The Brotherhood

[QUOTING]

1 Brothers in belief, there are two roads through life: the Road of Good and the Road of Evil. They are not clearly-defined roads and often run side-by-side, and sometimes cross each other. Those who travel without a guide or in darkness often mistake one road for the other. We are those who have chosen to walk in Light, a brotherhood of men who travel the Road of Good together in companionship.

2 We are companions on the Great Path of the True Way, and when an instructing brother speaks of the Great Path of the True Way he speaks of a double path. The Companions of the Right Hand are those who bear the burdens of earthly labor and advancement, for they require strength, dexterity and steadiness. The Companions of the Left Hand are those who bear the burdens of spiritual labor and enlightenment, things closer to the heart of man.

3 The brotherhood is separated into two parts. There is an Earthly Brotherhood, and though it may be small in numbers and have few possessions, this will not always be so. There is also a Heavenly Brotherhood comprising certain of the Twice-Born and their followers who have gone before. Their task is to clear the Netherworld of demons and dark spirits and prepare the way for those who follow. They are like men who enter a new country and must clear it of wild beasts and bring the land under control. It is the task of those above and those below to build a road joining the two territories.

4 Your brother is not so well-equipped to instruct in earthly matters, and therefore leaves it to another. The caravan moves quicker when each man rides his own camel. In spiritual matters, the most important is that each man should awaken his own Soul, a task far more difficult than it may appear, but for which the earth is a dedicated instrument.

5 The first objective to attain towards this end is self-taming. Just as a horse has to be broken in before it can be of any service, so has the mortal body of man to be tamed and brought under control. To do this requires not only self-discipline, but also the ability to rise above earthly conditions. No easy task, for Earth is a hard taskmaster and worthy adversary, and the mortal body of man a unruly steed.

6 The duties, the obligations and the restraints by which those who follow the Great Path of the True Way direct their steps are not imposed capriciously. They are, in fact, no more than the bare essentials covering the first steps. That is why everyone, before admittance into the brotherhood, must accept every obligation and decree covering our way of life. We do not claim to know the only path, undoubtedly there are others, but we can claim to know the best. The top of the mountain may be reached by many paths, but the shortest one is always the best.

From The Kolbrin: Books of the Sons of Fire: Chapter 3 - The Brotherhood

[END QUOTING]

The above dates from thousands of years in the past. In every age, there is a Gnostic brotherhood whose task is to lead yearning seekers to Final Liberation. These brotherhoods work both on the terrestrial plane and beyond the veil. Each preceding brotherhood passes on its charge to the next. This chain is unbreakable and reaches from here to the Divine Kingdom.

As mentioned, there are many paths to Liberation, but the majority of these paths will cause the traveler to meander his way up the mountainside for ages before reaching the summit. There is only one Path by which the seeker can bore a shaft directly from this nature-order to Eternal Life. This is the Path that the Brotherhood both guards and offers to all who are willing to walk it.

 

Enter by way of the narrow gate,

For wide is the gate

and broad is the road which leads to Destruction,

And many are those who travel on it.

But narrow is the door

and difficult is the road that leads to Life,

And few are those who are found on it.

Matthew 7:13-14

~ g
.