SECTION .I

ALEPH

Birth and Early Life of Mary, Mother of Jesus

CHAPTER 1

Palestine.  Birth of Mary, Joachim’s feast.  Mary is blessed by the priests.
A priest’s prophecy.   Mary abides in the temple.  Is betrothed to Joseph.

AUGUSTUS Caesar reigned and Herod Antipas was ruler of Jerusalem.
2) Three provinces comprised the land of Palestine: Judea, Samaria and Galilee.
3) Joachim was a master of the Jewish law, a man of wealth; he lived in Nazareth of Galilee; and Anna, of the tribe of Judah, was his wife.
4) To them was born a child, a goodly female child, and they were glad; and Mary was the name they gave the child.
5) Joachim made a feast in honor of the child; but he invited not the rich, the honored and the great; he called the poor, the halt, the lame, the blind, and to each one he gave a gift of raiment, food or other needful thing.
6) He said,
The Lord has given me this wealth; I am his steward by his grace, and if I give not to his children when in need, then he will make this wealth a curse.
7) Now, when the child was three years old her parents took her to Jerusalem, and in the temple she received the blessings of the priests.
8) The high priest was a prophet and a seer, and when he saw the child he said,
9) Behold, this child will be the mother of an honored prophet and a master of the law; she shall abide within this holy temple of the Lord.
10) And Mary did abide within the temple of the Lord; and Hillel, chief of the Sanhedrin, taught her all the precepts of the Jews, and she delighted in the law of God.
11) When Mary reached the age of womanhood she was betrothed to Joseph, son of Jacob, and a carpenter of Nazareth.
12) And Joseph was an upright man, and a devoted Essene.

SECTION II

BETH

Birth and Infancy of John, the Harbinger, and of Jesus

CHAPTER 2

Zacharias and Elizabeth.  Prophetic messages of Gabriel to Zacharias,
Elizabeth and Mary.   Birth of John.  Prophecy of Zacharias.

NEAR Hebron in the hills of Judah, Zacharias and Elizabeth abode.
2) They were devout and just, and every day they read the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms which told of one to come, strong to redeem; and they were waiting for the king.
3) Now, Zacharias was a priest, and in his turn he led the temple service in Jerusalem.
4) It came to pass as Zacharias stood before the Lord and burned the incense in the Holy Place, that Gabriel came and stood before his face.
5) And Zacharias was afraid; he thought that some great evil was about to come upon the Jews.
6) But Gabriel said,
O man of God, fear not; I bring to you and all the world, a message of good will, and peace on earth.
7) Behold, the Prince of Peace, the king you seek, will quickly come.
8) Your wife will bear to you a son, a holy son, of whom the prophet wrote,
9) Behold, I send Elijah unto you again before the coming of the Lord; and he will level down the hills and fill the valleys up, and pave the way for him who shall redeem.
10) From the beginning of the age your son has borne the name of John, the mercy of the Lord; his name is John.
11) He will be honored in the sight of God, and he will drink no wine, and from his birth he will be filled with Holy Breath.
12) And Gabriel stood before Elizabeth as she was in the silence of her home, and told her all the words that he had said to Zacharias in Jerusalem.
13) When he had done the service of his course, the priest went home, and with Elizabeth rejoiced.
14) Five months passed by and Gabriel came to Mary in her home in Nazareth and said,
15) Hail Mary, hail! Once blessed in the name of God; twice blessed in the name of Holy Breath; thrice blessed in the name of Christ; for you are worthy, and will bear a son who shall be called Immanuel.
16) His name is Jesus, for he saves his people from their sins.
17) When Joseph’s daily task was done he came, and Mary told him all the words that Gabriel spoke to her, and they rejoiced; for they believed that he, the man of God, had spoken words of truth.
18) And Mary went with haste to tell Elizabeth about the promises of Gabriel; together they rejoiced.
19) And in the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth did Mary tarry ninety days; then she returned to Nazareth.
20) To Zacharias and Elizabeth a son was born, and Zacharias said,
21) Most blessed be the name of God, for he has opened up the fount of blessings for his people, Israel.
22) His promises are verified; for he has brought to pass the words which holy prophets spoke in olden times.
23) And Zacharias looked upon infant John, and said,
24) You will be called the prophet of the Holy One; and you will go before his face, and will prepare his way.
25) And you will give a knowledge of salvation unto Israel; and you will preach the gospel of repentance and the blotting out of sins.
26) Behold, for soon the Day Star from on high will visit us, to light the way for those who sit within the darkness of the shadow-land, and guide our feet unto the ways of peace.

CHAPTER 3

Birth of Jesus.  Masters honor the child.  The shepherds rejoice.
Zacharias and Elizabeth visit Mary. Jesus is circumcised.

