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TEACHINGS of the MASTERS © 1952

Chapter 9

Evolution and Development

Evolution and development play their part in man's advancement toward the ultimate, or perfection. Man's final goal, as well as the means and method of its attainment, is revealed in the Scriptures:

"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the Sons of God." __John 1:12.

In this process the laws of Evolution and of Development both have their place. Both are governed by what might correctly be termed a higher Law: the Divine Law, since both Nature and the Soul of Man are under the direction of the one Great Law. Properly understood, there is no conflict between the two.

The law of growth and gradual advancement from a lower on a higher state, more or less unconsciously made, is that of evolution. Growth, advancement, implies activity and change. Both growth and change depend upon obedience to, or compliance with, the governing Law. Without such obedience and activity there would be retrogression instead of progression.

Study the progress of mankind through successive stages, beginning with the savage, followed by the semi-savage, and, finally what we term civilization and we see disclosed the unceasing operation of this great Law of evolution. We also find in this law a basis for the many and great differences between individuals. Some have greater intelligence, deeper and more sympathetic understanding and more graciousness of heart, and in consequence, advance much more rapidly than others on both the evolutionary and spiritual path.

Of the Aryan - the last race of mankind - there are those who, in their unfoldment and spiritual growth, have far out-stripped the rest of mankind. These are the thinkers and leaders; those whose hearts have opened up do that they feel for mankind as a whole.

This is not a reflection on other races. These races, or many of them, have climbed to high levels in the past; established great civilizations and then, for one reason or another, retrogressed and have given way to the later - the white race. But these races, too, retrace their steps and once again climb "Jacob's Ladder" - and a number of them are doing just that.

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of god (lofty desires followed by effort in harmony with the spirit) they are (become) the Sons of God." __Romans 8:14.

In the vanguard of the human race, there are, and always have been, those few individuals who far outstripped the great mass of mankind in the development and manifestation of Soul enlightenment, or Godliness. This difference can be illustrated by the comparison of the hordes of what might be fairly termed almost Soulless savages(1) in Korea at the moment fighting American youths and companions in arms, who, having no selfish aims, fight solely, as they believe, to make all men free; or the difference between a Franklin, a Lincoln or an Edison and the average man of the present day who thinks only of his won selfish interests; or again, as between the sincere seeker after truth who is anxious to obey the Law and follow in ‘the Way the Truth and the Life," bo bring the Christos within into manifestation, and the intellectual atheist so prominent in our institutions of higher learning.
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(1) These were not fighting for the freedom of men, but, on the contrary, for the enslavement of all men under the dominion of a few egomaniacs. They showed no mercy; displayed no humanity even to the wounded and dying to kill was their only incentive.

Kindliness, sympathy, honor, all that constitutes human inclinations are wholly lacking; while the basest instincts of all that we know of the animal nature are constantly displayed; clearly indicating a total lack of the primary element of spirituality or the Soul..
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If we are willing to admit that certain races as a whole - by their greater display of heart principles, goodness, justice and mercy - have evolved from the savage to what we recognize as a civilized state, we must agree that there has been real evolution and this in itself is proof that such races are capable of evolving still further.

Accepting this as a fact, we must also admit that among such races, those individuals who will live in conformity with the Divine Law, and make a conscious effort toward spiritual development will, in due time, awaken and bring forth the Christos within, becoming God-like, or the "Sons of God."

"Beloved, now are we the Sons of God." __I John 3:2.

From time immemorial, more especially the period when Egypt, as a whole, was in her highest state of development, there have been organizations composed of highly developed and Conscious Souls. These were known as the Initiate Priests of the Secret Schools, or Priests of the Greater Mysteries. They were banded together for one common purpose: To instruct all spiritually-minded men in the Divine Law. They taught man how to live in conformity with the ever-operating Law that they might hasten their evolution and development toward Godhood.

