Is karma set in stone?

Sometimes we hear people midst conversation talking something about a prominent person, ”It’s his destiny to become the President of that nation” or “to become a religious leader” or “to be a founder of an altruistic Movement”. Is this really a Divine providence or fate? Or is it a result of their dreams and ambitions, wills, burning desires and hard works to get what they want in life? How about a person who met tragic accident or a group of people who were taken as hostages by criminal elements or the victims of the September 11 attack by the terrorists? Are these incidents inevitable?

As explained before, fate or karma is a result of human creation. The saying, “the future is what you make it” is often true. However, karma is also the out-picturing of Cosmic Law drawing on the records stored in the soul’s memory body as a result of its thoughts, desires and actions in the past or past lives. In addition, what you think, desire/feel, say and do in the here and now can also have bearing in the out-picturing of Cosmic Law. Divine intervention in response to proper prayers, dynamic decrees, and meditations as well as positive attitudes and actions, and doing altruistic activities in the here and now can often postpone, mitigate or change the impending negative karma. Fate, which connotes an event in the future, can therefore be changed for the better or worse depending on what we desire, think, say and do in the present prior to its supposed occurrence. In other words, fate, karma, or prophecy is not final.

To my mind, a prophecy can be likened to what’s going to happen in a particular position on the chessboard. Based on the present position, it can be foreseen (if you are a Chess Master), everything that can happen on the chessboard. You know when one of the players is in advantageous position if he will just consistently make the right moves. If one of the players is in a disadvantageous position, you know if there is still a way out to bring about a better position because you can see all the correct moves. You can also see a move that can be fatal. You also know if the position is loosing no matter which pieces to move and it came about because of the number of wrong moves in the past; In this case, you can also see which move is most correct though it is already loosing. In short, from among all the various possibilities in a given position, what will actually happen on the chessboard will depend on which moves the player choose.

Likewise, in our life, we have made past actions – thoughts/feelings, words, and deeds including those in our past lives/incarnations - that are stored in our memory body, which led to our present situation in life. However, we do not know these past records nor do we foresee future events. The key, then, is to have daily spiritual practices of prayers, meditations, and dynamic decrees; rely on the power, wisdom and love of the God Presence; and to maintain positive thoughts, feelings and actions under all circumstances. Keeping these best moves and strategies, we can have an assurance that whatever is happening to us is better than what could have been. We can assume that any misfortune that befell could have been worse or this is the best life or karma that is happening to us.

I would like to explain that to maintain positive feelings does not mean always being happy outwardly under any circumstances. There are trying times in our life – the pain and sufferings that we experience as a result of karmic return - that we need to assess and ponder, perhaps a time for repentance, prayers and profound reverence for God. Failing grade in school for example is not a cause to be happy. It should rather serve as a lesson to be learned to make it good the next time. In that way, we progress in our spiritual path or we miss the lessons to be learned.

I would like to mention that a mere manifestation of negative emotion and attitude in your world like a sudden burst of anger or hatred against another can already make a big mess in your otherwise bright future. It could make a dramatic change in the course of your life in an unpleasant way. Thus, awareness and guarding our thoughts and emotions as practiced in Buddhism is very helpful as a spiritual discipline. On the other hand, there is such a thing as righteous anger but this involves principle and not person. Even the Master Jesus manifested anger when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers in Jerusalem temple. Anger in a positive way can sometimes be a force for good. It was anger due to negative experience in society that propelled Mahatma Ghandi to pursue non-violence form of strike.

According to some Buddhist concepts and practices, there are certain ways to mitigate the effects of negative karma. One of the known ways is doing some altruistic activities. According to Dalai Lama, one of the practices that can diminish the effects of misdeeds or negative karma is “to undertake virtuous activities specifically for the sake of counteracting the impact of that misdeed, by engaging in charity or any other virtuous activity as long as it is aimed at undermining the effects of the ill deed. These virtuous can be as wide-ranging as supporting schools or medical facilities, reading texts on wisdom, or expressing compassionate wishes for others. Cultivation of love and compassion are particularly effective at purifying ill deeds.”(Becoming Enlightened, p. 108). If for example in your ignorance you have committed a sin of abortion or supported this ill-kind of practice, you can diminish the impact of your karma by supporting or engaging actively in some PRO-LIFE Movements which various activities are basically anti-abortion.

I would like to explain further that we cannot judge what is happening in the outer world of an individual because we do not know the past life records of its incarnations. A person maybe a prince or princess in this life but he/she would still be far towards his Ascension; He/she could even be a pauper in the next lifetime. Another person maybe suffering heavily in this life but this could be his last life on earth to experience once and for all the glory of Ascended Master’s realm. This could happen because the individual maybe reaping karma (good or bad) from the remote past embodiments perhaps ten or a hundred embodiment ago. Moreover, the experience of a person may not be part of karma such as the crucifixion of Jesus and possibly the beheading of John the Baptist. It is possible that an advance soul from etheric plane can volunteer to undergo a certain painful experience in her re-embodiment on earth to take part in the divine plan. Unbeknownst to us, what seem to be a severe and distressful experience in the world even of a common person could very well be according to divine plan that will contribute for the raising up of planetary evolution. Of course, it is very inspiring to see men and women of good character and integrity who have less karma, who serve as role model for the multitudes.

If you are looking for a biblical support explaining that prophecy can be changed, let me tell you about the story of Prophet Jonah. Jonah was instructed by God to go to the city of Nineveh and warn its people that a calamity will befall upon them if they continue in their wicked ways. Prophet Jonah disobeyed God, went aboard the ship and headed instead to Tarshish to flee away from the Lord. It is implied in the story that Jonah knew that should the people be warned and then repented and turned from their evil ways, the impending calamity will not come to pass for he also knew the graciousness and compassion of God; he does not want to be called later as a false prophet for a prophecy that did not come true. That was actually what happened when Jonah obeyed God later, when he was returned into the land after his ordeal inside the belly of the whale for three days and nights.

Nobody on earth at present time is free from negative karma. We all fell short of the perfection that God intended from the beginning of creation. Thus, all of us will experience karma to a certain degree in one way or another. Nations have karma. Our world has karma. But God has provided an “I AM” way to mitigate our negative karma. The Ascended Master’s students know the science of invocation (dynamic decrees I mentioned earlier) by calling the name of God I AM THAT I AM and the Violet Flame to transmute personal and planetary karma.

KARMA AND REINCARNATION Part 2

People who have come to believe in reincarnation sometimes have a tendency to become oblivious to the pain and sufferings of other people. This unwelcome attitude must be checked; one cannot simply say “Oh it’s their karma I have nothing to do with that, I won’t give a helping hand”. I think they should remember the heart of the Good Samaritan or the compassionate heart of the Buddha. The act of helping people especially those in your immediate circle of influence can initiate a good karma; for there maybe reversal of the situations into the future. Isn’t it wonderful to see people helping one another and bearing one another’s burden which we often see in the community of the Holy Spirit? Of course we have to look for extremes because there maybe people who are simply taking advantage of our kind and generous traits or maybe we are too sympathetic or soft-hearted that we always help other people first to the point of forgetting ourselves.

Turning our attention to Christianity, it might be said that what precludes most Christians to believe in the law of karma and reincarnation is the basic tenet that Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to redeem mankind from their sins; that the crucifixion and the blood of Jesus and His resurrection have completely forgiven and washed away the sins of humanity. Mankind therefore is no longer accountable for their sins; by simply accepting Jesus as their saviour they will go to Heaven. Without a doubt, this tenet can give great relief and is beneficial to its believers especially if it goes well with the mystical path of Christianity. However, the belief in the obliteration of mankind’s sins is not aligned with the law of karma and reincarnation. The Ascended Masters Teachings (AMT) offers a different explanation on Jesus’ redemption of mankind from their sins.

