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(Anonymous)
Introduction:
There
are people that think that we live in the best imaginable world. They
are
convinced that mankind is on the right track. They believe in the false
appearance and see progress everywhere. One day, mankind will have a
theory
of everything and all problems will be solved. Although they know
better,
they stick to that hope. They feel free but do not realise how
imprisoned
they are. They have learned that fright, troubles, pain and sorrow are
a normal part of their lives. They cling to their apparent certainties.
They seclude themselves from what they do not want to see en do not
want
to hear and so they are seeing blind en hearing deaf.
In
a
country where
from childhood all willows are cut back, no man can form an idea of a
willow
as it could have been, if it could had turned freely into the tree is
was
intended to be. In a world where all children are polled and trimmed in
their freedom from childhood on because they have to learn to live in
this
society, no man can imagine a man as he was intended to be. Man has no
idea of an independent, free man. At one time, man has been like that,
free and only dependent on nature.
Now,
people
live
imprisoned
in
their
convictions,
traditions,
believes
and
habits,
dependent
on
others,
culture
and
nature. By doing so, they have constructed an
artificial,
virtual cage. The bars distort their sight on reality. Therefore,
mankind
lives in an unfair, dishonest society in which the rich become richer,
the poor become poorer and where nobody knows the right direction.
Because
everybody is convinced of the idea that there is no way back only
progress
is an option without anybody knowing where this progress will lead.
Always,
there
have
been
people
that
managed
to
escape
from
the
cage
requiring
a
lot of
pain
and struggle, sometimes forced by circumstances, sometimes because they
thought that there should be more than the lives they lived and they
started
to search for another world. If you are on the right track, even
without
knowing the goal, life should become simpler all the time and perhaps
simplicity
is the ultimate aim. If you are on the wrong track it becomes more
complicated
continuously until you are strangled in it. In his Allegory of the Cave
Plato describes how people get disturbed if they leave the world of
shadows
in the cave and behold the light. In all cultures, the same metaphor
exists
and for that reason, there has to be a nucleus of truth in it. Those
that
stayed in their blessed contemplation are called mystics. Others, who
returned
to the cave and were indignant with everything they saw, were called
prophets.
Humankind has known many prophets. No one of them has been able to show
the way out to the ones in chains. Perhaps, they all lacked an overview
of the consequences of their discovery. Perhaps, they were not able to
show the way out unequivocal. Or, did they always get the worst of the
establishment and is he right when Plato writes: "if anyone would try
to
free them and lead them upwards would they not kill him if caught?"
Around
2000
years
ago,
someone
escaped
from
the
world
of
shadows
and
came
back
to tell
those
who stayed behind of the real life and to show them the way out. At
that
time, they claimed he had risen from dead, became man or had awoken.
Nowadays,
people would claim he had reached enlightenment. He had experienced
that
righteousness is the condition to reach simplicity and blessedness and
that it is difficult to live as a righteous in an unrighteous world, as
a living amongst the death. The righteousness and compassion with the
chained
ones demands you to go back. He preached a completely different way of
life and not a different way of thinking.The story is that the
establishment
killed him, his words are misunderstood and that they turned his life
into
a religion. Humankind took possession of the messenger and did not
understand
the message. If somebody has seen a beautiful theatrical performance he
can tell about it enthusiastically, but he would better show people the
way to the theatre. His metaphors of the unspeakable made his message
unclear.
The experience is not expressible in words. For that reason, he gave
people
the opportunity to take his words figuratively and his life literally.
In
fact,
he was an
ordinary man who dedicated himself completely to a just world. He was
convinced
people would follow him, would become like him and would return to the
simplicity and blessedness in mass. To a world of love and without
power.
He had seen through society as being a colossus with feet of clay and
expected
to bring down Goliath like David by hitting him between the eyes where
the intellectual capacity is nested. He had expected that still during
his life justice would spread among mankind like a tidal wave. He
realised
how threatening his message was to the power of the men in power, the
knowledge
of the scholar, the property of the rich and the fake wisdom of the
clergy.
And, nothing has changed since. Still it is true that a camel will pass
sooner through the eye of a needle than a man clung to his properties
will
become righteous.
The
words
of the
teacher of righteousness, some people call him "Jesus", are probably
best
and least distorted preserved in the gospel of Thomas. The question
remains
if "Jesus" is not merely a metaphor of the Logos, the conscience or the
inner voice, and if the personification "Jesus" has been used merely as
a vehicle to carry the message. Ultimately, it does not matter because
it is the message and not the messenger that counts. After having been
passed on orally over time the words have been written down by
disciples,
who clearly did not understand the essence, which has lead to some
strange
and incomprehensible changes. It must have been a very simple message
and
yet scientists have studied the texts for decades without being able to
decode the message.They devote their attention, so to speak, to the
treasuremap,
and fail to sett of for the search of the treasure.
Only
someone
who
has
freed
himself
of
the
world
of
shadows
too
can
understand
the
message
of the statements. Could it then be that you do not have to be educated
but wise to understand it? Stripped of the mystical and gnostic
distortions
and with only the signposts on the road remaining the maxims are indeed
very simple. The words preach a radical and non-violent revolution
through
a return to the origin, back to basics, where the end will be like the
beginning again. Did he realise that the effect would be a collapse of
the whole society, of all structures of power and that eventually no
stone
would remain on the other? Although the message uses the terminology of
that time indeed, the contents are timeless and concern mankind.
Briefly
summarised it comes down to:
"Do
NOT do
unto others what you do NOT want them to do unto you".
It
is new
that the
others include children too because that no longer justifies our way of
educating them. The second elucidation is that creation is put on a par
with the Father who flows through the whole creation. Therefore,
creation
includes the other too. That deprives us of the justification to abuse
creation and to destroy it. Spinoza wrote that God and Nature are one
and
the same and that it comes to the same thing.
What
the
teacher
envisaged
was
for
every
man
to
become
like
him,
one
world
with
only
enlightened,
blessed people, enjoying themselves, the others and creation. One true
community of whole people. In the world he envisaged happiness, freedom
and the paradise are unconditional and within reach for everybody. In
today’s
society all this is conditional and an utopia, unreachable for anybody.
People still did not dare.
Multatuli (Ideas)
"They
who
hawk
faith
as
an
arcanum
against
moral
evil
would
look
down
upon
a
simple-minded
that
ruled his behaviour strictly according to the bible and at the same
time
dared to neglect all things the bible does not speak about. It is the
indisputable
truth that today Jesus himself would almost certainly not be welcome in
a society of people that name themselves after him and most likely, his
followers would hurry to procure him a place in a Christian madhouse.
"That
man is not of our time" they would claim and immediately the good
theologians
would come up with some saying- preferably of himself- to teach Jesus
how
the "real Christian" and even more funny, Christ himself, should be of
his time".
The Gospel of
Thomas
These
are the secret words, which
the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.
Elucidation:
There
are
two reasons why the teachings were secret. The most important is that
they go
against all vested interests, knock over all holy houses and invalidate
all
things man consider to be true. The second might be that the disciples,
because
they did not really understand, considered it somewhat secret. They
called
Jesus "the living" only meaning he had risen from the dead (or he had
freed himself from the world of shadows)
1
And
he said: He
who shall find the interpretation of these words shall not taste of
death.
Elucidation:
He who
will understand these words and live accordingly shall awaken and reach
enlightenment. It is not being literally but rather figuratively dead
from
which man must rise. Then he will no longer live in time, but in an
eternal
present, without past or future. That is the meaning of eternal life.
Then, old
and full of years, he will finally return to the place from which he
originated..
2
Jesus
said: He
who seeks, let him not cease seeking until he finds; and when he finds
he
will be
troubled, and if he is troubled, he will be amazed, and he will reign
over the
All.
