or living people is The Christ concerned, but also with the "dead,"
that is, with those who "passed out" before and after His time and who
have passed on to the Astral World, as we have explained in this
lesson. Whether or not the framers of the Creed so understood
it--whether or not they were deluded by the tradition of the "Day of
Judgment"--certainly the Early Christians, or rather, the mystics
among them, understood the teachings as we have given them and spoke
of Him as "living in the dead as well as in the living," as one of the
occult records expresses it.
"The communion of saints" is the spiritual understanding of the
Mysteries by the Illumined Ones. "The forgiveness of sins" is the
overcoming of the carnal mind and desires. "The resurrection of the
dead and the life of the world to come" is the promise of life beyond
the grave, and not the crude idea of the physical resurrection of the
body, which has crept into the Apostles' Creed, evidently having been
inserted at a later date in order to bolster up the pet theories of a
school of theologians. Note that the Nicene Creed says merely "the
dead" and not "the body." The version of the teachings preserved by
the Mystics has a corresponding passage, "And we know the _truth_ of
the _deathlessness of the soul_." (The italics are ours.)
The consideration of remaining passages in the creeds, relating to the
existence of the "Holy Ghost," must be deferred until our next lesson.
THE TENTH LESSON
THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
The concluding statement of the Creeds (brought over from the
preceding lesson) refers to the Holy Ghost.
"I believe in the Holy Ghost." (_Apostles' Creed_.)
"And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life."
(_Nicene Creed_.)
To the average Christian the nature of the Holy Ghost--one of the
beings of the Trinity--is veiled in obscurity, and is generally
pronounced "not to be understood." A careful examination of the
orthodox Christian writings will show the student that the Church is
very much at sea regarding this subject, which should be of the
greatest importance to its priests and congregations. Ask the average
intelligent churchman regarding the nature of the Holy Ghost, and see
for yourself the vague, contradictory and unsatisfactory concepts held
by the person questioned. Then turn to the encyclopaedias and other
books of reference, and see how little is known or taught regarding
this important subject.
It is only when the teachings of Mystic Christianity are consulted
that one receives any light on the subject. The Occult Teachings are
quite explicit on this subject so fraught with difficulty and lack of
comprehension on the part of the orthodox teachers and students.
The teaching of Mystic Christianity, regarding the Holy Ghost, may be
summed up by the great general statement that: _The Holy Ghost is the
Absolute in its phase of Manifestation, as compared to its phase of
Unmanifestation_--_Manifest Being as compared with Unmanifest
Being_--_God Create as compared with God Uncreate_--_God acting as the
Creative Principle as compared to God as The Absolute Being_.
The student is asked to read over the above general statement a number
of times and to concentrate his or her attention carefully upon it,
before proceeding further with the lesson.
To understand the above statement it is necessary for the student to
remember that the Absolute may be thought of as existing in _two
phases. Not as two persons or beings_, remember, but as in _two
phases_. There is but One Being--there can be but One--but we may
think of that One as existing in two phases. One of these phases is
Being Unmanifest; the other, Being Manifest.
_Being Unmanifest_ is the One in its phase of Absolute Being,
undifferentiated, unmanifested, uncreated; without attributes,
qualities, or natures.
It is impossible for the human mind to grasp the above concept of
Being Manifest in the sense of being able to think of it as a "Thing,
or Something." This because of the essential being of it. If it were
like anything that we can think of, it would not be the Absolute, nor
would it be Unmanifest. Everything that we can think of as a "thing"
is a relative thing--a manifestation into objective being.
But we are compelled by the very laws of our reason to admit that the
Absolute Being Unmanifest exists, for the Manifest and Relative
Universe and Life _must have_ proceeded and emanated from a
Fundamental Reality, which must be Absolute and Unmanifest. And this
Being which our highest reason causes us to assume to exist is Being
Unmanifest--God the Father--who cannot be known through the
senses--whose existence is made known to us only through Pure Reason,
or through the workings of the Spirit within us. In the material sense
"God is Unknowable"--but in the higher sense He may be known to the
Spirit of Man, and His existence may be _known_ and proven by the
exercise of the highest faculties of the reason.
