Adyar
Pamphlets No. 176
NOTES
ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN
by H. P. BLAVATSKY
August, 1933
Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai [Madras], India
[Page 1] [The
following notes formed the basis of discussion at the meetings of the Blavatsky
Lodge, in October 1889 They were prepared by myself before the meetings' mostly
from notes taken down from H.P.B.. As it is impossible to throw the matter into
any precise form, the notes must stand simply as hints for students 'and
especially as a useful example of H.P.B.'s method of interpretation. — G. R. S.
Mead]
THE preliminary paper deals mainly with the translation of the opening verses
of the original text, as we have it, pointing out difficulties and the liberty
of translation that can be used without violating the Greek. It will be of
interest even to those who do not understand the original language as showing
the danger of relying on the received translation, or in fact any translation,
without a copious commentary. Moreover, when it is understood that such great
difficulties present themselves even when the original scripture is in Greek,
it will be easily seen that a translation of the Hebrew texts, from a language
essentially occult and open to infinite permutation of meaning, is fraught with
far greater difficulty. [Page 2]
The original texts of the Jewish Scriptures were written without vowel points,
and each school had its own tradition as to which points should be used. Why,
therefore, the pointing of one particular school, the Masoretic, should be
insisted on to the exclusion of all others, passes the comprehension of any but
the orthodox bibliolater.
From this point of view, then, the preliminary paper may not be without
interest.
I
1. In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was πρòς τòν
θεόν, and the Logos was θεòς.
In the very first verse a grave
difficulty presents itself; viz., the right interpretation of the curious
complement πρòς τòν θεόν . In the Vulgate it is translated apud Deum,
"with God" — not "together with God", which would be
cum Deo, but in the sense of "at", "by". But does apud
render the Greek πρòς ? Apud is a preposition denoting rest; πρòς, with
the accusative, denotes fundamentally motion — versus, adversus,
presenting in fact an idea of hostility, and metaphorically of comparison. To
translate πρδς τον θεόν, therefore, by "with God " is
decidedly unwarranted by the ordinary meaning of the word.
All that can be said, then, from the text, as it stands, is that something is
predicated of the Logos [Page 3] with respect
to God, and that this predication differs considerably from the following;
viz., that "The Logos was God". It leaves us, therefore, free to
assign a philosophical interpretation to the phrase. Notice that the article is
used in one phrase with θεός and omitted in the other. The Logos was God or
Divinity; that is to say, that the First or Unmanifested Logos is essentially
the same as Parabrahman. But once the first potential Point appears, there is
then this Point and the rest, viz.,ó λόγος and ό θεός — and their
relation one to the other, stated in the sentence, " The Logos was πρòς
τòν θεòν".
The phrase occurs again in Romans (i, 5), "We have peace with God
" (εìρήνην πρòς τòν θεòν).
2. The latter (the Logos) was, in the beginning, πρòς τòν θεòν.
Why is this repeated ? Does it mean
that at the first "flutter of manvantaric dawn" there was the Logos
and Mûlaprakriti ?
But here a doubt arises: does άρΧñ mean " beginning"? We know that
great controversy has arisen concerning the interpretation of the first verse
of Genesis, and though the Orthodox translate by "in the
beginning", the Targum of Jerusalem renders beraschit as " in
wisdom ".
Now άρΧñ has been shown by Godfrey Higgins in his Anacalypsis, by Inman
and a host of other writers of the same school, to be the same as argha,
[Page 4] ark, argo,
the ship of Jason in which he sailed to find the " golden fleece "
(Apollonius Rhodius), and, therefore, is the same as the Jagadyoni, the
"womb of the universe". or rather the material cause or kãrana thereof,
according to the Paurãnik commentators, [Secret Doctrine,Volume 1, Page
46] but according to the Esoteric Philosophy the ideal spirit of that
cause. It is the Svabhãvat of the Buddhists and the Mûlaprakriti of the
Vedantin philosophers.
If this is so, we shall have to seek a new interpretation.
The First Logos was in Mûlaprakriti. The Point within the Circle of Space,
"whose centre is everywhere and circumference nowhere".
So far, so good. But what is the distinction between θεòς and ó θεòς ? Which is
the superior term; can either be said to be identical with Parabrahman ?
Does it mean that in Pralaya the Logos is concerned with or united with
Parabrahman alone, in fact, is one with It ?
If so, verse 2 would mean that the Logos, when differentiation has not yet
taken place, is pure spirit, and concerned only with the things of spirit.
If, however, this is the meaning, it is difficult to understand why the article
is omitted before άρΧñ.
