not suggest that we do not have a kindly thought for even those who act destructively. It is not the personality against whom we would wage a war of eradication, but against the evils themselves.

All the philosophical, religious pretenses and smug hypocrisy is impotent to create a beautiful Soul. It is only by the knowledge of what constitutes true religious thought that we can be brought face to face with what we really are, and until we have this knowledge, we can have little or no conception of our littleness, nor yet of what we might be. When we do so meet - ourselves - then we will analyze ourselves, and as a result, learn to know both our strength and our weakness. We will have obeyed the ancient command: "Man, Know Thyself," and we will set about to change that in us with which we are not pleased, or that of which we are downright ashamed.

The great Tolstoi, though not a religionist, wrote truthfully: "If we begin to live rightly as Christ [the Nazarene] taught us, we could no longer continue to live wrongly." This is not smugness. It is a philosophical-spiritual awareness. To begin to live, as not only the Nazarene, but all of the true Initiates taught us, we must first begin to think rightly. This will awaken different desires within us. We will shortly begin to comprehend that so living brings a peace and contentment heretofore unknown, together with a strength that is capable of resisting all evil and aggression against us.

The Christ which is the Light, implying the presence of the Holy Ghost (Fire), is the Illuminator of both mind and Soul.

What seek ye? The answer must always be: Light, ever more Light. Light is the Illuminator; it is the descending of the Holy Ghost.

Darkness, always symbolic of evil, forever is trying to envelop us and to outshadow the Light.

Darkness is without form, is void and in chaos, yet it embraces all things until the spirit of God, the Light which is on "neither land nor sea," moves upon it, dispels the darkness and illuminates the shadows.

We must take the self to task for every thought, every spoken word and every desire. Eliminate all that belongs to unkindness, antagonism, judgment and coldness of heart. Eliminate all the evils and dark passions from the mentality, permitting the Divine Fire to enter and illuminate the darkness so that Wisdom will find an abiding place in the Light.

The Light of Reason, Wisdom, Understanding and Love is latent in all men, but there must be an awakening, an acceptance and an application of the Laws that bring understanding. So long as there is a mind, which can think and reason, there is the power and the possibility of attaining perfection. Man - you, are the thinker, the builder of the Soul by exalted thought and noble actions.

You, the thinker, can build as beautifully and as perfectly as Solomon of old builded his Temple as a fit place for the Soul. The same plans and specifications are yours for the acceptance. You are neither less nor greater than was he; you have the same opportunity and you are just as capable; accept and it shall be so.

In the ancient Legend of Osiris and Isis, Osiris married his sister Isis. This symbolically indicates that in the building or creation of an Illuminated, a Christic or Gnostic Soul, you are both father (Osiris) and mother (Isis) and that these two natures, the builder and the affection, the masculine and the feminine, must be awakened and act harmoniously; then is born the Soul which, like the Christ child, bears the crown of glory, the emblem of Light, the Illumination.

Your efforts may bring you some pain and sorrow because you had become a part of that which must be eliminated, changed and ennobled. All birth or change is painful, but the joy resulting from bringing forth the Light as did the Creator when He separated the darkness, will doubly reward you, and know this: The sufferings and sorrows will be as nothing compared to those that would ultimately, possibly soon, come upon you, did you not make the effort.

The attainment of Conscious Individuality may require great effort and a degree of self-denial, but the crown of Illumination, of being enveloped by the cloak of Light, is well worth it and will bring you the mythical waters of life; the Life that is eternal, the mantle that is Immortality.
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