THE time was nearly due for Jesus to be born, and Mary longed to see Elizabeth, and she and Joseph turned their faces toward the Judean hills.
2) And when, upon their way, they came to Bethlehem, the day was done, and they must tarry for the night.
3) But Bethlehem was thronged with people going to Jerusalem; the inns and homes were filled with guests, and Joseph and his wife could find no place to rest but in a cave where animals were kept; and there they slept.
4) At midnight came a cry,
A child is born in yonder cave among the beasts.
And lo, the promised son of man was born.
5) And strangers took the little one and wrapped him in the dainty robes that Mary had prepared and laid him in a trough from which the beasts of burden fed.
6) Three persons clad in snow-white robes came in and stood before the child and said,
7) All strength, all wisdom and all love be yours, Immanuel.
8) Now, on the hills of Bethlehem were many flocks of sheep with shepherds guarding them.
9) The shepherds were devout, were men of prayer, and they were waiting for a strong deliverer to come.
10) And when the child of promise came, a man in snow-white robe appeared to them, and they fell back in fear. The man stood forth and said,
11) Fear not! behold I bring you joyful news. At midnight in a cave in Bethlehem was born the prophet and the king that you have long been waiting for.
12) And then the shepherds all were glad; they felt that all the hills were filled with messengers of light, who said,
13) All glory be to God on high; peace, peace on earth, good will to men.
14) And then the shepherds came with haste to Bethlehem and to the cave, that they might see and honor him whom men had called Immanuel.
15) Now, when the morning came, a shepherdess whose home was near, prepared a room for Mary, Joseph and the child; and here they tarried many days.
16) And Joseph sent a messenger in haste to Zacharias and Elizabeth to say,
The child is born in Bethlehem.
17) And Zacharias and Elizabeth took John and came to Bethlehem with words of cheer.
18) And Mary and Elizabeth recounted all the wondrous things that had transpired. The people joined with them in praising God.
19) According to the custom of the Jews, the child was circumcised; and when they asked,
What will you call the child?
the mother said,
His name is Jesus, as the man of God declared.

CHAPTER 4

Consecration of Jesus.  Mary offers sacrifices.  Simeon and Anna prophesy.
Anna is rebuked for worshipping the child. The family returns to Bethlehem.

NOW, Mary took her son, when he was forty days of age, up to the temple in Jerusalem, and he was consecrated by the priest.
2) And then she offered purifying sacrifices for herself, according to the custom of the Jews; a lamb and two young turtle doves.
3) A pious Jew named Simeon was in the temple serving God.
4) From early youth he had been looking for Immanuel to come, and he had prayed to God that he might not depart until his eyes had seen Messiah in the flesh.
5) And when he saw the infant Jesus he rejoiced and said,
I now am ready to depart in peace, for I have seen the king.
6) And then he took the infant in his arms and said,
Behold, this child will bring a sword upon my people, Israel, and all the world; but he will break the sword and then the nations will learn war no more.
7) The master’s cross I see upon the forehead of this child, and he will conquer by this sign.
8) And in the temple was a widow, four and eighty years of age, and she departed not, but night and day she worshipped God.
9) And when she saw the infant Jesus she exclaimed,
Behold Immanuel! Behold the signet cross of the Messiah on his brow!
10) And then the woman knelt to worship him, as God with us, Immanuel; but one, a master, clothed in white, appeared and said,
11) Good woman, stay; take heed to what you do; you may not worship man; this is idolatry.
12) This child is man, the son of man, and worthy of all praise. You shall adore and worship God; him only shall you serve.
13) The woman rose and bowed her head in thankfulness and worshipped God.
14) And Mary took the infant Jesus and returned to Bethlehem.

CHAPTER 5

Three magian priests honor Jesus.  Herod is alarmed.  Calls a council of the Jews.
Is told that prophets had foretold the coming of a king.  Herod resolves to kill the child.
Mary and Joseph take Jesus and flee into Egypt.

BEYOND the river Euphrates the magians lived; and they were wise, could read the language of the stars, and they divined that one, a master soul, was born; they saw his star above Jerusalem.
2) And there were three among the magian priests who longed to see the master of the coming age; and they took costly gifts and hastened to the West in search of him, the newborn king, that they might honor him.
3) And one took gold, the symbol of nobility; another myrrh, the symbol of dominion and of power; gum-thus the other took, the symbol of the wisdom of the sage.
4) Now when the magians reached Jerusalem the people were amazed, and wondered who they were and why they came.
5) And when they asked,
Where is the child that has been born a king?
the very throne of Herod seemed to shake.
6) And Herod sent a courtier forth to bring the magians to his court.
7) And when they came they asked again,
Where is the newborn king?
And then they said,
While yet beyond the Euphrates we saw his star arise, and we have come to honor him.
8) And Herod blanched with fear. He thought,
perhaps, the priests were plotting to restore the kingdom of the Jews,
and so he said within himself,
I will know more about this child that has been born a king.
9) And so he told the magian priests to tarry in the city for a while and he would tell them all about the king.
10) He called in council all the Jewish masters of the law and asked,
What have the Jewish prophets said concerning such a one?
11) The Jewish masters answered him and said,
The prophets long ago foretold that one would come to rule the tribes of Israel; that this Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
12) They said,
The prophet Micah wrote,
O Bethlehem Judea, a little place among the Judean hills, yet out of you will one come forth to rule my people, Israel; yea, one who lived in olden times, in very ancient days.
13) Then Herod called the magian priests again and told them what the masters of the Jewish law had said; and then he sent them on the way to Bethlehem.
14) He said,
Go search, and if you find the child that has been born a king, return and tell me all, that I may go and honor him.
15) The magians went their way and found the child with Mary in the shepherd’s home.
16) They honored him; bestowed upon him precious gifts and gave him gold, gum-thus and myrrh.
17) These magian priests could read the hearts of men; they read the wickedness of Herod’s heart, and knew that he had sworn to kill the new born king.
18) And so they told the secret to the parents of the child, and bid them flee beyond the reach of harm.
19) And then the priests went on their homeward way; they went not through Jerusalem.
20) And Joseph took the infant Jesus and his mother in the night and fled to Egypt land, and with Elihu and Salome in ancient Zoan they abode.

