Return Path to
(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 "
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
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
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. (
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
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
Go back one page - second essay - "The Way and Christ's
Sacrifice"
...Part 2
A message sent to those who attacked US
September 11, 2001