Elucidation:
You
must
first break away from the herd, from all things you have considered
normal,
understanding that all you have learned in your life only served
self-interest
and group-interest; that so far your life, driven by vanity and
selfishness,
has been a mistake, and that you did not live as you might have. You
must see
that your character has been a learned behavior, until you have
redeemed your
last penny and stand completely naked. Then you will be granted the
last step,
from despair to rest. Then you will be able to see clearly. It is then
that you
will understand you are only man. At that moment, you will see
everywhere
around you people acting out their play, adorned with the masks of
their
character, occupation, religion and other group masks, and initially
you cannot
imagine that they cannot see this. It disturbs you when you realize you
know
more than all the great men of earth, because such knowledge is not
needed. If
you know yourself, you realize you only need knowledge in order to live
in
society, and that you must refute that same knowledge in order to live
free
from the world system. But, you understand everything!
3
Jesus
said: If
those who lead you say unto you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then
the
birds of the heavens will be before you. If they say unto you: It is in
the sea,
then the fish will be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and it
is
outside of you. When you know yourselves, then shall you be known, and
you
shall know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you do
not know yourselves,
then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.
Elucidation::
Do not
believe the words of your spiritual leaders. They tell you heaven is
the reward
and hell is the punishment after death. The true hell is the world of
the dead,
the unconscious, the sleeping here on earth. Heaven is the state of the
awakened. When you know yourself, you feel a part of the entire
creation and
all people. When "Jesus" talks of the Kingdom and the Father, he
tries to catch the unspeakable in a metaphor. About that which you
cannot
speak, you must pass over in silence. It is useless to talk of the
unspeakable
goal; it is enough to show the way. If you do not know yourself, you
lead a
miserable life; perhaps rich to the world, but poor for your Self.
4
Jesus
said: The
man aged in his days will not hesitate to ask a little child of seven
days
about
the place of life, and he shall live. For there are many first who
shall be
last, and they shall become a single one.
Elucidation:
A small
child of 7 days is still open-minded, not yet saddled with the weight
of
culture. It does not play a role and is itself. It has neither fake
needs nor
property. It does not know past nor future, frights, problems nor
anxieties. It
lives in the present and is neither male nor female in behavior. It
does not
have the schizoid character and spuriousness of an adult. Therefore, if
you
want to live a real life you must be as a child once again.
5
Jesus
said: Know
what is before thy face, and what is hidden from thee shall be revealed
unto thee;
for there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest.
Elucidation:
You
will
understand everything when you know yourself. If you understand your
inner
world, you understand the outer world. Men say they know themselves
with all
their faults and shortcomings. If you know your faults, why do you
continue to
commit them, and why do you accept your shortcomings? When you conform
to
society, you do an injustice to yourself and sin against yourself. What
is good
for nature is wrong for culture, and what is good for culture is wrong
for
nature.
6
His
disciples
asked him and said unto him: Wilt thou that we fast? And how
shall we
pray? Shall we give alms? And what rules shall we observe in
eating? Jesus
said: Do not lie; and that which you hate, do not do. For all things
are
revealed before heaven. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be
made manifest,
and there is nothing covered which shall remain uncovered.
Elucidation:
By
fasting, praying and giving alms, no man has ever become more human.
These
things belong to a life in society. By fasting, you do not do yourself
justice.
You only pray to a god if you do not realize that you are god yourself.
You can
only give alms if you posses property, and property is theft from
community.
7
Jesus
said:
Blessed is the lion, which the man shall eat, and the lion become man;
and
cursed is the man whom the lion shall eat, and the lion become man.
Elucidation:
Man is
the crown of creation. Literally it means that if a lion devours you it
is an
upgrade for the lion to be admitted into man, but is a degradation if
man is
admitted into the lion. Figuratively, it means that man should devour
culture
and leave nothing. For, if culture devours man, he is not doing well.
8
And
he said: Man
is like a wise fisherman, who cast his net into the sea and drew it up
from the
sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine
large fish.
He threw all the small fish back into the sea; he chose the large fish
with no
trouble. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Elucidation:
Of
everything man possesses, his true nature is the only thing of value.
The rest
is rubbish to be discarded.
9
Jesus
said:
Behold, the sower went forth, he filled his hand with seed, he cast.
Some fell
upon the road; the birds came and gathered it. Others fell on rock, and
sent no
root down to the earth nor did they sprout an ear up to heaven. And
others fell
on thorns; they choked the seed, and the worms ate them. And others
fell on
good earth, and brought forth good fruit unto heaven, some sixty -fold
and some
an hundred and twenty -fold.
Elucidation:
Only
when
the lessons of the master find a good breeding ground will they bring
forth
fruit and plenty. Civilized people have entrenched themselves in their
stubbornness and are deaf to the voice of their common sense. They have
confused their common sense with their own laws and rules and therefore
are
always in conflict with themselves.
10
Jesus
said: I
have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze.
Elucidation:
"Jesus"
was convinced that his message would eventually be understood and would
spread
like wildfire across the world, leaving a track of awakened ones. He
understood
that the men in power would resist to the utmost. He envisioned that
culture
and falsehood would go up in flames and he expected man to choose en
masse for
a simple and righteous life. Unfortunately, power continues to prevail
over
love. However, power is never brought to an end by power. The eternal
law is
that power is overcome by love.
11
Jesus
said: This
heaven shall pass away, and that which above it shall pass away; and
they that
are dead are not alive and they that live shall not die. In the days
when you
were eating that which is dead, you were making it alive. When you are
in the
light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you
became two.
But when you become two, what will you do?
Elucidation:
He
proclaims the eternal truth that man is man, no matter what he
considers
himself to be and no matter what unnatural behavior he shows. Man is
doomed to
be happy notwithstanding his efforts to resist and he can only return
to
himself. The degenerated man does not really live and once awakened can
never
fall asleep again. What is it you are to do when you have reached
enlightenment? As a small child you were whole; by adapting to society
your
life has become split and full of contradictions. Between character and
nature,
between your inside and your outside, between your mask and your true
face.
What will you choose?
12
The
disciples
said to Jesus: We know that thou wilt go from us. Who is he who shall
be great
over us? Jesus said to them: No matter where you are, you shall
go to
James the Just for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.
Elucidation:
Do not
depend on the master. Everybody has his inner master, the voice of his
conscience. The true master is the master that tells you to listen to
yourself.
He who will listen to himself unconditionally will become like the
master.
Every man can become wise and you are either wise or foolish, there is
nothing
between. He who is at a depth of one yard will drown just as the one
who is at
a depth of 500 fathoms. He who surpasses it can "walk on water".
13
Jesus
said to
his disciples: Compare me to something, and tell me whom I am like.
Simon Peter
said to him: Thou art like a righteous angel. Matthew said to him: Thou
art
like a wise man of understanding. Thomas said to him: Master, my mouth
will no
wise suffer that I say whom thou art like. Jesus said: I am not thy
master,
because thou hast drunk, thou hast become drunk from the bubbling
spring which
I have measured out. And he took him, went aside, and spoke to him
three words.
Now when Thomas came to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus
say unto
thee? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the words which he said
to me,
you will take up stones and throw them at me; and a fire will come out
of the
stones and burn you up.
Elucidation:
True
man
appears common just like everybody else. Although he carries the scars
of his
former life, he can only be recognized by his imperturbability. He does
not
know fears nor sorrow and he does not worry about tomorrow. He can play
the
social game faultlessly, but does not allow it to influence him. He is
joyful and
devoid of emotions. He feels safe and realizes he can no longer become
ill or
injured. He drifts with the current of life and does not try to manage
it. The
sleeping ones do not understand him. His disciples will only understand
him as
soon as they have become like their master. For only being like
"Jesus" is understanding him, just as only being like "god"
is understanding "god", but if you tell them that, they will stone
you to death. Although it says: you are gods! Why then not behave as
such?
