Ways of Christ

Logo: drawed Christian cross and earth symbol

Main text part 1, The Gospels,
chapter :

The Resurrection.

Drawing: the Resurrection of Jesus

The empty grave and the Resurrection of Christ are an incredible challenge for the consciousness of many people. Their background - they experienced, that people must die -; the understandable tendency to suppress inexplicable things; one-sided materialistic ways of thinking about life - antiquated but still taught in the schools -, are some of the predominant causes for that. (E.g. John 20, 11- Joh. 21).

Nevertheless there are voices among historical-critical interpreters who say that the Resurrection reports are the best testified ones in early Christianity, even better substantiated than all other reports about the life of Jesus. Here they mean reports concerning the appearances of Jesus at different places in a new figure with several new qualities, not always recognized immediately, but perceptible for everyone with physical eyes. This would imply consequences. 

One consequence would be, to look at the portrayal of Jesus in the bible, requiring real transformation of the corpse of Jesus - spiritualized in life - and/or of the after-death "body" of Jesus (so-called "ghosts" are usually invisible). The development of states of consciousness that had fallen apart in the sequence of human evolution could lose their separation: "separation " is the literal meaning of the word "sin". This separation was also a separation of man from God, the origin. So the "lower part", i.e. the body, can be included again into the other parts of the being of Christ. See previous chapter: "and the grave was empty".

"'In 3 days I will re-build this temple'. He spoke, however, of the temple of his body". -–After the rising of his being into other worlds of consciousness or into his innermost core - in this respect similar to others - (see last chapter), a new creation of the levels of being including a physical body could follow, without areas of unconscious; because Jesus no longer had separating qualities and everything within him obeyed his core.

Also in the anthroposophic view of Rudolf Steiner, the "resurrected body" of Christ, the "new Adam" - 1 Cor 15:45-47 - is seen as a re-creation and is available for all people since then, as a way for personal development (the so-called physical "phantom body", spiritual, but with potential effects on the physical body. It relates to the experience of the "Inner Christ" of mystics, who connects himself with the development of the  human being.) Even in Theosophical circles (A. Bailey, there for instance named "Revelation" or "5th initiation"), Jesus' resurrection is seen as a real re-creation. Although the Theosophical viewpoint may be inaccurate in some details, Christian theologians should still ask themselves why they did not develop such ideas - or even better approaches? The hesitation of some theologians to take the resurrection seriously does not even fulfil the basic criterion of good general knowledge.

Here is noted that the "resurrected body" as really belonging to the being cannot be fully equated with the "apparent body" (Mayavirupa) of esoteric literature, which some masters are said to produce like some kind of clothing for making themselves visible. However, this also shows their mastery of spirit over matter.
The modern teachings, sometimes unclearly formulated, about "bodies of light" also show some similarities. This concerns the resonance of the higher bodies in the physical body. This is also a bridge for entering the realities beyond physical consciousness without leaving the physical body, by a method called "Merkabah" in Hebrew. Its fundamentals can be found in Prof. J. J. Hurtak "The Keys of Enoch" and "The synoptic gospels", Academy for Future Science, P.O.Box FE, Los Gatos, CA 95030, USA.  Now a  manifold movement for "lightwork" has developed, which is not limited to any organisation. These lightworkers want to help the earth in this difficult period of time. But there is a temptation to think that some new exercises would fulfil all hopes for the so-called "ascension" alone. Actually nothing works without a holistic development, including growth in character. See the next chapter too.