They warned all mankind against false ideas and practices leading toward retrogression. They originated and gave incentive to movements which would improve the condition of the masses as a whole; leading them at the same time into paths of righteousness; that is, into activities which would be to their physical, spiritual and economic improvement. They taught the Law that whatever improves the mental moral and spiritual condition of man, likewise, in perfect ration, improves his every other condition.

These organizations continued to exist throughout all the ages under various names, but all following the same modus operandi; the last of which are the Frateritas Rosæ Crucis and Æth Priesthood. These schools have taught, and today continue to teach and guide mankind toward soul Consciousness. They have preserved and guarded the teachings of the Master Initiates and saviours of all ages, obeying the Nazarene's injunction:

"Cast not pearls before swine, lest they turn and rend you." __St. Matt. 7:6.

The esoteric instructions or Mystery teachings were never taught openly, not because those versed in them were not willing to instruct all mankind, but because only the few were willing to receive them. This fact was all too well known to the Nazarene and he sorrowfully told his disciples:

"To you [the few] it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven [the experience of the Soul's enlightenment]; to others it is not so given." __Matt. 13:11.

Because the mass would never adopt these teachings, any more than they do at the present day, the exoteric or secret instructions are therefore given only to the few more highly developed, who are free from self-righteousness, prejudice and judgment; unaffected by creeds and the opinions of others; whose motives are pure; whose desires are lofty and conform to the behests of the New Dispensation: who hunger for spiritual truth and seek the welfare of mankind as a whole.

Great Souls have been instructed and trained in the inner sanctums of these fraternities and sent into the world as prophets, Messiahs and Saviours. Such teachers led the straying Souls into paths of righteousness and self-improvement at times when the people, almost as a whole, had drifted away from spiritual certainties into gross materialism.

Such a time is now making itself felt in the beginning of the New Dispensation so fully dealt with in Revelation. At this writing, 1951, we are in a period when the morality, the spirituality, the honor and self-responsibility of the mass has sunk to a low level.(2)

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(2) For a partial cataloging of these evils, especially in high places, see the National Republic Magazine, March 1952 edition, page one; "Blunder and Plunder," by the Hon. Robert B. Chiperfield.
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Materialism is in the ascendency; so much so that atheism of a kind never known before - a type that is not satisfied except by the destruction of all religion - holds half of the world firmly in its grip. It is at times such as this that Initiate leaders - men who have attained to Soul, or Cosmic Consciousness - come silently into the world, without the herald of trumpets and self-advertising, to instruct and guide mankind back into safer paths.

Every age of the past has had its great Messiahs or Saviours; all of them instructed and trained, and sent forth on their mission by the Secret Schools, the great Fraternities of Initiation. The Chinese had their Confucius; the Scandinavians their Balder; the Egyptians their Osiris and Thrice Great Hermes; the Greeks their Hercules, Bacchus and Apollo; India its Krishna; the Persians had Mithra and Zoroaster; the Hindus had Buddha; and last of all, came the Nazarene, repudiated by the Jews and accepted by the Gentiles.

Today, in the New Dispensation, the Manistic, we are laboring quietly and secretly to restore the spiritual conceptions which will gradually lead the "sons of men to become the Sons of God." Is this an idle dream or mere wishful thinking? Is it the idea or basis of a new cult? If you think so, then bethink yourself and give thought to what John, the "beloved disciple" had to say:

"Beloved, now are we the Sons of God." __I John 3:2.

All of the past and present really great teachers and leaders in spiritual thought and life received their received their instructions and guidance at the same source. This includes both the Nazarene and Moses, both of whom taught the people the same secret of the necessity of spiritual birth, in order to have revealed to them the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Even a superficial study of all the great religions will quickly disclose to the earnest student that the basic principles are the same in all of them. This includes revelation or the things yet to come, the time of which is now upon us.

During the lifetime of these great Masters, teachers, philosophers and prophets, only an exceptional few of the people were willing to listen to them and accept their teachings to a degree where they were really able to apply them. The great mass of the people, throughout all times, were too occupied with material and temporal affairs to give serious thought to the warnings given, and soon forgot all about both the teacher and his teachings.

