The Prisoner

[QUOTING]

 

"See, my son, this is the guide on the way that leads to Freedom: you must give up your body before it dies and overcome the life of Conflict; then, if you have won that victory, you will return to the Highest"

 

- Corpus Hermeticum, Book V, Verse 14 -

You will understand that this text places before us the true Resurrection of the Soul, the liberation of the Soul from the hold of natural birth. This is a difficult task, but one that makes victory all the more beautiful.

The inner struggle every candidate has to fight is described in the gospels in the capture of Jesus the Lord, in his cross-examination before Herod, Pilate and the Sanhedrin, in his humiliation, his Way of the Cross and his death. Finally, we see his grandiose victory on the third day, the feast of resurrection. The Jesus drama signified the birth of the Soul and its course through matter, its liberation from matter and its ascent into the World of the Living Soul-state, from where it returned to serve mankind, to be helpful to the other chained ones.

If you are pupils of the young Gnosis, you will know that the Soul belongs to the Tri-Unity of Light, of the True Being: Spirit, Soul and Body. Each of these three aspects of the being has its own inherent function, so that a co-operation between the three is perfect and harmonious. The Soul acts as an intermediary, as a mediator between the Spirit and the Body. Its positive part is directed to the  Spirit, its negative part to the Body. So the outpouring of the Spirit-power into the Body takes place via the intermediary, the Soul.

Let us consider the case of the pupil of the young Gnosis who has decided to walk the path of piety. The consequence will be the birth of the New Soul. What does this mean? A light-power radiation of high serenity which is not of this world will penetrate the nature-born being via the heart sanctuary and take up residence in it. That is the birth of the New Soul. The immediate effect is an ever-increasing inner struggle, an ever-increasing tension.

Many pupils tell us time and time again that they live with this tension and cannot escape from it. That is only natural! As the radiation of the Living Soul-state enters the heart sanctuary, the Sword is thrust into your being, and the result is a tension which, at a given moment, can no longer be tolerated, leading to a great crisis. This will result in the liberation of the new Soul-state, in resurrection.

When the New Soul is born, the Body is influenced by a new Light-force. Yet, equally, many other forces are at work in the Body, natural forces which are absorbed by the root system of the serpent-fire from the surrounding dualistic field. As soon as the new Light-force chooses to dwell in the Body and act as a new intermediary principle, it is, as it were, taken prisoner at that very moment. The New Light in us is then waylaid by the natural powers represented by Herod's soldiers, the bands of the high priest of the natural being, the mercenaries of Pilate.

The new Soul-principle cannot and must not avoid this, even if it were possible. It agrees to be taken prisoner within the system, for its task is to surrender voluntarily to this Body. It must be the mediator in order to save the whole being and urge it on to Transfiguration. That is why Jesus the Lord must, in great calmness, voluntarily allow himself to be taken prisoner.

In this lies the essence of any possible Transfiguration! No one else can accomplish it for you. A great man who perhaps lived two thousand years ago cannot do anything for you; at best, he is an example to be followed. It is you yourself who must walk the Path. That is why Jesus the Lord says: "Be my followers". Perhaps you can visualize the extent of the initial struggle of the new Soul principle before it can achieve the Great Separation and be able to speak the positive "consummatum est", "it is accomplished". That which is true, pure and undefiled must deliberately and knowingly join with the unclean, the sinful, the nature-born. It must, in Perfect Love, allow itself to be spat at, kicked and flogged; it cannot and must not escape this. At the beginning of this very painful process, the new Soul-being may ask beseechingly: "Cannot this cup pass me by? Is there no other possibility?". But this cup must be emptied to the last drop in order to attain the Goal.

From "The Path from Bethlehem to Golgotha" - The Egyptian Arch-Gnosis, Vol. 2 - Jan van Rijckenborgh

[END QUOTING]

The above provides a glimpse into the powerful gnostic symbolism that is embedded in the four New Testament gospels. One would be well-advised to blow the dust off of his or her New Testament and begin to read it anew, utilizing the gnostic key to penetrate the veil that was put in place to protect the Doctrine of Liberation from the profane.

That said, the foregoing passage seeks to advise us that the Path of Return is not an easy one, especially in its initial stages. Although we have been struck in the heart by the Gnosis and the vibrations of this Touch have awakened our Divine Spark, we are still nature-born and in the grip of the archons and aeons of this nature. The Divine impulse that we have received is not yet strong enough to overcome the corrupted astral energies that rule our microcosm. In order to begin its purifying and liberating work, this Divine impulse must withstand an onslaught of forces inimical to it while waiting for the pupil to do that which is required to allow the gnostic power to grow in strength. It must increase while the "I" decreases.

Paradoxically, we act as both jailer and potential liberator to the Other One that is bound within us. Let us seek to abandon the role of persecutor and instead work to free the Divine Self yearning to be Reborn.

~ g
.