To crucify is to "make to suffer" or to be made to suffer.

To crucify is also to change or to be made to change.

It may be said that almost universally and for the benefit of the body men crucify all that is good within themselves.

The Soul within, the Christos, is therefore made to suffer; it is continually, aye, hourly crucified upon the Cross. This Cross is the body, or rather, the selfish, carnal, lustful desires of the body.

The body is a "dark" place because practically all the deeds, acts and desires of the body, the physical man, are "dark"; they are not for good, therefore there is no "light" in the body.

The man awakening to this fact and becoming wise, "gaining in wisdom," comes into an understanding of this and, becoming wise, like a Solomon, begins the building of a spiritual temple and in this process he reverses the procedure and begins to crucify, that is, change or transmute the unregenerative thoughts, desires, appetites and passions into the godly, or Christic, qualities and emotions, and then there is "wailing and gnashing" of teeth within that temple that is being rebuilt.

So it is written that at the crucifixion "there was darkness over all the earth, and the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst."

At this crucifixion the flesh is made to suffer. The carnal desires, having so long been catered to, do not give up easily. They demand the service and the satisfaction heretofore theirs, and, when denied, there is much bewailing. There is darkness and confusion within, for this little man is the microcosm - the little world; the son, that is, the Soul, is darkened; it is as yet in darkness and this must continue until the veil of the temple is rent and the sun of the little universe or microcosm is finally able to shine through.

The Nazarene had passed through all these experiences during the greater part of His life. It was necessary for Him to do this in order that He might become the Initiate-Teacher. He understood that it would also be necessary for Him to pass through the formal crucifixion in order to portray to the world the passions of the Cross and victory over them.

He was prepared for the Golgotha test because it was made known to Him that this would be His supreme ordeal, the ordeal of an exemplar, and that the victory over this would lift Him far beyond anything mortal man had ever attained; that through His success He would lift up other men also.

The written gospels, though greatly colored by those who edited them, give us a fair glimpse of the Nazarene's ministry; what He thought, what His desires were, the ideals He held and the effort He made to render service unto mankind as a laborer in "God's vineyard." His entire life was that of a builder, of an "architect of the Soul" that would not only finally Illuminate itself, but all the world that would accept and apply the things He taught.

Some of His disciples recognized the value and sublimity of the work He was trying to do; as for instance Peter:

"Whom say ye that I am?" not the person, but the Christos that He had succeeded in building or bringing into Consciousness by His own efforts.

And Peter answered: "Thou are the Christ, [become] the Son of the living God."

The whole effort of the Nazarene while on earth was devoted to two things: (a) building a Christic Soul, the awakening and Illumination of the Christos, and (b) doing the works proper to one who had attained unto Godhood.

He demonstrated this Christos, or Illuminated Being, in all His labors and teachings. He manifested the power a Son of God should possess, did this in every manifested thought and act. His entire ministry was based on the mystery of the ages; the possibility of mortality taking upon itself Immortality; of the corruptible becoming the incorruptible.

He was fully aware, even as a child, that His mission was to "be about His Father's business" and He at an early age fully demonstrated this by not even permitting love for His own mother to interfere with this business. The learned men and teachers of a decadent age sitting in the synagogues could not comprehend what He meant when he referred to His "Father's business" any more than the masses today understand what we mean when we speak of attaining Cosmic Consciousness, or bringing the Christos into the Light.

It is written that only His mother understood. It was she who, having herself been instructed in part of the mystery and the part He must play in life's drama, kept watch over Him and treasured within her heart all that He said and did. What a pity that many, if not all, of the mothers of today cannot be awakened to the immensity of their possibilities and the almost incomprehensible power they possess for good, that they too might become the mothers of world saviors.

Due to the training and development through which the Nazarene had to pass as an Acolyte of the Essenes, He understood the weakness and the passions of men as He also understood their strength once they were fully awakened to their innate possibilities. Those who traveled with Him were aware that He possessed this understanding, for it is written that one of them said: "And [He] needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man."

The Nazarene Initiate understood the mystery we know as mind with all its conflicting emotions; He was able to read men as He would an open book; their thoughts, desires and secret acts were clearly written upon (in) their expression.

The thoughts of men and the desires of the heart were manifested before His eyes by what they did. Peter, with all his boasted loyalty, did not understand himself. He was unaware of his innate weaknesses, even though these were recognized by his Master-Teacher; yet Peter's knowledge and understanding was greater than that possessed by any of the other disciples. To Peter He said: "When thou art converted [regenerated and attain Soul Consciousness], Peter, strengthen thy brethren." This clearly signifies that one may possess great power to heal and an ability to teach, and be thoroughly "sold," i.e., mentally converted to a faith or a philosophy, yet it does not follow that such an one is really spiritually converted, that is, having become regenerated as a result of living the life taught.