3. All things are wont to be (or exist) through it (viz., the
Logos), and without it not one single [Page 5] thing which is (or is wont to come) comes into being.
πάντα , "all things", is to
be distinguished from κóσμος (cosmos) in the 10th verse.
Now κóσμος is used by the philosophers to mean the organized universe in
contradistinction to the indigesta moles or Chaos. It will be, moreover,
clearly seen that verse 10 refers to a later stage of emanation or evolution
than verse 3. Therefore, it does not seem too bold to translate πάντα as
"all manifestation", that is to say, all universes and systems.
There is nothing to warrant the translation, "all things were made by
him". The verb γíγνομαιi does not mean "to make" but "to
become". It is rare to find διà — used in the sense of an agent or
instrument — in the sense of "by". The fundamental idea is "
through", whether of place or time. Metaphorically, it is used in a causal
sense, and in late prose, of the material out of which a thing is made. So
that, even if the creative idea were adopted, it would show that all things
were made "through" or "out of" the Logos.
Comparing these first three verses with the first chapter of Genesis, we
notice an entire omission of the Void or Chaos, this is an additional reason
why the word àρχʼn should be carefully considered.
4. In it (the Logos) was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
ξοʼn (life) differs from πάντα
(objective manifestation) in that it is in (or inherent in) the Logos, and is
not emanated through it. It may, therefore, be taken as a power of the Logos.
Now the Logos of the 3rd verse is not the same as the Logos of the 1st.
Essentially or in eternity, of course, they are the same, but in time, in a
different stage of emanation. In the Secret Doctrine this Logos is
called the Second or Third Logos, the "luminous sons of manvantaric
dawn", or the "builders" — a septenary hierarchy.
Is, then, this potency of the Third Logos Fohat ? And if so, is φŵς (Light)
Buddhi or Manas ?
That which I say to you in Darkness (èν τη σκοτíα), speak in Light
(èν τŵ φωτí), and what ye hear "mouth to ear", preach on the house
tops.— Matth., x, 27.
Wherefore, whatsoever ye said in Darkness (èν τñ σκοτíα) shall be heard in
Light (èν τŵ φωτí), and that which ye have sounded into the ear in the crypts
(closets, secret chambers) shall be preached on the house tops.— Luke, xii, 3.
In these passages σκοτíα (darkness) is evidently used in a metaphorical sense,
and indeed it is a rare and late word, and very seldom applied to physical
darkness. σκοτíα (darkness), therefore, refers to esoteric, and φŵς (light) to
exoteric teaching: the relation between the two ideas is the same by analogy
as between the σκοτíα and φŵς in John. [Page 7]
ταμεîον (closet), a strange word, used in Pistis Sophia for the
different divisions of Kâma Loka, in the Great Serpent or Astral Light.
"That which ye have sounded (λαλεîν) into the ear." Now λαλεîν (to
babble) does not mean to speak in the ordinary way, as translated in the
orthodox version: λαλεîν is always distinguished from λαλειν, and is very often
used of music, and nature sounds, and singing. Those who have read about
gnostic invocations and mystery names, mantrams, etc., will understand this
meaning.
The word σκοτòς (used in Eph., v, 8; Luke, xxii, 53; Matth.,
xiii, 12; 2 Pet., ii, 17) in every case has a mystic meaning, the
enquiry into which, though of great interest, would take us too far from the
present subject. We should, however, be on our guard against seeking to support
the meaning of any word in the New Testament by a citation of the same
from other passages and books. The New Testament is not a unity: it is
as useless to try to reconcile the meanings of particular words out of their
contexts or stereotype a special meaning, as to take the word buddhi and
claim for it the same meaning in the Esoteric, Sãnkhya, Yoga, Buddhist, or
other schools of Hindu philosophy.
5. And the Light shineth in the Darkness, and the Darkness did not
comprehend it.
[Page 8] In the Secret
Doctrine this Darkness is taken as synonymous with pure spirit, and Light as
typifying matter.
Darkness in its radical, metaphysical basis, is subjective and
absolute Light: while the latter, in all its seeming effulgence and glory, is
merely a mass of shadows, as it can never be eternal, and is simply an
illusion, or Maya. [1, 70]
Are "Light" and
"Darkness", in this verse, used in the same sense ? Or does it mean
that this "Life" which is a potency of the Logos, is regarded by men
as "Light", whereas that which is higher than the "Light", viz.,
the Logos (or to them "Darkness"), is the real "Light" ?
" Darkness comprehended it not", then, means that absolute spirit did
not comprehend or understand this illusive "Light".
6. There was a man sent divinely (παρà φεοû, no article) whose
name was John.
