Philip the Apostle
Written down by Anna Zubkova
Under the editorship of Vladimir Antonov
and with his commentary
Paul finally got lost in the endless desert… Only sand dunes were wherever you took out. Sandstorm was over. But that, which was the likeness of a road, disappeared without a trace…
Now he understood how vain he was to not follow the advice to wait out bad weather and start on a trip later.
It seemed to him that a couple of hours of driving cannot promise danger. Why put off the leaving for a few days, what I can reach today?…
To repair the car, it was not possible…
… From the “today” has already passed more than a week. Three days he spent near a broken and sanded car. Then he decided to go — go, relying on the Will of God. Chances to survive — already almost were none. Water is also no more. To think about how stupid it was to spend the water, which was with him, it was unbearable…
The way that he was going to overcome during a day, became infinite…
* * *
Desert — always is desert… Modern civilization only pretends that it can affect the desert.
In an afternoon — exhausting heat, at night — piercing cold…
Cars and camels for tourists and travelers, the hotel with a hint of European comfort — all this remains as in another world.
… Mirages in the desert…
He revered stories of mirages as fiction. For he himself, as a famous writer, did not neglect sometimes the similar.
Now these “fictions” pursued him. How many times he saw as if a lake surrounded by trees — and walked out with the last forces to it…
He tried not to believe mirages. But, all the same, went to where he imagined salvation. It was necessary to at least do something! Just sit and wait for death was not in his nature.
* * *
One evening he spoke to God: “If you want to take me out of here, do it right now! But if my life has the meaning and is needed for You — show me the way of salvation!”
Paul did not even really know what God he was referring to. How much he has read in books!… And he himself has written about the beliefs and religions of many different nations…
But now — to Whom he cried with all the soul?
He even almost laughed at this thought.
But the confidence that this is the only right way, strengthened in him: “There must be One Whom is called the Heavenly Father, the Creator!…”.
Paul asked to show the way or terminate his life right now.
He did not insist. He just asked to give him an answer, way out… into life or into death: “Let Him decide. If He exists, the Merciful and Almighty, — let me know the answer!”.
He went to sleep with the thought that, most likely, no longer to wake up here in this world, in this desert.
… But it was morning and nothing has changed.
The cold night was replaced by the scorching heat…
He walked and walked, without hope, simply walking, losing his last strength from fatigue and endless, as a desert, thirst.
* * *
Suddenly he saw footprints in the sand — the recent traces of human feet!
There was no one around. But this could not be a mirage: the tracks were here, at his feet, he could touch them by hands!
Paul cried, collected all the remnants of the forces.
Hoarse cry, escaping from the parched throat, seemed for him weak and miserable. He screamed again, calling for help to the person who has passed here recently.
Desert answered him with silence.
He went on the trail of an unknown person. It was the last hope.
Paul tried to think about that God… still manifested Himself! He, Paul, asked to show the way — and now he knows the direction!
It was getting dark, and Paul was not able to catch up the unknown traveler.
Hope almost left him: in fact, to see the traces, which still stronger was sanded in the dark, was no longer possible.
But another miracle happened: he saw in the distance a fire!
Paul strained his last strength, repeating to himself, like a mantra, a phrase from some book about deserts that mirages do not happen at night.
The fire did not disappear.
* * *
Paul approached the fire in the infinite thick darkness…
Finally, he entered the circle of light from a small campfire.
A man was sitting by the fire. He was not an Arab. He could be called European. He was dressed in light clothes, a woolen cape was above it. If now on the site of Paul was that former Paul, easily sneering over all people, — that “old Paul” would say that the stranger was dressed in a costume as some actor depicting a hermit in the desert in the days of the early Christians.
But now Paul was in no skepticism or irony.
The stranger nodded calmly to Paul in greeting and looked up at him with his quite amazing eyes, in which one could plunge — and seem to drown, disappear.
The man gestured to sit by the fire.
He pulled out of the folds of clothing the clay bowl and handed it to Paul. The cup was suddenly filled with water…
Not quite knowing what happened, Paul said with dry lips:
“Can I drink it?”
