PAUL OF TARSUS
The system of worship known as Christianity owes its systematic foundation
to Paul of Tarsus. Paul's sudden conversion from zealous persecution of the
followers of Jesus of Nazareth to an equally zealous propaganda of the
gospel of Light, offers a perfect example of the peculiar oncoming of
cosmic consciousness.
Paul evidently occupied a position of authority among the Jews and it is
equally probable that he was near the same age as Jesus, as he is referred
to as a "young man named Saul" in Bible accounts of the persecution of the
early Christians. His illumination occurred shortly after the crucifixion,
probably within two or three years.
In Acts, chapter 8-9, we read:
"And Saul was consenting unto his death (Stephen). And at that time there
was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem and they
were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea, and Samaria,
except the apostles.
"And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation
over him.
"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and
hailing men and women, committed them to prison.
"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings, and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest and desired of him letters
to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether
they were men or women, he might bring them bound, unto Jerusalem.
"And as he journeyed he came near unto Damascus, and suddenly there shone
round about him a light from heaven.
"And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him: 'Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou me?'
"And he said: 'Who art thou, Lord?' And the Lord said: 'I am Jesus, whom
thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.'
"And he trembling and astonished, said: 'Lord, what wilt thou have me do?'
"And the Lord said unto him: 'Arise and go into the city, and it shall be
told thee what thou must do.'
"And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but
seeing no man.
"And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened he saw no
man; but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
"And he was three days without sight and neither did eat nor drink.
"And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias, and to him
said the Lord in a vision: 'Ananias;' and he said: 'Lord, behold, I am
here.' And the Lord said unto him: 'Arise and go into the street called
Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus;
for behold, he prayeth. And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias
coming in and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight.'
Then Ananias answered: 'Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much
evil he hath done by thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority
from the high priests to bind all that call on thy name.' But the Lord said
unto him: 'Go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name
before the Gentiles, and kings, and children of Israel. For I will show him
how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.'
"And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his
hands on him, said: 'Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto
thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive
thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.' And immediately there fell
from his eyes, as it had been scales; and he received sight forthwith, and
arose and was baptized."
Like all those who have entered cosmic consciousness, Paul sought the
blessing of solitude, that he might readjust himself to his changed
viewpoint, since he now saw things in the light of the larger
consciousness.
He says:
"Immediately I conferred, not with flesh and blood; neither went I up to
Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went away into
Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus."
The irresistible longing to get away from the sights and sounds of the
external world, is one of the most characteristic phases of Illumination.
It is only in order that they may take up the work of bringing to others
this great blessing that those who have entered into the larger
consciousness, eventually bring themselves to enter the life of the world.
Thus, we find that Paul's great desire to bring the light to others, took
him again to Damascus; and from the records we have of his utterances and
his mode of living, we may gather some idea of the great change which
Illumination made in him.
Certain statements, which characterize all who possess cosmic
consciousness, in any degree of fullness, emanate from the converted Paul.
He says:
"I must needs glory though it is not expedient, but I will come to visions
and revelations of the Lord--for if I should desire to glory I shall not be
foolish; for I shall speak the truth; but I forbear, lest any man should
account of me above that which he seeth me to be, or heareth from me. And
by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations--wherefore that I
should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
a messenger of Satan to buffet me."
One of the characteristics of the Illumined is a deep humility. This is
not in any sense an abasement of the self; not in any sense a feeling that
it is necessary to "bow down and worship;" nor yet a tinge of that nameless
fear, which the carnal-minded self feels in the presence of exalted beings.
It is a humility born of the desire to make every one know and feel a sense
of kinship with him; he hesitates to reveal all that has been revealed to
him, lest those who hear his words may think he is either "speaking
foolishly," through egotism, or else that they may look upon him as a being
superior, more exalted, than themselves. And a divine compassion and love
for his fellow being characterizes the Illumined. Again, Paul wishes to
make clear the fact that he is still living in the physical body; living
the life of a body, and until liberated from the conditions that influence
the external world, he is himself subject to the lesser consciousness, and
he does not want them to expect more of the personal self, than that
personal self is capable of, under the conditions in which he lives.
He desires no personal exaltation, or praise, therefore he hesitates to
speak fully of his own revelations, but prefers to teach by reference to
the experiences of others.
Nevertheless, he tries to make clear the fact that he is not merely
preaching a "belief," which he has embraced because of doubt or fear, or
because it is a creed. Indeed, he is free from the "law" and is, therefore,
not merely following a system, neither the old one which he has abandoned,
nor a new one which he has accepted. He speaks from the "Lord," which is no
other than the highest authority that man may know--namely, the authority
that comes from the realization of his own imperishable godhood--the effect
of cosmic consciousness.
He says:
"For I make known to you brethren, as touching the gospel as preached by
me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor
was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Christ.
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. But before faith came, we
were kept inward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should
afterwards be revealed. For ye are all sons of God through faith in Christ.