I think it is already known that the students of the Ascended Masters Teachings (AMT) accept that Jesus is the Christ and Jesus is a World Saviour but they cannot agree that Jesus literally washed away all the sins of mankind. This washing away of our sins is taken in a different context by the AMT. To my knowledge, according to the Summit Lighthouse, when Jesus was embodied here on earth, he had already balanced 95% of his karma. He too had gone through many embodiments prior to the fulfilment of His final Divine Mission that took place in Jerusalem. It is his unique mission to become the Christ, shed tremendous Light upon the earth and bear a greater portion of world karma. His sufferings and crucifixion was not his karma because he practically had almost no more karma to be balanced (only 5%). Jesus Christ therefore took upon himself a greater portion of world karma that was to descend in that era or cycle of karma. In my opinion, since we are all connected at inner levels, Jesus’ bearing of world karma and shedding of his tremendous Light that encompassed the whole earth, had lighten the weight of the burden of mankind’s collective unconscious / consciousness and reinforced their spiritual path (this can be taken to mean as forgiveness and washing away of sins or ransom for many). It is for this reason that Jesus said to one of the criminals on the cross, who attuned with him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). As that cycle had come to an end, the set of karma that had been held in abeyance are now descending which mankind have already been experiencing perhaps for centuries to culminate in this present age. It is possible that many souls who are embodied at present age were also embodied during the time of Jesus.

It seems that the overwhelming accounts in the New Testament that seems to preclude the doctrine of reincarnation hinge on the salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. And this belief is further strengthened by what is written in Revelation, that our Lord Jesus Christ has seated at the right hand of the Father to judge the living and the dead at the final day of reckoning so that the saved will have eternal life in heaven and the wicked ones who will not be found written in the Book of Life will go to hell for eternal punishment. However, if we consider Jesus Christ not just a person, but the personification of the Universal Logos/Christ, who was in the beginning with God even before the world was, there will be no conflict with other non-Christian faiths. Even Buddha and Krishna can be considered as the personification of Universal Logos/Christ; even anyone, if he is poised and it’s his Divine Mission to manifest the Universal Logos/Christ in the current lifetime. The big difference with Lord Jesus is He sacrificed Himself and bore the world karma that made his mission so special and unique, enabling him to have the title of World Saviour. Thus we give thanks and praise and glory to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is the Universal Logos/Christ that will judge the living and the dead. It is perfectly alright for the Christians to consider this Universal Logos/Christ as our Lord Jesus for He has become one with it. However, their inclination to think of Jesus as an exclusive separate persona would create misunderstanding with other faiths. Perhaps it’s better to think of Him as the Christed One in oneness with the Holy Spirit and God the Father – the Holy Trinity.

It is through faith in the Universal Logos/Christ that will save us; for denying this Universal Logos/Christ – this Universal Law/Universal Principle pervading in the universe and written in the inward parts of man – is tantamount to becoming like the fallen angels and the devils who, by their spiritual pride and misuse of freewill elected to reject the Christ in man and rebelled against God. These devils, when they no longer emit Light (thus making themselves absent in the book of life), will be thrown into the lake of fire (actually sacred fire) as their final judgment, to face the second death (meaning of eternal punishment). This second death is also a mercy of the Law because eternal punishment taken literally would mean injustice on the part of our Creator. (Fallen angels will be covered in future topic). To have faith then in the Universal Christ/Logos as personified in Jesus and lives within man which can be seen partly expressed by the outer self rests man’s destiny of salvation. Put it in another way, as long as man has faith in Christ Presence and keeps on practicing and holding on to the Christ principles despite of failures, he will continue to progress spiritually till the day comes when the grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit finally bears fruit so as to put all his enemies of negative thoughts, attitudes, and emotions within under His footstool.

As an adjunct to this, I would like to mention that it is plainly written in the New Testament that salvation does not come by faith alone, but also by works (James 2:24). As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). In addition, we can find in Revelation 20:11-12 that the dead will be judged according to their deeds.

Perhaps another point why some adherents of mainstream Christianity cannot accept reincarnation is the often-quoted statement in the New Testament that seems to object reincarnation: “And as it is appointed unto men “once” to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrew 9:27). However, I found an article by Jan Erick Sigdell, “Reincarnation, Christianity, and the Dogma of the Church” where he explained that “once” from the Greek word hapax can mean many things; it could also mean “once for all”, “once more” or “once again”. So, the above passage could actually be an allusion to reincarnation (http://www.christian-reincarnation.com/index.html). On the other hand, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Prophet, a former Messenger of the Great White Brotherhood, interpreted the above passage as the death of the lower self - meaning the sinful self or negative human consciousness. I would like to combine the explanation of Jan Erick Sigdell and Mrs Prophet. I think it’s more appropriate to substitute “once for all” instead of “once” or “once again” so that the whole passage will become like this: “And as it is appointed unto men ‘once for all’ to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was sacrificed ‘once for all’ to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28). The words “once for all” in the first phrase would then imply final death of human consciousness (or lower self) in his final incarnation on earth wherein this negative human consciousness will have no power – will be judged – when the Divine/Christ Consciousness appears. After Jesus Christ sacrificed himself and bore mankind’s karma, He, the Christ Consciousness, will appear a second time to anyone who are waiting (strives) for Him, this time not to bear karma, but truly to bring salvation.

You can find in Sigdell’s above article a number of accounts and passages in the Old and New Testaments that support or in accord with the law of karma and reincarnation. I would just like to point out that some objectors claim that the biblical account in John 9:2-3 (about a man who was born blind) which indicates belief in reincarnation by Jesus and his disciples, were actually belief in the pre-existence of the soul, not necessarily reincarnation. I don’t subscribe to this idea, I agree instead with Jan Erick Sigdell on explaining that reincarnation is more appropriate and logical than mere pre-existence of the soul.

Another account is in Matthew 17:10-13 where it shows that John the Baptist is the reincarnation of Elijah (Elias). Objectors argue that this is not a case of reincarnation because Elijah (Elias) had already ascended to heaven (physically) and should therefore not be reincarnated in accordance with the doctrine of reincarnation. They explain that John the Baptist only came in the spirit and power of Elijah as mentioned in Luke 1:17. The AMT, however, explains that this is a special case of reincarnation where an Ascended one such as Elijah could re-embody. It is clear that John the Baptist was actually Elijah come again, and not merely in the spirit of Elijah, because Jesus mentioned in Matthew 11:14, “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear”. The reason why the appearance of Elijah (and not John the Baptist) was seen on the mount of transfiguration is because John the Baptist(Elijah) retained his original appearance when he ascended physically. Sigdell explained this in a different way probably because he doesn’t believe in physical ascension, being oriented in Gnosticism.

(I would like to mention of the early Gnostic Christians who were believers in reincarnation. Some Gnostic Christians today believe that they are the true early Christians; that they were persecuted by the Romans and later declared heretics by the Church. It is a mistaken belief, however, that only early Gnostic Christians were persecuted by the Romans. The truth is all early Christians without distinction – Gnostics and those of the Church – were all persecuted by the Romans. However, when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted himself into Christianity sometime in early 4th century, the Gnostic Christians continued to be persecuted, and were later declared heretics by the Church).

(I only mentioned the above article of Jan Sigdell because I find there a good deal of explanations on karma and reincarnation including the corrections on inappropriate translations of some related biblical terms. It also shows many sound biblical passages pertaining to reincarnation. However, I don’t agree with him by including the harsh criticisms against the Church because it is out of context in the article. Although some of those criticisms maybe true such as the crusades, the persecution of the Cathars, and the Inquisitions as recorded in history, much are hard to believe, can only be based on hearsay or simply a concoction. He failed to see and mention the good practices, the services to humanity that the Church rendered and the many true Saints that it produced.)