“Yes, you can quench your thirst,” — the stranger’s voice was just as amazing as his eyes. It sounded as if the infinity of Peace… But Paul felt all this by only some part of himself, which this voice, coming from the depths of the unknown, raised here and enveloped with the gentle presence of something mysterious…
… Paul remembered how one day he would like to interview one Indian who lives as a hermit in a mountain cave. He then spent a lot of effort to make a sensational report about the Indian yoga. But the hermit did not answer his questions. He only said to Paul: “You’re not ready yet!” And then sang a single sound mantra… The way it sounded — it was the sound of an infinite Silence. It did not look like nasal chanting mantras of “gurus” that he had encountered in India at every step. Something on this subject, Paul wrote in his diary, but then for some reason, almost forgot about this episode in the bustle and whirl of life…
The stranger’s voice was like that sound, but he said the most common words.
… And now Paul… drank, drank, drank… He waited for all that water to deplete, but it did not end…
“You can stay at the time: the water will not end and will always be, when you need it,” — the stranger said with a smile.
Paul, with some difficulty, pulled away from the bowl and put it, still full, next to him.
Then the stranger held out his hand to Paul, as if giving him something. Paul stared at the graceful palm, lit by the light of the fire, a few seconds, until he saw that the bread rests on the palm.
Bread — it suddenly appeared!… Or rather it could be said that the bread… has become visible…
Paul took still warm hunk by slightly trembling hands and thanked. The stranger nodded in response.
Fatigue and something else, such as a thick transparent peace, enveloped Paul from all sides, and did not allow being surprised or frightened. Everything was… as if usual. It was as if every day he drank water from the bowl, in which it does not end, and ate materialized bread.
Then the Stranger offered Paul to rest.
“Can I ask You a question?”
“Ask”.
“Are You — a hallucination?”
“Yes, I thought that of all the questions, you have accumulated, you would ask exactly this!” — He laughed loudly and held out His hand to Paul, on which He had just materialized the bread, — so that Paul could touch it.
The hand was amazingly beautiful, with thin graceful fingers. The skin of the Stranger was covered with the smooth golden tan of man with white skin, who spends much time in the sun. The Stranger was of the flesh, which could be touched.
“Yes, this My body now — it is the material reality,” — He confirmed. — “But there is also another Reality. And due to the fact that it is not material, it does not cease to be the Reality.
“But better we will talk about it tomorrow. Now you are most in need of rest.”
Paul lay down by the fire. The Stranger covered him with woolen cape as a blanket.
Paul fell asleep almost instantly…
* * *
In the morning, opening his eyes, Paul tried to understand whether all seen by him was a dream, or the fruit inflamed by thirst, hunger, exhaustion of imagination or, still, a reality…
Amazing Stranger was in the same place.
He welcomed Paul in silence — by a slight smile and nod.
Paul greeted Him in English, and thought for a moment about what language they were talking yesterday… Paul from childhood was fluent both in English, and French, but recently English was closer to him, he also wrote his books in English.
“You ought to wash,” — said the Stranger in English.
“Or would you prefer to speak French?” — He said in the same pure, as well as English, French.
“I prefer English.
“But to wash… here — where?”
The Stranger held out His hand in the direction of a large stone. The stone with some tension and a sound like cotton, suddenly split. From the resulting cracks, water started to flow.
Paul again was drinking, drinking… Then he bathed with cool clear water that flowed now in a small shallow basin near the stone. Gradually was formed a small lake…
“Clothes can also be washed.”
Paul did as said. He then laid washed out to dry clothes on the stone from which the newborn source flew.
* * *
Paul returned to the fire in a woolen cape of the Stranger.
Meanwhile, the Stranger laid out on a makeshift table made of pure linen — pieces of bread, nuts and fruits. And yet — bowls with water and juice.
Paul came up to this table. He turned to where he washed, checking: whether the marvelous source disappeared? But the stone with running from it stream of clear water was at the same place. Next was a small lake. On the other bank of it — appearing as from nowhere antelopes quenching thirst. They started at the look of surprised Paul.
“Do not scare them, they want to drink. Sit down at the table, breakfast is ready. And then we can continue the conversation.”
