From Bethlehem to Calvary

211 Pages·1975·1.39 MB·English

by  Alice A. Bailey

Alice Bailey - From Bethlehem to Calvary - Table of Contents
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Alice Bailey
From Bethlehem to Calvary - Table of Contents
Foreword
Chapter I
Introductory Remarks on Initiation
Chapter II
The First Initiation - The Birth at Bethlehem
Chapter III
The Second Initiation - The Baptism in Jordan
Chapter IV
The Third Initiation - The Transfiguration on a High Mountain
Chapter V
The Fourth Initiation - The Crucifixion
Chapter VI
The Fifth Initiation - The Resurrection and Ascension
Chapter VII
Our Immediate Goal - The Founding of the Kingdom
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Alice Bailey - From Bethlehem to Calvary - Foreword
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From Bethlehem to Calvary - Foreword
Foreword
This book goes out with the earnest wish that its effect may be wholly constructive and
result in a deepening of our belief in Christ and a broader recognition of the work which
He came to initiate. Many years of work as an evangelist and as a teacher in the field of
Christian principles, and a difficult cycle in which I faced the problem of my own relation
to Christ and to Christianity, have brought me to two definitely clear and clean cut
recognitions: first, a recognition of the reality of the Individuality of Christ and of His
Mission; and secondly, a recognition that the development of the Christ Consciousness
and the Christ Nature in individual man, and in the race as a whole, carries with it the
solution of our world problem. Most heartily do I endorse the words of Arthur Weigall
when he says:
"Yet the Jesus of History as distinct from the Jesus of Theology, remains 'the
way, the truth, and the life'; and I am convinced that concentration upon the
historic figure of our Lord and upon His teaching can alone inspire in this
Twentieth Century that fervent adherence and service which in former ages
could be obtained from the average layman by the expounding of theological
dogmas, the threat of hell, and the performance of elaborate rites and
ceremonies."
- The Paganism in Our Christianity, by Arthur Weigall, p. 16
The kingdom of God is now in process of rapid formation, as all those with forward-seeing
vision and a realization of the rapidly emerging beauty and divinity of man can bear
testimony. We are passing through the transition period between the old age and the new,
and the true mission of Christ, so deeply and frequently obscured by theological
implications and disputations, embodies in itself the coming revelation. The development
of humanity guarantees the recognition of Christ and His work and its participation,
consciously, in the kingdom of God. [viii]
The conscious evocation of the Christ Life in the human heart and our rapid integration
into the kingdom of God are the immediate tasks ahead, embodying our responsibility,
opportunity and destiny.
In closing, I would like to offer my grateful thanks to Mr. William Cummings and Mr. Alan
Murray for the willing and intelligent help they have given me. They have made the
writing of this book possible. [ix]
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Alice Bailey - From Bethlehem to Calvary - Foreword
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From Bethlehem to Calvary - Foreword
From Bethlehem to Calvary
Of those who sought my crib at Bethlehem
Heeding a voice and following a star,
How many walked with me to Calvary?
It was too far.
Glory surrounded that once mangered babe,
And hope for men who struggled with their loss.
But hope, fulfiled, came through my thorny crown
And through my cross.
Truth was my sword and pain the accolade
Which I bestowed on those who followed on,
A tethered ass the charger which I chose
To ride upon.
Gone was the glory, then, of Bethlehem,
The gifts of Kings and Magi from the East;
Gone were the multitudes and only twelve
Were at the feast
Of humble bread served in the upper room
Where that sad cup was passed from hand to hand
In token of my love for all mankind
Within the land.
When, at Gethsemane, I prayed alone
That a more bitter cup might be withdrawn,
Ye could not watch with me one little hour
Until the Dawn!
So many sought my crib at Bethlehem
Heeding a voice and following a star,
But only Simon walked to Calvary -
It was too far.
- H. Le Gallienne.
Reprinted with the kind permission of The New York Times and the Author.