Sigdell discussed in his writings the practice of past life regressions to bring into remembrance the soul’s past incarnations and experiences for therapeutic purposes. The AMT do not recommend this practice particularly if there is hypnosis involved.

Another article, “May a Christian believe in Reincarnation?” by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (http://wwwatmajyoti.org/sw_xtian.believe_reinc.asp) also quotes several biblical passages related to reincarnation and gives discussions showing the belief in reincarnation of the ancient Jews and early Christian writers - some of them Saints and Church fathers. In my view, his claim is hard to refute. (I’m not endorsing the website; I’m only pointing the merit of this particular article).

In this article, Swami Nirmalananda Giri mentioned backed with evidence that reincarnation is a fully developed belief of the ancient Jewish nation, including early Christians. This can be true; however, the reader should not get into impression that a greater number of populace believed in reincarnation. Kabbalah, for example, is the esoteric teachings of Orthodox Judaism, which may have garnered only a minority of followers. Even the early Church fathers, I would say, only minority of them believe in reincarnation. Even among Jesus’ disciples, only a few of them may have seriously espoused this belief. My source and basis of the latter statement is the book of Agni Yoga Society, “Supermundane – The Inner Life Book I (1938) -163” where Ascended Master El Morya says: “The Teacher (Jesus) did not speak about reincarnation to the people because in His country this truth would not have been understood. Even among the disciples very few could fully comprehend the Law of Reincarnation. Some sects knew about reincarnation, but the idea provoked strong arguments and the majority doubted, just as it doubts today”.

Maybe another reason why Lord Jesus did not speak about reincarnation to the people was because He had foreseen that even an exoteric teaching can be a useful instrument for the progress of the soul and reformation of man. There is no doubt that exoteric Christianity had helped much in the dramatic reformation of many people including criminals and drug addicts, touched by the Holy Spirit. In the first place, God has provided a mechanism perhaps in our brain not to remember our previous lives. This is probably so because God knows that it will be conducive for the progress of the soul and as I’ve mentioned before, it is the mercy of the Law because it will be too burdensome for the soul who lacks mastery to remember all his past lives. However, the forgetfulness of previous lives is only apparent in human’s outer consciousness on earth; but in the afterlife in spiritual world, he/she remembers everything. But here on earth, I believe that those experiences in previous lives are locked in the subconscious or unconscious mind (part of memory body) of the soul due to the denser frequencies of the physical, emotional, and mental bodies. Nevertheless, it will have a bearing upon the soul’s outer experiences. Modern psychology and psychoanalysis, as Sigdell puts it, knows the influence and guidance from the impulses coming from the unconscious self. In the final analysis, the law of karma and reincarnation that is at work in the universe will serve as mankind’s teacher whether one believes in it or not, or whether one knows it or not.

In countries such as India where reincarnation is an ordinary belief for almost three millennia, you can find some naughty people who abuse the said belief that you would hear them saying, “I will just pay it in my next incarnation”. Knowing this, we can say that it’s not a matter of believing or knowing the law. It’s a matter of observing the eternal verities and applying the spiritual teachings in one’s life whether one is in the esoteric or exoteric teachings.

According to the AMT, Pope XXIII, Pope Paul II, and Mother Theresa who were followers of Jesus in the Catholic Faith have now ascended in Heaven. Aime Semple Mcpherson, a Baptist, has also won her Ascension. Yet, their belief is an exoteric one. I believe this is so because they, through various incarnations, have finally attained a higher level of spiritual development by applying the eternal verities of life and then balanced more than 51% of their karma to qualify for Ascension. They, however, may have been followers of other faiths in their previous lives and this is most probably true to everyone.

Lord Jesus presumably had also foreseen that His true inner/esoteric teachings will be hindered shortly after his time and that it will be revealed again in the present age. It’s better to be progressive, up to the times and cognizant of the true inner spiritual teachings because it can accelerate a sincere seeker in his/her spiritual development onward to the Ascension in the Light.

Going back to the Scripture, a traditional Christian or a Bible-literalist may think that mankind have just inherited their sins from their original parent - Adam and Eve. Consequently, mankind can never assume accountability for their iniquities because it can be said that those were the gripping effects of the seed of Adam and Eve in their beings. Hence, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save mankind. However, most esoteric teachings consider the story of Adam and Eve to be allegorical. Esoterically, Adam and Eve are simply an archetype of human race. I believe this is true. Why? It is said in Genesis that Adam and Eve committed sin by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Clearly, the said tree is symbolical for it is unrealistic to think that there is such kind of fruit say an apple bearing knowledge of good and evil. I don’t think that God had infused the fruit with knowledge of good and evil. I don’t think either, that God created Adam and Eve without any knowledge of good and evil for eating the fruit is itself an evil act, a violation of God’s commandment. And do you think that Satan literally transformed himself into snake then talked to and tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit? Mr Sigdell touched upon this in his article and it is somewhat similar to the discussion of Mark L. Prophet which I’ll take up in my future topic.

KARMA AND REINCARNATION

WHY I BELIEVE IN RE-EMBODIMENT

I remember when I was a lad, still unmindful of the highways and byways in life, I and some of my playmates already heard the term reincarnation in one of the episodes on TV program but we didn’t pay much attention to it except that we jokingly defined it as a popular brand of milk during that time in the Philippines – Carnation. This is probably because we were reared in the predominantly Christian environment. Our parents and relatives were Christians. I remember, during my teenage years, that I used to listen to my father and my godfather (one who serve as my second father based on catholic sacrament of baptism) exchanging repartee about religious beliefs. My father’s sources of knowledge which he used as reference in their discussions were the books and magazines of Jehovah’s witnesses. Their discussions aroused my interests in searching for truth. I also read those books of Jehovah’s Witnesses and used the same in my religious discussions with my friends and classmates in high school. Two of these books were: “Things in which it is impossible for God to Lie” and “The Truth shall make you Free”.  I’ve thought of beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be true for a number of years. Their logic and biblical-quotation line of reasoning struck a cord in my psyche that resonates with them. However, my thirst for truth was never quenched; I had many puzzling questions about life that they couldn’t provide satisfactory answers.  Questions like: Why are there evils manifesting in this world? Does God allow this to happen? Why some people were born with infirmities or living in unfortunate circumstances while others were comparatively living in a much better life, when both are considered righteous? Why there are even bad people whose life situations were fortunate compared to the good guys? What would happen to the souls who died without knowing Christianity perhaps born with other religion or indigenous community? What if a person were born under an environment with atheist parents, perhaps an officer in a communist government,  that compelled him to follow the same ideology then died early, then according to most Christian beliefs, he will be punished in afterlife. Did God make all these? Isn’t God responsible for them being born under those circumstances? Why would God make these? If so, there is injustice in this God-made universe. But in spite of these seemingly baffling questions, I know deep within me that our God is a just and righteous God so there should be right and precise answers to these questions. I could not accept the reply that it’s one of God’s life’s mysteries.  

Then one day, my father pointed to me an article in the newspaper about a psychic/seer (Edgar Cayce) who was formerly a failure or slow learner in school in his younger days that his father was so angry with him. One day after his father taught him some lessons about a book, he fell asleep with the book on his head. Upon waking up, his father asked him questions about the lessons he taught, but he was astonished that his son was able to answer everything.  Edgar Cayce became a seer who channels a certain personality from another dimension during trance states of consciousness. During sessions, people would ask questions and he gave answers through channelling. As a result, he had published many books and I got hold some of those in my college days. In the book “Edgar Cayce’s Story of Attitudes and Emotions”, I found a discussion on the concept of karma and reincarnation. Then I realized that it adequately answered all my puzzling questions about life.      

