The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

19 You Brahmans call him Parabrahm; in Egypt he is Thoth; and Zeus is his name in Greece; Jehovah is his Hebrew name; but everywhere he is the causeless Cause, the rootless Root from which all things have grown.

20 When men become afraid of God, and take him for a foe, they dress up other men in fancy garbs and call them priests,

21 And charge them to restrain the wrath of God by prayers; and when they fail to win his favor by their prayers, to buy him off with sacrifice of animal, or bird,

22 When man sees God as one with him, as Father-God, he needs no middle man, no priest to intercede;

23 He goes straight up to him and says, My Father-God! and then he lays his hand in God’s own hand, and all is well.

24 And this is God. You are, each one, a priest, just for yourself; and sacrifice of blood God does not want.

25 Just give your life in sacrificial service to the all of life, and God is pleased.

26 When Jesus had thus said he stood aside; the people were amazed, but strove among themselves.

27 Some said, He is inspired by Holy Brahm; and others said, He is insane; and others said, He is obsessed; he speaks as devils speak.

28 But Jesus tarried not. Among the guests was one, a tiller of the soil, a generous soul, a seeker after truth, who loved the words that Jesus spoke; and Jesus went with him, and in his home abode.

CHAPTER 29

Ajainin, a priest from Lahore, comes to Benares to see Jesus, and abides in the temple. Jesus refuses an invitation to visit the temple. Ajainin visits him at night in the farmer’s home, and accepts his philosophy.

Among Benares’ temple priests was one, a guest, Ajainin, from Lahore.

2 By merchantmen Ajainin heard about the Jewish boy, about his words of wisdom, and he girt himself and journeyed from Lahore that he might see the boy, and hear him speak.

3 The Brahmic priests did not accept the truth that Jesus brought, and they were angered much by what he said at the Udraka feast.

4 But they had never seen the boy, and they desired much to hear him speak, and they invited him to be a temple guest.

5 But Jesus said to them, The light is most abundant, and it shines for all; if you would see the light come to the light.

6 If you would hear the message that the Holy One has given me to give to men, come unto me.

7 Now, when the priests were told what Jesus said they were enraged.

8 Ajainin did not share their wrath, and he sent forth another messenger with costly gifts to Jesus at the farmer’s home; he sent this message with the gifts:

9 I pray you, master, listen to my words; The Brahmic law forbids that any priest shall go into the home of any one of low estate; but you can come to us;

10 And I am sure these priests will gladly hear you speak. I pray that you will come and dine with us this day.

11 And Jesus said, The Holy One regards all men alike; the dwelling of my host is good enough for any council of the sons of men.

12 If pride of caste keeps you away, you are not worthy of the light. My Father-God does not regard the laws of man.

13 Your presents I return; you cannot buy the knowledge of the Lord with gold, or precious gifts.

14 These words of Jesus angered more and more the priests, and they began to plot and plan how they might drive him from the land.

15 Ajainin did not join with them in plot and plan; he left the temple in the night, and sought the home where Jesus dwelt.

16 And Jesus said, There is no night where shines the sun; I have no secret messages to give; in light all secrets are revealed.

17 Ajainin said, I came from far-away Lahore, that I might learn about this ancient wisdom, and this kingdom of the Holy One of which you speak.

18 Where is the kingdom? where the king? Who are the subjects? what its laws?

19 And Jesus said, This kingdom is not far away, but man with mortal eyes can see it not; it is within the heart.

20 You need not seek the king in earth, or sea, or sky; he is not there, and yet is everywhere. He is the Christ of God; is universal love.

21 The gate of this dominion is not high, and he who enters it must fall down on his knees. It is not wide, and none can carry carnal bundles through.

22 The lower self must be transmuted into spirit-self; the body must be washed in living streams of purity.

23 Ajainin asked, Can I become a subject of this king?

24 And Jesus said, You are yourself a king, and you may enter through the gate and be a subject of the King of kings.

25 But you must lay aside your priestly robes; must cease to serve the Holy One for gold; must give your life, and all you have, in willing service to the sons of men.

