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Teacher
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Chapter 24
The Brahmic doctrine of castes. Jesus repudiates it and teaches human equality. The priests are offended and drive him from the temple. He abides with the sudras and teaches them.
1. Four years the Jewish boy abode in temple Jagannath.
2. One day he sat among the priests and said to them, Pray, tell me all about your views of castes; why do you say that all men are not equal in the sight of God?
3. A master of their laws stood forth and said, The Holy One whom we call Brahm, made men to suit himself, and men should not complain.
4. In the beginning days of human life Brahm spoke, and four men stood before his face.
5. Now, from the mouth of Parabrahm the first man came; and he was white, was like the Brahm himself; a brahman he was called.
6. And he was high and lifted up; above all want he stood; he had no need of toil.
7. And he was called the priest of Brahm, the holy one to act for Brahm in all affairs of earth.
8. The second man was red, and from the hand of Parabrahm he came; and he was called shatriya.
9. And he was made to be the king, the ruler and the warrior, whose highest ordained duty was protection of the priest.
10. And from the inner parts of Parabrahm the third man came; and he was called a visya.
11. He was a yellow man, and his it was to till the soil, and keep the flocks and herds.
12. And from the feet of Parabrahm the fourth man came; and he was black; and he was called the sudras, one of low estate.
13. The sudras is the servant of the race of men; he has no rights that others need respect; he may not hear the Vedas read, and it means death to him to look into the face of priest, or king, and naught but death can free him from his state of servitude.
14. And Jesus said, Then Parabrahm is not a God of justice and of right; for with his own strong hand he has exulted one and brought another low.
15. And Jesus said no more to them, but looking up to heaven he said,
16. My Father-God, who was, and is, and evermore shall be; who holds within thy hands the scales of justice and of right;
17. Who in the boundlessness of love has made all men to equal be. The white, the black, the yellow, and the red can look up in thy face and say, Our Father-God.
18. Thou Father of the human race, I praise thy name.
19. And all the priests were angered by the words which Jesus spoke; they rushed upon him, seized him, and would have done him harm.
20. But then Lamaas raised his hand and said, You priests of Brahm, beware! you know not what you do; wait till you know the God this youth adores.
21. I have beheld this boy at prayer when light above the light of the sun surrounded him. Beware! his God may be more powerful than Brahm.
22. If Jesus speaks the truth, if he is right, you cannot force him to desist; if he is wrong and you are right, his words come to naught, for right is might, and in the end it will prevail.
23. And then the priests refrained from doing Jesus harm; but one spoke out and said,
24. Within this holy place has not this reckless youth done violence to Parabrahm? The law is plain; it says, He who reviles the name of Brahm shall die.
25. Lamaas pled for Jesus' life; and then the preists just seized a scourge of cords and drove him from the place.
26. And Jesus went his way and found shelter with the black and yellow men, the servants and the tiller of the soil.
27. To them he first made known the gospel of equality; he told them of the Brotherhood of Man, the Fatherhood of God.
28. The common people heard him with delight, and learned to pray, Our Father-God who art in heaven.
Chapter 25
Jesus teaches the sudras and farmers. Realates a parable of a nobleman and his unjust sons. Makes known the possibilities of all men.
1. When Jesus saw the sudras and the farmers in such multitudes draw near to hear his words, he spoke a parable to them; he said:
2. A nobleman possessed a great estate; he had four sons, and he would have them all grow strong by standing forth and making use of all the talents they possessed.
3. And so he gave to each a share of his great wealth, and bade them go their way.
4. The eldest son was full of self; he was ambitious, shrewd and quick of thought.
5. He said within himself, I am the oldest son, and these, my brothers, must be servants at my feet.
6. And then he called his brothers forth; and one he made a puppet king; gave him a sword and charged him to defend the whole estate.
7. To one he gave the use of lands and flowing wells, and flocks and herds, and bade him till the soil, and tend the flocks and herds and bring to him the choicest of his gains.
8. And to the other one he said, You are the youngest son; the broad estate has been assigned; you have no part nor lot in anything that is.
9. And he took a chain and bound his brother to a naked rock upon a desert plain, and said to him,
10. You have been born a slave; you have no rights, and you must be contented with your lot, for there is no release for you until you die and go from hence.
11. Now, after certain years the day of reckoning came; the nobleman called up his sons to render their accounts.
12. And when he knew that one, his eldest son, had seized the whole estate and made his brothers slaves,
13. He seized him, tore his priestly robes away and put him in a prison cell, where he was forced to stay until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.
14. And then, as though they were but toys, he threw in air the throne and armour of the puppet king; he broke his sword, and put him in a prison cell.
15. And then he called his farmer son and asked him why he had not rescued from his galling chains his brother on the desert plains.
16. And when the son made answer not, the father took unto himself the flocks and herds, the fields and flowing wells,
17. And sent his farmer son to live out on the desert sands, until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.
18. And then the father went and found his youngest son in cruel chains; with his own hands he broke the chains and bade his son to go in peace.
19. Now, when the sons had all paid up their debts they came again and stood before the bar of right.
20. They all had learned their lessons, learned them well; and then the father once again divided the estate.
21. He gave to each a share, and bade them recognise the law of equity and right, and live in peace.
22. And one, a sudras, spoke and said, May we who are but slaves, who are cut down like beasts to satisfy the whims of priests--may we have hope that one will come to break our chains and set us free?
23. And Jesus said, The Holy One has said, that all his children shall be free; and every soul is child of God.
24. The sudras shall be free as priest; the farmer shall walk hand in hand with king; for all the world will own the brotherhood of man.
25. O men, arise! be conscious of your powers, for he who wills need not remain a slave.
26. Just live as you would have your brother live; unfold each day as does the flower; for earth is yours, and heaven is yours, and God will bring you to your own.
27. And all the people cried, Show us the way that like the flower we may unfold and come unto our own.
Chapter 26
Jesus at Katak. The car of Jagannath Jesus reveals to the people the emptiness of Brahmic rites, and how to see God in man. Teaches them the divine law of sacrifice.
1. In all the cities of Orissa Jesus taught. At Katak, by the river side, he taught, and thousands of the people followed him.
2. One day a car of Jagannath was hauled along by scores of frenzied men, and Jesus said,
3. Behold, a form without a spirit passes by; a body with no soul; a temple with no altar fires.
4. This car of Krishna is an empty thing, for Krishna is not there.
5. This car is but an idol of a people drunk on wine of carnal things.
6. God lives not in the noise of tongues; there is no way to him from any idol shrine.
7. God's meeting place with man is in the heart, and in a still small voice he speaks; and he who hears is still.
8. And all the people said, Teach us to know the Holy One who speaks within the heart, God of the still small voice.
9. And Jesus said, The Holy Breath cannot be seen with mortal eyes; nor can men see the Spirits of the Holy;
10. But in their image man was made, and he who looks into the face of man, looks at the image of the God who speaks within.
11. And when man honours man he honours God, and what man does for man, he does for God.
12. And you must bear in mind that when man harms in thought, or word or deed another man, he does a wrong to God.
13. If you would serve the God who speaks within the heart, just serve your near of kin, and those that are no kin, the stranger at your gates, the foe who seeks to do you harm;
14. Assist the poor, and help the weak; do harm to none, and covet not what is not yours;
15. Then, with your tongue the Holy One will speak; and he will smile behind your tears, will light your countenance with joy, and fill your hearts with peace.
16. And then the people asked. To whom shall we bring gifts? Where shall we offer sacrifice?
17. And Jesus said, Our Father-God asks not for needless waste of plant,of grain, of dove, of lamb.
18. That which you burn on any shrine you throw away. No blessings can attend the one who takes the food from hungry mouths to be destroyed by fire.
19. When you would offer sacrifice unto our God, just take your gift of grain, or meat and lay it on the table of the poor.
20. From it an incense will arise to heaven, which will return to you with blessedness.
21. Tear down your idols; they can hear you not; turn all your sacrificial altars into fuel for the flames.
22. Make human hearts your altars, and burn your sacrifices with the fire of love.
23. And all the people were entranced, and would have worshiped Jesus as a God; but Jesus said,
24. I am your brother man just come to show to way to God; you shall not worship man; praise God, the Holy One.
Chapter 27
Jesus attends a feast in Behar. Preaches a revolutionary sermon on human equality. Relates the parable of the broken blades.
1. The fame of Jesus as a teacher spread through all the land, and people came from near and far to hear his words of truth.
2. At Behar, on the sacred river of the Brahms, he taught for many days.
3. And Ach, a wealthy man of Behar, made a feast in honour of his guest, and he invited every one to come.
4. And many came; among them thieves, extortioners, and courtesans. And Jesus sat with them and taught; but they who followed him were much aggrieved because he sat with thieves and courtesans.
5. And they upbraided him; they said, Rabboni, master of the wise, this day will be an evil day for you.
6. The news will spread that you consort with courtesans and thieves, and men will shun you as they shun an asp.
7. And Jesus answered them and said, A master never screens himself for sake of reputation or of fame.
8. These are but worthless baubles of the day; they rise and sink, like empty bottles on a stream; they are illusions and will pass away;
9. They are the indices to what the thoughtless think; they are the noise that people make; and shallow men judge merit by noise.
10. God and all master men judge men by what they are and not by what they seem to be; not by their reputation and their fame.
11. These courtesans and theives are children of my Father-God; their soul are just as precious in his sight as yours, or of the Brahmic priests.
12. And they are working out the same life sums that you, who pride yourselves on your respectability and moral worth, are working out.
13. And some of them have solved much harder sums than you have solved, you men who look at them with scorn.
14. Yes, they are sinners, and confess their guilt, while you are guilty, but are shrewd enough to have polished coat to cover up your guilt.
15. Suppose you men who scorn these courtesans, these drunkards and these thieves, who know that you are pure in heart and life, that you are better far than they, stand forth that men may know just who you are.
16. The sin lies in the wish, in the desire, not in the act. 17. You covet other people's wealth; you look at charming forms, and deep within your hearts you lust for them.
18. Deceit you practice every day, and wish for gold, for honour and for fame, just for your selfish selves.
19. The man who covets is a thief, and she who lusts is courtesan. You who are none of these speak out.
20. Nobody spoke; the accusers held their peace.
21. And Jesus said, The proof this day is all against those who have accused.
22. The pure in heart do not accuse. The vile in heart who want to cover up their guilt with holy smoke of piety are ever loathing drunkard, thief and courtesan.
23. This loathing and this scorn is mockery, for if the tinselled coat of reputation could be torn away, the loud professor would be found to revel in his lust, deceit and many forms of secret sin.
24. The man who spends his time in pulling other people's weeds can have no time to pull his own, and all the choicest flowers of life will soon be choked and die, and nothing will remain but darnel, thistles, burs.
25. And Jesus spoke a parable: he said, Behold, a farmer had great fields of ripened grain, and when he looked he saw that blades of many stalks of wheat were bent and broken down.
26. And when he sent his reapers forth he said, We will not save the stalks of wheat that have the broken blades.
27. Go forth and cut and burn the stalks with broken blades.
28. And after many days he went to measure up his grain, but not a kernel could be find. 29. And then he called the harvesters and said to them, Where is my grain?
30. They answered him and said, We did according to your word; we gathered up and burned the stalks with broken blades, and not a stalk was left to carry to the barn.
31. And Jesus said, If God saves only those who have no broken blades, who have been perfect in his sight, who will be saved?
32. And the accusers hung their heads in shame; and Jesus went his way.
Chapter 28
Udraka gives a feast in Jesus' honour. Jesus speaks on the unity of God and the brotherhood of life. Criticises the priesthood. Becomes the guest of a farmer.
1. Benares is the sacred city of the Brahms, and in Benares Jesus taught; Udraka was his host.
2. Udraka made a feast in honour of his guest, and many high born Hindu priests and scribes were there.
3. And Jesus said to them, With much delight I speak to you concerning life--the brotherhood of life.
4. The universal God is one, yet he is more than one; all things are God; all things are one.
5. By the sweet breaths of God all life is bound in one; so if you touch a fibre of a living thing you send a thrill from the centre to the outer bounds of life.
6. And when you crush beneath your foot the meanest worm, you shake the throne of God, and cause the sword of right to tremble in its sheath.
7. The bird sings out its song for men, and men vibrate in unison to help it sing.
8. The ant constructs her home, the bee its sheltering comb, the spider weaves her web, and flowers breath to them a spirit in their sweet perfumes that gives them strength to toil.
9. Now, men and birds and beasts and creeping things are deities, made flesh; and how dare men kill anything?
10. 'Tis cruelty that makes the world awry. When men have learned that when they harm a living thing they harm themselves, they surely will not kill, nor cause a thing that God has made to suffer pain.
11. A lawyer said,I pray you, Jesus, tell who is this God you speak about; where are his priests, his temples and his shrines?
12. And Jesus said, The God I speak about is everywhere; he cannot be compassed with walls, nor hedged about with bounds of any kind.
13. All people worship God, the One; but all the people see him not alike.
14. This universal God is wisdom, will and love.
15. All men see not the Triune God. One sees him as the God of might; another as the God of thought; another as the God of love.
16. A man's ideal is his God, and so, as man unfolds. Man's God to-day, to-morrow is not God.
17. The nations of the earth see God from different points of view, and so he does not seem the same to every one.
18. Man names the part of God he sees, and this to him is all of God; and every nation sees a part of God, and every nation has a name for God.
19. You Brahmans call him Parabrahm; in Egypt he is Thoth; and Zeus is his name in Greece; Jehovah is his Hebrew name; but everywhere he is the causeless Cause, the rootless Root from which all things have grown.
20. When men become afraid of God, and take him for a foe, they dress up other men in fancy garbs and call them priests.
21. And charge them to restrain the wrath of God by prayers; and when they fail to win his favour by their prayers, to buy him off with sacrifice of animal, or bird.
22. When man sees God as one with him, as Father-God, he needs no middle man, no priest to intercede;
23. He goes straight up to him and says, My Father- God! and then he lays his hand in God's own hand, and all is well.
24. And this is God. You are, each one, a priest, just for yourself; and sacrifice of blood God does not want.
25. Just give your life in sacrificial service to all of life, and God is pleased.
26. When Jesus had thus said he stood aside; the people were amazed, but strove among themselves.
27. Some said, He is inspired by Holy Brahm; and others said, He is insane; and others said, He is obsessed; he speaks as devils speak.
28. But Jesus tarried not. Among the guests was one, a tiller of the soil, a generous soul, a seeker after truth, who loved the words that Jesus spoke, and Jesus went with him, and in his home abode.
Chapter 29
Ajainin, a priest from Lahore, comes to Benares to see Jesus, and abides in the temple. Jesus refuses an invitation to visit the temple. Ajainin visits him at night in the farmer's home, and accepts his philosophy.
1. Among Benares' temple priests was one, a guest, Ajainan, from Lahore.
2. By merchantmen Ajainin heard about the Jewish boy, about his words of wisdom, and he girt himself and journeyed from Lahore that he might see the boy, and hear him speak.
3. The Brahmic priests did not accept the truth that Jesus brought, and they were angered much by what he said at the Udraka feast.
4. But they had never seen the boy, and they desired much to hear him speak, and they invited him to be a temple guest.
5. But Jesus said to them, The light is most abundant, and it shines for all; if you would see the light come to the light.
6. If you would hear the message that the Holy One has given me to give to men, come unto me.
7. Now, when the priests were told what Jesus said they were enraged.
8. Ajainin did not share their wrath, and he sent forth another messenger with costly gifts to Jesus at the farmer's home; he sent this message with the gifts:
9. I pray you master, listen to my words; The Brahmic law forbids that any priest shall go into the home of any one of low estate; but you can come to us;
10. And I am sure these priests will gladly hear you speak. I pray that you will come and dine with us this day.
11. And Jesus said, The Holy One regards all men alike; the dwelling of my host is good enough for any council of the sons of men.
12. If pride of cast keeps you away, you are not worthy of the light. My Father-God does not regard the laws of man.
13. Your presents I return; you cannot buy the knowledge of the Lord with gold, or precious gifts.
14. These words of Jesus angered more and more the priests, and they began to plot and plan how they might drive him from the land.
15. Ajainin did not join with them in plot and plan; he left the temple in the night, and sought the home where Jesus dwelt.
16. And Jesus said, There is no night where shines the sun; I have no secret messages to give; in light all secrets are revealed.
17. Ajainin said, I came from far-away Lahore, that I might learn about this ancient wisdom, and this kingdom of the Holy One of which you speak.
18. Where is the kingdom? where the king? Who are the subjects? what its laws?
19. And Jesus said, This kingdom is not far away, but man with mortal eyes can see it not; it is within the heart.
20. You need not seek the king in earth, or sea, or sky; he is not there, and yet is everywhere. He is the Christ of God; is universal love.
21. The gate of this dominion is not high, and he who enters it must fall down on his knees. It is not wide, and none can carry carnal bundles through.
22. The lower self must be transmuted into spirit-self; the body must be washed in living streams of purity.
23. Ajainin asked, Can I become a suject of this king?
24. And Jesus said, You are yourself a king, and you may enter through the gate and be a subject of the King of kings.
25. But you must lay aside your priestly robes; must cease to serve the Holy One for gold; must give your life, and all you have, in willing service to the sons of men.
26. And Jesus said no more; Ajainin went his way; and while he could not comprehend the truth that Jesus spoke, he saw what he had never seen before.
27. The realm of faith he never had explored; but in his heart the seeds of faith and universal brotherhood had found good soil.
28. And as he journeyed to his home he seemed to sleep, to pass through darkest night, and when he woke the Sun of Righteousness had arisen; he had found the king.
29. Now, in Benares Jesus tarried many days and taught.
Chapter 30
Jesus receives news of the death of his father. He writes a letter to his mother. The letter. He sends it on its way by a merchant.
1. One day as Jesus stood beside the Ganges busy with his work, a caravan, returning from the West, drew near.
2. And one, approaching Jesus, said, We come to you from your native land and bring unwelcome news.
3. Your father is no more on earth; your mother grieves; and none can comfort her. She wonders whether you are still alive or not; she longs to see you once again.
4. And Jesus bowed his head in silent thought; and then he wrote. Of what he wrote this is the sum:
5. My mother, noblest of the womankind; A man just from my native land has brought me word that father is no more in flesh, and that you grieve, and are disconsolate.
6. My mother, all is well; is well for father and is well for you.
7. His work in this earth-round is done, and it is nobly done.
8. In all the walks of life men cannot charge him with deceit, dishonesty, nor wrong intent.
9. Here in this round he finished many heavy tasks, and he has gone from hence prepared to solve the problems of the round of soul.
10. Our Father-God is with him there, as he was with him here; and there his angel guards his footssteps lest he goes astray.
11. Why should you weep? Tears cannot conquer grief. There is no power in grief to mend a broken heart.
12. The plane of grief is idleness; the busy soul can never grieve; it has no time for grief.
13. When grief come trooping through the heart, just lose yourself; plunge deep into the ministry of love, and grief is not.
14. Yours is a ministry of love, and all the world is calling out for love.
15. Then let the past go with the past; rise from the cares fo carnal things and give your life for those who live.
16. And if you lose your life in serving life you will sure to find in it the morning sun, the evening dews, in song of bird, in flowers, and in the stars of night.
17. In just a little while your problems of this earth-round will be solved; and when your sums are all worked out it will be pleasure unalloyed for you to enter wider fields of usefulness, to solve the greater problems of the soul.
18. Strive, then, to be content, and I will come to you some day and bring you richer gifts than gold or precious stones.
19. I'm sure that John will care for you, supplying all your needs; and I am with you all the way, Jehoshua.
20. And by the hand of one, a merchant, going to Jerusalem, he sent this letter on its way.
The Brahmic doctrine of castes. Jesus repudiates it and teaches human equality. The priests are offended and drive him from the temple. He abides with the sudras and teaches them.
1. Four years the Jewish boy abode in temple Jagannath.
2. One day he sat among the priests and said to them, Pray, tell me all about your views of castes; why do you say that all men are not equal in the sight of God?
3. A master of their laws stood forth and said, The Holy One whom we call Brahm, made men to suit himself, and men should not complain.
4. In the beginning days of human life Brahm spoke, and four men stood before his face.
5. Now, from the mouth of Parabrahm the first man came; and he was white, was like the Brahm himself; a brahman he was called.
6. And he was high and lifted up; above all want he stood; he had no need of toil.
7. And he was called the priest of Brahm, the holy one to act for Brahm in all affairs of earth.
8. The second man was red, and from the hand of Parabrahm he came; and he was called shatriya.
9. And he was made to be the king, the ruler and the warrior, whose highest ordained duty was protection of the priest.
10. And from the inner parts of Parabrahm the third man came; and he was called a visya.
11. He was a yellow man, and his it was to till the soil, and keep the flocks and herds.
12. And from the feet of Parabrahm the fourth man came; and he was black; and he was called the sudras, one of low estate.
13. The sudras is the servant of the race of men; he has no rights that others need respect; he may not hear the Vedas read, and it means death to him to look into the face of priest, or king, and naught but death can free him from his state of servitude.
14. And Jesus said, Then Parabrahm is not a God of justice and of right; for with his own strong hand he has exulted one and brought another low.
15. And Jesus said no more to them, but looking up to heaven he said,
16. My Father-God, who was, and is, and evermore shall be; who holds within thy hands the scales of justice and of right;
17. Who in the boundlessness of love has made all men to equal be. The white, the black, the yellow, and the red can look up in thy face and say, Our Father-God.
18. Thou Father of the human race, I praise thy name.
19. And all the priests were angered by the words which Jesus spoke; they rushed upon him, seized him, and would have done him harm.
20. But then Lamaas raised his hand and said, You priests of Brahm, beware! you know not what you do; wait till you know the God this youth adores.
21. I have beheld this boy at prayer when light above the light of the sun surrounded him. Beware! his God may be more powerful than Brahm.
22. If Jesus speaks the truth, if he is right, you cannot force him to desist; if he is wrong and you are right, his words come to naught, for right is might, and in the end it will prevail.
23. And then the priests refrained from doing Jesus harm; but one spoke out and said,
24. Within this holy place has not this reckless youth done violence to Parabrahm? The law is plain; it says, He who reviles the name of Brahm shall die.
25. Lamaas pled for Jesus' life; and then the preists just seized a scourge of cords and drove him from the place.
26. And Jesus went his way and found shelter with the black and yellow men, the servants and the tiller of the soil.
27. To them he first made known the gospel of equality; he told them of the Brotherhood of Man, the Fatherhood of God.
28. The common people heard him with delight, and learned to pray, Our Father-God who art in heaven.
Chapter 25
Jesus teaches the sudras and farmers. Realates a parable of a nobleman and his unjust sons. Makes known the possibilities of all men.
1. When Jesus saw the sudras and the farmers in such multitudes draw near to hear his words, he spoke a parable to them; he said:
2. A nobleman possessed a great estate; he had four sons, and he would have them all grow strong by standing forth and making use of all the talents they possessed.
3. And so he gave to each a share of his great wealth, and bade them go their way.
4. The eldest son was full of self; he was ambitious, shrewd and quick of thought.
5. He said within himself, I am the oldest son, and these, my brothers, must be servants at my feet.
6. And then he called his brothers forth; and one he made a puppet king; gave him a sword and charged him to defend the whole estate.
7. To one he gave the use of lands and flowing wells, and flocks and herds, and bade him till the soil, and tend the flocks and herds and bring to him the choicest of his gains.
8. And to the other one he said, You are the youngest son; the broad estate has been assigned; you have no part nor lot in anything that is.
9. And he took a chain and bound his brother to a naked rock upon a desert plain, and said to him,
10. You have been born a slave; you have no rights, and you must be contented with your lot, for there is no release for you until you die and go from hence.
11. Now, after certain years the day of reckoning came; the nobleman called up his sons to render their accounts.
12. And when he knew that one, his eldest son, had seized the whole estate and made his brothers slaves,
13. He seized him, tore his priestly robes away and put him in a prison cell, where he was forced to stay until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.
14. And then, as though they were but toys, he threw in air the throne and armour of the puppet king; he broke his sword, and put him in a prison cell.
15. And then he called his farmer son and asked him why he had not rescued from his galling chains his brother on the desert plains.
16. And when the son made answer not, the father took unto himself the flocks and herds, the fields and flowing wells,
17. And sent his farmer son to live out on the desert sands, until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.
18. And then the father went and found his youngest son in cruel chains; with his own hands he broke the chains and bade his son to go in peace.
19. Now, when the sons had all paid up their debts they came again and stood before the bar of right.
20. They all had learned their lessons, learned them well; and then the father once again divided the estate.
21. He gave to each a share, and bade them recognise the law of equity and right, and live in peace.
22. And one, a sudras, spoke and said, May we who are but slaves, who are cut down like beasts to satisfy the whims of priests--may we have hope that one will come to break our chains and set us free?
23. And Jesus said, The Holy One has said, that all his children shall be free; and every soul is child of God.
24. The sudras shall be free as priest; the farmer shall walk hand in hand with king; for all the world will own the brotherhood of man.
25. O men, arise! be conscious of your powers, for he who wills need not remain a slave.
26. Just live as you would have your brother live; unfold each day as does the flower; for earth is yours, and heaven is yours, and God will bring you to your own.
27. And all the people cried, Show us the way that like the flower we may unfold and come unto our own.
Chapter 26
Jesus at Katak. The car of Jagannath Jesus reveals to the people the emptiness of Brahmic rites, and how to see God in man. Teaches them the divine law of sacrifice.
1. In all the cities of Orissa Jesus taught. At Katak, by the river side, he taught, and thousands of the people followed him.
2. One day a car of Jagannath was hauled along by scores of frenzied men, and Jesus said,
3. Behold, a form without a spirit passes by; a body with no soul; a temple with no altar fires.
4. This car of Krishna is an empty thing, for Krishna is not there.
5. This car is but an idol of a people drunk on wine of carnal things.
6. God lives not in the noise of tongues; there is no way to him from any idol shrine.
7. God's meeting place with man is in the heart, and in a still small voice he speaks; and he who hears is still.
8. And all the people said, Teach us to know the Holy One who speaks within the heart, God of the still small voice.
9. And Jesus said, The Holy Breath cannot be seen with mortal eyes; nor can men see the Spirits of the Holy;
10. But in their image man was made, and he who looks into the face of man, looks at the image of the God who speaks within.
11. And when man honours man he honours God, and what man does for man, he does for God.
12. And you must bear in mind that when man harms in thought, or word or deed another man, he does a wrong to God.
13. If you would serve the God who speaks within the heart, just serve your near of kin, and those that are no kin, the stranger at your gates, the foe who seeks to do you harm;
14. Assist the poor, and help the weak; do harm to none, and covet not what is not yours;
15. Then, with your tongue the Holy One will speak; and he will smile behind your tears, will light your countenance with joy, and fill your hearts with peace.
16. And then the people asked. To whom shall we bring gifts? Where shall we offer sacrifice?
17. And Jesus said, Our Father-God asks not for needless waste of plant,of grain, of dove, of lamb.
18. That which you burn on any shrine you throw away. No blessings can attend the one who takes the food from hungry mouths to be destroyed by fire.
19. When you would offer sacrifice unto our God, just take your gift of grain, or meat and lay it on the table of the poor.
20. From it an incense will arise to heaven, which will return to you with blessedness.
21. Tear down your idols; they can hear you not; turn all your sacrificial altars into fuel for the flames.
22. Make human hearts your altars, and burn your sacrifices with the fire of love.
23. And all the people were entranced, and would have worshiped Jesus as a God; but Jesus said,
24. I am your brother man just come to show to way to God; you shall not worship man; praise God, the Holy One.
Chapter 27
Jesus attends a feast in Behar. Preaches a revolutionary sermon on human equality. Relates the parable of the broken blades.
1. The fame of Jesus as a teacher spread through all the land, and people came from near and far to hear his words of truth.
2. At Behar, on the sacred river of the Brahms, he taught for many days.
3. And Ach, a wealthy man of Behar, made a feast in honour of his guest, and he invited every one to come.
4. And many came; among them thieves, extortioners, and courtesans. And Jesus sat with them and taught; but they who followed him were much aggrieved because he sat with thieves and courtesans.
5. And they upbraided him; they said, Rabboni, master of the wise, this day will be an evil day for you.
6. The news will spread that you consort with courtesans and thieves, and men will shun you as they shun an asp.
7. And Jesus answered them and said, A master never screens himself for sake of reputation or of fame.
8. These are but worthless baubles of the day; they rise and sink, like empty bottles on a stream; they are illusions and will pass away;
9. They are the indices to what the thoughtless think; they are the noise that people make; and shallow men judge merit by noise.
10. God and all master men judge men by what they are and not by what they seem to be; not by their reputation and their fame.
11. These courtesans and theives are children of my Father-God; their soul are just as precious in his sight as yours, or of the Brahmic priests.
12. And they are working out the same life sums that you, who pride yourselves on your respectability and moral worth, are working out.
13. And some of them have solved much harder sums than you have solved, you men who look at them with scorn.
14. Yes, they are sinners, and confess their guilt, while you are guilty, but are shrewd enough to have polished coat to cover up your guilt.
15. Suppose you men who scorn these courtesans, these drunkards and these thieves, who know that you are pure in heart and life, that you are better far than they, stand forth that men may know just who you are.
16. The sin lies in the wish, in the desire, not in the act. 17. You covet other people's wealth; you look at charming forms, and deep within your hearts you lust for them.
18. Deceit you practice every day, and wish for gold, for honour and for fame, just for your selfish selves.
19. The man who covets is a thief, and she who lusts is courtesan. You who are none of these speak out.
20. Nobody spoke; the accusers held their peace.
21. And Jesus said, The proof this day is all against those who have accused.
22. The pure in heart do not accuse. The vile in heart who want to cover up their guilt with holy smoke of piety are ever loathing drunkard, thief and courtesan.
23. This loathing and this scorn is mockery, for if the tinselled coat of reputation could be torn away, the loud professor would be found to revel in his lust, deceit and many forms of secret sin.
24. The man who spends his time in pulling other people's weeds can have no time to pull his own, and all the choicest flowers of life will soon be choked and die, and nothing will remain but darnel, thistles, burs.
25. And Jesus spoke a parable: he said, Behold, a farmer had great fields of ripened grain, and when he looked he saw that blades of many stalks of wheat were bent and broken down.
26. And when he sent his reapers forth he said, We will not save the stalks of wheat that have the broken blades.
27. Go forth and cut and burn the stalks with broken blades.
28. And after many days he went to measure up his grain, but not a kernel could be find. 29. And then he called the harvesters and said to them, Where is my grain?
30. They answered him and said, We did according to your word; we gathered up and burned the stalks with broken blades, and not a stalk was left to carry to the barn.
31. And Jesus said, If God saves only those who have no broken blades, who have been perfect in his sight, who will be saved?
32. And the accusers hung their heads in shame; and Jesus went his way.
Chapter 28
Udraka gives a feast in Jesus' honour. Jesus speaks on the unity of God and the brotherhood of life. Criticises the priesthood. Becomes the guest of a farmer.
1. Benares is the sacred city of the Brahms, and in Benares Jesus taught; Udraka was his host.
2. Udraka made a feast in honour of his guest, and many high born Hindu priests and scribes were there.
3. And Jesus said to them, With much delight I speak to you concerning life--the brotherhood of life.
4. The universal God is one, yet he is more than one; all things are God; all things are one.
5. By the sweet breaths of God all life is bound in one; so if you touch a fibre of a living thing you send a thrill from the centre to the outer bounds of life.
6. And when you crush beneath your foot the meanest worm, you shake the throne of God, and cause the sword of right to tremble in its sheath.
7. The bird sings out its song for men, and men vibrate in unison to help it sing.
8. The ant constructs her home, the bee its sheltering comb, the spider weaves her web, and flowers breath to them a spirit in their sweet perfumes that gives them strength to toil.
9. Now, men and birds and beasts and creeping things are deities, made flesh; and how dare men kill anything?
10. 'Tis cruelty that makes the world awry. When men have learned that when they harm a living thing they harm themselves, they surely will not kill, nor cause a thing that God has made to suffer pain.
11. A lawyer said,I pray you, Jesus, tell who is this God you speak about; where are his priests, his temples and his shrines?
12. And Jesus said, The God I speak about is everywhere; he cannot be compassed with walls, nor hedged about with bounds of any kind.
13. All people worship God, the One; but all the people see him not alike.
14. This universal God is wisdom, will and love.
15. All men see not the Triune God. One sees him as the God of might; another as the God of thought; another as the God of love.
16. A man's ideal is his God, and so, as man unfolds. Man's God to-day, to-morrow is not God.
17. The nations of the earth see God from different points of view, and so he does not seem the same to every one.
18. Man names the part of God he sees, and this to him is all of God; and every nation sees a part of God, and every nation has a name for God.
19. You Brahmans call him Parabrahm; in Egypt he is Thoth; and Zeus is his name in Greece; Jehovah is his Hebrew name; but everywhere he is the causeless Cause, the rootless Root from which all things have grown.
20. When men become afraid of God, and take him for a foe, they dress up other men in fancy garbs and call them priests.
21. And charge them to restrain the wrath of God by prayers; and when they fail to win his favour by their prayers, to buy him off with sacrifice of animal, or bird.
22. When man sees God as one with him, as Father-God, he needs no middle man, no priest to intercede;
23. He goes straight up to him and says, My Father- God! and then he lays his hand in God's own hand, and all is well.
24. And this is God. You are, each one, a priest, just for yourself; and sacrifice of blood God does not want.
25. Just give your life in sacrificial service to all of life, and God is pleased.
26. When Jesus had thus said he stood aside; the people were amazed, but strove among themselves.
27. Some said, He is inspired by Holy Brahm; and others said, He is insane; and others said, He is obsessed; he speaks as devils speak.
28. But Jesus tarried not. Among the guests was one, a tiller of the soil, a generous soul, a seeker after truth, who loved the words that Jesus spoke, and Jesus went with him, and in his home abode.
Chapter 29
Ajainin, a priest from Lahore, comes to Benares to see Jesus, and abides in the temple. Jesus refuses an invitation to visit the temple. Ajainin visits him at night in the farmer's home, and accepts his philosophy.
1. Among Benares' temple priests was one, a guest, Ajainan, from Lahore.
2. By merchantmen Ajainin heard about the Jewish boy, about his words of wisdom, and he girt himself and journeyed from Lahore that he might see the boy, and hear him speak.
3. The Brahmic priests did not accept the truth that Jesus brought, and they were angered much by what he said at the Udraka feast.
4. But they had never seen the boy, and they desired much to hear him speak, and they invited him to be a temple guest.
5. But Jesus said to them, The light is most abundant, and it shines for all; if you would see the light come to the light.
6. If you would hear the message that the Holy One has given me to give to men, come unto me.
7. Now, when the priests were told what Jesus said they were enraged.
8. Ajainin did not share their wrath, and he sent forth another messenger with costly gifts to Jesus at the farmer's home; he sent this message with the gifts:
9. I pray you master, listen to my words; The Brahmic law forbids that any priest shall go into the home of any one of low estate; but you can come to us;
10. And I am sure these priests will gladly hear you speak. I pray that you will come and dine with us this day.
11. And Jesus said, The Holy One regards all men alike; the dwelling of my host is good enough for any council of the sons of men.
12. If pride of cast keeps you away, you are not worthy of the light. My Father-God does not regard the laws of man.
13. Your presents I return; you cannot buy the knowledge of the Lord with gold, or precious gifts.
14. These words of Jesus angered more and more the priests, and they began to plot and plan how they might drive him from the land.
15. Ajainin did not join with them in plot and plan; he left the temple in the night, and sought the home where Jesus dwelt.
16. And Jesus said, There is no night where shines the sun; I have no secret messages to give; in light all secrets are revealed.
17. Ajainin said, I came from far-away Lahore, that I might learn about this ancient wisdom, and this kingdom of the Holy One of which you speak.
18. Where is the kingdom? where the king? Who are the subjects? what its laws?
19. And Jesus said, This kingdom is not far away, but man with mortal eyes can see it not; it is within the heart.
20. You need not seek the king in earth, or sea, or sky; he is not there, and yet is everywhere. He is the Christ of God; is universal love.
21. The gate of this dominion is not high, and he who enters it must fall down on his knees. It is not wide, and none can carry carnal bundles through.
22. The lower self must be transmuted into spirit-self; the body must be washed in living streams of purity.
23. Ajainin asked, Can I become a suject of this king?
24. And Jesus said, You are yourself a king, and you may enter through the gate and be a subject of the King of kings.
25. But you must lay aside your priestly robes; must cease to serve the Holy One for gold; must give your life, and all you have, in willing service to the sons of men.
26. And Jesus said no more; Ajainin went his way; and while he could not comprehend the truth that Jesus spoke, he saw what he had never seen before.
27. The realm of faith he never had explored; but in his heart the seeds of faith and universal brotherhood had found good soil.
28. And as he journeyed to his home he seemed to sleep, to pass through darkest night, and when he woke the Sun of Righteousness had arisen; he had found the king.
29. Now, in Benares Jesus tarried many days and taught.
Chapter 30
Jesus receives news of the death of his father. He writes a letter to his mother. The letter. He sends it on its way by a merchant.
1. One day as Jesus stood beside the Ganges busy with his work, a caravan, returning from the West, drew near.
2. And one, approaching Jesus, said, We come to you from your native land and bring unwelcome news.
3. Your father is no more on earth; your mother grieves; and none can comfort her. She wonders whether you are still alive or not; she longs to see you once again.
4. And Jesus bowed his head in silent thought; and then he wrote. Of what he wrote this is the sum:
5. My mother, noblest of the womankind; A man just from my native land has brought me word that father is no more in flesh, and that you grieve, and are disconsolate.
6. My mother, all is well; is well for father and is well for you.
7. His work in this earth-round is done, and it is nobly done.
8. In all the walks of life men cannot charge him with deceit, dishonesty, nor wrong intent.
9. Here in this round he finished many heavy tasks, and he has gone from hence prepared to solve the problems of the round of soul.
10. Our Father-God is with him there, as he was with him here; and there his angel guards his footssteps lest he goes astray.
11. Why should you weep? Tears cannot conquer grief. There is no power in grief to mend a broken heart.
12. The plane of grief is idleness; the busy soul can never grieve; it has no time for grief.
13. When grief come trooping through the heart, just lose yourself; plunge deep into the ministry of love, and grief is not.
14. Yours is a ministry of love, and all the world is calling out for love.
15. Then let the past go with the past; rise from the cares fo carnal things and give your life for those who live.
16. And if you lose your life in serving life you will sure to find in it the morning sun, the evening dews, in song of bird, in flowers, and in the stars of night.
17. In just a little while your problems of this earth-round will be solved; and when your sums are all worked out it will be pleasure unalloyed for you to enter wider fields of usefulness, to solve the greater problems of the soul.
18. Strive, then, to be content, and I will come to you some day and bring you richer gifts than gold or precious stones.
19. I'm sure that John will care for you, supplying all your needs; and I am with you all the way, Jehoshua.
20. And by the hand of one, a merchant, going to Jerusalem, he sent this letter on its way.