REINCARNATION IN EASTERN RELIGION

The concept of reincarnation and karma is embedded in eastern religions. According to this belief everyone here on earth have undergone many cycles of birth and rebirth. The primary reason is everyone had done unwholesome actions or created negative karma in previous earthly lives, and so they have to be reborn and live on earth again in order to experience the same pains that they had inflicted to various parts of life. The unwholesome actions served as karmic debts that must be paid off. Since it isn’t possible to pay off all these immense negative karma in one lifetime (sometimes new karma were added), it will be paid in subsequent life or lives. And so, according to this doctrine, everyone on earth has been reincarnated perhaps hundreds or thousands of times. 

This law of karma and reincarnation is often considered to be the natural law of cause and effect. If the cause that one has set in motion was negative he/she will get negative effect. What ye sow, ye shall reap.   If for example someone has killed another, this same act will return to this person or meet tragic accident. If he stole pieces of necklace, he will lose the same value of property, too. If he abused or maltreated someone, he will be abused and maltreated, too. The law of karma is immutable and infallible and exact in detail. Every erg of energy that a person sent out to other parts of life shall return to him or her. If he/she didn’t receive the effects of his actions in the current life, he/she will receive them in his next life or lives. Diseases of the body can also be part of karma. This is because every negative thoughts and emotions (which can build up into a negative character if the same pattern is repeated many times over) are stored in the soul’s memory body which can be carried over to the next embodiment to manifest as disease later or earlier in life. But not all diseases are karmic effects from past lives, for some or majority of them were due to excessive eating of harmful foods or drinking alcohols and smoking cigarettes. Looking from a different perspective, negative karma should never be construed as punishment. It is better to be taken as an opportunity to return into Divine alignment what had been out of alignment as a result of negative action. Conversely, positive energies that are set in motion will also bear positive fruits.

It could be asked why the soul cannot remember her past lives in the present embodiment. Based on Ascended Masters Teachings, it is the mercy of the law that the memory of past embodiments cannot be remembered by the soul.  For remembering all those past experiences in one stream of consciousness can be too burdensome for the soul to carry. It’s better for the soul to be born and appear to begin a fresh life. Although there are few cases that even a child can have recollection of past embodiment.

As far as I know, according to Buddhist teachings, another reason why an individual keeps coming back here on earth is because of attachment to earthly existence; he still desires earthly pleasures.   The goal then of this teaching is to free one’s self from the wheels of birth and rebirth, i.e., to stay in Heavenly realm or become Ascended Being, by practicing non-attachment and balancing karma.  This is done by applying what the Buddhists call the eightfold path – a number of spiritual disciplines leading to enlightenment, thus ending his sufferings on earth. Other Buddhist teachings claim that studying their scriptures and giving certain Buddhist mantras can help them pay off and balance karma.

This eastern philosophy would then explain why there were people who were born blind or deaf or with other physical handicap or find themselves in abject poverty and/ or other unfortunate circumstances in their lives; while others were born enjoying health, wealth, even spirituality, and all fortunes in life. The reason is they are simply reaping the good or bad effects of what they’ve done in previous lifetimes.

Not knowing this law can sometimes turn a person into unbeliever if a painful event occurred to him/her.  This reminded me of a good young man, who has very good parents, too. Suddenly this young man was stricken with a terminal disease so that it was inevitable for him not to stay alive for a few more periods of time. This young man suddenly became unbeliever possibly because he couldn’t fathom why that was happening to him. When he would hear his parents and relatives mention God, he would always yell, ‘’There is no God!’’ I reckoned that had he known about the law of karma and reincarnation, he could have understood his situation and left everything to God. The calm acceptance of the situation and prayers could have prolonged, if not saved his life.  He should have been drawn closer to God instead.  But of course, other alternative reason is that the young man could be lacking in faith or misguided by intellect for there were others who have no knowledge of reincarnation and karma but simply accepted the same situation, have prayed in their hearts and changed one’s attitudes in life.

WHAT IS MISSING IN EASTERN RELIGION

 However, I don’t agree with the concept of transmigration of the soul into the animal body as part of the teaching in eastern religions.   It could be true a long time ago. But I’d like to impart to you that based on what I learned from Ascended Masters Teachings through the Summit Lighthouse, this belief no longer applies in this age. One of the reasons as far as I can remember is because there were so many people, who kill and eat animals, and consequently by karmic law, these people will re-embody into animal bodies but that would cause a cessation of human evolution.  Because being embodied in animal form would mean absence of divine spark that’s only possible and reserve for the human body.  

The belief on the transmigration of soul into animal body like the one mentioned above were antiquated and the followers of eastern religion aren’t aware of new dispensations that the Karmic Board (Lords of Karma) have put into operation for earth’s evolution. (According to Ascended Masters Teachings, the Karmic Board dispenses justice to this system of worlds, adjudicating karma, mercy and judgement on behalf of every lifestream. All lifestreams pass before the Karmic Board before each incarnation on earth to receive their assignment and karmic allotment for that lifetime. They pass before the Karmic Board again at the conclusion of each lifetime to review their performance). The organizations of the Ascended Master’s Teachings have become instruments to convey new dispensations from Heavenly octave being made available to mankind through their anointed Messengers and Representatives. For example, on the matter of freeing oneself from the rounds of reincarnation on earth (which is called Ascension using the term of Ascended Masters Teachings), the Brotherhood of Light has already made known that to win your Ascension you must balance 51% of your karma and fulfil your divine mission. It’s no longer balancing 100% of karma as what the Buddhists and Hindus could still believe in. Perhaps one reason for this reduction is many have already won their Ascensions, and since all lifestreams are connected at inner levels, the collective consciousness and evolution of mankind have been raised up to a degree that will merit this dispensation.  Another possible reason, in my opinion, is there were fallen angels (like Lucifer and Satan and some who were embodied on earth like Hitler), who have already met their second deaths (death of the soul; no more identity, thus vanished from existence); this has lessened the dark forces, though their seeds can still influence mankind. Balancing only 51% of karma, however, does not mean you will not balance the remaining 49%. According to Summit Lighthouse, the soul will be required to descend to astral plane (maybe compared to purgatory of the Catholic belief), a lower plane of existence in contradistinction to Heavenly realm (etheric plane), to balance the remaining 49% of karma there. This could be in the form of ministering to the souls trapped in this lower plane. However, it is more difficult to balance karma in the astral plane than balancing it in the physical plane (earth). 

BALANCING KARMA

Logically speaking, balancing one’s karma in our mundane life can mean maintaining positive attitudes and doing constructive actions in the face of trials and challenges and never to create negative karma anymore. Trials and challenges can be in the form of business bankruptcy, lost of job, diseases of the body, lost of loved ones, and breakdown in relationships.  It isn’t easy to maintain positive thoughts and feelings under these negative circumstances especially if one is lacking in spirituality. However, it is good to bear in mind that a person will not be given trials which he or she cannot pass. As stated in the scripture, “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”. Prayers, applying Christly virtues, and doing appropriate actions can readily be summoned to solve the problems at hand. On the other hand, the Ascended Masters have provided an important tool to balance and mitigate karma even before it comes to your doorstep by using the Science of the Spoken Word called dynamic decrees; this can be used for personal and planetary transmutations of karma especially by invoking the Violet Flame, the seventh ray aspect of the Holy Spirit, along with other form of dynamic decrees. I’ll talk more about these later for this is a new topic. You can look for them however, in the websites of Ascended Master’s Teachings organizations if you like.

