Return Path to
Eden
(Part 3)
Two Paths
and
The Silent Truth
(The great secret Jesus
revealed)
A
Synopsis of the Aquarian Gospel
Interpreted by Michael F. O'Keeffe
There are only two paths
in life. One is full of harm and
danger, is very wide and spacious, and is so heavily traveled, most
assume it is the only way. The other
path is completely safe, is straight and narrow, and is so lightly
traveled, few notice it. This straight, narrow and safe path lies hidden amidst
the broad and dangerous one.
Jesus described these two
paths. He said,
There
is a way that leads unto the perfect life.
Few find it at a time. It is a
narrow way. It lies among the rocks and
pitfalls of the carnal life, but in this narrow way there are no pitfalls and
no rocks. There is a way that leads to
wretchedness and want; it is a spacious way, and many walk therein. It lies among the pleasure groves of the
carnal life.
Woe
to those who wander at will upon the broad and treacherous path, so full of
danger. There are sharp rocks,
pitfalls, snares and stumbling blocks everywhere. Each one of these is a trap and has an attractive lure the
promise of pleasure through some form of self-indulgence, yet after a few
fleeting moments of pleasure, they bring nothing but misery.
Yes,
indulgence brings torrents of misery in the form of difficulties and problems
of every kind. The commonest forms are
mistakes, accidents, afflictions, poverty and debt, as well as enslavement by
an endless series of difficult tasks and drudgery.
Other
manifestations of the wretchedness created by self-indulgence include
irritability and insensitivity; misunderstandings, conflicts and disputes;
sadness, and depression; forgetfulness, frustration and foolishness; and
eventually, senility and death.
Conversely,
one who overcomes himself, giving up all carnal indulgences, is free of all
these miseries. Furthermore, labor
becomes interesting, easy, joyous and fun.
All men and women can attain this state of mind, which is heavenly. The amount of joy in ones life is directly
proportional to how well one diligently restrains his appetites, passions and
desires. Misery, on the other hand,
reflects lack of self-control.
Man, in His natural
condition, was meant to be free of all of the miseries, but ever since the fall of man (a
very, very long time ago) we have been ensnared (and enslaved) by
every one of them.
When we fell, we fell
from our natural home, the high planes of the ethereal realm, into the lower
planes and lower still, into this realm, the physical.
The primary curse of the
physical realm is the strong, natural inclination to seek physical pleasure
to gratify all the carnal desires (to walk the wide and dangerous path
assuming this is the only way). The second
curse of the physical realm is this: anyone who indulges in physical
pleasure (each of us) becomes so completely focused on physical events, he
completely forgets the peaceful place from which we fell, and worst of all, he
even forgets that the fall took place.
Thus we have been trapped
here, in the physical realm, ever since we fell lost and residing in utter
darkness, where confusion and absurdity reign.
Throughout the long duration, we have been unaware from whence we came,
and thus we have resided here in the physical realm, one incarnation after
another, unaware that we belong somewhere else. (A little like "Alice in Wonderland, fallen into the rabbit
hole.)
Between incarnations, we
dwell for a time in the lower planes of the ethereal realm, but these low
planes can be even more confusing than the physical realm. We often visit these lower planes when we
dream (although a few advanced souls sometimes manage rise to higher, less
confusing planes).
Christ's mission is to bring light into the
world of darkness and confusion. He
tells us of our origin and our heritage, He explains our predicament, and He
shows the way out. Christ reveals
the straight and narrow path the Return Path to Eden!
His
word is enlightenment, but because good and evil always struggle here (in this
realm) immature, evil men always try to snuff out the truth. They kill the bearer of the truth and they
dilute and pollute written records of His teachings.
However,
by natural law, Truth eventually conquers all the murders, lies and noisy
diversions that evil can muster. They
are no match for the power of Truth.
Thus, the resurgence of the original, uncensored Gospel of Christ is a
fact; and
we
can read
The Aquarian
Gospel of Jesus, The Christ.
In Chapter 44 of the
Aquarian Gospel, Jesus explained (to an assembly of learned men and women) how
one may escape from the curse of our physical senses. He said,
The
senses were ordained to bring into the mind mere pictures of the things that
pass away; they do not deal with real things; they do not comprehend eternal
law. But man has something in his soul,
a something that will tear the veil apart, so that he may see the world of real
things. We call this something, spirit
consciousness; it sleeps in every soul, and cannot be awakened till the Holy
Breath becomes a welcome guest.
This
Holy Breath knocks at the door of every soul, but cannot enter in until the
will of man throws wide the door. There
is no power in intellect to turn the key; philosophy and science both have
toiled to get a glimpse behind the veil; but they have failed. The secret spring that throws ajar the door
of soul is touched by nothing else than purity in life, by prayer and holy
thought.
