(i) St Thomas Gospel v6 to v10
This gospel is a collection of teachings attributed to Christ. We look at St Thomas Gospel v6 to v10 and its relationship to light and sound meditation.
(6) His disciples questioned him and said to him, “Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?”
Jesus said, “Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered.”
When people first approach a spiritual path they are keen to know the things that will help them along the way. Together with this we tend to come with lots of pre conceived ideas as to what is ‘spiritual’ and ‘non spiritual’ behaviour. Fasting, alms & diet are all outward forms of indirect worship and Jesus tries to steer them away from these being the most important. What he seems to emphasise is that it is vital to be true to yourself and not make an enemy of yourself. He also re emphasises the point that everything may be discovered on the spiritual path and the churches notion that you have to die before going to heaven just does not fit with what he is saying.
(7) Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man.”
Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man = lion = our ego and lower nature. Pride of the Lion. We can bring in the ‘Strength card from the tarot here:
In the card the lady controls the lion. This is trying to convey symbolically that we has control over the lower instincts and emotions. Christ is conveying a similar message.
cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man = this is saying that a man is afflicted when he lets his emotions rule him, and when the lion becomes a man (in other words the man is consumed by his lower nature and is therefore a lion disguised as a man), he is representing a lower aspect of mankind and is not a conduit for the expression of his spirituality or God. Even worse, he may be trying to express God through his emotions and this gives rise to religious fanaticism and all its inherent ills.
(8) And he said, “The man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Fish = the ideas that we ‘catch’. Jesus often referred to ‘fishermen’ in the bible, and it represents the zodiac sign of Pisces, a sensitive spiritual sign.
Wise fisherman catching small fish = the ‘little’ things that help us along the way but are not necessarily the most important
Large fish = the crux of what we have to grasp. We recognise the most important thing and need to focus on that directly so we can discard the smaller or unhelpful things. It is reminding us to focus and be discriminating on what will help us on our journey to God or lead us away from him.
Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear = listening for God. This can be reference directly to the ‘sound current’ or ‘Shabd’(as the Indian Saints refer to) that can be meditated upon inside. It is the word of God that cannot be heard by the physical ears.
(9) Jesus said, “Now the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered them. Some fell on the road; the birds came and gathered them up. Others fell on the rock, did not take root in the soil, and did not produce ears. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed(s) and worms ate them. And others fell on the good soil and it produced good fruit: it bore sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure.”
Sowing of seeds = the ‘teachings’ of Christ and spirituality and the planting of them in the hearts of men.
Rock = something that is impenetrable. We need to be open in our hearts and mind to receive spiritual teachings. It’s like the balance between Yin and Yang. If we are too ‘Yang’ on the outside nothing can penetrate it. God’s message cannot grow in the ‘soil on the inside of us’, or the fertile part of man.
Worms ate the seeds = worms are of the earth and are symbolic of the teachings being lost in those that cannot raise themselves beyond attachment to the earth and worldly things. The teachings are instead brought down to their level and are consumed or lost.
Good soil ..bore sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure = 60 + 120 = 180 = 1+8 = 9. We have seen in previous articles that the number 9 stands for elevated human consciousness. So the teachings were planted on fertile soil in the hearts of man and they grew to elevate his consciousness spiritually.
(10) Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes.
Fire upon the world = spiritual fire inside as talked about in the book of revelations. The teachings of ‘Alice Bailey’ talk about the various “solar” and human fires. It has nothing to do with Jesus coming down in Armageddon style from heaven as mis-interpretated by orthodox Christianity. It refers to a level of consciousness as identified by the Greeks, along with water (The Flood) and Air.
I am guarding it until it blazes = Christ does not waste energy on spreading the teachings unwisely. He carefully teaches it in a constructive way until the ‘spiritual fires’ within man blaze to full glory and he can realise his true nature in God.
David Koresh got it badly wrong:
David Koresh (born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was the American leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990 (Koresh being the Persian name of Cyrus the Great ( کوروش, Kurosh ). A 1993 raid by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the subsequent siege by the FBI ended with the burning of the Branch Davidian ranch outside of Waco, Texas, in McLennan County. Koresh, 54 other adults, and 28 children were found dead after the fire.
When we try to follow our spiritual path through or lower nature and emotions the damage that has been caused over the centuries through religion and cults has been immense and it has been all in the name of ‘God’ !
(ii) St Thomas v6 to v10 Links
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