7. He came for bearing witness in order that he might testify concerning the
Light, in order that all might have confidence through it.
If this "Light" is to be
taken as identical with the Christ-spirit, it will be Buddbi; but if φŵς is
Manas, the difficulty may be avoided by taking φŵς to mean Buddhi-Manas.
8. He was not the Light, but was for a witness concerning the
Light. [Page 9]
9. The Light
was the true (real) Light which illuminates every man (human being) coming into
the world.
II
1. In the beginning (Mûlaprakriti) was the Word (Third Logos), and the Word was
with God (πρòς τòν φεòν; Second Logos), and the Word was God (First Logos).
Yet all the three Logoi are one.
2. This Logos (the essence of the Logoi) was in the beginning (in Mûlaprakriti)
identical with Parabrahman.
There is evidently a great difference between the phrase πρòς τòν φεòν when
predicated of the Logos as a unity and the same when predicated of its second
aspect, as in verse 1.
3. The 3rd verse refers to the Third or Creative Logos.
All things came into existence through it, viz., the third aspect of the
Logos, and the source of their existence, or the things themselves, was the two
superior aspects of the Essence.
4. In it, the Logos as a unity, was Life, and the Life was the Light of
"men" [viz., the initiates; for the profane are called
"shades (chhayâs) and images"]. [Page 10]
This Light (φŵς) is Atma-Buddhi, of which Kundalini, or the sacred fire, is a
Siddhi or power; it is the serpentine or spiral force, which if misused can
kill.
5. And the Light or Life, as one Essence, shineth in Darkness and the Darkness
comprehended it not.
Neither does this Essence of the Logos comprehend Parabrahman, nor does
Parabrahman comprehend the Essence. They are not on the same plane, so to
speak.
6. There was a man, an initiate, sent of the spirit, whose name was John.
John, Oannes, Dagon, Vishnu, the personified microcosm. The name may be taken
in its mystic significance; that is to say, this man personifies the power of
the mystery name, "Ioannes".
7. He came to bear witness concerning the Light that all might be strengthened
through it.
In the same way Krishna the Avatâra of Vishnu in the Bhagavad-Gitâ says
that he has come to be a witness.
8. He was not the Light, but came to bear witness concerning the Light.
9. This Light is the One Reality which illuminates every man that cometh into
the world. [Page 11]
That is to say, we all have a spark of the Divine Essence within us.
10. The next two verses represent the descent of Spirit into
Matter, the 10th repeating the 3rd on a lower plane.
Moreover, the light directly it
descends into the Cosmos, is anthropomorphized.
He (viz., the Light) was in the Cosmos, and the Cosmos came into being
through him, and the Cosmos knew him not.
11. He came unto his own (that is to say, into the lower
principles or lower man, or generally mankind — τà ìδια, a neuter term) and his
own (masculine) received him not.
The first part of the verse is from the
abstract or impersonal standpoint, the latter from the personal standpoint. The
principles and their powers become individualized.
12. But as many as received him (Âtma-Buddhi) to them he gave
power to become Children of God (initiates), viz., to those who have
confidence in his name.
This is the septenary name, or sound,
the Oeaohoo of the Secret Doctrine and the αεηιονω of the Pistis
Sophia. It is strange that the Latin words nomen (name) and numen
(deity or divinity) so resemble one another. [Page 12]
13. "Who are born (iterative aorist) not from
"bloods" nor of the will of the flesh nor from the will of the male,
but of God.
The term "bloods", a strange
use of the plural, is the same as "lives" in the Secret Doctrine;
they are elemental centres of force, the micro-cosmic aspect of the macrocosmic
Tattvas; the "Sweat-born" who were not " Will-born", but rather,
born unconsciously.
Those "born of the will of the flesh" are the androgynous
"Egg-born" of the Secret Doctrine, born through Kriya-shakti,
by "Will-power".
Those "born of the will of the male" — not man, are men born in the
usual manner after the separation of the sexes.
Whereas the term "those who born of God", the Sons of God, refers to
the "Second Birth".
14. So the Logos became flesh (was incarnated) and dwelt (lit.,
tabernacled itself) in us (that is to say was clothed in a body, or bodies).
And we saw his appearance (not glory except in the sense of shekinah or
veil), the appearance as of the only-begotten son of the Father full of grace
and truth.
The word δóξα which is translated by glory, is nowhere found with
this meaning in Greek.