Paul came and sat beside Him.
“How do You do all this?”
“And how Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves?”
“But that is a Christian legend…”
“But I thought that you are a Christian. That’s you even are wearing a cross… Or is it — so simple: an ornament or amulet, like the Pagans do, ‘to be on the safe side’, or ‘from an evil eye’?”
“You’re almost right. Although I was baptized as a child, but — of me was not very good Christian, I still am questioning and read the manuscripts of different nations about their ‘gods’ and beliefs…”
“Searching for Truth — is not a sin! Reading and learning — it makes sense! Even Jesus has spent years of His life for the cognition of the different faiths of different nations — before He began to preach the Truth.
“And your baptism — does not matter… Another Baptism should be taken by the soul!
“However, now — the meal.”
And He looked by inviting gesture to the arranged on a clean cloth treats…
Paul was absorbed in satisfying hunger and thirst, and almost did not think about how wonderfully everything changed since last night…
* * *
When the breakfast came to an end, the Stranger still remained silent. He ate not a lot and slowly. Then Paul as if heard within himself the question:
“Did you want only to satisfy hunger and thirst — or you need the continuation of life for something more? Why would you like to live in this body: what to know, to understand, to make?”
The Stranger said slowly aloud the words that Paul had just heard inside himself-soul.
Paul thought. All life, like a film strip on fast-forward, appeared in front of him to remind him of his childhood with radiant perception of beauty and goodness, studying at the institute, the growing skepticism, career of a journalist and writer… His latest book — “Itineraries of a Lone Traveler” had a success… Then there were the fight for the circulation and quality, quarrel with the publisher… What he wanted, when he wrote the book? Money, fame, benefit of what he reveals unknown for people? Are needed for someone, in actual fact, all his arguments about the secret teachings of ancient Egypt, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, religious myths and legends of various nations? All this seemed so important a few weeks ago. But now…
“Your next book could be more interesting. You now have the opportunity to ask about the important for you and get answers. You may ask.”
“Who are You?”
“It is not the best question to start with. My name — Philip. The rest you will learn gradually.”
The next question froze on the lips of Paul, and he did not dare to say it aloud: “Are You — the Apostle, Satellite, and the Disciple of Jesus? But how is this possible: two thousand years ago — and now… alive?”
But Philip still answered this non-pronounced question — again as if by a voice that Paul heard inside. And then He repeated again the said, slowly and quietly uttering the words:
“Why do you think that this is impossible? You yesterday were looking for a meeting with the One Who will reveal to you the Path to the true knowledge. I use the word Path, because it’s impossible to reveal the Truth to another soul directly, just as it is impossible to quench your thirst by giving a drink to another man instead of you. Each should discover the Eternal Truth himself or herself. There can be only a little help in finding this Path by others.
“You aspired to God as well as here in the desert rushed for mirages. One mirage in life was replaced by other, but no one has brought you closer to the Truth. And a number of distractions pursue you from all sides so that you could get lost or even forget about the Goal.
“If lots of people follow along in a certain direction, it seems to them that they know where to go. But this is not always right…”
… Paul understood that the pronunciation of thoughts aloud was not necessary to communicate with Philip. But Philip has used it only as a confirmation: that in mind of Paul were no doubts in understanding of what he perceived as the answers.
Paul used to be very fond of the question on the possibility of telepathy, but he did not think it could be done so easy with himself.
Philip continued:
“Why do you think that the appearance in the resurrected body on the Earth after large time is not possible? You yourself believe in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus in the deified material body, right? You even wrote an entire article on the ‘Shroud of Turin’, which captures the negative of bodily form of Jesus at the moment of dematerialization of His body. And you yourself argued that the One Who was able to dematerialize His body — easily could recreate the body again…
“Why do you think that He did not want to teach others the same?”
“And have You mastered this?”
“Yes, but not immediately.
“And now tell Me: who are you?”
… The usual question caught Paul unawares: it seemed to him that Philip knew everything about him, even He read his articles.
“My name is Paul,” — Paul decided to compete with Philip in brevity.
“Why are you here — a person living on the planet Earth? Have you thought about this?”
