Theos-Talk Archives (July 2003 Message tt00198)

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

RE: Origins of Christianity -- illumination -- Jesus


Dear Jan. and Friends:

As you observe the BIBLE ( Book of the Jews - including history
and laws) has very little to do with CHRISTIANITY.

Jesus sought to reform exoteric Judaism. He was a Rabbi and was
taught by Rabis, Buddhists (who had a "vihara" or monastery on
the banks of the Dead sea for centuries) by the Egyptian
Hierophants, and is even reputed to have travelled to India where
he was taught by the Rishis of the "snowy Ranges." H P B offers
the following account

Question:	"Have the adepts any secret records of his life?"

H.P.B.:	"They must have," she answered; "for they have records of
the lives of all Initiates. Once I was in a great cave-temple in
the Himalaya mountains, with my Master," and she looked at the
picture of the splendid Rajput; "there were many statues of
adepts there; pointing to one of them, he said: 'This is he
whom you call Jesus. We count him to be one of the greatest
among us.' "But that is not the only work of the adepts. At
much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach
the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each
century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for
this epoch."
THE THEOS. FORUM, New York, Apl, 1900


I U II p. 150 : Here Jesus is shown to be a real historical
character, a great reformer.
"All this points to the fact, that except a handful of
self-styled Christians who subsequently won the day, all the
civilized portion of the pagan world who knew of Jesus honoured
him as a philosopher an adept whom they placed on the same level
with Pythagoras and Apollonius. Whence such a veneration on their
part for a man, were he simply, as represented by the Synoptics,
a poor, unknown Jewish carpenter from Nazareth ? As an incarnated
God there is no single record of him on this earth capable of
withstanding the critical examination of science ; as one of the
greatest reformers, an inveterate enemy of every theological
dogmatism, a persecutor of bigotry, a teacher of one of the most
sublime codes of ethics, Jesus is one of the grandest and most
clearly-defined figures on the panorama of human history...."



And Mr. Judge said:


Question: "Do not the words and teachings of Jesus, taken in
their esoteric sense, point one (the) way to the Theosophic
Path?"

"WQJ: Taken in the sense he intended the people to take them,
they lead to the way. Taken in the sense in which he desired his
Disciples to receive them, they are teachings upon the way.
Taken in their esoteric sense -- as he knew them -- they are the
way. Were the wisdom of Egypt and India today blotted out from
both the seen and unseen worlds -- the true seeker would find in
his teachings, when rightly studied, all the teachings of Isis
and Buddha. As he received his instruction from Egypt, derived
from India, it is more than probable that esoterically his
teachings are identical with both."	WQJ ART II 459


Exoteric religions always had a source, a single ancient core,
and support the one Wisdom, which it was made H P B's mission to
expose again.


"The motive of Jesus was evidently like that of Gautama-Buddha,
to benefit humanity at large by producing a religious reform
which should give it a religion of pure ethics; the true
knowledge of God and nature having remained until- then solely in
the hands of the esoteric sects, and their adepts. p. 137 - To
assure ourselves that Jesus was a true Nazarene -- albeit with
ideas of a new reform -- we must not search for the proof in the
translated Gospels, but in such original versions as are
accessible. ... Thus, if we take in account all that is puzzling
and incomprehensible in the four Gospels, revised and corrected
as they now stand, we shall easily see for ourselves that the
true, original Christianity, such as was preached by Jesus, is to
be found only in the so-called Syrian heresies. Only from them
can we extract any clear notions about what was primitive
Christianity."	ISIS II 133


One need only read The SECRET DOCTRINE, ISIS UNVEILED and her
articles with care and the unity of all religions is plain. Here
are samples of what she wrote:


"We can assert, with entire plausibility, that there is not one
of all these sects--Kabalism, Judaism, and our present
Christianity included-- but sprung from the two main branches of
that one mother-trunk, the once universal religion, which
antedated the Vedic ages--we speak of that prehistoric Buddhism
which merged later into Brahmanism. The religion which the
primitive teaching of the early few apostles most resembled--a
religion preached by Jesus himself--is the elder of these two,
Buddhism. The latter as taught in its primitive purity, and
carried to perfection by the last of the Buddhas, Gautama, based
its moral ethics on three fundamental principles. It alleged
that 1, everything existing, exists from natural causes; 2, that
virtue brings its own reward, and vice and sin their own
punishment; and, 3, that the state of man in this world is
probationary. We might add that on these three principles rested
the universal foundation of every religious credal God, and
individual immortality for every man -- if he could but win it."
ISIS II 123


"... the secret doctrines of the Magi, of the pre-Vedic
Buddhists, of the hierophants of the Egyptian Thoth or Hermes,
and of the adepts of whatever age and nationality, including the
Chaldean kabalists and the Jewish nazars, were identical from the
beginning. When we use the term Buddhists, we do not mean to
imply by it either the exoteric Buddhism instituted by the
followers of Gautama-Buddha, nor the modern Buddhistic religion;
but the secret philosophy of Sakyamuni, which in its essence is
certainly identical with the ancient wisdom-religion of the
sanctuary, the pre-Vedic Brahmanism. (p. 143) Already some time
before our era, the adepts, except in India, had ceased to
congregate in large communities; but whether among the Essenes,
or the Neo-platonists, or, again, among the innumerable
struggling sects born but to die, the same doctrines, identical
in substance and spirit, if not always in form, are encountered.
By Buddhism, therefore, we mean that religion signifying
literally the doctrine of wisdom, and which by many ages
antedates the metaphysical philosophy of Siddartha Sakyamuni."
ISIS II 142