In my view, karma in the form of financial loses, diseases, or even injury and accident can easily be balanced by many people because more often than not,  they will accept it as their fate then move on with their life perhaps a bit of a changed person. It is in the area of conflict in human interactions and relations where many are failing their tests. This can take place at home in family relationships, in the workplace, in every organizations whether it is professional, spiritual or civic; in a sudden conflict with a stranger in the shopping mall, or even in an online chat or forum . Sometimes karma of this sort is designed to challenge our character weaknesses in order to transform us. Whatever your greatest weakness is, there will your greatest challenge be, and there you will feel its full weight. But if another person without that particular weakness were to experience the same karmic situation, that karma will be piece of cake for him. If for example your weakness in character is aggressiveness and getting angry easily, you will always find yourself in a situation that will challenge that negative character. But a very harmonious, peaceful and loving person put in that same situation wouldn’t see it as a challenge at all. Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness and compassion and other passages in the New Testament, I believe, are very powerful formula to pass karmic tests on human interactions. Remembering some of the words of God will help much. ”Father forgive them, they know not what they do”; “I AM my brother’s keeper”;  ”He is not heavy father, he is my brother”; ”In your patience, possess ye your soul”.  But of course, this is not to say you won’t do anything to correct another’s abuse or mistake. It can be done in a positive manner.        

Often, the karmic circumstances in life become burdensome because of our attachment to ego. One of the Ascended Masters, I think it was Lord Lanto, who said, “Ego is the seat of all man’s problems. What are known as inferiority and superiority complexes revolve entirely around the pride and frustrations of the ego.”

MOMENTUM FROM PAST LIVES

As mentioned earlier, every thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds that the soul has set in motion whether good or bad will be stored in its memory body and these will be retained even after death, and into subsequent re-embodiments. This explains why there were child prodigies who can exceptionally play pieces of music on piano or violin or demonstrate other talents, even when parent’s characteristics were absent. This also explains why some people have momentum on doing malevolent deeds and some can do good deeds with ease. This is the meaning of the passage in the Bible: “He who hath,  more shall be given, and he who hath not, even that which he hath, shall be taken away from him.”

You may think that the person’s character, personality, and even health were due to the influence of genes and environment.  No they are not; they are all part of the soul's memory body that determines the playing out of the karma of the soul. For even your parents, children, siblings, relatives and friends, and even your physique as well as your place of birth and nationality are all parts of karmic connections and circumstances (good and bad) precisely determined by the Lords of karma based on infallible Cosmic Law.  Other esoteric school of thought teaches that the soul will be shown by the Lords of Karma of a number of possible futures for him on earth, all based on Cosmic law, and she is asked to choose which one she likes; so that it is actually the soul who chose his life on earth including her parents and environment. However, in any case, the soul is given an opportunity to transcend her genes, her karma and environmental influence, in fact to transform herself through the power of the Holy Spirit and God Presence within.    

LAW OF KARMA AND REINCARNATION IS COMPLEX

According to Ascended Masters Teachings, the law of karma and reincarnation is complex to be fully comprehended by mortal man; there are many variable factors involved. In my association with Summit Lighthouse Group, I learned that the normal process of soul’s reincarnation is alternately male and female although there were times that this was not the case. The souls who were born gay or lesbian are encountering karma due to their abuse of masculine or feminine polarity in past life or lives. Some examples of the abuse of masculinity are a husband who excessively mistreats or beats his wife, and a macho dancer in a pub. This soul could later be embodied gay in its next life. An example of abuse of feminine polarity is a lady who practices excessive acts of prostitution, whose soul can later be embodied as lesbian.  Another law that is apparently linked to the law of karma is the law of cycles. There will always be times when winds of good destiny are in your sail and times when it will be against it; times when you will be on top and times when you will be at the bottom. This applies individually and collectively on planetary scale.

Sometimes you could hear news of airplane and train crashes, or sinking of passenger ships where many people lost their lives. These show that karma can happen not only to individual but also in groups. There are also national karma and planetary karma that appear as political upheavals, economic crisis, wars, earthquakes, weather disturbances and famines. I believe that even the adulteration and degradation of true spiritual knowledge and teachings that have been handed down from generation to generation is part of planetary karma. 

To my mind, the Law of karma and reincarnation can be likened to a chess game. The reason why you find yourself in a negative or disadvantageous position was because you have made bad move/s or decision/s in the past. Except that in real life you have no opponent, instead a Cosmic Teacher of immutable Universal Law that desires your mastery.  When you re-embody again to play another game on this chessboard of life, you will most likely find yourself playing the same defence, but this time you don’t want to repeat the same mistake.  This planet earth is like a schoolroom so that we can graduate, if possible with honors.  In my view, it’s possible that If not for the law of karma and reincarnation, we could not have progressed and reached the present stage of evolution, where many have opportunity to win their ascension. 

I will continue this topic in my next post...

Christian Mysticism

Just a few decades ago way back in the Philippines, when I was still in high school in mid 70s, I was only familiar with different denominations of mainstream Christianity namely Roman Catholic, Protestant, Seventh Day Adventist, Iglesia ni Kristo, Iglesia ng Dios, Jesus of Latter Day Saints(Mormons) and Jehovah’s Witness. Later in College I began to hear much about Evangelicals and frequently saw on TV some of the evangelical programs by Billy Graham, Jimmy Swaggart and the like. Then I remember afterwards that so many similar type of congregations namely the Pentecostals and Charismatic community began to sprung forth from different places in the country. It persists up to this day. I believe that this is worldwide for they claim membership in different countries and in fact the adherents are increasing by 9 million per year.

As far as I know, the Evangelicals, Pentecostals and Charismatic Movements differ on certain beliefs for they are Baptists, Protestants, and Catholics respectively, though some similar congregations can never be associated with any of them; but all agree that they can gain the gifts of the Holy Spirit such as healing, prophesy, speaking in tongues, wisdom of the scriptures, etc. They believe that they too, can acquire the gifts of the Holy Spirit similar to what had occurred to Jesus’ disciples in the baptism of the Holy Ghost as described in Acts. They also believe that they can experience Jesus, obey His Teachings and be one with Him. Maybe some of you out there are member of their communities. I, myself, have attended the services a couple of times of the Jesus is Lord Fellowship in the Philippines and the Couples/Singles for Christ as well. I joined in one of the Charismatic Catholic community (Holy Redeemer) here in Australia and I had a first hand experience of what’s going on in their spiritual activities.

In my view, the advent of these congregations is a step higher on the ladder of spiritual growth as compared to the traditional mainstream Christian religion. For example, you may already be aware that attendance in the Catholic Church involves participating in prayers and songs, listening to the priest’s homily, receiving the holy Eucharist and other sacraments. This is invaluable and can be of great help to the people in attendance. However, since their basic belief is that the blood of Jesus has borne the sins of mankind, simply believing and having faith in Jesus will save them. And so the effort of working out one’s own salvation was put aside. On the other hand, in the New Charismatic and Pentecostals community, there is a belief that they can tread the path of discipleship, walk with Jesus be one with Him and with God the Father by obeying Jesus’ Teachings. Jesus to them is the vine and they are the branches. They seriously study the Bible and apply it into their lives. God’s Word has become alive and full of meaning, which is comparably absent in the Catholic Churches. This is in addition to the belief that they too can receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit just like Jesus and His disciples.

It seems however, that nowadays you will find quite a number of catholic priests who preach the unity of all faiths in their church, which is unheard of in the Pentecostals and Evangelicals. Some of these priests hold mass in the catholic charismatic congregations. This is a glimmer of hope for the realization of harmony among all faiths.

