In Biblical phraseology, man, or more correctly, the Soul that is in the normal human being, came to earth to "gain experience of good and evil" and as a result, change the earthly "son of man" into a Son of God."

Immortality of Soul, or the Soul's illumination, or Philosophic Initiation, may not be mentioned in the Scriptural text in these words, but the synonyms are. It was directly commanded by the Nazarene that to enter heaven, i.e., to attain Immortality of the Soul, man must do that which will help him to be born again, that of the Spirit, the Divine Spark, the Christos within Himself.

It is likewise commanded that he shall make of himself The Temple of the Living God, i.e., find the Light that is from God, is God, within that temple; i.e., succeed in attaining Illumination - Illumination indicating the Light found within. Terms in themselves mean nothing other than what they convey.

Immortality of the Soul in the individual is attained only as a result of man's own desires and efforts. This is the cardinal tenet of the new interpretation and the foundation of all teachings of the Great Work. The Immortalization of the Soul, however, is not a blessing that is to be thought of as being thrust on all alike regardless of their desire or faith. It is, on the contrary, the most desirable thing in life, the only reality.

The Consciousness of soul must be earned by effort; by a positive functioning of the Law of constructiveness in life's activities; by a deliberate direction of all forces toward a given end, the aim being to change the human personality with all its faults and weaknesses into the Spiritually Conscious Individuality. The personality becoming, by gradual degrees, the temple of the Conscious Individuality.

Immortalization is possible because there is born with the body, with the first breath of life, a Spark of the Divinity; this Spark is the Christos, so named by the ancient Greeks in the heyday of their culture. This Divine Spark is the potential individual Soul. It is not a Soul per se, and will not be such until man, by obedience to the Law that he develop his talents, brings it into consciousness. It is then that the Biblical "Light that lighteth" man comes into activity. Once man becomes conscious of this Light within his being, he will like wise be made aware that this Light possesses a "Voice" which, listened to, will guide him through life.

This Divine Spark given into the possession of all men, sufficiently developed to be entrusted with it by the Divine Law, can be so completely developed that it will become a globe of pure white Light in the center of man's being. This was a secret in the keeping of the Initiate Priests of Egypt and the reason why they symbolized it in the form of a golden disc, the ATEN and to stress this eternal truth the Nazarene - speaking for the Divinity Himself, both directly and through the disciples - made the positive statement: "Ye are" [may become] the temples of the living God," i.e., the Ineffable Light, God always manifesting himself to man as a Light or in the form of Fire.

The new Interpretation bases its truth on this Divinely revealed truth, that man becomes Illuminated as a result of his innermost desires and constant, consistent, patient efforts. He becomes a Temple of Illumination by bringing the inner, latent Christos into manifestation as an Individual being.

The mind of man, once awakened to his possibilities and the desire for Spiritual realization, becomes the Architect for that symbolic building known as King Solomon's Temple - itself a Spiritualized structure wherein the sun constantly shines because it gives residence to the son of man become the become the Son of God - the sole purpose of the Great Work in the life of man; this is the aim and end of Philosophic Initiation. The exalted love dwelling in the enlightened man's heart becomes the Light or ever burning fire upon the altar within the temple. This flame upon the altar radiates its Light and its warmth of compassion and "good will unto all men."

Man created after the pattern of the Creator Himself, once awakened to his inheritance, cannot but be a reflection of the Divine, possessing in latency all of the powers and attributes of the Infinite. Whether or not man will develop and bring into manifestation these inheritances depends entirely upon the degree of his awakening.

In different personalities these inheritances or Divine attributes are in various states of unfoldment. For some, these qualities are in various states of unfoldment. For some, these qualities may be in an entirely latent stage and concealed, buried in a tomb Biblically speaking, deep beneath the hardened crust of a wholly selfish personality - possibly so steeped in degeneracy as to be impossible to awaken in the present life.

In another person these qualities may be in the incipient stage of unmanifested goodness, ready for coming into activity, much as flower bulbs are held bound in the frozen earth waiting for the warming sun of spring to permit them to come forth in all their glory.