14
Jesus
said to
them: If you fast, you will beget a sin upon yourselves; and if you
pray, you
will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do evil to your
spirits. And
if you enter into any land and travel in its regions, if they receive
you, eat
what they set before you. Heal the sick among them. For that which goes
into
your mouth will not defile you, but that which comes forth from your
mouth that
is what will defile you.
Elucidation:
Fasting
is against nature, praying requires a personal god and giving alms is
only
possible because of inequality between people. If you return to the
people,
participate in their play again and do not worry about that which you
will eat.
Whatever you may or may not eat and what is healthy or not is only
determined
by people. If you are a whole man, you can eat everything. You will not
get ill
from wrong food but from what you utter. Because what comes from your
mouth
comes from your thoughts: dishonesty, annoyance, hatred, greed, egoism,
jealousy, eagerness, viciousness, unrighteousness, ruse and deceit.
This is
what makes man ill. If nothing that enters the mouth makes ill, nothing
that
enters will cure as well. Medicines, vitamins and healthy food are for
the
sleeping ones. Cure the sick by showing them the way to wholeness and
simplicity. The living do not turn ill, because there is no need for
warnings
to show them they have left the right track. Do not cure the body, that
is in
vain, but cure the soul and the body follows automatically. After all,
a
healthy spirit lives in a healthy body.
15
Jesus
said: When
you see him, who was not born of woman, throw yourselves down upon your
face
and worship him. He is your Father.
Elucidation:
All men
are born from a woman, but if you feel "one" with everything and
realize that what gives life to all gives it to you too, then "you
see" as it was once written "god". Then, you know you have made
it.
16
Jesus
said:
Perhaps men think that I am come to bring peace upon earth, but know
not that I
am come to cast divisions upon earth, fire, sword, and war. For there
shall be
five in a house; there shall be three against two, and two against
three, the
father against the son and the son against the father, and they shall
stand
alone.
Elucidation:
He
realized that once his message was understood, it would result in a
separation
of minds. The one who is not with him is against him. The one that does
not
fight for himself fights against himself. A grim fight would start
between the
powerful and their subjects, between man and woman, between parents and
children, between leaders and followers, between clergy and believers,
between
the dependent and the free. The reversal of all values would cause a
total
collapse of all structures of power, within families, churches and
states. The
biggest threat to a culture is happy, independent, satisfied and free
people.
That remains valid.
17
Jesus
said: I
will give you that which eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and hand
has not
touched, and which has not entered into the heart of man.
Elucidation:
Man,
when
he has taken the last step and has awakened, experiences an
overwhelming
feeling of unity with the entire creation. To experience it is not
seeing, not
hearing, not touching.
18
The
disciples
said to Jesus: Tell us how our end shall be. Jesus said: Have you then
discovered the beginning that you seek after the end? For where the
beginning
is, there shall the end be. Blessed is he who shall stand in the
beginning, and
he shall know the end and shall not taste death.
Elucidation:
The end
will be like the beginning. The old man will become like a child. As
you were,
you will become. If you do not see through the present, you cannot know
the
end. If you know yourself, you know what you were like before and how
you
became what you were. It is called returning to the origin, to
yourself.
19
Jesus
said:
Blessed is he who is as he was before he came into being. If you become
my
disciples and hear my words, these stones shall minister to you. For
you have
five trees in Paradise
which do not move in summer or in winter, and their leaves do
not fall.
He who knows them shall not taste death.
Elucidation:
Blessed
is he who did not change, who remained who he is and did not turn into
someone
who is split inside. Blessed is the child, which has not been expelled
from
paradise by adapting to an unrighteous society. Blessed is he who hears
clearly, looks clearly, smells clearly, tastes clearly and feels
clearly, and
who does not let experiences from the past distort these things. He has
reached
enlightenment.
20
The
disciples
said to Jesus: Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said to
them: It
is like a grain of mustard seed, smaller than all seeds; but when it
falls on
the earth which is tilled, it puts forth a great branch, and becomes
shelter
for the birds of heaven.
Elucidation:
The
righteous world starts from a solitary person, but if mankind will be
open to
his message, the movement for the restoration of the original condition
and a
righteous world will spread rapidly.
21
Mary
said to
Jesus: Whom are thy disciples like? He said: They
are
like
little
children
dwelling
in
a
field
which
is
not
theirs.
When
the owners of the field come, they will
say:
Yield up to us our field. They are naked before them, to yield it up
and give
them back their field. Therefore I say: If the master of the house
knows that
the thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes, and will not
let him
dig into the house of his kingdom to carry off his vessels. You, then,
be
watchful against the world. Gird up your loins with great strength,
that the
brigands may not find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect
will
come. May there be among you a man of understanding! When the fruit was
ripe,
he came quickly, his sickle in his hand, and reaped. He that hath ears
to hear,
let him hear
Elucidation:
As long
as the disciples are not like the master, they have not understood the
message.
Therefore, it says: First seek the Kingdom of “God” and his
righteousness and
all these shall be added unto you. As long as you have not found it, it
is
better if you keep silent. But, as soon as you have found it and have
risen
from the dead, then you feel like a stranger in society. And, society
will make
it clear to you that it has nothing to offer you. Then you will wipe
the dust
from your feet and let them do their own thing. As soon as the
establishment
feels threatened, it will arm itself against those who preach the
unarmed
revolution. Therefore, be on your guard, see through their arguments
and do not
let yourself be pulled into their game. There are so many who hunger
and thirst
for righteousness; so many rightless, so many mourning and so many
meek. They
are ready to receive the message. Realize that you will not be heard by
the
successful of society, the successful by achievement and possession,
the men in
power and the defenders of the status quo.
22
Jesus
saw some
infants at the breast. He said to his disciples: These little ones at
the
breast are like those who enter into the kingdom. They said to him: If
we then
be children, shall we enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them:
When you
make the two one, and when you make the inside as the outside, and the
outside
as the inside, and the upper as the lower; and when you make the male
and the
female into a single one, that the male be not male and the female
female; when
you make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand,
and a foot
in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then shall you enter
[the
kingdom].
Elucidation:
If you
return
to being as a child, you will reach enlightenment. Children are still
not
split. Therefore, you have to give up your learned behavior, stop your
play-acting and take off your mask. Your outside must resemble your
inside. You
must disengage yourself from all that is considered normal, from all
spuriousness and dishonesty. Because the difference in tension between
the
inside and the outside causes your emotions. If the inside and outside
coincide, you have reached apatheia. The feminine woman and the
masculine man
are products of culture and their behavior is taught and false. The
only
difference between man and woman is gender, the rest is learned frill
and is on
the outside. True man is himself. You see, but differently; you feel,
but
differently; you walk, but differently; you look the same, but you are
different. Then, your inside equals your outside.
23
Jesus
said: I
shall choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand,
and they
shall stand as a single one.
Elucidation:
There
will
be very few who will believe that you can only be happy if you give up
everything. He who loses his social life will find his true life. He
who gives
up everything will get everything. It is therefore that the whores,
publicans,
and all those who have little to lose will go first. All those that
have tried
to free themselves, found something but searched wrongly and got lost
along the
way, will be the last ones. For that reason, it says: the first ones
shall be
the last ones.
24
His
disciples
said: Teach us concerning the place where thou art, for it is necessary
for us
to seek after it. He said to them: He that hath ears, let him hear.
There is a
light within a man of light, and it gives light to the whole world. If
it does
not give light, there is darkness.
Elucidation:
The
master speaks the voice of conscience. He explains what everybody in
fact
already knows, but to what they have always been hearing as though deaf
and
seeing as though blind. The master has become master because he has
listened to
himself. As long as you need a master, you do not want to listen to
yourself.
That is indolent.
25
Jesus
said: Love
thy brother as thy soul; keep him as the apple of thine eye.
