In 1908 a book appeared on the shelves of American bookstores that was destined to garner interest throughout the world, so much so that today it has gone through more than seventy editions in America alone. This book was The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi H. Dowling.
It was a transcription of the psychic investigations of the life of Jesus made by Dowling into what is popularly known as “the akashic records.” It was not a translation of Jesus’ original Aramaic speech, but Dowling’s relaying of the concepts that underlay the outer words of Jesus, for that was what was conveyed in his investigations. For many the Aquarian Gospel is truly Light in Darkness, a fount of life-giving knowledge.
For some time Swami Nirmalananda has been commenting on this unique text, and in the past month much new material from his Commentary on the Aquarian Gospel has been added to the Atma Jyoti website. We encourage readers to explore these commentaries, which are full of wisdom and useful spiritual advice. Below is an excerpt from Swamiji’s article entitled “Jesus’ First Sermon.”
The Call to the Way
“Behold, the censor comes and calls, Whoever will may come; but he who comes must will to prune himself of every evil thought; must overcome desire to gratify the lower self; must give his life to save the lost” (Aquarian Gospel 67:6).
In America we often say: “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” and that is absolutely true. Nothing at all is free–there is a price that must be paid for everything. Sometimes we pay before we receive and sometimes we pay after receiving, but we always pay. In America we also used to jokingly way: “No tickee, no washee,” and that is another way of saying the same thing. So Jesus gives the people some sobering information–and right at the beginning as it should be. He does not hype and peddle the spiritual life, but tells them the price to even meet the King, much less enter the Kingdom.
- The censor comes and calls.
The “censor” may be a person or simply the operation of spiritual laws, but the seeker desperately needs the message:
The key word here is WILL. Jesus does not say that those who wish to, realize they should, or feel like it–“inspired” or “moved” or “called”–may come, but only those who put forth their intelligent will in sustained effort can meet the King of Spirit.
I once saw a cartoon in which a drunk was lying in a gutter and asking a Salvation Army woman: “Can you save me here, or do I have to go somewhere?” This is the attitude of most “seekers;” they want a free handout with no obligations. It will not happen. Even the Prodigal Son had enough sense to say: “I will arise and go” (Luke 15:18). We must elevate our consciousness and then leave our present status behind and press on to the heights of spiritual realization. Swami Vivekananda’s message to the world was: “Awake! Arise! and stop not till the goal is reached!”
There are a lot of actions that accomplish very little, so Jesus now tells what must be done to meet the King of Glory.
- But he who comes must will to prune himself of every evil thought.
“Thought” includes all frames of reference, attitudes, and mental conditionings that perpetuate ignorance and delusion–the only real evils without which no evil words or deeds can occur. When purification of the mind–which includes the heart–is complete, then we will see for ourself that the Kingdom and the King are truly at hand, welcoming us.
- Must overcome desire to gratify the lower self.
The lower self is all that we call ego. When the ego is not given even a scrap to feed on, then we will feast in the Kingdom of God. We must not placate or stifle the ego, we must banish it entirely, dissolving it forever.
- Must give his life to save the lost.
It is not enough to stop being selfish; we must start being charitable and merciful, doing all we can to uplift others and encourage them in their evolutionary journey, sharing what we have been given. “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
Not many…
“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:23, 24).
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13, 14).
These are the simple facts. It is not that God’s standards are so high, but that man’s standards are so low. As John Oxenham’s poem “The Way” says:
To every man there openeth
A Way, and Ways, and a Way,
And the High Soul climbs the High Way,
And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
And in between, on the misty flats,
To rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth
A High Way, and a Low.
And every man decideth
The way his soul shall go.
That is the complete picture.Therefore Jesus says:
“The nearer to the kingdom gate you come, more spacious is the room; the multitudes have gone” (Aquarian Gospel 67:8).
Worldly people are obsessed with numbers. (“Four out of five New York doctors recommend…” sold a lot of cigarettes when I was a child.) When they decide to play religion they either seek out a big, mega-organization or a small, elite group in which they shine as the proverbial big frog in a little pond, one in which they will be noticed and catered to. But the Forecourt of the Kingdom is very spacious because few are truly seeking what it has to offer. The world is its very effective competition, and the multitudes crowd its ways. The King is not disappointed, for He knows that it has always been this way, and always shall be, yet in time all will come and enter. This is the law of evolution.
Yogananda said that when man tells God: “I have no time for You,” God says: “I will wait.” And so he does, knowing that after many ages we shall all enter and dwell with Him. The Path will always be trodden by the blessed few, and the wise make sure they are one of the blessed.
More about the inner side of Christianity:
A Brief Sanskrit Glossary, the sanskrit reference tool on AtmaJyoti.org, has now been updated with scores of new definitions, primarily relating to the Yoga philosophies of Patanjali and Gorakhnath. Any student of Yoga and Hindu philosophy will find this glossary of immense help in his studies.
We have also added more sections to the Commentary on the Chidakasha Gita of Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, by Swami Nirmalananda, as well as the Question and Answer sections relating to Christianity and also Vegetarianism. More updates will follow soon.
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, an Englishwoman named Mabel Collins was inspired to record teachings on the beginnings of the spiritual quest in a small book called Light On The Path. She did not consider herself the author but only the transmitter. Therefore she insisted that the title page say: “Written down by M. C.” In this new commentary on Light on the Path by Swami Nirmalananda Giri, we will be carefully analyzing her inspired transcription, for those who would make the Great journey must know both the path and how to travel upon it.
Read the new Commentary on Light on the Path.
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Entire text of the Dhammapada Commentary as PDF download.
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