Question: I saw a reference in the literature at one point about four initiations to receive the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Name. I am interested in hearing about that. Are these names that cannot be uttered?

Maitreya: If you remember, with the Hebrew people, they would stone the person who uttered the name of the Lord. The reason for it was that one cannot utter the name of the Lord. His name is so subtle. The moment you utter it in the external world, it loses its subtleness.

That is why they always referred to Him as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was never given a name. He was referred to, not as a dead God but as a live God. Seek the God who is still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His real name is a still vibration.

What is a vibration? The whole universe is vibration. The whole creation is created by vibrations vibrating in different levels in the manifested world.

His name as a vibration is so subtle, it is in the un-manifested world. It is beyond the ethereal level. That is why anyone who says he knows the name of the Father and says, "Here is His name. His name is Yahweh. His name is Allah. His name is Jehovah. His name is Krishna. His name is This and That," really doesn't know His name. They are just uttering a word.

Some of them probably are very close to the real name but the real name has to come from within you, when your heart is pure enough. Also, as Christ said, "Whoever knows me, knows the Father." In another place he says, "You neither know my name, nor do you know the name of the Father."

So all those Rabbis who called Him, "Yahweh," thought they knew the name of the Father. But he told them, "You don't know it."

There's a story, that someone asked Prophet Muhammad, "What is the name of God? Is it Allah?" He said, "God has 3,000 names. Humanity knows only 2,999 of them." There is one name you don't know.

Also we can refer to the Bible where it talks about, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." What is this Word? The Word is a vibration. It was His name.

So in the beginning God created the whole universe with vibration, with the Word. The name of God is in every cell of the human, in every atom in the universe. There is nothing in the universe that doesn't have the name of the Father in it. That energy and vibration is the sustainer of the universe.

Also Christ said, "Those who know me, know the Father." So whoever really knew Christ, knew his name and the name of the Father. As long as you don't know his real name, and the name of the Father, you really don't know Christ.

That is why in these four initiations, for those who come close to the Mission and receive the initiation, we reveal the four parts of the name of the Father and son. Actually the Father and son are one, so the name merges together as one. In the initiations we reveal the Word, not in a physical way but in a spiritual way, to the ones who ask for it and are ready to receive Its higher energy.

Is that clear?

Guest: Not totally. They ask for this and they go through some kind of a process? Or, simply is it kind of....I'm just trying to visualize how the initiation is done.

Maitreya: See, anytime you want to progress from one level of consciousness to another level of consciousness, there is a period of confusion. It's just like cleaning your house.

Your house is dirty. Your house has to be cleaned. What do you do? You take the furniture out. You put everything out of each room and try to sweep the floor, clean the walls and windows. In the process of cleaning the rooms, the house looks even more terrible than it did before. After you clean the rooms and put the furniture back in, get everything back in its place, it's going to look very pretty and beautiful.

That is what happens also anytime you reach a point of progress. For instance, when you first come to the spiritual path, they say, "You are God." You just say, "Oh, yeah, I am God. Great!" And they create such a big ego around that, that "I am God" and no one else is God. You feel so good yourself, and you start going around and feeling to be God.

But at the same time you are in your car and you feel that you are God. You feel powerful going 85MPH. You are God, you can do whatever you want to. Suddenly the policeman stops you. Your ego just goes right down the drain. You say, "I am God but I can't even tell this policeman to go away."

You realize that you are still not God. You have a long way to go yet to become God. But in the beginning it really gives you an euphoria of realizing you are God. You are in the image of God. You can become as God is.

Your life even becomes more miserable because you feel that you are God but you are so powerless. Everything in your life starts falling apart. Then you become even more disillusioned. "What is this that I am God but all my life is so miserable?"

So that confusion, those problems that start in your life, you meditate upon and realize a deeper level in your spirit. Eventually you come to the conclusion, "Yes, I learned my lesson in this level." Then you reach another level, and after awhile you have to go to an even higher level.

Anytime you go from one level to a higher one, new information is going to be given to you, a new teaching is going to be given to you. Sometimes it is so hard to undo what you have already learned and empty your cup to receive the new information and teachings. That is why you resist. You feel threatened. You feel uncomfortable. The new information is not the same as that which you thought you had before.

That is why every Word done in this initiation is really taking you to another level of progress. They are not just words. They are stirring Words, they are power Words. They are from the Spirit which stirs your spirit. They will clean you.

You need to be a very brave person to even start a spiritual journey. There is a report that 20% of the people in the United States have had some spiritual experiences, but 98% of that 20% don't want to have anything to do with their experiences.

See, you are living a regular life, you are in the mainstream and everyone respects you, and you have all the goodies you need. You have done everything that the people have told you you have to do to get where you are, and you reached the point that you have made it. Now you have a spiritual experience that tells you differently.

If some people are told about it and they react, "What are you talking about? Are you crazy? Are you going off another level? Are you cracked up or something," 98% just back up right there. They say, "OK, I'm sorry. I just made a mistake. I'm not going to pursue this thing." Only 2% of all these people pursue the spiritual path.

We are a very brave people to even consider it, to really want to know the truth. That's why God said, "Many will be called but few will be chosen."

That's a lot of people. 20% of the people in the United States is around eighty million people who will be called. Only 2% are chosen. Even of that 2%, probably 60% will give up in one level or another.

That is why this Word is going to be revealed to those people who are the bravest, the ones who really want to go to the ultimate.

Question: In references to the Scriptures in THOTH, is there any stipulation of what version of the Bible you use?

Maitreya: As you know, the Bible has been revised around twenty-eight times. We use the King James version because that seems to be least revised. Even today they are trying to revise the Bible further to fit their understanding. They are taking some words out of it, etc. We find that the King James seems like the closest to the original teachings.

Of course, the most important thing is going within to the Spirit and confirming, "Is this sentence really true? Is this teaching according to the word of God?" Does this make one more compassionate, loving, understanding, gentle, etc?

As Christ said, "God never changes." His Word was true 10,000 years ago. It was true 8,000 years ago. It was true 5,000 years ago, and it's true today. Not a jot of it is going to be changed.

If you really want to know the word of God, you read the Scriptures. That's why He sends the Prophets. He sends the Prophets to repeat His Words over and over.

Take the Bhagavad-Gita and compare it with the Bible. Some of the words are almost exact, what Christ said and what Krishna said. Take the Koran, see, it's the same thing. No difference.

Of course, you also have to consider the situation in which these Scriptures were revealed, the situation Christ was in, the situation Muhammad was in, the situation Krishna, or whatever Prophet, was in, etc. Then compare them. After awhile you understand what the words of God are.

If you reach a teaching that is saying something that is not according to the words of God, then you sit back, you discern and you say, "Is it really measuring up with the word of God? No, it doesn't."

You have to be discerning. As it has been said, it is a narrow path. And there are a lot of branches in your path where you can go off for a long time before you can find your way back to where it reaches God.

It is important to be discerning. It is important to be skeptical. It is good to discern the spirit, look at it, look at the words, look at every teaching and also read the Scriptures because they are the words of God.