Irrespective of whether the aforementioned gifts of the Holy Spirit are real or not, the practice of internalizing God’s word, and applying them into their lives makes them stand on equal footing with practitioner of Christian mysticism, in my own point of view. The goal of Christian mystics is to experience God and attain union with Him through the teachings and examples set by Jesus Christ and His disciples. They believe that they too can become God-like like Jesus by following on His Footsteps. They recognize that the Spirit of God and the Kingdom of God is within them (Luke 17:20). They agree with what St Paul said: “Know ye not that your body is the Temple of the living God and the Spirit of God lives within you.” (1 Cor 3:16); and “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5).

There are many other passages in the Bible telling us that we can be like Christ. This one may shock you if you hear this the first time: Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”(Matthew 5:48). You‘d remark “Oh my God!, is it possible for me to be perfect? I can’t believe this.” Yes it is, but based on Ascended Master Teachings, the perfection that Jesus was referring to was not perfection of performance but rather, perfection of the Heart, perfection of Virtues like Love, Compassion, Mercy, etc. For there were perfectionists who always want to be perfect for example in their manner of dressing, walking, eating, organizing, and scheduling but who are very quick to criticize others and gets angry so easily. Where is perfection in that? Though perfection of performance can possibly be done, it shouldn’t be for ego gratification. Here is another passage: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works that this shall he do because I go unto my Father”. You might think that like Jesus you can raise the dead, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, walk on waters, and do other miracles. But I don’t think you have to go through that. In fact, perfection is not necessary for you can go to heaven even if you were not perfect. Albeit perfection is attainable; it wouldn’t be given in the scriptures if it isn’t.

This idea of becoming like Christ may sound difficult to accept but it is stated plainly in the words of God. It may be hard because you think that you will do it solely by your own effort and discipline. But it is stated in the Bible that what will be at work on pursuing Christhood is the spirit of God - “As the spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” (2 Cor. 3:18b) NLT. “Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God.” (Romans 12:2b).

However, it’s not all the grace and Spirit of God; we will also have to put effort on our part. We would remember that God has also stated, “Draw nigh unto me and I will draw nigh unto you”(James 4:8). In addition, St. Paul said, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”(2 Corinthians 7:1); “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Phil 2:12-13).This kind of belief is very exalting and surely will bring you into new heights of spiritual growth if applied. These words of God in the Bible are daily foods to most of the practitioners of Christian mysticism.

I would like to let you know that most of the Christian mystics also draw inspiration from scriptures and literatures of other religion especially the Gnostic Christians that are growing in numbers. I just wonder why most of the followers of the traditional/mainstream Christianity still cannot acknowledge the mystical path of other Faiths like that of the eastern religion. There is no question on the part of the Buddhists and Hindus that Jesus Christ is God. They accept Jesus. But why many Christians do not accept their beliefs. Maybe, they simply don’t want to entertain other faiths anymore for they are already satisfied with Christianity. Well that’s okay as long as there is respect with one another’s belief. Maybe, the idea of reincarnation integral with eastern religion is hard for them to digest especially that part where human soul can transmigrate into animals. I, too, disagree with this idea but I understood that this is an incorrect concept of reincarnation by Hindus today. (I’ll discuss reincarnation next time). But I have a notion that the most probable reason is that most of the Christians hold on to the concept that Jesus and Christ are one and the same identity, which to my belief is a misconception. And this is where I want to give my explanation.

Based on esoteric teachings, Christ is not Jesus the man. It is more correct to say that Christ is in Jesus or Jesus has become the Christ so he is called Jesus the Christ or simply Jesus Christ. It’s more of a title, just like somebody who has finished medicine course and qualified to be called a Doctor. Christ is derived from the Greek word “Kristos” which is a translation of the Hebrew word “Meshiach”, which means the anointed one. Messiah in Hebrew is a common term use to any anointed person by God such as King David, the prophets, etc. Though later from the book of Isaiah down to Zechariah of the Old Testament, it seems that the Anointed one were cited to be a specific person that was to come and that was Jesus Christ. This, to me, is evidence that God has plan and is guiding the spiritual evolution of humanity. But it didn’t mean that only Jesus can become the Christ as you will see in my next explanation. It is based on the law of cycles that in every age, there are always times of intensification of Divine Light and emergence of luminaries to serve as wayshowers for mankind. Remember that we’re only talking here of Israelites, we have not considered what was happening in other parts of the world where there were luminaries too.

On another occasion in the gospel of John, Christ (not Jesus) is described as the Word, where it says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” The term Word is taken from the Greek word “Logos” which means “word”, “reason”, “wisdom”, "the animating principle of the universe", as described by Philo, a writer at that time. Thus John said: “That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”(John 1:9). I think this Logos is also the Law, or knowledge of the universe; It is the Divine Conscience or Christ Consciousness that God has placed in us though it remains dormant (unperceived by outer consciousness) waiting to be awakened (to be perceived by outer consciousness). This is the Lord our Righteousness mentioned in the Old Testament. So, this Christ is within every man, within everyone of us, what ever race, culture or religion. This Christ is the only begotten Son of God. The only begotten Son of God is not Jesus but the Christ which is in Jesus, which is also within every man. It can aptly be called Universal Christ. In Ascended Master’s Teachings, it is called Holy Christ Self or Holy Christ Presence. This universal Christ is the Word made flesh in Jesus. It has fully manifested through Jesus, which can also manifest through us. Jesus has attained that Christhood, thus he became Jesus the Christ, a God-Man, an Avatar. Once you understood this concept, it wouldn’t be hard to accept the mystical path of other religion for they are similar in many respects.

Before the time of Jesus, there have been God Men such as Buddha and Krishna. Even at the time of Jesus there is such a one who attained Christhood, though his life is clouded in mystery and has not become well-known. He was Appolonius of Tyana. You can search his life on the web and books.

Maybe some of you who have heard this the first time were shocked in this concept or perhaps some of you were not convinced and thinking of nailing me on the Cross, but let me take you first to some revelatory biblical examples telling us that it is not only Christianity or Jesus is the way.

I would like to point out that even before the time of Jesus there was a man named Melchizedek mentioned in the Bible (Hebrew 7 ) who was likened unto the Son of God. Surely he was an avatar for even Abraham gave tithe to him. It is clearly stated that he was “Priest of the Most High, King of Righteousness, King of Salem, King of Peace, ... without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a Priest continually.” I think that this Melchizedek could never be Jesus for it is clearly mentioned that “Jesus is a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrew 7:17 and 21), meaning Melchizedek is another higher figure ahead of Jesus. Besides why would he be called or named Melchizedek if he was Jesus? When Jesus said “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58), this to me, means the Christ, the Logos, that manifested in Him has always existed or that could be the words of Christ speaking through Jesus. It could also mean that Jesus had lived previous lives.

Furthermore, the Old Testament speaks of Enoch as a man who ascended back to heaven without tasting death which bears similarity to Jesus who ascended back to Heaven. In Genesis 5:24 it says “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him. Then in Hebrew 11:5 it says “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God has translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” In addition, there were a number of accounts in Buddhist literatures where a monk died and shortly afterwards, luminous rainbow colors radiated out from him, then he just disappeared. This could also mean another account of physical ascension.