Being Unmanifest is the One in its _actual_ existence and being. If
all the world of objective life and manifestation, even to its highest
forms, were withdrawn from manifestation, then there would be
left--what? Simply and solely, Being Unmanifest--God the Father,
alone. Into His Being all else would be withdrawn. Outside of Him
there would be _nothing_. He would be Himself--One--existing in the
phase of Being Unmanifest.
We are aware that this idea may seem to be "too abstruse" for the
minds of some of our students at first reading--it may appear like an
assertion of a Being who is Non-Being. But, be not too hasty--take
time--and your mind will assimilate the concept, and will find that it
has a corresponding Truth imbedded in its inmost recesses, and then it
will know this to be the Truth. And then will it recognize the
existence of God the Father, as compared with God, the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost, as we have said, is the Absolute in its phase of
Manifest Being. That is, it is God as manifest in the Spirit of Life,
which is immanent in, and manifest in, all objective life and
phenomena in the Cosmos or Universe.
In previous series of lessons in the Yogi Philosophy, we have shown
you that there was a Spirit of Life immanent in, and manifesting
through, all forms of life. We have also shown you that everything in
the Universe is alive--down to even the minerals, and the atoms
composing matter. We have shown you that inasmuch as the Spirit of
Life is the source of all Manifestations in the universe, and the "God
in the machine" of all phenomena of force, matter and life, then it
naturally follows that there can be nothing dead in the world--that
there is LIFE manifesting in every object, varying only in the degree
of manifestation. In our "Advanced Lessons" and in "Gnani Yoga" this
subject is considered in detail. Then what is this Spirit of Life? If
God is All, then it cannot be Something other than God. But it cannot
well be God the Uncreate--the Absolute in its Absolute phase--the
Being Unmanifest. Then what can it be?
The student will see that the natural and logical answer to the
question with which we have closed the preceding paragraph must be:
Being Manifest--God in Creation--the Holy Ghost! And this is the
Occult Teaching concerning this great mystery of Christianity. And see
how well the framers of the Nicene Creed grasped the traditions of the
Early Church, when it said: "And I believe in the Holy Ghost, _the
Lord and Giver of Life_."
The teaching regarding the Immanent God lies at the foundation of all
of the Mystic teachings of all peoples, races, and times. No matter
under what names the teaching is promulgated--no matter what the name
of the creed or religion in which it is found imbedded--it is still
the Truth regarding the God Immanent in all forms of life, force, and
matter. And it always is found forming the Secret Doctrine of the
philosophy, creed or religion. The Outer Teaching generally confines
itself to the instruction of the undeveloped minds of the people, and
cloaks the real Truth behind some conception of a Personal Deity, or
Deities--gods and demi-gods, who are supposed to dwell afar off in
some heavenly realm--some great Being who created the world and then
left it to run itself, giving it but occasional attention, and
reserving his consideration principally for the purpose of rewarding
those who gave him homage, worship and sacrifices and punishing those
who failed to conform with the said requirements. These personal
deities are believed generally to favor the particular people who give
them their names and temples, and accordingly to hate the enemies of
the said tribe or nation.
But the Secret Doctrine or Esoteric Teaching of all religions has
brushed aside these primitive conceptions of undeveloped minds, and
teach the Truth of the Immanent God--the Power inherent in and abiding
in all life and manifestations. And Christianity is no exception to
the rule, and in its declaration of faith in the Holy Ghost its
esoteric principle is stated.
While the tendency of the orthodox churches today is to say very
little about God the Holy Ghost, for the reason that it cannot explain
the meaning of the term, Mystic Christianity boldly declares its
allegiance to this principle of the earlier teachings and reverently
repeats the words of the Nicene Creed, "I believe in the Holy Ghost,
THE LORD AND GIVER OF LIFE."
* * * * *
That there is a Secret Doctrine of Christianity is not generally known
to the majority who claim the name of "Christian." But it has always
been known to the mystics in and out of the church, and its flame has
been kept steadily alight by a few devoted souls who were chosen for
this sacred task.