Any man mentally converted but not having fully "crucified" the world man is still liable to be led astray by either the fears or the desires of the worldly man - the flesh.

The satan of the self was still Peter's greatest enemy, as it is with all of us. Peter was a faithful "follower" of the Nazarene. Peter was a disciple and apostle, yet despite all this, the Nazarene well knew that as yet he was not fully "converted." He had not attained to Soul Consciousness and Conscious Immortality and therefore did not possess the strength and stability this would confer upon him, thus he was warned that when he had become "converted" and the time of need came, he was to strengthen the other brethren, thereby indicating that though Peter was the strongest of the twelve, had listened to the Master-Teacher's every inculcation, he was yet weak and not fully dependable.

The Nazarene's judgment or appraisal was fully justified. When Peter's Master was taken as a prisoner by the forces of evil, the henchmen of rulers in high places, Peter's fear for his own safety was greater than the love for his Master. When Peter finally became aware of his disloyalty and weakness and saw himself as he really was, it dawned upon him that he had so proudly boasted to his Master: "I will lay down my life for thy sake"; can we wonder that he went alone without and wept? Unfortunately for right and justice, all of us are Peters; some weaker, some stronger.

There was none among the twelve who had as loudly proclaimed his love and loyalty as had Peter; therefore no other was as guilty as he. Despite his weakness and betrayal, his own awakening to a knowledge of it and the great struggle he thereafter passed through won the victory, and as he stood face to face with his inner self, the Soul, he had finally awakened to the truth. He had been converted at last, and thereafter none stood forth so boldly, so completely faithful to the truth, as did Peter.

The "coming forth" or awakening of the Soul is often during the hour of greatest trial. This is similar to the time of just before the birth of the material body into the world of matter. It is during this period that "there is great darkness over all the [our] earth, and the sun is darkened, and [finally] the veil of the temple is rent in the midst" and the Soul stands forth - transfixed; that is, in its glory or Illumination.

We think ourselves strong but under tests we find ourselves weak. We believe ourselves willing to suffer and die for another, only to find that the frail Soul within trembles for our own safety and the need is great.

How can we possess the strength to sacrifice for another when we refuse to crucify (change and transmute) the "henchmen of satan" within ourselves and for our own Soul's sake?

In contradiction of this, man will destroy himself, crucify Christos, the Soul, for the desires of the flesh and for worldly greed and gain. He will gamble and cheat and barter his Soul, not necessarily for, but in an effort to obtain, money. He continually denies the Soul its needs, but is too weak to refuse the desires of the carnal self. The craving and thirst for the treasures and pleasures of the world are too strong to be denied. Their satisfaction is still as nectar to him. No wonder that the Nazarene said unto Peter: "When thou art converted, [then] strengthen thy brethren."

Despite man's eternal weakness, he is fully aware that all carnal desires and efforts in the direction of pleasure will ultimately come to an end; and, as wrote the Immortal Burns: " leave him naught but pain for promised joy."

The call of the flesh speaks for itself. Its voice is readily understood. It has a way of making itself felt, insisting on being satisfied. We seek the means to bodily ease and comfort because the flesh demands it. We deny the Soul all its needs because its voice is less strong; we lull it into silence with a promise of tomorrow. We fear that to deny ourselves the thing the flesh demands will bring us suffering. We make every effort to satisfy the flesh, unaware that each time we do this, it is to the detriment of the real self and that our resistance becomes relatively weaker each time we comply. Finally we become the slave of the self and utterly selfish, seeking only the benefit of the selfish self and suffer when we are no longer capable of satisfying that self.

Do you think that the Nazarene suffered because He was poor in this world's goods; because those in high places did not honor Him; because even the lowly, the common people thought of Him only as the carpenter's son; or had failed to attain to worldly fame?

Not at all. These were not the things He sought. He did not come for any such purpose. He early realized the purpose of His mission; He knew that every effort made was for the purpose of achieving Godhood and that this would bring Him the powers of the gods; that the angels in the heavenly spheres would be willing to minister unto Him; that finally the people would be willing to make Him their temporal king. These things He knew, but His one aim in life was to be about "His Father's" business and to the extent that He could employ or direct all at His command in bringing "this business" to a successful end, He did so.