Plato uses δóξα in the sense of opinion, as distinguished from επιστημη,
knowledge, and Aeschylus (Cho. 1053) employs it to denote a vision. [Page 13]
The "Father" in this verse means the Svabhâvat, Father-Mother. The
Svabhâvat of the Buddhists, the Father-Mother (a compound word) of the Secret
Doctrine, and the Mûlaprakriti of the Vedântins. Mûlaprakriti is not
Parabrahman, although, so to speak, contemporaneous with it. It may perhaps be
defined as the cognizable aspect of it. [Cf, The Secret
Doctrine,Volume 1, 10, note. ] This first-born is the Sanskrit aja,
the Greek àγνος or lamb. Lambs, sheep and goats were sacrificed to Kâli, the
lower aspect of Akâsha, or the Astral Light. The "only begotten Son"
was sacrificed to the Father; that is to say, that the spiritual part of man is
sacrificed to the astral.
Grace (χáρις) is a difficult word to translate. It corresponds to the higher
aspect of Akâsha. The two aspects are as follows:
Spiritual Plane: Älaya (Soul of Universe): Akâsha.
Psychic Plane: Prakriti (Matter or Nature); Astral Light or Serpent.
15. John bears witness concerning him and cries saying: He it was
of whom I spake: who coming after me was before me: for he was before me
(πρŵτος, curious).
That is to say, that from the point of
view of a disciple the divine principle Atma-Buddhi is later in respect of
time, for union therewith is not attained till the end of the Path is reached.
Yet [Page 14] this spark of
the divine Fire was before the personality of the neophyte, for it is eternal
and in all men, though not manifested.
We, therefore, have Oannes as the representative of Vishnu: the man who becomes
an adept through his own exertions, a Jîvanmukta. This typical personage, an
individual representing a class, speaks in space and time; whereas the One
Wisdom is in Eternity and therefore "first".
16. And of the Fulness (πληρωμα) thereof we all received, and
favour for favour.
The πληρωμα (Plerôrna or Plenum) must
be distinguished from Mûlaprakriti.
The Plerôma is infinite manifestation in manifestation, the Jagad Yoni or
Golden Egg: Mûlaprakriti is an abstraction, the Root of the Jagad Yoni, the
Womb of the Universe, or the Egg of Brahmâ.
The Plerôma is, therefore, Chaos. "Favour for favour" means that what
we receive we give back, atom for atom, service for service.
17. The meaning of verse 16, depends on verse 17.
For the Law was given through Moses,
but grace and truth was through Jesus Christ.
The external illusion or "Eye Doctrine" through Moses; the reality or
"Heart Doctrine" through the divine Spirit Âtma-Buddhi. [Page 15]
18. No man has seen God (Parabrahman) at any time.
No, not even the First Logos who, as stated in the Lectures on the Bhagavad-Glta, by T. Subba
Rao, can only behold its veil, Mûlaprakriti.
The only begotten Son, the Logos, who is in the bosom of the Father, in
Parabrahm, he has declared him (shown him in manifestation, but not seen him).
Ill
19. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou ?
This verse relates to the great
dissension between the Innocents, the Kabbalists or Initiates of pre-Christian
Judaea, and the Synagogue, and was a continuation of the struggle between the
Prophets and Priests.
John in this context, therefore, signifies Joannes or Wisdom, the Secret Word
or Voice, Bath Kol, which the Jews called the Voice of God or Daughter
of God. It is in truth the Voice of Wisdom. In the present context, however, we
have only an echo of the tradition.
20. And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the
Christ. [Page 16]
That is to say, I am not the glorified
Christos.
21. And they asked him, What then ? Art thou Elias ? And he saith,
I am not. Art thou that prophet ? And he answered, No.
The root of the name Elias in Hebrew and Coptic has the meaning of
Buddhi. It is a pun on Buddhi. The meaning conveyed is that of the principles
Manas and Buddhi without Âtma. It is not the same as the Christos, the anointed
by Âlaya.
"That prophet", or rather "the prophet" is the higher
Manas.
John speaking as a man, the Lower Manas, did not speak as one of the three
higher "principles", Âtma (the Absolute), Buddhi (the Spiritual), and
the Higher Manas or Mind.
With regard to the idea that John was the reincarnation of Elias it is
interesting to quote a remarkable passage from Pistis-Sophia. The
"Living Jesus", the "First Mystery", or King Initiate,
speaks as follows:
It came to pass, when I had come into the midst of the Rulers of
the Aeons, having looked from above into the World of men, I found Elizabeth,
mother of John the Baptist, before she had conceived him. I planted the Power
in her, which I bad received from the Little laö, the Good, who is in the
Midst, [This is to say, that the Power planted is the reflection of the
Higher Ego, or the Lower Kâma-Manas] that he should preach before me,
and prepare my way, and baptize with water the Remission of Sins. This Power
then is [Notice the tense, the orthodox John being dead years
before ] [Page 17] in the body of
John. Moreover, in the Region of the Soul of the Rulers, appointed to receive
it, I found the Soul of the prophet Elias in the Aeons of the Sphere, and I
took him, and receiving his Soul also, brought it to the Virgin of Light, and
she gave it to her Receivers, who led it to the Sphere of the Rulers and
carried it into the womb of Elizabeth. So the Power of the Little Iaö, the
Good, which is in the Midst, and the Soul of the prophet Elias, are bound
together in the body of John the Baptist.