The Secret Doctrine of Christianity did not originate with Jesus, for
He, Himself, was an Initiate of Mysteries which had been known and
taught for centuries before His birth. As St. Augustine has said:
"That which is called the Christian Religion existed among
the ancients _and never did not exist_, from the beginning
of the human race until Christ came in the flesh, at which
time the true religion which already existed began to be
called Christianity."
We would like to quote here a few paragraphs from the writings of a
well known writer on religious subjects, with which statement we
heartily agree, although our views on certain other points of teaching
do not agree with those of this writer. He says:
"It may be said that in the present day these doctrines are
simply not taught in the churches; how is that? It is
because Christianity has forgotten much of its original
teachings, because it is now satisfied with only part, and a
very small part, of what it originally knew. 'They still
have the same scriptures,' you will say. Yes, but those very
scriptures tell you often of something more, which is now
lost. What is meant by Christ's constant references to the
'Mysteries of the Kingdom of God'--by His frequent statement
to His disciples that the full and true interpretation could
be given only to them, and that to others He must speak in
parables? Why does He perpetually use the technical terms
connected with the well known mystery-teaching of antiquity?
What does St. Paul mean when he says, 'We speak wisdom among
them which are perfect'--a well known technical term for the
men at a certain stage of initiation? Again and again he
uses terms of the same sort; he speaks of 'the wisdom of God
in mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the
world began, and which none even of the princes of this
world know'--a statement which could not by any possibility
have been truthfully made if he had been referring merely to
ordinary Christian teaching which is openly preached before
all men. His immediate followers, the Fathers of the Church,
knew perfectly well what he meant, for they all use
precisely the same phraseology. Clement of Alexandria, one
of the earliest and greatest of all, tells us that 'It is
not lawful to reveal to the profane persons the Mysteries of
the Word.'"
"Another consideration shows us clearly how much of this
early teaching has been lost. The church now devotes herself
solely to producing good men, and points to the _saint_ as
her crowning glory and achievement. But in older days she
claimed to be able to do much more than that. When she had
made a man a saint, her work with him was only just
beginning, for then only was he fit for the training and
teaching which she _could_ give him then, but cannot now,
because she has forgotten her ancient knowledge. Then she
had three definite stages in her course of
training--Purification, Illumination and Perfection. Now she
contents herself with the preliminary Purification, and has
no Illumination to give."
"Read what Clement says: 'Purity is only a negative state,
valuable chiefly as the condition of insight. He who has
been purified in Baptism and then initiated into the Little
Mysteries (has acquired, that is to say, the habits of
self-control and reflection) becomes rife for the Greater
Mysteries for the Gnosis, the scientific knowledge of God.'
In another place he says: 'Knowledge is more than faith.
Faith is a summary knowledge of urgent truths, suitable for
people who are in a hurry; but knowledge is scientific
faith.' And his pupil Origen writes of 'the popular,
irrational faith' which leads to what he calls physical
Christianity, based upon the gospel history, as opposed to
the spiritual Christianity conferred by the Gnosis of
Wisdom. Speaking of teaching founded upon historical
narrative, he says, 'What better method could be devised to
assist the masses?' But for those who are wise he has always
the higher teachings, which are given only to those who have
proved themselves worthy of it. This teaching is not lost;
the church cast it out when she expelled the great Gnostic
Doctors, but it has nevertheless been preserved, and it is
precisely that Wisdom which we are studying--precisely that
which we find to answer all the problems of life, to give us
a rational rule by which to live, to be to us a veritable
gospel of good news from on high."
St. Paul indicates the existence of the Secret Doctrine of
Christianity, when he says to the Corinthians:
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ. I
fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able
to bear it; nay, not even now are ye able, for ye are yet
carnal." (_I Cor. 3:1._)
Jesus said: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast
your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their
feet, and turn and rend you." (_Matt. 7:6._)
St. Clement of Alexandria has said regarding the above saying of
Jesus:
"Even now I fear, as it is said, 'to cast the pearls before
swine, lest they tread them underfoot, and turn and rend
us.' For it is difficult to exhibit the really pure and
transparent words respecting the true Light to swinish and
untrained hearers."