Elucidation:
Love
your
fellow men as you love yourself. You can only love someone
unconditionally if
you love yourself unconditionally. You can only love yourself if you
know
yourself and realize that you are a perfect creature. Consider your
blinded
fellow men to be deceived people, who are in fact just like you but are
not aware
of it. Watch over them as you watch over yourself.
26
Jesus
said: The
mote which is in thy brother's eye, thou seest; but the beam which is
in thine
eye, thou seest not. When thou dost cast out the beam from thine own
eye, then
wilt thou see to cast out the mote from thy brother's eye.
Elucidation:
In the
way you judge another, you judge yourself. The way you talk about
another says
more about yourself than about the other. Free yourself from your own
prejudices before you judge someone else. Only then, when you have no
more
prejudices, can you see clearly and not judge any longer. Refute your
own ideas
first, before you try to refute the ideas of others. Do not condemn the
still-sleeping, but realize you were also asleep before you awoke.
27
"Jesus
said: If you fast not from the world, you will not find the kingdom; if
you
keep not the Sabbath as Sabbath, you will not see the Father.
Elucidation:
As long
as you play in an unrighteous world, you are unrighteous yourself. As
long as
you bear even a scrap of unrighteousness in yourself, you are
unrighteous. As
long as you pursue power over your fellow men, you dirty your hands. As
long as
you allow others to influence you with their opinions, you are not
free. As
long as you are not what you are, you do not know yourself. Therefore,
you have
to be in this world but not be part of it. You have to act without
ulterior
motives, unselfish and respecting yourself and not obeying the
conventions. As
long as you serve your self-interest, you do not serve the interest of
mankind.
As long as you do not take responsibility for your actions and
thinking, but
blame the circumstances, your past or the other, you run away from your
own
responsibility. Only when you no longer do that, will you see the
light.
28
Jesus
said: I
stood in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I
found them
all drunk, I found none among them thirsting; and my soul was afflicted
for the
sons of men, for they are blind in their heart and they do not see. For
empty
came they into the world, seeking also to depart empty from the world.
But now
they are drunk. When they have thrown off their wine, then will they
repent.
Elucidation:
The
enlightened, awakened man finds himself amidst his fellow men who are
under the
influence of their vices and whose heads are filled with their
self-conceit and
their own truths. They are proud of their deeds, achievements and
vanity and
they do not see clearly. They were born without property, without
opinions and
without convictions, and as such, they will finally all leave life.
What a
waste to gather all encumbrance if you have to give it up anyway. It
would be
better to do it during life and return to simplicity now. And, do not
saddle
your children with your own luggage.
29
Jesus
said: If
the flesh has come into being because of the spirit, it is a marvel;
but if the
spirit (has come into being) because of the body, it is a marvel of
marvels.
But as for me, I marvel at this, how this great wealth has settled in
this
poverty.
Elucidation:
It is
amazing that the spirit has chosen the human body for accommodation. It
is
bizarre to believe that the body generates the spirit as a product.
This is
seeing the world upside-down, as people have turned everything
upside-down.
They feel that if the body is sane, the spirit will become sane as
well. If you
look around at this world, it is pathetic and sad what people do to
their lives
and bodies.
30
Jesus
said:
Where there are three gods, they are gods; where there are two or one,
I am
with him.
Elucidation:
This
logion is too cryptic for an elucidation.
31
Jesus
said: No
prophet is acceptable in his village; a physician does not heal those
who know
him.
Elucidation:
If
someone leaves the world of shadows, finally learning to see clearly,
and
returns to break the chains of the laggers, they will not accept that.
When his
ideas changed, they told him to behave normally; that he had to adapt
or
otherwise everything would go wrong for him. Then, he returns with what
is in
their opinion insane ideas, far beyond their reality. They will tell
him he has
changed and that they no longer know him. They will laugh at him and
call him
insane. The family and friends of a doctor know his weaknesses,
prejudices and
shortcomings, and for them he is not the authority he is for his
patients. For
that reason, it says: Doctor cure yourself, before you try to cure
others. For
in society there are only two kinds of doctors: the first prevents you
from
living, the other helps you to die.
32
Jesus
said: A city
that is built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it
remain
hidden.
Elucidation:
If you
have freed yourself of your status, do no longer hold opinions and
stakes, in
fact have nothing left to loose, you are unimpeachable and elusive. Still you will stand out.
33
Jesus
said: What
thou shalt hear in thine ear, proclaim to the other ear on your
rooftops. For
no man lights a lamp and sets it under a bushel, nor does he put it in
a hidden
place; but he sets it upon the lamp-stand, that all who go in and come
out may
see its light.
Elucidation:
If you
have reached enlightenment, do not keep it to yourself, but also do not
propagate it exuberantly. Be sly as a snake and innocent as a dove, for
the
resistance of men is great. People will prefer fighting to the death
rather
than to give up their unhappiness.
34
Jesus
said: If a
blind man lead a blind man, both fall into a pit.
Elucidation:
If you
are led by people who also do not know the way, by seekers who did not
find; if
you set out together but do not know where to go, you will keep on
wandering
and go to rack and ruin.
35
Jesus
said: It
is not possible for anyone to go into the strong man's house and take
it (or
him) by force, unless he binds his hands; then he will plunder his
house.
Elucidation:
Only if
you first break through your own defenses, will you then be able to
empty your
thoughts and get rid of everything learned which is not truly yours.
36
Jesus
said: Be
not anxious from morning to evening and from evening to morning about
what you
shall put on.
Elucidation:
Do not
worry about your clothes, for that is only on the outside. As long as
you think
clothes are important, you do not realize that it is only to conceal
your
uncertainty and to distinguish yourself from other wrappings. With your
clothes, you create an unnatural exterior that conceals the natural
beauty of
your body. And, if you do it to hide your malformations, realize what
living in
a culture has done to your body, and how you have decayed from a
perfect baby
to what you are now.
37
His
disciples
said: On what day wilt thou be revealed us, and on what day shall we
see thee? Jesus said: When you unclothe yourselves and are not
ashamed, and take your
garments and lay them beneath your feet like little children, and tread
upon
them, then [shall ye see] the Son of the living One, and ye shall not
fear.
Elucidation:
When will you realize you have succeeded in taking the
last step and
have awoken? When you are proud and happy to be what you are and do not
have to
be more than man; when you are unaffected by what people think and say
about
you, then you will no longer be ashamed of your nakedness. A
relationship
exists between nakedness and paradise. Someone who is not ready for one
is not
ready for the other, either.
38
Jesus
said: Many
times have you desired to hear these words which I speak unto you, and
you have
none other from whom to hear them. The day will come when you will seek
after
me, and you will not find me.
Elucidation:
So many
seekers have wished to reach the final goal, because otherwise there is
no
reason to search. The solution is so obvious, yet so unimaginable and
so
different from what everybody thought, that it is hard to believe. It
is useful
to have a teacher because he can show you the way, yet it is not
necessary. In
the end, he only tells you what you already know. He who does not want
to
listen to himself will also not be open to a master who preaches that
you have
to listen to yourself.
39
Jesus
said: The
Pharisees and the scribes have received the keys of knowledge; they
have hidden
them. They did not go in, and those who wanted to go in they
did not
allow. But you be ye wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Elucidation:
Your
spiritual leaders and theologians do not understand themselves and yet
they
call themselves your leaders. They are stray leaders, who turned the
straight
and simple path into a wandering. They think they hold the truth, but
it is
only their own truth. They could have known, but they go to rack and
ruin
because of their own vanity, and drag you along. They do not live a
real life,
and prevent you from living. However, you have to be smarter than they
are. Let
them talk and play their game for the time being.
40
Jesus
said: A
vine was planted apart from the Father, and since it is not established
it will
be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.
Elucidation:
If you
have lost contact with yourself and your nature, you have expelled
yourself
from paradise. At that moment, you have eaten from the tree of the
knowledge of
good and evil, and you think you know what is good, bad, healthy, and
unhealthy
for yourself. As in the myth of Adam and Eve, you do not take
responsibility
for your own deeds, but blame it on seduction, circumstances or others.
