When Jesus reached his native
land, after the years of travel in India, Persia and Egypt,
he is believed by the occultists to have spent at least one
year among the various lodges and retreats of the Essenes.
By reference to the first lesson of this series you will see
who and what was this great mystic organization--the Essenic
Brotherhood. While resting and studying in their retreats
His attention was diverted to the work of Johannen--John the
Baptist--and He saw there an opening wedge for the great
work that He felt called upon to do among His own people.
Dreams of converting His own race--the Jews--to His
conception of Truth and Life, crept over Him, and he
determined to make this work His great life task.
The feeling of race is hard to overcome and eradicate, and
Jesus felt that, after all, here He was at last, at home,
among His own people, and the ties of blood and race
reasserted themselves. He put aside His previous thoughts of
a world-wandering life, and decided to plant the standard of
the Truth in Israel, so that from the capital of the Chosen
People the Light of the Spirit might shine forth to all the
world. It was Jesus the man--Jesus the Jew--that made this
choice. From the broader, higher point of view He had no
race; no country; no people;--but His man nature was too
strong, and in yielding to it he sowed the seeds for His
final undoing.
Had he merely passed through Judea as a traveling
missionary, as had done many others before Him, he would
have escaped the punishment of the government. Although He
would have aroused the hatred and opposition of the priests,
He would have not laid Himself open to the charge of wishing
to become the King of the Jews, or the Jewish Messiah, come
to resume the throne of David, His forefather. But it avails
us nought to indulge in speculations of this kind, for who
knows what part Destiny or Fate plays in the Great Universal
plan--who knows where Free-Will terminates and Destiny moves
the pieces on the board, that the Great Game of Universal
Life be played according to the plan?
While among the Essenes, as we have said, Jesus first heard
of John, and determined to use the ministry of the latter as
an opening wedge for His own great work. He communicated to
the Essenic Fathers His determination to travel to John's
field of work later on, and the Fathers sent word of this to
John. The legends have it that John did not know who was
coming, being merely informed that a great Master from
foreign parts would join him later on, and that he, John,
should prepare the people for his coming.
And John followed these instructions from his superiors in
the Essenic Brotherhood to the letter, as you will see by
reference to our first lesson, and to the New Testament. He
preached repentance; righteousness; the Essenic rite of
Baptism; and above all the Coming of the Master. He bade his
hearers repent--"repent ye! for the Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand"!--"repent ye! for the Master cometh!" cried he in
forceful tones.
And when his people gathered around him and asked whether
he, John, were not indeed the Master, he answered them,
saying, "Nay, I am not He whom thou seekest. After me there
cometh one whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose. I
baptize thee with water, but He shall baptize thee with the
Fire of the Spirit that is within Him!" It was ever and
always this exhortation toward fitness for the coming of the
Master. John was a true Mystic, who sank his personality in
the Work he was called on to do, and who was proud to be but
the Forerunner of the Master, of whose coming he had been
informed by the Brotherhood.
And, as we have told you in the first lesson, one day there
came before him, a young man, of a dignified, calm
appearance, gazing upon him with the expressive eyes of the
true Mystic. The stranger asked to be baptized, but John,
having perceived the occult rank of the stranger by means of
the signs and symbols of the Brotherhood, rebelled at the
Master receiving baptism at the hands of himself, one far
below the occult rank of the stranger. But Jesus, the
stranger, said to John, "Suffer it to be," and stepped into
the water to receive the mystic rite again, as a token to
the people that He had come as one of them.
And then occurred that strange event, with which you are
familiar, when a dove descended as if from Heaven and rested
over the head of the stranger, and a soft voice, even as the
sighing of the wind through the trees, was heard,
whispering, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well
pleased." And then the stranger, evidently awed by the
strange message from the Beyond, passed away from the
multitude, and bent his way toward the wilderness, as if in
need of a retreat in which he could meditate over the events
of the day, and regarding the work which He could now dimly
see stretching its way before Him.