For with freedom did Christ set us free."
This we take to refer to his former adherence to, and belief in, the system
of worship taught by the Jews, as a necessary and probably the only "way of
salvation" acceptable to God. He wishes his hearers to understand that he
is not bound by adherence to any creed; neither the old one, nor yet the
new one, but that what he preached came from the light of cosmic
consciousness, in which there is no law, nor sense of law. Cosmic
consciousness gives to the illumined one a sense of freedom (Christ means
cosmic consciousness, and not a personality).
Cosmic consciousness confers, above all else, perhaps, a sense of freedom
from every form of bondage.
The duty and the obligations that bind the average person, are impossible
to the cosmically conscious one. Not that he displays indifference toward
the welfare and the rights of others. Far from that, he feels an added
sense of responsibility for the irresponsible; an overwhelming compassion
for the unfortunate, and a relationship greater than ever to mankind.
But this sense of freedom causes him to do all _in love_, which he hitherto
did because it was so "laid down in the law."
Again St. Paul makes this plain:
"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance; against such as these there
is no law--neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creature."
When we are armored with the "fruit of the spirit," we have no need for
rules of conduct; for methods of salvation; or for any of the bonds that
are necessary to the merely sense-conscious man.
Plainly, Paul recognized the fact that systems of religion, of philosophy,
of rules and ethics of intercourse, are necessary only so long as man
remains on the sense-conscious plane. When Illumination comes, there comes
with it absolute freedom. God does not want to be worshipped on bended
knee; by rites and ceremonies; by obedience to commandments, but the
undisciplined soul acquires power and poise through these exercises, and in
time grows to the full stature of god-consciousness.
Nor is intellectual greatness to be confounded with the godlike character
of the one who has attained to Illumination.
Elsewhere in these pages we have made the distinction between knowledge and
wisdom. Knowledge alone can never bring a soul into the path of
Illumination. Wisdom will point the way, but love is the unerring guide to
the very goal.
St. Paul's expression of this fact is concise, and to the point. This
observation alone, stamps him as one possessing a very high degree of
realization of what cosmic consciousness is.
"If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him
become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is
foolishness to God."
The worldly wise man or woman asks "how much do I get?" The truly wise
person cares nothing at all for possessions. He only asks "how much can I
give?"
And although we find in the marts of commercialism a contempt for the
gullible, and the credulous; the trusting and the confiding, let it be
known that the "smart" bargainer will indeed smart for his smartness, for
in the light of cosmic consciousness, this alleged "wisdom" of men,
appears as utter foolishness; wasted effort; a perversion of opportunity.
Because "all these things shall pass away."
Love alone is imperishable.
Love alone is the savior of the human race, and whenever we fail to act
from motives of love, we are disloyal to the light within us.
Again says St. Paul:
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am
as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.
"And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all
knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have
not love, I am nothing.
"And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be
burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
"_LOVE NEVER FAILETH_.
"But whether there be prophecies they shall be done away; whether there be
tongues they shall cease; whether there be knowledge it shall be done away.
For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when that which is perfect
is come, that which is in part shall be done away."
It must be remembered that in the days of St. Paul the high priests and the
prophets were accounted the wisest and most exalted persons in the
community.
The ability to prophecy presupposed a special favor of the God of the Jews.
St. Paul's exposition of the changed viewpoint that comes to one who has
entered into cosmic consciousness, was therefore aptly illustrated by his
open avowal that there was a far greater power--a more exalted state of
consciousness, than that of the gift of prophecy and of "knowing all
mysteries;" that state of one in which love was the ruler, and in order
that they might the more fully comprehend the simplicity, and yet the
perfection, of this state of consciousness, he made clear the fact that no
one truly who became "a new creature", as he characterized this change,
ever exalted himself, or made high claims; or became exclusive, or
"superior," or "holy," in the sense the latter word had been used.
How, then, would they know when they had attained to this state of
consciousness, of which he spoke, and which they but dimly understood?
How might they know when they had found this great love that was to make
them "a new creature"?
First of all, they might know because:
_LOVE NEVER FAILETH_.
Love suffereth long and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not
itself; is not puffed up, does not behave unseemly; seeketh not its own; is
not provoked; taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness,
but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things; believeth all things;
hopeth all things; endureth all things.
In fact, _LOVE NEVER FAILETH_. Love is always a safe guide. No matter what
may be said to the contrary; no matter how much suffering it entails; no
matter how seemingly fruitless the sacrifice; or how ungrateful the
results, _love_ never faileth.
How can it fail when we "seek not our own," but only love for love's own
sake, without regard to compensation or gratitude?
St. Paul, with all who have expressed in any considerable degree this
cosmic realization, seems to have expected a time, when cosmic
consciousness should become so general, as to bring the kingdom of love
upon earth. This corresponds to the Millenium, which has always been
prophesied, and which the present era fulfills, in all the "signs of the
times" that were to usher in The Dawn.