26 And Jesus said no more; Ajainin went his way; and while he could not comprehend the truth that Jesus spoke, he saw what he had never seen before.

27 The realm of faith he never had explored; but in his heart the seeds of faith and universal brotherhood had found good soil.

28 And as he journeyed to his home he seemed to sleep, to pass through darkest night, and when he woke the Sun of Righteousness had arisen; he had found the king.

29 Now, in Benares Jesus tarried many days and taught.

CHAPTER 30

Jesus receives news of the death of his father. He writes a letter to his mother. The letter. He sends it on its way by a merchant.

One day as Jesus stood beside the Ganges busy with his work, a caravan, returning from the West, drew near.

2 And one, approaching Jesus, said, We come to you just from your native land and bring unwelcome news.

3 Your father is no more on earth; your mother grieves; and none can comfort her. She wonders whether you are still alive or not; she longs to see you once again.

4 And Jesus bowed his head in silent thought; and then he wrote. Of what he wrote this is the sum:

5 My mother, noblest of woman kind; A man just from my native land has brought me word that father is no more in flesh, and that you grieve, and are disconsolate.

6 My mother, all is well; is well for father and is well for you.

7 His work in this earth-round is done, and it is nobly done.

8 In all the walks of life men cannot charge him with deceit, dishonesty, nor wrong intent.

9 Here in this round he finished many heavy tasks, and he has gone from hence prepared to solve the problems of the round of soul.

10 Our Father-God is with him there, as he was with him here; and there his angel guards his footsteps lest he goes astray.

11 Why should you weep? Tears cannot conquer grief. There is no power in grief to mend a broken heart.

12 The plane of grief is idleness; the busy soul can never grieve; it has no time for grief.

13 When grief comes trooping through the heart, just lose yourself; plunge deep into the ministry of love, and grief is not.

14 Yours is a ministry of love, and all the world is calling out for love.

15 Then let the past go with the past; rise from the cares of carnal things and give your life for those who live.

16 And if you lose your life in serving life you will be sure to find in it the morning sun, the evening dews, in song of bird, in flowers, and in the stars of night.

17 In just a little while your problems of this earth-round will be solved; and when your sums are all worked out it will be pleasure unalloyed for you to enter wider fields of usefulness, to solve the greater problems of the soul.

18 Strive, then, to be content, and I will come to you some day and bring you richer gifts than gold or precious stones.

19 I’m sure that John will care for you, supplying all your needs; and I am with you all the way, Jehoshua.

20 And by the hand of one, a merchant, going to Jerusalem, he sent this letter on its way.

CHAPTER 31

Brahmic priests are enraged because of Jesus’ teaching and resolve to drive him from India. Lamaas pleads for him. Priests employ a murderer to kill him. Lamaas warns him and he flees to Nepel.

The words and works of Jesus caused unrest through all the land.

2 The common people were his friends, believed in him, and followed him in throngs.

3 The priests and rulers were afraid of him; his very name sent terror to their hearts.

4 He preached the brotherhood of life, the righteousness of equal rights, and taught the uselessness of priests, and sacrificial rites.

5 He shook the very sand on which the Brahmic system stood; he made the Brahmic idols seem so small, and sacrifice so fraught with sin, that shrines and wheels of prayer were all forgot.

6 The priests declared that if this Hebrew boy should tarry longer in the land a revolution would occur; the common people would arise and kill the priests, and tear the temples down.

7 And so they sent a call abroad, and priests from every province came. Benares was on fire with Brahmic zeal.

8 Lamaas from the temple Jagannath, who knew the inner life of Jesus well, was in their midst, and heard the rantings of the priests,

9 And he stood forth and said, My brother priests, take heed, be careful what you do; this is a record-making day.

10 The world is looking on; the very life of Brahmic thought is now on trial.

11 If we are reason-blind; if prejudice be king today; if we resort to beastly force, and dye our hands in blood that may, in sight of Brahm, be innocent and pure,

12 His vengeance may fall down on us; the very rock on which we stand may burst beneath our feet; and our beloved priesthood, and our laws and shrines will go into decay.