The average student of the New Testament passes over the
event of Jesus in the Wilderness, with little or no emotion,
regarding it as a mere incident in His early career. Not so
with the mystic or occultist, who knows, from the teachings
of his order, that in the Wilderness Jesus was subjected to
a severe occult test, designed to develop His power, and
test His endurance. In fact, as every advanced member of any
of the great occult orders knows, the occult degree known as
"The Ordeal of the Wilderness" is based upon this mystic
experience of Jesus, and is intended to symbolize the tests
to which He was subjected. Let us consider this event so
fraught with meaning and importance to all true occultists.
The Wilderness toward which Jesus diverted His steps, lay
afar off from the river in which the rites of Baptism had
been performed. Leaving behind him the fertile banks, and
acres, of cultivated land, He approached the terrible
Wilderness which even the natives of that part of the
country regarded with superstitious horror. It was one of
the weirdest and dreariest spots in even that weird and
dreary portion of the country. The Jews called it "The Abode
of Horror"; "The Desolate Place of Terror"; "The Appalling
Region"; and other names suggestive of the superstitious
dread which it inspired in their hearts. The Mystery of the
Desert Places hung heavy over this place, and none but the
stoutest hearts ventured within its precincts. Though akin
to the desert, the place abounded in dreary and forbidding
hills, crags, ridges and canyons. Those of our readers who
have ever traveled across the American continent and have
seen some of the desolate places of the American Desert, and
who have read of the terrors of Death Valley, or the Alkali
Lands, may form an idea of the nature of this Wilderness
toward which the Master was traveling.
All normal vegetation gradually disappeared as He pressed
further and further into this terrible place, until naught
remained but the scraggy vegetation peculiar to these waste
places--those forms of plant life that in their struggle for
existence had managed to survive under such adverse
conditions as to give the naturalist the impression that the
very laws of natural plant life have been defied and
overcome.
Little by little the teeming animal life of the lower lands
disappeared, until at last no signs of such life remained,
other than the soaring vultures overhead and the occasional
serpent and crawling things under foot. The silence of the
waste places was upon the traveler, brooding heavily over
Him and all around the places upon which He set His foot,
descending more heavily upon Him each moment of His advance.
Then came a momentary break in the frightful scene. He
passed through the last inhabited spot in the approach to
the heart of the Wilderness--the tiny village of Engedi,
where were located the ancient limestone reservoirs of water
which supplied the lower regions of the territory. The few
inhabitants of this remote outpost of primitive civilization
gazed in wonder and awe at the lonely figure passing them
with unseeing eyes and with gaze seemingly able to pierce
the forbidding hills which loomed up in the distance hiding
lonely recesses into which the foot of man had never
trodden, even the boldest of the desert people being
deterred from a visit thereto by the weird tales of unholy
creatures and unhallowed things, which made these places the
scene of their uncanny meetings and diabolical orgies.
On, and on, pressed the Master, giving but slight heed to
the desolate scene which now showed naught but gloomy hills,
dark canyons, and bare rocks, relieved only by the
occasional bunches of stringy desert grass and weird forms
of cacti bristling with the protective spines which is their
armor against their enemies.
At last the wanderer reached the summit of one of the higher
foot-hills and gazed at the scene spreading itself before
Him. And that scene was one that would have affrighted the
heart of an ordinary man. Behind Him was the country through
which He had passed, which though black and discouraging was
as a paradise to the country which lay ahead of Him. There
below and behind Him were the caves and rude dwellings of
the outlaws and fugitives from justice who had sought the
doubtful advantage of security from the laws of man. And far
away in the distance were the scenes of John the Baptist's
ministry, where He could see in imagination the multitude
discussing the advent of the strange Master, who had been
vouched for by the Voice, but who had
stolen swiftly away from the scene, and had fled the crowds
who would have gladly worshipped Him as a Master and have
obeyed His slightest command.