After these Initiate Teachers passed on, the letter, minus the spirit, of these teachers spread, while designing, or innocent, but ignorant teachers and priests, substituted creeds and dogmas, in place of the spiritual truths.

The Divine Law taught by Initiate Teachers, and the true inculcations, became so corrupted that the Mysteries of the Spiritual or second birth, the secret of attaining soul or cosmic Consciousness, became lost to the people and little more than the letter remained.

The teachings of all the Illuminated Masters, of the Nazarene, as well as Moses, were concerned with growth through obedience to Natural Law and the practice of the life which would lead to a spiritual development that, in turn, would awaken the Christos hidden or buried within man, thus bringing about Soul or Cosmic Consciousness. This is very clearly indicated in the statement:

"But as many as received him [accept and practiced his teachings] to them gave he power [showed them the way] to become the Sons of God." __St. John 1:12.

The statement that man might become the Son of God, it is to be noted, was not made by St. John, and successful contradiction of the truth, or of the promise of the possibility, or assurance, is impossible.

In the present age, at the beginning of the foretold New Dispensation of Revelation, two thousand years after the appearance of the Egyptian-instructed and trained Nazarene, who did his best to inculcate a spiritual philosophy, we find man advanced intellectually far beyond anything ever dreamed of in his age. But, for all his vaunted intellectuality, modern man is morally bankrupt; spiritually bereft; his sense of personal responsibility at the lowest possible ebb, while materialism is rampant and ego-maniacs appear to be gaining control everywhere.

We have countless acres under cultivation, producing food in such abundance that everyone could be well fed, at small cost. Yet, millions are ill-fed or actually starving because of unjust, unfair and unnecessarily high prices, due to iniquitous controls or improper distribution, both condemned by God and Divine Law.

Never in the world's history was education so easy of access and our libraries so filled with books. Despite this, however, both the class and the mass receive an artificial education. Fundamentals are ignored; "atheism is often favored above spiritual instruction and guidance. Gangsterism, instead of law and order, is the rule. All too many courts dispense injustice, instead of justice tempered with common sense and reason. Self-seeking, ruthless and corrupt politicians rather than statesmen, are at the helm of State. Religious inculcations are not based on science, common sense and spirituality, but on blind faith, and dogma, and are openly in defiance of the plain behests of the Divine Law.

Atheism, immorality. Loss of faith in both man and God, disease, wretchedness, wars of aggression rather than self-protection are the rule. Frenzied emotionalism and prejudice are governing factors. Human society is in a state of eruption and disruption; the mass is mentally sick because all faith in society and governments is lost. All that St. foresaw and predicted in his Revelation is upon us and no sane person can be found as an apologist for the present state of civilization."

Formal religious teachings, instead of considering the Nazarene as one who came to instruct mankind in the second or Spiritual birth, and the attainment of Soul Consciousness or Christification, have led humanity to worship him as a God, and by deifying him, they place him and his life teachings beyond their reach, for they falsely and unthinkingly reason: "who can be like him, he being a God or God-born," wholly unmindful or ignorant of the statement:

"Beloved, now are we the Sons of God." __I John 3:2.

The great teachers, philosophers, prophets, Initiates and all those whom men have called the "Messiahs," really never claimed anything for themselves. Without exception they have defined their mission to be that of instructing the people in "the Way, the Truth and the Life;" leading all who were willing into the Initiatory path - helping the worthy aspirant toward the development of the Spiritual self, or Christos within and the attainment of Immortality, i.e., Mortality putting Immortality.