Moreover, the idea that there shall come a time when death shall be
overcome, is a persistent part of every prophecy, and of every religious
cult. In these days we find that science is speculating upon the
probability of discovering a specific for senile death, as well as for the
final elimination of death from disease and accidents.
Whether or not this is to be the manner of "overcoming the last enemy," the
fact remains that the almost universally held idea of physical immortality
has a basis in fact, which this postulate of science symbolizes.
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortality must put
on immortality, but when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"
So said St. Paul, and his words show clearly that before his time there had
been a prophecy and belief in the final triumph of love over death, not as
an article of faith, but as a common knowledge.
St. Paul speaks of the time when "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.
"And then come to the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God,
even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule, all authority, and
all power."
Unquestionably, if all men on earth in the flesh and in the astral, were to
come into the light of the cosmic consciousness, there would be no need for
laws, for authority or power. The kingdom, which signifies the earth as a
planet, would indeed be delivered to God, which means Love, and "Love never
faileth."
And while we admit that these words of St. Paul may be applied to
individual attainment of cosmic consciousness, and not refer to an era of
earth life, in which the fruits of this larger consciousness are to be
gathered in the physical, yet we maintain that the argument for such an
hypothesis is strong indeed. He says:
"For the earnest expectation of creation waiteth for the revealing of the
sons of God."
For the term "sons of God" interpret "those who have attained cosmic
consciousness," and we may readily parallel this with the many allusions to
the earth's redemption, with which history is strewn.
To "redeem" the earth is quite comparable with the idea of redeeming any
part of the earth's surface--either as a nation, or as a tract of
land--which is not yielding the best that it is capable of.
In the cosmogony of the heavens, the planet earth may well be likened to a
territory that has possibilities, but which needs cultivation;
encouragement; work; to bring out its possibilities and make it a place of
comfort and enlightenment.
So we have been informed--and an understanding of deeper occultism will
bear out the information--that this earth is being made a "fit habitation
for the gods" (i.e., cosmically conscious beings, to whom love is the only
authority necessary).
Paul clearly alludes to the redemption of the body, as well as the
continuance of the life of the soul, when he says:
"For the creation was subject to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason
of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of
the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now. And not only so, but ourselves also,
WHICH HAVE THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, even we ourselves, waiting for
our adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body."
St. Paul declared that even those who had glimpsed that wonderful
Illumination (which have the first fruits of the spirit), are not free from
the travail of the sense-conscious world, until such time as the cycle has
been completed, and those who "are already in Christ, and then they that
are Christ's at his coming," shall have made possible the perfected
creation, and brought about the reign of love on earth.
So that, when a sufficient number of souls shall have attained to this
Illumination (cosmic consciousness), the "last enemy shall be overcome."
That this present era gives promise of this hope, is evident.
The attainment of cosmic consciousness brings with it immunity from
reincarnation, as a necessity--as a law, but it does not provide against
the coming of avatars--"sons of God," who are to "deliver Creation from the
bondage of corruption."
This also is clearly stated by Paul:
"There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ. For the law of the
spirit of life in Christ made me free from the law of sin and death."
There never is any doubt in the minds of those who have attained cosmic
consciousness, that they are spiritual beings and immortal--free from the
law of karma; neither is there any thought of evil or of condemnation.
They know that men are gods in embryo and that until they have been born
into the cosmic consciousness--the realization of their _reality as
spirit_, they must travail; but this sense-conscious state is not to be
condemned any more than the child is to be condemned because it has not
yet grown to adultship.
The advice of St. Paul himself was simple enough and straight-forward
enough. It was devoid of all subtleties; free from complexity; free from
fear, or haste, or doubt, or strife, while confidently awaiting the
universal attainment of Illumination.
To the question as to what path to follow; what should be done to gain
this great boon, if the law of the ancient Hebrews was not to be followed
in its literal significance, Paul said:
"Whatsoever things are honest; whatsoever things are true; whatsoever
things are just; whatsoever things are pure; whatsoever things are lovely;
whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there
be any praise, _THINK ON THESE THINGS_."
Which is to say, do not seek the letter of the way of Illumination. Do not
look for forms and ceremonies and rules and systems, but look for that
which is clean and pure and good wherever it may be found.
In St. Paul we have fulfilled all the points that characterize those who
have been blessed with the great Illumination.
His broad outlook upon humanity, which refused to see evil or to condemn
where formerly he had been noted for his zeal in bringing to condemnation
all whom he believed to be heretics; his conviction of immortality; his
humility, as far as personal aggrandizement was concerned; the great light
in which was revealed to him the truth; the annihilation of the idea of sin
and death; the realization that systems and laws and methods of worship and
giving of alms and all the by-paths which formerly he had deemed necessary,
were as naught compared to the great illuminating, all-embracing power of
Love--the Savior whose kingdom should sometime be established upon
earth--the time being when cosmic consciousness should be general.