For which cause, therefore, did ye doubt at that time, when I said unto you:
John said, "I am the Christ"; and ye said unto me: "It is
written in the Scriptures, if the Christ come, Elias comes before him, and will
prepare his way". And I replied: "Elias, indeed, is come, and has prepared
all things, according as it was written; and they have done unto him whatsoever
they would". And when I perceived that ye did not understand those things
which I spake to you concerning the Soul of Elias, as bound in John the
Baptist, I then answered openly and face to face: " If ye will receive it,
John the Baptist is that Elias, who, I said, "was coming". [See
Lucifer. Vol. VI, No. 32, page 113 ]
Elizabeth, in the above, is the
personified female Power, or Shakti.
23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make
straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
I am the Voice of Wisdom (cf. 19)
crying in the wilderness of Matter: Purify the Antahkarana (" Internal
Organ" or Astral Man), the Path that leads from the Lower to the Higher
Man.
Antahkarana is the Lower Manas, the Path of Communication or communion between
the Personality and the Higher Manas or Human Soul. At death it is [Page 18] destroyed as a Path or Medium of
communication, and its remains survive in a form as the Kâma Rûpa — the
"shell". [ Voice
of the Silence, page 88]
25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou
then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet ?
"What baptizest thou"
rather than, "Why baptizest thou " ?
In the Pistis-Sophia many baptisms, seals and symbols, or passwords, are
mentioned. They all typify grades of Initiation, but there are two main
divisions — the Little and Great Mysteries.
(1) The Little Mysteries (e.g., the Eleusinian).
a) Those relating to the Jiva or Prâna, the Life-principle; teachings relating
to the animal side of man, because Prâna is concerned with all the functions of
nature.
(b) Those relating to the Astral.
(c) Those relating to the Kâma and Lower Manas.
(2) The Great Mysteries.
Relating to the Higher Manas, Buddhi and Âtma.
26. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there
standeth one among you, whom you know not;
The baptism with water typifies the
Terrestrial Mary, or the Astral. [Page 19]
'*Whom ye know not" — because it is the inner and higher
"principle", Christos.
27. He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose
shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
A repetition of verse 15, referring to
the mystery of the Higher and Lower Man, Âtma-Buddhi and the Lower Manas.
"Whose shoe's latchet, I am not worthy to unloose" — that is to say,
even the lowest of the Great Mysteries, those of the Spiritual Man, I, John,
the Lower Man, am not worthy to reveal; such is the penalty of the "fall
into generation".
28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John
was baptizing.
Most probably a blind, unless we
enquire into the mystic meaning of the words Bethabara and Jordan: to do this,
it is necessary to have the original texts, for the change of even one letter
is important.
29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
"Behold Jesus"; Jesus or Issi
means Life, and therefore typifies a living man. The Lamb of God is the Aja,
previously spoken of — the Logos.
"Which taketh away the sin of the world" — by the lower Initiation
Prâna, or the Life-principle, is [Page 20] so purified that the Candidate becomes worthy of receiving
the higher Initiation of the Lamb or Aja, which removes the sin of the Lower
Man.
The name Jes-us is from the Hebrew word Aish, "man". Jes
(in Greek Ies, Jes, the Hebrew ש׳) means several things, such as Fire,
the Sun, a God or Deity, and also Man. It is so in the
writings of the pre-Masoretic schools, and the latter on coming into use
corroborated the true original pronunciation. Man became written ש׳א, Ish,
and Jes, whose feminine form was השא is-a or "woman",
also the hermaphrodite Eve before the birth of Cain, as shown in the Chaldaean Book
of Numbers, the Egyptian Isis, So poor was the Hebrew language,
especially before the settled pronunciation of the words by the Masoretic
vowels — that almost every word and name in the Bible is liable to be
made into a pun. Isi, or Issi, is also Jesse,
David's father, from whom the concoctors of the New Testament tried to
make Jesus descend. Now the Gnostics had also a nickname for their ideal
Jesus — or the man in the Chrest condition, the Neophyte on trial, and
this nickname was Ichthus, the "fish".