CHAPTER 6

Herod learns of the mission of John.  The infants of Bethlehem are massacred by Herod’s order.  Elizabeth escapes with John. Because Zacharias cannot tell where his son is hidden, he is murdered.  Herod dies.

NOW, when the magian priests did not return to tell him of the child that had been born a king, King Herod was enraged.
2) And then his courtiers told him of another child in Bethlehem, one born to go before and to prepare the people to receive the king.
3) This angered more and more the king; he called his guards and bid them go to Bethlehem and slay the infant John, as well as Jesus who was born to be a king.
4) He said,
Let no mistake be made, and that you may be sure to slay these claimants to my throne, slay all the male children in the town not yet two years of age.
5) The guards went forth and did as Herod bade them do.
6) Elizabeth knew not that Herod sought to slay her son, and she and John were yet in Bethlehem; but when she knew, she took the infant John and hastened to the hills.
7) The murderous guards were near; they pressed upon her hard; but then she knew the secret caves in all the hills, and into one she ran and hid herself and John until the guards were gone.
8) Their cruel task was done; the guards returned and told the story to the king.
9) They said,
We know that we have slain the infant king; but John his harbinger, we could not find.
10) The king was angry with his guards because they failed to slay the infant John; He sent them to the tower in chains.
11) And other guards were sent to Zacharias, father of the harbinger, while he was serving in the Holy Place, to say,
The king demands that you shall tell where is your son.
12) But Zacharias did not know, and he replied,
I am a minister of God, a servant in the Holy Place; how could I know where they have taken him?
13) And when the guards returned and told the king what Zacharias said, he was enraged and said,
14) My guards, go back and tell that wily priest that he is in my hands; that if he does not tell the truth, does not reveal the hiding place of John, his son, then he shall die.
15) The guards went back and told the priest just what the king had said.
16) And Zacharias said,
I can but give my life for truth; and if the king does shed my blood the Lord will save my soul.
17) The guards again returned and told the king what Zacharias said.
18) Now, Zacharias stood before the altar in the Holy Place engaged in prayer.
19) A guard approached and with a dagger thrust him through; he fell and died before the curtain of the sanctuary of the Lord.
20) And when the hour of salutation came, for Zacharias daily blessed the priests, he did not come.
21) And after waiting long the priests went to the Holy Place and found the body of the dead.
22) And there was grief, deep grief, in all the land.
23) Now Herod sat upon his throne; he did not seem to move; his courtiers came; the king was dead. His sons reigned in his stead.

SECTION III

GIMEL

Education of Mary and Elizabeth in Zoan

CHAPTER 7

Archelaus reigns. Mary and Elizabeth with their sons are in Zoan and are
taught by Elihu and Salome.  Elihu’s introductory lesson.  Tells of a transcriber.