Moreover, there are many occasions in the gospels where Jesus admonished us to worship the Father (not him). It is written that Jesus mentioned the two greatest Commandments: “Love God with all thy Heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; the second is likened unto it: Love thy neighbour as you love thy (true) self.” (Mark 12:30-31). He also taught us to pray the “Our Father”(Matthew 6:9). Jesus also said “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and Truth.” (John 4:23-24). I’m not saying that we should only pray to the Father as taught by Jesus, for surely, we can pray to Jesus Christ for he is one with the Father in the same manner that the Buddhists can also pray to Buddha. Indeed, we can pray to the Saints, to Mother Mary and other Divine Beings or Ascended Masters for the Father of all is within them. As stated in Ephesians 4:6: “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”. “God works through different people in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purpose through them all.” (1 Cor 12:6).

When Jesus was accused by the Jews as blasphemer for he being a man makes himself God, He answered them: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods?” (John 10:34).Jesus was referring to Psalm 82: 16, which states, “I have said Ye are Gods; and all of you are children of the most High”.

It will be found in Exodus 3:13-15 that God gave His name to Moses as “I AM THAT I AM”. God told Moses to tell the Israelites that “I AM hath sent me unto you”... and He even said: “this is my name forever and this is my memorial unto all generations.” If that is God’s name and you try to call him I AM, it would seem that you were calling yourself. It would seem that you were saying I AM God. But I think that’s exactly what God wants us to be – to be like Him; for He lives within us. It maybe impossible for you to accept this for you maybe thinking, “Oh my God, I will become God. I will become all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present”. But I think that’s not the case, it simply means to become Christ-like demonstrating Christly Virtues.

One more thing, Jesus said “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16). I take this to mean unity of all faiths. The one shepherd is the Christ that God has placed within every man. Mark L. Prophet, the former Messenger of the Great White Brotherhood, had said something like this: The infinitely powerful God can multiply himself and at the same time maintain his oneness. Just as 1 x 1 x 1 x1 ...will always be equal to 1, So God x God x God ... will always be equal to God. If you dip your finger in the ocean and raise it, a drop will emerge from your finger tip. That drop has the same quality with the ocean. We are those drops in the ocean of God.

Some of the practical reasons why I don’t subscribe to the idea that Christianity is the only true spiritual path:
If Jesus is the only path to salvation, what would happen to those life streams living righteous lives but never had a chance to know Jesus till their death for they were born let’s say as Buddhists or Hindus or Muslims. Or what if a person lived an indigenous life in the mountain or outback and died at a very young age without knowing Jesus. Will he go to hell (traditional christian’s concept of hell) to suffer forever? Was he to be blamed for being born into that circumstance? I think not.

It is indicated in the gospel that Jesus was not born perfect, for it says that he grew in wisdom implying that he does not know everything from the time of birth. If you will make a little web and book searching, you will find that Jesus was a man like us before he became the Christ. He, too, had negativities; he, too, was once a student of the Master. There were books about the lost years of Jesus and there were accounts of his life not written in the canon (official bible), which can be found in the Nag Hammadi library that was discovered in 1945. There you will find the beliefs and practices of the early Gnostic Christians as well as the Gospels of Thomas. Moreover, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947-1956 tells about the life of a pious Qumran community which indicates connection with Jesus. (This will be the subject of my future discussion including how the Official Bible was established.)

My beloved brethren, why am I telling you all this? I have no intention to convert you into my belief. If you’re happy with your faith and belief so be it. It’s just because I want to rekindle that flame of divinity that God has placed in our hearts. And it’s my hope that this writing can be an eye opener to my Christian brothers and sisters who are still repulsive towards mystical path of other faiths to at least acknowledge them. It’s also because I love you people out there that’s why I present these age-old belief, which to my mind is so great, so edifying that can really be of great assistance for the development of society. This I believe is the Truth and I think it’s everyone’s duty to present the truth which he/she believes in but without being dogmatic. If you would ask yourself “If all people were to sincerely apply this principle of becoming perfect by loving God, by following His principles, in fact by reuniting with Him, would it contribute for the improvement of their spirituality and the world or not?”. I think the answer is yes for you can imagine that each person will try to transform themselves by practicing spiritual disciplines. Each would be very forgiving, bearing one another’s burden, obeying Christ’s teachings inherent in and central to all faiths. It wouldn’t be far, though it would take time, that unity and harmony among all faiths, peoples and nations throughout the earth will come into reality. “With God everything is possible.”

True Mysticism

General Meaning of Mysticism

Mysticism is derived from the Greek word Mystikos which means an initiate of a mystery religion (Wikipedia). It has come to be known as characterized by direct experience of ultimate reality, or the Divine or God. These divine experiences can be attained deliberately through various spiritual disciplines and practices like meditation or contemplation, chanting, and disciplining oneself to manifest Godly virtues. Eastern religions are actually mysticism in concept and have various terms for this Divine experience such as enlightenment, awakening, self-realization, nirvana or samadhi.

Sometimes the experience suddenly occurs to certain individual under severe depression and stress due to seemingly unbearable problems in life, and he/she has learned to surrender his/her ego to the Divine. This could have happened to Eckhart Tolle, as he related in his books “The Power of Now” and “The New Earth”. Better if we would’nt wait for this unfortunate karmic circumstances to befall upon us for this is a hard way indeed and has no guarantee that we can experience the same; The opposite might turn out, that is to live in desperation.

Mystics in Judeo-Christian Tradition

If mysticism is direct knowledge or experience of the Divine, we can find a lot of Mystics in the Bible from Adam and Eve down to Jesus’ Disciples. They in one way or another have direct communication or conversation with God. Noah for example built the famous Ark under God’s direction in preparation for the great deluge. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were known to communicate with God. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God and wrote the first five books of the Old Testament under Divine Inspiration. King David composed the Psalms and his son King Solomon composed the Songs and Proverbs also under Divine guidance. The many Prophets who are the mouthpieces of the Lord were known to prophesy, interpret dreams, and even exhibit Divine powers. Jesus himself can be called a Mystic of the Highest Order for He has attained oneness with God. His disciples too were known to have various gifts of the Holy Spirit and thus can be called Mystics.

I think we can’t say that mystical experiences are only confined to the Israelites. They, like any of us, are made of the same stuff; We are all created in the image and likeness of God. We can find Saints from different nations who were examples of Christian Mystics like St John of the Cross, St Theresa of Avila, St Francis of Assissi, St Claire, Padre Pio Alba, St Theresa of Lisseux and many others Their experiences are overwhelmingly Divine and mystical.

Nowadays, there are Charismatic Movements and Pentecostals throughout the world that are known to demonstrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit and as such can be labelled as Christian Mystics. Theirs is a path following the examples set by Jesus Christ and His disciples. Although, majority of them do not acknowledge the mystical path of other faith, nonetheless, in my view, they can be called partisans of mysticism.

Public Acceptance

In my own view, mysticism is gaining more adherents today and increasing in popularity. Esoteric teachings can be found widely in books, magazines, and the web. A lot of films too have mystical contents and esoteric meanings like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Crouching Tiger to name a few. Books of Lama Surya Das, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Gary Zukav, Neale Donald Walsch, Rhodora Byrne, the author of “The Secrets”, and many others contain mystical teachings and their books have sold millions of copies. (I’m simply giving these examples for I’ve read some of their books and have learned a lot of good things from them although there are some points that I don’t entirely agree with). The Theosopical Society, an International Organization, has published lots of books. There are many other Spiritual Organizations and Brotherhoods that follow mystical paths. Among these are the organizations of the Ascended Masters Teachings of which the Theosophical Society is one. Others are The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, The Summit Lighthouse and The Temple of the Presence. I myself have been a long time follower of the Ascended Master Teachings and much of my esoteric knowledge came from them. (I’ll talk more on this in my future topic). The Freemasonry are also known to be partisans of mystical practices. There could be millions of mystical organizations across the face of the earth which include eastern religions that constitute around 1/3 of world’s population. Followers of Charismatic Movements are growing at a rate of 9 million per year making the total adherents around 618 million by 2009 (Encyclopedia of Pentecostal and Charismatic Community by Stanley M. Burgess). Sufism is also a mystical path of Islam, which is gaining ground in the Islamic Community and the world. Kabbalah too of Judaism is another.

