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THE BOOK OF SCROLLS
formerly called
THE BOOK OF BOOKS
or
THE LESSER BOOK OF THE SONS OF FIRE
this being
THE THIRD BOOK OF THE BRONZEBOOK
Compiled from remaining portions of a much damaged part of The
Bronzebook
and rewritten in our tongue and retold to our
understanding according to present usage.
Chapter 1 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 1
Chapter 2 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 2
Chapter 3 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 3
Chapter 4 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 4
Chapter 5 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 5
Chapter 6 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 6
Chapter 7
- THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 7
Chapter 8 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 8
Chapter 9 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 9
Chapter 10 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 10
Chapter 11 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 11
Chapter 12 - THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 12
Chapter 13 - THE SCROLL OF RAMKAT
Chapter 14 - THE SCROLL OF YONUA
Chapter 15 - A SCROLL FRAGMENT - ONE
Chapter 16 - THE THIRD OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS (A Fragment)
Chapter 17 - THE SIXTH OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS
Chapter 18 - A SCROLL FRAGMENT -TWO
Chapter 19 - A HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 1
Chapter 20 - A HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 2
Chapter 21 - THE SUNSETTING HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS
Chapter 22 - A HYMN OR PRAYER FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 3
Chapter 23 - A HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 4 Marked: The Hymn of
Rewn
Chapter 24 - A HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 5
Chapter 25 - Some Fragments from a Much Damaged Section Most of
Which has Been Destroyed
Chapter 26 - FROM THE SCROLL OF SENMUT
Chapter 27 - THE SONGS OF NEFATARI One
Chapter 28 - THE SONGS OF NEFATARI Two
Chapter 29 - THE SONGS OF TANTALIP One
Chapter 30 - THE SONGS OF TANTALIP Two
Chapter 31 - THE MARRIAGE SONG
Chapter 32 - THE LAMENT OF NEFATARI
Chapter 33 - THE SCROLL OF HERAKAT
CHAPTER ONE
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 1
Herein are recorded sacred things which should never be written, but
the memory of man is like a storehouse made of straw, or like a
storepit dug in sand. Even less enduring is his body, for it. is a
frail thing of fleeting substance which passes away like the dew in
the morning. And what of the mortal chain which links the
generations in knowledge? Behold, it is a thing prone to distortion,
a transmuter of tradition and Truth.
Therefore, when the command went forth from the Great One
Illuminated With Wisdom, and came to your servant, he saw fit to
quell the doubts engendered by fear and undertook to do the thing
which had not been done before, placing his trust fully in the
protecting wings which are spread by the words issuing from the
Royal Residence.
These are the words spoken by the Great Interpreter, who, through
the powers inherited by him from above and by the powers now in his
keeping, all freely bestowed upon him by the grateful hearts of his
people below, will lead us into the Fields Of Everlasting Glory.
O Exalted One, intermediate between Gods and men, what we now do for
you do you for us. Let your deeds and your words become our words.
Thus it ever was and thus it will ever be, while mortal beings make
pilgrimage through this valley of tears.
Speak thus in your hour. The High Born One has not blasphemed the
Divine Powers, nor has he paid undue homage to earthly desires. He
has not been loudmouthed in the Sacred Places, nor laughed when he
should have been grave. His tongue is pure, for when fed with the
words of men he absorbs Truth and excretes falsehood. His mouth has
never spewed forth words of malice or envy, words of oppression or
injustice never passed his lips.
Look now at the great dark water mirror and see what is reflected
there from the mists swirling along the corridor of time. Seeing
your place, make ready, so that when the summons comes from the Dark
One you are not caught unprepared.
These are the words to be spoken to those who peer from beyond the
Dark Portal: His arm was ever ready to help those who did good for
others, and he lent his power to those who ordered what was good. He
stood for those who could no longer stand and commanded for those
who could no longer command. He carried the weary and succoured the
helpless. He never oppressed the weak, nor did he permit injustices
to go unpunished and unrectified.
He stood by the side of the Great Potter, and because of his plea
the clay was shaped to a more pleasing form. He erased disfiguring
faults and smoothed the roughness. He added stiffness to the
mixture.
He has done no evil, his words have always been true. He stands
unashamed and fearless before the twin shrines. Even as it was in
the Land of the Great River, so let it be here. Let him not be cut
off by distance.
Let not his power be cut off, for he stands between the worlds. Let
it flow out like living waters unto the living and be as shining
rays to the Radiant Ones. For here we see the power darkly, while
beyond the horizon it shines brightly.
He is everlastingly faithful in heart, for he has admitted no other
who would defile him. He has remained loyal to the sacred words and
has diligently perused the great writings. He has navigated the
shallows of the winding waters. Now he draws near.
He has left his kingdom of trial, he has overcome the challenges of
life, he has done all things written on the tablets of Truth, and he
has sojourned in the Chamber of Profound Silence. He has done all
things which are proper and been reassured that he has followed the
right path. He does not fear judgment.
Let him reunite with The Supreme One who sent him forth, so that he
will not be separated from the waters of life. Let the Holy Heat
enwrap him when he passes through the Place of Coldness. Let his
nostrils inhale the breath of nourishment, that he may live and that
we may partake of his existence.
Do not repudiate him, but make him welcome. Do you not recognize the
one you endowed with power? Has he become too radiant? Is his form
too glorious? Read what is written in the books of his heart. You
set him in darkness and he saw. You set him in silence and he heard.
You set him in emptiness and he felt. You established him in
nothingness and he gathered substance. Therefore, he returns with
manifold powers. He is well fitted to be presented to those who
stand before The Supreme One.
When the bright sun shines with splendour in the day-skies above, the
gentle morning star hides her face in modesty and becomes unseen.
All the great Company of the radiant nightlights withdraw before the
majesty of the greater light. Yet when darkness eats the shining
disk we know again the comforting presence of the eternal stars, so
let it be with your servant.
The Dark Ones who dwell in their compatible gloom cannot claim him
as one of their own, he cannot be numbered among their dreadful
company. His heart is pure, his deeds were good, no creature spawned
in murkiness has gained control of his thoughts. His desires have
not been generated by denizens of the darkness.
He who was afflicted here is not afflicted forever, he is made
whole, he is freed from pain, his sickness has departed. He rejoices
in the light, therefore let him be drawn towards the greater light
where you are. Let him not see the place of darkness, let him not
behold the Hideous Ones fashioned by wickedness, the Dwellers in the
Dark Recesses, who shrink before the light, or the Twisted Ones
moulded by lewd desires.
He brings with him a lamp lit from the flame of Truth, he bears the
rod of righteousness which rewards those who have overcome
tribulations. O let him pass to the right side of the dividing
flame! He has left us, he is coming to you, he approaches, he throws
off the earthly wrappings, he stands free, he stands glorious. Does
he not glow with splendour? Behold him, your worthy companion in
brightness. Is he not wholly compatible with those of your company?
See, he is a Shining One, a Hero of the Horizon. Is he not one
destined to abide everlastingly? Take him, lead him to the Realm of
Glory, show him his place in the Spheres of Splendour.
The eyes that were deceived on Earth now see clearly, O what
splendours are revealed! The music unheard by earthly ears now
sounds sweet melodious music. O what joyous rapture it brings! The
nostrils inhale perfumes too delicate for the earthly nose, O how
the heart sings! All drabness, all dullness and all sordidness,
which are of the Earth, are left behind. Turn him from the place
where these can regather about him.
The unmoving, empty body remains here before our eyes; it is
nothing, it sees not, it hears not, it speaks not, it smells not,
its breath is stilled, it begins to fall apart. There is no life and
the overseer has departed. Nothing remains here with us but this
unresponsive thing. The greatness, the feeling, the sensitivity have
departed from the body and are now beyond our ken. These are with
the real surviving being. O receive him into the life of splendour!
We, who are here, stand blinded behind the veil of flesh, we cannot
see beyond ourselves, we hope, we believe and we trust. Thus it has
ever been with men, for they pass their lives behind a wall of
limitations, there is a barrier shutting them in. They are
imprisoned within a mortal body. O grant us fulfilment, grant us
that which is that which is the ultimate desire and aspiration of
men!
We speak for this man. He is one who came with us from afar. He is
one who has travelled a long weary road. No taint of meanness
stained the purity of his spirit, no corruption of deceit
discoloured the garments of his soulself. He has gone over shining
in radiant splendour, so even the doomed in their darkness can hope
when they sight his distant glow. May it shed some small warmth into
their grim coldness!
O Great Welcomer, who greets the newcomers, help our departed one.
He served well in this place of trial and tribulation, let him not
go unrewarded. He is the son of hope. Like us, like those who went
before, he hoped as men have always hoped, for this is not a place
of certainties. If it were, our heritage of glory would be badly
earned.
He lives because it is ordained that he live; he lives, for all men
live everlastingly. They die not, they perish not, they endure
through ages. His Kohar awaits him and needs hide no awful aspect in
shame. Let his face shine in greeting, welcome home the wanderer.
This tombed structure is not a place of finality. The grave is not
the goal of earthly life, anymore than the soil is the goal of the
seed. Does seed die within the ground? Is it planted intending that
it be mingled with the soil and lost?
O Great Welcomer, let your face shine with gladness when you greet
the homecoming wanderer. Lead him to the Kohar which is his
inheritance, that he may enter into it and enjoy its embrace. Let
him find completion and fulfillment by absorption into his Kohar.
Our departed one was the whole part which came forth from the whole,
and he returns to the whole. Nothing is lost, nothing is gone. He
lives over there, lives more fully than he ever lived. He lives in
splendour, he lives in beauty, he lives in knowledge and in the
waters of life. He is everlasting.
O departed one risen to glory, you are now a released spirit united
with your spirit whole, the companionable Kohar, the everlasting
one. Arise alive in the Land Beyond the Horizon and journey to the
Land of Dawning; the stars accompanying you will sing for joy, while
the heavenly signs voice hymns of praise and gladness. You are not
far removed from us, it is as if we were in one room divided by a
curtain, therefore we are not sorrowful. If we weep it is because we
cannot share your joys and because we no longer know your touch.
O everlasting Kohar, take this man of goodness into your eternal
embrace, let your life become his life and your breath his breath.
He is your own, he is the drop returning to the filled pitcher, the
leaf returning to the tree, you are the repository of his
incarnations. As you grew there, so he grew here; you are
everlastingly whole and he lives in you. If he is not even as you in
face, let him enter, hide his faults, for they are not many. For
this you were fashioned, for this you came into being, you are the
overbody awaiting the returning spirit, and the spirit now comes.
You are that which will clothe the newly arrived spirit in heavenly
flesh. You are that in which our departed one will express himself.
O Kohar, hear us. Here is your vitalizing essence; before you were
incomplete, now you are whole. Draw your own, your compatible one,
to you and observe the many likenesses. We send fragrances, that
they may spread around you. Now take the eye which will perfect your
face, it is the perfecting eye, the eye which sees things as they
are. See the fluctuating wraith, is it not beautiful? Does it not
come with an aura of fragrance, sweetness filling the air? It has
been purged of all impurities, all about it is fragrant. Therefore,
grant it your substance, that it may become solid and firm.
O Kohar, long have you awaited the day of fulfillment, the day of
your destiny. That day is here, it is now; therefore, take the
spirit which is your own and enfold it with your wings. Each to his
own and to his own each goes. You and he are bound together with
unseverable bonds, each without the other is nothing. Now bear him
up, for in that place you are greater than he, for you are the
generator. While he rested in the womb you were active, as he grew
you grew before him. If he has done wrong, and who among men is
guiltless, then in you let the wrong be adjusted. You are his hope,
you are his shield and you are his refuge.
This we say to the Brilliant One, the Guardian of Goodness: The
departed one has not walked with ignorance, he has not been slothful
in carrying the burden of his duty. He has not been swayed by
passions of the body, he has not despoiled the house of another, he
has not caused undue sorrow, nor has he maltreated a child for
pleasure. He has succoured the poor and weak, he has done all that
is good; therefore, let none of Those Who Lurk in Darkness seize
him. His radiant light is strong, those who would seize him are
repulsed by the light and slink away. He lives, he lives forever.
He has lived worthily, he has been purified by the fires of earthly
life, he has been refined in the furnace of tribulation, he has
overcome all earthly temptations. He has lived the life which
enhances goodness, he has prepared himself for life in the light.
Receive him, O Brilliant One!
O Kohar, absorb into yourself the life-force, it was meant for you,
it is yours. It is the enlivening spirit which spans the two worlds.
He, the departed one, was you and even more so were you he. Come to
him as the Beauteous One came to Belusis, a great king, and gathered
him in compassion and love. Come, that he may awaken to new life in
your arms.
This man, the departed one, who in unity with you becomes the
Glorious One, was born of a God and is the child of two Gods, after
the nature of greater men. Now you are impregnated with the living
spirit of he who was prepared by trial on Earth for you. Behold, in
unity your twain are now throbbing with life and your brightness
bedazzles the eyes. You are now a Star of Life, a Living Star, and
to a star you shall ascend to rule its life.
The departed one is now freed, he is loosed from the bonds of
illusion, he is saved from the dark waters of unreality and is one
with the Eternal Light. These things we declare, so let them be. Our
thoughts mould a new reality beyond the present real, and this
becomes the reality of tomorrow.
O great substantial Kohar, protect this departed one, your own, from
the accusations of false-fronted beings, remembering the faithful
heart ever prevailing before the balances of our forefathers from
far away. Put into his mouth those words which open doors. Let the
goodness in him prevail, but you, yourself, stand up and bear
witness for him. He suffered from the frailties of men. He was
wrathful when provoked and surly when enduring great burdens. His
temper flashed quickly when his words were not accepted or his ways
followed, and at times he lacked consideration. However, these are
small things inseparable from the frailties of mortal men, and in
all greater things he was good. Let not the false-fronted one
disguised in his brother's form possess him, guard him from the
beings lurking in the shadows this side of the darkness.
I see this, my brothers. Behold, the departed one goes to meet his
own image. It is his own self reflected in his image. It is his own
self that comes to greet him. It is his Kohar which embraces him. It
welcomes him as though he were one ransomed from captivity. I see
them blend and he becomes a new seed in the heart of his Kohar.
I hear the Kohar speak, it names itself Nevakohar, it says,
"O man
of pure thoughts, of kindly words, of quiet speech, of good deeds,
come to me. I am your being, yet I am not you; as you have loved and
cherished me, so I now love and cherish you. I am your reward, as I
would have been your affliction".
They are now united and this is
the place of the first threshold, from whence the Completed Beings
depart.
The departed one now stands in his own form and likeness. He becomes
the Great Ship-Borne Voyager and passes over the waters to the Place
of Reeds, but his weaknesses do not bear him down and he goes
through. Great Ones, lift him up, let him not fall into the fetid
waters of decay. He is a worthy son of Lewth. Then the lesser is
carried by the greater, while Dark Ones gaze up from their misery
and wait silently to see if he is borne up. The Glorious One goes
past in peace, for he is not compatible with their dark company. He
remains unmolested, for flame confounds the hands of slime.
An unloosed Dark One comes up saying it will take this man, but is
repulsed by brightness. It is a thing of maimed rottenness, for on
Earth it was clothed in lust-saturated flesh, though contained in a
form of beauty. The heart of this man is not faint; see him now, is
he not sure of his welcome among Beings of Glory? He is as the wild
bull, the prince of herds, he is a Great One among the Everlasting
Spirits.
He reaches the firm ground where a Bright Being welcomes him, and he
is named 'The Newcomer'. He has landed on the shore and climbed the
Steps of Splendour. He is in the company of Shining Spirits and his
earthlife companions greet him, they welcome him, saying, "All this
beauty and splendour is yours to enjoy". They bring garments of
beauty, bright clothes of radiance.
He has passed through the Hall of Judgment. The Twin Truths have
heard his plea, and those who bore witness have departed. He has
crossed the waters and ascended the steps, now he has attained the
threshold of immortality and stands in rapture. He has passed by the
regions of darkness and gloom and is with glory. He comes to
everlasting he in a true form of splendour, to dwell evermore as a
living spirit within his Kohar. How wonderful it is to be united and
one with the Kohar!
The Newcomer looks back across the waters to the Place of Decision,
then he turns and ascends the steps to the threshold of immortality.
He is in his true form, yet he is a spirit within his Kohar. He
speaks, but it is not the speech of men and all understand him. His
hearing is all-embracing. He sees both the powers of Light and the
powers of Darkness, but the powers of Darkness no longer affect him.
The Newcomer has reached his compatible abode. He has fought the
battle which is mortal life and risen supreme to victory. He has not
been vanquished by the Raging Ones which are the bodily passions. At
each step forward he has left a lifeless form, at each step he has
fought a shadow, at each step he has won the clash of arms.
The Newcomer has sought out and discovered the One Hidden Behind the
Two, and the Three which stand before them. He knows the secrets of
the Nine which veil the others from the eyes of men. He has
unravelled the skein of life's mysteries, even as those enlightened
ones yet living on Earth must do.
There is no suffering or pain in the Newcomer, he cannot feel hurt,
neither can he be sorrowful. If a companion of his Earth journey be
numbered among the Dark Ones, then his heart is soothed with
forgetfulness; but later he will remember, and because of his
efforts the Dark One will be returned to the crucible.
CHAPTER TWO
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 2
The writings of Garmi were brought by the hands of Nadayeth The
Enlightener, of the twin cities whence come the Sons of Fire, when
he fled the wrath of kings. He spread out before the Learned Ones
beauteous things of many colours and spoke to them after this
fashion, and I, Lavos, recorded it in the tongue of the Sons of
Fire:
Behold this, it is the Land of the Dawning. It stands between the
Land of Light ever splendid and the Land of Darkness ever gloomy.
They are the lands beyond the veil, before the veil is the Land of
the Living.
The Aspiring One has embarked on the waters of illusion, his craft
is afloat but it has not yet reached the shores where the promise of
new life is fulfilled. Now he is guided by two beings, one a lovely
maiden and the other an ill-visaged man. These two strive one with
the other, each grasping one side of the craft, now it overturns.
The maiden seeks to drag the Aspiring One down, while the
ill-favoured man seeks to keep him afloat. But the Aspiring One
struggles against him. They come to the sands of the shining shore
where the Light of Truth turns the maiden into a vile-faced hag and
the man into a handsome youth. The Aspiring One lies on the sands of
Shodew as one dead, for he had fought against the man who sought to
save him.