Later (in Chapter 71) He
elaborated. He said,
I
cannot show the king unless you see with eyes of soul, because the kingdom of
the king is in the soul. And every soul
a kingdom is. There is a king for every man.
This king is love, and when this love becomes the greatest power in
life, it is the Christ; so Christ is king.
And
every one may have this Christ dwell in his soul, as Christ dwells in my
soul. The body is the temple of the
king, and men may call a holy man a king.
He who will cleanse his mortal form and make it pure, so pure that love
and righteousness may dwell unsullied side by side within its walls, is king.
Let us focus our
attention away from all the noisy diversions, and hear The Silent Truth:
Every single indulgence
in carnal pleasure obstructs our ability to see with eyes of soul, and brings
only a few fleeting moments of pleasure, while the price we pay is all our
troubles. When we indulge, we bite
a baited hook, and Misery is its name.
I personally know about the miseries of indulgence, because I used to be a sucker for the bait hook, line and sinker. However, once when I cried out in anguish from the resultant misery in prayer, I asked God for help. Soon, Jesus knocked on the door of my soul, and when I opened it, He said, You are going the wrong way. Go this Way, and He showed me the way of self-restraint.
Refraining from
indulgence causes one's troubles to fade away.
They are replaced by peace and joy.
The self-imposed slavery is abolished! Refraining from indulgence causes certain natural laws of the
physical realm to slowly recede, and gradually reinstates some of the peaceful
laws of the high ethereal planes our natural, blissful condition is restored. (Eden is reclaimed! Nirvana is found!)
This is the great
secret that Jesus and all mystics, masters and prophets have always shared
with those willing to listen. (Those
willing to listen are they whose ears have been attuned to hear and comprehend
the truth by the experiences of many, many physical and ethereal spans of
life.)
Be forewarned! Restoration of the peaceful, ethereal
laws requires great effort and will-power, and is very difficult to
achieve. Extra large measures of
determination and perseverance are essential.
We are addicted to the pleasures of the physical body, and our addiction
is strong, very strong.
Thus, Jesus said,
"Take stock of yourself before you start to follow me. . . . and don't look back remember Lot's
wife." And recall our Lord's advice
about the man who begins building a tower or a house without counting well the
cost; he runs out of funds before the project is complete, and becomes the butt
of ridicule. (I can personally attest
to the truth of this metaphor. I
"ran out of funds" many times, and became the butt of ridicule.)
He who knows and
understands The Way, and decides to follow where Masters have tread, never
wanders onto the wide, heavily traveled and dangerous way, but instead,
confines himself to the safe, straight and narrow path. This person is rescued from the perils of
carnal living, and is free, and he or she gradually becomes aware of another
reality beyond the physical, and begins living (in a measure) The Perfect
Life (which brings a peaceful, heavenly state of mind called Paradise).
As one becomes aware of
this other reality, it soon becomes clear that it is actually the true
reality, whereas the physical realm we see with eyes of flesh is merely an
illusion, which passes away. Only those
who steadfastly follow the Way of Christ enter the realm of true reality, where
love is King. The rest of us are bound
to the world of illusions. Thus Jesus
often said, the kingdom is just at hand, but he who sins cannot see it
come
prepare to meet your King.
Preparing to meet our King
is a task which can take many years, and can even be a lifelong struggle, but
there is no other goal available to man which is worth achieving. This is the only goal our Father would have
us pursue. In the eyes of Christ (and
all masters) the pursuit of any other goal is foolishness.
Knowledge of the hidden,
narrow path (the way of Life) is knowledge of The Pearl of Greatest Price. Only a few at a time (each earth-round of
life) attain this knowledge. The
sincere and devout, practicing fasting, meditation and abstinence, discover
it. (Sometimes, a fortunate person is
informed by one who has made the discovery, but he must then go find the way,
and discover for himself.)
The greatest paradox is:
He who restrains himself is free.
The truth has set him
free!
(When a man finds a
field containing croppings of a wondrous mine of gold, he straightaway goes and
sells all he has and buys that field, and all that lies beneath.)
Now you know the meaning
of three symbols of Christ: the straight and narrow path, the pearl of greatest
price and the field containing a hidden goldmine. They all refer to The Way.
It's all about exercising self-control and will-power (refraining
from self-indulgence).
Few are willing to
travel this route, but eventually everyone does, as the eons pass.
The Aquarian Age will
differ vastly from all previous ages.
All found worthy on the Judgment Day will be blessed, and will
learn, and will persevere; and we will finally be willing to travel that
marvelous trail the path of self restraint
which leads back to that heretofore hidden gate, the entrance to Eden!
Some will achieve this
before the judgment day!