13 But they would let him speak no more. The wrathful priests rushed up and beat him, spit upon him, called him traitor, threw him, bleeding, to the street.

14 And then confusion reigned; the priests became a mob; the sight of human blood led on to fiendish acts, and called for more.

15 The rulers, fearing war, sought Jesus, and they found him calmly teaching in the market-place.

16 They urged him to depart, that he might save his life; but he refused to go.

17 And then the priests sought cause for his arrest; but he had done no crime.

18 And then false charges were preferred; but when the soldiers went to bring him to the judgment hall they were afraid, because the people stood in his defense.

19 The priests were baffled, and they resolved to take his life by stealth.

20 They found a man who was a murderer by trade, and sent him out by night to slay the object of their wrath.

21 Lamaas heard about their plotting and their plans, and sent a messenger to warn his friend; and Jesus hastened to depart.

22 By night he left Benares, and with haste he journeyed to the north; and everywhere, the farmers, merchants and the sudras helped him on his way.

23 And after many days he reached the mighty Himalayas, and in the city Kapivastu he abode.

24 The priests of Buddha opened wide their temple doors for him.

CHAPTER 32

Jesus and Barata. Together they read the sacred books. Jesus takes exception to the Buddhist doctrine of evolution and reveals the true origin of man. Meets Vidyapati, who becomes his co-laborer.

Among the Buddhist priests was one who saw a lofty wisdom in the words that Jesus spoke. It was Barata Arabo.

2 Together Jesus and Barata read the Jewish Psalms and Prophets; read the Vedas, the Avesta and the wisdom of Guatama.

3 And as they read and talked about the possibilities of man, Barata said,

4 Man is the marvel of the universe. He is a part of everything, for he has been a living thing on every plane of life.

5 Time was when man was not; and then he was a bit of formless substance in the molds of time; and then a protoplast.

6 By universal law all things tend upward to a state of perfectness. The protoplast evolved, becoming worm, then reptile, bird and beast, and then at last it reached the form of man.

7 Now, man himself is mind, and mind is here to gain perfection by experience; and mind is often manifest in fleshy form, and in the form best suited to its growth. So mind may manifest as worm, or bird, or beast, or man.

8 The time will come when everything of life will be evolved unto the state of perfect man.

9 And after man is man in perfectness, he will evolve to higher forms of life.

10 And Jesus said, Barata Arabo, who taught you this, that mind, which is the man, may manifest in flesh of beast, or bird, or creeping thing?

11 Barata said, From times which man remembers not our priests have told us so, and so we know.

12 And Jesus said, Enlightened Arabo, are you a master mind and do not know that man knows naught by being told?

13 Man may believe what others say; but thus he never knows. If man would know, he must himself be what he knows.

14 Do you remember, Arabo, when you was ape, or bird, or worm?

15 Now, if you have no better proving of your plea than that the priests have told you so, you do not know; you simply guess.

16 Regard not, then, what any man has said; let us forget the flesh, and go with mind into the land of fleshless things; mind never does forget.

17 And backward through the ages master minds can trace themselves; and thus they know.

18 Time never was when man was not.

19 That which begins will have an end. If man was not, the time will come when he will not exist.

20 From God’s own Record Book we read: The Triune God breathed forth, and seven Spirits stood before his face. (The Hebrews call these seven Spirits, Elohim.)

21 And these are they who, in their boundless power, created everything that is, or was.

22 These Spirits of the Triune God moved on the face of boundless space and seven ethers were, and every ether had its form of life.

23 These forms of life were but the thoughts of God, clothed in the substance of their ether planes.

24 (Men call these ether planes the planes of protoplast, of earth, of plant, of beast, of man, of angel and of cherubim.)

25 These planes with all their teeming thoughts of God, are never seen by eyes of man in flesh; they are composed of substance far too fine for fleshly eyes to see, and still they constitute the soul of things;

26 And with the eyes of soul all creatures see these ether planes, and all the forms of life.

27 Because all forms of life on every plane are thoughts of God, all creatures think, and every creature is possessed of will, and, in its measure, has the power to choose,

28 And in their native planes all creatures are supplied with nourishment from the ethers of their planes.

29 And so it was with every living thing until the will became a sluggish will, and then the ethers of the protoplast, the earth, the plant, the beast, the man, began to vibrate very slow.

