Great Beings

Theo. – Last time you evoked the Great Beings who guide and accompany us through our journey to the Ultimate. You called them couriers for the souls. The Sufis mention the Masters of Wisdom governing the world. Many of them are said to live in the Himalayas. I found the same sort of information in the Kabbalah: there, they talk about the angels and archangels who are supposed to be in charge of worlds and dimensions, each of them being responsible for a sephirah. The Sephirot tree seems to correspond to the thirteen points and the three regions mentioned in the Sahaj Marg philosophy.

The Elder – There is a correlation, some connections between all the ways. Masters of Wisdom’s knowledge and initiations are similar. They only have been given different names, according to the various cultures, religions and periods. See the first chakra (point) of the heart, for instance: it is called malkut, in the Kabbalah, and Adam stands as a representation of it. With Dionysius the Areopagite, the Christians placed in it the archangels in charge of these worlds and dimensions. In the Rosicrucian fellowship they speak of Shambhala and Mount Kailash, where the Masters who rule the world reside. The Buddhists also mention Shambhala, and we can point to equivalences with the Devas and their worlds.

Theo. – Tell me about the people you call ‘Lords’, please.

The Elder – Each initiatory way refers to its own masters of wisdom, its own saints. Those stand for a spiritual quality, let alone a divine one. They will serve as living symbols of it in the so-called cosmic world.

Theo. – For many people, Heaven is a convenient hold-all!

The Elder – That hides a great deal of ignorance… Let’s take some examples.

Theo. – We have already evoked Jesus Christ.

The Elder – As a Master and as a Lord, he epitomizes Love and devotion.

Theo. – So, he is related to Point 2, the Point for Love.

The Elder – Please don’t think you can bind him to or lock him in a chakra. Since he is a Lord – and that is what the word ‘Christ’ means – he has all the divine qualities inherent in omnipresence. Any seeker, any devotee who prays him, who calls on him, gets automatically in touch with him in the universe, either in the world of the living or in the world of spirits. Therefore, they can easily benefit from his help, his love and his blessings. When Christ was incarnated, he was a Master. They actually call him ‘Master’, in the English Gospels. It is also said that he was connected with the Sphere of Truth (Satpad): “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” He was also a spiritual guide, a teacher who, before being Christ, was initiated by Essenes, Babylonians, Egyptians and Indian masters.

Theo. – That part of his life is not very well known, is it?

The Elder – Christ’s universality could impair certain religions’ dogma.

Theo. – He is the epitome of Divine Love. Isn’t it all that matters?

The Elder – It is indeed. Any aspirant claiming what Christ represents will be granted his help. As for those who want to become his disciple and are accepted by him, then Lord Jesus Christ will take them within his bosom and lead them directly to God.

Theo. – So, Jesus Christ stands on every plan of the being and of the non-being, does he?

The Elder – He is actually unlimited. His only limits are the ones we lay down to ourselves.

Theo. – And where would you place Lord Krishna?

The Elder – Point N°6, the ajna-chakra, is where I would place him. That is the chakra on which he has his devotees meditate. Il you read very carefully Krishna’s teachings in the Bhagavad-Gita, you’ll see that he goes very far indeed.

Theo. – You told me that Lord Krishna retrieves his disciples from the cosmic region.

The Elder – He also insists on the importance of the heart. That is where he says you can find him. In order to help the seekers, he offered the karma-yoga, the yoga of action that is indifferent to the result of that action, jnana-yoga, the yoga of knowledge that leads you, beyond knowledge, to a total renunciation, and bhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotion through which one can offer one’s heart to God without expecting anything in return. We call these three different aspects of yoga raja-yoga, because they actually are one.

Theo. – Finally, these three aspects of yoga are mere approaches to being united with God through the Lord, Love remaining the most direct way to the highest.

The Elder – The Lord takes everyone’s tendencies into account. All these different paths will finally lead to the top of the mountain.

Theo. – Yet, that summit is ONE.  Are there any other means to access God?

The Elder – As many means as humans beings.

Theo. – Could you give me a few examples, please?

The Elder – First of all, we must understand what we have to achieve, whatever way we choose in order to reach the summit of the mountain, of the Ultimate.

Theo. – Love!

The Elder – Sure, but what condition should you attain?

Theo thought the matter over. He could find no immediate satisfactory answer; as his thoughts were becoming blurred, he sought refuge within his heart.

Nothing…

He plunged deeper down and… Then he forgot the Elder and his question.

The Elder outlined a smile and cleared his throat.

Theo opened his eyes, remembered where he was, the question he had been asked, and he explained:
– It was so good to be there, right within my heart, that I had forgotten all about you. I just was totally unconscious of my self; I could see it, without any need to name or identify it. As for the question… was there any question? Yeah! I can remember now, but I don’t think it matters much anymore.

The Elder – How do you feel?

Theo. – Absent to myself, present, totally present to my heart or, I’d rather say, to the Presence deep into my heart. Talking about ‘my’ heart now seems practically unfounded.

The Elder – Could you say that you found the Lord there?

Theo reminded himself:
– I couldn’t say that. It is only a state of being without being aware of being.

The Elder – It is the consciousness (CHIT) of existence (SAT), which provides such a state of bliss (ANANDA).

Theo. – I have a feeling that it is the source of Love, but it is devoid of any of the ideas, emotions or feelings usually attached to Love. How to explain it?

The Elder – It is a motionless, purposeless and boundless Love.

Theo. – It fills up the spaceless space (Akasha). Getting out of that state is what allows the idea of Presence to come and love to be associated with it, which causes a double movement to appear.

Interested, the Elder encouraged his young friend to go further ahead.

Theo. – The movement is inwardly oriented. It is a momentum of the heart for giving thanks to the Lord and, at the same time, a loving impetus outwardly oriented, addressed to all the brothers and sisters sharing the Earth with me, and to all the creatures living there.

The Elder – That is how God feels for his creatures. It makes you feel like sharing it and contributing to the Lord’s task.

Theo. – This is totally beyond my thought process, and yet, I’m remaining calm.

The Elder – It is surrender, both through self-forgetfulness and through that momentum of a wide-ranging Love. It is the sort of state every one will discover during their personal yoga (union with God).

Theo. – I see: You begin with engaging in your life’s journey, your soul’s path (swadharma). It is natural. Then, you find God within you or, I’d rather say, He finds you. When He reveals Himself to you, you renounce all the traits and specificities that led you to the Lord and you become … universal.

The Elder – Similar to what we were originally, when God created us.

Theo. – The famous Adam before his transgressions! Finally, I find it is much easier to aim at the Master’s heart in order to reach God. He is alive. He is humanly and spiritually related to us. He can understand all the shortcomings and obstinacies inherent in human beings. He has to face challenges and he experiences highs and lows as everybody does. Whereas the Great Beings you call Lords, or the so-called Ascended Masters have become pure spirits. They may seem to be far from me, though near enough at the same time.

The Elder – A Master belongs to a spiritual hierarchy. He is never alone. He remains bound to his own Master and to the hierarchy of Masters. He provides a bridge from the manifested world to spiritual worlds. When the time comes, he will put us in contact with the Lords, if they have not already done so themselves.

Theo. – And in contact with God, finally, so that we may access the path to Eternity in Him.

Amused, the Elder softly repeated while staring at his young friend:
– Finally…

Theophile the Elder
An excerpt from Dialogs with Theophile the Elder
Theophile the Younger’s Initiation