THE CHRISTIAN CREED.
There are three creeds recognized by the Christian Church--the Apostles" Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Of these, the first two are commonly used, the third being not so well known and being seldom used.
The Apostles" Creed, which is the most commonly used, is believed (in its present form) to be of later origin than the Nicene Creed, and many authorities believe it to be a corrupted rendering of the original declaration of faith of the Early Christians. It is as follows:
"I believe in G.o.d the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into h.e.l.l; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of G.o.d the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
The Nicene Creed was drawn up and adopted by the Council of Nice in the year A.D. 325. As originally adopted it ended with the words "I believe in the Holy Ghost," the present concluding clauses being added by the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381, excepting the words "and the Son," which were inserted by the Council of Toledo, A.D. 589. It is as follows:
"I believe in one G.o.d, the Father, Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of G.o.d, begotten of his Father before all worlds, G.o.d of G.o.d, Light of Light, very G.o.d of very G.o.d, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets; and I believe in one catholic and apostolic church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come."
Let us now briefly examine the princ.i.p.al statements of these creeds, which were compiled centuries after Jesus" death, viewing them by the light of Mystic Christianity.
"I believe in one G.o.d, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible."--(_Nicene Creed_.)
The form of the above fundamental principle of Christian belief is taken from the Nicene Creed, which is somewhat fuller than the similar declaration in the Apostles" Creed. It requires no comment. It is a statement of belief in a One Creative Power, from which all things have proceeded. There is no attempt made to "explain" the nature of the Absolute, or to endow it with any of the human attributes which theologians have delighted in bestowing upon the One. It merely a.s.serts a belief in the existence of One Supreme Being--which is all that is possible to man--all else is ignorant impertinence.
"And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost."--(_Apostles" Creed_.)
"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of G.o.d, begotten of his Father before all worlds, G.o.d of G.o.d, Light of Light, very G.o.d of very G.o.d, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."--(_Nicene Creed_.)
In this declaration, the belief in the Divinity of Jesus is made. The Apostles" Creed shows the cruder conception, rather inclining toward the perverted idea of the conception of the Virgin by the aid of the Holy Ghost, similar to the origin of the hero-G.o.ds of the different religions in which the father was one of the G.o.ds and the mother a woman. But the Nicene creed gives at least a strong hint of the mystic teachings. It speaks of Him as "begotten of his Father"--"begotten, not made." The expressions, "G.o.d of G.o.d; Light of Light; very G.o.d of very G.o.d," show the idea of identical spiritual substance in the Spirit. And then the remarkable expression, "being of one substance with the Father," shows a wonderful understanding of the Mystery of The Christ. For, as the mystic teachings show, Jesus was a pure Spirit, free from the entangling desires and clogging Karma of the world. Identical in substance with the Father. "The Father and I are one," as He said. Is there anything in the Orthodox Theology that throws such light on this subject as is shed by Mystic Christianity"s teaching regarding the nature of the soul of Jesus?
"Born of the Virgin Mary."--(_Apostles" Creed_.)
"Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."--(_Nicene Creed_.)
The Nicene Creed here gives a surprisingly clear statement of the Mystic teachings. "Who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven" shows the purpose of the incarnation. "Came down from heaven"
shows pre-existence in the bosom of the Absolute. "And was incarnate"
shows the descent of the Spirit into the flesh in the womb of Mary.
"And was made man" shows the taking on of the physical body of the infant in the womb. Does not the Mystic teaching give a clearer light on this statement of the Creed?
"Was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into h.e.l.l; the third day he rose again from the dead."--(_Apostles" Creed_.)
"He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father."--(_Nicene Creed_.)
The "descent into h.e.l.l" of the Apostles" Creed of course meant the pa.s.sing to the place of disembodied souls--the lower Astral Plane.