In the first century after Christ, the term "The Mysteries of Jesus"
was frequently used by the Christian teachers, and the Inner Circle of
Christians was recognized as a body of advanced souls who had
developed so far as to be able to comprehend these mysteries.
The following passage from St. Mark (4:10-12) is interesting in this
connection:
"And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the
twelve asked of Him the parables. And He said unto them,
'Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but
unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:
that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they
may hear, and not understand.'"
The same writer says (4:33-34):
"And with many such parables spake He the word unto them, as
they were able to hear it; and without a parable spake He
not unto them; but privately to His own disciples He
expounded all things."
Jesus said to His disciples (_John 16:12._): "I have yet many things
to say to you, but ye cannot bear them now." The Occult Teachings
state that when He returned in His astral form, after the crucifixion,
He taught them many important and advanced mystic truths, "speaking of
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." (_Acts 1:3._)
The early Christian Fathers spake and wrote openly regarding the
Christian Mysteries, as all students of Church History well know.
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, writes to certain others hoping that they
are "well versed in the sacred Scriptures and that nothing is hidden
from you; but to me this privilege is not yet granted." (_The Epistle
of Polycarp, chapter 7._) Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, says that he is
"not yet perfect in Jesus Christ. For I now begin to be a disciple,
and I speak to you as my fellow disciple." He also addresses them as
being "initiated into the Mysteries of the Gospel, with St. Paul, the
holy, the martyred." Again:
"Might I not write to you things more full of mystery? But I
fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are
but babes. Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being
able to receive their weighty import, ye should be strangled
by them. For even I, though I am bound and am able to
understand heavenly things, the angelic orders, and the
different sorts of angels and hosts, the distinction between
powers and dominions, and the diversities between thrones
and authorities, the mightiness of the aeons, and the
preëminence of the cherubim and seraphim, the sublimity of
the Spirit, the kingdom of the Lord, and above all the
incomparable majesty of Almighty God--though I am acquainted
with these things, yet am I not therefore by any means
perfect, nor am I such a disciple as Paul or Peter."
Ignatius also speaks of the High Priest or Hierophant, of whom he
asserts that he was the one "to whom the holy of holies has been
committed, and who alone has been entrusted with the secrets of God."
(_Epistles of Ignatius._)
St. Clement of Alexandria was a mystic of high rank in the Inner
Circle of the Church. His writings are full of allusions to the
Christian Mysteries. He says among other things that his writings were
"a miscellany of Gnostic notes, according to the time philosophy,"
which teachings he had received from Pontaemus, his instructor or
spiritual teacher. He says of these teachings:
"The Lord allowed us to communicate of those divine
Mysteries and of that holy light, to those who are able to
receive them. He did not certainly disclose to the many what
did not belong to the many; but to the few to whom He knew
that they belonged, who were capable of receiving and being
moulded according to them. But secret things are intrusted
to speech, not to writing, as is the case with God. And if
one say that it is written, 'There is nothing secret which
shall not be revealed, nor hidden, which shall not be
disclosed,' let him also hear from us, that to him who hears
secretly, even what is secret shall be manifested. This is
what was predicted by this oracle. And to him who is able
secretly to observe what is delivered to him, that which is
veiled shall be disclosed as truth; and what is hidden to
the many shall appear manifest to the few. The mysteries are
delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the
mouth of the speaker; rather not in his voice, but in his
understanding. The writing of these memoranda of mine, I
well know, is weak when compared with that spirit full of
grace, which I was privileged to hear. But it will be an
image to recall the archetype to him who was struck with the
Thyrsus."
(We may state here that the Thyrsus was the mystic-wand carried by the
Initiates in the Mystic Brotherhoods--the Initiate being first tapped
with it, and then receiving it from the Hierophant, at the ceremony of
formal Initiation.) Clement adds:
"We profess not to explain secret things sufficiently--far
from it--but only to recall them to memory, whether we have
forgot aught, or whether for the purpose of not forgetting.