"...the followers of Jesus evidently adhered to a sect which
became a still more exasperating thorn...It appeared as a heresy
within another heresy; for while the nazars of the olden
time...were Chaldean kabalists, the adepts of the new dissenting
sect showed themselves reformers and innovators from the
first...The Essenes...were the converts of Buddhist missionaries
who had overrun Egypt, Greece, and even Jude at one time, since
the reign of Asoka the zealous propagandist; and while it is
evidently to the Essenes that belongs the honor of having had the
Nazarene reformer, Jesus, as a pupil, still the latter is found
disagreeing with his early teachers on several questions of
formal observance. He cannot strictly be called an
Essene...neither was he a nazar, or Nazaria of the older
sect...He is the founder of the sect of the new nazars, and...a
follower of the Buddhist doctrine...what is self-evident is that
he preached the philosophy of Buddha-Sakyamuni. Denounced by the
later prophets, cursed by the Sanhedrin, the nazars--they were
confounded with others of that name...they were secretly, if not
openly persecuted by the orthodox synagogue. It becomes clear
why Jesus was treated with such contempt from the first..."	ISIS
II 132


But seriously, the religion factor ought not be a divisive factor
at all.


For those who reason the dogmatic limits melt away. Those are
man-made, not GOD-made. If the same ONE DEITY reigns (as
impartial just LAW ) over the UNIVERSE, he has more to attend to
than this little, insignificant Earth. If the Priests of various
"faiths" were entrusted with the basic teachings of the Laws of
the Universe and our Earth, we cannot blame IT for human
distortions. One needs only look at the last 125 years of the
Theosophical reform to see how human limitations have caused
ripples and distortions.


"... belief in reincarnation has nothing in it that can militate
against the teachings of Christ. We affirm, furthermore, that
the great Nazarene Adept distinctly taught it. So did Paul and
the Synoptics, and nearly all the earliest Church Fathers, with
scarcely an exception, accepted it, while some actually taught
the doctrine."	HPB ART I 172


"Jesus, the Adept we believe in, taught our Eastern doctrines,
KARMA and REINCARNATION foremost of all. When the so-called
Christians will have learnt to read the New Testament between the
lines, their eyes will be opened and -- they will see."	HPB ART
I 175


What happened to the teachings of Jesus (oral) and their eventual
recording in the written Gospels? Here is what Theosophy says:


Whether Jesus belonged to the sect of the Nazarenes or Essenes is
difficult to establish but Jesus preached the philosophy of
Sakyamuni, the Buddha.

While Nazars of olden time were the Chaldean Kabalists, the
Essenes were the converts of Buddhist missionaries who had
overrun the Middle East, Egypt, Greece and even Judea at one
time, since the reign of king Asoka [Glos. pp. 55-6], a zealous
Buddhist, who sent out missionary Buddhist monks far and wide --
even as far as Ireland it is rumored.
[see ISIS UNVEILED II 132 and 133]

The Essenes [Glos. p. 115] were Buddhists, and have the honor of
the Nazarene reformer, Jesus, as a pupil, yet, the latter is
found disagreeing with his early teachers on questions of formal
observance. "He cannot strictly be called a Nazar, or a nazaria
of the older sect. What Jesus was, may be found in the Codex
Nazaraeus, in the unjust accusations of the Bardesanian
Gnostics." (we must note this hint and inquire into the Codex and
accounts of Bardesanian Gnostics). [Glos. pp. 226, 129, 50]

What does the Codex Nazareus [Glos., p. 86] say ? "Jesu is Nebu,
the false Messiah, the destroyer of the old orthodox religion."
It is further said in ISIS UNVEILED : He is the founder of the
sect of the new nazars -- a follower of the Buddhist doctrine.
Nebu is from naba, meaning inspiration in Hebrew, and Nebo is God
Of Wisdom. "But Nebo is also Mercury, and Mercury is Buddha in
the Hindu monogram of planets. Moreover, we find the Talmudists
holding that Jesus was inspired by the genius of Mercury
[Bodha - Wisdom. Glos. p. 226]."

He preached the philosophy of Buddha--Sakhyamuni. He belonged to
one of these sects who were cursed by the Sanhendrin and was
secretly persecuted by the orthodox.

Both in the KEY TO THEOSOPHY and ISIS UNVEILED we see parallels
drawn between the two great Reformer--Teachers : Jesus and
Gautama Buddha. [see ISIS UNVEILED II p. 133] It is said that
both of them had the same motive: 1. to reform the current
popular Jewish religion, and, 2. teaching pure Ethics, the
true teaching having been concealed as an exclusive property of
certain esoteric sects.