Then as the darkness of the succeeding nights fell upon Him,
He would sleep on some wild mountain cliff, on the edge of
some mighty precipice, the sides of which dropped down a
thousand feet or more. But these things disturbed Him not.
On and on He pressed at the appearance of each dawn. Without
food He boldly moved forward to the Heart of the Hills,
where the Spirit guided Him to the scene of some great
spiritual struggle which he intuitively knew lay before Him.
The Words of the Voice haunted Him still, though He lacked a
full understanding of them, for He had not yet unfolded the
utmost recesses of His Spiritual Mind. "This is my Beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased"--what meant these words? And
still, no answer came to that cry of His soul which sought
in vain for a freeing of that riddle.
And still on and on He pressed, until at last He mounted the
steep sides of the barren forbidding mountain of Quarantana,
beyond which He felt that His struggle was to begin. No food
was to be found--He must fight the battle unaided by the
material sustenance that ordinary men find necessary for
life and strength. And still He had not received the answer
to the cry of His soul. The rocks beneath His feet--the blue
sky above His head--the lofty peaks of Moab and Gilead in
the distance--gave no answer to the fierce insistent desire
for the answer to the Riddle of the Voice. The answer must
come from Within, and from Himself only. And in the Heart of
the Wilderness He must remain, without food, without
shelter, without human companionship, until the
Answer came. And as it was with the Master, so is it with
the follower--all who attain the point of unfoldment at
which the Answer is alone possible, must experience that
awful feeling of "aloneness" and spiritual hunger, and
frightful remoteness from all that the world values, before
the Answer comes from Within--from the Holy of Holies of the
Spirit.
*
*
*
* *
To realize the nature of the spiritual struggle that awaited
Jesus in the Wilderness--that struggle that would bring Him
face to face with His own soul, we must understand the
Jewish longing and expectation of the Messiah. The Messianic
traditions had taken a strong hold upon the minds of the
Jewish people, and it needed but the spark of a strong
personality to set all Israel into a blaze which would burn
fiercely and destroy the foreign influences which have
smothered the national spirit. The idea of a Messiah
springing from the loins of David, and coming to take His
rightful place as the King of the Jews, was imbedded in the
heart of every Jew worthy of the name. Israel was oppressed
by its conquerors, and made subject to a foreign yoke, but
when the Messiah would come to deliver Israel, every Jew
would arise to drive out the foreign invaders and
conquerors--the yoke of Rome would be thrown off, and Israel
would once more take its place among the nations of the
earth.
Jesus knew full well the fact of this national hope. It had
been installed into His mind from childhood. He had pondered
over it often during the time of His wanderings and sojourn
in foreign lands. The occult legends, however, make no
mention of His having ever thought of Himself as the Messiah
until he was about to re-enter His own land after His years
of foreign study and ministry. It is thought that the idea
of His being the long expected Messiah was first suggested
by some of the Essenic teachers, when He rested with them
for awhile before appearing before John the Baptist. It was
pointed out to Him that the marvelous events surrounding His
birth indicated that He was a marked individual destined to
play an important part in the history of the World. Then why
was it not reasonable to believe that that role was to be
that of the Messiah come to sit on the throne of His father
David, and destined to bring Israel from her now obscure
position to once more shine as a bright star in the
firmament of nations? Why was it not reasonable that He was
to lead the Chosen People to their own?
Jesus began to ponder over these things. He had absolutely
no material ambitions for Himself and all His impulses and
inclinations were for the life of an occult ascetic. But the
idea of a redeemed and regenerated Israel was one calculated
to fire the blood of any Jew, even though the element of
personal ambition might be lacking in him.
He had always realized that in some way He was different
from other men, and that some great work lay ahead of Him,
but He had never understood His own nature, nor the work He
was to do. And it is not to be wondered that the talk among
the Essenes caused Him to ponder carefully over the idea
expressed by them. And then the wonderful event of the dove,
and the Voice, upon the occasion of His baptism, seemed
almost to verify the idea of the Essenes. Was He indeed the
long-expected Deliverer of Israel? Surely He must find this
out--He must wring the answer from the inmost recesses of
His soul. And so, He sought refuge in the Wilderness,
intuitively feeling that there amidst the solitude and
desolation, He would fight His fight and receive His
answer.