“Yes, I thought… I thought that we all are here to learn…”
“Good answer!”
“Yes, I was looking for the Truth! I expounded in my books all that I saw, learned, and considered as the significant. I included into them also my thoughts about what I saw, about the people encountered, heard about the legends…”
“What will happen with all your knowledge, when the body dies?”
“It will remain in my books… Perhaps this can help others in their search…”
“What do you think: have you lived before being born in this body? And will you live without a body after its death? And will you be born in a new body to continue to improve?”
“It’s not fair! You promised to answer my questions, but instead throw me with questions whose answers I was looking for and did not find!”
“I help you to learn to find the right answers! I have still only begun!
“You read many times right and wrong answers to these questions, but did not feel, did not recognize the Truth! You many times passed the Truth!
“All external knowledge is only the husk! It is possible to believe or not to believe… But this “belief” does not change anything in man!”
“Christianity rejects the knowledge on reincarnation. Hinduism…”
“And you yourself? I’m aware that you’re familiar with the modern doctrines of different directions of faith, including of those people who call themselves ‘Christians’. You read, too, the books of many other different nations… But I ask you: what do you think about this — you yourself?”
“I thought, it would be right for the new incarnation to be — for one who made mistakes, … for one who started to learn, but did not know all… I think it is more reasonable, than the eternal torment of hell or eternal bliss of paradise. It does not seem logical to me a death, for example, of a baby: if its life was cut short, almost before it began… There must be an opportunity for it yet!…”
“Perfectly! Brilliantly! You’re already making progress!”
“But people do not remember their past lives. And those minority, who argue that they recall, — cannot prove that this is not a fantasy. And the Bible and other books do not explain…”
“Did you think about the meaning of your life and lives of other creatures, of the interconnectedness of souls, who come to the Earth, about God, if He is, to be fair, is not it?”
“Yes, You have well formulated my thoughts. I did not understand why various people so differently worship a Higher Power, God, claiming that only their faith is true, and that only “their God” indeed exists. But there are those who recognize the multitude of Gods or Saints…”
“You would like to receive a ready answer from the books. But you were looking from the outside. But the Truth must be found within.
“The first, and you did this, — one needs to set a goal and look for it. There are so many those who are not interested in the meaning of life, they just go with the flow, in accordance with their instincts and reflexes… But there are other people who are willing to spend a lifetime searching for the Truth!
“The second thing to do is the direct cognition of the Truth through personal experience. The entrance to these states you have inside you.
“Jesus pointed the Path for approaching the Creator: ‘God is Love!’. That is, He can be cognized only by becoming soul-love by developing oneself as a spiritual heart.
“Krishna also taught about it: “Only love can contemplate Me in My Innermost Essence and merge with Me!”.
“To cognize oneself as the Atman and Higher ‘I’, to cognize the Primordial Consciousness and to flow into Him — one has to become a developed and loving consciousness! Christians-Hesychasts believed that this stage — that is, the transformation of the me-soul into the spiritual heart — is the most important.
“The knowledge that you get from the level of words, rather than on the basis of the experience of the soul, — remains external, superficial knowledge. It is only information for thinking, it is useful, but… But the Truth can be really cognized only through your own experience! This is the knowledge gained as states of consciousness in Union with the Creator.
“Initially, these moments are brief. But it is possible to reach the level of knowledge, about which Jesus said: ‘I and the Father are One’.”
“Have all the Apostles managed this?”
“Many. Some of Them — quickly, others took more incarnations.
“But not only Jesus and His disciples have cognized this.
“Those, Who have mastered the Mergence with the Primordial Universal Consciousness, the Great United We, Which is called by people for the sake of simplicity as God, — Those can draw knowledge directly from the Source of the Universal Love, Wisdom and Power, Who are now at Their disposal. All the knowledge, stored in the Absolute, is provided to Them upon request. And this is limited only by the ability and experience of that Consciousness, which perceives this Knowledge.”
“Do You want to say that Those, Who have attained the Mergence, may also have restrictions?”
“I mean that the possibility to improve is boundless! This applies, too, to the Evolution and Life of the One, consisting of the Multitude.
“But for a person to start this Path, he or she needs to work hard.