With this fish, with the waters in general, and, for the Christians, with the
Jordan waters in particular, the whole programme of the ancient
Mystery-Initiation is connected. The whole of the New Testament is an
allegorical representation of the Cycle of Initiation, i.e., the natural
birth of [Page 21] man in sin
or flesh, and of his second or spiritual birth as an Initiate, followed by his
resurrection after three days of trance — a mode of purification — during which
time his human body or Astral was in Hades or Hell, which is the earth, and his
divine Ego in Heaven or the realm of truth. The New Testament describes
unselfish white or divine magic; the Old Testament gives the
description of black, or selfish magic. The latter is psychism, the
former all spirituality.
Now the name of Jordan, according to Hebrew scholars, is derived from the
Hebrew Jar-ed, to flow down or descend; add to the word Jarad the
letter n (in Hebrew nun) and you have fish-river. And Jar-Dan — Jar,
"flowing river", and Dan the name of the tribe of Dan — means
the " river of Dan", or judgment. Jesus, the man and the neophyte, is
born of Mary, Mar, the waters, or the sea, as every other man is born;
this is his first birth. At his second birth he enters and stands in the river
Dan, or fish; and at the death of his body of flesh (the body of sin) he enters
the river Styx, which river is in Hades, or Hell, the place of judgment,
whither Jesus is said to have descended after death. For the zodiacal sign of
the tribe of Dan was Scorpio, as all know; and Scorpio is the sign of the
female procreative principle, the matrix, and even geographically the heirloom
of the tribe of Dan was the place of Dan, which included that of the springs or
sources [Page 22] of Jordan,
whose waters flowed out of the bowels of the earth. As the Styx with the
Greeks, which, during the mystery trial by water, played a like part in
the crypts of the temples, so the whale or fish that swallowed Jonah in the Old
Testament, and Jordan that immersed Jesus in the New — all of these
great "deeps" and small "deeps", the interiors of fish,
waters, etc., all typified the same thing. They signified entering into
conditions of existence by death, which became a new birth. As
Jonah, the Initiate of the Old Testament, enters the womb of the whale
(Phallic Initiation), so Jesus, the man, entering the water (the type of
the spiritual womb of his second birth) enters Jar-Dan, the river of
Dan, the tribe which astronomically was in Scorpio (the "gates of
woman", or the matrix). Emerging from it, he became Christos, the
glorified Initiate, or the divine and sexless androgyne. So also Jonah upon
emerging, became the "Lord", with the Jews Jah-hovah; thus
preceding Jes-us, the new life. The Jesus of the New Testament
becomes the anointed by the Spirit, symbolized by the Dove. For John, Oannes,
or Jonah, or the Whale-Fish, the emblem of the terrestrial world of the Old
Dispensation, is transformed into the Dove, over the waters, the emblem
of the Spiritual Womb of the World. As said by Nigidius:
The Syrians and Phoenicians assert that a dove sat several
days in Euphrates [one of the four rivers in Eden] on the egg of
a fish, whence their Venus was born. [Volney's Ruins, page
168 ]
Venus is but
the female form of Lucifer, the planet; and the bright Morning Star is
Christos, the Glorified Ego — Buddhi-Manas. As said in Revelation:
" I, Jesus, am the bright morning star" — Phosphoros or Lucifer.
There is one thing worth remembering. If you read the Bible you will
find all the names of the Patriarchs and Prophets and other prominent
characters that begin with the letter J (or I), such as, Jubal Cain, Jared,
Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Jesse, Jonah, John, Jesus, all were meant to depict (a)
a series of reincarnations on the terrestrial or physical plane, as their
legends show in the biblical narratives; and (b) all typified the Mysteries of
Initiation, its trials, triumphs, and birth to Light, first terrestrial, then
psychic, and finally Spiritual Light, every particular being made to fit in
with the various details of the ceremony and its results.
30. Repetition of verses 15 and 27 (three times).
31. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel,
therefore am I come baptizing with water.
" I" as a personality; or
those initiated into the lower Mysteries only.
"Israel" is a " blind", but here must be taken to mean
those who wish to enter the Path. [Page 24]
32. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
The Dove in symbology has many
meanings; it here typifies the Erõs (Love) or Charity.
33. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water,
the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
And I, the terrestrial man, knew him
not, but my Buddhic principle, which sent me to initiate into the lower
Mysteries, recognized the sign. I, the terrestrial man, knew not, but Elias and
the Prophet and Christos knew.
This Dove descending and remaining upon man, that is to say, this Purified
Love, Charity, or Compassion descending on the Initiate, helps him to unite
himself with the Holy Ghost or Âtma.