THE son of Herod, Archelaus, reigned in Jerusalem. He was a selfish, cruel king; he put to death all those who did not honor him.
2) He called in council all the wisest men and asked about the infant claimant to his throne.
3) The council said that John and Jesus both were dead; then he was satisfied.
4) Now Joseph, Mary and their son were down in Egypt in Zoan, and John was with his mother in the Judean Hills.
5) Elihu and Salome sent messengers in haste to find Elizabeth and John. They found them and they brought them to Zoan.
6) Now, Mary and Elizabeth were marveling much because of their deliverance.
7) Elihu said,
It is not strange; there are no (random) happenings; law governs all events.
8) From olden times it was ordained that you should be with us, and in this sacred school be taught.
9) Elihu and Salome took Mary and Elizabeth out to the sacred grove nearby where they were wont to teach.
10) Elihu said to Mary and Elizabeth,
You may esteem yourselves thrice blest, for you are chosen mothers of long promised sons,
11) Who are ordained to lay in solid rock a sure foundation stone on which the temple of the perfect man shall rest ? a temple that shall never be destroyed.
12) We measure time by cycle ages, and the gate to every age we deem a milestone in the journey of the (human) race.
13) An age has passed; the gate unto another age flies open at the touch of time. This is the preparation age of soul, the kingdom of Immanuel, of God in man;
14) And these, your sons, will be the first to tell the news, and preach the gospel of good will to men, and peace on earth.
15) A mighty work is theirs; for carnal men want not the light, they love the dark, and when the light shines in the dark they comprehend it not.
16) We call these sons Revealers of the Light; but they must have the light before they can reveal the light.
17) And you must teach your sons, and set their souls on fire with love and holy zeal, and make them conscious of their missions to the sons of men.
18) Teach them that God and man were one; but that through carnal thoughts and words and deeds, man tore himself away from God; debased himself.
19) Teach that the Holy Breath would make them one again, restoring harmony and peace;
20) That naught can make them one but Love; that God so loved the world that he has clothed his son in flesh that man may comprehend.
21) The only Savior of the world is love, and Jesus, son of Mary, comes to manifest that love to men.
22) Now, love cannot manifest until its way has been prepared, and naught can rend the rocks and bring down lofty hills and fill the valleys up, and thus prepare the way, but purity.
23) But purity in life, men do not comprehend; and so, it too, must come in flesh.
24) And you, Elizabeth, are blest because your son is purity made flesh, and he shall pave the way for love.
25) This age will comprehend but little of the works of Purity and Love; but not a word is lost, for in the Book of God’s Remembrance a registry is made of every thought, and word, and deed;
26) And when the world is ready to receive, lo, God will send a messenger to open up the book, and copy from its sacred pages all the messages of Purity and Love.
27) Then every man of earth will read the words of life in language of his native land, and men will see the light, walk in the light and be the light.
28) And man again will be at one with God.

CHAPTER 8

Elihu’s lessons.  The unity of life.  The two selfs.  The devil.  Love – the savior of men.
The David of the light.  Goliath of the dark.

AGAIN Elihu met his pupils in the sacred grove and said,
2) No man lives unto himself; for every living thing is bound by cords to every other living thing.
3) Blest are the pure in heart; for they will love and not demand love in return.
4) They will not do to other men what they would not have other men do unto them.
5) There are two selfs; the higher and the lower self.
6) The higher self is human spirit clothed with soul, made in the form of God.
7) The lower self, the carnal self, the body of desires, is a reflection of the higher self, distorted by the murky ethers of the flesh.
8) The lower self is an illusion, and will pass away; the higher self is God in man, and will not pass away.
9) The higher self is the embodiment of truth; the lower self is truth reversed, and so is falsehood manifest.
10) The higher self is justice, mercy, love and right; the lower self is what the higher self is not.
11) The lower self breeds hatred, slander, lewdness, murders, theft, and everything that harms; the higher self is mother of the virtues and the harmonies of life.
12) The lower self is rich in promises, but poor in blessedness and peace; it offers pleasure, joy and satisfying gains; but gives unrest and misery and death.
13) It gives men apples that are lovely to the eye and pleasant to the smell; their cores are full of bitterness and gall.
14) If you would ask me what to study I would say, your selfs; and when you well had studied them, and then would ask me what to study next, I would reply, your selfs.
15) He who knows well his lower self, knows the illusions of the world, knows of the things that pass away; and he who knows his higher self, knows God; knows well the things that cannot pass away.
16) Thrice blessed is the man who has made purity and love his very own; he has been ransomed from the perils of the lower self and is himself his higher self.
17) Men seek salvation from an evil that they deem a living monster of the nether world; and they have gods that are but demons in disguise; all powerful, yet full of jealousy and hate and lust;
18) Whose favors must be bought with costly sacrifice of fruits, and of the lives of birds, and animals, and human kind.
19) And yet these gods possess no ears to hear, no eyes to see, no heart to sympathize, no power to save.
20) This evil is myth; these gods are made of air, and clothed with shadows of a thought.
21) The only devil from which men must be redeemed is self, the lower self. If man would find his devil he must look within; his name is self.
22) If man would find his savior he must look within; and when the demon self has been dethroned the savior, Love, will be exulted to the throne of power.
23) The David of the light is Purity, who slays the strong Goliath of the dark, and seats the savior, Love, upon the throne.

CHAPTER 9

Salome’s lessons.  The man and the woman.  Philosophy of human moods.
The triune God.  The Septonate.  The God Tao.