41
Jesus
said: He
who has in his hand, to him shall be given; and he who has not, from
him shall
be taken even the little that he has.
Elucidation:
He who
is
willing to reform his life and look for himself will be helped. You
have to
take the first step yourself. That is why it says: approach "god" and
he will approach you. He who remains where he is and does not set out,
will
perish in his self-conceit and stubbornness.
42
Jesus
said:
Become passers-by.
Elucidation:
Get rid
of your ballast and do not stick to anything. Live like a free man.
Freedom can
only be defined by what it is not: not committed to property, opinions,
desires, and independent from other people. What remains is a total
dependency
on nature, and the only true freedom man has is to break that bond and
restore
it.
43
His
disciples
said to him: Who art thou, that thou shouldst say these things to us?
Jesus
said to them: From what I say unto you, you do not understand who I am,
but you
have become as the Jews; for they love the tree and hate its fruit, and
they
love the fruit and hate the tree.
Elucidation:
The
words
of the enlightened man sound terribly arrogant. It appears that he
knows things
better than all academics and all the great men of the world. However,
he does
not know more. He says he does not know anything and that all knowledge
consists of human constructs that only damage life. He who increases
knowledge
increases sorrow. He who reduces knowledge reduces sorrow. No
knowledge, no
sorrow. Men love their wisdom writings, but consider the consequences
too
absurd to live accordingly.
44
Jesus
said: He
who blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and he who
blasphemes
against the Son will be forgiven but he who blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit
will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven.
Elucidation:
Everything
will
be
forgiven
when
no
longer
practiced.
Ignorance
has
made
you
sin.
However,
he
who has the spirit and is enlightened and should know, but misuses
it
anyway, cannot be forgiven.
45
Jesus
said: They
do not gather grapes from thorns, no pluck figs from camel thistles;
these do
not yield fruit. A good man brings forth a good thing from his good
treasure; a
bad man bring forth evil things from his evil treasure in his heart,
and he
says evil things; for out of the abundance of his heart he brings forth
evil
things.
Elucidation:
You
know
a man by his deeds. By his prejudices you learn his opinions. You know
his
dichotomy from his emotions. His outside shows you his inside. You know
his
spuriousness from his illnesses. You know the master by his disciples.
You know
the parents by their children.
46
Jesus
said: From
Adam to John the Baptist there is none born of woman who is higher than
John
the Baptist, so that his eyes will not be broken (?) But I have said:
He who
shall be among you as a little one shall know the kingdom, and shall be
higher
than John.
Elucidation:
There
are
many who sought very long, found a lot, but not everything. He who reaches enlightenment is greater
than they.
47
Jesus
said: It
is not possible for a man to ride two horses or draw two bows,
and it is
not possible for a servant to serve two masters; or he will honour one
and
insult the other. A man does not drink old wine and immediately desire
to drink
new wine; and they do not pour new wine into old skins, lest they
burst, nor do
they pour old wine into new skins, lest it spoil. They do not sew an
old patch
on a new garment, for a rent will occur.
Elucidation:
You
cannot be faithful to yourself and to society. You cannot lead a
natural life
and take part in an unnatural culture. Every compromise compromises.
You cannot
be righteous and join an unrighteous society. You cannot run with the
hare and
hunt with the hounds. It is not a choice for both, but for one of the
two. It
is not grey but black/white. Nature and culture never go together, but
one is
always at the expense of the other. If one grows, the other has to
shrink. To
reach 100% Culture is a utopia; to reach 100% nature means paradise.
That is
how it began and how it will end. You cannot change from one day to the
next.
You cannot live a new life next to your old life. You cannot make old
mistakes
in a new life.
48
Jesus
said: If
two make peace with one another in this house, they shall say to the
mountain:
Be moved, and it shall be moved.
Elucidation:
If you
live in peace with yourself, you can handle the whole world. You can
only live
in peace with another man if you live in peace with yourself. Happy
people need
nothing and can achieve everything.
49
Jesus
said:
Blessed are the solitary and the elect, for you shall find the kingdom;
for you
came forth thence, and shall go there again.
Elucidation:
Blessed
is he who was divided but returned to simplicity. He has found himself.
You can
become again the child you once were.
50
Jesus
said: If
they say to you: Whence have you come?, tell them: We have come from
the light,
the place where the light came into being through itself alone. It
[stood], and
it revealed itself in their image. If they say to you: Who are you?,
say: We
are his sons, and we are the elect of the living Father. If they ask
you: What
is the sign of your Father in you?, tell them: It is a movement and a
rest.
Elucidation:
Then,
when you have reversed your life and have awoken, people will tell you
that you
have changed, that they no longer know you and that you are no longer
the one
you used to be. Then, be careful and play the game for the time being.
Do not
try to explain to them what happened to you, for they will not
understand.
51
His
disciples
said to him: On what day will the rest of the dead come into being? And
on what
day will the new world come? He said to them: That which ye await has
come, but
ye know it not.
Elucidation:
The
dead
who think they are alive, or the sleeping who think they are awake, do
not know
peace. They are always busy with their thoughts, with their past and
future,
with solving problems, with acquiring and defending their property and
opinions, and with giving sense to their senseless lives. If they stop
doing
that, the new world starts. The awakened are already part of this new
world,
but the other people do not see it.
52
His
disciples
said to him: Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel,
and they all spoke concerning (lit. in) thee. He said to them: You have
neglected him who is alive before you, and have spoken about the dead.
Elucidation:
All
prophets and mystics have seen a glimpse of the new mankind, but they
have been
unable to show the way unequivocally. They always got caught in the
elaboration
of the message, or they gave in to their vanity. The true master, the
righteous, serves the interest of mankind.
53
His
disciples
said to him: Is circumcision profitable or not? He said to them: Were
it
profitable, their father would beget them from their mother
circumcised. But
the true circumcision in spirit has proved entirely profitable
(lit.:has found
usefulness altogether).
Elucidation:
If the
foreskin were harmful, man would have been born without it. If it made
sense
for man to fly, he would have been born with wings, and if it were
necessary to
dress, man would have been born with fur. All mutilations and
adaptations which
man has made to himself, do not serve life but his way of life only.
54
Jesus
said:
Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Elucidation:
Blessed
are those who have little property and have filled their heads with
little
knowledge. They are the ones who have little to lose. They only have to
part
with little, as opposed to the rich and the scholars. He who loses his
social
life will still have true life.
55
Jesus
said: He
who shall not hate his father and his mother cannot be my disciple, and
(he who
does not) hate his brethren and his sisters and take up his cross like
me,
shall not be worthy of me.
Elucidation:
For
generations, parents have passed on their luggage to their children,
blended
with their own prejudices, fears, self-conceit, ambitions and other
scars they
incurred in their lives. That is why it says that the sins of the
fathers will
be transferred to the third and fourth generation. If you want to
become whole,
you have to get rid of the luggage of your parents, as do your brothers
and
sisters and of course your parents and their parents too. Do love them,
but not
their thoughts and deeds. It is a difficult task, but if you do not
want to
sacrifice this, you will not awaken.
56
Jesus
said: He
who has known the world has found a corpse, and he who has found a
corpse, the
world is not worthy of him.
Elucidation:
He who
has seen through society with all its uselessness, unrighteousness and
contradictions and has distanced himself from it and refuses to take
part in it
any longer, is too good for that world.
57
Jesus
said: The
kingdom of the Father is like a man who had [good] seed. His enemy came
by
night, he sowed a weed among the good seed. The man did not
allow them
to pull up the weed. He said to them: Lest perhaps you go to pull up
the weed,
and pull up the wheat with it. For on the day of harvest the weeds will
be
manifest; they will be pulled up and burned.