He felt that He had come to a most important phase of His
life's work, and the question of "What Am I?" must be
settled, once and for all,--then and there. And so He left
behind Him the admiring and worshipful crowds of John's
following, and sought the solitude of the waste places of
the Wilderness, in which He felt He would come face to face
with His own soul, and demand and receive its answer.
*
*
*
* *
And up in the inmost recesses of the Heart
of the Wilderness, Jesus wrestled in spirit with Himself
for many days, without food or nourishment, and without
shelter. And the struggle was terrific--worthy of such a
great soul. First the body's insistent needs were to be
fought and mastered. It is related that the climax of
the physical struggle came one day when the Instinctive
Mind, which attends to the physical functions, made a
desperate and final demand upon Him. It cried aloud for
bread with all the force of its nature. It tempted Him
with the fact that by His own occult powers He was able
to convert the very stones into bread, and it demanded
that He work the miracle for His own physical needs--a
practice deemed most unworthy by all true occultists and
mystics. "Turn this stone into bread, and eat" cried the
voice of the Tempter. But Jesus resisted the temptation
although He knew that by the power of His concentrated
thought He had but first to mentally picture the stone
as bread and then "will" that it be so materialized. The
miraculous power which afterward turned water into wine,
and which was again used to feed the multitude with the
loaves and the fishes, was available to Him at that
moment in order to satisfy the cravings of His body, and
to break His fast.
None but the advanced occultist who has known what
it was to be tempted to use his mysterious powers to
satisfy his personal wants, can appreciate the nature of
the struggle through which Jesus passed, and from which
He emerged victorious. And like the occult Master that
He was, He summoned His Inner Forces and beat off the
Tempter.
But
a still greater temptation than this arose to try Him to the
utmost. He found Himself brought face to face with the idea
of Messiahship, and Kingship of the Jews, of which we spoke.
Was He the Messiah? And if so, what must be His course of
life and action? Was He destined to throw aside the robe and
staff of the ascetic, and to don the royal purple and the
sceptre? Was He to forsake the role of the spiritual guide
and teacher, and to become the King and Ruler over the
people of Israel? These were the questions He asked His
soul, and for which He demanded an answer.
And the mystic legends tell us that His Spirit answered by
showing Him two sets of mental pictures, with the assurance
that "He could choose either, at will, and cause it to
become realized".
The first picture showed Him true to His spiritual
instincts, and loyal to His mission, but which rendered Him
indeed the "Man of Sorrows." He saw himself continuing to
sow the seeds of Truth, which would, centuries after, spring
up, blossom and bear fruit to nourish the world, but which
would now bring down upon His head the hatred and
persecution of those in power and authority. And He saw each
successive step, each showing the approach of the end, until
at last He saw Himself crowned with thorns and meeting the
death of a criminal on the cross, between two base criminals
of the lowest classes of men. All this He saw and even His
brave heart felt a deadly sickness at the ignominious end of
it all--the apparent failure of His earthly mission. But it
is related that some of the mighty intelligences which dwell
upon the higher planes of existence, gathered around Him,
and gave Him words of encouragement and hope and resolve. He
found Himself literally in the midst of the Heavenly Host,
and receiving the inspiration of its presence.
Then this picture--and the Host of Invisible Helpers--faded
away, and the second picture began to appear before the
vision of the lonely dweller of the Wilderness. He saw the
picture of Himself descending the mountain, and announcing
Himself as the Messiah--the King of the Jews--who had come
to lead His Chosen People to victory and deliverance. He saw
Himself acclaimed as the Promised One of Israel, and the
multitude flocking to His banners. He saw Himself at the
head of a great conquering army, marching toward Jerusalem.