Meanwhile, we must do
our best: we must prepare. Judgment Day
is near.
Since the ages began,
those who have found and traveled The Way, and persevered, found joy, peace and
continuity of life. These people have
been known as Avatars, Buddhas, or Christs, and also as sages, seers, mystics,
masters, and prophets. All of these
were Christ, but were not publicly known as such. One of them (each 2,000 years) has been publicly known as Christ. This is Messiah - Immanuel.
All who have walked the
way of Christ were abused. Some were
put to death. This mistreatment did not
diminish their joyous, peaceful, liberty nor their continuity, but rather, enhanced
them, for when any person forgives ignorant ones trampling on his rights
(especially the right to be alive) our Father-God knows, and this person is
greatly blessed.
The rest of us, who did
not find The Way, and persevere, did not attain these most precious, marvelous
gifts (the way of life and the state of mind that are filled with peace, joy
and continuity). Instead, we continued
to reside in the shadow of the grave.
The extent to which one
experiences the marvelous gifts is proportional to one's adherence to the
straight and narrow path. For example,
a person who has not yet won The Victory (has not yet conquered all his
carnal desires) but has striven to be honest, sincere and unselfish
(practicing self restraint) will experience an easier transition to the next
life the ethereal realm and his stay there will be rewarding and enjoyable;
whereas, a person who has lived a selfish physical life, filled with
self indulgence, is destined to experience a difficult, terrifying and painful
death proportional to the degree of self indulgence, and his stay in the
ethereal realm will be quite unpleasant, and may be prolonged.
Furthermore, if one has blood
on his hands, he or she is destined to experience the horror of death at the
hands of another. This is the law of
karma. We do not always see this law of
karma in action, because karmic debt is often carried over into future physical
incarnations. Simply stated: anyone who
commits murder must eventually experience murder, either in this earth-round of
life, or in a future incarnation.
There is no reason to
fret when a man "gets away with murder" in the trial-courts of men,
for God's law of recompense never fails.
His law meets out perfect justice.
That which one does to any other person always rebounds. The scourger becomes the scourged, the
murderer becomes the victim, whereas the kindhearted, the loving and the
merciful will find kindness, love and mercy.
Thus, we have these
scriptural sayings: as ye sow, so shall ye reap; judge not, lest ye be judged; and even the Biblical saying,
eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life, is an ancient Hebrew
description of karmic law.
As stated previously,
the "new age," the Aquarian Age, just now dawning, will be a blessed
age indeed, for in this coming age all the righteous peoples of the earth will
be blessed; the Masters will reveal themselves, and teach. They will lead us into the perfect age, and
all will learn The Way and persevere.
As a result, all sadness, sickness, accidents (and death itself) will
fade away. (This is the redemption
of the Earth. This is Heaven.)
However, the first day
of the new age will indeed be a day of judgment: the meek, with joy, will begin
learning the lessons of the age as they receive their inheritance. The selfish and the wicked will discover
they are unprepared, bringing them profound grief. (But Jesus advised, Rejoice not over fallen foes.) True, they will not be allowed to
participate in the wondrous events of the age; yet, after countless eons pass,
they will again have an opportunity to participate in such glorious times (when
the ages roll again).
And we will help
them. We will help lead them to the
light!
Yes, in future rollings
of the ages, we will be there. We will
be their guides (their prophets and their seers) and lo, we will often lay
ourselves down upon the altar of the Lord.
Remembering the Christ whom we follow, we will eat the bread, and
drink the wine, (not once, but many times) giving up our lives in willing
sacrifice, that they (and others) may learn, and follow us to Eternal Life.
When Jesus taught His
disciples, by example, how to give ones life in self-sacrifice, it was not His
first sacrificial offering. He had
often given His life. He had eaten of
this bread and drunk of this wine many times, but when He gave his life upon the
cross at Calvary, He accomplished His final and supreme self-sacrifice
He completed His final physical incarnation.
When His apostles gave their lives, following Him, this was their first
consumption of the supper of the Lord.
When a man (or woman)
for the first time, gives his or her life in willing sacrifice upon the
sacred altar, He has returned to His Father, and become One with Him again,
just as he was before he bit into the apple of carnal pleasure, and fell from
Eden. He (or she) has traveled the
long, long journey from soul-infancy to soul-maturity.
Each time one consumes
this most sacred "Passover meal," He does so in a more powerful and
more dramatic way than previously, until He finally achieves His ultimate
and supreme self-sacrifice (and his final physical incarnation). There is no shortage of opportunities
for a master soul to advance to His or Her final offering. God can always find a world in need of
Messiah.