Elucidation:
In
essence, man is perfect. However, he does not realize it. Self-conceit
and
pride have landed him with matters that are contrary to his nature. You
have to
realize what is improper before you can get rid of it.
58
Jesus
said:
Blessed is the man who has suffered; he has found true life.
Elucidation:
You
have
to sacrifice a lot and fight a heavy fight with yourself. However, if
you will
lose the fight with yourself anyway, why not surrender now? The reward
is
blessedness and a life without sorrow and pain.
59
Jesus
said: Look
upon the living One so long as you live, that you may not die and seek
to see
him, and be unable to see.
Elucidation:
He who
has awoken will never be able to fall asleep again without deceiving
himself.
The deceit of the sleeping is a collective, repressed and unconscious
deceit.
The self-deceit of the awoken is conscious and for that he is
blameworthy.
60
They
saw a
Samaritan carrying a lamb going into Judaea. He
said to his disciples: Why does he carry the lamb? They said to him:
That he
may kill it and eat it. He said to them: So long as it is alive he will
not eat
it, but if he kill it, it become a corpse. They said: Otherwise
he will
not be able to do it. He said to them: You also, seek for yourselves a
place
within for rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.
Elucidation:
As long
as you do not lead a true life, you are "dead" and liable to
illnesses and emotions that eat up your mind. Therefore, look for the
true life.
61
Jesus
said: Two
shall rest upon a bed; one shall die, the other live. Salome said: Who
art
thou; O man? And whose son? Thou hast mounted my bed, and eaten from my
table.
Jesus said to her: I am he who is from that which is equal; to me was
given of
the things of my Father. Salome said: I am thy disciple. Jesus said to
her:
Therefore I say, when it is equal it will be filled with light, but
when it is
divided it will be filled with darkness
Elucidation:
The
degenerated man has two souls: the wise one and the opinionated one.
The first
leads to life, the other to death. The enlightened soul is the simple
one, in
whom the opinionated soul has died.
62
Jesus
said: I
tell my mysteries to those [who are worthy of my] mysteries. What thy
right
hand shall do, let not thy left hand know.
Elucidation:
Only
the
one who is open to another life and longs for righteousness will
understand
these words of life. Act without meaning.
63
Jesus
said: There
was a rich man who had many possessions. He said: I will use my
possessions
that I may sow and reap and plant, and fill my barns with fruit, that I
may
have need of nothing. These were his thoughts in his heart. And in that
night
he died. He that hath ears, let him hear.
Elucidation:
Always
busy securing the future, always busy becoming happy, never having time
to
live, men miss life. As soon as they have organized everything, it is
too late
and they pass away without having truly lived. Working is for fools.
64
Jesus
said: A
man had guests, and when he had prepared the dinner he sent his servant
to
summon the guests. He came to the first; he said to him: My master
summons
thee. He said: I have business with some merchants. They are coming to
me in
the evening. I will go and give them orders. I pray to be excused from
he
dinner. He went to another; he said to him: My master has summoned
thee. He
said to him: I have bought a house, and they ask me for a day. I shall
not have
time. He came to another; he aid to him: My master summons thee. He
said to
him: My friend is about to be married, and I am to hold a dinner. I
shall not
be able to come. I pray to be excused from the dinner. He went to
another; he
said to him: My master summons thee. He said him: I have bought a
village; I go
to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. I pray to be excused.
The
servant came, he said to his master: Those whom thou didst summon to
the dinner
have excused themselves. The master said to his servant: Go out into
the roads.
Bring those whom thou shalt find, that they may dine. The buyers and
the
merchants [shall] not [enter] the places of my Father.
Elucidation:
He who
thinks his occupations in society are more important than life, he who
is
attached to his properties and is not willing to detach himself, he who
is attached
to his cage and does not dare leave it, he who is addicted to his
pleasures and
is not willing to give them up, he who swills in his power and does not
see the
unrighteousness of doing so, will never join the feast of true life.
65
He
said: A good man had a vineyard. He gave it to husbandmen that they
might work
it, and he should receive its fruit from their hand. He sent his
servant that
the husbandmen might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized
his
servant, they beat him, and all but killed him. The servant came (and)
told his
master. His master said: Perhaps they did not know him. He sent another
servant; the husbandmen beat the other also. Then the master sent his
son. He
said: Perhaps they will reverence my son. Those husbandmen, since they
knew
that he was the heir of the vineyard, seized him (and) killed him. He
that hath
ears, let him hear.
Elucidation:
Men who
have been given the earth to live on to inhabit and enjoy its
overwhelming
nature, have destroyed nature in their foolishness, greed and vanity,
and still
they continue. Only men who, in their haughtiness, place themselves
outside of
and above nature can do such things. All those who raise their voices
against
this are scoffed at and declared unpractical fools or are killed as
heretics.
66
Jesus
said:
Teach me concerning this stone which the builders rejected; it is the
corner stone.
Elucidation:
The
entire societal building, the entire culture, the entire tower of Babel is built on
degenerated men. If humankind would return to its roots, the whole
building
would collapse. A man who is real only needs himself.
67
Jesus
said: He
who knows the All but fails (to know) him-self lacks everything
Elucidation:
He who
believes nature is imperfect thinks he is imperfect as well. He who
believes
nature is to be improved believes he can improve himself.
68
Jesus
said:
Blessed are you when they hate you, and persecute you, and do not find
a place
in the spot where they persecuted you.
Elucidation:
If
people
hate and pursue you, then you know you are on the right path. Honesty
and
righteousness are punished mercilessly in a dishonest and unrighteous
society.
69
Jesus
said:
Blessed are they who have been persecuted in their heart; these are
they who
have known the Father in truth. Blessed are they that hunger, that they
may
fill the belly him who desires.
Elucidation:
Men who
do well in society, who receive esteem from others and those who have
reached
success in the world have no motivation to change their lives. Only
those
people who stand with their backs to the wall: the losers, the
deprived, they
who hunger for righteousness, will be ready to accept a change in their
lives.
70
Jesus
said: When
you bring forth that in yourselves, that which you have will save you.
If you
do not have that in yourselves, that which you do not have in you will
kill
you.
Elucidation:
Your
conscience will save you if you obey it. Honesty will finally win. If
you do
not listen to your conscience, you will perish without having lived.
71
Jesus
said: I
will des[troy this] house, and none shall able to build it [again].
Elucidation:
"Jesus"
was convinced his message would end culture and the untrue life. He
foresaw men
returning to simplicity 'en masse' during his lifetime, and that men
would
destroy all products of this society so that none of it would remain
72
[A man
said] to him: Speak to my brethren, that they may divide my father's
possessions with me. He said to him: O man, who made me a divider? He
turned to
his disciples (and) said to them: I am not a divider, am I?
Elucidation:
The
message of "Jesus" is meant to restore the lost unity of humankind,
not to distribute property in a fair way, since in a righteous society
there is
no property, but all belongs to everybody.
73
Jesus
said: The
harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few; but pray the Lord,
that he
send forth labourers into the harvest.
Elucidation:
Notwithstanding
the
enormous
misery
in
this
world
and
how
many
there
are
who
can no
longer cope
with life in this society, there are only a few who understand. They
are the
voices of one crying in the wilderness.
74
He
said: Lord, there are many about the well, but no one in the well.
Elucidation:
Many
long
for the full life, but the words of their leaders are empty.
75
Jesus
said:
There are many standing at the door, but the solitary are they who
shall enter
the bridal chamber.
Elucidation:
Many
want
a happy life, but are not willing to give up their inner division. Only
the
simple ones, those who will not run with the hare and [also] hunt with
the dogs
will reach blessedness.
76
Jesus
said: The
kingdom of the Father is like a merchant was who had a load (of goods)
and
found a pearl. That merchant was wise. He sold the load, and bought for
himself
the pearl alone. You also, seek after his treasure, which does not
perish but
endures, where moth does not enter to devour, nor does worm destroy.