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Alice Bailey - From Bethlehem to Calvary - I - Introductory Remarks on Initiation
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From Bethlehem to Calvary - Chapter One - Introductory Remarks on Initiation
CHAPTER ONE
Introductory Remarks on Initiation
KEY THOUGHT
"There is a human desire for God; but there is also a Divine desire for man.
God is the supreme idea, the supreme concern and the supreme desire of
man. Man is the supreme idea, the supreme concern and the supreme desire
of God. The problem of God is a human problem. The problem of man is a
Divine problem... Man is the counterpart of God and His beloved from whom
He expects the return of love. Man is the other person of the Divine mystery.
God needs man. It is God's will not only that He should Himself exist, but
man also, the Lover and beloved."
- Wrestlers with Christ, by Karl Pfleger, p. 236. [3]
I.
We are in process of passing from one religious age into another. The spiritual trends of
today are steadily becoming more defined. The hearts of men have never been more open
to spiritual impression than they are at this time, and the door into the very center of
reality stands wide open. Paralleling, however, this significant development is a trend in
the counter direction, and materialistic philosophies and doctrines of negation are
becoming increasingly prevalent. To many, the whole question of the validity of the
Christian religion remains to be determined. Claims are made that Christianity has failed
and that man does not need the Gospel story with its implications of divinity and its urge
to service and sacrifice.
Is the Gospel story historically true? Is it a mystical tale of great beauty and of real
teaching value but nevertheless of no vital import to the intelligent men and women of
today, who pride themselves on their reasoning powers and upon their independence of
ancient mental trammels and of old and dusty traditions? As to the perfection of the
portrayed character of Christ there is never any question. The enemies of Christianity
admit His uniqueness, His basic profundity and His understanding of the hearts of men.
They recognize the intelligence of His ideas and sponsor them in their own philosophies.
The developments which the Carpenter of Nazareth brought about in the fabric of human
life, His social and economic ideals, and the beauty of the civilization which could be
founded upon the ethical teaching of the [4] Sermon on the Mount are frequently
emphasized by many who refuse to recognize His mission as an expression of divinity.
From the rational point of view, the question as to the historical accuracy of His story
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remains as yet unsolved, though His teaching upon the Fatherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man is endorsed by the best minds of the race. Those who can move in
the world of ideas, of faith and of living experience testify to His divinity and to the fact
that He can be approached. But such testimony is often passed over lightly as being
mystical, futile and incapable of proof. Individual belief is, after all, of no value to anyone
except to the believer himself, or as it tends to increase testimony until the total assumes
such proportions that it eventually becomes proof. To fall back upon the "way of belief"
can be indicative of a living experience, but it can also be a form of self-hypnotism and a
"way of escape" from the difficulties and problems of daily life. The effort to understand,
to experiment, to experience and to express what is known and believed is frequently too
difficult for the majority, and they then fall back upon a belief which is based upon the
testimony of the trusted, as the easiest way out of the impasse.
The problem of religion and the problem of orthodox Christianity are not one and the
same thing. Much that we see around us today of unbelief and criticism, and the negation
of our so-called truths, is based upon the fact that religion has been largely superseded by
creed, and doctrine has taken the place of living experience. It is this living experience
which is the keynote of this book.
Perhaps another reason why humanity at this time believes so little, or questions so
unhappily what is believed, may be the fact that theologians have attempted to lift
Christianity out of its place in the scheme of things and have overlooked its position in the
great continuity of divine revelation. They have endeavored to emphasize its uniqueness,
and to regard it as an isolated and entirely separated expression of spiritual religion. They
thereby destroy its background, remove its foundations, and make it difficult for the
steadily developing [5] mind of man to accept its presentation. Yet St. Augustine tells us
that "that which is called the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and never did
not exist from the beginning of the human race until Christ came in the flesh, at which
time the true religion, which already existed, began to be called Christianity." (Quoted by
W. Kingsland in Religion in the Light of Theosophy) The Wisdom which expresses
relationship to God, the rules of the road which guide our wandering footsteps back to the
Father's home, and the teaching which brings revelation have ever been the same, down
the ages, and are identical with that which Christ taught. This body of inner truths and
this wealth of divine knowledge have existed since time immemorial. It is the truth which
Christ revealed; but He did more than this. He revealed in Himself and through His life
history what this wisdom and knowledge could do for man. He demonstrated in Himself
the full expression of divinity, and then enjoined upon His disciples that they should go
and do likewise.