In another person these Divine attributes may have already become a dynamic expression of individualization; the Soul being conscious of its inseparable connection with the Infinite from whence it had its existence. All the potentialities with which the normally developed human creature is endowed may have been, or may be, condensed into a center, a nucleus of radiation of Light, into a perfect pyramidal flame that envelops and warms the desire nature with love and illuminates the understanding with Wisdom.

When this degree of awakening has been attained, the Divine qualities of love, kindness, compassion and justice, unconsciously and without effort, radiate the blessings of their inherent good upon all with whom they come in contact.

The ancient Initiates who had attained this state, placed the source of this Light within man's innermost center within the innermost triangle. This means, they reached the innermost Spiritual center within the Spiritually awakened man; they made every effort to help desiring Souls to this attainment.

Creation is the manifestation of the constant activity of the Creative energy we know as God or the Father, knowing of no more appropriate name for it. All things that have existed and that now exist were created by this active energy; are in them selves good and to the welfare of all.

Mankind generally, having been endowed with free Will as a blessing has turned it into a curse instead and is using free Will for other than constructive purposes. Thus man has perverted practically all things of which he has gained possession or direction and has brought little other than evil upon himself and his fellow man. He has been, and continues to be, too blind to see that his actions have brought sorrows, sufferings and losses, while they might have been directed to his welfare, benefit, profit and blessing.

In man's fourfold nature - body, spirit (life forces), mind and Spiritual inheritance not yet a Soul - man is an epitome of the Universe. Potentially, he is a Divine creature in miniature, termed the Microcosm; and, consequently, a "little god" or "little world." Man is the climax, the culmination of forces, which for unknown time have been seeking expression.

Concurrently with the creature's development through aeons of time, there also developed within him as "shadows," latent forces of a vital, Spiritual nature, but in a dormant state. These forces and potentialities have never changed. They are present within man now as they always have been; developed by a very few, who became the gods of mythology and legends, or the Avatars, world leaders and geniuses. In all but a few, however, the inheritances or "other selves" are still as dormant as they have been throughout the ages.

How to develop these forces, bring them into proper and constructive activity, and actually express them harmoniously with the Divine Law, continues to be the problem before man today. This would not be so, if man had the proper insight, the active desire, the willingness to make the effort required to bring himself into full manifestation. To develop and direct these inherent forces and abilities constructively was the Divine plan and, to do this in obedience to the Creative Law, will always result in the exaltation of man's entire being and will illustrate the on earth, as it is in heaven" dictate.

God, the Universal All, the Father of all that is good, could not possibly place a higher mark of honor on man than to confer upon him the right and privilege of choice; the power of decision and the ability to direct both his Will and his forces in the execution of plans in harmony with His own decrees.

Every force and power is good in itself, but admits of a two-fold expression - the active and positive or the passive and receptive - which is also the "bringing forth." Except for the activity of this Law of action and reaction, all creation would immediately cease.

It is action misdirected that is productive of evil or destructiveness; and not manifestation of the activity. The mother can bring forth only that which she has conceived. Both evil and good therefore begin with the conception, and this, itself has its beginning with the idea that is carried into effect by the act.

Every Law governing man's nature is, in itself, constructive, advancing and progressive, and permits of a two-fold functioning. The directing of a force or power is the only thing which determines its eventual effects. Every virtue is offset by a possible corresponding weakness, evil, vice or degrading reaction. Virtue itself must be self directed and not enforced, otherwise, in so far as the possession is concerned, it is a festering evil.

The result of man's actions, in so far as he himself is concerned, depends entirely on his desire and direction. A virtue enforced upon a man does not make him virtuous, however necessary the enforcement may be, but may cause him to become the more vicious. For a man to be moral because of lack of opportunity to be otherwise, or because he is fearful of the results, does not remove the canker from his soul.

Every organ of man's body, every function of his mind, every feeling of his heart, was implanted with the intent that it be employed for a noble purpose or directed into proper channels. Its misdirection may not be due to viciousness or the weakness of man's nature, but may be the result of ignorance. It is therefore the "highnoon" of humanity, the time to teach the governing Law insofar as man is primarily concerned, as well as the Law of Personal Responsibility in so far as man is ultimately concerned. This is the mission of God's servants as Interpreters of the Law in this present New Age or New Order of the Ages.