He saw Himself making use of His highly developed occult
powers to read the minds of the enemy and thus know their
every movement and intention, and the means to overcome
them. He saw Himself miraculously arming and feeding His
hosts of battle. He saw Himself smiting the enemy with His
occult powers and forces. He saw the yoke of Rome being cast
off, and its phalanxes fleeing across the borders in terror
and disgraceful defeat. He saw Himself mounting the throne
of David, His forefather. He saw Himself instituting a reign
of the highest type, which would make of Israel the leading
nation of the world. He saw Israel's sphere of influence
extending in all directions, until Persia, Egypt, Greece and
even the once-feared Rome, become tributary nations. He saw
Himself in the triumphant chariot on some great feast day of
victory, with Caesar himself tied to the tail of His
chariot--a slave to Israel's King. He saw His royal court
outrivaling that of Solomon, and becoming the center of the
world. He saw Jerusalem as the capital of the world, and He,
Jesus of Nazareth, son of David the King, as its Ruler, its
hero, its demi-god. The very apotheosis of human success
showed in the picture of Himself and His Beloved Israel in
the picture.
And then the Temple was seen to be the Center of the
Religious thought of the World. The Religion of the Jews, as
modified by His own advanced views, would be the religion of
all men. And he would be the favored mouthpiece of the God
of Israel. All the dreams of the Hebrew Fathers would be
realized in Him, the Messiah of the New Israel whose capital
would be Jerusalem, the Queen of the World.
And all this by simply the exercise of his occult powers
under the direction of HIS WILL. It is related that
accompanying this second picture and attracted by its mighty
power, came all the great thought-waves of the world which
had been thought by men of all times who thought and acted
out the Dreams of Power. These clouds settled down upon Him
like a heavy fog, and their vibrations were almost
overpowering. And also came the hosts of the disembodied
souls of those who while living had sought or gained power.
And each strove to beat into His brain the Desire of Power.
Never in the history of man have the Powers of Darkness so
gathered together for attack upon the mind of a mortal man.
Would it have been any wonder had even such a
man as Jesus succumbed?
But He did not succumb. Rallying His Inner Force to His
rescue He beat back the attacking horde, and by an effort of
His Will, He swept both picture and tempters away into
oblivion, crying indignantly "Thou darest to tempt even me,
thy Lord and Master. Get thee behind me thou Fiends of
Darkness"!
And so the Temptation of the Wilderness failed, and Jesus
received His answer from His soul, and He descended the
mountains, back to the haunts of men--back to the scene of
His three years' labors and suffering, and back to His
Death. And He knew full well all that awaited Him there, for
had He not seen the First Picture?
Jesus had
chosen His career.
* * * The
Master descended from the mountains and forsook the
Wilderness for the place in which John and his followers
were gathered. Resting for a time, and refreshing Himself
with food and drink, He gathered together His energies for
His great work.
The followers of John gathered around Him, filled with the
idea that He was the Messiah come to lead them to victory
and triumph. But He disappointed them by His calm, simple
manner, and His disavowal of royal claims. "What seek ye
of me?" he asked them, and many, abashed, left His circle
and returned to the crowd. But a few humble souls remained
and around these few gathered a few more, until at last a
little band of faithful students was formed--the first
band of Christian disciples. This band was composed almost
entirely of fishermen and men of similar humble
occupations. There was an absence of people of rank or
social position. His people were of the "plain people"
which have furnished the recruits for every great
religion.
And after a time, Jesus moved away from the place,
followed by His band of disciples, which drew new members
from each place of gathering. Some stayed but for a short
time, while others replaced the faint hearted ones of
little faith. But the band steadily grew, until it began
to attract the attention of the authorities and the
public. Jesus constantly disclaimed being the Messiah, but
the report that such indeed He was, began to spread and
the authorities began that system of spying and watching
which followed His footsteps for three years, and which
finally resulted in His death on the Cross. And this
suspicion was encouraged by the Jewish priesthood which
began to hate the young teacher whose opposition to their
tyranny and formalism was quite marked.