All this was to be brought about by living a life conforming to the edicts of the Divine Law. The Messiahs who had succeeded in awakening the Christos within themselves were born of woman, the flesh, as all men are. They differed from other men only because, as a result of self-effort, training and development in harmony with the Greater Mysteries of the Secret Schools, they had become Soul or Cosmic Conscious and were living exemplars of the Divine Law; Christs who, in Biblical language:

"...as many as received [accepted and followed] him, to them gave he [was given] power [the means and opportunity] to become the Sons [Christs] of God." __St. John 1:12.

When we speak of Christ, a Messiah or Saviour, we have in mind those Immortal teachers of mankind who, by their own desire and effort, and in obedience to the Divine Law, become Gnostics (knowers) and God-Conscious. Their mission among mankind was to teach a spiritual philosophy and science of Soul Illumination. The illustrated this by their own exemplary life as a model for all to follow.

The difference between the average man and a Christ-conscious man, is that the one who so attained had a desire strong enough to impel him to live in the "Way and the Truth", despite all opposition, until he reached the second or spiritual birth, the Soul or Christic Consciousness.

The average person belonging to the mass of mankind pays no attention whatever to his or her Divine potentialities and possibilities. Not so with those seeking Christic Consciousness, however, for these have awakened - have received the "Baptism of water" of St. John - and are willing to follow through until they become Sons of god; Soul Conscious, or Illuminated by the "Light" which is neither on land nor sea."

The Greater Mysteries and their Fraternity of Initiate Masters have existed throughout all times and under all conditions. These Soul Conscious and Illuminated Souls are ever ready and eager to point out to all who will listen, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

They may not force their inculcations or life upon anyone, because all men, however high or low, were given free Will and the right of choice. Since god Himself does not compel man to accept any special creed or belief, or even to believe that there is a God, no man, priest or layman, has the right to do so. Men have the privilege, according to Revelation, the gospel of the New Dispensation, to choose whether they will be among the "wheat," those who have been promised life everlasting, or the "chaff", those who will be wholly "burned up" or destroyed.

Furthermore, it is a colossal misunderstanding to believe, and a misinterpretation of spiritual concepts to admit, that religion, and all that this term implies, is freely given to all. The Nazarene, last of the great spiritual leaders, did not teach any such thing. Directly the contrary, he plainly stated:

"Seek [a command] and [if ye seek] ye shall find; ask [not wait, expecting] and it shall be given you; knock [make the necessary effort] and it shall be opened unto you [you will find what you seek and for which you make effort]." __Matt. 7:7.

There is no indication here that religion is free, or that salvation, i.e., soul Illumination will be thrown into one's lap. The individual must, of his own desire, free Will and accord, seek the wisdom that will lead him to the Way of Life and away from the death which is of both body and Soul.

The Nazarene was still more explicit, as were all Initiate Masters before him, though in a different language:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill [uphold the Law]." __Matt. 5:17.

This has reference to the Divine Law which co-existed with creation itself and governs every activity in the universe, including that of man. This law was taught by Initiate philosophers, prophets, Messiahs and Saviours, as well as by Moses and the Nazarene.

Moses was the medium - the connecting link - between a dying Egypt and the New Dispensation or Christian era which was to follow. The mission of the Nazarene was to fulfill, to make manifest the law taught by the prophets, and to show, by his own exemplary life, that it was possible to live in "the Way, the Truth and the Life." He paid dearly for his courage and hardihood; and payment was exacted by the very ones whom he had come to lead out of materialistic bondage.

Have the Messiahs, prophets, Initiates and Christs of the past actually made any perceptible changes in the mass of the people? Apparently not! History would seem to prove that there has been little change in humanity as a whole. The peoples of the present, as in the past, still worship form; still cling tenaciously to creeds, ceremonialism and materialism. If, in the past, the people worshipped the golden bull, it is equally certain that the masses today worship the golden calf.

All but the very few still believe it possible to obtain salvation and gain the kingdom of heaven by faith in one who attained Immortality through a combination of faith and works and, in the end, suffered the extreme penalty of a hardened criminal. Nevertheless, despite all indications, humanity, at least in part, advances a step nearer the goal of Godhood following the appearance of each succeeding Exemplifier of the Law.