Pitfalls

Regardless of any Faith, it is a fact that mysticism has many practitioners and is gaining ground in today’s modern world. In this light, I think it’s better if we could discern which one is the true mystical practice for there are pitfalls and serious consequences. For example, the so-called divine experience that may have occurred to a person may not be divine at all but merely a psychic experience which energies only come from lower(astral) plane. This could happen even in religious charismatic circles who claim to have acquired healing powers or speaking in tounques purporting to be a gift of the Holy Spirit but in reality it only came from psychic entity or energies from the lower astral plane. Some may suddenly be possessed by these psychic entities/personalities masquerading to be one of Divine Being like Mother Mary or Jesus. There is danger in this because these astral/psychic entities could absorb or divest the victim of his/her own light/energies. Often, the person experiences tiredness after the occurrence. And if he/she continues to be victimized owing to his /her desire to have such phenomena and powers, he/she could shorten his/her lifespan. This thing happens because the so-called chakra/s or center/s in one of their subtle bodies were opened prematurely causing them to be vulnerable to the intrusion of these entities perhaps because of intense stirring of emotions causing emotional imbalance due to the erroneous guidance of the spiritual director. People who are emotionally sensitive and unstable and has not developed self-mastery may therefore be put at risk to this kind of phenomenon. There must therefore be a balance in spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical bodies as part of spiritual development.

There are also channellers or mediums delivering messages claiming to come from Heavenly Beings such as Archangels, Ascended Masters, and sometimes beings from other planetary systems. Some of these have become channellers for Aliens who can divert you from pursuing the true path of mysticism and direct communion with God Presence within. Others are channelling psychic personalities from the astral plane who are merely impostors of the true Ascended Masters and other Heavenly Beings. They imitate the delivery of messages given through the Anointed Messengers and Representatives of the Great White Brotherhood (The Brotherhood of Heavenly Beings). Usually, these impostors give certain twist of Truth in the end.

Moreover, there could be some who would like to acquire psychic powers or the so-called Extra-Sensory Perception or Sixth sense, through various forceful practices but setting aside the desire to pursue spiritual growth. Some of the fakirs in India can fall in this category as well. This is very troublesome for the powers may only be used for selfish and malevolent purposes. This is what Jesus refers to when He said “If the light that is in thee is darkness how great is that darkness” and “The Kingdom of Heaven suffered violence and the violent take it by force”.

Even if the mystical experience were real it can still be a stumbling block for the student on the path because the experience of the so-called awakening or nirvana could be so liberating and pleasurable that the subject may be too obsessed to desire it again and again to the extent of forgetting and foregoing the duties and responsibilities of everyday living. That’s why self-transformation and self- mastery should be paramount on the pursuit of mystical path.

True Mysticism

Therefore, if desiring to acquire spiritual powers and experiencing the divine is your only intent on mystical practices, those are dangerous. I think true mysticism is to develop one’s self spiritually, to become Christ-like, manifesting Christly Virtues of Love, Forgiveness, Mercy, Compassion, Humility, Leadership, etc. And that should be the purpose of different Spiritual Disciplines and Practices such as meditation, contemplation, dynamic decrees, prayers and songs - to be imbued by the Light of God Presence and Holy Spirit within us in order to change ourselves and grow spiritually to set a good example and render good service to others. That is true salvation: self-elevation through the self-conscious effort of man and by the grace of God.

In that way, you will be raising your vibration and consciousness. The higher you are in your spiritual development, that is, dissolving or getting rid of your negative qualities, and acquiring and nurturing Godly virtues, the higher your frequency/vibration of consciousness will be. Negative thoughts and emotions like anger, envy, jealousy, anxiety, and fear have lower frequencies while positive ones like Love, Joy, Forgiveness, Peace and Harmony have higher frequencies/vibrations.

I may admit that some of the Divine Experiences of common person are true for it depends upon the level of spiritual growth of the individual involved. If he/she has reached a level of vibration congruent to the Spiritual Octaves of Light and Divine Beings, his/her experiences can be considered Divine. It manifested because of the true practice of mysticism, and to him/her Spiritual gifts are secondary and should occur naturally like the opening of a beautiful flower.

Approaching Religious Beliefs and Philosophy

Everyone of us has his/her own belief system and philosopy in life that influence the way we live. It's more likely that overtime it has changed from one belief system to another. Possibly because we were convinced that the new belief that we learned from another source is more correct judging it by our own comprehension. Or perhaps, we know from within the core of our being that it is true; Our intuition or inspiration tells us to be so. The latter, which is always right, seldom occured to majority of the people for we are always conditioned to think rationally and objectively. But that is not to say that thinking rationally should have no room in our life. I think that, at the present stage of human evolution, we still have to rely on our logical reasoning to function properly in this world of form. Of course we have to depend both on inspiration and rationality. What I am trying to say here is intuition and inspiration is 100% reliable whereas rationality has limitations and is prone to error.

Following this line of reasoning, we can say that the belief and philosophy that we accepted which is mostly derived from our own rationality, is subject to error. More so, if we simply accepted it blindly or we simply follow the beliefs of our parents, relatives or friends.

Consequently, in my opinion we cannot be too fanatic in our own belief. Everyone has limited knowledge and experiences. No one is all-knowing except God. Is this not the reason why our beliefs and philosophies in life change overtime? I think it would be better to have an open mind when we are faced with new knowledge, concepts, or experiences for in this attitude we will lean toward progress and we'd be able to find the Truth. If we are really sincere to find the Truth, we have to set aside our fanaticism for we could be blinded by it. I'm not saying that we should'nt explain or defend our own belief. But we should have an attitude that "This is my belief, I will defend and follow this unless someone of another belief has absolutely convinced me that it is not so". Discussions and debates can be constructive if those are done to sincerely find the truth, not just to win in the argument and should be done in the spirit of love and truth. Oft times, both beliefs are wrong or both are correct; it's just that something is missing or the perspective is askewed.

Meanwhile, I think we could know the value of a particular belief if upon putting it into practice we find that its effects are good to our well-being and well-being of other people. Or we can adopt the four-way test of the Rotary Club International: 1.) Is it the Truth?; (2) Is it fair to all concerned?; (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendship?; and (4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Introduction

I am very much interested in topics of Truth and Life. After all, Truth and Life is the summum bonum of our existence. When I mentioned Life, I mean it Life in the Spiritual and physical octaves. The title of my Blog "Life for Life", is intended to mean that Life in the Spiritual plane is for Life in the physical plane and vice versa. The physical plane I referred to does not necessarily mean our present imperfect world of existence or universe. For, I believe that there are other Perfect Universes that we are not aware of. I am referring to parallel universes or multiverse as some of the astrophysicists have believed in. So, it is expected that I will be covering a wide range of topics in my blogs. Expect that much of it is about religion, metaphysics, inspirational topics, and the like because those are my interests and probably I will occasionally include part of my own life and experiences. I guess that is how it is supposed to be - that most of the contents of our writings are taken from the knowledge and experiences that we acquired, perhaps from other books or articles that we had read and lectures that we had heard. Maybe some of it is sourced from our own inspiration. And that will be the source of our contribution to blogposts and sharing it for the benefit of the readers. I have acquired much knowledge about the Ascended Master Teachings and having been a member of this Spiritual Organizations for a long time, majority of my discussions will revolve on their Teachings.