The band one day came to a small village in Galilee, and
Jesus began His usual meetings and teaching. Near where
they gathered was a house at which preparations were being
made for a wedding feast. The wedding ceremony has always
been an important occasion among the Jews. The most
elaborate preparations consistent with the size of the
purse of the girl's parents are indulged in. Relatives
from far and near gather to the feast. Jesus happened to
be a distant kinsman of the bride, and according to custom
He was bidden to the feast.
The guests began to gather, each depositing his sandals in
the outer court, and entering the guest chamber
barefooted, after carefully bathing his feet and ankles
after the custom still prevailing in Oriental countries.
Jesus was accompanied by a few of His faithful followers.
His mother, and His several brothers were also among the
blood-relations present at the feast.
His appearance caused much interest and comment among the
other guests. To some He was simply a traveling religious
teacher, not uncommon in that land, to others He was an
inspired prophet, bringing a wonderful Message to the
Jewish people, as He had to the Persians, Egyptians and
Hindus; to others he was more than this, and whispers of
"He is the Messiah"; "The King of Israel," etc., began to
circulate among those present, causing interest,
uneasiness or disgust, according to the views of the
hearers. But whenever He moved, He attracted attention by
His manner, attitude and expression. All felt that here
indeed was an Individual. Strange stories of His
wanderings in strange lands added additional interest to
His presence.
A feeling that something unusual was about to happen began
to creep over the crowd, as is the case often preceding
such events. Mary, His mother, watched her son with
longing eyes, for she saw that some strange change had
come over Him, that was beyond her comprehension.
Toward the end of the feast, it began to be whispered
around among the near relatives that the supply of wine
was about exhausted, the attendance having been much
greater than had been expected. This, to a Jewish family,
was akin to a family disgrace, and anxious looks began to
be exchanged among the members of the immediate family.
Tradition has it that Jesus was besought for aid by His
mother and other female kinswoman. Just what they expected
Him to do is not clear, but it is probable that they
unconsciously recognized His greatness, and accorded Him
the place of the natural Head of the Family, as being the
most prominent member. At any rate, they asked His aid.
What arguments they used, or what reasons they urged, we
do not know, but whatever they were, they succeeded in
winning Him to their side, and gaining from Him a promise
of aid and assistance. But not until after He had
remonstrated that these things were of no concern of
His--that His powers were not to be trifled away in this
manner. But His love for His mother, and His desire to
reward her devotion and faith in Him, prevailed over the
natural disinclination of the mystic to be a "wonder
worker" and to exhibit his occult powers to grace a
wedding-feast. He had long since learned the necessary but
comparatively simple occult feat from His old Masters in
far off India, that land of wonder-working. He knew that
even the humbler Yogis of that land would smile at the
working of such a simple miracle. And so the matter seemed
to Him to be of but slight moment, and not as a
prostitution of some of the higher occult powers. And
feeling thus, He yielded to their requests for aid.
Then moving toward the court in which were stored a number
of great jars of water, he fixed a keen, burning glance
upon them, one by one, passing His hand rapidly over them,
in a quick succession, He made the Mental Image that
precedes all such manifestations of occult power, and then
manifesting His power by using His Will in the manner
known to all advanced occultists, He rapidly materialized
the elements of the wine in the water, within the jars,
and lo! the "miracle" had been wrought.
A wave of excitement passed over the crowded house. The
guests flocked around the jars to taste of the wine that
had been produced by occult power. The priests frowned
their displeasure, and the authorities sneered and
whispered "charlatan"; "fraud"; "shameful imposture"; and
other expressions that always follow an occurrence of this
kind.
Jesus turned away, in grief and sorrow. Among the Hindus
such a simple occult occurrence would have caused but
little comment, while here among His own people it was
considered to be a wonderful miracle by some, while others
regarded it as a trick of a traveling conjurer and
charlatan.
What manner of people were these to whom He had decided to
deliver the Message of Life? And, sighing deeply, He
passed from the house, and returned to His camp.