Even the orthodox teachers do not now pretend that the term "h.e.l.l"
meant the place of torture presided over by the Devil, which theology has invented to frighten people into the churches. "The third day he arose from the dead" (and the corresponding pa.s.sage in the Nicene Creed) refers to the appearance in the Astral Body--the return from the Astral Plane in which He had sojourned for the three days following the crucifixion. "And ascended into heaven"--this pa.s.sage shows the belief that He returned to the place from which He came, for the Nicene Creed has stated that he "_came down from heaven_ and was incarnate ... and was made man."
The pa.s.sage in both creeds stating that He then took his place "on the right hand of the Father" is intended to show that He took the place of the highest honor in the gift of the Father. The mystic teachings explain this by showing that The Christ is separated from The Father by but the most ethereal intervening of spiritual substance, and that He is a Cosmic Principle second in importance only to the Father.
Truly this is the place of honor on "the right hand of the Father."
"He shall come to fudge the quick and the dead."
In this pa.s.sage we see the intimation that not only with the "quick"
or living people is The Christ concerned, but also with the "dead,"
that is, with those who "pa.s.sed out" before and after His time and who have pa.s.sed on to the Astral World, as we have explained in this lesson. Whether or not the framers of the Creed so understood it--whether or not they were deluded by the tradition of the "Day of Judgment"--certainly the Early Christians, or rather, the mystics among them, understood the teachings as we have given them and spoke of Him as "living in the dead as well as in the living," as one of the occult records expresses it.
"The communion of saints" is the spiritual understanding of the Mysteries by the Illumined Ones. "The forgiveness of sins" is the overcoming of the carnal mind and desires. "The resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come" is the promise of life beyond the grave, and not the crude idea of the physical resurrection of the body, which has crept into the Apostles" Creed, evidently having been inserted at a later date in order to bolster up the pet theories of a school of theologians. Note that the Nicene Creed says merely "the dead" and not "the body." The version of the teachings preserved by the Mystics has a corresponding pa.s.sage, "And we know the _truth_ of the _deathlessness of the soul_." (The italics are ours.)
The consideration of remaining pa.s.sages in the creeds, relating to the existence of the "Holy Ghost," must be deferred until our next lesson.
THE TENTH LESSON
THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
The concluding statement of the Creeds (brought over from the preceding lesson) refers to the Holy Ghost.
"I believe in the Holy Ghost." (_Apostles" Creed_.)
"And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life."
(_Nicene Creed_.)
To the average Christian the nature of the Holy Ghost--one of the beings of the Trinity--is veiled in obscurity, and is generally p.r.o.nounced "not to be understood." A careful examination of the orthodox Christian writings will show the student that the Church is very much at sea regarding this subject, which should be of the greatest importance to its priests and congregations. Ask the average intelligent churchman regarding the nature of the Holy Ghost, and see for yourself the vague, contradictory and unsatisfactory concepts held by the person questioned. Then turn to the encyclopaedias and other books of reference, and see how little is known or taught regarding this important subject.
It is only when the teachings of Mystic Christianity are consulted that one receives any light on the subject. The Occult Teachings are quite explicit on this subject so fraught with difficulty and lack of comprehension on the part of the orthodox teachers and students.
The teaching of Mystic Christianity, regarding the Holy Ghost, may be summed up by the great general statement that: _The Holy Ghost is the Absolute in its phase of Manifestation, as compared to its phase of Unmanifestation_--_Manifest Being as compared with Unmanifest Being_--_G.o.d Create as compared with G.o.d Uncreate_--_G.o.d acting as the Creative Principle as compared to G.o.d as The Absolute Being_.
The student is asked to read over the above general statement a number of times and to concentrate his or her attention carefully upon it, before proceeding further with the lesson.
To understand the above statement it is necessary for the student to remember that the Absolute may be thought of as existing in _two phases. Not as two persons or beings_, remember, but as in _two phases_. There is but One Being--there can be but One--but we may think of that One as existing in two phases. One of these phases is Being Unmanifest; the other, Being Manifest.
_Being Unmanifest_ is the One in its phase of Absolute Being, undifferentiated, unmanifested, uncreated; without attributes, qualities, or natures.