Elucidation:
Get rid
of all things that are not typical of man, such as your false needs,
and be
yourself. That is the only thing that cannot be taken from you.
77
Jesus
said: I am
the light that is over them all. I am the All; the All has come forth
from me,
and the All has attained unto me. Cleave a (piece of) wood: I am there.
Raise
up the stone, an ye shall find me there.
Elucidation:
He who
has found himself feels unity with the entire creation and all
creatures. The
mystical experience gives that feeling momentarily. Enlightenment is a
lasting
mystical experience. It is an everlasting pantheistic experiencing.
78
Jesus
said: Why
came ye forth into the field? To see reed shaken by the wind? And
to
see
a
man
clothed
in
soft
raiment? [Behold, your] kings and your
great men
are they who are clothed in soft [raiment], and they [shall] not be
able to know
the truth.
Elucidation:
Why do
you enter society? To gaze in admiration at the false appearance of it?
At the
lovely outside that hides rotting and decay? At the great men on earth
who are
only as small as man? At their erudition and knowledge that conceals
their
ignorance? At the ingenious buildings that are insignificant compared
to the
wonderful majesty of creation?
79
A
woman in the
crowd said to him: Blessed is the womb which bore thee, and the breasts
which
nourished thee. He said to her: Blessed are they who have heard the
word of the
Father and have kept it in truth. For there shall be days when you will
say:
Blessed is that womb which has not conceived, and those breasts which
have not
given suck.
Elucidation:
It is
of
no merit to parents if somebody, forced by circumstances, leaves the
world of
shadows and comes to rest in the true world, neither is it a merit to
himself.
He did not know what he was looking for when he started his search and
found
what he had never expected. Nowadays, one should not be envious of
people who
have brought children into this world, for they have to educate them
and split
them until they fit into this split society. They have to teach them
that
sorrow, pain and unrighteousness belong to life. That is why it says:
it would
be better for them if a millstone were put around their necks and they
were
thrown into the sea than to seduce any of these little ones into sin.
80
Jesus
said: He
who has known the world has found the body, and he who has found the
body, the
world is not worthy of him.
Elucidation:
He who
has seen through society, with all its contradictions and false
appearances,
understands himself. He has found himself. He has reached the ultimate
wisdom
and is greater than all great men of the world. And, he realizes that
it is
achievable for everybody.
81
Jesus
said: He
who has become rich, let him become king, and he who has power
let him
deny.
Elucidation:
He who
has found true life sees through society and his fellow men. This
enables him
to use his knowledge for his own sake, for it gives the master power
over his
disciples and society. Resist the temptation to misuse it, however.
82
Jesus
said: He
who is near to me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far
from the
kingdom.
Elucidation:
He who
sticks close to himself is close to enlightenment. The bigger the gap
between
the inside and the outside, the more untrue you are and the more
darkness there
is.
83
Jesus
said: The
images are revealed to man, and the light which is in them is hidden in
the
image of the light of the Father. He shall be revealed, and his image
is hidden
by his light.
Elucidation:
If man
feels one with creation, he will experience that whatever inspires
himself,
inspires creation. He will experience it, but will not see what
inspires
everything. He will see "god" without seeing him.
84
Jesus
said: When
you see your likeness, you rejoice; but when you see your images which
came
into being before you -- they neither die nor are made manifest -- how
much
will you bear?
Elucidation:
Rejoice
if you see who you really are. However, if you experience the uncreated
that
penetrates everything, can you cope with that?
85
Jesus
said: Adam came into being out of a great power and a great
wealth, and yet he was
not worthy of you. For if he had been worthy, he would not have tasted
death.
Elucidation:
The
original man was a beautiful and perfect man, but he has spoiled it for
himself
and his descendants by not listening to his conscience and by ignoring
his
nature, as well as nature as a whole. Therefore, he has "died".
Still, small children are the true men, though their parents lead them
into the
underworld without knowing what they do.
86
Jesus
said: [The
foxes have] the[ir holes] and the birds have [their] nest, but the Son
of Man
has no place to lay his head and rest.
Elucidation:
Every
creature has its place in the world, which it has been assigned. Where
every
animal obeys his nature, man has deviated from his because of his
stubbornness.
He no longer listens to his nature but fights it. His conscience is
never
leaves him in peace.
87
Jesus
said:
Wretched is the body which depends upon a body, and wretched is
the soul
which depends on these two.
Elucidation:
It is a
curious spectacle for somebody that has awoken to watch one who is
sleeping be
guided by another who is sleeping or to hear a conversation between two
sleeping ones. It resembles a discussion between two masked people or
two
exterior bodies. Miserable is the conscience that dwells in both and
that is
overruled by the insane mind.
88
Jesus
said: The
angels come to you, and the prophets, and they shall give you
what
belongs to you; and you also, give them what is in your hands, and say
to
yourselves: On what day do they come and take what is theirs?s
Elucidation:
As soon
as you have awoken, false messengers and prophets who do not exactly
understand
you, try to give you what you already have and try to make clear to you
what
you already know. Be strong and do not listen to them, but know that
you must
listen to yourself unconditionally. Try to make that clear to them and
wonder
when they will understand.
89
Jesus
said: Why
do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that
he who
made the inside is also he who made the outside?
Elucidation:
Why do
you pay attention to your exterior and why do you clean and beautify
your
bodies? He who is perfect on the inside is also perfect on the outside.
He who
is mutilated inside is mutilated on the outside also, for the body is
the mirror
of the soul. Nobody gets more beautiful by decorating the outside of
his body.
What poverty does today’s man show with his mutilated body, as wrinkled
on the
outside as it is on the inside? Ill on the outside and ill on the
inside. The
more ill outside, the more ill inside. The more dolled up, the more to
hide.
90
Jesus
said: Come
unto me, for easy is my yoke and my lordship is gentle, and you
shall
find rest for yourselves.
Elucidation:
Get
yourself together and do not fight yourself any longer, because in the
end you
will lose anyway. It is so exhausting to pretend you are different from
who you
truly are and to constantly reconcile your inner conflicts.
91
They
said to
him: Tell us who thou art, that we may believe in thee. He said to
them: You test
the face of heaven and earth, and him who is before you you do not
know, and
you know not to test this moment.
Elucidation:
Imagine
somebody standing up and claiming he was enlightened, how can he
explain that?
How will people recognize him? How can the disciples know they have to
believe
his words and how do they know what he says is true?
92
Jesus
said:
Seek, and ye shall find; but those things concerning which ye asked me
in those
days, I did not tell you then. Now I wish to tell them, and ye seek not
after
them.
Elucidation:
The
master acts carefully, for you will recognize the truth by not liking
the
message. It is a painful discovery to find out you have slept your
whole life,
and imagine how it would feel if you have to explain this to someone
else. Men
are not willing to listen to the truth unless they are with their backs
against
the wall. For that reason, they insist on playing their game and not
asking
themselves whether they should play the game or not.
93
Jesus
said: Give
not that which is holy to the dogs, lest they cast them on the dung-
heap; cast
not the pearls before swine lest they grind them [to bits].
Elucidation:
Try to
tell these words to the opinionated cautiously, but if they persevere
in their
untrue life, do not insist that they hear you. They will misuse the
words and
twist them for their own use.
94
Jesus
[said]: He
who seeks shall find, and he who knocks to him it shall be opened.
Elucidation:
Only
when
you have searched to the end and have gotten rid of all your luggage
will you
pass through the narrow gate. You do not need to knock, for the door is
open.
95
[Jesus
said]: If you have money, do not lend at interest, but give [it] to him
from
whom you will not receive it back.
Elucidation:
If you
do
have property, abandon it unconditionally and definitely. It is not
wise to
burden somebody else with it.
96
Jesus
[said]:
The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little leaven and
[hid] it
in meal; she made large loaves of it. He that hath ears, let him hear.
