Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCXCI
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
Of all that the Master told us, He considered this as the Greatest of Commandments. So much of what we are to understand as aspirants or as believers is found in the precept that we must KEEP HIS WORDS:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
We ask ourselves WHAT THEN IS LOVE?
In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men.
We add to this THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST which can serve to both give us an understanding of what it means to Love oneself and how it is that we can Love our neighbor:
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them“ (Matthew 7:12).
Yesterday’s post included a rather introspective look at the concept of predestination as we understand it and of course, much of this is hindsight and there IS no one that shows us the True Way. If we believe what the Tibetan tells us in this saying: A paradoxical situation is brought about from the fact that the disciple is told to enquire the Way and yet there is none to tell him. Those who know the Way may not speak, knowing that the Path is constructed by the aspirant as the spinner spins its web out of the centre of his own being ††, then we will KNOW that ALL who do tell us the Way are errant in their thinking. We should think here about the Master and His words that explain why He teaches by parable as He tells His disciples that: “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matthew 13:11) and in this we should understand that throughout history to today, NO man of religion wants to believe that he himself is among the them. There is however a reality here that is repeated in several ways in the gospels and this is that the dividing line between those entitled to KNOW and those of the them IS discipleship and, as we KNOW, the disciple IS the man in the world who keeps His words…..ALL of them. To further confuse this idea is the constant chatter in the world by the many groups who each make claim that they ARE the Way.
We should understand here as well that this picture that the Master paints of the disciple and them IS NOT necessarily a picture where He tells things by parable to the masses and in clearer terms to the disciples but we should see in this that ALL ARE hearing the same words by the Master; the masses hear the story from a carnal perspective and the disciple will hear it from the perspective of the Soul and will more so understand the True meaning of His words. This IS of course a matter of focus from our own perspective, that if the focus IS on the world and the self, then the interpretations will be the same and when the focus IS upon the things of God so will be the interpretation and the understanding. And so the Master tells us this saying many times in words similar to: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15) and we KNOW that we cannot take this literally as ALL men do have ears. Here again we can go to the understanding of focus so that we can interpret this as saying that ‘he that is focused in the things of God, he will hear’; and, later on Jesus does say to His disciples another thing that helps us with this understanding as He says: “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:16); this He says to His disciples. Now this points us in the direction of Truth but these words are not clear and one can wonder who it IS that has ears to hear and who it is that the Master speaks of when repeating the words of Esaias that tell us: “By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:14-15). And here IS our point, these words that we see in regard to the hearing and seeing of the Truth are in themselves parabolic as it IS up to each man individually to ascertain where it IS that he falls and while what he hears and what he sees is based solely on his focus, this is not necessarily how he will view things. Simply, if a man is focused in the world then he will construct what he hears as to benefit him in the world and, conversely, if a man is focused on God, he will construct what he hears as such; there is however that great middle ground where duality reigns and where the focus of a man is variable and this IS a most difficult place to be. Men in the world see what they want to see and hear what the want to hear while the disciple sees only Truth.
If then the dividing line IS between the disciple and the rest of humanity then we can simply KNOW that few Truly hear and Truly see and unless we can be counted among the disciples by way of fulfilling the criteria for discipleship as elucidated by the Master, we ARE as well among the them. It IS fair to say here that for those who have not heard the call of the Soul or who have not answered this call in some way of Repentance, that their Life is rather simple as it ONLY concerns the things of the world; this IS the total focus. And, for the man who has heard and heeded the call of the Soul and is keeping His words and fulfilling the criteria for discipleship, Life can be seen as rather simple as well as it IS here that we find that Peace of God. It IS in this great middle ground of the aspirant that there is much difficulty as we can see in both directions and today, in this word aspirant we should see ALL those who strive, even part time, toward the strait gate that opens in to the Kingdom of God. And here the range of degree is rather infinite as regards how much of one’s Life one is Truly striving and how much he is just passing time focused on his Life in the world; again, this determination is a purely personal one and as such is dependent upon one’s focus. Can we see here that there are many who believe that they ARE righteous based upon their understanding of Life but whose focus IS largely upon the self and the self in the world and, when this IS the focus, these men ARE deluded and remain in the world subjected to the vanity, the illusion and the glamour of their Life. And this IS the point of the Apostle James rather blunt words to those who believe that they are hearing and among the blessed; he tells us: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). And here is the KEY for our right understanding, being “doers of the word“; and the first and the last word IS Love as the Master teaches us. In this we should see that our idea of focus on the things of God IS directly related to keeping His words; there IS NO separation and so IS our idea above as concerns the great middle ground so that striving and focus should be seen as keeping His words, even part time, and not just thinking or praying; as the apostle tells us clearly we must be doers.