When one achieves His
final and supreme self-sacrifice, bringing the message of redemption to an
entire world, He becomes virtually indistinguishable from God, Our Father; yet
He retains His individual, personal human identity. All knowledge and all power belong to Him. He can self-resurrect. Jesus demonstrated this. (It can certainly be said that the plan of
salvation is a plan whereby God continually re-creates Himself. He re-creates Himself through men and women,
for God and Man are One and the same.)
During the Aquarian Age,
God, our Father, will enable men and women
to look back into History and see the life that Jesus led, and hear every word
He spoke, for He will teach us how to become strong enough to open up the Book
of His Remembrance (to see and hear past events recorded there) just as He has
already done for Levi, the man who transcribed every word recorded in The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus, The Christ, the book
that has been given us, to help us prepare; the greatest book ever written!!!
We are now witnessing
some very dramatic events in the unfolding of the plan of salvation. This plan is the gift of Life, which God
gives to all men. By this plan, the
"baton" of Eternal Life is forever passed on, from the hands of men,
into the hands of men, through self-sacrifice and forgiveness.
This plan of salvation
may seem harsh to the uninitiated person, but be aware that the life of Christ
is a life spent in such intense peace, joy and happiness, it cannot be
described, and when the hour of self-sacrifice comes, God's grace dispels the
pain. (Anyone who can heal the sick and
raise the dead can certainly, by the power of his own mind, block pain
sensation within his own body.)
Remember: Death is an illusion!
The great age of deific
learning fast approaches the New Age, The Age of Aquarius is now dawning!
Let us prepare!
Regarding the
approaching judgment day, Jesus advised: "None can know the day nor the
hour
keep watch at every season of the year,... let not your hearts be
overcharged with sensuous things, nor with the cares of life, lest that day
come and find you unprepared...and pray (each day) that you may meet the Lord
with joy, and not with grief."*
* The Aquarian Gospel of
Jesus, the Christ." Transcribed by Levi H. Dowling, Devorss Publications,
Marina Del Rey, Ca., ch. 112 vs. 16, and ch. 157 vs. 38, 39.
Interpreter's
footnotes:
Note #1: (Regarding the ethereal and the physical
realms.) The lower planes of
the ethereal realm are similar in many ways to the physical realm they are
adjacent to the physical. Good and evil
struggle there, just as they do here; and there is much self-indulgence, strife
and confusion. When we dream, we
sometimes visit these lower planes of the ethereal. These dreams take place on the very borderland between here and
there and this is where we experience sexual dreams.
Recently deceased souls
(many of whom are unable to rise up to the higher planes) often linger in this
borderland, and we can sometimes see these souls (as ghosts) and some of them
try to torment us (as a form of entertainment.) Sometimes they invade our dreams. (Others, more benevolent, linger in the borderland for other
reasons.)
He who has striven to
live a good and unselfish life here can fly when he visits the ethereal planes
(Dreamland). He or she can ascend to
higher planes, but sin (self-indulgence) causes one to forget how to fly. Children, who are often born with the
ability to fly in Dreamland, sometimes lose this ability. A strong, unwavering commitment to return to
unselfish ways (the ways of self restraint) can restore this ability. (Pay attention to your dreams. They are an indication of your current state
of being.)
He who has conquered
himself, not only flies, but also soars like an eagle when he visits there;
he (or she) can rise up to even higher planes he can "find a nest in
Heaven." A person who still
resides here in the physical realm, and has not yet learned to soar in
Dreamland, sometimes experiences a brief flash of what it's like to soar (in a
waking, or a sleeping dream).
Many people have
reported such brief, out of body "soaring experiences." These occur usually three to six weeks after
one has achieved some difficult feat requiring much self sacrifice
achieving a partial (but significant) victory over some aspect of one's lower
self.
Note #2: Indulgence
there are two kinds, physical and mental. When we strive to refrain from carnal
pleasure, it is important to renounce both of these. The methods of refraining from physical indulgence are obvious,
but the methods of restraining the carnal desires of the mind are less
apparent. One must purge ones mind of
all selfish and evil thoughts. This is
accomplished through frequent and persistent meditation and prayer (and it is
difficult work).
Note #3: A word to the wise: even though everyone is
eventually exalted to the high position of Son of God, or Daughter of God, no
one is ever exalted until he has become wise enough to humble himself before
God and men; before God, in meditation and prayer, and before men, in thought,
word and deed.
Note #4: You have just read an essay based on 18
years of study of the Aquarian Gospel the astonishing book that reunifies
Judaism and Christianity (and unifies all peoples, nations, tribes and tongues
of Earth).
Go to
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus, the Christ the
complete, uncensored, life-story of Jesus.
Go to next page -
Epilogue -
..
Part 4
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second essay - "The Way and Christ's Sacrifice"
...Part 2
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message sent to those who attacked US September 11, 2001