Elucidation:
As the
leaven penetrates the whole loaf and makes it rise, the uncreated
penetrates
the entire creation and lets it be.
97
Jesus
said: The
kingdom of the [Father] is like a woman; carrying a jar full of meal
and
walking a long way. The handle the jar broke; the meal poured out
behind her on
the road. She was unaware, she knew not her loss. When she came into
her house,
she put down the jar (and) found it empty.
Elucidation:
Man has
to free himself of all that is not his. Only then, when you have
emptied your
head of all thoughts and emotions that stem from the difference between
your
inside and outside, will you awaken.
98
Jesus
said: The
kingdom of the Father is like a man who wanted to kill a great man. He
drew a
sword in his house and drove it into the wall, that he might know that
his hand
would be strong. Then he slew the great man.
Elucidation:
If you
have awoken, first let it rest. Realize how threatening it is for the
sleeping,
for it is very difficult to explain his mistake to who sleeps but
thinks he is
awake. Train, train, train; make the most of your talents, and if you
see
through the play completely, then speak out, but remain cautious.
99
The
disciples
said to him: Thy brethren and thy mother are standing outside. He said
to them:
Those here who do the will of my Father, these are my brethren and my
mother;
these are they who shall enter into the kingdom of my Father.
Elucidation:
Your
true
relatives are your congenial spirits. For the righteous one, true
brothers and
sisters are also righteous ones.
100
They
showed
Jesus a gold piece and said to him: They who belong to Caesar demand
tribute
from us. He said to them: What belongs to Caesar give to Caesar, what
belongs
to God give to God, and what is mine give unto me.
Elucidation:
As long
as you live in this unrighteous world, play the game. Do not play the
martyr,
but realize your freedom is fenced in by the intolerance of your
sleeping
fellow men. Do not fight them with their own weapons and never fight
back in
defense. Let your honesty disarm them. Do what they want you to do and
realize
they do not know better. However, stay firm and honest with yourself.
101
Jesus
said He who
shall not hate his father and mother like me cannot be my [disciple],
and he
who shall [not] love [his father] and his mother like me cannot be my
[disciple]; for my mother [. ..] but my true [mother] gave me life.
Elucidation:
Distance
yourself
from
the
ideas
of
your
parents,
and
that
they
taught
you
to
become a
small cog in a big wheel in society. They tried to do well, but did not
know
what they were doing. Love them as you love your fellow man. In their
role as
parents, they have wrinkled you and led you out of paradise, because
they
thought you had to make something of yourself. They taught you right
and wrong
and how to live, because they never reflected on this for themselves,
but
rather believed the words of the people they had estimated to be better
and
more clever than themselves.
102
And
Jesus said:
Woe to them, the Pharisees! For they are like a dog sleeping in the
manger of
the cattle; for he neither eats, nor does he let the cattle eat.
Elucidation:
Woe to
the spiritual leaders. They are not happy and go astray, although they
think
they own the truth. They have complicated the straight and simple road
and now
guide their church people. They themselves are unrighteous and hinder
their
followers in becoming righteous. Continuously, they try to justify the
contradictions between their doctrine and their lives and adapt them to
the
present.
103
Jesus
said:
Blessed is the man who knows in what part the robbers are coming, that
he may
rise and gather his [domain] and gird up his loins before they come in.
Elucidation:
As soon
as you have become man again, you are elusive and inviolable, because
you see
clearly through the weaknesses and contradictions in the arguments and
reasoning of your opponents. Therefore, they can no longer upset you.
You do
not need to arm yourself, but can disarm them by your disarming
simplicity.
There is no need to refer to the theories or ideas of others, because
you have
certainty in yourself.
104
They
said [to
him]: Come, let us pray today and fast. Jesus said: What then is the
sin that I
have done, or wherein have I been vanquished? But when the
bridegroom
comes forth from the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray.
Elucidation:
To fast
and pray is something the sleeping do. As soon as you have left
simplicity and
live a split life, you have to fast and pray, although it will not help.
105
Jesus
said: He
who shall know father and mother shall be called the son of a harlot.
Elucidation:
He who
relies on all he learned from his parents, and he who tries to blame
his deeds
and unhappiness on an unhappy childhood, does not take responsibility
for his
own life..
106
Jesus
said: When
you make the two one, you shall become sons of man, and when you say:
Mountain,
be moved, it shall be moved.
Elucidation:
If you
dissolve the contradictions in yourself and overcome your schizoid
existence,
you will be man again. Then you can cope with the whole world.
107
Jesus
said: The
kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the
biggest,
went astray. He left the ninety-nine and sought after the one till he
found it.
When he had laboured, he said to the sheep: I love thee more than the
ninety-nine.
Elucidation:
This
logion is analogous to logion 8.
108
Jesus
said: He
who shall drink from my mouth shall become like me; I myself will
become he,
and the hidden thing shall be revealed to him.
Elucidation:
He who
lives unconditionally in accordance with his conscience, will become a
whole
man and will live. The disciple will become as the master. He will
understand
himself and all will become clear to him.
109
Jesus
said: The
kingdom is like a man who had in his field a [hidden] treasure about
which he
did not know; and [after] he died he left it to his [son. The] son also
did not
know; he took (possession of) that field and sold it. The man who
bought it came
to plough, and [found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest
to
whomsoever he chose.
Elucidation:
Men
could
have always known that their laws for life were not right. Generation
after
generation has lived and died without having truly lived. Men have
always lived
according to laws invented by other men and have remained deaf to what
they
already knew to be right. Men have always stood up to men who tried to
voice
the voice of conscience. No one has ever listened to them. Do not let
yet another
generation remain asleep, but wake up. You owe it to yourself and to
your
children. And, when you have woke up, pass it on and see the righteous
world
grow.
110
Jesus
said: He
who has found the world and become rich, let him deny the world.
Elucidation:
He who
has understood himself and society, should not attempt to use such
knowledge
for his own good. Do not give in to vanity. Let him realize that it is
not his
own merit, but that it was given to him.
111
Jesus
said: The
heavens shall be rolled up and the earth before your face, and he who
lives in
the living One shall neither see death nor (fear); because Jesus says:
He who
shall find himself, of him the world is not worthy.
Elucidation:
When
righteousness spreads over the earth, the appearance of heaven and
earth will
change. Man and nature will return to their original pureness. The
original
harmony will be restored everywhere. God’s water will flow onto god’s
fields.
Man will no longer interfere with nature and the end will be like the
beginning.
112
Jesus
said: Woe
to the flesh which depends upon the soul; woe to the soul which depends
upon
the flesh.
Elucidation:
Pitiful
is he who is attached to his character, for he cannot change. Character
is just
a product of your adaptation to society.
113
His
disciples
said to him: On what day will the kingdom come? Jesus said: It cometh
not with
observation. They will not say: Lo, here! or: Lo, there! But the
kingdom of the
Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.
Elucidation:
Man
will
not awaken suddenly one day. He will have to fight for it himself and
will have
to make a choice between society and himself, including the fact that
he will
have to conquer all resistance. He has strayed from his nature and
nature as a
whole and has to return to it himself. He has to re-graft himself to
the
ubiquitous.
114
Simon
Peter said
to them: Let Mary go forth from among us, for women are not worthy of
the life.
Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that I may make her male, in
order that
she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who
makes
herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Elucidation:
Men and
women are man, but have assigned themselves a different role with a
different
way of thinking, dressing, doing their hair and decorating themselves,
all of
which is dependant on the culture in which they live. The masculine man
and the
feminine woman are caricatures of man. They not only distinguish
themselves by
their inside but by their culturally-defined outside, too. Both women
and men
can become man again.
The Logia are from a
translation, made
from the Coptic text published by Messrs. Brill of Leiden. English by
W.
R. Schoedel, The numbering of the sayings is that of the Brill
edition.