30 The ethers all became more dense, and all the creatures of these planes were clothed with coarser garbs, the garbs of flesh, which men can see; and thus this coarser manifest, which men call physical, appeared.

31 And this is what is called the fall of man; but man fell not alone for protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast were all included in the fall.

32 The angels and the cherubim fell not; their wills were ever strong, and so they held the ethers of their planes in harmony with God.

33 Now, when the ethers reached the rate of atmosphere, and all the creatures of these planes must get their food from atmosphere, the conflict came; and then that which the finite man has called, survival of the best, became a law,

34 The stronger ate the bodies of the weaker manifests; and here is where the carnal law of evolution had its rise.

35 And now man, in his utter shamelessness, strikes down and eats the beasts, the beast consumes the plant, the plant thrives on the earth, the earth absorbs the protoplast.

36 In yonder kingdom of the soul this carnal evolution is not known, and the great work of master minds is to restore the heritage of man, to bring him back to his estate that he has lost, when he again will live upon the ethers of his native plane.

37 The thoughts of God change not; the manifests of life on every plane unfold into perfection of their kind; and as the thoughts of God can never die, there is no death to any being of the seven ethers of the seven Spirits of the Triune God.

38 And so an earth is never plant; a beast, or bird, or creeping thing is never man, and man is not, and cannot be, a beast, or bird, or creeping thing.

39 The time will come when all these seven manifests will be absorbed, and man, and beast, and plant, and earth and protoplast will be redeemed.

40 Barata was amazed; the wisdom of the Jewish sage was revelation unto him.

41 Now, Vidyapati, wisest of the Indian sages, chief of temple Kapavistu, heard Barata speak to Jesus of the origin of man, and heard the answer of the Hebrew prophet, and he said,

42 You priests of Kapavistu, hear me speak: We stand today upon a crest of time. Six times ago a master soul was born who gave a glory light to man, and now a master sage stands here in temple Kapavistu.

43 This Hebrew prophet is the rising star of wisdom, deified. He brings to us a knowledge of the secret things of God; and all the world will hear his words, will heed his words, and glorify his name.

44 You priests of temple Kapavistu, stay! be still and listen when he speaks; he is the Living Oracle of God.

45 And all the priests gave thanks, and praised the Buddha of enlightenment.

CHAPTER 33

Jesus teaches the common people at a spring. Tells them how to attain unto happiness. Relates the parable of the rocky field and the hidden treasure.

In silent meditation Jesus sat beside a flowing spring. It was a holy day, and many people of the servant caste were near the place.

2 And Jesus saw the hard drawn lines of toil on every brow, in every hand. There was no look of joy in any face. Not one of all the group could think of anything but toil.

3 And Jesus spoke to one and said, Why are you all so sad? Have you no happiness in life?

4 The man replied, We scarcely know the meaning of that word. We toil to live, and hope for nothing else but toil, and bless the day when we can cease our toil and lay us down to rest in Buddha’s city of the dead.

5 And Jesus’ heart was stirred with pity and with love for these poor toilers, and he said,

6 Toil should not make a person sad; men should be happiest when they toil. When hope and love are back of toil, then all of life is filled with joy and peace, and this is heaven. Do you not know that such a heaven is for you?

7 The man replied, Of heaven we have heard; but then it is so far away, and we must live so many lives before we reach that place!

8 And Jesus said, My brother, man, your thoughts are wrong; your heaven is not far away; and it is not a place of metes and bounds, is not a country to be reached; it is a state of mind.

9 God never made a heaven for man; he never made a hell; we are creators and we make our own.

10 Now, cease to seek for heaven in the sky; just open up the windows of your hearts, and, like a flood of light, a heaven will come and bring a boundless joy; then toil will be no cruel task.

11 The people were amazed, and gathered close to hear this strange young master speak,

12 Imploring him to tell them more about the Father-God; about the heaven that men can make on earth; about the boundless joy.

