Man On The Path

[QUOTING]

We have been trying to penetrate deeply into essential things, into the immense and so very complex problem of true human existence. We have seen how a lifewave emerges from the Fundamental Nature and how every entity of that lifewave is a microcosm with a nucleus or soul at its central point, its heart. And we have seen how the Divine Thought underlying the plan of creation is reflected or manifested in the nucleus or soul. Ethers are abstracted  around this nucleus, which is composed of astral fire, and they flow out from it. These ethers mould themselves into an expression of the Spirit contained in the soul-nucleus.

In the beginning, the etheric form-manifestation was the True Man, the Heavenly Man, the human being originating from God. On the basis of this etheric matrix a more material manifestation also came into being, because of the fact that etheric atoms attract material atoms. The metabolic process of the pre-human being was so ideal, and the orientation of the spirit-souls so perfect, that no crystallization occurred and the permanent existence of the total human being was ensured.

We use the term 'total human being' because the entire microcosm participated and existed in that being. The higher self was analogous to the lower self, and both were in absolute equilibrium. There was only the self, which was manifested in and by the microcosm as a whole.

At the beginning of its manifestation, the self followed a path leading to the fulfillment of a glorious plan of eternal plenitude, of eternal genesis, a journey from glory to glory: the never-ending unfoldment of the plan of God-in-him; provided the entity was willing to devote itself, without deviation, to this Great, Glorious Aim in absolute recognition, from within, in freedom and love.

However, amid the majesty of existence, in the dizzying grandeur of the divine-human kingship, man forgot that he was a creature; he forgot that from the outermost parts of his microcosmic field to his innermost nucleus, and from that nucleus to every aspect of his manifestation, he had to dedicate himself totally to the law on which his being was founded.

With his tremendous capacities, he stepped outside the law. He experimented with his divine faculties and thus entered into 'denial'. In this way, crystallizations developed, densifications; the results of infringing the law made themselves felt. Other, false astral fires began to burn, and denial, the sin of ignorance, was succeeded by death. In other words, in the early stages, the crystallizations, the alien configurations of the elements and forces were broken up and destroyed as soon as they had reached their culmination. Man witnessed the eventual collapse and destruction of everything he had built up.

But with the continuation of the primary sin of denial, the soul-spirit nucleus (the Rose of the Heart) lost the ability to manifest itself. In this way, the divine human being, the Spirit-Man, disappeared as the manifestation of the soul-spirit nucleus, and its structure of lines of force was re-absorbed into the nucleus. The divine human being had vanished; while living, he had died. As 'the image with dead eyes', to use Gustav Meyrink's term, he had returned into the principle of the soul. The microcosm, God's eternal creation, had been emptied and was no longer capable of manifesting itself from within.

But we know that 'God never forsakes the works of His hands', and that is why the emergency order was founded. We will not explain, here, how that emergency order came into being, but will confine ourselves to stating that mortal entities, born through the earthly process of maintenance , were allied with and introduced into emptied microcosms, with the aim of awakening the microcosms' former soul-spirit nucleus from its sleep of death and thus revivifying  the image with the dead eyes.

Those who accomplish this grand and glorious work undergo that wonderful change we call transfiguration, that is, the unification of the nature-born lower self with the revivifying true or higher self.

Here, a warning is called for. There also exists a false higher self in the microcosm, which has already claimed countless victims. It is the product of the many nature-born beings who inhabited your microcosm before you. It is the karmic self, or auric being. Millions of anthroposophically, theosophically and religiously inclined people have been and are being victimized by the karmic self.

Every nature-born human being leaves its traces in the auric being, the results of its unholy life. This karma, these traces, accumulate. Every nature-born being who begins to walk the Great Path of Liberation is therefore faced, alas, with a dual task. Before he can set foot on the Path of Transfiguration, he must first liquidate the karma, the karmic self. Remember Jesus the Lord when he was tempted in the desert. He, too, first had to settle accounts with the karmic self.

To a certain extent, this karma is vivified in one's own self. It is the microcosmic adversary, which must be recognized and overcome. But I-centered people are without exception victimized by it time and time again, for the karmic self depends for its existence on the cultivation of the mortal personality.

We are participants in the young Gnosis, who are united in the Living Body and who wish to follow anew the age-old path of the Holy Grail. By virtue of our professing pupilship we are linked again with the wondrous nucleus of our microcosm. That ancient nucleus, which has been slumbering in our system for such an inexpressibly long time, is beginning to open again for us, who have devoted ourselves to the holy Rosycross. This immortal soul, this wondrous divine nucleus of the microcosm, speaks again to our nature-born soul: the image with the dead eyes is beginning to stare at us, with a deeply penetrating gaze, so that we can no longer be at peace, by day or by night. In this way, together, we stand once more at the threshold of the Path of Return to the Father's House.

And what is necessary now? Firstly, rebirth, the re-animation of the Original Soul. Secondly, our own transfiguration. Thirdly, the union of the two, of the Original Soul, the true higher self, with the nature-born lower self, the unification of the transfigured nature-born human being with the Original Soul-Man.

From "Man On The Path" - The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis Vol III - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

Try to understand. In the beginning, the Original Soul, the True Human Being, manifested a mighty personality for itself out of the Power that resides in the microscosmic nucleus, the Rose of the Heart. There was no need for copulation, sexual reproduction, or birth as we experience it today. The Soul was
self-realizing, and this is the true, gnostic meaning of what is meant by the term 'self-realization'.

When we transgressed against the laws of the Divine, we lost the ability to self-realize. The mortal means of reproduction became necessary once we lost this ability and descended into the emergency-order of death, the physical realm. That seed-atom, that nucleus, now lies slumbering in the hearts of those who bear this spirit-spark atom. If we can awaken it, it will attract once again the pure, holy ethers that are needed to purify the microcosm and prepare it as a habitation for the New Soul. If, no, when we are successful, the microcosm will regain its ability to self-realize.

And what will happen to "us", the current personalities inhabiting our microcosms?

Remember, buried in our microcosm is the complete, detailed memory of all the experiences of all the personalities that preceded us. Some of these lives were quite horrific, some were boring and mundane, while yet some others were soaringly magnificent in relation to the amount of knowledge and power we had at our disposal! Although it is more than likely that these personalities probably abused these attributes in the distant past, the experiences are still there, buried in the auric being of our microcosm.

When the New Spirit-Soul is reborn, remembrance will come with it. The microcosm's current personality (that's you and me) will merge the experiences of all the prior personalities into its consciousness, essentially becoming one with all that we were and availing the microcosm of access to a tremendous amount of Wisdom. Spirit, 'the bridegroom', will descend into this purified microcosm and unite with its 'bride', the New Soul and, together with the newly Transfigured (etheric, vital) Body, the Tri-unity - the Heavenly Man - will be re-born, in full remembrance, raised in power.

'Snow White', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Pinocchio'. Myths of all ages have tried to tell mankind the same tale: that which was asleep, can be awakened by a kiss, or by service-to-others. These myths lost their true meaning for humanity long ago.

If you have understood any of what you've just read, then the Truth behind those fables should now be apparent. These are not children's fairy tales. These are stories of humanity's Fall from Grace and the Path of Return.

These are the tales of our past and, even more importantly, our present.

~ g
.