On the terrestrial plane, it means, that by the "Dove", the Cloud or
Aura, an Initiate is recognized by his fellows.
34-38. Narrative, and therefore a "blind".
39. He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and
abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. [Page 25]
The two disciples symbolize two
Neophytes near the end of their trials, and the abiding with the Master, or
Higher Self, is being in the Christos-Spirit.
The tenth hour signifies the period before the last of the great trials.
Compare the labours of Hercules.
40-41. Narrative.
42. Cf. Isis Unveiled, Volume 2, pages 29 and 91.
43-45. Narrative.
46. Out of Nazareth, i.e.. from the Sect of the Nazars.
47-50. Narrative.
51. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall
see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
man.
Thou shalt see
the Higher descend on the Lower, and gain illumination and know greater wonders
than the simple power of clairvoyance.
IV
The first
eleven verses in the second chapter contain the allegorical representation of
the last and final Initiation; herein we find mention of all the divine and
human "principles" veiled in allegorical language, and personified,
and of the purification wrought in them by Initiation; the [Page 26] incident ends abruptly and
mysteriously, so much so, that we have reason to suspect that more was
originally added. A very superficial knowledge of the laws of esoteric allegory
shows it to be so.
The main point of the allegory is the turning of "Water" (the Astral)
into "Wine", or Matter into Spirit.
1. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of
Jesus was there:
In all the Mysteries, after the four days of trial or temptation, came
the three days of descent into Hades, or the tomb, from which the
Glorified Candidate, or Initiate, arose.
"On the third day", therefore, means that the time for the final
Initiation had come, when Jesus, or the Neophyte, would become Christ, or the
Initiate; that is, at one with Buddhi or the Christ-principle. [ N.B.—
In diagrams where the principles are symbolically represented by a triangle
superimposed on a square, it should be remarked that after the "second
birth" the "principles" have to be rearranged]
(With reference to the 4 days mentioned above, it is interesting to note that
Jesus is said to have been tempted for 40 days. Here the nought is a
"blind", for in mystery numbers cyphers can be disregarded and
changed according to the rules of the method employed) [Page 27]
"There was a marriage in Cana" — that is to say, that the Disciple
was joined to his Higher Self, the marriage of the Adept with Sophia, Divine
Wisdom, or the Marriage of the Lamb, in Cana.
Now Cana or Khana is from a root which conveys the idea of a place consecrated
or set apart for a certain purpose. Khanak is the "royal abode" or
"the place of the ruler", with the Arabs. Cf. Devakhan, the
place consecrated to the Devas, i.e., a state of such bliss as Devas or
Angels are supposed to enjoy.
"And the Mother of Jesus was there," this means that the Candidate
was there in Body, or at least the lower "principles" were present;
for from this aspect the "Mother of Jesus" is especially the
Kama-rûpic "principle", that is to say, the vehicle of material human
desires, the giver of life, etc.. This must not be confounded with the higher
aspect, Buddhi the "Mother of Christ," the so-called Spiritual Soul.
The distinction is the same as that between Sophia the Divine, and Sophia
Achamoth, the Terrestro-Astral.
2. And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
That is to say, the Higher Manas or Ego (not Self) which was now dominant in
the Candidate and his disciples [The 12 "disciples" are the 3
aspects of the 4 lower principles, the Δ reflected in the □] or lower principles were present [Page28] as necessary to the purification of
the whole Man.
3. And when they wanted wine the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no
wine.
The mother of Jesus here signifies his now purified desire aspiring upwards.
The verse means that the human material passions of the lower self, the guests
at the festival, must be made drunk or paralyzed, before the " bridegroom
" can be married. It is the lower Manas (Sophia Achamoth), that says to
Jesus, "They have no wine", that is to say, the lower
"principles" are not yet spiritualized, and therefore not ready to
participate in the feast.
4. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee ? mine hour is not
yet come.
Woman (Matter or Water, the lower quaternary), what hath the Spirit Ego to do
with thee at this hour ? There is no unity as yet between me and thee, my hour
of Initiation is not yet come, I have not yet made myself one with Buddhi, my
Supernal Mother, when I shall be able to associate with thee without any
danger.
5. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
The servants are the lower "principles", their thoughts, instincts
and passions, the Lhamayin, or [Page 29] elementals and evil spirits, adverse to men and their
enemies.[ Cf. Voice of the Silence, page 58]
6. And there were set there six waterpots of stone after the manner of
the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
The six waterpots typify the six principles, the seven without Âtma the seventh
or universal principle — six from the earthly standpoint including the body.