SALOME taught the lesson of the day. She said,
All times are not alike. Today the words of man may have the greatest power; tomorrow woman teaches best.
2) In all the ways of life the man and woman should walk hand in hand; the one without the other is but half; each has a work to do.
3) But all things teach; each has a time and a season for its own. The sun, the moon have lessons of their own for men; but each one teaches at the appointed time.
4) The lessons of the sun fall down on human hearts like withered leaves upon a stream, if given in the season of the moon; and so with lessons of the moon and all the stars.
5) Today one walks in gloom, downhearted and oppressed; tomorrow that same one is filled with joy.
6) Today the heavens seem full of blessedness and hope; tomorrow hope has fled, and every plan and purpose comes to naught.
7) Today one wants to curse the very ground on which he treads; tomorrow he is full of love and praise.
8) Today one hates and scorns and envies and is jealous of the child he loves; tomorrow he has risen above his carnal self, and breathes forth gladness and good will.
9) A thousand times men wonder why these heights and depths, these light hearts and these sad, are found in every life.
10) They do not know that there are teachers everywhere, each busy with a God-appointed task, and driving home to human hearts the truth.
11) But this is true, and every one receives the lessons that he needs.
12) And Mary said,
Today I am in exaltation great; my thoughts and all my life seem lifted up; why am I thus inspired?
13) Salome replied,
This is a day of exaltation; day of worship and of praise; a day when, in a measure, we may comprehend our Father-God.
14) Then let us study God, the One, the Three, the Seven.
15) Before the worlds were formed all things were One; just Spirit, Universal Breath.
16) And Spirit breathed, and that which was not manifest became the Fire and Thought of Heaven, the Father-God, the Mother-God.
17) And when the Fire and Thought of heaven in union breathed, their son, their only son, was born. This son is Love whom men have called the Christ.
18) Men call the Thought of heaven the Holy Breath.
19) And when the Triune God breathed forth, lo, seven Spirits stood before the throne. These are the Elohim, creative spirits of the universe.
20) And these are they who said, Let us make man; and in their image man was made.
21) In early ages of the world the dwellers in the farther East said, Tao is the name of Universal Breath; and in the ancient books we read,
22) No manifesting form has Tao Great, and yet he made and keeps the heavens and earth.
23) No passion has our Tao Great, and yet he causes sun and moon and all the stars to rise and set.
24) No name has Tao Great, and yet he makes all things to grow; he brings in season both the seed time and the harvest time.
25) And Tao Great was One; the One became the Two; the Two became the Three, the Three evolved the Seven, which filled the universe with manifests.
26) And Tao Great gives unto all, the evil and the good, the rain, the dew, the sunshine and the flowers; from his rich stores he feeds them all.
27) And in the same old book we read of man: He has a spirit knit to Tao Great; a soul which lives within the seven Breaths of Tao Great; a body of desires that springs up from the soil of flesh.
28) Now spirit loves the pure, the good, the true; the body of desires extols the selfish self; the soul becomes the battle ground between the two.
29) And blessed is the man whose spirit is triumphant and whose lower self is purified; whose soul is cleansed, becoming fit to be the council chamber of the manifests of Tao Great.
30) Thus closed the lesson of Salome.

CHAPTER 10

Elihu’s lessons.  The Brahmic religion.  Life of Abram.  Jewish sacred books.
The Persian religion.

ELIHU taught; he said,
In ancient times a people in the East were worshippers of God, the One, whom they called Brahm.
2) Their laws were just; they lived in peace; they saw the light within; they walked in wisdom’s ways.
3) But priests with carnal aims arose, who changed the laws to suit the carnal mind; bound heavy burdens on the poor, and scorned the rules of right; and so the Brahms became corrupt.
4) But in the darkness of the age a few great masters stood unmoved; they loved the name of Brahm; they were great beacon lights before the world.
5) And they preserved inviolate the wisdom of their holy Brahm, and you may read this wisdom in their sacred books.
6) And in Chaldea, Brahm was known. A pious Brahm named Terah lived in Ur; his son was so devoted to the Brahmic faith that he was called A-Brahm; and he was set apart to be the father of the Hebrew race.
7) Now, Terah took his wife and sons and all his flocks and herds to Haran in the West; here Terah died.
8) And Abram took the flocks and herds, and with his kindred journeyed farther west;
9) And when he reached the Oaks of Morah in the land of Canaan, he pitched his tents and there abode.
10) A famine swept the land and Abram took his kindred and his flocks and herds and came to Egypt, and in these fertile plains of Zoan pitched his tent, and here abode.
11) And men still mark the place where Abram lived ? across the plain.
12) You ask why Abram came to Egypt land? This is the cradle-land of the initiate; all secret things belong to Egypt land; and this is why the masters come.
13) In Zoan Abram taught his science of the stars, and in that sacred temple over there he learned the wisdom of the wise.
14) And when his lessons all were learned, he took his kindred and his flocks and herds and journeyed back to Canaan, and in the plains of Mamre pitched his tent, and there he lived, and there he died.
15) And records of his life and works and of his sons, and of the tribes of Israel, are well preserved in Jewish sacred books.
16) In Persia Brahm was known, and feared. Men saw him as the One, the causeless Cause of all that is, and he was sacred unto them, as Tao to the dwellers of the farther East.
17) The people lived in peace, and justice ruled.
18) But, as in other lands, in Persia priests arose imbued with self and self desires, who outraged Force, Intelligence and Love;
19) Religion grew corrupt, and birds and beasts and creeping things were set apart as gods.
20) In course of time a lofty soul, whom men called Zarathustra, came in flesh.
21) He saw the causeless Spirit, high and lifted up; he saw the weakness of all man-appointed gods.
22) He spoke and all of Persia heard; and when he said, One God, one people and one shrine, the altars of the idols fell, and Persia was redeemed.
23) But men must see their Gods with human eyes, and Zarathustra said,
24) The greatest of the Spirits standing near the throne is the Ahura Mazda, who manifests in brightness of the sun.
25) And all the people saw Ahura Mazda in the sun, and they fell down and worshipped him in temples of the sun.
26) And Persia is the magian land where live the priests who saw the star arise to mark the place where Mary’s son was born, and were the first to greet him as the Prince of Peace.
27) The precepts and the laws of Zarathustra are preserved in the Avesta which you can read and make your own.
28) But you must know that words are naught till they are made alive; until the lessons they contain become a part of head and heart.
29) Now truth is one; but no one knows the truth until he is the truth. It is recorded in an ancient book.
30) Truth is the leavening power of God; it can transmute the all of life into itself; and when the all of life is truth, then man is truth.