“To replace one’s savage instincts by the Divine Awareness is not possible quickly.
“Souls gradually climb the ladder of development: from the lower forms of consciousness — to the top. This evolution begins in the tiny droplets of consciousness, growing, being fastened to the crystal lattices of minerals. Then the germs of souls grow, being connected with the plant’s and then animals’ bodies.
“Only man, who matured in a long series of incarnations, is able to improve oneself-soul — consciously. You have now already not the first incarnation of looking for the Truth, and you now have real chances to succeed.
“You are a vegetarian. You chose this according to the conviction that man does not want to commit the murder of any innocent animals. This is — a serious first step on the Path of goodness.
“You are doing Hatha Yoga. However, you were doing this as exercises for health. But even in this version, it has brought good results. The energies of your body are clean and are in very good state, when compared to the average majority.
“You are prepared to try and take the big stages of the spiritual Path. Do you want it?”
“Can there be any doubts? Yes!”
“To begin, you need to explore the intangible for usual vision, but very real structures of the organism: chakras and meridians. They allow one to trace the relationships between the soul-jiva — and its material body.
* * *
Philip started training Paul.
He explained how it is possible to move the concentration of self-soul through the chakras and meridians. Paul really felt, how the state of the soul changes from simple immersion, for example, in the chakra anahata: peace and love becomes natural, dominant thoughts disappear.
A few days Paul has devoted for clearing these energy structures.
The second task was to learn to live by the spiritual heart. Here Paul had to work much longer: in fact, the habit of constantly thinking about something — accustomed to life in the head chakras.
But Philip explained:
“It is necessary to master the continuous existence by the spiritual heart. It is the overriding basis for a correctly developing soul!
“The spiritual heart must become much more than anahata chakra, located in the chest of the body, where the spiritual heart began to grow from.
“The ability to be a soul-love, which has become much more than the tangible body size, fundamentally changes the status of the person. This is the first stage of the spiritual Path. Even just doing it — makes achieving the paradise as the natural state!
“And this step also opens the door to the secret world of the Divine Reality!
“The entire esoteric Path is needed for only mature and wise souls.
“But the ability to live as a soul-love — is adequate for every soul, it does not hurt anyone. It will bring all souls to the light and joy of life, even when life of the body lasts. And after the death of the body — it provides the life of the soul in blissful harmony of the paradise!”
* * *
Paul now spent a lot of time in meditations, filling by the soul-love the space above the Earth’s surface.
Endless desert, which before seemed to him such a ruthless and brutal, now… gave him the opportunity to expand the spiritual heart more and more, covering the entire space.
His previous attempts to “meditate” — sitting cross-legged and concentrating in the head or eyebrows, looked now as a funny game of a child who tries to show something, about which it does not know anything…
And Philip was gradually revealing to Paul the new horizons:
“Now you already have the understanding that you are a soul, not a body, endowed with the mind and organs for communication with the outside material world. Now you have the opportunity to cognize also that God is also the Reality. I will help you to gain first experience of direct perception of God.
“But for this it is necessary to feel the reality of life of the soul, without the limitations of perception, that overlap the material body.
“A soul, when incarnate, is connected with a body. This bond forms during embryonic development. Having been born in the material world, a person learns — through the body — to see, hear, feel, think. A child begins to interact with the world of matter with a help of this tool — the material body.
“But the soul can do all the same without having a body. It can see, hear, feel, think in other planes of existence in the Absolute.
“There are the enormous potentials to control matter from the Divine plan of life! But this is for you — the long perspective. Walking on water and materializing the bread or the water — this is possible for only the soul which has realized its Unity with the Primordial Consciousness, God! To do this, the soul, free from the limitations of matter, must learn to live and act in the subtlest layers of the Absolute.
“Not all the Divine Souls have reached the immortality of Their material bodies. Not many have mastered the full deification of Their bodies, like Jesus. And taking the body from the material world — it is not an obligatory feature of achieving the Mergence with the Creator.
“So, the main conclusion: the incarnate man-soul can communicate with God!
“Now, about — how.
“Let us return to our practical work. I promised you the experience of such interaction with God.