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In the continuity of revelation, Christianity enters upon its cycle of expression under the
same divine law which governs all manifestation - the Law of Cyclic Appearance. This
revelation passes through the phases of all form-manifestation, or appearance, then
growth and development, and finally (when the cycle draws towards its close)
crystallization and a gradual but steady emphasis of the letter and the form, till the death
of that form becomes inevitable and wise. But the spirit remains to live on and take to
itself new forms. The Spirit of Christ is undying, and as He lives to all eternity, so that
which He incarnated to demonstrate must also live. The cell in the womb, the stage of
littleness, the development of the child into the man - to all this He submitted Himself,
and underwent all the processes which are the destiny of every son of God. Because of
this submission and because He "learned obedience by the things which he
suffered," (Hebrews, V, 8) He could be trusted to reveal God to man, and (may we say
it?) the divine in man to God. For the Gospels [6] show us that continuously Christ called
forth this recognition from the Father.
The great continuity of revelation is our most priceless possession, and into it the religion
of Christ must, and does, fit. God has never left Himself without witness, and He never
will. The place of Christianity as the fulfilment of the past and as a stepping-stone to the
future, is often forgotten, and this perhaps is one of the reasons why people speak of a
failing Christianity, and look forward to that spiritual revelation which seems so sorely
needed. Unless this continuity is emphasized and the place of the Christian faith in it,
revelation may come and pass unrecognized.
"There was," we are told, "in every ancient country having claims to
civilization, an Esoteric Doctrine, a system which was designated WISDOM,
and those who were devoted to its prosecution were first denominated sages,
or wise men... Pythagoras termed this system... the Gnosis or Knowledge of
things that are. Under the noble designation of WISDOM, the ancient
teachers, the sages of India, the magians of Persia and Babylon, the seers
and prophets of Israel, the hierophants of Egypt and Arabia, and the
philosophers of Greece and the West, included all knowledge which they
considered as essentially divine; classifying part as esoteric and the
remainder as exterior"
- The Secret Doctrine, by H.P. Blavatsky, Vol. III, p.55.
We know much of the exoteric teaching. Orthodox and theological Christianity is founded
on it, as are all the orthodox formulations of the great religions. When, however, the inner
wisdom teaching is forgotten and the esoteric side is ignored, then the spirit and the living
experimental experience disappear. We have been occupied with the details of the outer
form of the faith, and have sadly forgotten the inner meaning which carries life and
salvation to the individual and also to humanity. We have been busy fighting over the non-
essentials of traditional interpretation and have omitted to teach the secret and the
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technique of the Christian life. We have over-emphasized the doctrinal and dogmatic
aspects, and have deified the letter whilst all the time the soul [7]of man was crying out
for the spirit of life, which the letter veiled. We have agonized over the historical aspects
of the Gospel narrative, over the time element, and over the verbal accuracy of the many
translations, while failing to see the real magnificence of Christ's accomplishment and the
significant teaching it holds for the individual and for the race. The drama of His life and
its practical application to the lives of His followers have been lost to sight in the undue
importance attached to certain phrases which He is supposed to have uttered, whilst that
which He expressed in His life, and the relationships which He emphasized and regarded
as implicit in His revelation have been totally ignored.
We have fought over the historical Christ, and thus fighting, have lost sight of His
message of love to all beings. Fanatics quarrel over His words, and fail to remember that
He was "the Word made flesh." We argue about the Virgin Birth of the Christ, and forget
the truth which the Incarnation is intended to teach. Evelyn Underhill points out in her
most valuable book, Mysticism, that "The Incarnation, which is for popular Christianity
synonymous with the historical birth and earthly life of Christ, is for the mystic not only
this but also a perpetual cosmic and personal process."