That ideas about re-incarnation, that is re-personification of the soul in a new body, as found in all kinds of religions in one form or the other, would be a lower, more imperfect "octave" of the new resurrection event, and not identical with it. Teachings of a pre-existence of the soul prior to fertilization and also the teachings of the re-personification were also widely held in early Christianity and, according to Ruffinus, even generally held. However, it is interesting to note that later no special emphasis was laid on this concept. That is not only due to the circumstance that people were supposed to be concentrating on life on earth - as R. Steiner writes; and not only a possible aim of power-hungry Popes to make people more dependent by the limits of one life - as other spiritual authors presume. More meaningful phenomena can also be found to underline that. The most important thing is for people to anchor the concept of resurrection in themselves. (See also e.g. 1.Cor.15:53; Philippians 3:21; ). Even if this seems to be pie in the sky, re-incarnation would start to look like a process that had been overtaken by Christ. The resurrected Christ did not have to be born again in order to reappear to the people; he appeared voluntarily, with love, in his resurrection body.  . Many - although not all - Christian groups criticize ideas of reincarnation. It can be acknowledged that the idea of inflexible "psycho-mechanical" laws of fate, death and re-incarnation, at least if seen as an end in itself, do not correspond to the example of the life of Jesus. That does not mean, however, that re-incarnation could never have existed or that it could not exist today. Many former and contemporary so-called "reincarnation experiences" cannot be explained away - even though not all of these experiences are necessarily based on real reincarnation, but often on certain other factors. But indeed in the Christian field the reported experiences seem to be special cases, for instance the case of John the Baptist. Instead of taking over the function of Elia - as mostly interpreted - Jesus said simply "It is he". That would be, however, the role of a being sent again for a special task, in order to help the people and not a mandatory circuit of a prisoner in the wheel of rebirth (of the Hindus). Furthermore, in the field of Christian mysticism, even where reincarnation is accepted as a fact (for instance Lorber), the greater importance of new ways of learning after death in other dimensions is often stressed. Today people can learn enormously in one life. Reincarnation for normal purification and development, possibly with new tasks to match the situation, does not necessarily need to have the old, automatic nature. Those old ideas may have been a cause for seeing the teachings about reincarnation suspiciously as non-Christian. Apart from that, the ideas of other religions about reincarnation did not consider the role of God and Christ. The nature of all people in body, mind and spirit is basically the same and therefore comparisons can help everyone to learn from each other - without egalitarianism.

The effect of mechanical conceptions of fate and reincarnation was already written about in the chapter "The Crucifixion".

Today one often finds that strong personalities are quite dissimilar to their physical parents, even as young adults. Sometimes they appear as if their form had been more strongly impressed by another, or an earlier culture than is normally the case. This could be connected with the greater importance of the psychological-intellectual being compared with the connection with ancestors and inheritance. R. Steiner thinks of a connection of this phenomenon with the work of Christ.

In spite of this phenomenon there is no reason to ascribe to Jesus a one-sided accentuation of the psychological-mental parts only. In the long-term work of Christ there is rather an impulse, to refine all parts including the body and to bring these fields into unison again . (Spirit,) the person and the body are supposed to match (which has certainly not been achieved everywhere today). Especially the way to resurrection is no mere spiritual work "free of the body", but the "body" becomes spiritual and spirit becomes physical - the begin is beyond all one-sided intellectual arbitrary. Cf. for instance Luke 24:36-43.
An ideology that would seek to diminish the variety of nations and so forth into a mankind made homogenous, is as foreign to this impulse as the ideology of one master race discriminating all others. There are various parts and there is the whole - which may seem to be a matter of course - but today nothing is a matter of course, everything must be worked out consciously.

The motto of Christ is "Behold! I make all things new". Even though he is ultimately addressing the core of the individuality, where man is "neither Jew nor Greek…" but a human being; even so, we are not meant to have any bare homogeneous human super-consciousness, but the thought God thinks or realizes through the individual human being. From a position of individuality, we can then start to form new communities, which are not the old close ties to family, profession etc. Among the new relationships made in spirit, there can also be, however, "old" ones, freed from old unconscious compulsions, changed into free decisions.

In connection with the remarks on worldwide effects through fields of force, for instance in the chapter about the crucifixion, we should consider here that after Christ had already been through all (of) these steps, these are in total and simultaneously "there". Even though the steps of Christ and its sequence remain, "experiencing the crucifixion" is something different, after the resurrection impulse already shines through. It is not a matter of course that even with most profound comprehension the material death would have to occur, before the "force of resurrection" can take effect. Mystic experiences support this. The resurrection force can be experienced as a current attractive power behind all, even the simplest steps. In some other way R. Steiner stated that the happenings of Easter still work as a unit today; appending further discoveries, such as "etherization of the blood".

Today abilities develop(p)ed on the way of the "emulation of Christ" during the centuries - are relevant too.

In this context it is interesting that new ideas exist which do not agree with the general assumption of the natural, compulsory mortality of the body anymore, like Christ:

The Indian philosopher and Yogi Aurobindo worked in a similar direction after his transition through the Nirvana experience and attempted "to bring down supra-mental powers into life on earth." His spiritual partner, "Mother" Mira Alfassa could penetrate unknown layers of the physical body in this way, e.g. of the cells containing memory, which are related to the old programs of death. She experienced this as "working on the one body of mankind".

In a different way, Rudolf Steiner spoke of newly forming higher elements of being or bodies in these fields above the mind, which would later allow to work out the older emotional, the ethereal and the material parts of the human being willingly one after another down to the fine details., . He names these new parts: "spiritual self, life spirit, spiritual human" (own translation from German without checking the translation in the English books.) The impression could arise that this prediction is only going to be realized after long periods of time. A comparison with the current development / evolution shows however, that this can already be relevant in parts today.
A motto of the Christian Rosicrucians was "Born in God, died in Christ, resurrected (Latin: reviviscimus) in the Holy Spirit.

In esoteric Buddhism these higher "bodies" were also suggested at least as a possibility for a Buddha: "Dharmakaya, Sambhogyakaya, Nirmanakaya". Indeed the aims, means or results in these different schools are not quite the same, but it becomes clear that different people address the same fields of activities independently of each other; so one can ascribe a high degree of reality to it.

About Ramalinga Swamigal, named Vallalar too, the great Indian sage of the 19th century, is reported, that he underwent a comprehensive cleaning of his body, and its transformation into a perfect and/or immortal body. Later, as he announced, he went into his room, closed from inside, and was not found again, when the room was opened by the officials of the town. He taught before a way of meditation and service for the people without evaluation, with the effect, that this power of mercy becomes active in the interior of the serving one too. 

The USA-based "I AM" movement (Saint Germain Foundation) presents a way, which is said to lead to the change of the physical body into a higher substance too. This way uses personal "decrees" to clean feelings and to hand tasks over to the higher "I Am-Presence" of the human being - the "image of God".

Here a further experience from our century is appended: Carl Welkisch, "Im Geistfeuer Gottes" (= in the fire of the Spirit of God). As a physically unusually sensitive mystic he felt, confirmed by visions, called to perform a task to do with the fact that bodily matter can now also be changed by God and that he was a tool for this purpose. Since it more often occurs however, that people with extraordinary "tasks given from above" may think they are the only ones - while God's allocation of tasks tends to be complicated - it is often easy to dismiss them as "lunatics". Those who are familiar with this kind of mystic experience can recognize that these experiences as such are genuine. The same thing goes for Welkisch.

"Immortality" is especially preached by certain new spiritual-therapeutic groups, mainly in the USA. They attempt "to cure the ideas of mortality ". They also try to contribute breathing techniques like Rebirthing - for the processing of the birth trauma - healthy nutrition etc. in order to promote a real prolongation of life, a life radiating positivity. Even if Christ often emerges only on the fringe in these circles, Christians like the Mormon Annalee Skarin are also known there, who wrote about their own insights concerning de- and re-materialisation of the body - based on her connection with God.

Others, in the field of medicine, investigate hormonal means to reach a certain rejuvenation. This development contains reasonable motives. Not all (of) these approaches can be suspected as some kind of megalomania.

Newer scientific research, for instance by Dr. Peter Gariaev (Pjotr Garajajev), shows that cells, and even the genetic substance DNA, also store light particles and communicate by waves, and so learn through several influences. Several spiritual and healing groups are now searching for methods to activate the untapped potential of DNA: this concerns an initially energetic "twelve strand DNA" that facilitates the connection of the physical body with the other parts of the human being. (It is in no way related to the well-known technical genetic engineering.) 
However, it seems that if one – with the various parts of a human being – becomes attuned to God as the source of everything, this also enables DNA to develop with the physical body over the course of time. It is possible to attune oneself to such a holistic goal, in prayer – connected with God beyond the conditions of life; and at the same time gratefully sense that one is in accord with God, or wait for insights about what else needs to be done; and to be aware of any initial indications that something has been set into motion.

However, we should remember that Christ would have wished us to consider the whole human being (person), and not just a cult regarding the life of the physical body as an isolated and highest value. He would also not recommend an isolated practice to liven up the cells, but a united sanctification of the body - including its organs, cells etc. and the spiritual life of man. It is also a question of the freedom to live and not of a compulsion to live. This is only mentioned as a possible source of trouble during this difficult "balancing act" and not to imply that these groups always go to extremes.

The resurrection force experienced with Christ, who started it visibly and in an integrated way, seems to represent the actual "enzyme" of a harmonious development in this direction. A lot of things he gave us as a "seed" still have to be completed. That is why it makes sense to consciously refer to him about that.

Meanwhile "resurrection" is not only a spiritual experience. It can permanently renew everything in life, for which a little known new-revelation group, the "Lichtzentrum Bethanien" (centre of light Bethany) at Sigriswil, Switzerland has coined the phrase "resurrection life" in their journal "Lichtbote" (Messenger of the light). After the "narrow gate" of the cross, abundance will come. Jesus stressed that his way can only become clear through deeds. Only progress on the personal path, i.e. "emulating Christ" can begin to make this more advanced step understandable. As we have seen, this way is not uniform, increasing steadily up to a peak, but rather becomes apparent in those concerned as the divinely guided structuring of an extensive building in which each new stone is built upon the preceding one. The stones are abilities in the being of man which survive his externally constructed buildings. Just as prehistoric man was created to be perfect, according to various sacred writings, so can he/she again become "complete like the Father in Heaven" after the transition through the drama of the imperfect world, Christ promised the people. That is not only valid for the simplest steps on the way, but even for the resurrection. He did not set any boundaries and did not declare today's limited comprehension to be the standard. He himself sets new standards, see the "I am...wordings" in the gospels: "I am the bread of life", "I am the light of the world…"; "I am the door"; "I am the good herdsman" and also "I am the resurrection and the life", he who has faith "will live eternally, even if he should die now". This means do not wait for the general dispensation of the "Last Judgement", as certain Christian groups maintain. "I am the way, the truth and the life"; "I am the right vine, and my father is the wine grower, …you are the grapes…"; I am a king, I am born and have come into the world, that I shall testify the truth". Christ is the actual "I Am" in man, which should be well distinguished from the everyday ego.

In the Jewish belief there was a resurrection or a raising from the dead, but only at the end of time. In traditional Christian theology, however, the Resurrection is seen as a new opportunity through belief in Christ, but without having worked it out beyond the Last Supper. Within modern, critical theological considerations, it can already be seen as progress - compared with a more materialistic form of theology, which wanted to simply explain away anything that was difficult to envisage -, that the Resurrection is again being picked up as a "metaphor"= in a figurative, allegorical sense. (Hans Kessler, anthology "Resurrection of the Dead"). Some may need an approach of this kind to that which is difficult to imagine, but not necessarily those who are able to directly believe in the Resurrection as both an internal and an external reality. In some respects, this belief of simple Christians corresponds more to today’s level of research and knowledge in many fields, as it is taken up in today's studies. For those who see everything as simply "metaphorical", according to our studies, they are only likely to gain the benefit of spiritual edification – and the healing effect, which can have an impact right into the physical body, even today, can be at least delayed or lessened.

Extra window: Bible quote

Help: a self-examination for the work with the main text

Question:
Do I want to investigate with God how the power of the Resurrection can become fruitful today? 

   

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