I U II p. 136 and 137 -- an account is given of how
Iranaeus manipulated the Gospels to make it appear that

(a) Jesus did not belong to the sect of Nazarenes, the school of
John the Baptist, and

(b) that his appellation Nazarene is derived from the fact that
his father 's residence was at Nazareth, and not because he
belonged to the sect of Nazarenes.


I U II p. 127	We are given a clue that Jesus was a true
Nazarene. With ideas of reform, we must not look for evidence in
the Gospels, which are fabrications, but seek in the true
original Christianity -- the remnants of the Gnostics. H P B
writs: "Thus, if we take into account all that is puzzling and
incomprehensible in the four Gospels, revised and corrected as
they now stand, we shall easily see for ourselves that the true,
original Christianity, such as was preached by Jesus, is to be
found in the so-called Syrian heresies. Only from them can we
extract any clear notions about what was primitive Christianity".


ISIS UNVEILED II p. 144. Jesus belonged to and received
initiation from Nazarenes in the desert and separated himself
from them and became an independent wandering Nazaria -- a
travelling therapeutae, a healer.


Here we see parallel between Gautama Buddha and Jesus. The former
received initiation from Brahmin Initiates and learnt all from
them, and seeing that the great life-giving truths were withheld
by this proud and exclusive caste from the masses, he separated
himself from his teachers and began preaching pure ethics and the
non-violent life to despised out-castes, servants, villagers, and
pariahs.


I U II p. 144	"Both Jesus and St. John the Baptist preached
the end of the Age; which proves their knowledge of the secret
computation of the priests and Kabalists, who with the chief of
the Essene communities alone had the secret of the duration of
the cycles. The latter were kabalists and theurgists." We are
told that the meaning of the division of time into ages is
esoteric, and Buddhistic. The uninitiated Christians never
understood this, and accepted the words of Jesus literally,
believing the world would end abruptly.


ISIS UNVEILED II p. 145 : Virtues such as renunciation,
charity, non-violence, etc., taught by Jesus were practiced by
both Essnes and Nazarenes. Christ was a teacher of
'metempsychoses' or reincarnation -- repeating the Essenean
teachings. The Essenes were Pythagoreans in their doctrines and
habits. Jesus spoke in parables and metaphors that can be traced
to the Essenes and Nazarenes.


ISIS UNVEILED II p.147 :	Like Pythagorean-Essenean methods
Jesus divided his teachings into the exoteric and the esoteric,
and divided his followers into "neophytes," "brethren" and the
"perfect." "But his career at least as a public Rabbi, was of a
too short duration tallow him to establish a regular school of
his own ; and with the exception, perhaps, of John, it does not
seem that he had initiated any other apostle."


I U II p. 148 : Sadducees (Zadokites) accused and crucified
Jesus for practicing the magic of Egyptians.


"... Talmudist says, in substance, the following: Jesus was
thrown in prison, and kept there forty days; then flogged as a
seditious rebel; then stoned as a blasphemer in a place called
Lud, and finally allowed to expire upon a cross. "All this,"
explains Levi, "because he revealed to the people the truths
which they (the Pharisees) wished to bury for their own use. He
had divined the occult theology of Israel, had compared it with
the wisdom of Egypt, and found thereby the reason for a
universal] religious synthesis."	ISIS II 202

[A similar description is given in H.P.B.'s Theosophical
Articles, Vol. III, pp. 180-181 ]


You may ask How? It is because many take as true the opinions of
others who pose as "Authorities." I always sat plainly: Do not
trust my opinions. Go to the TEACHINGS. Use those as the basis
for learning and decision making. Thus you become your own sure
authority, and are able to stand on your own capacity to reason,
and decide upon "common sense" matters that will affect your own
future.


Each one is responsible only to themselves for the decisions they
make. But some are lazy and don't want to make the time to study
and ascertain the value of opinions and statements of fact.

It is quite true that Rabbi Ezra made himself responsible after
the destruction of the 2nd Temple and the scrolls of the Torah
for their resurrection. He rewrote them from memory and made
certain changes, it is averred by some learned Rabbis who were
his contemporaries.

I hope this is of help.

Best wishes,

Dallas

===============================

-----Original Message-----
From: pepi
Sent:	Wednesday, July 16, 2003 8:48 AM
To:
Subject:	RE:: illumination



H P B indicates in ISIS UNVEILED and traces its evolution.
Considering Jewish exotericism was derived from their Kabala, the
Jewish
Kabala

______________________________________

Hello Dallas,

I certainly agree that there was an esotericism taught among
Semites,
but it should not be confused with the religion of Judaism, which
is no
older than the second temple period, or the Hebrew Bible, which
reflects
the barbaric attitudes and savage customs of ancient people. My
objection is when religionists claim that the Bible is the result
of
someone's "illumination." I would certainly not suggest to my
children
that they look to the Hebrew Bible for guidance on moral issues
or to
develop any understanding of Deity. Nor would I expect the Bible
to
provide any role models or examples of Realization. It fact, the
heroes
of the Bible are often poor examples of ethical behavior, to say
the
least, and much of what is put forth as righteous conduct is
rather
demoniac.

Janaki