And it IS in this simple Truth, that we must work out our own salvation, no one can do this for us; and no one can show us the way as we do perforce see things according to the working of the personality in the world and it IS ONLY each, as an individual, who can so align the personality with the Soul, and this by focus, which begins in Repentance, which IS that decision to change one’s focus from the things of the self and the self in the world to the things of God. This of course would be an easier task without the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, that causes us to see the false as True and to see our self in the world as of prime importance and understanding. The Buddha teaches us this same idea as well saying:
“How easily the wind overturns a frail tree. Seek happiness in the senses, Indulge in food and sleep, And you too will be uprooted. The wind cannot overturn a mountain. Temptation cannot touch the man Who is awake, strong and humble, Who masters himself and minds the dharma. If a man’s thoughts are muddy, If he is reckless and full of deceit, How can he wear the yellow robe? Whoever is master of his own nature, Bright, clear and true, He may indeed wear the yellow robe. Mistaking the false for the true, And the true for the false, You overlook the heart And fill yourself with desire. See the false as false, The true as true. Look into your heart. Follow your nature. An unreflecting mind is a poor roof. Passion, like the rain, floods the house. But if the roof is strong, there is shelter. Whoever follows impure thoughts suffers in this world and the next. In both worlds he suffers and how greatly when he sees the wrong he has done. But whoever follows the dharma Is joyful here and joyful there. In both worlds he rejoices And how greatly When he sees the good he has done. For great is the harvest in this world, And greater still in the next. However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act upon them?” (Dhammapada, on Choices).
Here in the Buddha’s words is this same understanding that we get in Christian terms from the Master as both speak about personal conduct. In doctrinal Christianity however much of the lessons on personal conduct take a place behind the believing and the saying as interpreted from the writings of the Apostle Paul which is in effect taking away much of the personal responsibility in favor of sayings in the church like that one can not accomplish divinity under his own power. This takes a saying from the apostle and creates around it a doctrine that is not found in the intent of his words. Paul tells the Ephesians that “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10) and it is upon the first part of these words that this doctrine is built. But is this Truly Paul’s intent, to say that naught that a man does in the world can or will help him spiritually or is he saying that from a purely carnal perspective it matters not what you do; it IS ONLY in the expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul that a man can progress. We should note here that Paul’s emphasis may be on the end of the verse that tells us that anything done in a purely carnal way, focused upon the self in the world, is of no use spiritually and this should take us to remember the Master’s words on giving and on prayer. Jesus tells us: “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward……And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2, 5). We should see here how motivation plays its part and how, for those who do things carnally, of themselves to use Paul’s idea, there is only a carnal reward as noted in the Master’s words as being seen by others and having glory in their sight; is this not what the apostle refers to as boasting above?
The Master and the Buddha both offer real time ways to spiritual progression and these DO require that a man actually do things in this world and this doing IS his expression of the Love and the Power of the Soul in this world. And in the apostles idea of grace above we should see the reality of the Plan of God as we read again from Romans that “the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). This is grace in real time and it does effect ALL men but, at the same time it must be earned and the way that the apostle paints this in his words to the Ephesians is not untrue, it is just misunderstood. This grace comes through faith and this faith IS, in our understanding, that KNOWING that comes to us from the Soul; it IS the divine intervention of the Soul, the Christ Within, in the Life of the man in form. And to our point, there is only Repentance, there are no shortcuts of believing, there IS only DOING and in this DOING we should see the need to keep His words, to be “doers of the word” And in Repentance there IS change, a decision to change the focus of one’s Life from the self in the world to the Soul and inherent in this decision and this change IS the reality of keeping His words and in this reality of keeping His words comes the faith and the realization of grace. Early on in our blog we came upon these sayings from Paul (In the Words of Jesus part 123) and we had this to say about the final verse: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Reading this in our way we should see that we are, as Spirit first, His workmanship; we are created in Christ and unto good works because as Souls, our Christ Within, we only know good works; and, we should walk in these works of the Soul on this Earth and not in the selfish works of the flesh.
Here in our older analysis we find the same point as we show above and which IS contrary to the doctrinal view of these things. Overall our thought here today is that whatsoever we achieve spiritually in this world we achieve based upon the Light of the Soul and the intensity of that Light in our Life in the world. In this Light IS the Love of God and the Wisdom from above; in this Light IS the fruit of the Spirit and in this Light IS the Truth of faith, that KNOWING that comes within ALL these things that come to us in the Light. We should see here as well that in this Light is the works of the Spiritual man in the world and his ability to conform to the ideas above from the Buddha and to keep the words of the Master who tells us clearly that “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
There is a certain esoteric Mantram which embodies this attitude—the attitude of the disciple who is striving, in cooperative endeavour with others, to link hierarchical intent with human aspiration and thus bring humanity nearer to its goal. The intent of the Hierarchy is to increase men’s capacity for freedom in order to function effectively with that “life more abundantly” which the Christ will bring and which demands that the spirit of man be free—free to approach divinity and free also to choose the Way of that approach. The Mantram bears the name, “The Affirmation of the Disciple.” It involves certain inner recognitions and acceptances which are readily perceived by those whose intuition is sufficiently awake; but its meaning should not be beyond the ability of any sincere student and thinker to penetrate if it appeals to them as significant and warranting their effort. ‡
I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand
I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.
And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.
We repeat what we had previously said of this Mantram:
Today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world“ (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- †† A TREATISE ON WHITE MAGIC OR THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLE BY ALICE A. BAILEY © 1951 BY LUCIS TRUST
- ‡ TELEPATHY AND THE ETHERIC VEHICLE BY ALICE A. BAILEY © 1950 BY LUCIS TRUST