These are the containing principles from Âkasha to the Astral; also the four
lower principles (the others being latent) filled with Astral Water. The Lower
Manas sports in the Astral waves.
7. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them
up to the brim.
In the Lesser Mysteries all the powers of the four lower planes were brought to
bear on the Candidate to test him.
The six waterpots were filled with Water — the symbol of Matter — that is to
say, that during the Neophyte's trials and temptations before Initiation, his
human passions being made full to the brim, he had to conquer them or fail.
Jesus, the Higher Manas, in changing that Water into Wine, or Divine Spirit,
conquers and is thus filled with the Wisdom of the Gods. (See ch. xv, " I
am the [Page 30] vine,"
etc.). Lustral water was given to the Neophyte to drink and turned into Wine at
the last moment; in India it was turned into the Soma juice, the Water of Life
Eternal.
8. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the
feast. And they bare it.
The "governor of the feast" was the chief official who had the
direction of the feast and servants and the duty of tasting the food and
drink. Here it typifies the conclave of Initiates who do not know whether the
Candidate will succeed or fail, and who have to test him. This explains the
sentence in the next verse, " he knew not whence it came", that is,
did not know until the Candidate had been fully tested.
9. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and
knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the
governor of the feast called the bridegroom.
The servants, or lower "principles", and the lower powers that had
been subjected to the purified will of the Christ-man, knew that the great
change was accomplished and that the lower "principles" were purified
and spiritualized.
The "bridegroom" is, of course, the Candidate, who is to be married
to his Higher or Divine Self, and so become a Son of God. [Page 31]
It is curious and interesting to remark in the ancient cosmogonies, especially
in the Egyptian and the Indian, how perplexing and intricate are the
relationships of the Gods and Goddesses. The same Goddess is mother, sister,
daughter and wife to a God. This most puzzling allegory is no freak of the
imagination, but an effort to explain in allegorical language the relation of
the "principles", or, rather, the various aspects of the one
"principle". Thus we may say that Buddhi (the vehicle of Âtma) is its
wife, and the mother, daughter, and sister of the Higher Manas, or rather Manas
in its connection with Buddhi, which is for convenience called the Higher
Manas. Without Buddhi Manas would be no better than animal instinct, therefore
she is its mother; and she is its daughter, child or progeny, because without
the conception which is only possible through Manas, Buddhi, the Spiritual
Power, or Shakti, would be inconceivable and unknowable.
10. And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine;
and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the
good wine until now.
"At the beginning" means when the Mânasa-putra first incarnated.
Every candidate as he progresses needs less and less good Wine, or Spirit, for
he becomes that Spirit himself as his powers and knowledge [Page 32] increase the new-won strength. At the
entrance of the Path "good wine", or the spiritual impetus, is given,
but as the disciple mounts the ladder such help is no longer needed, for he
tends ever more and more to become All-Spirit.
11-13. Narrative.
14. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the
changers of money sitting.
This represents the attitude of the Initiate to exoteric religion and his work
after he has attained the victory. The "temple" here signifies all
externals, exoteric creeds, or bodies of flesh.
"Oxen" typify material things, the physical man. In all symbology,
the bull has the significance of bodily strength and generative power. "
Sheep" typify the passions and desires which are subdued and tamed, and
"Doves" spiritual aspirations. The "money changers" are those
who traffic in spiritual things, the money-seeking priesthood.
15. And when he had made a scourge of small cords [symbolizing that which binds
the passions], he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the
oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
The "scourge", which appears so often on the Egyptian monuments and
cartouches, signifies [Page 33]
the means whereby the passions and lower nature are tamed. The noose of Shiva
has the same signification, symbolizing that whereby the passions, desires and
fears are bound together, tamed and subdued.
16. And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my
Father's house an house of merchandize.
Those "that sold doves" are the traffickers in spiritual knowledge.
"My Father's house" is the human body which is the temple of God,
that which should be naturally the temple of the Holy Ghost.
17. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house
hath eaten me up.
The domination of the lower man had devoured the higher.
18. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us,
seeing that thou doest these things ?
By what authority do you endeavour to reform the popular religion, what right
have you ?
19. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up. [Page 34]
That is to say, that he had passed through Initiation, and had died to his old
life, and risen again from the "dead " in a "new birth".
20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and
wilt thou rear it up in three days ?
Wilt thou with the three Fires do more, then, than with the forty-six ? — there
are in all forty-nine Fires, 7x7.
This document is a publication of the
Canadian Theosophical Association (a regional association of the Theosophical
Society in Adyar)
89 Promenade Riverside,
St-Lambert, QC J4R 1A3
Canada
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