The Beauteous One comes attended by handmaidens, and with them are
the companions of the Aspiring One's earthly life. There, too, is
his soulself, awaiting his embrace. The Aspiring One lies as dead,
for he did not know his saviour. They who stand about, who are The
Welcomers, wait in uncertainty. The Beauteous One bends over the
prostrate man and says, "Revive, this is not a place where death
rules". He moves and she says, "Raise yourself and cast away the
residue of your mortality".
The Aspiring One opens his eyes, he sits up, he shields his eyes
before the vision of beauty, he is blinded by it and she gives him
his heart. The handmaidens weep and their tears are the blood of the
Aspiring One's life. The Beauteous One says,
"I have come that you
who were dead might live, that you who were blinded might see, that
you who were deceived might know Truth".
The soulself says, "I have
come to embrace you, I have come to protect you, I have come to
shield you, I am your refuge".
That which is the Kohar says,
"I have come to brighten up your face,
I am you as you are me. I have waited for you, I have wept for you
and rejoiced when you rejoiced. I have never forgotten you while we
have been apart. I have heard every word spoken and these are
recorded for you. I have recorded every sight. I have recorded every
sound. I have recorded every smell and every taste. Every memory is
secure for you. Here I give you form and substantiality".
This is The Herald, he stands between this man and his Kohar, and
they, together with The Adjuster and The Welcomers, go to the Hall
of Judgement and stand before The Lord of Life, The Master of
Destinies. Now come The Lords of Eternity who are The Lesser Gods,
and they enter the Gates of Splendour. The Balancer comes from his
secret place. The Greeter to Darkness stands at his door and The
Greeter to Splendour stands at his door, they face each other. The
Welcomers, compatible companions of this man's earthly life, stand
about, they are there, in the Hall of Judgement.
The Balancer causes two fluid-like, fluctuating columns which stand
on either side of the Kohar and one takes the form of the Aspiring
One, but it is horribly malformed because it mirrors all his
wickednesses and weaknesses. The other shines brightly, for it
mirrors all his goodness and spiritual qualities. Then the two
columns merge back into the Kohar and The Adjuster adjusts with
justice and mercy. Then the Aspiring One stands forth in his Kohar
and in his true likeness, whicn is a blending together of all his
incarnational likenesses.
The Aspiring One is drawn towards the right hand door, he passes
through and sets foot on the rainbow road. He is accompanied by The
Welcomers, the companions of his earthly life who are now revealed
to him in their true likeness. They sing, they dance, they rejoice,
and there is much gladness in the reunion. The word of Truth is
established, it is fulfilled. The ancient promises are fulfilled. He
who departs shall return, he who sleeps shall awaken, he who dies
shall live. The Aspiring One has passed into the Regions of Glory.
Now, behold the body vacated by the vehicle of life. It slumbers in
its death wrappings, for the enlivening spirit has flown. The
earthly body alone stays and cannot hold itself together. It
prepares to fall apart and decay. The Companions of the Dead take it
into their company, it will be made incorruptible and become a
communicating door. It is given the things which rightly belong to
the dead.
Those who remain on Earth fear the Life Shadow of the One who has
gone on before them. The body is bandaged in its death wrappings. It
is purified, it is made clean, it is provided with the necessities.
Thus, the Life Shadow shall dwell at peace within the empty body, it
believes it to be its abode. It shall not wander. O Shadow, do not
wander, remain within the tomb, seize any who come to steal, seize
any who would break the body, seize any who would open that which is
closed. Seize and haunt, seize and haunt!
The Companions of the Dead speak thus,
"The Life Shadow of this man
who was is never restless, it never wanders, it is ever protecting,
it is ever watchful. It remains, for it is bound to the empty corpse
by the restraining throngs".
They say,
"The spirit of this man has awakened in the Land of
Immortality, it rejoices in the Land Beyond the Horizon. He is a
Hero of the Horizon. Offend him not by thinking that he is dead, he
cannot die, for he is with the Ever Living. He has not gone away to
die, he has departed to live elsewhere. Let the moisture of his body
return to the waters of the Earth from whence it came. Let the
things of hardness in his body return to the dust from whence they
came. Let his bones rejoin the stones which once they were".
"Weep not, for your tears and lamentations restrain his eager
spirit. Sing the death dirge, that its echoes may sound the tocsin
in the Region of Light and The Splendid Ones and The Welcomers come
to the place of appointment. It is unfitting to force gladness on a
sorrowful heart, but be sad only for a temporary parting".
"Let not the earthly body of this man who was, become destitute,
surround it with care and affection, so that it may transmit the
substance of life. Sustain it, so the Life Shadow remain within".
"What see you now? Gaze upon it, the frail mortal remains enwrapped
and silent, unresponsive. Ponder, this you see with the eyes of the
body, which cannot perceive things of the spirit. Were the eyes of
your spirit opened but a brief moment, you would perceive something
entirely different and then you would know that his shining,
immortal spirit walks in the company of those risen to glory."
" It is the time for parting, the time for farewell, for the closing
of the door."
"O departed one risen to glory, who has left us to sorrow. As we have
helped you and surrounded you with the protection of our love and
our offerings, so now help us in the days of life left to us on
Earth."
CHAPTER THREE
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 3
Behold, one comes wearing white sandals and clad in fine linen.
Arise, stand up to greet him. He bears the staff of righteousness.
He brings a pearl of priceless value, take it and become perfect.
Others come, fair women and young children. His father's heir has
come and the four great ones who bear sweet waters, who spread the
feast and rejoice under the strong arm of their protector. He who
has gone is not forgotten, but this is the day of the living.
He who has inherited ceases from weeping and begins to smile, the
protecting one comes in peace. The heart in the sky is no longer
small, it expands, it grows large. Thus it is also with the heart of
he who lives, his days of lamentations are over and his heart swells
and grows large.
The good son never ceases from faithful service on behalf of the
absent one who has escaped from the confinement of the body. The
dutiful son now calls upon the absent one for protection from
wandering shadows and from the molestations of life Shadows.
O Bountiful, Ever Considerate One, hear the words of your faithful
and dutiful son, as they ascend with the blue, penetrating smoke of
fragrant incense. Let no shadow wander from your safe abode to haunt
our habitations, for they who dwell therein have done you no
dishonour. Safeguard the Dark Doorway, that things in vile forms
come not near us to pollute our bodies with sickness and disease.
You left, and before the waters rose again the man of Shodu, he who
dealt harshly with the widow dwelling beside the channel of black
stones, departed for his judgment. Is not he whom you judged, and
did you not deal rightly with him when the scales went down against
him? Therefore, might he not return from the Region of Darkness with
others of his kind and cause misfortune to fall upon us? You he
cannot harm, you are now in the Place of Glory, in the land beyond
the Westera waters. Therefore, send us guardians from among the
Glorious Company, that they may spread protecting wings over our
habitations.
Many come, bearing cakes of fine meal and barley cakes, large,
fat-bodied fish and meats of many kinds, honeywine in jars and
fruits in plenty. He who is absent from the feast is joyful, his arm
is strong and he issues his commands to the guardians. Cast off all
gloom and be joyful, for this is not the time of sorrow, and tears
have no place in your eyes.
If there be benevolent Life Shadows beyond the protective pale, they
may enter. Join with us in our rejoicing. Let us all enjoy what we
have and what we share, for life is irrepressible.
These are things from a foreign place said for our brother Gwelm,
according to the rites of the Sons of Fire, and thus it shall be for
those who enter the chambers of stone.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 4
No longer can the man who was speak with men on Earth, for he now
lives in splendour among The Eternal Ones. He was weighed before the
Assessors, and though his faults were not few he was not outweighed
in goodness. He has become a Shining One and journeys on into the
spaces of Heavenland, accompanied only by his compatible companions.
He has ascended into the Place of Glory, the Place of Fulfilment.
The years have fallen off his shoulders, like a cast off cloak, and
he is young again. He is vigorous, he lives. Time cannot touch him
with change, nor sorrow enter his heart. He rests, awaiting a new
call to duty.
He has passed through the Wide Hall and through the Narrow Portal.
He has entered the Land of a New Dawning and he is welcomed, his
Earth companions greet him, he lives. He is beyond harm, he sees the
sublime visions which fulfil his yearnings. He who has served is now
served. As he has sown and husbanded, so now he reaps.
He continues past the Place of Waiting Souls and sees the awaiting
Kohars who will unite with the ascending spirits of men. He bears in
his hand the Book of Life and glides over the pure pastures, past
the bright dividing flame. He turns the face of compassion towards
the darkness, but sees nought but fleeting shadows against the red
glare. The Lost Ones shrink back in shame and the man who was passes
the entrance to their foul abode.
Those who are left to mourn for the Glorious One have dried their
tears, for all is well with him. He delights in the good life in a
place of glory. He is safe in the embrace of his Kohar, he is the
Adoring One whose eyes are opened to splendour, he sees the sublime
visions.
The man who was seeks the Illuminator who will direct him in his
duties, he cleanses himself in the Lake of Beauty and refreshes
himself at the Fountain of Life. He sees spirits of the twilight who
are purged of all their wickedness and lusts yet remain captive to
The Lords of Destinies, for they are still unproven. The Lord of
Life will direct their passage back for trial and testing. For these
there is always hope.
The man who was has navigated the winding waters of life and crossed
the dark waters of death, and is now strengthened in wisdom. He
takes a seat on high, that he may become an instructor and guide on
the path. He becomes a brazier in the distance, a homing light to
guide those who seek Truth. He is purified and comes forth wearing
the White Mantle of Greatness.
Behold the splendour of his raiment and the purity of his
adornments, as he sits awaiting calls from those in the Heavy
Kingdom, who seek his counsel. The seers in dark waters will amaze
the people with the clarity of their visions and revelations, for
the power goes forth from the man who was, with manifold strength. A
great being has joined the Splendid Company in the Land of
Dawnlight. Over there they will say, "Earth is worthily fulfilling
its purpose when it produces men such as this".
You may wonder what are the occupations of the man who was. Does he
illuminate the dark waters alone? May he not be among those who seek
to enter the hearts of those who close the doors of their spirit to
the instructors of wisdom? Alas, they who are heavily enshrouded in
earthly wrappings are ever set of face before the instructors of
wisdom, they say, "What have we to do with this babble?", yet they,
most of all, require enlightenment, for they are men of small minds.
May he not have become a pathfinder in the night, a guide through
the darkness, the star illuminating the night at its darkest hour as
the herald of The Great Illuminator? May he not have become a
Director of Rays that dance on the waters, or a Controller of the
Winds which caress the cheek? Suffice that he rejoices in a life of
splendour, so let it remain with him and his Kohar until the day
when all is known, the day of full knowing.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 5
These are the instructions for those who journey the outer track of
the twinway, for those who have been laid in the chambered tombs,
who followed the ways of Kemwelith. The words are those from the
distant past, first spoken in a far land beyond the rolling billows:
The Risen One has become the Newcomer, and having passed through the
clearing house his departure is not delayed. No toll is required on
the ferry, for the Newcomer has with him the words of entrance which
have become known to him according to his deeds. He has not deviated
from the path and all is well.
The ferryman comes to the Place of Waiting, he of the winding river
which is the tortuous channel of purification. The Newcomer stands
at the mooring place and proclaims,
"O ferryman, away to the Region
of the Blessed Ones. I am purified, purged of polluting evils; make
haste, do not delay. I am a wanderer anxious to reach my
destination".
The ferryman says, "From whence come you?"
The
Newcomer says,
"I am from Restaw and am weary. Take me to my
compatible place of abode, let us not delay, I wish to join those
united with their soulselves. Let us not dally. Do not tarry, for I
am anxious to depart from this sombre shore. Have no fear, cautious
one, for no evil dogs my footsteps. Come, let us away, bear me over
the waters to the appointed place. Carry me swiftly to where spirits
are regenerated and made young again. Carry me to the foot of the
Great Stairway that ascends to the Place of the Immortals, to the
Courtyard of The Great God".
The ferryman hesitates, he says,
"Show me your token, that I may
know you have truly passed the tests, that I may know your true
destination. For it is the way with men that they think one thing
but Truth lies elsewhere".
The Newcomer says,
"My token is the brightness, which, if you be no
imposter, you may see shining above my head, and my introduction is
the writing concerning me, written in the Book of Sacred Mysteries.
Come, bear me over the waters, so that I may tread the Field of
Peace. See, have I not four attendants, two on either side? Let them
speak for me, for they are witnesses walking in the light of Truth".
The ferryman says,
"Who stands to the pole?" and the Risen One
answers, "I will stand to the pole with my attendants, two on either
side. You stand by to bear at the steering oar, so that our course
remains straight". The ferryman says, "It is well, for the current
is sullen and changeful".
The Newcomer says,
"O ferryman of the boatless ones, I am truly a
man justified before all on both sides of the horizon, before Heaven
and Earth. I have passed the tests of the examiners and am free to
proceed. I am one who can claim passage by virtue of my deeds. Have
not men spoken well of me after I departed from their midst, is this
not enough? It is the way with Earth, that if men speak of the
goodness of an absent one, then he is good indeed. Truly I am a
Bright One".
The ferryman says,
"Draw aside your mantle, that I may see your
likeness, for this is a good boat which may not be polluted. The
path henceforth is hard for those who cannot be faced without
revulsion. O Great One, draw your mantle over again, for you are
indeed among the brightest of those who pass this way, great will be
the rejoicing when you appear among your own kind, the pure of
heart".
"Delay no longer, ferryman. Quickly over the waters to the other
side. If you delay further I will name the names of Gods to men,
that their unreality be exposed. I am not one to be trifled with, I
am one who can dispel the clouds of illusion. I am a man of no mean
qualities, therefore tarry no more, let us depart".
CHAPTER SIX
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 6
The man who was becomes the Pilgrim. He has crossed the waters, he
has passed the Grim Guardian, he waits without the Place of Union
and stands firmly. He is not afraid and stands resolute. The Cool
Gracious One approaches with three jars of water and refreshes him.
The Pilgrim says,
"Behold, O Watcher at the Gate, I have laid up
treasure enough in the storehouse of love, therefore allow me to
pass. The love of those who have gone before, see is it not a large
quantity and sufficient to draw me upward? See the love of those who
remain behind, is it not a large quantity and sufficient to draw me
upward?"
The Watcher hears his words.
The Grim Guardian counts and weighs and says, "Pass". Then this man
passes and goes beyond the Lake of Wisdom, past the Winding Channel
of Experiences, over the flooded Field of Reeds, to the Eastern side
of the Region of Light where he will be renewed in birth into the
Higher Spheres.
The Pilgrim now stands before the Womb of Heaven where those who
enter as pure seed are brought forth into union with God. This man
passes by to where the attendants help him to assume the Robe of
Glory. They welcome him.
"Behold", they say, "His Kohar has brought this man powers to make
him complete. The powers he gave into the keeping of his Kohar
during the prayer times on Earth have returned greatly magnified.
This man has joined the Joyful Company, he has left his old,
discarded body in the Region of Heaviness, to assume another more
glorified one in the Region of Light."
The Kohar greets the Pilgrim and says, "I welcome you, my own". The
Kohar says to those about,
"This is my own, he has washed in the
Lake of Wisdom and passed by the Caverns of Distrust and Doubt. Let
us, therefore, enter in peace when the Great Door is opened for the
United Being in the East, the door leading to the Place of The One
True God above all Gods, whose manifestations are secret mysteries".
Before going further they pass by a side entrance to the Region of
Darkness where vile and sorrowful things lurk, the Lost Ones, those
who served in the ranks of evil on Earth. O Great Kohar, stop the
ears of your own; that he may not hear the mournful waitings of the
doomed ones left behind!
They who are the companions of the Pilgrim cry out,
"O Kohar, guide
your own right, guide him up the Ladder of Life which he must
traverse again; strengthen its rungs, support him, so he bears
lightly upon them, let not the rungs break beneath his weight. This
is the test of deeds long since done, where evil bears down
heavily".
"O Kohar, your ownis weak andfalters, yet your arms are strong,
therefore lift them to support him, that he may surmount to the
heights above. Do this, that he may sit with those who have
understanding and perception, that his feet may be welcomed in the
Fields of Peace and that he may take his place among the Glorious
Ones".
Blessed is the Kohar who safeguards all memories, storing them as
men store corn; who retains these for the use of the Reborn Ones;
who can recall all that men forget and can draw forth a memory as
men draw water from a well. The Kohar is the eternal recorder,
Pilgrims become Risen Ones and enter their Kohars as a soul enters a
body, and in unity they become Glorious Ones.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 7
This is the manner whereby the Aspiring Ones of Earth may cross the
dread horizon through residence within the Cavern of Stone. It is
thus that men come to know the Truth concerning the Realms of Glory
beyond the Western Horizon, but it is a path beset by great dangers
and manifold terrors, and many return witless.
The Aspiring One is of Earth, he is earthbound. He sits within the
cavern before the Cauldron of Rebirth and Regeneration, and inhales
the smoke from the brew of release. He rises above himself, flying
on wings of five feathers, the names of which are recorded in the
Book of Secret Mysteries, wherein are the awful recipes. There it is
written that he may ascend like a falcon and cannot go otherwise
than as a falcon. He may not go in the manner of any other bird.
He escapes the call of Earth, its fetters fall from him. The
Aspiring One leaves his attendants behind, he is not with them, he
is not of Earth, neither is he of Heaven. He is at the place where
the two meet and intermingle.
His body moves without the spirit and partakes of the sour yellow
bread of wide vision. The Aspiring One drinks the brew of grey
barley and sips long at the wine of harish, eating the cakes of
green brown horris. He eats the fruit of the releasing tree and
drinks the brew of black fungus, which is in the smoke goblet. Thus,
he sleeps and the attendants lay him down in the receptacle called
the Womb of Rebirth. He is in the Place of Visions but remains like
the masthead bird.
He shall be covered and made so that in his struggles he rise not.
His voice is heard speaking in a strange tongue, as he calls on his
fathers who have gone before and now preside over affairs beyond the
Wide Lake. His body becomes still, as he enters the dazzling chamber
which is the doorway to twin vision.
Now he must penetrate the Walls of Dry Air which bar his passage,
and rise into the rainbow-coloured Clouds of Radiance which are
above. High up he looks below him and sees the waters of the Winding
Canal of Experience and understands the meaning of all that had
befallen him. Now he has four eyes, these being the inner and outer
eyes, and rising higher he attains the heights of wide
consciousness.
Here he meets the Pathfinder and follows him swiftly. He speaks
rightly to the Guardian. He shields bis eyes when passing the Lurker
on the Threshold, and goes on until he comes to the abode of the
Opener of the Ways.
Now the body of the Aspiring One becomes restless and those who
attend him place the power of Hori over his face. He hears the voice
of The SunGod, which says, "I know the necessary names, I am The
Knower of Names. I know the name of The Limitless One, above The
Lords of the East and West, I am One Most Powerful".
The Aspiring One becomes covered with moisture, he writhes, he
shouts, he struggles. The Companionable Watchers know he has left
the protection of The Sungod, that he has been seized by the Fiends
of Darkness, but he struggles and prevails over them, and all is
well. Then the Aspiring One returns.
A hundred shining suns whirl above, a whisper rolls around like
thunder, lights of manifold hues sway above, like the river reeds in
the wind. All things appear to dance in a shimmering haze, then turn
over and fold back into themselves, and such beauty is produced that
the human tongue cannot describe it. All things take upon themselves
shimmering forms through which other forms can be seen. Great
melodic music throbs all around, while everything pulsates a soft
rhythm. The air is filled with voices of unearthly sweetness, glory
and splendour are everywhere. Then the Aspiring One awakes.
He is raised, behold he comes forth and walks as one bemused by a
vision of glory. He staggers, he cannot walk unsupported. His throat
burns and his mouth is overgrown with dryness. His head resounds
with drumbeats. He is given the sweet waters in the cup of
forgetfulness and drinks deeply, all is well. He is a Reborn One, he
is an Enlightened One. He is one resurrected from the Cavern of
Stone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 8
These are the supplications of Dkeb, the Stranger, who came from the
Land of Rising Waters and was known to us as the Opener of the Ways,
he came under the wings of the Firehawk. He was the first of the
Scarlet Robed Ones, the right hand of Glanvanis. That was in the
time of our fathers' fathers, and the tongue of the seafarers is no
longer in the mouth of men.
O Great Being of Beauty, Brilliant One who greets the Newcomers
arriving in the Place Beyond the Western Horizon, this woman is your
daughter, your daughter is she. See, she is pure in spirit and clean
in heart. She is modest and womanlike, so let her pass to live in
the Pastures of Life, in the Land of New Dawning where all is
wholesome.
Let her be purified by the maidens of Orshafa, let them purify her,
let her be washed and dried by the attendants at the clean, sweet
waters of life. Let the nine Delicate Ones minister to her, let her
be clothed in garments of decency, for she is a womanly woman. O
Great and Glorious One, give this woman your hand, clasp her hand
with womanly tenderness. Spread out your falcon wings over her,
spread protecting wings around her. She has followed the tedious
ways of womankind and has glorified life with her presence. She has
endured affliction with patience and made her home hearth a place of
peace and content. Let her roam the pastures of the Blessed Ones and
penetrate into the farthest regions of light.
I raise my hands in supplication. The flame is lit, it burns
brightly, fragrant incense is placed in the bowl and it becomes
aglow. Its sweet perfume rises into the recesses above. O Happy
Risen One, O Beautiful Being glowing with womanly goodness,
treasurer of all the virtues, purify yourself for admittance into
the Higher Regions. The incense we offer here is your indrawn breath
of renewed life. It fills your lungs, you breathe and because you
breathe you live. This is the best incense from the Land of Gwemi,
differing not from that which our fathers knew when they travelled
the water road. O Beautified One, my heart lingers at the place
where you rest, my heart is with you, entwined with yours. How sweet
your breath, how pleasant your perfume, how gentle your whispers,
how delicate the rustle of your attire. O newly become Beauteous
One, you are not alone.
Rise blue perfumed smoke, rise cleaning fragrance, rise sweet
wholesome offerings, rise like fluttering birds on wings of purified
air to the glorious regions of light which he away beyond our poor
perception. Accept our sweet fragrance, O Beautified One, inhale our
sweet smoke, O Ever Delicate One, may you enjoy the due reward of
your labours and privations, of your selfless sacrifices. Be ever
contented and peaceful, O dutiful wife and loving mother, hear our
words, as they rise to you in the softly smouldering incense which
comes shipborne to these shores.
Hear the voices of the waiting Welcomers greeting the Beauteous One
who now joins them. They say, "Cast off the old worn garment and
array yourself in garments of radiant light, in the clothes of
splendour which have awaited you. Bedeck yourself in the well earned
jewels of spiritual reward.
"Henceforth you shall dwell here, walking about freely, to be
honoured and loved. Here you will be renewed, be alert, vigorous and
far reaching. The power of your spirit shall stretch out to every
place. You take thought and fly on hawks wings. Your desire becomes
a chariot with wings of light".
"Beyond the place of your first destination is the kingdom of the
Lord of the Distant Sky. There he will permit manifestations in
glory. There, henceforth, you shall walk in strength and beauty,
being ever filled with life and power, garmented in loveliness for
all eternity".
"There floodwaters of a glorious fluid light unknown here rise and
fall in moderation, and therein you may bathe daily and taste the
revitalising rests. Here your thirst may be slaked at the well of
Divine Essence and your appetite appeased by the strange bread of
everlasting life".
"This is your destiny, in the Land Beyond the Veil, therefore lift
up your face in joy. Rise, lovely liveliness. You are one destined
to be numbered among the Shining Ones and are warmly welcomed into
the company of the Fragrant Ones. O happy one who enhanced earthly
life with your presence, this is your reward. Many have done mighty
things, but you have served with constancy and diligence, adding the
small grains of goodness to the pile of merits until it exceeded in
weight the great things done by others. We hail you, O victorious
one!"
The Welcomers say among themselves,
"How fair and bright the face of
this Newcomer. How fine must have been her life in the Region of
Heaviness. Behold, here she is, renewed and made young again but
with a loveliness unkown in the life left behind".
When she goes forward from here she is within her Kohar, they are
one. Her vision is through the Kohar, her smell is through the
Kohar. All she senses is through the Kohar. All she does and knows
is through the Kohar.
Behold, she is among the Chosen. Henceforth, she becomes an Opener
of the Way for those of her blood. Glorious is she and blessed are
they!
Those are the supplications made for Milven, daughter of Mailon, son
of Market the Stranger, according to the rites of the Sons of Fire.
Ardwith kept it and it was done into this form at the place called
Korinamba.
CHAPTER NINE
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 9
This concerns the mystery of the Twice Born. It relates to those
born again, to those who have endured the awfulness of the false
death which many do not survive; who have drunk deeply from
Koriladwen, the smooth bitter brew which releases the spirit; who
have entered Ogofnaum through the thundering doors. This is their
path.
The door of Heaven stands ajar, the doors of vision have been opened
and now the Cavern of Vision is revealed. The spirit-bearing waves
from the abyss have been freed, the rays of the Great light have
been set free and the Guides and Watchers have been placed in their
positions by the Constant One.
The Welcomers stand back, for this is not their stage. The Brilliant
One is there and another who is the Reciter, and he explains the
visions:
"O Brave stouthearted one, Syoltash to be, the things you
behold are the things seen by the Great Ones of Earth when they came
this way in their hour and were returned back to life. They were
truly men of wisdom, well versed in the mystic procedures, men who
knew their position and parts."
"Behold the twin stars. These embody the midwifery powers drawing
the Twice Born back to their places of origin. They who are with
them are the champions of light and darkness. One you must choose as
your companion, but the choice must be made according to the law of
affinity, otherwise you are lost."
"The pool wherein you gaze is earthlife. The brilliant light above,
far greater than the sun, is the manifestation of The One God, but
it is not He. The rays dancing about are the Gods, distorted
reflections of what is, distorted reflections of Truth, shadows of
reality. The sparkling motes are souls, they descend from the light
to manifest in darkness."
"The clouds obscuring the lesser lights are the clouds of
misconception, which darken the face of wisdom. The dark twins
standing by the pillar are Delusion and Illusion, the constant
beguilers of men. The stream of clear water is Truth and the waters
of Truth constantly sheer away the clay pedestal of falsehood."
"The brightness you see before you and to the right is the naked
spirit displaying itself in isolation. It is neither in a mortal
body nor within the Kohar. Beyond it is a much greater brightness
reflected from afar, which is the Kohar of Kohars, which men cannot
yet understand."
"The repulsive shapes which are behind the flame on your left are
doomed spirits which once were the enlivening forces within men. Now
they grovel in slime and filth, denizens of the mire, but their fate
is just, for they themselves were the judges. The darkness beyond
the murk will not become greater. Darkness cannot change to light,
for when light comes into darkness there is no darkness, it ceases
to exist."
"The gloominess and shadow scene you see, forward on your left hand
side, is the Region of Heaviness where mortals sojourn. The
flickering lights which appear here and there are the joys of Earth,
while the darker spots are where there are sorrows and suffering.
The redness is anger and strife. The blue whiteness is love and
compassion."
"The brightness above and ahead is the Region of Lightness where the
Risen Ones rejoice, for there they welcome their Earth companions
and are happy in reunion. Behold, here is a Rising One newly
arrived, see, she flies upward on the wide wings of spirit and
loving arms reach out to welcome her. The star-girt roadway you see
rising before you is that trodden by the countless Risen Ones who
have gone before. Now, advance towards the left."
"The abyss now before you is the mouth of Earth, and see, it opens
and speaks to you, bidding you farewell. Listen carefully, for it
will retell your deeds, your accomplishments and your omissions. If
they weigh against you, then cast yourself into the abyss, for you
are unworthy to survive this trial; go no further, nor can you turn
back, lest you become prey to the Foul Lurker in Darkness."
"If you have not been found wanting in the weighing, then step
forward boldly and without fear, for the mouth will close to let you
pass. If you are not numbered among the triumphant ones, then better
by far that you be swallowed forthwith than that you survive to meet
the Dread Lurker, the Devouring Horror, and be returned to Earth a
witless, empty shell."
"Beyond the abyss lies a stretch of blue water which contains the
Pool of Wisdom and the Pool of Purification. Therein you must bathe
and refresh yourself. The trees growing to your right bear the
fruits of spiritual nourishment, eat and become strong. Know, as
doing so, that the things done, thought and visualized on Earth
become qualities which are here transmuted into the things and
experiences of this nature."
"Pass between the waters and the trees and you will see a cliff
against which is a ladder, the rungs of which are bound in leathern
throngs made from the hide of the Bull of the Nightsky. This ladder,
which rises before you, is the Ladder of Experience. Its two
supports are experience in the body and experience in the spirit.
The rungs are your daily deeds and thoughts and fantasies of your
earthly life. Now is the test. Will your daily deeds and secret
thoughts support your ascent, or are they incapable of bearing you
upward? See, above is your Kohar, call upon it for help, for therein
you may have stored a reserve of spiritual strength. Or, perchance,
it may be barren and empty, only you know. Those who uphold the
ladder are the Lords of the Ladder, and they greet you as the
Ascending One."
"The ladder leads onto a plateau, and beside you appears the
strangely garbed Reciter who sweeps his arms about and says, "All
wherein things manifest is the firmament, which was before the
beginning and still is. In the beginning its darkness was pierced by
just a single ray from The Sun of God, but later, when the first
spirits entered, the firmament was brightened and it was divided by
heaviness and lightness. Then, when it was set apart, it was divided
by the entry of dark spirits whose need was for a place with which
they had a sombre affinity.
Therefore, the firmament of lightness is divided, there is a Place
of Light for the Victorious Ones and a Place of Darkness for those
who could not rise to victory. There are regions of gloom and
shadow, regions of twilight and shade. There are regions of light in
many hues, regions ranging from dazzling lights to dim light. There
is a veil across the firmament, dividing Heaven from Earth, and each
spirit departing from Earth penetrates through this veil, going to
its appointed place, carried by the winds of affinity. Arriving
there, the spirit, good or bad, strengthens and extends its
compatible territory."
"The Kohar is the Knower and the spirit is the known. All knowledge
is with the Knower, but the known can tap it so it flows out into
the known. The Kohar receives the spirit seed in Heaven, for there
it is as the body is on Earth. Even as the earthly body is made of
things from the Region of Heaviness, so is the Kohar made of things
from the Region of Lightness."
"These things are said by the Reciter before he leads you to the
place where sleeps a serpent, and pointing to it he says, "Behold
the serpent it sleeps at the bole of a tree from which hangs the
body of man, the tree of his backbone. It is on guard, safeguarding
the precious gem of spiritual powers, which lies enwrapped in the
threefold covering. To obtain the gem the serpent must be aroused
and then overcome. To rouse this serpent is a thing not to be
lightly undertaken, for it causes a fire to mount into the heart,
which may destroy the brain with delusions and madness. Only the
Twice Born can really obtain the gem."
"You pass on with the Reciter who will say: "These are the things
you must establish in your heart, the knowledge of the eight roads
along which you must travel to reach the Land of the Westerners.
These will bring you to the twelve first portals leading to the Land
of Shadows. Here I will recite for you the twenty-two deeds of
wickedness you have not done. You will then pass through the Land of
Shadows as if it were your hour, and, beyond it, come to the Great
Portal where it must be established, before the Great Guardian, that
you have ever done all within your power to live according to the
twelve virtues. Then you pass through the portal to the Hall of
Judgment. Here, for the first time, your light is revealed and it
is made known whether your tongue has spoken in accordance with the
things within your heart."
"Many are they who know the words of the tongue but sever these from
what is written in the heart. If the words of the tongue are copied
from the writings of the heart and are a true copy, then cross to
the Place of Assessment where your true form and likeness will be
displayed for all to see."
A curtain of darkness descends, there is a heavy dark mist, then the
muffled crash of Thundering Doors. The aching body reclines within
the tomb of stone. The questing pilgrim has returned to his
homehaven. He has learned truths he could never learn on Earth and
now knows the Grand Secret. Faith is replaced with certainty and he
is now an Initiated One.
CHAPTER TEN
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 10
My God and Father, my Creator and Governor, Supreme and Immortal
Spirit, I come to you as a wayward son comes to his father. I come
as the world-weary wanderer comes home. I come as the victorious
battle-bludgeoned warrior comes to the place of his rest. I am one
who has passed the trials. I am one who has survived the challenges.
I have returned full of wisdom and knowledge, the fruits of long
years in Your earthly place of instruction. There I was diligent, I
was not a waster of time, I was not a man of idleness. I am proved
worthy. I, Your son, have come home.
The virtues I developed on Earth are the messengers that sped before
me, my qualities hastened to announce my coming. They sped on
invisible wings, so that only those sensitive to that which emanated
from me knew of their coming. They came as perfume carried on the
wind. They announced me, they heralded me. They gave salutations to
the Spirits in the Bright Abodes. Yet I have not forgotten the
Dwellers in Terror, and a small dark spirit of the Twilight has gone
forth to make known to them my departure from Earth. This, that
should any there know of me they may be made aware that I am not of
their dismal company. Will there be weeping there in the dank,
dreary darkness?
I surmounted the trials of existence in heaviness. Now my spirit can
speed like the lightning flash. I am one who has accomplished what
had to be done. I have governed my affairs, not wholly by earthly
standards but by the greater ordinances of Heaven. I have carefully
read the books of instruction and listened to the interpreting words
of the wise.
He who tests hearts and reads thoughts has weighed me and I was not
found wauting in the balances. I am a Cool One, for my thoughts rest
in peace. I am not numbered among the Hot Ones whose thoughts
consume them as fire consumes wood.
I have passed the Nameless Ones, to come into the presence of The
Great One whom no man names, whose name is not knowable to men. I
have reached the destination of ages, I have achieved the ultimate
goal. I have put on the mantle of immortality and the robe of light
which the Heavenly Weavers prepared for Me.
I am a Little One, one who comes in littleness and not greatness. I
am a Humble One and come not in pomp and grandeur, for these are
things of the four quartered Earth having no place here. I have done
things which have been wrong, but these were done in ignorance and
not willfully or with malice.
O Watchers, announce to the Lords of Light and to the Lords of
Darkness that I am one who has penetrated the Mystic Veil but is
destined to return to the Realm of Heaviness. O Watchers, announce
that I am now a self-knowing everlasting spirit. O Father of the
Gods, who is above all, issue the decrees of fate which ensure that
henceforth I live a life of service, that I may live purposefully
when I return to fulfill my destiny.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 11
My Heart, my Spirit, my Kohar, guardian of my memories, cast not
your words in the balances against me. My faults and failings are
not few, for no mortal man is perfect, yet they weigh highly against
my qualities and good deeds. Say not that I have wrought evil to any
man willfully or with malice, say not that I am a man of wickedness.
Let me not suffer sorrowful remorse in the gloom and darkness, but
let me live forever within the Region of Light.
I have done deeds of goodness and led a goodly life. I have overcome
the wiles of wickedness and avoided the snares of temptation. I have
lived in peace with my neighbours. I have dealt justly and fairly
with them and have not uttered words of malice to stir up strife. I
have not gossiped about my neighbours, nor engaged in idle chatter
concerning their affairs. These things are not easy, and as no man
is perfect I have at times been bad tempered under provocation.
Therefore, speak words that will weigh in the balances against my
failings.
I have not slandered any man, nor have I willfully caused pain and
suffering. I have not caused the widow to weep, nor the child to cry
without cause. I have dealt justly with my servants and with the
servants of others, and I have been loyal to my masters. I have not
slain unlawfully, nor wounded any man willfully. Yet no man is
perfect and when my burdens have weighed heavily upon me I have
spoken harshly. Therefore, speak words that will weigh in the
balances against my failings.
I have never oppressed a poor man or taken from him what is his by
virtue of my position. I have never oppressed the weak or cheated in
the substance of metals. I have never said to a hungry woman, "Lay
with me and you shall eat", for this is a vile thing. I have not
lain with the wife of another man or seduced a child, for these are
abominations. Yet no man is perfect and few are commanders of their
thoughts, Therefore, speak words that will lighten these things in
the balances.
I have not turned the water of another so that he is deprived of his
full measure. I have not stopped flowing waters in their course. I
have not kept fodder from cattle, nor allowed the pastures to be
neglected. I have not caused any child to know fear without reason,
nor have I beaten one in bad temper. I have not transgressed the
statutes of the king. Yet no man is perfect and sometimes that which
is right in its day becomes wrong in another. Therefore, speak words
that will weigh in the balances against my wrongdoings.
I have not stolen, neither have I taken the possessions of any man
by deceit. I have not divided the household of any man, nor
separated him from his wife or children. I have not quarrelled with
any man because of ignorance. I have not turned from my duties or
failed in my obligations. I have not hidden my errors or buried my
failings. Yet no man is perfect, therefore speak words that will
weigh in the balances for me.
I have never behaved boisterously in a sacred place, nor have I ever
defiled one. My hand has not been demanding because of my office,
nor have I dealt haughtily with those who came to me with a plea. I
have not increased my position by false words or writings. Yet my
burden has been increased because of the perversity and willfulness
of men, and no man is perfect. Therefore, speak words that will
weigh in the balances against my weaknesses.
I have not permitted envy to eat my heart, nor malice to corrupt it.
I have not been loud of mouth, nor spoken words of boastfulness. I
have never slandered another or uttered words of falsehood. My
tongue has never escaped from the control of my heart. I have never
derided the words of another because they passed my understanding,
nor have I stopped my ears to words of enlightenment. I have never
hidden myself to observe others, nor have I ever disclosed the
secret designs or doings of others, unless they be of evil intent.
Yet no man is perfect, therefore speak words that will weigh in the
balances for me. When I have done wrong I have adjusted the scales
that weighed down heavily against me. I have not hidden my
weaknesses and failings in dark places, but washed them clean in the
sunlight of honest compensation.
I have not succumbed to the lures of lewdness, nor has my tongue
spoken slyly of things which should be kept private. I have not
peeped at nakedness or preyed into another's privacy. I have
respected the modesty of womankind and the innocent delicacy of
childhood. Yet men are as they are and imperfect, while thoughts
stray willfully and are not easily restrained. Therefore, speak words
that will weigh in the balances for me.
O Great One, protect me. O Kohar, save me. Hear the words of my
heart. I was one who was ever mindful of what was right and what was
wrong. I did what I thought was right and shunned that which I
thought was wrong. I listened to those who were wiser than I and
helped those who were less privileged. Can man do more?
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE SACRED REGISTERS - PART 12
Know me and understand my ways. I am one who sees the past and the
future, I look into hidden places, I am one who wanders freely. I am
one who can be reborn, I am one who knows the speech of the
released. I am an Uplifter. The Climbers come to me and I support
them, I lift them up, I strengthen. Therefore, bring me the
sustenance of smoke.
I hear and I hear not, for what I hear is heard by others. I speak
and I speak not, for what I speak is in the mouths of others. I weep
and I weep not, for my weeping is the weeping of others. I am an
Uplifter. The Climbers come to me and I console them. I enlighten
them with words of hidden wisdom. Thus they find the way.
I am one who comes forth when the circle is formed, when the twin
lamps have been lit and the incantations made. I come forth from the
consecrated place and bear the staff of power. I know the secrets of
the dark waters and the secrets of blood. I am a wanderer in strange
places. I am one who does not fear to tread the forbidden paths. I
am an Uplifter. The Climbers come to me and I reveal the way.
I am the Opener of Tombs. I am the Dweller in the Stone Caverns. I
am the one who precedes the Herald of the Companions. I am the
Swimmer in the Waters of Wisdom. I am the Discoverer of Hidden
Places. I am the one who hovers above the Still Waters. I am the
Wanderer with the Winds. I am an Uplifter. The Climbers come to me
and are comforted. They thirst and I refresh them, they hunger and I
fill them with food.
I am the Sitter Beneath the Sycamore. I am the Eater of the Rowan. I
am the heart within the heat of the fire and the eye within the
candle flame. I am the uprising hawk and the contented dove. I am
one who has tamed the serpent and drawn forth its secrets. I am one
who has many eyes and sees what is written in the nightskies; whose
ears hear the whispers at the edge of the Great Waters. I am one
whose right foot rests on the Earth and whose left foot rests oh the
firmament. I am one who faces all spirits alike and knows their true
nature. I am an Uplifter. The Climbers come to me and I give them
peace.
I am one who gazes into the deep dark pool, reading the things
hidden therein. I am the Caller Forth of the Deformed Ones and the
Tongue of the Bright Ones. I am he of the Everlasting Form. I am he
who provides stability to falterings forms and the interpreter who
spans the veil. I am an Uplifter. The Climbers come to me and I
provide their Guide and their Guardian.
Know me and understand my ways. Invoke me through the rite of smoke
and wine. Call me forth into the circle of stone, but beware, for
lest you hold the seven keys and understand the nature of the three
rays, you are lost.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE SCROLL OF RAMKAT
Awful is the great day of judgment at its dawning in the
Netherworld. The soul stands naked in the Hall of Judgment, nothing
can now be hidden. Hypocrisy is no avail; to maintain goodness when
the soul reveals its own repulsiveness is futile. To mumble empty
ritual is foolishness. To call upon Gods who have no existence is a
waste of time.
In the Hall of Judgment the wrongdoer is judged. On that day and
henceforth his qualities shall form his food. His soul, soft as clay
upon Earth, is hardened and set into shape according to its
moulding. The balances are adjusted.
One arrives. The Forty-Two Virtues are his assessors. Shall he dwell
among beauty as a godling, or be given captive to the Keeper of
Horrors, to dwell among vile things under a merciful mantle of
darkness?
One arrives. The twisted body, tormented on Earth, and the ugly face
have gone, discarded at the portal. He strides through the Hall in
radiance, to pass into the Place of Everlasting Beauty.
One arrives. Now no earthly body shields the horror which is the
true likeness of the evildoer upon Earth. He runs from the light
which he cannot tolerate, and hides himself in the shadows near the
Place of Terror. Soon he will be drawn to his compatible place among
the Dismal Company.
One arrives. He has been upright and a just one. His failings and
weaknesses were of little account. This upright man fears nothing,
for he is welcomed among the Bright Ones and shall go unhampered
among the Everlasting Lords.
One arrives. He trembles before the Unseen Judges, he is lost, he
knows nothing, earthly knowledge and confidence are left behind. The
balance drops, he sees his soul and recognizes his true self, he
rushes into the merciful darkness. It enfolds him and dark arms
embrace him, drawing him into the terrible gloom, into the Place of
Dark Secret Horrors.
One arrives. She graced the court with beauty, men sang of her
loveliness and grace. Now, as when a mantle is removed, all is
discarded, it is the time of unveiling. Who can describe the lustful
thoughts and secret unclean deeds which fashioned the horror coming
through the portal? There is a hush among the compassionate.
One arrives. On Earth she was pitied by the compassionate and
scorned by the hard-hearted. There her lot was degradation and
servitude, privation and sacrifice, few and meager were the gifts
from life. Yet she triumphed. Now she comes forward surrounded by
brilliance, even the Shining Ones are dazzled by her beauty.
One arrives. The twisted face and pain-wracked body of the cripple
have been left behind. A kind and loving soul dwelt imprisoned
within its confines. Now the relieved spirit steps forward into the
great Hall, unencumbered and free, glorious to behold.
One arrives. The splendid body which graced Earth remains there, an
empty, decaying thing. The naked soul enters the Everlasting Halls.
It is a deformed, mis-shapen thing fit only to dwell in the merciful
gloom of the place with which it has compatible affinity.
One arrives. Neither goodness nor wickedness bears down upon the
scales. The balances remain straight. The soul departs to the
twilight borderland between the Region of Light and the Region of
Darkness.
0 Great Lords of Eternity, who once were in the flesh, even as I,
hear not the outpourings of an overburdened and sorrowful heart. For
who am I to presume to call upon The Great God of All? Who am not
without wickedness and weak in spirit. I have filled my heart with
knowledge of the Secret Writings but still I fear the judgment.
Therefore, Great Lords of Eternity, I call upon you who once walked
the Earth, even as I, and who, therefore, understand the failings
and weaknesses of men.
I am not weak in my standing with earthly things, but I am weak
beside the Greater Beings. Will I, too, ever be worthy of the
grandeur of the Eternal Mansions ? O Great Beings whose nature is
beyond understanding, grant me just a spark of the Eternal Wisdom,
that it might light my soul and kindle the flame of immortal life.
What is the destined fate of a man who knows the existence of things
beyond his understanding? I see but I do not know, therefore I am
afraid. Man can swim against the current towards the bank, but he
needs a helping hand to pull him ashore when he is exhausted from
the struggle.
This is the fate of man. He must strive for that which he cannot
attain. He must believe in that which he cannot prove. He must seek
that which he cannot find. He must travel a road without knowing his
destination. Only thus can the purpose of life be fulfilled.
Man may believe he knows his destiny, but he cannot be assured with
certainty; in no other way can he fulfil it. In this way alone can
his soul be properly awakened to flower with its full potential.
This alone he may know: The purpose of all human life is a goal so
glorious it surpasses all earthly understanding.
We may visualise our individual goals as we will, it is ordained
that we have this freedom. How close or how far we are from reality
is of little consequence, what is, is. He who seeks a non-existent
destination will, nevertheless, get somewhere. He who seeks not at
all will get nowhere. Earthly life fulfils itself without
attainment.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE SCROLL OF YONUA
Away from my eyes, O Hideous One. Slink back into the dark shadows
about the black sunless abode where dwell the self-distorted souls
of the Fearsomely Formed Ones. Back to your murky haven of somber
compatibility.
Away, out of sight, for your repulsiveness brings back into my heart
the thoughts of evils and temptations I have encountered and
overcome, thoughts which I now so gladly forget. You poor, doomed
fiend, mis-shapen, horny-headed, slit-snouted, stunted in arms and
legs, horrible to behold. What dreadful thoughts and unclean deeds
must have been yours, to fashion you in this manner!
Away, back to your own kind, back from the twilit border where you
lurk furtively, afraid, pitifully seeking a glimpse of the bright
joys denied to your own folly. Back to the place with which you have
pitiful affinity, back to your own dark, compatible companions.
The Guardians of the Hidden Gates repel you, lest you befoul the
pathways of the Glorious Ones who once struggled to find beauty and
cleanliness. The light of this place is ever spreading, and soon a
Glorious One may walk where you now slink in the gloom. Back, back
from the dividing flame, back into the sad comfort of enveloping
darkness. Back to your foul companions in misery, back into the
mercifully enshrouding gloom.
Your fate saddens my heart. Can you find consolation there, hidden
in the comforting darkness? Does a kind word ever lighten the burden
of your days? Is there a place of rest among the slime and excreta?
O Fallen One, who once walked Earth so proudly in self-esteem,
selfishness and arrogance, go back, torment yourself no more with
the sights of beauty and joy which lie beyond your reach. O Wriggler
in the Slime, back from the purifying flame, what can it avail you
now?
O Repellent One, who by wrongdoing and non-good doing thus cursed
yourself and were delivered into the comfortless arms of decay and
filth; who on Earth appeared arrayed in such deceptive softness and
complacency; who dwelt amid pleasure and luxury, away, back into the
shadows, hide yourself from the pure gaze of the Glorious Ones.
O Squirming One, turned back are you, the shameful flesh is unworthy
even of the flame. The unshapely mass, unchiselled by the forming
blows of self -discipline and selfless service, unmoulded by the
touch of compassion and love, unpolished by conformity to the
burnishing blows of sincere goodness, has no place near the region
of revealing light. See, are you not seared with pain when the pure
light falls upon you? Miserable indeed is your lot in that dread,
dreary abode!
See, your slimy hide shrinks from the pure glare, it splits, it
cracks, back, back into your dark cavern with its floor of slime.
Back out of sight, out of hearing, back from the pure gaze of
righteousness. How miserable the lot of one who finds unconsoling
comfort in the depths of dread darkness lit only by shadowy gloom!
How awful to dwell in companionship with distorted shades!
What became of the loveliness which once clothed you on Earth? Whose
fault that you brought it not with you? Did you ever pause, even for
one moment, to gaze into the self-revealing mirror within you and
see the awful creature you were forming? Amid your pleasures and
luxury, did you not think of the wellbeing of your inner self? Did
you not care?
O if I could but help you now, but the hideousness was set firm in
the furnace-fire of death. Then the enveloping flesh was stripped
away and the hidden horror within the mould revealed. As the
butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, so should the soul emerge from
its earthly body. An unnatural thing like this was never intended,
yet you freely made the choice. Not a single disfiguring line was
made by another.
What words are those which rasp forth from the unlipped, fish-shaped
mouth? O ears, say you deceive me! O heart, cease this pounding
clamour! O hand of horror, release your awful grip! Would that I
could swoon, that I could find relief in unconsciousness, but facts
have to be faced here as on Earth. I must look in trembling terror.
Yes, I loved on Earth, nothing there was more precious to me than my
sister in love. I forgave her willfulness and was not stirred up when
her words were unkind. I ever remained a man of cool temper. I
clothed her well and good food she never lacked. My heart sang in
her presence, I rejoiced in her loveliness, she was my life, my
wife. Yet she was unfaithful, she was cruel, she found pleasure in
deceit and perversion. As the years passed they became heavy,
clouded and bitter because of her wayward ways.
O horror, O terror, O cringing fear, keep away from me! O my eyes, O
my heart, it is true. It is the one I loved. O let me die once more,
that consciousness may pass from me! It is her whom I loved, she for
whom I waited in joyful anticipation, hoping to find the light of my
youth, hoping the overlay of later evils would be sloughed away by
death, hoping to find the warm, throbbing liveliness I once held. I
would gladly have forgiven the pain she caused in her maturity. O
what has become of the smooth flesh, the warm touch? Where is the
beauty of face, the grace of form? O raise not the crocodile-skinned
arms to shield the awful snout, the green-rimmed, red-veined eyes!
O racing heart! I hear the misformed words amidst the hiss and
gurgle issuing forth from the oozing aperture. O say not that I was
so blind, so greatly deceived, that you cared for nought but the
earthly things we shared; that your affection was the false front of
hypocrisy, your love a lie. Did I not always forgive? Was I not
always patient? With whom did you share the terrible thoughts and
desires that fashioned you thus ? Surely this cannot be the work of
your own nature alone. Fickle you were and pleasure loving, selfish,
cruel and deceitful, but all this I forgave because of the plea of
my heart. Was this not enough? O where is the companion I awaited?
Lost, and worse than lost.
O compassion, O mercy, come to my aid! My heart fails me, I cannot
face what I thought to greet so joyously. O powers of solicitude,
strengthen me. What can I do to mitigate the Law? Is there hope? Is
there a way?
A whisper of comfort, O gratefully I hear it,
"There is hope and
there is a way, but between this self-shaped horror and the Glorious
Ones there is an uncrossable chasm. In sorrow and anguish it must
seek a road, it must go its own dark way as you must go yours in the
light. Turn back, turn again towards the light, the compassion in
your own heart does nought to bridge the gulf between, unless it
strikes a responsive spark within the other heart".
"Let the memory be erased, this is not the companion of your path.
The trials and sorrows borne so well, the uncomplaining
unselfishness fashioned you in glory. Nor would you have reached the
present degree of perfection had she not been as she was, and is now
revealed to be. This fearful fate was wrought by the lost one alone,
for each is the sole keeper of his spirit. Each soul is fashioned by
every thought, desire and deed, every emotion that touched it during
its sojourn in an earthly body".
"Each is the maker of his own future, the fashioner of his own
being".
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A SCROLL FRAGMENT - ONE
Salvaged from the Great Book of The Sons of Fire this is all that
remains of some sixteen damaged pages relating to an initiation
ceremony.
Who will reward or punish me? I will.
Who besets my path with sorrow? I do.
Who can grant me a life of everlasting glory? I can.
Who must save me from the horror of malformation? I must.
Who will guide my footsteps through life? I will.
Who brings joy into my life and gladdens my heart? I do.
Who brings peace and contentment to my spirit? I do.
Who lightens the burdens of my labour? None but myself.
Whose courage will protect me from the workers of evil? My courage.
Whose wisdom will guide me and enlighten my heart? My wisdom.
Whose will rules my destiny? My will.
Whose duty is it to attend to my wants? My duty.
Who is responsible for my future state of being? I alone am
responsible.
Who shields me from temptation? No one.
Who shields me from sorrow and suffering? No one.
Who shields me from pain and affliction? No one.
Who benefits from my toil and tribulation, my sorrow and suffering?
Myself, if wise.
Who benefits from my temptations and afflictions, my sacrifices and
austerities? Myself, if wise.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE THIRD OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS
(A Fragment)
If a man would know Heaven, he must first know Earth. Man cannot
understand Heaven until he understands Earth. He cannot understand
God until he understands himself, and he cannot know love unless he
has been loveless.
God is unknown but not unknowable. He is unseen but not unseeable.
God is unheard but not unhearable.
He is not understood but He is understandable.
The goal of life is upstream, not downstream. Man must struggle
against the current, not drift with the flow.
A child is born knowing all God intended it to know, the rest it
must discover for itself. Man does not live to increase the glory of
God, this cannot be done, but to increase the glory of man.
He who worships with empty rituals wastes his time and displays the
shallowness of his thought. That which man does to benefit man is
good, but if he seeks to gratify God it is a labour of ignorance
showing disrespect for God whose nature is above that of earthly
princes. A lifting hand is worth ten wagging tongues.
Be a man of fortitude and courage. Prepare to fight, for Earth gives
man but two choices: to struggle or perish. There is work to be done
in the Garden of God, therefore cease useless performances and
word-wasting discussions, go, pick up the hoe and tackle the task to
hand.
This is the secret of life: Man lives in God and God lives in man.
This answers all questions.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE SIXTH OF THE EGYPTIAN SCROLLS
God is in all and He encompasses all.
There is no God but The True God, and His existence is our assurance
of life everlasting. He was before the beginning and will be after
the end.
He is mighty and all powerful. In His magnificence and majesty no
man can conceive Him. His divine nature is beyond the understanding
of man. His creation is awesome. His ways unfathomable.
His creative thought brought all things forth and the power which
flows from Him is life. He holds life within His mind and the
universe within His body.
If a man, in ignorance and foolishness, conceives a more
understandable God in his own image or builds Gods of wood and
stone, that will not take anything away from the stature of God. The
Supreme One is ever God, The Creator of man, and if man makes
earthly Gods to worship, then it is man who loses thereby and not
God. Among earthly things man shall find nothing greater than
himself.
Man worships, not to make God greater, for this he cannot do, but to
make himself greater. Nothing man can do can add to what God already
has. Men conceive God as a Being having greatly magnified human
qualities, as a kinglike Being greater than any king. Thus man falls
into error.
As the sun surrounds man with light, though it be hidden behind the
stormclouds, so is man in the thoughts of God, though God Himself be
hidden from him.
Such is our God who, though Himself eternal, lives with each man and
with him passes through the Dark Portal of Death into the light of
the Glorious Region beyond.
God rules over all earths and all spheres. He is in them and they
are in Him. All things are in God and He is in all things. What is
was to be, all things begin and end in God.
This alone is wisdom, understand and live forever.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A SCROLL FRAGMENT - TWO
The Book of Initiation and Rites says of God,
"All our hopes rest in
God who created all things, sustaining them with His breath,
whatever their state, wherever they may be, in this place on Earth,
or in any other place visible or invisible".
"He alone causes herbs to blossom in beauty and causes all things to
come forth in their proper order and time, all flow from His
directing thoughts. The peaceful beauty enfolding the face of the
land at eventide, the melody of song and speech, the fragrance of
flowers, the soft delicacy of petal and wing. All beauty and charm
that delight the hearts of men flow from God".
"His wisdom is unbounded and in His goodness He has provided all
things in which He has created a need in man. The daylight and wind,
food and water, heat and coolness, the materials of his dwelling and
the substance of his garments, all things for his daily use and
enjoyment. Man lacks nothing which would increase his skill and
knowledge, to all useful things guideposts have been planted along
the way. What need can man know for which God has not already made
provision, even before man was born?"
"He has established the nature of all things, so they remain stable
and come forth in their proper order without change. When a man sows
barley he knows what will come up out of the ground, the rewards of
his toil are not confusion".
"A man lights a fire knowing it will cook his food, it is not
sometimes hot and at other times cold. He knows that day will follow
night and that the hours of darkness are prescribed, it is not a
matter of chance. The hours of darkness are not one day long and the
next day short. Oil is ordained for lamps and water to drink, man
knows that never can he light a wick in water. Man looks about him
and sees order, not confusion, and he knows that where there is
organization there must be an organizer".
"The ordinances of God are established for the benefit of man, were
they not set in stability man would be nothing but the plaything of
chance and the victim of chaos. Therefore, on the days of feast and
fasting, each following in their due season, I will ever remember
the obligations due to my God".
"I will rejoice and sing songs of praise with a full heart, I will
shun the hypocrisy of moving lips. I will be joyful in the fullness
of spirit at the beginning and at the end of the appointed seasons".
"The decrees of God are fulfilled at the appointed times and the
days of labour pass one into the other. The season of first
gathering to the full time of harvest, the season of sowing to the
season of fruitfulness, all pass away as the kiss of the wind on the
waters".
"I will raise my voice, and my hands will move with the music. I
will pluck strings and send sweet musical sounds rising to my God,
and my breath will fill pipes with tunes to His Glory. When the sky
blushes in the dawning I will lift up my voice in gladness, and when
it reddens in the evening I will not remain silent".
"O how I rejoice that God has made me as I am! Truly He is in all
and encompasses all. In His magnificence and majesty no man can
conceive Him, for His divine nature is beyond the understanding of
man. His creation is awesome, His ways unfathomable".
"The love of God for His wayward children has been limitless and
abounding. It has remained changeless throughout the ages, filled
with His noble purpose. He created so that He might express and
share that love, which is the very essence of His nature, with
beings created in His likeness, beings which could absorb and
reflect that love. Yet, that his love might be wholly free man was
endowed with freewill, the freewill he has used perversely".
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 1
Bring forth the instruments of music, let all voices be raised in
thanksgiving to The Lord of Our Lives. Be happy in heart and let
joyfulness flow from your lips, but remain in stillness while the
hands move.
Peace and honour be Yours, O Great One, Shadow of Our Days,
Comforter of Our Nights, to whom alone we pay homage. Long ago the
skydoor opened and You appeared over the land in the days of our
forefathers, shaking it with Your wrath, but now You are hidden,
Your awesome glory is seen no more. We, Your children, rejoice, for
You bring peace and spread contentment and security over the whole
face of the Earth.
Heaven and Earth and all the spheres of the infinite spaces are
filled with Your Spirit. The demons of darkness tremble before You.
Yet to us You are truly The Mysterious Hidden One, The Guide of our
fathers in the sad days of darkness when the face of the sun was
veiled in gloom from the eyes of men.
You pour out goodness, bringing fresh water to the green
pasturelands, bestowing life upon all beasts and living creatures
therein. Through the blessing of Your bounty, even the parched lands
drink unceasingly in then-season.
You are The Bestower of Bread, for you cause the corn to increase
and the harvest to be plentiful. You are The Supplier of Reeds and
The Provider of Fish. Every craftsman is prosperous and deft when
under the guidance of Your hand.
Your eye directs the hammers of the smith and Your hand covers the
fingers of the potter. Your creating breath is inhaled by the
craftsman, so he is inspired to create an object of beauty. You
whisper on the breeze and the hearts of men are filled with a
gladness which issues from their mouths as joyous song. You move the
brush of the painter and direct the pen of the writer.
You are The Warden of Fishes within the waters and direct them into
the nets of the fishermen. You are The Watchman who keeps the
waterfowl away from the field sown at the rising of the bountiful
waters. You are The Lookoutman at the eye of the barge moving safely
over the flowing waters. You are The Director of the energy-giving
breezes which press against the sails.
Your hand rolled the corn grains and Your life-giving breath sucks
up the green growing shoots. Your fingers unfold the awakening buds.
Your firm will holds stone in stability, so the great buildings
endure through the ages. Nothing can escape Your Vigilance, and rest
is unknown to You. Eternal activity is the essence of Your nature.
You are The Ever Watchful One, The Great Bearer of the Scales, The
Unchanging Guardian of the Helpless and The Protector of the Poor.
Those who fill these roles on Earth do them in You name, for You are
the motivation and power behind their deeds. Were You non-existent
men would devour one another like crocodiles, while justice and
mercy would be things unknown.
Something intangible and unseeable
flows out from You and rules the lives of men, causing men to deal
justly with one another. For though injustice is part of the fabric
of life, it is not dominant and Your power mitigates its effects.
You caress the face of the land and at Your touch the womb of Earth
is opened, green growth springs through the soil and reaches up
towards the sun. All creatures move about according to Your design,
and by Your decree their lives are directed. You paint the patterns
of life and design its destinies.
Though the prince lay his head on a pillow of down and the beggar
lay his on an unyielding stone, both sleep alike on Your bosom. The
sleep of the rich man is no better than that of a poor man, while
the sleep of a labourer is better than that of an idler. The
Nightfrightener does not haunt the dreams of those who have paid
their debts to the taskmaster of the day. Those who spend their days
in idleness sleep in a restless bed. Thus, You have ordained that
the scales of life be adjusted. All is balanced in Your hands.
Your spirit moves over the Earth, instructing the bee in the
gathering of its honey and the hornet in the making of its nest. It
directs the ant in the complex design of its cavern and the swallow
in its mudgathering. It guides the birds in their season and calls
the locusts at the appointed times. All creatures have their
unlearned wisdom, which is an outpouring force emanating from Your
Spirit.
When You fill the Earth with the shining light which rules the day
under Your command, all men rejoice, for by this all things are
increased and food comes forth in abundance. When the Lady of the
Night rules the darkness and all is hushed in mellow coolness,
hearts are filled with tranquillity and content. You fulfil all the
needs of men, for You are The Great Provider.
Men labour in the fields and fill the storehouses with grain, but
You provide the increase. You are The Ever Bountiful One, yet with
all You give never is Your substance lessened. You remain
everlastingly the same. Man has nought but what originates with You.
It is Your waters of life, everlastingly flowing, that sustain him.
Eternal glory be Yours, my God and my Life.
I sought You in many temples, only to discover that there was One
God hidden behind all other Gods. That You are indeed The Father of
Gods, yet The Maker of none of them. You have illuminated the
widespread universe with beauty and filled it with awesome,
imperishable grandeur beyond description. So great are Your works
above that they must be veiled, so we can comprehend them only
dimly, lest we be overcome.
Beforetimes many great men have praised You in error; not knowing
what was good for them they sought to attain the things which fed
the flesh alone. O Great One, show such as these the error of their
ways, giving them not the good things of life but making all better
men, that they may be worthy of these. You have loved us with an
exceedingly great love, having compassion on our many failings and
weaknesses, knowing that men are but frail creatures prone to go
astray. O God of Gods, for the sake of our fathers who placed their
trust in You, to whom You gave the ordinances of life, be merciful
to us. Instruct and guide us along the paths we should follow. Lead
us through the many entanglements of earthly life, so we may finally
come to rest in Your safekeeping.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 2
O Great and Bountiful One who is the fountainhead of glory and the
eternal spring of power; who sits enthroned in wisdom; whose counsel
is the Law, great are the manifestations of Your wrath when it
purges the land, even as it was done in the days of our fathers. Yet
we, weak, wayward and wilful men, know in the depth of our hearts
that whatever You do is done in justice and to our ultimate benefit.
With inscrutable wisdom You prepared a compatible place for the
spirits of men, a place encompassing the domain of man, a place
wherein man rules under the decrees of Your everlasting and
unchanging Law. You have set the boundaries and they are held back,
neither troubling nor oppressing us beyond our endurance.
The spirits of men rule in the mysterious domains governing the sun
and the moon, the stars and the nightwatchers, the mistmen and the
hidden caves of power. They undertake their appointed tasks there
and are wave wanderers of the watery wastes, guardians of the deep.
You have created man in the likeness of an original conceived in
Your mysterious abode, and the manner of his life is fixed according
to Your plan. Great and wonderful is the ultimate destiny of man
who, as yet, has progressed but a few steps along the road towards
the goal of life. Yet You have opened his ear to mysterious and
wonderful things.
You have revealed strange mysteries to his eye, he knows things
unbelievable in olden times. .
This being on whom You have conferred so much is a thing of weakness
and frailty. He was shaped from moistened clay and moulded in water,
then set upon a mound in the midst of the great chaos. His eyes were
shown the glory above but he wearied of looking, for such splendour
was beyond his comprehension. Therefore, he sought his pleasures
among the things from whence he came, and therein he now finds his
delight. So he sits on a pedestal of shame down by the polluted
spring. His repast comes from the pot of fornication and he is clad
in the garments of wickedness.
Great One. You who are all wise know the words which come forth from
his lips. You know the fruit of his mouth, the pollen of his tongue.
Be merciful to man and overlook his weaknesses, for he is as he was
made and, perchance, so he was meant to be. Who can question the
mystery? May Your will prevail!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE SUNSETTING HYMN FROM THE
BOOK OF SONGS
O Great God, unbounded by earthly limitations, Your Will is an
eternal mystery and Your deeds confound the minds of men. Men
worship You, the lesser Gods pay due homage, while they who are
between Gods and men devote themselves to Your service. Highest of
Gods, Lord of Men, Ancient Lord of Life and Light, Creator of the
Tree of Life, who made the herb and fruit to nourish men and grass
to feed the cattle; who perfumed the flowers and gave birds their
gay plumage, Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!.
Maker of all that exists in all the spheres above and below, the
essence of whose Spirit is in all things. Ruler of all the regions
of light and Master of the nether regions. Great Fountainhead of
Wisdom whose abode is in Truth, who fashioned men so they accord
with Your own nature; who gave rare abilities to animals and
instilled cunning knowledge into insects; who chose the colours of
the flowers and the songs of the birds. O Veiled One whose sanctuary
is hidden in the breasts of men, whose temple is open to the Heavens
and hung about with the stars. O Mighty One, hear the cry of my
spirit as it seeks nourishment from the divine source Hail to The
Supreme Power and Spirit!
Great Fashioner of Earthly Things, who came into being before all
else, whose sacred name none can know, whose likeness is not
displayed in writings and whose image is not carved in wood or
stone; whose eyes were the pattern for the sight of men and whose
sensitivity generated their touch; whose tongue gave speech to the
little Gods; who made the herbage for cattle and the waterweed for
fish; who feeds even the worms and insects and quickens the life
within the egg; who fashioned wild fruits for the birds and wild
seed for the mice; who sustains the lifeforce within every living
thing, up to the heights of Heaven, across the wide breadth of
Earth, down to the very depths of the sea.
O save me from that which
is beneath the Earth and from those upon the Earth who would work
wickedness against me. Hear me, and, my God, I shall praise You, my
voice will rise up to Heaven and roll right across the Earth. All
those who ply the great mothering river shall hear its echoes. I
will tell of Your goodness and greatness to my children and to their
children. My words will resound down through the generations as yet
unborn. Respond to me, O Great One, as I seek to commune in the
silence. My desire is to learn, but You are too mysterious for men
to understand. Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!
O help my soul to rectify its evil deed and balance them with good.
Destroy every form of evil which clings to me, and let there be
nothing in my soul to cause malformation and thus estrange me from
my friends who have departed to dwell in the happy Land of Dawn. Let
brightness be my new life's birthright and let my spirit be ever
light. Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!
The great dome of Heaven rises above and no man knows its
limitations. The broad Earth is spread wide and no man knows its
boundaries. Man cannot fathom it all, O God who is great, have
compassion on my littleness. Bear Patiently with my blunderings and
overlook my ignorance. Your reach is so great and mine is so small,
help me to know You for myself. I am helpless and lost. Hail to The
Supreme Power and Spirit!
O Great God, who brings comfort to the prisoner, peace to the
tormented; who strengthens the fearful and adjust the scales between
the weak and the strong. Strengthen my desire to understand Your
great purpose. O Sole God whose tears vitalize the hearts of men, in
reverence and humility my spirit awaits Your command, my Creator and
my Light. Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!
O Great Craftsman, who fashioned man so wonderfully; who brought
together the elements of the Earth and transmuted them so
mysteriously; who created with such diversity that no two things are
exactly alike, give your servant some task, that he may accomplish
it to Your glory. O Provident Benefactor, who provides sustenance
for the beasts of the wilderness and fills the storehouses of men;
who placed the great metals in the bosom of the Earth, that man
might draw them forth, let not my body go naked, nor my sleeping
place be destroyed. Accept my homage, O God of Truth, who lives down
through the ages of time which make up the everlasting Circle of
Eternity. Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!
O Powerful God, whose wrath lit up the vaults of Heaven and whose
fire devoured the wicked in olden times; whose whirlwind swept clean
the Earth; who lifted the seas and dashed them against the
mountains. O let not the great forces of Earth afflict me. Hold them
fast in Your hand, that they may not crush me as the chariot crushes
the ant. Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!
Having an affinity with You, my soul knows You and rejoices in the
knowledge. It hears You and is at peace. It opens in response to
Your warmth as the lotus, and awakens softly as the day opens its
eye to the night. My soul knows what I know not. It sees into hidden
places and understands deep mysteries. Let me know its nature
better, that it may instruct me in wisdom. My soul swells with
gratitude towards The Bounteous Being who causes all things to be
which fulfill all desires. My God is not graven in marble or stone.
He is not shaped in wood or cast in copper. He has neither offerings
nor ministrations.
My God is a God of quiet places and silences. He
is found where the wild winds blow and the gay flowers blossom, away
from the habitations of men. He is not worshipped in temples and His
praises are not sung by the unthinking multitude. My God is a
constant companion, He lives quietly in the homes and hearts of men.
His true abode is unknown. He has no painted shrine, no building
fashioned by the hands of men could contain Him. Hail to The Supreme
Power and Spirit!
O Ever Watchful God, The All Seeing One, if aught be done or
concealed in the darkness of the night it shall be known to You. O
Supreme Power, who alone can deflect the Awesome Ones of Heaven from
their path of destruction; who alone can turn aside the sky boulders
and break the winds of the hurricane, I acknowledge You as my Sole
God, The Guide of my ways and The Guardian of my Life. I will call
upon You by Your names of Power. I give You Your degrees, O Lord
Over the Thrones of Earth, Director of the Destinies of Nations,
Ancient Dweller in the Heavens, Lord of Existence, Lord of Terrors,
Master of the Hidden Spheres, Commander of the Universal Hosts, Lord
of The Law wherein Your will is manifested.
Victor in the Skyfight,
Creator of Hidden Desires of the Soul, Great One who mysteriously
fashions His body as men fashion their souls. Giver of Life to
souls, by whose breath they awaken. Selector of the Generative
Substances, Transformer of Matter, Keeper of the Eternal Essences,
Ruler of the Spirits in their Spheres. He who hears the prayer of
the prisoner; who stands between the weak and the strong. Lord of
Fertility for whom the great mothering river flows and the waters
rise. Lord of the Tree of Life, Emperor of the Sacred Spheres, who
dispenses the Celestial Substance, who directs the Thunderbolts; who
pilots the stars in the skyways; who overlooks the Watchers in the
Night, Great Guardian of Hidden Things and Master of the Divine
Secrets, whose domain is shrouded in mystery; who makes tender the
hearts of women and makes stern the faces of men.
Dweller in Deep
Obscurity whose sanctuary is infinite; who died in the effort of
creation and was reborn in the soul of man. Great God, whose face
shall be revealed in the future, when all men are wise, grant me
Your Truth and Peace Divine. Hail to The Supreme Power of Spirit!
Though I falter on the way and fail at the task, despise me not. I
try but success eludes me. I seek but cannot find. I am so small and
You are so great that I cannot span the gulf between, unless You
incline towards me. O Great Spirit, how near men are to You in
reality! Through the darkness of ignorance greater than night they
have groped a way to You. You alone are addressed in the prayers of
men. To whatever men pray You alone hear their petitions, You alone
can answer them. Only for You are their words of praise fitting. O
Great One, enter into the hearts of men and renew the bond with
their souls. Hail to The Supreme Power and Spirit!
O Mysterious God hidden in time, Great Ruler of the Ages, we who
cannot know more than the smallest part of Your creation turn to You
for help and enlightenment. If it be Your will that man should
struggle towards understanding and strive for knowledge, then so be
it. Man will do whatever he must do, but, O Great God, be patient
with him in his failures and failings. Hail to The Supreme Power and
Spirit!
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THE HYMN OR PRAYER FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 3
O Great One in Heaven, whose thoughts probe the hearts of men, cast
forth a small ray of illumination to light my way in the darkness of
man's ignorance. Strengthen me by Your revelation, that for even a
brief moment I may see Truth and know the mysteries of life. I ask
not to see as the Great Ones have seen, but just for something
within my understanding.
O Great God, send me one bright shaft of light, that I may see
silhouetted as in a flash of lightning the forces that wage war for
the possession of my soul. For what mortal unaided can understand or
visualise the dark things that lurk to lure the soul along the path
of horror, such as the demons waiting to twist the weak soul into
coils of frightfulness before casting it into the abyss of terror?
Lord of the Universe, take pity on me. Everything hes in Your Great
Hand except the fate of each man, and men are frail and weak. Many
who have seen Truth revealed have quailed before the awful
responsibilities of man and consoled themselves by fashioning
unnatural Gods before whom they quelled the fears in their hearts. I
am not one worthy to gaze upon Truth, nor do I desire to do so lest
I be overwhelmed, perhaps I ask too much from One who reads the
hearts of men.
0 Great Luminated One, keep me from the final horror which hes in
wait to devour the souls of men. Help me in the dread hour when I
come face to face with my own soul. O save it from the abode of the
Dark Warden of Terrors!
What are the great mysteries of man's destiny so dimly perceived
even by the Illuminated Ones? Have mercy on my dismal ignorance, or
I am delivered into the toils of my own repulsiveness.
What is the Great Secret whispered so fearfully among the great
columns? What are the substances wherewith men may pass through the
Great Portal and return to life? Is it true that the destiny of man
is determined by man? O what fearful responsibility, my heart is
overwhelmed and my spirit becomes weak with dread. Is it for this
that men shun the Truth and cast themselves at Your feet for mercy?
I fear, for my soul is heavy with evil and the scales will bear down
against me. Will it be stamped with the dread impress of
condemnation by the forty-two seals? Place Your hand in mercy upon
the balances and let my soul be. made light.
O Great One, hidden within the eternal silence, who shines forth as
a beacon of light to few men. O lighten our darkness and our
fear-shadowed hearts! Lift the veil just slightly, that we may
understand something of Your greatness.
We are not uninstructed and know we can be granted no more than a
glimpse of Your greatness, for to receive more would be too awesome
for the frail constitution of man. This is why the ignorant doubt,
for their very ignorance spawns the frailty which inhibits their
enlightenment.
We hardly dare murmur these fervent words. O Great One, grant that
the spirit within us may be helped to cleanse itself of the
besmirching foulness spawned by our thoughts. Remove from us every
trace of that which may pollute, and let us know timeless splendour
in glory.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS – 4
The Hymn of Rewa
I am here, I am Yours, I sing Your praises. Join the dance, O
priests and priestesses. Join the dance, O Skytravellers, who cover
the Earth with your rays of power. Join the dance, O strangers.
Accept our offerings and salutations, accept our devotions and make
them successfully beneficial.
Move around moonwise, O priests and priestesses. Stamp on
wickedness. Stamp on hypocrisy. Stamp your feet on malice and
hatred. Sound the flutes, blow the pipes, shake the bells. Come,
stamp on the head of pride, stamp on the Foul Fiend of Lust. Melody
and music ring me about in a protecting wall. I am one who rises
over the fallen.
Hail, O Overlooking, All seeing Power! I am Yours, I am a Chosen
One. I am gifted with strength, I am thrice gifted with strength. I
am filled with The Sacred Essence. I have partaken of the cup of
joy. I am pure, I am pure, I am pure.
I see the light of the East, the arrow of All Embracing Love. I see
the light of the South, the arrow of All Comforting Benevolence. I
see the light of the West, the arrow of Everlasting Hope. I see the
light of the North, the arrow of All Consoling Comfort. Let the
golden bow speed the arrows of my desire. I am still, I worship the
Hallowed Limbs.
The Heavenly Hosts gather, as swallows for the flight, as
stormclouds for the downpour. Before the Sacred Shrine I renew my
strength. I free myself from all earthly desires, from all bodily
passions, of all soul-eating lusts, of all soul-destroying vices.
Now I see the rainbow-hued radiance of the real within the unreal.
Now I see true where before I saw what was not and heard what was
not. I was deceived by my body, I was deluded by my feelings. Now I
see things not seeable by unaided mortal eyes. I hear things beyond
mortal hearing.
O Great One, O Radiant One, O Timeless Knower, O Limitless Viewer, O
Majestic One with a form of indescribable beauty! I have seen You
through the veil, I have glimpsed the reflection of eternity. I am
free.
I, Your son, bow humbly before You. Lord, my heart is pure. I
proclaim my loyalty to my neighbour on my right and my neighbour on
my left. I see the meat. I see the tripod. I see the knife. All is
ready. Come, benevolent spirits, gather about the flame. Hover over
the bowl.
To you in whom resides the power to appear in any form or shape
desired, come, come as welcome guests. Before the Place of Awe I
stand unafraid, for those who are damned to sorrow and horror cannot
approach within the barrier. They await in jealous hate without,
they who come up from the dismal depths. Away foul spirits of the
damned! Away O self-destroyed ones!
O Great Representative, the court is purified, I now see the
flame-like radiance. Brothers and sisters, do you see it too? I see
the Radiant Risen Ones who have torn aside the veil for one brief
moment. I see things of overwhelming splendour. Bring incense, bring
water, bring salt and bring the offering flame.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
THE HYMN FROM THE BOOK OF SONGS - 5
The following paragraphs come from fragments and may originally have
formed parts of more than one hymn.
I believe in You, Great God of Life, Lord of the Kingdom of Light,
Dweller in the Eternal Silences. From the centre of Your domain
there is an outflowing which sustains all life, and in You rest the
hopes of all men.
You are The Ruler of All Spheres and Your dominion is
unchallengeable. Under Your benevolent guidance Earth continues to
exist and hold together, changing for nought but the benefit of man.
We are Your children and You are our Father.
I believe in the Sacred Spirit of Inspiration which enters the
hearts of men, flowing out from You and joined with You and yet
separate, the Spirit to whom our fathers of old gave the greatest
reverence, the Beautiful One, the Gentle One, the Inspirational One
who first taught men to love and who drew aside the veil to show
them beauty.
I believe in the Great Kingdom Beyond Earth, where, in the Place of
Light the souls of men, if worthy, find a perfection not known here.
The light which is in the Region Beyond the Veil is not as earthly
light, it has a sustaining quality, it is a vitalising light
indescribable in earthly words.
O Great Dweller in the vast silences which are not as the silence
known on Earth, who attends this sacred place where men gather in
devotion. We who are here see You revealed as a beacon light for
those whose hearts dwell in the darkness of ignorance. We rejoice in
the strengthening emanation which flows out towards those with the
wisdom to attract and absorb it.
Here, in the Hidden Place, we Your servants are gathered, and we bow
before You, O Great One. We bow in humility, not in servility; we
bow in recognition of our earthly limitations. We are overcome with
awe and can but stand in worshipful silence before the vision of
Your glory. It shines before our eyes, and our mouths cannot open.
Here, on this Sacred Ground, we hardly dare to utter the words of
prayer, for the sentences formed by men are so unworthy of their
purpose, when used and spoken before You. Man is limited in
knowledge, in understanding and in ability, it is the recognition of
this which makes him humble.
O Great One, who understands even the speech of the dumb man, help
us to expand our knowledge and understanding. We, for our part, will
not remain inactive but will ever sincerely struggle to reach out
towards You, striving even to extend beyond our limitations. Were it
otherwise we would be dishonest in seeking Your help.
Help us to remove the disfiguring stains upon our everlasting
spirit, and when earthly life is renewed in us let us not be too
disadvantaged. Teach us to pray without prayerfulness, so that the
taint of self-seeking is eliminated. When we petition, let this not
be in the spirit of selfishness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Some Fragments from a Much Damaged
Section Most of Which Has Been Destroyed
Fragment 1
O enfolded, sleeping soul, unaware of the life fountain within from
which you may drink, unfeeling of the throbbing life all about us,
now is your hour. Prepare yourself for the great awakening. The
bright light of wisdom awaits to encircle you, as you stand before
the awful door within the Sacred Temple of Mystery.
That the light of Truth may be a sure guide amidst the dark gloom of
earthly life, a certain aid enabling you to find the way of your
eternal spirit, you are not unknowing of your inner wisdom. It is
the key to everlasting life in the glorious place beyond the Western
veil.
0 live my soul, awaken, hear me. Let not my love and my sacrifice be
in vain, let not all my hopes turn to dust within the tomb. Can love
become soil and hope become sand? Never, for the grave is not the
destination of the sublime attributes which ennoble the nature of
man.
Man is as a flame burning in water, as it is written on the pillars
without. His soul is as the rosebud awaiting the kiss of the sun to
awaken it to bloom. His nature is as the day which is ever
accompanied by the night.
Fragment 2
I will praise The Nameless God who is The True God and The Knower of
Every Name. Hail Great Overseer of Earth!
The high Heavens will hear the sound of my voice and its loudness
shall ring across the widespread land. It shall resound throughout
the Red Land. My song shall ride on the wings of the wind and my
gladness shall whisper into the ear of the air. Hail Great Overseer
of Earth!
I shall seek diligently for enlightenment and knowledge, that I may
proclaim the ways of The True God among people, for they are
mysterious ways not easily understood. Man wallows in a quicksand of
ignorance, and only by extreme effort can he extricate himself.
Great Overseer, grant me the ability to understand. Hail Great
Overseer of Earth!
I say to the people, "Declare The Great One to your children, to the
high born and to the lowly ones who dwell together under the same
sun, to the generations as yet unborn. Sing songs that will echo
down the corridors of time". Hail Great Overseer of Earth!
"Sing His praises with the birds of the air, tell of Him to the
fishes in the waters, to the creatures which hide in the ground and
to the things which walk and crawl above it". Hail Great Overseer of
Earth!
"Declare Him unto all, for He is The God of All, He is The Great
Compassionate One whose wrath declines with the setting sun and in
the morning departs with the dawnlight mists". Hail Great Overseer
of Earth!
Sometimes, in the lonely nightwatches, I wonder, have You turned
Your face from me? What have I done that You are unresponsive? Have
I ever lived otherwise than in accordance with Your word? O Great
Overseer of Earth, what is Your will for me?
Fragment 3
O Great One, everlastingly considerate of our needs, Overseer and
Taskmaster of mankind, look down upon us with compassion and lay not
too great a burden upon us, your dutiful servants. Labour we must,
for thus we prepare for a higher state of being, but bear with us,
for sometimes we grow weary and falter at the task.
Here we have fallen victims of our own wiles, we have hopelessly
snarled up the threads of our existence, so we know not how to
loosen the knots we ourselves have tied and so free ourselves. We
are entangled in a net of our own weaving. Let us, Your servants,
look to You, The Great One, for aid. Our destinies are held in the
hollow of your hands, while the future is visible to you as is
writing upon an open scroll.
The Glorious Ones worship You with service and serve through
following the words of guidance. Thus, the earthbound spirits
worship You, the shades of the departed worship You and the whole of
creation worships You. We, Your servants, offer our continual and
everlasting devotion to Your service. We are not as others, O Great
One, for we know well that worship and devotion mean service and
expended effort, not mere words and ritual.
Your spirit governs the breezes that comfort mankind. You send the
fertilizing rains, Your Spirit quickens the seed within the womb of
Earth. The songs of the birds are inspired by the knowledge of You
and the wild beasts rejoice in the sustenance provided.
You are The Universal Being, The Raincloud Overshadowing the Earth,
The One Dwelling in the Cave of the Heart within all breathing
creatures. You are The Weaver of the Warp and Woof of Life.
Fragment 4
I praise The One Who Eats Evil, The Disposer of Earthly Residue. He
who sustains the devoted followers of The Deathless One in whom all
merge on leaving the body. For the day comes when we discard all
that is of Earth, when we recognize and realize that all remaining
is the pure and sacred spirit, boundless and free as the winds.
I praise The One Who Eats Evil, The Disposer of Earthly Residue. He
who sustains the devoted followers of The Deathless One; who is with
us everywhere and in all things; in whom is all, though not Himself
the all; who sees and hears all, who knows and understands all, but
whom none tied to Earth can know; who projects His word of power, so
that it is within all and holds all things together in stability.
I praise The One Who Eats Evil, The Disposer of Earthly Residue. He
who sustains the devoted followers of The Deathless One; who created
all things and thus became His Own Greater Self; who clothed Himself
in the universe as with a garment.
Fragment 5
O Great Spirit, I would see the vast face of the Earth as You behold
it. I would know how the seed is quickened, so that it grows into
the plant, and how the fowl comes forth from the egg. What is added
to the egg to give it the power to reproduce life?
I would touch Your Great Body born of the breath from The Eternal
Source and watch Your thoughts creating and moulding all things to
shape step by step.
I would see the links of Heaven and Earth and rest one hand in each.
I would see the thread that binds yesterday, today and tomorrow, so
all are one and parts of the whole.
I would see the appointed place of every living man and understand
why. I would see the purpose of every beast and every plant, every
tree and every thing that flies and crawls.
I would know gladness with the children, as they play and go singing
on the way to their places of instruction. I would watch birth and
death and solve their mysteries. I would know the depths of hatred
and the heights of love.
I would journey the adventurous path of love hand in hand with
another. I would know its secret, its delights and their shadows,
and the secrets of its silences.
I would know the beginning and the end, and understand what links
them. I would see the chain of the years and the necklace of the
days. I would know the purpose of it all. Then, knowing all these, I
would know You at last, O Great Spirit!
Fragment 6
O True God, by whom the worthy are guided in all they undertake; who
rises as a beacon in the darkness for the lowly. Grant us, Your
servants who put their trust in You, strength to overcome all the
doubts and uncertainties which rise in our hearts, as frightening
shadows arise in the night. Let us sip the waters from the
inexhaustible well of wisdom, that we may not move along false paths
to encompass our own destruction.
For we cannot see the way in the enveloping darkness, and confusing
voices shout this way or that way. We are bewildered, for we know
not which one is right. Can there be so many ways?
We are not men of great learning or high position. We do not sit
among princes, being among the lowliest in the land. Yet it is we
who carry the burdens of the people, we feed the hungry and provide
for the widow and orphan. Ours are the aching backs and weary feet,
ours the naked body and empty bowl.
Those who are concerned with higher things sit at tables of plenty,
those seemingly unworthy rejoice amid prosperity and plenty. Those
who take are given more, while those who give are mocked.
We see these things and doubt enters our thoughts, we ask one
another, "Why is this the order of things? Is it the will of our
God? Then we seek for an answer in all sincerity and with productive
effort, and The Great God Above All does not remain mute.
Fragment 7
O God, hear my prayer, for I have gone into the great recess within
me and await a response from out of the enveloping silence and
tranquility. The restlessness and discontent of life I have left at
the portal. I have closed the door to the outer things of life.
Give ear, O my soul, to the whispers from the silence. Close out the
clamour of Earth and harken to the soft voice which echoes from the
far reaches of eternity. Hear without ears the wordless voice of
Truth. Close the eyes of the flesh, that the greater eye may see in
the inner darkness.
Enter into the inner temple and await the revelation of heavenly
secrets. Shut out the clamouring senses that demand expression in
sensual pleasures. Then, when all outer doors are closed and all
inner doors open, speak to me and I will hear your voice. Tell me
the secrets of the ages, and my spirit will dwell in contentment for
ever.
This alone I ask and no more, it is sufficient for one lifetime.
Fragment 8
O Great One on High, have pity on us, for we are hopelessly ensnared
by our complete lack of things needed to sustain the body. Without
sustenance our spirits are restless, our hearts cannot find peace.
We do not desire foolish things, or pleasurable or vain things, but
just the things without which we cannot live.
Though we lack all things we do not turn our faces from You, for we
know well that in Your bounty all men are provided for and the Earth
is full of richness. It is not You who take away the things needed
to sustain our lives, but those made in our own likeness, our own
brother men.
They deny meat to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, though they
themselves are gorged to fullness and bloated with good things. Be
merciful to them, instruct and enlighten them with Your chastising
afflictions. Thus they may come to know that man needs man and each
man is brother to all others.
Others have reaped where we have sown and others sleep where we have
built, because of the statutes of men. Therefore, mete out nought
but justice, that we may be fed and clothed and have a place to rest
our heads.
Fragment 9
O God, who teaches us in so many strange ways in this great place of
instruction called Earth; who set us tasks to an end which we cannot
foresee, and who tests us to measure our abilities and to try our
courage and fidelity.
Instruct us, so we may better understand the bitter lessons which
purge from our natures all which is unwholesome to the spirit.
Strengthen us, so we may bear all things without complaint and
conduct ourselves manfully under the strict discipline of this
unique place of instruction. Open the-eyes of understanding within
us, that we may benefit by every experience and not waste time
bewailing our lot.
Tell us, so we may know. Instruct us in our duties in the
battleline, so that when we are called upon to take our appointed
place we shall not shirk the clash. Toughen us on the training
ground of adversity, so that we may be stronger for the fray. When
the day of battle comes upon us and cowards flee before the strength
of our adversary, when the valiant ones kiss the dust at the portals
of glory, let our place be where the battle rages most fiercely and
the blows fall the thickest.
If we faint, may we still remain faithful. If we are exhausted, may
we remain dauntless. If our hour come and we fall before the
onslaught, may it be with weapons in hand and face to the foe. We
fight the fight where the victor can be the vanquished and the
vanquished the victor, for here the fight is the end and not the
victory. He who serves the end well justly claims the fruits of
victory.
We cannot ask to win, but we can ask to* be made strong if we
struggle for strength. We cannot ask to remain unhurt, but we do ask
for courage. We cannot ask to be supported in weakness, but we can
ask for the fortitude to endure. We stand firm-footed, grim-faced to
the foe. The ranks of wickedness encompass us about, but we will
surge forward with closed ranks, carrying all before us until we
come to rest in the presence of victory.
O God, Supreme Among Spirits, watch over us in the struggle, for we
are Your children.
Fragment 10
This is my prayer, O Great Spirit, accept my prayer. O Dweller in
the Pure Region of Truth, hear me. O Great Fountain of Wisdom, hear
me.
O Comforter and Companion of the Soul Silences, hear me. I, Your
son, come into your presence with faith and humility.
Grant that my spirit be admitted into the Glorious Audience Chamber
between the two regions.
I, Your son, come into Your presence with faith and humility. O
Supreme Source of the form-holding rays, grant me a hearing. O Great
One seated on The Celestial Throne behind The Great Solar Disk, hear
me. All homage to you Great God, Master of the bodies of men. I,
Your son, come into Your presence with faith and humility. My every
thought and deed are dedicated to Your service. These things are
written clearly in my heart and are not mere puffs of wind from my
mouth.
Fragment 11
Lord of my heart, hear me now as I stand in communicating silence
before the listening shrine. You are The Great One who existed
before the upheaval of the mountains; who tore apart the land and
waters in the infant years of man.
For in Your sight a thousand great years are as an hour in the heat
of the day, or as a watch in the coolness of the night. You are The
Timekeeper in Eternity and Warden of the Ages.
You reap men as corn is reaped at the harvest and sweep them away as
floodwaters cleanse the land. For man is like unto the grass of the
field, in the morning it grows full of vigour, gaily bedecked with
the gems of morning dew; in the eventide it is cut down, to wither
in the night.
The day is not important if men live by the hour, fulfilling in each
its appointed task.
Fragment 12
When the Dread Messenger calls for you, let him not find you
ill-equipped and unprepared. In the final hour, which must surely
come, there will be no opportunity for fine speech and nought can
delay his imperious command. Then all the possessions you have
cherished and stored will be as nought, and all you will be able to
take with you will be that which you have fashioned within.
Do not be numbered among the foolish who say, 'Time enough, for I am
yet young". Death claims the breast-child as well as the aged, and
on this you should ponder. Consider well your future estate.
Here you are the architect of your future abode, the plans prepared
here are carried out in another place. Earth is the place of sowing,
Heaven is the place of reaping.
Here you are the sculptor who chisels the statue, the potter who
fashions the pot, the woodworker who carves the pillar. What is
there on Earth more deserving of your care and attention than your
own future form and appearance?
Do you recklessly hew or
willfully cut? Do you heedlessly pound the
pliable clay and carelessly fashion the unfired pot? Do you mix the
colours with proper thought?
What manner of thing are you fashioning in this great workshop? A
beauteous being arrayed in radiant splendour, or a hideously foul
fiend which can do nought but squirm in the slime of its fitting
abode?
Whom will you praise for your prudence or curse for your lack of
foresight? Who can force you to deal tenderly and responsibly with
the slumbering child of your own self? Or prevent you from
carelessly and wilfully shattering all hopes for its future
wellbeing?
Fragment 13
Rejoice all cities beside the waters, be joyful all people in the
land, for great things have come to pass. Behold, the foe is
scattered in confusion, they are no more, they are eaten up, victory
is with us.
All praise to our Commanding Lord. Hail The Great Leader, hail The
Source of Power in the land, live for ever in glory. O Mighty
Fighter, let us rest in the shade of Your greatness, let us dwell
under Your shadow, under the protection of Your right arm.
You have given us that which we never thought to know again. Men sit
in peace, speaking freely one with another. They walk abroad with
light steps and their heads are held high. Men look their fellowmen
in the eye and there is none to josde them. They are delivered from
the shadow of fear, and confidence is renewed in them. The
fortresses are no longer overflowing with fighting men and all
throughout the land no well is forbidden to the thirsty, all may
drink freely where there is water. Men come and go across the
wilderness, carrying the burdens of trade and none falls upon them
to plunder. Men journey peacefully along the lonely roads and none
waylays them to rob. Traders cross the barren places and are
unmolested, none rises against them.
The bearers of messages no longer hasten about, pale of face and
frightened, they no longer carry doleful tidings, they no longer
bear words of fear. Their coming no longer causes the knees to
tremble and the stomachs to fall. Now the messengers loiter in shady
places, remaining there until the nightwatch calls, for there is no
urgency in the words they carry. The fighting men rest, their
hazardous days have gone; the bow, the sword, the spear and the
shield have been laid away in the weapon stores. Women walk freely,
they talk gaily, for they are not overshadowed with fear, neither do
they tremble for fear of molestation. The faces of the border
guardians are no longer haggard with sleeplessness, nor are their
eyes tired and strained with watchfulness. Throughout the whole land
there is content and tranquility.
The herds are large and sleek, they are no longer tense and
restless. The flocks graze contentedly in their green pastures. The
fowls are no longer alert and noisy but squabble playfully, chasing
one another through the dust. The voices of men are no longer
hoarsened with war cries, instead they can be heard singing as each
goes about his appointed task. The doleful wailing of women who
mourn their dead is no longer heard and widows no longer proclaim
themselves. The husbandman sows contentedly, knowing that where he
sows he shall also reap. He no longer doubts that he will enjoy his
own harvest.
The face of God is once more inclined favourably towards us, even
the lesser Gods look again upon the land with favour. The reign of
Saku is over, he no longer overshadows the lives of men, all is well
in the two lands.
Fragment 14
We praise our own God with joyous and grateful hearts. He has shown
Himself among us. He will come again in His season, all is well with
us. His desire brings forth the green growing things and the land is
clothed in its gay mantle. His hand guides the stars, His mind
contains all things that fly above the Earth and all things that
walk and crawl upon its face.
We praise You, Great Eternal One whose forms are so many. We kiss
the ground before You. All the sacred beings and sacred things men
worship are but manifestations of their groping through the clouds
of ignorance to understand You. Have pity on them, for they were
born into darkness and mysteries, but their hearts are good.
Each day You bring some new thing to the attention of men and place
before them problems to unravel. The nature of men ever inclines
them towards the path of ease and passiveness, therefore they tend
to shun the things which are truly profitable. Therefore, deal with
men in a manner best fitting for their progress towards Truth.
Fragment 15
Neither life nor love ends at the Grim Portal. The strength of the
invisible bond between two souls binds them even after death. That
which binds strongest of all is the love which is sincere, true and
constant. Such love endures through tribulations and trials.
If one you love has departed through the Western Gates into the
Great Halls of Eternity, then be comforted by the words of Truth.
This you will then know: that the Guardian at the Grim Portal is no
fearsome being but a compassionate attendant who tends you gently
while asleep, until the morning of a more glorious day. Then you
will be awakened to journey through a greater adventure with the
companions of former times.
Fragment 16
In death you are greater than ever you were on Earth, for now the
companionable spirits lament for your sake. They strike their bare
flesh for you and smite upon their forearms. They tear at their hair
and cast dust on their heads.
Yet if they be true to themselves, they are not cast down, they are
not distressed. There is a voice speaking out of the silence,
saying, "If he goes he shall come, if he sleeps he shall awaken, and
if he dies he shall live".
Can you be gone from us forever? No, you are not dead or lost unto
us, unless by our own deeds we depart to dwell in different regions.
I am not cast down. You are now in the Great Place beyond the
everlasting stars. You have passed over the horizon of immortality
and now walk erect along the path of glory. May we meet there in
days yet to come.
Hail O Glorious One!
Fragment 17
my side when I come before the Assessors, that when I hear the
verdict I may not be alone. If my eyes cannot see, then tell me of
the balances, do they bear down in my favour?
O Guardian God, lighten the darkness for me and deliver me from the
meshes of the net woven by my own deeds of wickedness and weakness.
You are my strength and support, to You have I given my offerings,
You I have honoured above all.
There I may be in distress and have none to abide with me. I may
have no comforter and may be alone, therefore desert me not in my
time of trial. Stand by my side, O Guardian God. If I am numbered
among the distressed ones, look upon me with compassion and mercy,
and if I am deserted, then sustain me with water, bread and oil.
Fragment 18
I sing words of glory unto my God who is the Great God Above All
Gods, and the words which issue from my mouth shall be exalted above
all things. With them I will praise Him in the Sacred Place, in the
silence of His Hidden Sanctuary. They will glorify my God, so that
His Majesty is not dishonored and He is not deserted, until the day
when He shall be declared before all men.
With the ever loving thoughts of a devoted heart I praise Him. Even
as the sun rises joyfully into the day-sky, so does my heart rise
towards He who gives me life and renews it day by day.
He is Great, He is Mighty, He is Glorious. He made the great river
to flow, that all men in the two lands might be fed. It never
wearies, it never ceases its onward flowing. It is everlastingly
renewed.
Even as the great river flows steadily and strongly through the
barren wilderness and bestows verdant life on its way, so let the
river of my life flow through the Earth and eat away the sands of
wickedness.
Release me from my mortal fetters. Loosen the heavy covering of
flesh which imprisons me, which restrains me. Let me rise free into
the glory above, as the falcon floats freely on the wing. Let not
the melody of my song be cut off while I sing, nor the story end
before its completion.
Keep me, O my God, from the ways of darkness and let my spirit
rejoice in the light of righteousness.
Glory to You, Great God, Lord of Truth, whose eternal throne is
concealed behind man's limitations; who issued the command that
brought things into being; who made man so wonderfully that man
himself cannot understand his own nature; who hears with compassion
the cry of the distressed and the moan of the captive.
All hail the everlasting spirit within, the real self, the seat of
all thought inseparable from me. I am one who can truly call his
soul everlasting, for I am one of the Awakened Ones, one of the few
who have at long last attained the Splendid Vision. I have seen the
bright flash of Truth in the darkness of earthly existence, I am
free, I am illuminated.
I will sing, that you may be glorified in the solitudes of Your
Hidden Places, where the eyes of the profane can never penetrate,
where few men come as Chosen Ones. There we will sing songs of yore.
We will sing of Your ways and of Your laws, which remain
everlastingly unchangeable.
Fragment 19
Heaven and the many Heavens beyond Heaven, Earth and the many Earths
beyond Earth are held in the thoughts and power of God. They are as
a monument to His everlasting glory. All things living that move and
breathe have their place in the abode of life. Man finds the
greatest joy in the Eternal Halls, therefore set not your heart on
earthly possessions.
Here a man may desire life for a hundred years and may even attain
it, but what benefit are the extended years to him if they do not
exalt the soul? There is a horror-haunted region of darkness, and
whosoever rejects the godward life on Earth will surely dwell
therein. They will go down to partake of the nature of demons, down
into the darkness of delusion and doom.
The soul, without moving flies on wings swifter than thought. It
stands behind and beyond the senses. It is the Knower working within
the things mat are known. The spirit of man is carried down the
stream of action into the ocean of life. The spirit is everlasting,
it is near and it is far, it is in all and it contains all.
He who sees his own self in all things and all things in his own
self is awakened. He is beyond delusion and outside the reach of
futile sorrow.
Fragment 20
I am
Hahrew the Enlightened One, Hahrew the Twice Born. Having
crossed the dark waters myself, I carry the others across. Being
free from fear, I free others from fear. Being unrestricted, I ease
the restriction of others. Knowing the way, I show it to others.
Having trodden the road, I now guide others along it. I am an
Illuminated One, the open of ear, the keen of eye. I am one who
knows the Law, I am a keeper of ordinances.
I shall refresh all those whose bodies are bent with toil or sorrow.
I shall come to the aid of those whose souls are withered and
distorted, and give them strengthening sustenance. I shall open the
eyes of many who are deluded in the heavy mists of threefold
existence.
Hear me, all who toil under the yoke of ignorance, who labour under
the clouds of despair. I am the Forthcoming One, the Future One
Turned Back. I am the Spirit Within The Law.
I am the Voice of Enlightenment, one who proclaims the brotherhood
of all men. I am to one as to another. I am Hahrew.
Fragment 21
O life-giving Sun, handwork of God, projection of divine fire, heat
of Heaven, light of the day, solitary glory of the daytime, let me
behold the hidden form behind your brightness, for the spirit within
you is even as my spirit.
Thus, I may come to understand the nature
of my God who commands you and to whom I pray. The fair face of the
daughter of Truth remains hidden behind its mask of gold. O spirit
of light, draw aside the veil even slightly, that I may see.
Who among men is wise enough to know his own wrongdoing, or to see
clearly his own errors and follies? The eyes of men are dim and the
road narrow, therefore it is not hard to wander from the way.
Therefore, O my God, keep me from all hidden wrongdoing and errors,
and keep me from the power of temptations to which I so readily
succumb.
I know the rebellions of my heart, and my wickedness is ever before
my eyes, yet how much more do I not see! I have chafed against the
restrictions of Your decrees and the Law. I am a foolish one who
does himself an injury.
I am ashamed and blush for my folly. I am as a man who, when his arm
does wrong, cuts off a finger. Help to make clean my heart and
strengthen my spirit, that it may resist my own inflictions upon it.
I believe I do right and do wrong, for I have not listened carefully
and diligently to Your words written on the sacred scrolls.
O my God, whom I have long worshipped with devotion, incline from
the great heights of Your splendour and stretch a helping hand down
towards Your weary servant. Trusting in You I will depart from the
pastures of sweet grass and the calm waters of restful repose, and
go into the presence of the Everlasting Lords. I will pass out of
the dark tomb, I will arise refreshed with the outpouring of Your
Spirit. I will clasp Your mighty hand and be guided along the path
of Truth. Thus, I cannot stray and the lonely places will not claim
me.
In confidence and trust I will take my place before the Court of
Assessors. Guided by Your light I shall pass safely by the Place of
Darkness, and those who lurk shall do me no harm. My trust is in You
and I will come safely past the lurking ones. I shall be freed of
all earthly weariness and my spirit shall shine forth in glory. I
will stand in the Place of Brightness, and the Glorious Ones will
come bringing refreshing waters. I will not lack sweet sustenance,
and delicacies shall be poured forth for me in abundance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
FROM THE SCROLL OF SENMUT
The stonebearer measures the stone and it is trimmed and pushed into
place. It is fitted and the overseer looks upon it and says, "This
stone is well laid. It remains in its appointed place".
Beside it other stones are fitted and set, each according to its own
shape and design, each has its own place and position. Then upon it
are placed other stones and so it becomes concealed from sight in
the foundations of the structure. The building rises, firm and
strong, to become the dwelling place of a prince.
I am one of whom men say, "He establishes buildings which stand
forever". I remember that stone deep below the ground in the base of
the structure where no eye ever sees it. Men know it is there, it
just remains in its place, fulfilling its appointed duty, a
necessity for the upholding of the building.
What difference whether that stone be set upon the pinnacle, shining
in the sun, ever before the eyes of men, or hidden in the ground,
unseen at the base? It does its duty by standing solidly in its
rightful place and seeking not to change it.
I, who establish great buildings which will stand forever, remember
that stone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE SONGS OF NEFATARI
One
I sing my song because the Earth sings; though the wind is hushed
among the groves it still plays with soft melodic gaiety. The
benevolent sky looks gently down, its breath stilled as it listens
to the melody of the leaves. The dew smiles in the morning, for it
has captured the light of love from the stars. My song is beautiful
because my heart dances gladly in my bosom, its joyfulness conveys
gay music to my thoughts and places endearing words on my lips.
Because I am dedicated to love I have but one love, the beautiful
container of my life. My heart is a lonely thing ever seeking
companionship with yours. It is lost to you, so let it beat in your
breast nestled against your heart, for there it surely belongs. My
love is wholesome, not tainted by any residue of past affections; it
is gentle and pure, therefore treat it with manly tenderness, for it
is a precious treasure. I give it gladly and can give no more. That
which I give to you I can give to no other man. For you the lovely
pearl, for others the empty shell.
Let me live just for you, let me serve as your housewife. Let me
hold your child to my breast, let my eyes be gladdened by your
presence each night and in the morning. Let me bask continuously in
the wonderful radiance of your presence. Never part me from the
source of my joyfulness and gaiety, but let us go down the corridor
of life together, your arm laid on my arm and my hand in your hand.
My heart is desolation, it is like a wilted flower. You are away, my
love, and my eyes search the road for your coming. The caress of
sleep eludes me, for your image is ever there beside me and I cannot
find consolation with even the most comforting shadow. Come to me,
my living love, that I may feel the warmth of your flesh and be at
peace.
While you are absent I concern myself no more with things which give
pleasure to a woman's heart. I neglect my hair arrangement and my
diadem hangs disregarded. My curls are laid aside, for I await your
coming to put them on and greet you in my gaiety. The song is silent
on my lips, for my heart is without joy.
While you are away my heart slumbers, my bosom is empty. Come
quickly, my love, that my heart may awaken and beat gladly with the
pulse of life. I await your coming as the dawn awaits the sun, as
the parched lands await the rising waters.
My eyes search the nightskies and see the mating dance of the stars,
the Earth about me throbs with the pulse beat of love. The dark
waters reflect the mystery of life, but I sit beside them desolate.
Come to me my love, for none but you can awaken my response. I stand
alone on the shore of the sea of love, Come, O come, that we may
enter the enchanted waters together.
Does the night long for the day as I long for you? Does the thirsty
wayfarer long for water as I yearn for you? If so, then truly they
are to be pitied. O come, my living love, and fill my days with the
sunshine of your love.
It seems the ages of man have never been loveless.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THE SONGS OF NEFATARI
Two
Life is the bearer of the most wonderful gifts. You are a man and my
man. Maker of my heart's butterfly flutter when my breath becomes a
necklace of sighs. In your strong arms I melt as honey in the warm
night waters.
O man and my man, great one in my maidenly eyes. The light of my
life, the sun of my days and the moon of my nights; the rock against
which I confidently nestle, for to feel your protecting strength is
my everlasting delight. My body yearns for you as the parched fields
cry out for the caress of the fertilizing waters.
How delightful the gentle hour of love with you. O that it might
become an eternity wherein I might sleep with you as your wife, your
lifelong companion in love. In this life always yours, to serve your
pleasure and be ever with you; to stand at last, my hand in your
hand, together before the dream Goddess in the Halls of Eternal Joy.
There, those who have loved wholesomely, such as we, find
everlasting pleasures.
I am yours, both here and there, escapable never, yours forever.
Yours pure, untouched and unsullied. I am with you first, sister in
love. If at times my tongue speaks with unmaidenly boldness, then
let this be forgiven me, for I am pure of heart. The words pour
forth from a heart overflowing with love and not from a tongue
dipped into the shame of impure experience.
I come to you with maidenly pride, as a dew-bedecked garden of
herbs, fair flowering, sweet smelling and refreshing. Peace and
contentment are mine to gladly give. Upon you I gladly bestow all
that is precious to a maiden. You share me with no other, I honour
love by bestowing what is exclusively yours.
Your brow becomes hot with the body passion of man burning within,
and I cool it with my womanly hand as the cooling north wind tempers
the heat of the burning sands. The strength of an ox and the
gentleness of a kitten are united in love.
We walk together in a land of beauty, a garden of loveliness
fashioned thus by the dreams we share. Hand in hand in the kingdom
of men, heart in heart in the kingdom of spirit. When hearts are
bound together in a love exceeding all bounds, then bodies may unite
with purity and peace. We wander heedlessly about and my heart sings
with joy, for we are together.
Your voice is the food of my heart, your touch the life of my body.
I see you and I am gay, you depart and I am sad. Your glance pierces
me like an arrow of fire, your words carry me away like the surge of
bitter waters over the beach.
For the lovers' hour we sit beneath the wild fig tree, beneath its
fruits of lovers' blood and its leaves of lovers' eyes. Hear it
whisper to our hearts. I am a maiden reserved to you in love, you
are my lord, the commander of my heart. I dwell beneath your shadow
and within your shadow. O never leave me unshielded!
My nights are restless and hot, shall I give my love the apple of
his desire, the first fruits of womanly love? Am I the wild bird
snare awaiting the wild goose? O my heart, how have women beyond
number decided before me which answer is the true one?
0 take me not in my weakness, lest you despise me after the manner
of men and bring low the head of my father. Have manly compassion on
the weaknesses made by my love. Degrade me not before my mother and
let not the shadow of shame fall over my father's house. Let me ever
keep faith with the Mother Guardian of Love, that when I am called
before her I shall stand in unsullied radiance. Make me not a woman
of the hedgerow.
Let our love bear us up in glory, up into the revealing light where
we may stand together, proud and unashamed. Let ours be a love that
fulfils its appointed function in the great chain of life, something
honoured by men and an inspiration to our children. Let it not
become a flower of the field corner which withers in shame when the
sunlight falls upon it.
I wait, the day comes, its hours are long and extended, but with its
declining you hasten to me, my man and my life. Sweet mistress of
love, speed the fulfilling hour.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THE SONGS OF TANTALIP
One
The night rolls back to reveal the promise of another day. The great
sun comes up in the morning time and the lotus opens to reveal its
shining heart displayed in devotion. You come and my heart leaps up
from my breast to meet you.
The wind blows and shakes the wild fig tree, you come and your
delicate perfume enwraps my spirit, and my body is shaken. I become
weak within the shadow of your presence. I feel a radiance about you
which calls to something within me and I am awed by the wonder of a
love which can subdue all base feelings.
I have seen you. In the cool dewtime of the morning I passed on my
way and you were bathing in the freshening waters. I saw your pure
loveliness and all else faded and passed from me, the beauty of the
morning was dimmed before the vision I had of you. Modest maiden of
mine, clad in a white garment which clutched your supple limbs, I
saw you and my heart swelled up in joy. The breath was stopped
within my throat.
You looked up and smiled a chaste greeting, covering yourself in a
garment expressing your maidenly modesty. Your delicate hand plucked
a lily, and my heart left its cradle when you came up out of the
waters and drew near. You embraced me with cool, glistening arms and
open wet lips. I savoured the joys of the Gods, with a greater
promise of unutterable joys to come, before I continued on my way.
Would that I were the fishes in the pool, that I might be so near to
you twice daily.
Yet I am a man and consumed in the fires of manhood in my need for
you. Still you remain veiled in reserve and I pray to the great God
for the assurance that some day my sister in love will be truly
mine. Her reserve and modesty, treasured as gifts to be surrendered
in love, mean more to me than gold and pearls or the treasures of
kings. What is mine no king, no matter how great, can claim. It is
love's mantle bestowed on manliness.
The night comes and I dream it is our wedding night and you are
beside me. My spirit rises on wings of joy, singing, "O let my love
find its ultimate expression in this night of beauty!" Your breath
caresses me with the fragrance of Heaven, your lips dispense the
heavy wine of love. Our bodies meet in ecstasy and part, but our
spirits remain mingled in the greater bond that knows no severance.
Our united souls share together the destiny of eternity. I sleep at
last in the gentle arms of contentment.
O Great Readers of the Souls of Men, see the strength of my love. Is
it not untainted with base feelings? Is it not wholesome and
undemanding? Is it not protective of womanly secrets? Let it endure
on Earth, that it may blossom in glorious fullness throughout the
great ages in everlasting splendour. May it shine forever in the
unwalled Halls of Eternity. O grant me my heart's desire!
CHAPTER THIRTY
THE SONGS OF TANTALIP
Two
I am one on whom the fates smile. My sister in love is the light of
my life. She is the promise of love enduring, the brazier of a love
undying, the hope of joy throughout eternity. The night becomes
silent, for its fragrance is as nothing to her sweetness. The
brightness of the dawn fades before her loveliness and the dove
hangs its head before her virtue.
She breathes gently and caresses with her glance. Her skin exudes a
sweet perfume and her hair is proud and confident, as becomes the
guardian of secret mysteries of charm and delight.
She is graceful, her robes are not stiffened, they are not of royal
or white linen and caress her softly. Her sandals are daintily
bedecked with beads and her lovely curls are clasped in a circlet of
blue and red stones. Her bosom is covered with cloth of Ithika and
held by a clasp of silver.
She flutters her fan with delicacy and grace. Her speech is gentle
as the cool breeze. Her eyes sparkle as the moonlit waters, their
deep pools enhanced with tinges of green and purple delicately
applied.
Men say,
"Who is she who walks with graceful steps and lively air?
The blush of the blood rose is on her cheeks, the perfume of morning
sweetness breathes from her parted lips. High-spirited joy tempered
with innocence and modesty sparkles in her eyes. Her voice tinkles
like sweetly rippling waters, and from the gay cheerfulness of her
tender heart she gladdens all nature with her gentle singing".
I say, "She is mine, my wife in waiting", and confidently know all
her secret charms are for me alone. I shall be lifted in joy above
all men or cast into the abyss of despair. I wonder about her in the
manner of men and rebuke myself for my thoughts. Could such beauty
ever betray love?
I inhale the sweet breezes which once filled her mouth, and each day
my thoughts recall her beauty. My heart longs for the sweetness of
her lovely voice, fresh as the cool north wind. Her love strengthens
my limbs, my heart rises from its place. Let me clasp once more the
delicate hands that hold my heart. Let me feel her once again in
warm embrace. I hear her name whispered on the cool nightwind, and
never do I hear it without my spirit responding.
O my Lord God, who led me in the conquest, who directed my right arm
in battle and chastened my pride in victory, help me now in the time
of peace. Help me when the turmoil is over. I am well skilled in the
ways of war, but am a ready victim for the snares and wiles of
peaceful life.
Give to me my heart's desire, to be the mother of my children and
the companion of my life. I am burnt with passion and need the cool
quenching waters of true love. My body cries out in the night
towards one so distant from me. You made me as men are made, you
gave me the craving, now grant me relief.
I am alone and one when I should be two. I speak and none answers, I
eat and my food lacks flavour, I thirst and none brings water. I am
a sword unused, let the sword not rust in the sheath.
I await my other self, my right side desires union with my left, I
wait and know that the waiting is not in vain. I await her coming,
she is on her way, as she was from me beginning of time. She draws
near and my spirit leaps from its seat and dances from the body to
meet her. I see her, she is mine, fashioned for me by the ages, her
body is made for mine and mine for hers. We are betrothed by
eternity.
I will keep her always for myself, I will never let her go hungry or
let her live to lament her fate. We will share seven lives together
and in each I will seek her anew.
Man is two, the life force and the life material. Love holds all
things together and no man can know the joys of love who shares the
secret charms of his beloved with another.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
THE MARRIAGE SONG
O devotee of a love that rises above the mire of matter and flowers
in realms where romantic love is glorified! O daughter of love and
sweet mistress of life, now is the hour of your fulfillment. Prepare
to accept the scepter of womanhood as becomes a true maiden, prepare
to accept the burdens and pleasures of motherhood as becomes a true
woman. Verily you are a disciple of love.
Earth knows no greater joy than that of contented wedded love. Such
love is a beacon-light to all mankind, it guides the caravan of its
journeying with a pure and sacred flame. Sweet, hallowed love has a
temple in the heart of every chaste maiden, and all men worship the
mystery enshrined within. O resolute priestess and guardian, you are
now worthy of the white crown of love.
Great has been your inspiration to man. Well have you fulfilled the
duty of maidenhood, now step forward to accept the joyful burden of
womanhood, the crown that proclaims you a wife. Marriage is
sanctified by ancient tradition, for it has survived the tests of
time and turmoil. It has ever been the anchor of society and the
shield of the family.
Loveliness belongs to all women, for it is the heritage of
womanhood. Beauty of face and form is carried away by the passing
years, but the beauty of heart and thought grows as the waters rise
and fall. The glorious charms of modesty and purity can be possessed
by any woman.
Weave a mantle of contentment around your chosen mate, O gentle
bearer of womanly charms. Remember that you are the mother of
generations yet unborn. Maidenhood, wifehood and motherhood, these
are the phases of a woman's life. A chaste maiden becomes a good
wife and a good wife becomes a good mother. Thus it is written.
May The Great God whom you now worship spread His protecting wings
over you, and may you enjoy the companionship of many children. May
your life be enwrapped in peace and contentment, and may it be
attended by the four bearers of prosperity.
O son of strength and goodness, remember always your obligations and
duties as a husband and father. Love belongs nowhere but beside your
own hearth, for what foolishness it would be for a man to expend it
on one other than his wife! That which a man gives to his wife is
his also, a love truly shared is joy multiplied. He who sows beside
his own hearth reaps a manifold harvest.
Be not harsh with your wife or impatient because of her weaknesses,
for her ways are those of all women. Be gentle with her, remembering
that the dart of love cannot penetrate a hard and inconsiderate
heart.
Love is a treasure unearthed by few. It is found by less than one in
a thousand. Yet, where it is let it be held sacred, for it is the
decree of a divine destiny uniting one to the other in ever
increasing glory and beauty, as they rise from life to life.
Is not every part of the Earth paired with its mate? Even Heaven and
Earth are mated, for does not Earth cherish and nourish whatever
Heaven lets fall? When Earth lacks heat Heaven bestows it
bountifully upon her, and when she loses her freshness and withers.
Heaven restores her freshness with gentle soothing waters.
Heaven daily goes about the task of sustaining Earth, she is never
neglected. Therefore, take an example from the greater sphere of
life, sustain and cherish your wife, that she never be neglected. He
who sows seeds of discontent before his hearth reaps a full harvest
of misery. Thus it is written by the Wise One in olden times, even
so it is now and will always be.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
THE LAMENT OF NEFATARI
They have placed my dear lord in the engulfing tomb, they have laid
him to rest in eternal secure silence. We depart, we journey home
but home is no more, it is rent apart and a place of dull shadows.
Some with me are silent and solemn, some are weeping, some make show
of weeping. Some suffer silently, some talk idly, some mask their
sorrow with false mirth. It is a time of solitary heart pain.
Some say it is finished and others that he sails the sky, but I ask
my soul and it says this is not the end. It is not finished, this is
the beginning, which all loving things must know as they awake to a
new dawn.
The years of earthly instruction are left behind, the last lesson is
read, the pupil has departed to take up his appointed task. He has
been born to life, and death has been left behind. There are no dead,
just the departed living, death alone occupies the silent tomb.
Death is a pause at the beginning of life, a hesitation before the
light of a greater day.
Death is a deceiver, a non-existent thing of the shadows. From the
creeping caterpillar comes the light-loving butterfly, and from the
hard grain the full blooming barley. Who, looking at the date stone,
can see therein the tree to be? Search the seed and the plant is
nowhere to be found. Even so is it with the spirit.
I trust in He who gave us life and love, but I suffer because of my
loss. I am a lone. Where is my lord, the one I loved, the sharer in
my cup of joyfulness? Where is the caressing hand, the touch that
soothed, the voice that strengthened my heart in times of distress,
the consoling counsel, the quiet laugh that dispelled God-given
hurt? Though he has gone to glory, yet my heart shrinks, aching with
solitary grief.
I will keep him, that he wander not in the darkness; for he has been
loved and cannot be alone for evermore. I will keep him, that he be
not despaired and condemned to walk with himself; for he is a man
who has loved beyond himself.
He has stepped from his body as one steps from a mantle. He has left
it as one leaves a discarded garment.
His future is in my hands and I shall live in such wise that none
can deny our reunion. There is a subtle something, I know that, that
ties us together still. May I be given strength never to break the
loving link which comforts me through the long night and sorrowful
days.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
THE SCROLL OF HERAKAT
Great God of Wisdom, help me in my transcription of these writings,
that they may be a true record; for I am not learned in letters, as
was Sopher. I am unskilled even as a scribe.
Man is a battleground, he is torn apart in the struggle between his
two selves. He dwells in the dark night of ignorance.
From Ramakui of the seven cities, Land of Copper, came the People of
the Light and they brought with them, out of their transparent
temples, the light that shines, when darkness falls, without being
lit. Led by the Old Bald-Headed One, he whose name is not spoken,
they came out of the West at the sunsetting.
They came from the
place where now the sun goes down; in the days when the Western
wilderness was green and sand had not replaced the waters; when the
outlands nourished cattle and sheep fed where now there is nought
but rock and stone. The Tirdinians welcomed them not, but they
passed safely through the westward places to the land of Ansibyah,
and were succoured and fed. They brought to the people many things,
for wise they were and learned. They were men of wisdom.
Truth is not for the multitude, dirty hands despoil fine linen. The
high born have their estates and the lowly ones have their appointed
places. Truth is not sold in the marketplace, nor can riches alone
obtain it. Few entered the great chambers to die and to live. The
temples were fine shells, but the kernel was dead inside. Men lacked
the foods of life.
The True God was guarded and hidden by the false Gods. He spoke in
the hearts of the wise, but the people heard the voice in the stone.
Their ears were closed to all but the voices of men. Small places
there were in olden times for all Gods, the pillars were not yet
stood up. The stones were not yet in their places and the House of
Hidden Secrets was not yet in the land.
Then temples were built in splendour and priests were comforted in
mansions. Great gardens and fields were the property of the Gods of
men. They had great herds of cattle in their pastures. Within the
worship and ritual, amid the pomp enshrining the little Gods, shone
the light of Truth which was the revelation of The True God. It was
known to few and fewer understood it.
Seven years men being chosen waited and were called. Seven years
they served and seven years they ministered at the feet of their
Masters of Instruction. They were passed into bleak caverns to die
and know God, and called forth with the sure knowledge of Truth.
Thus, men were made servants of The One True God. Thus, they knew
the Truth which may not be written, for many read who are not with
us in God.
There were writings which speak truly, but they are no longer with
us. The Arisen Ones know the secrets of the lesser Gods who are no
more than these. The Great Scales weigh the soul by its appearance
in the Netherworld, and this its place is appointed. Its virtues
from its food, but no man eats the filth that is his.
He who devours souls is but the dark cave of horror which opens to
receive dark souls into affinitive darkness. The Rakima watches in
silence; patiently it sits, waiting for the day of The Destroyer. It
will come in a hundred generations, as is written in the Great
Vault.
All men are not equal in heart and spirit. Is the Southern Man
learned, or the Ambric Man brave? The Land of Incense bestows all
good things upon its inhabitants, yet they are not great. The Land
of Bright Waters raises nothing but trees and grass, yet its people
are strong and the lion does not equal them in courage.
Above are the waters of Heaven and below are the waters of the Dark
Region, yet there are not two waters but one. There is the fire
above and the fire below, yet there are not two fires but one. The
Lady of Ladies is arrayed in a radiant garment, when it dims the
great trial begins. Her footsteps do not waver, her path is
straight, but beware when she wavers and is inconsistent.
Great Mistress of the Stars, let us abide in peace, for we fear the
revelation of your horns. Remain ever constant as a good wife to the
Lord of the Day. When women are as men and inconsistent as women,
the hour approaches when the Great Lady will wander. When man and
woman meet as one in likeness, the Fiery Heralds will appear in the
darkness of the sky vault.
Man twirls the drill in his hand; he is the master of fire, but the
day comes when fire will leap forth from the heart of the stone and
consume him. Men read the Great Book of the Master of the Hidden
Temple. They die and take it with them, but there is no power in
their words, and who but we, the Enlightened Ones, know the hidden
meanings? It is not for those dead to the Earth, who step forth in
the Netherworld, but for those who died and remain with us.
Men make offerings for their fathers after the custom of their
fathers. The motions are those of their fathers' fathers' fathers,
but their hearts remain locked. It is foolishness.
In the First Book it is written:
"Words that do not produce deeds
are as thistledown on the wind. They were better never uttered".
The soul of man is as a bird that knows of a place to which it must
journey, but which it has never seen yet it departs on the appointed
day. Men have Gods in Heaven and Gods on Earth, but Heaven is for
Gods and earth for men. Thus did we write our own doom.
In the Secrets of the Soul it is written:
"The soul of man is not a
small thing inside him, but wraps him about. It is greater than the
boundaries of the Lands of the Reed and the Lily, and reaches out
beyond the stars".
To live, man must believe in his soul. Belief comes not from outside
teaching but from listening to its whispers, unbelief comes from
stopping the ears to its murmurs. Read the Sacred Writings
diligently and hear the voice of the Instructing Master with
receptive heart, so you may furnish your soul with nourishment, and
it shall not wither from any lack of sustenance.
The seed of Truth came to the black fertile land in olden times and
was planted in well watered soil. Pontas was not yet born. It grew
not in the light of the sun, for ignorant men would cut it down. In
the dark places it flourished. Earth is a strange place and stranger
the creature who rules it. Then came the dawn of a brighter day. The
tree was goodly and its leaves filled both the Land of the White
Crown and the Land of the Red Crown. In a day of darkness men came
who exposed it, and the king said, "Cut it down, lest it choke us
with wisdom".
The tree died, but its seeds falling into the red soil lived and
from them saplings grew. They were sheltered under the strong arm of
the East. Then came one who was Lord of the Sweet Breeze, one who
had sat beneath the Tree of Life, and he raised up a city to the
Veiled Truth. Over the great road it was, by way of Lados it lay.
He revealed the Light of Truth darkly to the people, but they were
people of the night and even its dim flame consumed them. The child
of good intentions may be fair or dark.
The Guardians of Truth covered the bright flame and even its glow
was seen no more by the people. No unlearned man again saw the
light.
A treasure in the hands of a few is great to each. Shared among many
it has little value for one. We had been told the ways of men from
olden times, but we heeded not the warning.
Now the Truth is scattered to the four quarters of the Earth. Thus
it was foretold it should be, therefore it is appointed. A tree
scatters its seeds by the thousand, yet but one may spring to life,
and that may lay long in the soil.
These writings have been re-written with diligent care. They have
been transcribed exactly as they are and no thought or belief of
mine has gone into them. May those to whom they come as a heritage
be no less circumspect in dealing with them.
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