CHAPTER 11

Elihu’s lessons.  Buddhism and the precepts of Buddha.  The mysteries of Egypt.

AGAIN Elihu taught; he said,
The Indian priests became corrupt; Brahm was forgotten in the streets; the rights of men were trampled in the dust.
2) And then a mighty master came, a Buddha of enlightenment, who turned away from wealth and all the honors of the world, and found the Silence in the quiet groves and caves; and he was blest.
3) He preached a gospel of the higher life, and taught man how to honor man.
4) He had no doctrine of the gods to teach; he just knew man, and so his creed was justice, love and righteousness.
5) I quote for you a few of many of the helpful words which Buddha spoke:
6) Hate is a cruel word. If men hate you regard it not; and you can turn the hate of men to love and mercy and goodwill, and mercy is as large as all the heavens.
7) And there is good enough for all. With good destroy the bad; with generous deeds make avarice ashamed; with truth make straight the crooked lines that error draws, for error is but truth distorted, gone astray.
8) And pain will follow him who speaks or acts with evil thoughts, as does the wheel the foot of him who draws the cart.
9) He is a greater man who conquers self than he who kills a thousand men in war.
10) He is the noble man who is himself what he believes what other men should be.
11) Return to him who does you wrong your purest love, and he will cease from doing wrong; for love will purify the heart of him who is beloved as truly as it purifies the heart of him who loves.
12) The words of Buddha are recorded in the Indian sacred books; attend to them, for they are part of the instructions of the Holy Breath.
13) The land of Egypt is the land of secret things.
14) The mysteries of the ages lie lock-bound in our temples and our shines.
15) The masters of all times and climes come here to learn; and when your sons have grown to manhood they will finish all their studies in Egyptian schools.
16) But I have said enough. Tomorrow at the rising of the sun we meet again.

CHAPTER 12

Salome’s lessons.  Prayer .  Elihu’s concluding lessons.
Sums up the three years’ course of study.
The pupils return to their homes.

NOW, when the morning sun arose the masters and their pupils all were in the sacred grove.
2) Salome was the first to speak; she said,
Behold the sun! It manifests the power of God who speaks to us through sun and moon and stars;
3) Through mountain, hill and vale; through flower, and plant and tree.
4) God sings for us through bird, and harpsichord, and human voice; he speaks to us through wind and rain and thunder roll; why should we not bow down and worship at his feet?
5) God speaks to hearts apart; and hearts apart must speak to him; and this is prayer.
6) It is not prayer to shout at God, to stand, or sit, or kneel and tell him all about the sins of men.
7) It is not prayer to tell the Holy One how great he is, how good he is, how strong and how compassionate.
8) God is not man to be bought up by praise of man.
9) Prayer is the ardent wish that every way of life be light; that every act be crowned with good; that every living thing be prospered by our ministry.
10) A noble deed, a helpful word is prayer; a fervent, an effectual prayer.
11) The fount of prayer is in the heart; by thought, not words, the heart is carried up to God, where it is blest, Then let us pray.
12) They prayed, but not a word was said; but in that holy Silence every heart was blest.
13) And then Elihu spoke. He said to Mary and Elizabeth,
Our words are said; you need not tarry longer here; the call has come; the way is clear, you may return unto your native land.
14) A mighty work is given you to do; you shall direct the minds that will direct the world.
15) Your sons are set apart to lead men up to righteous thoughts, and words, and deeds;
16) To make men know the sinfulness of sin; to lead them from the adoration of the lower self, and all illusive things, and make them conscious of the self that lives with Christ in God.
17) In preparation for their work your sons must walk in many thorny paths.
18) Fierce trials and temptations they will meet, like other men; their loads will not be light, and they will weary be, and faint.
19) And they will know the pangs of hunger and of thirst; and without cause they will be mocked, imprisoned, scourged.
20) To many countries they will go, and at the feet of many masters they will sit, for they must learn like other men.
21) But we have said enough. The blessings of the Three and of the Seven, who stand before the throne, will surely rest upon you evermore.
22) Thus closed the lessons of Elihu and Salome. Three years they taught their pupils in the sacred grove, and if their lessons all were written in a book, lo, it would be a mighty book; of what they said we have the sum.
23) Now, Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth with Jesus and his harbinger, set forth upon their homeward way. They went not by Jerusalem, for Archelaus reigned.
24) They journeyed by the Bitter Sea, and when they reached Engedi hills they rested in the home of Joshua, a near of kin; and here Elizabeth and John abode.
25) But Joseph, Mary and their son went by the Jordan way, and after certain days they reached their home in Nazareth.

