I love Luthar.com (an interfaith enlightenment site by Harsh K. Luthar) if for no other reason than that Luthar deems it the ”The Premier Enlightenment Supersite.” How can you beat that??
This morning I am deeply struck and inspired by a post titled The Place of Wisdom which delves into the “The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ” by Levi. In this dialogue Jesus is asked from where the light and the wisdom that surrounded him came. His reply?
“There is a Silence where the soul may meet its God, and there the fount of wisdom is, and all who enter are immersed in light, and filled with wisdom, love and power.”
This Silence. This Silence is where we learn to rest in meditation. Not a place where the world and our mind literally fall silent, but where we let go of our wrestling with these things. This is where we stop striving and start being. Jesus uses the word God. I think of it as a surrender to our interconnection. When I allow myself to simply be, the pain of separation ends and I rest in knowing I am a part of everything and there is no “me” to fight for, build, or defend.
The beauty of this piece is that Jesus does not stop simply at naming the source of wisdom, but goes on to encourage his questioner to seek it in every aspect of life. It is not simply here or there. It is everywhere. We carry this secret place within us at all times.
He even goes on to note the burden of daily life and that it may at times be difficult to move beyond the noise and disturbances of thought. In these cases he recommends one “go out and seek a quiet place to pray and meditate.” This reminds me of words of the Buddha which I often find myself chanting when feeling overwhelmed by daily life. “Go therefore monks and find a tree to sit beneath.” (this is my simple rendering of the Buddha’s words)
So it is both. The Silence which gives forth wisdom and light is with us at all times. And yet we need to listen and note when we are overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of daily life. We need to take note and take action when life becomes too loud to hear the wisdom within. In these moments, go find a tree. An open field. A river or a beach. Find a quiet place in nature and allow the Silence space to come forth.
It is there. It is with you at all times. And it cannot be destroyed.
Jesus goes on to say,
“When in the Silence, phantom forms may flit before the mind; but they are all subservient to the will; the master soul may speak and they are gone.
If you would find this Silence of the soul you must yourself prepare the way. None but the pure in heart may enter here.”
So he is encouraging us to move beyond the mind states of doubt, fear, aversion, etc. These voices that try to prevent us from knowing our interconnection. And so he notes their impermanence and delusion. When he says, “pure in heart” I interpret this as those who are not fooled by these impermanent hindrances of the mind. Those who do not allow these things to dissuade them from entering the Silence. We may think of “pure in heart” as being those who have purified all of their sins or let go of all bad habits, but what if it means we simply stop listening to them? We stop allowing them to run the show and instead trust our connection with Silence.
“And you must lay aside all tenseness of the mind, all business cares, all fears, all doubts and troubled thoughts.
Your human will must be absorbed by the divine; then you will come into a consciousness of holiness.”
The mind tells us to worry and act in defence of ourselves. Jesus encourages us to let go and “be absorbed by the divine.” A place of light and wisdom indeed.
Thank you to Harsh K. Luthar for posting this piece. I look forward to more of your premier enlightenment offerings. Click here to read the full account of Jesus’ words: The Place of Wisdom