(i) Cain and Abel Introduction

Cain and Abel Our Inner Struggle : Moving the Genesis story on to Cain and Abel which represent the inner struggle inside EVERYONE. Their story is allegory for the left and the right side of us. Chinese called it Yin and Yang. The right spiritual side and the left material and this is outlined by examination of the scripture below.

(ii) Cain and Abel Our Inner Struggle 

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Cain means a ‘tiller of the soil’.

Here our mind is the soil, the earth, our ideas which you dig up and express in life.

Religion would also fall into the category of Cain as it is intellectual dogma.

Abel means’ keeper of the sheep’.

The sheep are the divine thoughts & the goal is to keep your concentration on them as much as possible.

The shepherds were the first ones to see the Christ child because they were watching their thoughts. So Abel represented God and truth, Cain represented our own thoughts and ideas, the mind! In meditation the goal is to keep our concentration on the divine represented by Abel.

Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

So we have to examine what is important about the first flock or the first born

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

Verse 3 means he was bringing to the Lord that which grew out of him in other words that which came from his personality or lower nature not that which originated in spirit. We can look at:

1^st Corinthians 15: 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

When you come to see God you must sacrifice that which is the natural part of us i.e. our personal attributes, our mind, thoughts & feelings.

So the ‘first flock’ is his lower nature, the thing closest to him or where his identity naturally lies which is out in the world. This must be sacrificed so the spiritual part can grow. The spiritual and material cannot live together where both are dominant. The body and mind must serve the spiritif we are to successfully walk the spiritual path.

Genesis 4: 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

We sit down in meditation and sacrifice our first born i.e. our personality and we must be prepared surrender this and we let spirit grow in the space that is created.

However, Cain is always lurking in the background, and if we stray from our spiritual purpose he will slay us. In other words, the world will consume us and we die spiritually. We will find a reason not to meditateor follow our spiritual cause, not to attend to spirit, and Cain will slay us. This is what the symbolism of Cain and Abel is all about, the struggle within ourselves between the spirit that wants to ascend and the mind which does not.

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

This is saying what we actually think and grow in our minds is of no relevance in seeking God. The mind can never know God, we must be empty. What we have read and ‘learned’ means nothing. God does not need to learn anything so we have to ‘unlearn’ to our worldly knowledge in order to have the space to let him through into our lives. We can take this further and say even doing ’good works’ in the world will not get us any closer to God. We must be prepared to let go of everything.

Here Cain is plotting the death of his brother Abel.

8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

We are spiritually dead when life becomes too important for us that we forget what our true purpose is. We have been killed by our brother which is our mind. The mind is black and blocks out the light of God. When we meditate most people see darkness that is the mind. Some people see colours which relates to astral light. The pure white light is that which is not tainted with the mind. If we are able to meditate deeply enough this is a very purifying process and the love that binds the creation together can be felt.

Genesis 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

So now we have widespread rejection of the flesh and the material side. Religion is a big culprit of this with a misplaced interpretation of the concept of ‘sin’. In the dark ages there was much persecution of the masses with killings made in the name of God as American playwright Arthur Miller gives account in the ‘Crucible’ in 1953. This continues today in 2014 with large scale perversions of spiritual texts.

15  And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

We have been talking a lot about the importance of our spiritual side but this must go hand in hand with taking care of ourselves personally and making sure there is some sort of life balance. Buddha recommended the ‘middle way’ and living a life putting spirituality first does not mean an abstinence from our worldly duties or desires. We have a physical form to be a unique conduit for God and our personalities add colour to this expression.

God places a mark on Cain = God will not allow the destruction of the lower self. It must be allowed to co- exist alongside our spiritual side but must be a servant to it rather than the dominant one.

Summary: The story of Cain & Abel is a struggle between our carnal and spiritual nature. Both must exist but if the carnal side dominates(Cain) or spirit(Abel) will be slayed.

(iii) Cain And Abel YouTube Video Link

Below is a Youtube link for  video on Cain and Abel by Bill Donahue. He is extremely good at unravelling the spiritual allegorys of the Bible.

482 Adam & Eve Cain & Abel – Bill Donahue

Other Links

Spiritual Hierarchy

Meditation Group

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