Scholars spend their lives in proving that the whole story is only a myth. It should,
however, be pointed out that a myth is the summarized belief and knowledge of the past,
handed down to us for our guidance and forming the foundation of a newer revelation,
and that it is a stepping-stone to the next truth. A myth is a valid and proven truth which
bridges, step by step, the gap between the past gained knowledge, the present
formulated truth, and the infinite and divine possibilities of the future. The ancient myths
and the old mysteries give us a sequential presentation of the divine message as it went
forth from God in response to the need of man, down the ages. The truth of one age
becomes the myth of the next, but its significance and its reality remain untouched, and
require only reinterpretation in the present. [8]
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We are free to choose and to reject; but let us see to it that we choose with eyes opened
by that sagacity and wisdom which are the hall mark of those who have penetrated a
considerable way along the path of return. There is life and truth and vitality in the Gospel
story yet to be reapplied by us. There is dynamic and divinity in the message of Jesus.
Christianity is, for us today, a culminating religion. It is the greatest of the later divine
revelations. Much of it, since its inception two thousand years ago, has come to be
regarded as myth, and the clear outlines of the story have dimmed and have come
frequently to be regarded as symbolic in their nature. Yet behind symbol and myth stands
reality - an essential, dramatic and practical truth.
Our attention has been engrossed by the symbol and by the outer form, whilst the
meaning has remained obscured and fails sufficiently to affect our lives. In our myopic
study of the letter we have lost the significance of the Word itself. We need to get behind
the symbol to that which it embodies, and to shift our attention away from the world of
outer forms to that of inner realities. Keyserling points this out in these words:
"The process of shifting levels from the letter to the inner meaning in the
matter of spiritual attitudes can be clearly set forth by one single proposition.
It consists in 'seeing through' the phenomenon. Every living phenomenon is,
first and last, a symbol; for the essence of life is meaning. But every symbol
which is the ultimate expression of a state of consciousness is in itself
transparent for another deeper one, and so on into eternity; for all things in
the sense-connection of life are inwardly connected, and their depths have
their roots in God.
"Therefore, no spiritual form can ever be an ultimate expression; every
meaning, when it has been penetrated, becomes automatically a mere letter-
expression of a deeper one, and herewith the old phenomenon takes on a
new and different meaning. Thus, Catholicism, Protestantism, Greek-Catholic,
Islamism and Buddhistic religiousness can in principle continue, on the plane
of this life, what they were and yet signify something entirely new."
- The Recovery of Truth, by Hermann Keyserling, pp. 91-92. [9]
The only excuse for this book is that it is an attempt to penetrate to that deeper meaning
underlying the great events in the life of Christ, and to bring into renewed life and interest
the weakening aspiration of the Christian. If it can be shown that the story revealed in the
Gospels has not only an application to that divine Figure Which dwelt for a time among
men, but that it has also a practical significance and meaning for the civilized man today,
then there will be some objective gained and some service and help rendered. It is
possible that today - owing to our more advanced evolution and the ability to express
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ourselves through more finely developed shades of consciousness - we can appropriate
the teaching with a clearer vision and a wiser use of the indicated lesson. This great Myth
belongs to us - for let us be courageous and use this word in its true and right
connotation. A myth is capable of becoming a fact in the experience of an individual, for a
myth is a fact which can be proven. Upon the myths we take our stand, but we must seek
to reinterpret them in the light of the present. Through self-initiated experiment we can
prove their validity; through experience we can establish them as governing forces in our
lives; and through their expression we can demonstrate their truth to others. This is the
theme of this book, dealing as it does with the facts of the Gospel story, that fivefold
sequential myth which teaches us the revelation of divinity in the Person of Jesus Christ,
and which remains eternally truth, in the cosmic sense, in the historical sense, and in its
practical application to the individual. This myth divides itself into five great episodes:
1. The Birth at Bethlehem.
2. The Baptism in Jordan.
3. The Transfiguration on Mount Carmel.
4. The Crucifixion on Mount Golgotha.
5. The Resurrection and Ascension.
Their significance for us and their reinterpretation in modern terms is our task. [10]
A point of crisis and of culmination has been reached in the history of man, and man owes
this to the influence of Christianity. As a member of the human family, he has reached a
level of integration unknown in the past, except in the case of a select few in every nation.