The few who both listen and obey are with the Exemplifier in the "kingdom of heaven," because these "mortals put on Immortality," and become Sons of God as promised those who seek, "knock" and obey.

Reason compels us to recognize that neither the Messiah nor a Messenger of God, not even God Himself, under the law He established for the government of the world and its citizens, has the right, even though possessing the power, to change the people by force from one state of being into another. Jehovah, the All-Creator, endowed man with the capacity to reason, with Free Will to make his own choice under the penalty of paying for his errors, and constituted him a free moral agent. For this reason he cannot make an exception by an infraction of His own Laws. He cannot compel man to do other than what he chooses to do.

Man, the individual, must of his own Free Will and accord learn by bitter experience and suffering to "square" his actions by the square of virtue and righteous action and, as a result, gradually grow into his own divinity, i.e., a "son of man become the Son of God."

To pretend that a Saviour or a Christ can transport a people bodily into heaven, whether they deserve it or not, is to claim that such are greater than God Himself.

According to the Divine Law, it is god's desire that all shall return to Him as a result of their own efforts by living an exemplary life, having sought the Way and made the necessary effort to use their hidden divine talent or inheritance, thus bringing the Christos within into consciousness, and thereby attaining to God-Consciousness which, in reality, is tantamount to becoming a Son of God.

The race, almost as a whole, or at least that portion which has not turned completely atheistic or Godless, still labors under the delusion that an Avatar, another Christ, will come, who will be capable of taking upon his own shoulders the burdens they have created for themselves. They expect that his new Christ will lead them direct to a haven of rest by forgiving their transgressions, absolving them from their indebtedness and penalties, and bringing them a peace which they have in no wise earned.

It is a fantastic dream, a most dishonorable thought - this idea of looking for one to come who will relieve mankind of the responsibility of paying for tis own sins and working out its indebtedness to God and His Laws - and all so contrary to the oft-stated golden rule:

"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." __Gal. 6:7.

There is assurance in all of the Gospels, and especially in Revelation, that the "sheep" - those who obey the Law - will be separated from the "chaff" - those who refuse to obey - and the "chaff" be burned up; i.e., destroyed.

God has instituted the Law; and since the Golden Rule is one of the most important of these Laws, how is it possible, fair or honorable, to expect a second Christ to set an example by breaking that Divine Law? Mankind, individually and as a whole, must pay the penalty for transgression of the Divine Law "unto the uttermost farthing." the honest man is perfectly willing to do so. The dishonorable, the "chaff" among mankind, must learn their lesson the hard way.

All that the Prophets, Priests and Christs can do for man is to teach him the truth and lead him into the Initiatory path of Soul awakening and the means and method of bringing the hidden Christos into manifestation, so that in due time and by sufficient effort, "mortality will put on Immortality," and the "sons of men become the Sons of God."

No Philosophic Initiate, no Master of the Mysteries, no Prophet or Saviour, not even the Nazarene taught that he or any other could bring salvation to mankind. The latter, more than all others, was most positive in proclaiming: "ye must be born again:" and of the spirit.

The pernicious doctrine of vicarious atonement has misled all mankind; largely because the great majority were all to anxious to seize upon it for selfish reasons, as a means of freeing their conscience of all responsibility - to escape a responsibility which all honorable men should be anxious to assume. Man is lazy by nature and will do only that which must be done in order to bring him the pleasures and satisfaction of life. In his quest for self-gratification, he seems ever ready and anxious to believe that which best suits his notions of ease and does not demand too much effort on his part.

All who have labored in the interest of mankind quickly learned that by teaching a philosophy which, purportedly, would absolve man from reaping as he has sown, in exchange for blind faith, would have hordes of followers. But let them teach the truth, the Way of Life, and the doctrine of personal responsibility and stones, if not the cross itself, would be their reward.