“To do this, the soul must be developed as a spiritual heart, that is, as love. If not — all is confined by fantasy, mental images created by the mind. This is the ‘stumbling block’, which stopped very many beginners in their spiritual search.
“So, the most important step on the Path — it is the development of the spiritual heart.
“Feel yourself in the anahata chakra as a whole, like in a room. Now open the window ahead — and clean the ‘room’ of all trash and shadows.
“Next, let your love, as a gentle light, shine and illuminate the space ahead! As well as a spotlight or the headlights of the car at night illuminate the space in front of you — so love of the soul can illuminate and caress space and all the living in it! At first, illuminate the visible by body’s eyes space, and then farther and farther ahead…”
… Paul loved the night driving of a car on the empty road… And now he was very apt to feel the light that illuminates the space in front! It was like a heart’s light is now illuminating his way through life!
Philip continued:
“Now in a bodily primary abode of the spiritual heart — the anahata chakra — it is possible to turn back the face of the soul. You can open another window — into the space of the Divine Light.
“Try to look back from the anahata chakra — just like staring ahead… Do you see the Light?”
“Yes.”
“Come into that Light! Immerse yourself in It, as in the vast Ocean! Dissolve in It, going as far as possible…
“Now try to look from the Light to there where in the body you have lived before…
“And again — let it be only the Light!
“You were willing to take from God the experience of death of the body. Now — a part of this experience: the life in the Divine Light without feeling the body. If the body dies — then you’re… you remain! And you continue to live in the Light, being It, is it not?
“Being in this Light, you can feel It between the fingers of the hands of the soul.
“Or you can try to hug It — Infinite — with your arms. This leads to a state of blissful joy, delight!
“This Light consists of the mutually merged Consciousnesses of All the Attained.
“You can take Their Desires and Intentions.
“Feel your arms of the consciousness! They — are huge and can be even more, more… They can touch everything by the fingertips or take on the palms any creature.
“In the Christian tradition, this Light is called the Holy Spirit, in Hinduism — Brahman.
“Merged with the Flow of this Light, flow by It through your material body and around it, then — from above — down, upwards, from back — forward, from ahead — back. It is flowing the River of the Divine Love! Learn to always feel in the Communion with this Divine Love!”
… Paul miraculously perceived himself in confluence with the Divine Light, and at the same time… his body was on the sand.
He was now the Part of this Light.
He has realized that what he read in the New Testament: one needs to go by the soul towards God-Spirit!
He was infinitely free and infinitely happy!
But this state did not last long: the fatigue of meditations forced back into the body.
“Well, now you really have got the baptism in the Holy Spirit!” — Philip congratulated him. — “You can now be considered as the real Christian!
“A process of gradual transformation of the soul into the Divine Light is called Enlightenment. And one, strengthened in the state of Divine Light, is called Enlightened.”
* * *
Between these meditations, Paul again felt like a prisoner of the body. And this saddened him.
Philip once replied to these thoughts, which were not expressed aloud:
“Not all at once! Even you — who had already not small spiritual experiences in your past lives — need time to get used to the new states of consciousness.
“You will need a long time to work on the extension-growth of yourself as a spiritual heart, and on the further purification of structures inside the body and filling them with the Divine Light.
“Only when the substitution of the energies within your body by the Divine Light will be reached — it will be easy to live in this Light all the time. Then the Light will be your Home — the Home of the Soul. This Home does not have to be exited, despite the fact that the body is in the material world.”
… Philip showed to Paul every day more and more new methods of work on the expansion of the consciousness as love and replacing energies in the body.
* * *
After a few days, one night, Philip asked Paul:
“Would you like to talk with Jesus?”
“With Jesus? I?”
“What are you so puzzled about? You can not decide? But you believe that Jesus can hear what people say to Him, right? Those, who recite prayers in the temples, can they probably believe that they are heard by Him?
“Many people are crying out to Jesus. It is because they know about Him more than on many Others, Who have reached the state of Christ.
“All of Them and Each of Them may now be called as the Holy Spirit.
“One can selectively appeal to Someone among Them.
“The Creator consists of this Set of the Perfects!