He is, as the psychologists have indicated, a sum total of physical organisms, of vital
force, of psychical states or emotional conditions, and of mental or thought reactions. He
is now ready to have indicated to him his next transition, development or unfoldment. Of
this he is expectant, standing in readiness to take advantage of the opportunity. The door
into a world of higher being and consciousness stands wide open; the way into the
kingdom of God has been clearly pointed out. Many in the past have passed into that
kingdom and awakened there to a world of being and of understanding which is, to the
multitude, a sealed mystery. The glory of the present moment lies in the fact that many
thousands stand thus prepared, and (given the needed instruction) could be initiated into
the mysteries of God. A new unfoldment in consciousness is now possible; a new goal has
arisen and governs the intentions of many. We are, as a race, definitely on our way
towards some new knowledge, some fresh recognitions, and some deeper world of values.
What happens on the outer plane of experience is indicative of a similar happening in a
more subtle world of meaning. For this we must prepare.
We have seen that the Christian revelation unified in itself the teachings of the past. This,
Christ Himself pointed out when He said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." (St. Matt., V, 17.) He embodied all
the past, and revealed the highest possibility to man. The words of Dr. Berdyaev, in
Freedom and the Spirit, throw light on this:
"The Christian revelation is universal, and everything analogous to it in other
religions is simply a part of that revelation. Christianity is not a religion of the
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same order as the others; it is, as Schleiermacher said, the religion of
religions. What does it matter if within [11] Christianity, supposedly so
different from other faiths, there is nothing original at all apart from the
coming of Christ and His Personality; is it not precisely in this particular that
the hope of all religions is fulfiled?
- Freedom and the Spirit, by Nicholas Berdyaev, pp. 88-89.
Each great period of time and each world cycle will have - through the loving-kindness of
God - its religion of religions, synthesizing all the past revelations and indicating the future
hope. The world expectancy today shows that we stand on the verge of a new revelation.
It will be a revelation which will in no way negate our divine spiritual heritage, but will add
the clear vision of the future to the wonder of the past. It will express what is divine but
has been hitherto unrevealed. It is therefore possible that an understanding of some of
the deeper significances of the Gospel story may enable the modern seeker to grasp the
wider synthesis.
Some of these deeper implications were touched upon in a book published many years
ago, entitled The Crises of the Christ, by that veteran Christian, Dr. Campbell Morgan.
Taking the five major episodes in the life of the Savior, around which the entire Gospel
narrative is built, he gave them a wide and general application, leaving one with the
realization that Christ had not only passed through these dramatic experiences, in deed
and in truth, but had left us with, the definite command that we should "follow His
steps." (I Peter, II, 21.) Is it not possible that these great facts in the experience of
Christ, these five personalized aspects of the universal myth, may have for us, as
individuals, more than an historical and personal interest? Is it not possible that they may
embody some experience and some initiated undertaking through which many Christians
may now pass, and thus obey His injunction to enter into new life? Must we not all be born
again, baptized into the Spirit, and transfigured upon the mountain top of living
experience? Does not the crucifixion lie ahead for many of us, leading on to the
resurrection and the ascension? And is it not also possible [12] that we have interpreted
these words in too narrow a sense, with too sentimental and ordinary an implication,
whereas they may indicate to those who are ready a special way and a more rapid
following in the footsteps of the Son of God? This is one of the points which concern us
and with which this book will attempt to deal. If this more intensive meaning can be
found, and if the drama of the Gospels can become in some peculiar way the drama of
those souls who are ready, then we shall see the resurrection of the essentials of
Christianity and the revivifying of the form which is so rapidly crystallizing.
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