The one all-embracing aim of the present effort is to offer plain and not-to-be-misunderstood directives to all seeking Souls, enabling those who will to choose their steps carefully and intelligently and in full harmony with every active force of benefit to humanity and making it possible for them to cultivate their manifold powers and forces and direct them into proper channels.

These Laws have always existed and have always been in operation, but unfortunately for the individual and humanity in toto, man has been taught to believe that he can be saved by faith, instead of saving himself by proper activity and, in one and the same operation, bring into action all his abilities and potentialities as a co-Creator with his Creator.

The Divine Law not only is at the basis of all true growth, advancement and progress of a Spiritual nature, but is equally basic to every activity that concerns or involves man's physical being. Man has failed to understand this and hence has ignored his Spiritual side as of little or no value to him, other than as a placating faith, soothing to his mind and keeping his conscience asleep.

This Law, being a Law, is naturally exacting in its positive aspect and relentless in the dispensation of righness or justice which includes the fruits resulting from acts; and no man, no creature, no being, not even God, can free a man from the penalty of or reward for his actions. Obedience to the Law is constructive in both material and Spiritual aspects, and, consciously followed, is the prime force in attaining Soul growth. Its natural goal is Soul Consciousness, the Immortalization of the Individual, another term for changing the personality into Individuality.

The failure to act in obedience to the Divine Law is always, and in every respect, destructive and degenerating to the mental, the physical, and the spiritual, since these form component parts composing the creature we know as "man."

The Manistic or the New Order of the Ages interpretation is positive in its recognition of the Divine Law literally applied to both its positive and its negative reaction. As a consequence, the Great Work in both its inner and outer, its lesser and greater aspect, continually endeavors to center the mind of men on the ideal of growth and development, ultimately leading to Immortalization or Soul Consciousness, as indicated in both profane and Spiritual literature.

It is equally persistent in warning against all destructive thinking, desiring and action, which tend toward failure to attain Individuality and finally make it impossible for man to become more than a creature of what is erroneously termed "fate."

By the operation or reaction of the Law which governs action man is punished as a result of his persistence in thinking, desiring, and acting in defiance of the law of exaltation. As a result he, by his thoughts and acts, generates within himself the fire which, by its very nature, "burns up" the chaff, that is, himself. God has nothing whatever to do with it other than that he set the Law into operation, and in doing so, gave a promise and sounded a warning.

The positive aspect in the activity of the Divine Law is known as the process of finding salvation (be saved from) by means of Regeneration, i.e., the Biblical second or Spiritual birth. The second or negative aspect is the gradual Degeneration of the mind and morality and final loss of the Spiritual entity inherited at birth.

In the new Interpretation, as always in the teachings of the Arcane Schools of the Great Work, the means for the redemption of the self and the Regeneration of the entire being, receive the utmost practical attention - minus all doctrine and creed, the sole intent being to help the human creature become the Divine being of God's first intention.

The constantly misused and misapplied term "salvation" is not to be interpreted as having reference to only one specific or definite achievement or accomplishment. Salvation - to be saved - cannot be accomplished in part. It embraces a long continued process of growth or development of the self-being and of the Spiritual self or Soul, the bringing of the Christos into life and manifestation. It finds its culmination in Immortalization, Individualization, or Soul Consciousness.

These attainments are the result of faith only to the degree that faith induces action or effort. This process is a continuous growth and at no time is to be thought of as a climax of perfection, or the end of effort toward perfection. Illumination of the Soul, its envelopment in Light, is but the beginning of still greater growth with possibilities that dwarf the imagination.

The most important effort of the Christic or Manistic interpretation and its application is the establishment of direct communication or communion between god and His Creature man without anyone's intercession.

This is not a contradiction of either the Divine Law or the inculcations of the Nazarene who taught, in the most positive manner, "when thou prayest," that is, when you seek communion between God and yourself, "go into the closet and close the door."

Nowhere is it taught that man or priest is to enter with him into his closet or that such is necessary that God may receive or hear him. All anyone can do, all that the teacher-guide can do, is to point out and lead the way. Each one in this New Age and New Order must himself travel the Path leading to the desired Illumination, Soul Consciousness and Consciousness of God.
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