The desires of the flesh, the calls of men who could not comprehend His mission were accepted as part of life to be met and overcome. He suffered not because of these things. His suffering was due to His ability to read the Souls of men and see their destructive selfishness; desire for self-glory and aggrandizement; satisfaction of carnal longings; gain a profit by creating loss to others, and an almost utter lack of desire for the things which He represented and knew men so badly needed.

Why should we seek for small positions in life, or honors in high places, unless these have in mind the benefit of the many? It is because we, like Peter of old, have not as yet come face to face with ourselves, we have not as yet awakened to the real that is within us. Our hour of travail has not yet come upon us, or it has been with us and has found us so sadly wanting that we have not even been aware of it. Only the crucifixion of the selfish self will open our eyes to our opportunities and to our possibilities.

"Crucify him," is the voice of the age. "Crucify the flesh." Do not destroy the flesh; it has its place in the world. Change it, transmute it, elevate the ideals, exalt the entire being. Raise it up; but this can only follow the crucifixion. This is the only Path to freedom. It is the via to Life, greater life here and now, abundant life hereafter.

"Put up thy sword into thy sheath; the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" Why fight against that which must ultimately be? Man is here on earth for a certain set purpose, a purpose which he may for a time evade at the probable cost of all that is worthwhile, but which in time he must meet. He is on earth that he may gain experience, that he may learn good from evil, and knowing, be able to select and follow the good. Man is here to learn. He is here to find the Path that leads to life. This is via crucifixion; by way of making the Great Change.

Shall we, dare we, should we, refuse the crucifixion?

The crucifixion, the transmutation of the gross and carnal into the refined or glorified, leads to mastery of self and all forces that beset the self or give it power; to at-one-ment, to sonship with the Father. The Nazarene, like all the Initiates before Him, understood this fully and willingly accepted the "cup" of life. He continued in His way, though the cup was sometimes bitter and despite the fact that even some of His disciples would have had Him choose the easier way.

The personal self, the selfish self, must be crucified; it is not ever to be destroyed, but to be purified, to be made free from carnality by way of the crucifixion, so that it may "arise in glory" after having overcome the grave - the body. The desires and demands of the lower self, when they serve no good purpose, must be changed into ideals for a higher and greater life and mission on earth.

The Nazarene had been well instructed in the Way of Life; He had become master of the process of regeneration; He knew the effort involved, the agony resulting from dying mortal desires. He did not shrink, nor pause for a moment; He was never dismayed, never at a loss of what He must do.

Long before the physical crucifixion, it is written that He said: "I lay down my life that I may take it up again."

"No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again."

To "lay down" the old self, to change it, transmute, and thereby crucify it; this it is to "lay down" life that a greater life may be taken up again or be resurrected therefrom.

Such a crucifixion brings about the possibility of the resurrection of the Soul and confers Immortality. It is the Pathway to real power; the road to all that ever was, that now is, or that ever will be. There are those who may attempt to destroy us; if they could succeed they would do no more than free us from the body; the Soul would be left untouched, and, as a result of the sacrifice, much advanced.

When the Soul is once awakened and has succeeded in attaining Conscious Individuality, Sonship with the Father, then nothing on earth or in hell can destroy it or bring harm to it. It is. It will continue to be. This is the "key" to the kingdom of heaven, and hell cannot prevail against it. For this reason the Master-Teacher informed all: "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and [then] all things will be added unto you."

Perhaps there will be suffering for the awakening mind. The process of awakening, the slow disentanglement of the Soul, is a birth, a coming into life, and as such is a travail, and all travail is painful; but once the Consciousness of the Soul is a certainty, then suffering is no more; it is the "life laid down [by the mortal] that it may be taken up again in greater glory" - in the Soul's Illumination.

There most certainly are obstacles in the earth life that must be overcome, and the desires of the flesh will constantly annoy and attempt to prevent the advance from the physical into the spiritual. Once the veil of the temple (the flesh) is rent, permitting the spiritual selfhood behind the veil to come forth, the Light will shine; all the suffering before will count as naught and be as a thing forgotten.

The body is with us so that it may become the temple of the living God. That is its primary purpose. All too few are willing to do the things necessary to pierce the veil that hides Him from view and denies them His companionship.

When this veil is rent, and this occurs during the crucifixion, when the desires and passions of the flesh have been transmuted, and we commend the spirit (the Soul) into the hands of the Father as did the Nazarene, then will we begin to walk anew in life and with peace, and in Sonship with the All-Creator, the Cosmic Soul, the Father of us all.