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SECTION IV

DALETH

Childhood and Early Education of John, the Harbinger

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CHAPTER 13

Elizabeth in Engedi.  Teaches her son.  John becomes the pupil of Matheno,
who reveals to him the meaning of sin and the law of forgiveness.

ELIZABETH was blest; she spent her time with John, and gave to him the lessons that Elihu and Salome had given her.
2) And John delighted in the wildness of his home and in the lessons that he learned.
3) Now in the hills were many caves. The cave of David was a-near in which the Hermit of Engedi lived.
4) This hermit was Matheno, priest of Egypt, master from the temple of Sakara.
5) When John was seven years of age Matheno took him to the wilderness and in the cave of David they abode.
6) Matheno taught, and John was thrilled with what the master said, and day by day Matheno opened up to him the mysteries of life.
7) John loved the wilderness; he loved his master and his simple fare. Their food was fruits, and nuts, wild honey and the carob bread.
8) Matheno was an Israelite, and he attended all the Jewish feasts.
9) When John was nine years old Matheno took him to a great feast in Jerusalem.
10) The wicked Archelaus had been deposed and exiled to a distant land because of selfishness and cruelty, and John was not afraid.
11) John was delighted with his visit to Jerusalem. Matheno told him all about the service of the Jews; the meaning of their sacrifices and their rites.
12) John could not understand how sin could be forgiven by killing animals and birds and burning them before the Lord.
13) Matheno said,
The God of heaven and earth does not require sacrifice. This custom, with its cruel rites, was borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands.
14) No sin was ever blotted out by sacrifice of animal, of bird, or man.
15) Sin is the rushing forth of man into fens of wickedness. If one would get away from sin he must retrace his steps, and find his way out of the fens of wickedness.
16) Return and purify your hearts by love and righteousness and you shall be forgiven.
17) This is the burden of the message that the harbinger shall bring to men.
18) What is forgiveness? John inquired.
19) Matheno said,
It is the paying up of debts. A man who wrongs another man can never be forgiven until he rights the wrong.
20) The Vedas says that none can right the wrong but him who does the wrong.
21) John said,
If this be true where is the power to forgive except the power that rests in man himself? Can man forgive himself?
22) Matheno said,
The door is wide ajar; you see the way of man’s return to right, and the forgiveness of his sins.

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CHAPTER 14

Matheno’s lessons.  The doctrine of universal law.
The power of man to choose and to attain.
The benefits of antagonisms.  Ancient sacred books.
The place of John and Jesus in the world’s history.

MATHENO and his pupil, John, were talking of the sacred books of olden times, and of the golden precepts they contained, and John exclaimed,
2) These golden precepts are sublime; what need have we of other sacred books?
3) Matheno said,
The Spirits of the Holy One cause every thing to come and go in proper time.
4) The sun has his own time to set, the moon to rise, to wax and wane, the stars to come and go, the rain to fall, the winds to blow;
5) The seed times and the harvest times to come; man to be born and man to die.
6) These mighty Spirits cause the nations to be born; they rock them in their cradles, nurture them to greatest power, and when their tasks are done they wrap them in their winding sheets and lay them in their tombs.
7) Events are many in a nation’s life, and in the life of man, that are not pleasant for the time; but in the end the truth appears: whatever comes is for the best.
8) Man was created for a noble part; but he could not be made a free man filled with wisdom, truth and might,
9) If he were hedged about, confined in straits from which he could not pass, then he would be a toy, a mere machine.
10) Creative spirits gave to man a will; and so he has the power to choose.
11) He may attain the greatest heights, or sink to deepest depths; for what he wills to gain he has the power to gain.
12) If he desires strength he has the power to gain that strength; but he must overcome resistances to reach the goal; no strength is ever gained in idleness.
13) So, in the whirl of many-sided conflicts man is placed where he must strive to extricate himself.
14) In every conflict man gains strength; with every conquest he attains to greater heights. With every day he finds new duties and new cares.
15) Man is not carried over dangerous pits, nor helped to overcome his foes. He is himself his army, and his sword and shield; and he is captain of his hosts.
16) The Holy Ones just light his way. Man never has been left without a beacon light to guide.
17) And he has ever had a lighted lamp in hand that he may see the dangerous rocks, the turbid streams and treacherous pits.
18) And so the Holy Ones have judged; when men have needed added light a master soul has come to earth to give the light.
19) Before the Vedic days the world had many sacred books to light the way; and when man needed greater light the Vedas, the Avesta and the books of Tao Great appeared to show the way to greater heights.
20) And in the proper place the Hebrew Bible, with its Law, its Prophets and its Psalms, appeared for man’s enlightenment.
21) But years have passed and men have need of greater light.
22) And now the Day Star from on high begins to shine; and Jesus is the flesh-made messenger to show that light to men.
23) And you, my pupil, you have been ordained to harbinger the coming day.
24) But you must keep that purity of heart you now possess; and you must light your lamp directly from the coals that burn upon the altar of the Holy Ones.
25) And then your lamp will be transmuted to a boundless flame, and you will be a living torch whose light will shine wherever man abides.
26) But in the ages yet to come, man will attain to greater heights, and lights still more intense will come.
27 And then, at last, a mighty master soul will come to earth to light the way up to the throne of perfect man.