It is impossible for the human mind to grasp the above concept of Being Manifest in the sense of being able to think of it as a "Thing, or Something." This because of the essential being of it. If it were like anything that we can think of, it would not be the Absolute, nor would it be Unmanifest. Everything that we can think of as a "thing"
is a relative thing--a manifestation into objective being.
But we are compelled by the very laws of our reason to admit that the Absolute Being Unmanifest exists, for the Manifest and Relative Universe and Life _must have_ proceeded and emanated from a Fundamental Reality, which must be Absolute and Unmanifest. And this Being which our highest reason causes us to a.s.sume to exist is Being Unmanifest--G.o.d the Father--who cannot be known through the senses--whose existence is made known to us only through Pure Reason, or through the workings of the Spirit within us. In the material sense "G.o.d is Unknowable"--but in the higher sense He may be known to the Spirit of Man, and His existence may be _known_ and proven by the exercise of the highest faculties of the reason.
Being Unmanifest is the One in its _actual_ existence and being. If all the world of objective life and manifestation, even to its highest forms, were withdrawn from manifestation, then there would be left--what? Simply and solely, Being Unmanifest--G.o.d the Father, alone. Into His Being all else would be withdrawn. Outside of Him there would be _nothing_. He would be Himself--One--existing in the phase of Being Unmanifest.
We are aware that this idea may seem to be "too abstruse" for the minds of some of our students at first reading--it may appear like an a.s.sertion of a Being who is Non-Being. But, be not too hasty--take time--and your mind will a.s.similate the concept, and will find that it has a corresponding Truth imbedded in its inmost recesses, and then it will know this to be the Truth. And then will it recognize the existence of G.o.d the Father, as compared with G.o.d, the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost, as we have said, is the Absolute in its phase of Manifest Being. That is, it is G.o.d as manifest in the Spirit of Life, which is immanent in, and manifest in, all objective life and phenomena in the Cosmos or Universe.
In previous series of lessons in the Yogi Philosophy, we have shown you that there was a Spirit of Life immanent in, and manifesting through, all forms of life. We have also shown you that everything in the Universe is alive--down to even the minerals, and the atoms composing matter. We have shown you that inasmuch as the Spirit of Life is the source of all Manifestations in the universe, and the "G.o.d in the machine" of all phenomena of force, matter and life, then it naturally follows that there can be nothing dead in the world--that there is LIFE manifesting in every object, varying only in the degree of manifestation. In our "Advanced Lessons" and in "Gnani Yoga" this subject is considered in detail. Then what is this Spirit of Life? If G.o.d is All, then it cannot be Something other than G.o.d. But it cannot well be G.o.d the Uncreate--the Absolute in its Absolute phase--the Being Unmanifest. Then what can it be?
The student will see that the natural and logical answer to the question with which we have closed the preceding paragraph must be: Being Manifest--G.o.d in Creation--the Holy Ghost! And this is the Occult Teaching concerning this great mystery of Christianity. And see how well the framers of the Nicene Creed grasped the traditions of the Early Church, when it said: "And I believe in the Holy Ghost, _the Lord and Giver of Life_."
The teaching regarding the Immanent G.o.d lies at the foundation of all of the Mystic teachings of all peoples, races, and times. No matter under what names the teaching is promulgated--no matter what the name of the creed or religion in which it is found imbedded--it is still the Truth regarding the G.o.d Immanent in all forms of life, force, and matter. And it always is found forming the Secret Doctrine of the philosophy, creed or religion. The Outer Teaching generally confines itself to the instruction of the undeveloped minds of the people, and cloaks the real Truth behind some conception of a Personal Deity, or Deities--G.o.ds and demi-G.o.ds, who are supposed to dwell afar off in some heavenly realm--some great Being who created the world and then left it to run itself, giving it but occasional attention, and reserving his consideration princ.i.p.ally for the purpose of rewarding those who gave him homage, worship and sacrifices and punishing those who failed to conform with the said requirements. These personal deities are believed generally to favor the particular people who give them their names and temples, and accordingly to hate the enemies of the said tribe or nation.