No one, however spiritually advanced or Godly he may be, is able, or is permitted by the Law, to relieve another, or others, from the burdens which they have placed upon their own shoulders. No one, however spiritually advanced or Godly he may be, is able, or is permitted by the Law, to relieve another, or others, from the burdens which they have placed upon their own shoulders. No Christ or Saviour can bring salvation to mankind as one would wrap a warm blanket around those suffering from cold.

If people possess the manhood to recognize their responsibility to God, their country, their neighbor and themselves, they will have no thought, much less desire, for others, who have their own heavy debts to pay, to also pay for them. Nevertheless, uncounted millions, both in the past and in the present, are impatiently, expectantly, waiting for some Messiah, a second Christ, to come to them, lead a virtuous and Godly life, die for them if need be, with the result that they, without effort on their part, will be absolved from all their evils and transported into heaven as the result of such a sacrifice. All this despite, and in total contradiction of the Laws taught by the Nazarene and exemplified by St. John in Revelations.

The revealed Law of God imposes Individual Responsibility upon each of His children in exchange for having been given Free Will, reason and the right of choice. Every individual must rise to the degree of intelligence, and the sense of honesty, imposed by the Law of personal responsibility for his thoughts, desires and acts, and must be ready and willing to pay for any infraction of which he may be guilty.

When man attains to this state of Wisdom he will no longer be willing to sit idly by waiting for a second coming of Christ to relieve him of his burden of sins and their result, but make an active effort to pave the way for a world teacher and leader, with no thought or desire to burden him with his own unworthiness.

A Messiah has long been expected by the masses belonging to one or another cult or group throughout the centuries and, as a result, millions have been grossly disappointed. All this has arisen from the erroneous interpretations of Scriptural texts and the application of these teachings to the life of the individual. These self-deluded leaders, having little knowledge of evolution and none at all of development - that is, of the method to be followed in awakening and bringing into manifestation the Christos within - have, throughout the ages, led the great mass of humanity to believe the Messiahs were Gods come among men, rather than that they were men become gods, i.e., "The sons of men become the Sons of God."

If they, the people, believed in these teachers, they were deceivingly and falsely told that they would be saved, irrespective of the way they thought, of the evil desires hidden in the heart, or the way they conducted their lives. What a falsehood is this - and how blasphemous to God.

It is vitally important that we understand the meaning of the term "Messiah" or "Christ." Christ is not an individual. Christ is a becoming. The Christ or Messiah is the result of the awakening, development and Illumination of the Soul, or Christos - from which the tem "Christ" is derived. This Christ is within man, and brought into manifestation becomes a leader and teacher of men.

All the great Masters, teachers, leaders and Illuminated (Initiated) ones humanity has known: Moses, Buddha, the Nazarene and numerous others, were born of woman as we, you and I, were born. Within these individuals there developed an Ideal so strong that it was irresistible, and which led them to seek those who could lead them into "the Way, the Truth and the Life. And, what is of still greater importance, they were willing and eager to actually follow the Way.

The real Arcane Fraternities had this training as their object, and among these, during late centuries, were (are) the Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis and the Æth Priesthood. This is not a vague, unsupported statement, as we can easily prove.

Though the number of those who, during the past centuries, were so imbued with spiritual longing that they proceeded in the Path until they attained, has not been great, this was, by no means, for want of opportunity. Every individual with a normal mind and sound reason is endowed with this opportunity and has the possibilities and capabilities of awakening and developing, and bringing into consciousness, this Christos hidden within every normal person.

If but one individual among millions were the offspring of God and capable of becoming a Christ, and this privilege denied the mass of mankind, then in truth would we have cause to question both the wisdom and justice of God, and it would be better had the race never been born. However, none of the great teachers ever taught that they were the only begotten Sons of God. On the contrary, they were made to clearly state:

"Ye are the sons of the living God." __Hos. 1:10.
"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the Sons of God." __St. John 1:12.
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God." __Rom. 8:14.
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God." __I John 3:1

These "Sons of God" clearly pointed out the path to be followed for the attainment of such Sonship with God, or Christhood. But to the mass of mankind, the path appears all to difficult. Men were, and are too material. They have no desire to deny themselves that they might so achieve, hence they seek an easier way, though such a way be based on falsehood and illusion.