CHAPTER 15

Death and burial of Elizabeth.  Matheno’s lessons.  The ministry of death.
The mission of John.   Institution of the rite of baptism.
Matheno takes John to Egypt, and places him in the temple at Sakara,
where he remains eighteen years.

WHEN John was twelve years old his mother died, and neighbors laid her body in a tomb among her kindred in the Hebron burying ground, and near to Zacharias’ tomb.
2) And John was deeply grieved; he wept. Matheno said,
It is not well to weep because of death.
3) Death is no enemy of man; it is a friend who, when the work of life is done, just cuts the cord that binds the human boat to earth, that it may sail on smoother seas.
4) No language can describe a mother’s worth, and yours was tried and true. But she was not called hence until her tasks were done.
5) The calls of death are always for the best, for we are solving problems there as well as here; and one is sure to find himself where he can solve his problems best.
6) It is but selfishness that makes one wish to call again to earth departed souls.
7) Then let your mother rest in peace. Just let her noble life be strength and inspiration unto you.
8) A crisis in your life has come, and you must have a clear conception of the work that you are called to do.
9) The sages of the ages call you harbinger. The prophets look to you and say, He is Elijah come again.
10) Your mission here is that of harbinger; for you will go before Messiah’s face to pave his way, and make the people ready to receive their king.
11) This readiness is purity of heart; none but the pure in heart can recognize the king.
12) To teach men to be pure in heart, you must yourself be pure in heart, and word, and deed.
13) In infancy the vow for you was made and you became a Nazarite. The razor shall not touch your face nor head, and you shall taste not wine nor fiery drinks.
14) Men need a pattern for their lives; they love to follow, not to lead.
15) The man who stands upon the corners of the paths and points the way, but does not go, is just a pointer; and a block of wood can do the same.
16) The teacher treads the way; on every span of ground he leaves his footprints clearly cut, which all can see and be assured that he, their master went that way.
17) Men comprehend the inner life by what they see and do. They come to God through ceremonies and forms.
18) And so when you would make men know that sins are washed away by purity in life, a rite symbolic may be introduced.
19) In water wash the bodies of the people who would turn away from sin and strive for purity in life.
20) This rite of cleansing is a preparation rite and they who thus are cleansed comprise the Church of Purity.
21) And you shall say, You men of Israel, hear; Reform and wash; become the sons of purity, and you shall be forgiven
22) This rite of cleansing and this church are but symbolic of the cleansing of the soul by purity in life, and of the kingdom of the soul, which does not come with outward show, but is the church within.
23) Now, you may never point the way and tell the multitudes to do what you have never done; but you must go before and show the way.
24) You are to teach that men must wash; so you must lead the way, your body must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul.
25) John said,
Why need I wait? May I not go at once and wash?
26) Matheno said,
‘Tis well,
and then they went down to the Jordan ford, and east of Jericho, just where the hosts of Israel crossed when first they entered Canaan, they tarried for a time.
27) Matheno taught the harbinger, and he explained to him the inner meaning of the cleansing rite and how to wash himself and how to wash the multitude.
28) And in the river Jordan John was washed; then they returned unto the wilderness.
29) Now in Engedi’s hills Matheno’s work was done and he and John went down to Egypt. They rested not until they reached the temple of Sakara in the valley of the Nile.
30) For many years Matheno was a master in this temple of the Brotherhood, and when he told about the life of John and of his mission to the sons of men, the hierophant with joy received the harbinger and he was called the Brother Nazarite.
31) For eighteen years John lived and wrought within these temple gates; and here he conquered self, became a master mind and learned the duties of the harbinger.