The Golden Star
VISION 7
The Symbol of the Cross
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“When the body of man is complete in its animal form combined with the spiritual attributes we find the following principles. The four material principles of the human body are:
- The principle of animal desire, inseparable from animal existence; it is called Kâma Rûpa.
- The vehicle of Life; which is an inert vehicle of form, which disappears soon after disintegration of the body; this is called Linga Sharîra.
- The active power which produces all vital phenomena; this is called Life, or Prâna.
- The gross matter of the body itself.
“Combined with these four human principles there is the triple aspect of the Deity:
- The unmanifested Logos, reflected from the Divine Cosmic Realms into the human spiritual Kingdom as Universal Spirit, or Divine Soul, completely conscious of its own Individuality in connection with each human being.
- The Universal Cosmic Principle of Life, of which the human Mind is a small fraction, having complete Individuality or Personality, and consciousness of Self; that part of man’s divine Spirit which comes into incarnation for the purpose of evolution until it has become worthy to join the Soul—its better half.
- Universal active intelligence, reflected in man’s intelligence, by which the Mind rises above the animal by evolution.
“These are the seven principles of man; the first four material, forming a square, the latter three spiritual, represented by the triangle; the sevenfold man, or septenary.”
This was the end of the lecture, and Neteru-Hem and Ma-u and Ma-uti left the Temple, together with all the rest of the listeners, after thanking the lecturer for his discourse. When they arrived outside there was a magnificent display of golden clouds in majestic formations visible in the sky. Towards the horizon they shaded off in deep purples and mauves, and some were of a brilliant magenta and glowing deep cerise, whilst in between were patches of shining blue, like lakes and inlets, glittering between the vast assemblages of vaporous formations that hung aloft in splendid lustrous grandeur.
“How did you like that discourse, my children?” asked the Messenger.
“It has given us much to think about,” replied Ma-u. “But I should have thought that all these Souls who listened would have known all this already. Have they not spent many millions of years in their various incarnations on earth, and is it not true that they must have all knowledge before they can enter into these Divine Regions?”
The Messenger smiled and answered: “Knowledge, which is so greatly esteemed upon earth, is no passport to the Heavenly Realms, my son. Nor is the ugliness of empty beauty, the shallowness of high ambition, the lowliness of a kingly throne, the poverty of great riches, or the sinfulness of prideful righteousness.
“Earthly intelligence is but stupid ignorance when compared with Heavenly Wisdom.
“To enter even into these Realms, which are not Heaven, but only the outer Courts of it, the Soul–Mind needs other attributes; such as the Wisdom of Simplicity; the Beauty of Love; the Elevation of Humility; the Riches acquired by unrewarded Service; the Purity of Trust and Faith in the Benevolence and the Protection of the All–Father–All-Mother.
“The shepherd who tends his flocks upon the hillside; the peasant who tills the patient soil; the mariner who sails the awesome deeps; they are much nearer to God than any man who prides himself upon his vast accumulations of wealth—often ill-gotten; or the man of might, who sits upon the chair of State and rules his subjects with the rod of iron and fear; or the intellectual, who only thinks in terms of material evidence and sneers at all that is of God and of the Spirit, because he cannot weigh or measure the extent of God’s Divine Thoughts. All those latter men can never enter here; although they may explain and think they know all things on earth.”
“But surely, those symbols which the lecturer used, being the tokens of Holy Wisdom, should be known before the Soul is worthy of entering here; is he not too ignorant to appreciate and understand his status in these spheres if he has not learned to use them?” asked Ma-u again.
“Symbols, my son, can be explained in a thousand ways; and they are only valuable in the hands of those who have acquired that state of Wisdom which enables them to use these symbols in the right manner; there is a great mystery behind these glyphs, but only the enlightened Soul can fully grasp their meanings. Once there were many wise men who had that Wisdom. They dedicated incarnation after incarnation for the sole purpose of evolving their minds in such a way that at last they began to see the true significance of these signs. And they had wonderful teachers, who knew how to choose and develop the right pupils for that purpose. Many tried to gain admittance to the Mystery Schools of old; but very few were admitted to these colleges; whilst fewer still reached the inner circle of the Higher Mysteries.
“Today there are hardly any of these High Initiates; fewer than there have ever been in the whole history of the present world-cycle. For this reason the colleges, of which you have just seen an example, are established here; so that the purified ones shall be able to learn that Wisdom which it is so hard to acquire on earth (*see Author’s note in sidebar).
“When a human being has so evolved that he has the Light of Purity within him, then he may be allowed to enter and enjoy the bright and everlasting Day of the World of Astral Fire and attend the lectures; and the Angels will bless him.
“When the flower of Love Divine has opened its bud, and blooms within his heart without a thought of Self, he may enter here; and his loving Masters will embrace him and anoint him with the Emblem of God: a crimson rose upon his breast.
“When he has cherished his brothers and served without a hope of reward, then he can enter here and be the equal of those that served before; and they will kiss his brow in recognition of his noble Prince-hood.
“Such, my children, are the requisites for entering; and none that have them shall be turned away, for they shall be in Harmony with God, and the fruit of their virtues shall be Peace Profound.”
“Then there is hope for all those who thus have ennobled themselves,” said Ma-uti; “and how simple it really is to qualify for the sojourn in this happy clime.”
“What is being taught in the other Temples?” asked Ma-u.
“Every subject the purified Soul–Mind needs in order to take his place in the Higher Realms,” replied Neteru-Hem. “Would you like to attend some further lectures, my children?”
“Oh, please,” they cried; and the Divine Messenger led them to the next building, where further instruction awaited them.
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