“Their entry into the Creator is similar to the drops of water which flow into the ocean and become merged there with those drops that have flowed into the ocean before.
“These, the Perfects compose the Great United We! Someone calls Him God-the-Father, someone — Tao, someone — Allah, but the difference is only in words.
“Divine Consciousness, called the Primordial, — this is the Multitude of the Divine Consciousnesses mutually merged in One!
“But Each of Them can act in the Creation, parting Oneself. Just as the wave can rise above the ocean, while remaining an integral part of it, — and Those, Who have attained, can manifest Themselves, remaining in the Unity with the Ocean of the Creator.
“So, would you like to talk with Jesus?”
“Yes!” — Paul said emphatically, understanding that, if he refuses, then he will never forgive this to himself.
Something from his journalistic past flashed as a strange thought: “I did not ever think that it is possible to interview Jesus Himself!”
… There was the Light, approaching from the intangible depth. It was like the rising sun… Light approached. In It, was manifesting the image of Jesus.
And now — Jesus, the living Jesus!
He and Philip embraced…
Then Jesus went up at arm’s length to Paul. Paul tried to touch His clothes. Jesus was composed of Light, the body was not material.
Jesus said:
“It is not an illusion. This is the reality. Are you still not satisfied with the words of Philip, Who explained to you that the difference between matter and Light — it’s only the energy levels of subtlety?
“Why do you need My material body? In order to write a sensational report about a meeting with Jesus? For everyone, who reads your book, begins to seek a meeting with My materialized body?
“Well, look: My body may be the material.”
Jesus condensed His body of Light and sat down next to Paul and Philip by campfire. He continued:
“Miracles, in fact, do not change anything fundamental in human souls! However, I will be glad, if you write about that for each person either praying in the temple, or bustling in a big store, or going by a train, or sailing on a ship — can stand, sit, speak — and not notice that He, with Whom he or she is nearby, is Jesus. I have a lot of times of this happening among embodied people, and they did not recognize Me, did not hear Me…
“It would be nice, if everyone will know that pushing someone by elbows amid the bustle, he or she can alienate, without noticing, and Jesus…
“Within all this time, people, too, have not learned to see in each person a brother or sister…
“If I come, as before, and begin to perform miracles — I certainly would be called a ‘false prophet’!
“But for those, who know Me, — they do not need My body, consisting of flesh.”
“But why did You come in the body then — 2000 years ago?”
“I was sent into this hell of suffering and misery in earthly life — to point medicine and antidotes against them. I did it, too, by presenting people the Teachings about the Path of Love!
“Among the darkness of ignorance, I kindled the Lamp of Truth. I have shown the ability to be only Love — even in the hatred and other abominations of human souls!
“I showed people the Path of Love! I spoke about the possibility of exit from hell — to the Light of the Creator, to cognition of Him and Mergence with Him!
“The Path of service to God — this is to go where the bad, where you will be hated, killed… And one should be only the Pure Love, continuing to bring to people the Truth of God! Each of the Coming from the Heavenly Father onto the Earth — demonstrates this by His or Her life!
“In words — everything is easier. But Christ must live so — every day and hour, every minute of life on the Earth, not allowing the flame of heart to be extinguished and without breaking the Сonsubstantiality with the Father!
“Are you ready to start this? After all, just for this our meeting was planned!”
“I do not know, if I can do…?”
“You do not know this, until you try!”
“Tell me, did Your earthly life’s Feat help someone? Was it necessary for people? For they have forgotten everything again!”
“My Teachings have helped many. People need to be aware of the Path to achieve the Oneness with the Creator!
“Those, who then had understood Me, — they went this Path. We had got — many. And many others there were, who just approached and keep going.
“Even when darkness thickens around and there is no hope that the Light will shine — then it is only love that saves us from darkness and allows to keep a basis only in God!”
“And that gets up the so-called ‘Christianity’? Crusades? Inquisition? It does not fit into an understanding!”
“Any medicine, when used incorrectly, can become a poison…
“Even the most useful word or action, if it is not used properly or for evil intentions, — can bring the evil…
“I’m not talking about the distortions that were added intentionally by those who converted the Teachings of God — into a way to control people for the sake of themselves!