13 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, A certain man possessed a field; the soil was hard and poor.

14 By constant toil he scarcely could provide enough of food to keep his family from want.

15 One day a miner who could see beneath the soil, in passing on his way, saw this poor man and his unfruitful field.

16 He called the weary toiler and he said, My brother, know you not that just below the surface of your barren field rich treasures lie concealed?

17 You plow and sow and reap in scanty way, and day by day you tread upon a mine of gold and precious stones.

18 This wealth lies not upon the surface of the ground; but if you will but dig away the rocky soil, and delve down deep into the earth, you need no longer till the soil for naught.

19 The man believed. The miner surely knows; he said, and I will find the treasures hidden in my field.

20 And then he dug away the rocky soil, and deep down in the earth he found a mine of gold.

21 And Jesus said, The sons of men are toiling hard on desert plains, and burning sands and rocky soils; are doing what their fathers did, not dreaming they can do aught else.

22 Behold, a master comes, and tells them of a hidden wealth; that underneath the rocky soil of carnal things are treasures that no man can count;

23 That in the heart the richest gems abound; that he who wills may open up the door and find them all.

24 And then the people said, Make known to us the way that we may find the wealth that lies within the heart.

25 And Jesus opened up the way; the toilers saw another side of life, and toil became a joy.

CHAPTER 34

The Jubilee in Kapavistu. Jesus teaches in the plaza and the people are astonished. He relates the parable of the unkept vineyard and the vine dresser. The priests are angered by his words.

It was a gala day in sacred Kapavistu; a throng of Buddhist worshippers had met to celebrate a Jubilee.

2 And priests and masters from all parts of India were there; they taught; but they embellished little truth with many words.

3 And Jesus went into an ancient plaza and he taught; he spoke of Father-Mother-God; he told about the brotherhood of life.

4 The priests and all the people were astounded at his words and said, Is this not Buddha come again in flesh? No other one could speak with such simplicity and power.

5 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, There was a vineyard all unkept; the vines were high, the growth of leaves and branches great.

6 The leaves were broad and shut the sunlight from the vines; the grapes were sour, and few, and small.

7 The pruner came; with his sharp knife he cut off every branch, and not a leaf remained; just root and stalk, and nothing more.

8 The busy neighbors came with one accord and were amazed, and said to him who pruned, You foolish man! the vineyard is despoiled.

9 Such desolation! There is no beauty left, and when the harvest time shall come the gatherers will find no fruit.

10 The pruner said, Content yourselves with what you think, and come again at harvest time and see.

11 And when the harvest time came on the busy neighbors came again; they were surprised.

12 The naked stalks had put forth branch and leaf, and heavy clusters of delicious grapes weighed every branch to earth.

13 The gatherers rejoiced as, day by day, they carried the rich fruitage to the press.

14 Behold, the vineyard of the Lord! the earth is spread with human vines.

15 The gorgeous forms and rites of men are branches, and their words are leaves; and these have grown so great that sunlight can no longer reach the heart; there is no fruit.

16 Behold, the pruner comes, and with a two-edged knife he cuts away the branches and the leaves of words,

17 And naught is left but unclothed stalks of human life.

18 The priests and they of pompous show, rebuke the pruner, and would stay him in his work.

19 They see no beauty in the stalks of human life; no promises of fruit.

20 The harvest time will come and they who scorned the pruner will look on again and be amazed, for they will see the human stalks that seemed so lifeless, bending low with precious fruit.

21 And they will hear the harvesters rejoice, because the harvest is so great.

22 The priests were not well pleased with Jesus’ words; but they rebuked him not; they feared the multitude.

CHAPTER 35

Jesus and Vidyapati consider the needs of the incoming age of the world.

The Indian sage and Jesus often met and talked about the needs of nations and of men; about the sacred doctrines, forms and rites best suited to the coming age.

2 One day they sat together in a mountain pass, and Jesus said, The coming age will surely not require priests, and shrines, and sacrifice of life.

3 There is no power in sacrifice of beast, or bird, to help a man to holy life.

4 And Vidyapati said, All forms and rites are symbols of the things that men must do within the temple of the soul.