The Nazarene was made to say:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, [to believe is to live as nearly as humanly possible as one professeth to believe; otherwise he is a hypocrite] the works that I do , shall he do also; and greater works that these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." __St. John 14:12.

The Nazarene had no reference here to blind belief, but to an active faith made manifest by works. The mass, unwilling to so live, accepted the word, but refused to consider the spirit of the word, and continued in their way of life. His disciples, for the most part, gave up the life they had been living, became earnest seekers for the Truth, and made every effort to bring the Law into manifestation, so that they might become worthy followers of their Master and Teacher.

These disciples were not mere blind followers who sought to continue their old ways of life. They tasted of the "new wine" and made every effort that they, their bodies, should become "new bottles" to contain this wine. The Nazarene, in turn, promised them they should be able to not only do works such as he was doing, but even greater ones.

If it was possible for his disciples, who, admittedly, in most instances, were chosen from the lowly ones, then certainly it is also possible for other men, better born and more fully prepared, to do likewise. Let none be foolish enough to think that the precepts, inculcations and methods followed by the Masters of the past have been lost. They have been preserved and continually taught to all true seekers throughout the ages - to all who were, or are, willing to accept.

One of the greatest and most significant statements made by the Nazarene - also by other Illuminated, Soul Conscious, Initiates before him, although ignored by ministers, priests and laymen alike - is contained in a few, but potent words:

"The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there! For, behold the Kingdom of God is within you." __St. Luke 17:20,21.

Let us compare this positive statement with another inculcation equally emphatic - that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless he is "born of the Spirit," as he was of the body. We readily sense that this achievement requires a great deal more than belief or faith; positive effort - works - are necessary.

Being born of the spirit, requires becoming Christic, for only those who so become can know, or enter heaven. To become Christic demands that the Christos within be awakened and brought into Consciousness; that is, into manifestation. This does not come as a result of observation, or of looking here or there, but by making the effort and continuing until the Christ is born, or the Christos brought into Consciousness.

Each and every one has within himself this germ of Divinity, this Divine Spark from God. It must become his Messiah or Saviour. It is the work, the duty and the ultimate mission of each and every one to awaken, unfold, develop and bring into manifestation this incarnate part of God. "The Kingdom of God" cometh not by observation; not by waiting; not be expectation. No man ever attained to Christhood, which is "becoming the Son of God," by waiting for, and believing in, some "Christ" who would do the work he himself must do. Only by faith and the strength that compels action, can one attain the Godliness necessary to find the kingdom of heaven.

Approximately two thousand years ago, at the beginning of the Christic Dispensation now past, the Nazarene came, and after attaining to his own christhood, labored and suffered to teach the people the spiritual birth; the Soul's development. He illustrated his teachings by example. Neither Laws nor methods have changed. It is the responsibility of the individual to practice as the Nazarene taught and, as the Arcane schools continue to teach, become like him; Sons of God who, by experience and the knowledge of good and evil gained, become like him.

The servers, or teachers, are ever ready. Who will receive them? Who will follow them? Like the Nazarene they are all too often unheard and unheeded and are justified in making exactly the identical statement he did (let all mark this well):

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock [I am ready and anxious to help you] If any man hear my voice [become conscious of the spiritual desire] and open the door [is prepared to accept], I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

"To him that overcometh [note well the word overcometh - not mere faith] will I grant to sit with me in my throne (be one with, or like me), even as I also overcame [consider this well], and am set down with my Father in his throne."__Rev. 3:20,21.

"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."__St. John 1:12.

Such Souls have attained to the second or spiritual birth and to them has been revealed the "mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven."
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