“In the wrong application, the force can become the violence, caution — cowardice, excessive concern — the suppression of development.
“Also, the belief in the existence of God can keep a person from evil. But the criminal leaders of religious movements make people, having fallen under their influence, to be perpetrators.
“Only the mastered love allows one to gain Wisdom to distinguish between good and evil — to a level as God distinguishes.
“And all is so simple!
“Everyone now can become My disciple — directly, without intermediaries!
“I would like you to tell people about it.
“And, to be My disciple, — it does not need to be close to My body!”
… Jesus dissolved His body’s image in the Light… and continued to speak. Paul easily understood Jesus, Who was now just a Light-Love, Light-Tenderness. This understanding was more than just hearing the words.
In the Light, the voice of Jesus continues to sound:
“I am Omnipresent! I can be right now next to each man!
“Everyone can aspire to fulfill the principles of life, offered by God. This will be the true Christianity! Not only I, but many the Attained will help such man!
“Notice: now your mind is completely relaxed, and the silence has filled the spiritual heart!
“God can be perceived only by the developed spiritual heart. Only the soul that has become the love can touch the Divine Consciousness, Which is Love. To this, I have called people ever since — by the words “God is Love!”.
“But this cannot be passed to anyone by means of only words!
“But you — give me a hug! My Light and Love — are waiting for you! I was long waiting for this moment! I love you!”
… There was only Jesus — Blissful Light of God, Who immersed in Himself and dissolved in Himself…
The soft voice of Jesus continued:
“Try to feel that here are Many of Us.
“Here is, in particular, Philip. You will now always be able to recognize Him. And it is not necessary for Him to be physically close to you — for you to continue to be trained.”
… The space of the Divine Light — the space of another reality of existence, stunning first by Its Tenderness, Beauty, Greatness, and Simplicity — it now was clearly perceived by Paul, because He was now in It and being It.
Ever-evolving Consciousness, Divine United We — consists of a Set of Perfect Consciousness. It does not know decay and death! But it is full of mature Wisdom and Omnipotence, fused with a gentle and caring Endearment of the Perfect Love!
* * *
The last day of the life of Paul and Philip at the source in the middle of desert had come.
Philip said:
“Time of our joint stay here is over. Stage of your training with the help of My material body is coming to an end. Then you can take help and guidance for your growth without My presence on the plane of matter.
“Did you read about meditation Cross? Fullness of this meditation, including the “Right” and “Left”, you are to cognize later.
“Now, before we leave, we have to do one more thing. In memory of our meeting, we can give to the desert the new oasis. And to be precise — to return the landscape that was here thousands of years ago.
“Water is already here. It remains to sow the seeds.
“Take these seeds of dates and of some other plants that are able to take root here.”
… Paul and Philip walked around the newborn lake, throwing the seeds along the coast.
“Do you believe that here something will be able to grow? Here is just the sand!” — Paul said.
“Where is the source — life can always develop! Animals will come to the water, soon the first plants germinate — and then the soil is filled with power and allow other plants to germinate.
“You now also carry a source of the Truth.
“You will also need to work hard to ‘cultivate a field’ of yourself-consciousness, that is, to cognize the fullness of Mergence with God and to plant the ‘field’ by many seeds. You can grow yourself more and more, and to help others to do the same. You can do it wherever you live and work. And God will harvest!
“That’s all! For our bodies — it’s time to leave.
“You have already started to learn to listen by the consciousness and understand God’s plans!
“The ability to communicate by the consciousness with the Divine Consciousnesses will help you never be without Divine Help and Advices. Not only Jesus and I have come into your life. All the Messengers of Light are always ready to help those who are turning to Them. Call!”
… They embraced.
Then Philip went without looking back. A light breeze was sanding His tracks.
Paul filled the jar with water, folded stock of provisions, left to him by Philip, and went to people…
Three days later, he came up to where the ordinary human life was in full swing.
And he did not have any tangible evidence of all that had happened to him, in addition to that surprising fact that he was still alive.
http://www.swami-center.org/en/text/parables-of-masters/
Spiritual Development 