Many things, well I know, have escaped us, through length of
time, that have dropped away unwritten. There are then some
things of which we have no recollection; for the power that
was in the blessed men was great."
"There are also some things which remain unnoted long, which have now
escaped; and others which are effaced, having faded away in the mind
itself, since such a task is not easy to those not experienced; these
I revive in my commentaries. Some things I purposely omit, in the
exercise of a wise selection, afraid to write what I guarded against
speaking; not grudging--for that were wrong--but fearing for my
readers lest they should stumble by taking them in a wrong sense; and,
as the proverb says, we should be found 'reaching a sword to a child.'
For it is impossible that what has been written should not escape,
although remaining published by me. But being always revolved, using
the one only voice, that of writing, they answer nothing to him that
makes inquiries beyond what is written; for they require of necessity
the aid of someone, either of him who wrote or of someone else, who
walked in his footsteps. Some things my treatise will hint; on some it
will linger; some it will merely mention. It will try to speak
imperceptibly, to exhibit secretly, and to demonstrate silently."
(_The Stromata of St. Clement._)
St. Clement, in the same work from which the above quotation was
taken, has a chapter entitled "The Mysteries of the Faith, not to be
Divulged to all." In it he states that inasmuch as his writings might
be seen by all men, the unwise as well as the wise, "it is requisite,
therefore, to hide in a Mystery the wisdom spoken, in which the Son of
God is taught." He then adds, "For it is difficult to exhibit the
really pure and transparent words to swinish and untrained hearers.
For scarcely could anything which they could bear be more ludicrous
than these to the multitude; nor any subjects on the other hand more
admirable or more inspiring to those of noble nature. But the wise do
not utter with their mouths what they reason in council. 'But what ye
hear in the ear,' said the Lord, 'proclaim upon the houses; bidding
them receive the _secret traditions of the true knowledge_, and
expound them aloft and conspicuously; and as we have said in the ear,
so to deliver them to whom it is requisite; but _not enjoining us to
communicate to all without distinction_ what is said to them in
parables. But there is only a delineation in the memoranda, which have
the truth sown sparse and broadcast, that it may escape the notice of
those who pick up seeds like jackdaws; but when they find a good
husbandman, each of them will germinate and will produce corn."
"Those who are still blind and dumb, not having understanding, or the
undazzled and keen vision of the contemplative soul, must stand
outside of the divine choir. Wherefore, in accordance with the method
of concealment, the truly sacred Word, truly divine and most necessary
for us, deposited in the shrine of truth, was by the Egyptians
indicated by what were called among them _adyta_, and by the Hebrews
'the veil.' Only the consecrated were allowed access to them. For
Plato also thought it not lawful for 'the impure to touch the pure.'
Thence the prophecies and oracles are spoken in enigmas, and to the
untrained and uninstructed people. Now, then, it is not wished that
all things should be exposed indiscriminately to all and sundry, or
the benefits of wisdom communicated to those who have not even in a
dream been purified in soul, for it is not allowable to hand to every
chance comer what has been procured with such laborious efforts. Nor
are the Mysteries of the Word to be expounded to the profane. The
Mysteries were established for the reason that it was more beneficial
that the holy and the blessed contemplation of realities be conceded.
So that, on the other hand, then, there are the Mysteries which were
hid till the time of the apostles, and were delivered by them as they
received from the Lord, and, concealed in the Old Testament, were
manifested to the saints. And on the other hand, there is the riches
of the glory of the mysteries of the Gentiles, which is faith and hope
in Christ. Instruction, which reveals hidden things, is called
Illumination, as it is the teacher only who uncovers the lid of the
ark." (_The Stromata of St. Clement_.)
St. Clement also quotes approvingly the saying of Plato, that: "We
must speak in enigmas; that should the tablet come by any mischance on
its leaves either by sea or land he who reads may remain ignorant." He
also says, concerning certain Gnostic writings: