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Audio
Tablet Four
Chapter 4
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"Then was
Esa
led up of the
spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the
devil." (Matthew
4:1)
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<1>After
his spiritual eye was opened, his true struggle in overcoming the
power of the
tama guna started. That is why he was led to the wilderness, which is a symbol for the
turbulent, uncontrollable
mind.
<2>In this wilderness
of his turbulent consciousness, he started the greatest battle in
his life, the battle of overcoming the lower nature which leads man
to all kinds of attractions, desires, attachments, greed, or
Maya.
<3>John opened his eyes
but it was
Esa himself who
should overcome.
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"And when he had fasted
forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred."
"And when the tempter came to
him, he said, If thou be the
Son
of God, command that these stones be
made bread." (Matthew 4:2-3)
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<4>The
first psychic center (chakra)
in the body is related to physiological and safety needs ("bread").
<5>That is why the
first temptation came to him to use his little-gained spiritual
powers to gain these lower needs (bread) from society or the
external world. The external world is like stone, from which it is
hard to satisfy those needs, "command that these stones be made
bread."
<6>The
sentence, "he had fasted forty days and forty nights" shows that he
had gone through a great
purification for a long time ("forty
days and forty nights") before he became aware that to strive for
bread alone is a temptation.
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"But he answered and
said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God."
(Matthew 4:4)
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<7>Also
because he was born an
Avatar
(from
Pure Consciousness
to flesh) he remembered very well that the goal of life is to
be(come)
Divine,
and one of the ways to reach this goal is to follow and live, "by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God."
By following His Will, then the substance will be provided.
<8>A
man who only lives for bread (physiological and safety needs) is
bound in his first
chakra and cannot
emerge from being earthbound.
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"Then the
devil
taketh him up into the holy city, and
setteth him on a pinnacle of the
temple," (Matthew 4:5)
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<9>With
overcoming this first temptation of the first
chakra,
he rose to a higher level into the second
chakra,
but still in the lower nature (the first three
chakras are the
lower nature of man). That is why the
devil (the power of
the
tama
guna) still is with him, "the
devil
taketh him up...."
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"And saith unto him, If
thou be the
Son
of God, cast thyself down: for it is
written, He shall give his
angels charge
concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at
any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Matthew 4:6)
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<10>In
the second level (chakra)
in spiritual progress, there is the seed of doubt. He already
overcame the misuse of the power and knowledge in the first level
and rose to a higher level. <11>But
in this level (second
chakra),
he doubted if
God
was really going to protect him against the problems in the outside
world.
<12>In
this level, he was exactly at the same stage where the
woman was in
chapter 3 in Genesis
when she was tempted by the
serpent that caused
her to doubt the validity of the Lord's command. It is from this
level that the question comes to the mind if it really is true, and
if
God
means it when He said that He will take care of whoever overcomes
the illusion of this external world.
<13>That
is what the
devil
(tama
guna) was doing here. He was putting
the seed of doubt into
Esa's
mind, if He would really keep His Promise of protecting him. The
temptation came to test
God
by doing something which would prove that it is true.
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"Esa
said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy
God."
(Matthew 4:7)
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<14>Again
the truth came to him through his highly elevated Soul, that, "Thou
shall not tempt the Lord thy
God." That is, you have to overcome any doubt and follow Him. <15>In fact, after a
person follows
God's
Commandments and Laws, then he realizes their depth and incredible
effects on his life and
mind,
and on others.
<16>This
doubting and tempting
God
in fact was the very reason for the fall of the
woman
from
heaven
to earth. She thought she knew better than
God,
so she could choose what "look[ed] good to her eyes" as the way of
life. <17>But what
looks good to a person is not necessarily good for his spiritual
progress.
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"Again, the
devil
taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain,
and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory
of them;" (Matthew 4:8)
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<18>With
this refusal to doubt and tempt
God,
he overcame the bondage of the second
chakra
and was elevated "into an exceeding" higher level, or the third
chakra.
<19>It is in this
level that the temptation comes to gain power, position, and
prestige for the sake of glorifying self, instead of for the good of
all.
<20>That
is why the
devil
took him up into an exceedingly high mountain (which is much higher
than the previous position at the top of the
temple) and showed
him the kingdom of the world. Or in other words, in this level he
reached a point where he could see how he could gain earthly power. However, because he was still under the influence of the third
chakra, he saw "the
glory of them," not how they could be used for the good of all.
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"And saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship
me." (Matthew 4:9)
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<21>However,
he who becomes tempted to gain earthly powers for its glory, becomes
the slave and worshipper of his lower nature. This is because in
order to maintain that glory, he has no choice but to inflict misery
on other people and use his powers to struggle all his life to stay
in that position.
<22>That
is why the
devil
said, "I will give you all the glories of the world," but there is a
requirement to do this, "that you worship me instead of
God."
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"Then saith
Esa
unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy
God,
and him only shalt thou serve." (Matthew 4:10)
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<23>Again
Esa
saw the depth of the deceitfulness of the offering. What the
devil
(tama
guna) was offering to him was nothing
but
Maya
("glory of this world"). But
Esa knew the only
absolute truth is He (Pure
Consciousness). So he refused this last
offering also, and said that in order to overcome the ocean of
Maya and reach the
truth (God),
you should worship Him (through bhakti) and Him only.
<24>With
this last realization,
Esa
overcame his lower nature (first three
chakras)
and entered his
higher self (next four
chakras).
When a person overcomes the lower self (first three temptations) he
will go to his
higher self.
<25>This is what is called "to be
born again," that
is, to be born from the lower self to the
higher self. In
order to be
born again, a
person, by His
Grace, should
overcome the lower self.
<26>In
fact, this process of being
born again --
resurrection from the dead (lower self)
-- was the main mission of
Esa to come on
earth. That is why the symbol for his truth among the churches,
which is in the second chapter of The Revelation
and in
The Greatest Sign, is the third one ( ),
"the
angel of the church in Pergamos" (Rev.
2:12). <27>As it
is explained in the book
Revelation of The Revelation,
it is the place that a person might still fall back to his lower
nature and be misled by Satan, "where Satan dwelleth" (Rev. 2:13). He might accept the worshipping of the earthly gods physically
(idols), mentally (any other goal but to be(come)
Divine)
or spiritually (imaginary gods) and become a follower of the pagan
doctrines, "thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam" (Rev.
2:14). Or he might become one of the evildoers or
false prophets, "them that hold the
doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes."
<28>However,
"To him that overcometh will I give..." (Rev. 2:17), he who
overcomes the first three
chakras
will enter into the fourth one which is the secret (and sacred)
heart. This is known to great men in the spirit as the center of
Love and
Grace (Holy
Mother).
<29>The
symbolic number three which is used all through the gospels and life
of
Christ, such as the
three temptations, three falls while carrying his cross,
resurrection after three days and
nights, and also, being the Third Seal in
The Greatest Sign,
all are symbols of being
born again, to be
resurrected from the lower nature to the
higher self.
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