After the Nazarene had become the Christ, had risen from the tomb of the physical, and had made the last sacrifice, He suffered no further trials or temptations. The weaknesses and consequently the sorrows of the flesh were at an end. Once we have lost desire for a thing, it can no longer tempt us and we are free from its death-dealing tentacles.

Before the final change brought about through the crucifixion, the Nazarene was as subject to temptation as are we. He wept with sorrow and loss at the grave of Lazarus even as did others; but unlike others, He did not weep because of a lack of hope, but because of the blindness and noncomprehension of those about Him. It is not a weakness to understand and feel for the failings of others, but to be led astray by false logic and ignorance, is to fail as they fail.

Multitudes yield to the weakness for the pleasures and unnecessary comforts of life, yet count themselves as strong. Some of these are teachers of constructive truths but have not advanced far enough to be able to see beyond the veil of self and into the temple within so as to comprehend the facts that a God is held bound there, struggling for freedom and the Light. They believe but have not yet reached to a degree of faith strong enough to become an incentive to act so as to be able to attain to Conscious Individuality. While others have awakened to this truth but shun the final crucifixion, they thrust aside the cup that the lips may not quaff its life's elixir.

The Nazarene came to possess great power because He fully understood and was willing to take the final bitter draught. "Not my will, but thine [the Law], oh God." He felt the pangs of death even more strongly than do other men because His spirit had become attuned, made sensitive to all feeling and His sufferings were so much the greater because He felt the sufferings of others as well as His own.

It is written of Him that "He need not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man." He quickly sensed the good and evil latent in men. He was perfectly aware of the power and strength of the flesh, and well understood the struggles necessary for mortal man to free himself of the earthly tentacles that bind him.

The passions of the flesh sorely tried him as it does other men. He sensed the same subtle enemy encompass those near and dear to Him. He had compassion for them and in this compassion there was the cause of His suffering. As a result of all this, He was able to offer unto men one of life's greatest lessons, that of love and understanding.

When those who felt that the Nazarene was their enemy and sought to destroy Him, He was well aware that they were wholly unable to comprehend the truth and the real reason for His mission.

"Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my words.

"Ye are of your father, the devil [the flesh and its desires] and the lusts of your father ye will do."

These lusts and weaknesses of the flesh are those of which it is written: " a murderer from the beginning [the destroyer of truth and the Soul] and abide not in truth, because there is no truth in him." There is no truth in evil; there is no life in the carnal pleasures of the senses. These are the lusts of the father - the flesh. These offer the so-called good things in life, but they are actually the destroyers of life because they use up the life-giving forces without replacing them.

The material self must suffer sometime; it is either at the parting of the way when man refuses to enter farther into the entangling meshes of carnality, or at the end of life if he refuses to make the decision. It is far better to suffer in the beginning for a short period than to do so when life's forces are spent and hope is no more.

It is better to die now and live again than to live now and be dead forever, just as it is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all. In each instance there is resultant experience.

John crying in the wilderness, the awakened mind, must be our guide and builder. It is the "river of life" to the Soul. The awakened mind is the "water" that will cleanse (baptize) the Soul and free it from its uncleanliness (unen-lightenment). Concentration of the mind on the attainment of Soul Consciousness is "bathing the Soul in the waters of truth." It is bringing to it the kindly Light, leading it safely through the pits and shadows of evil that beset it. The awakened mind is the creator and transmitter of the vibrations that mean life to the Soul.

The vibrations become the "lifting" forces and are builders of the Soul. They are the reconstructors. They, like all vibratory forces, create a color in accordance with the degree of their intensity. These colors emanate from man and by them is man's degree of enlightenment quickly manifested to those who know. Because of this, the Nazarene "needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man."

The mind is the creator of thought. It is continually engaged in creating and producing, piling up either wheat or tares, or perhaps both, until the final gleaning, until a final crucifixion tears aside the veil between body and Soul and the Christos shines forth, or "man passes on to be known no more."

During the past many centuries few men have willingly followed the Path of life, consequently there is much darkness in the world and the sun cannot give forth its full light until the hour of Golgotha again strikes.

There is but one way to go; this is by way of the Cross. This is not the destruction of the old, but the cleansing of it, the elevation of the desires, the purification and sanctification of that which we have and which must be given a new birth, being born of the spirit as it has of the flesh and of water.

"He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."

The awakening and bringing into Consciousness of the Soul is this door. It alone leads into a world of Light, to the planes of actual goodness, because it is constructiveness, and to power which is glory. To enter this way we must begin by thinking constructively, desire elevatingly and work exaltingly. We must, whether we know it or not, "work out our own salvation." We alone can bring ourselves into the Light. To attempt to enter the kingdom of heaven other than by the door is to be a thief. Justification by faith, salvation by faith, are hideous nightmares and have no place in the CODE OF MANHOOD of the New Age; these are "trying to enter the kingdom of heaven as a thief in the night" by stealth, instead of worth, and must fail.

Service is the key to greatness, and greatest are those who are as little children; their hearts are pure and free from guile. Change, transmute the selfish self and you will give freedom to the Soul. Self and its satisfaction is the veil of the temple, effectually hiding the Holy of Holies from our vision. This selfish self must undergo regeneration, must become reborn. This personality hides from us all that is beautiful and desirable within the spiritual dome and permits the darkness to reign upon "the face of the deep," that is, all that is fine within ourselves.

Would we have peace, would we find rest? Then we must live according to the Laws that govern peace and rest. The human family is at last beginning to long for peace but has as yet been unwilling to make any realistic efforts to obtain that peace. To find peace, it must first of all be found within the self, then, and then only, can successful efforts be made to establish peace on earth. Again we must quote the Hermetic Law: "As is the within, so is the without."

This universe is a sphere filled with Souls, most of them as yet soundly asleep. Minds, not Souls, are in action. Some are active in one direction, others in another; all of them striving after the capture of some will-of-the-wisp.

The cold, indifferent, selfish, though perhaps moral man who has faith in nothing but himself and his own environment is busy building a Soul that is as cold and indifferent as he is himself. As long as the world is filled with a majority of these there can be no peace. To such as these the Cross would prove to be a blessing, for blessed is the man who would nail the old, cold, self-loving self upon the Cross that it might be resurrected, filled with compassion as a result of its suffering.

Mind is either the destroyer or the savior of men; it must choose the Cross or the grave for the Soul. One or the other must be the choice; there is no middle course.

There are countless snares in life, especially for those who would choose the right path, and these must be guarded against. Among these are avarice, unnatural ambition and an innate desire to benefit at the expense of others. These are the "henchmen" of self-benefits and appear as virtues of good business and shrewdness.

The "members of our own family," our hands, our eyes, our ears, our smell and taste, every member of our family and every fiber of our body aid in deceiving us and prevent us from following the Soul's dictates to transmute the baser substances and elements, the desires and passions of our being into the "pure and shining gold" that is to become the "Light of life." Our final choice will depend upon our enlightenment and the degree of our desire to succeed upon the Path.

If but one member of the Nazarene's family had been defiled and impure it would have effectively prevented Him from being lifted up from a state of death unto Light and life. For this reason He warned us, "if thine eye giveth offense pluck it out," indicating thereby that if one part of us still remains unclean, it must be washed until it is free, until it is as "white as the driven snow."

Love and its handmaiden, service, gave Him the power to free Himself from all evil and degrading desires and temptations; this was by way of the Cross, and gave Him the potential forces to lift the thin veil of the temple, thus permitting Him Sonship with the Father.

"Unto them that look for him [think, desire and make effort as did the Nazarene] shall he [the Christos] appear the second time without sin unto salvation [Immortality]."

When the Soul has so freed itself as to have become fully Conscious, then it has arisen - risen up - been resurrected from the throes of the flesh - the grave - and it is now without sin and therefore Immortalized.

Let none deceive themselves or others by false logic by saying: "Jesus was not an historical character, none such ever lived." Though the Nazarene, a carpenter's son, had never lived, SOMEONE DID GIVE US THESE TEACHINGS and a man is but blinding himself by quibbling at a name. The way of the Cross, Golgotha; the transformation of the carnal man into a spiritual being is the only way to Immortal life. If we fail to attain Conscious Immortality, it prevents us from entering the temple wherein alone may we come face to face with the Holy of Holies, the Shekinah; the Light that is on neither land nor sea, and all who would live must find this Light.

Let no one tell you: "This exalted life would be worse than living in a tomb; denying us all desirable things; all treasures of life; all activities that add zest to life." Such a conclusion is utterly false. Nothing that is good for the self, both physical and spiritual, no work, pleasure, profit, recreation, possession or feeling is denied man, though he were an angel. Only that which will be harmful or a loss to others and therefore finally to the self is forbidden in the CODE OF LIFE, HONOR AND ETHICS OF THE NEW AGE.
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