Introduction to the Wisdom
Part 2
This teaching has been referred to as new, and yet it is as old as humanity itself. The teaching has taken many forms as humanity has intuited it and attempted to interpret it for those who were not yet ready to grasp it with the intuition. All of those forms have been right for the need of the time and place in which they made their appearance. That is the first thing one must recognize in one’s search for Truth: that all forms of teaching which came forth as a result of humanity’s aspiration to God were inspired. They were right for humanity at that time; they fulfilled a need and made humanity’s growth into a greater realization of Truth possible. Do not, in your search, cast aside the old forms too quickly. Look within them, see and relate them to the need of their time, the Truth they contain, and soak up the essence of that Truth. Then the old outer form which has served its purpose can die a natural and painless death. Humanity will be released from its hold, released from the resentment and fear of it, and be left free to build a new form, free to mold that which will more perfectly reflect the new grasp and understanding of the same old Truth.
We live in a world today in which the new understanding is needed more than anything else, the new understanding which will balance the powers of wars and balance the power of fear, dread, and the hatred which produces wars. We must bring the Power of Truth to bear upon the daily life and affairs of our world, so that humanity can know peace and in knowing it, live it.
The old forms have been mentioned here for a better understanding of the evolutionary process of the human Introduction to The Wisdom consciousness. Many of them have served their purpose. They are ready to die, in fact they are passing from us, and yet their going has produced such a struggle. We hold to them, cling to them, because we tend to fear the new. Humanity has been conditioned by the old forms and has become crystallized in them. Take for example the man who could not follow Jesus because he had to remain behind and bury the dead. Jesus The Christ said to him, “Follow Me and leave the dead to bury the dead.” How many of those who have read His words have understood them? Humanity desperately needs to understand the Wisdom of His words, to be able to leave the old dead forms to the dead past and open their hearts and minds to the birth of the new.
The teaching is not new, only its form is new, and even that is so clearly related to the old that its understanding is simple.
The Wisdom teaching is based upon the teaching of The Christ. When The Wisdom refers to The Christ, it is referring to the living Son of God, residing within each man, woman, and child upon the Planet. It is referring to that Inner Being whose constant Presence is reflected within the form of every human, and who has made himself known as the Teacher, the Guide, and the Savior of the race in His manifestation as the Great Leaders down through the ages. This Great Being, this Inner Son of God present within every human being, has been called by many names, by many titles and salutations, and, My brothers, they have all been right. All of them have been, in Truth, manifestations of the One whom we call Christ.
This is the first basic concept upon which the teaching is Introduction to The Wisdom based—One God, the Father and Creator of all there is; One Son, the Christ, manifesting within the many forms of the human family. Did not Jesus The Christ say, “And even as ye have done it unto the least one of these, ye have done it unto Me.”?
The Universal Truth yet to be accepted by the human family is brotherhood. The concept is bandied about by various ideologies, and yet denied by the characteristic exclusiveness of practically all of them. This is a contradiction of human nature, the tendency of the group or the individual to claim exclusive right to universality. All of the religions, all of the philosophical schools of thought contain Truth. Truth is where you look for it, wherever there are people to give it some form of expression.
The only true sin, if it can be called that, is the claim of separateness of each one; and this is not sin in the commonly accepted interpretation of the term. It is the result of an error in understanding. The group grasps a concept of Truth, one aspect of the related Whole, and then fails to relate it to all that is left. It is seen as being all there is, and so the mind of the group is closed to all but its one feeble grasp of relative Truth. Thus, humanity sees God in its image rather than seeing itself in God’s image.
When it is stated that the teaching is based upon the teaching of The Christ, it is not referring alone to Jesus The Christ, but to all who have been inspired by the inner reality of the human family, the True Son of God.
This teaching attempts to synthesize the Truth contained within the many forms into one great manifestation of reality, so that humanity can lay aside the barriers of our own making and join hands with our brothers wherever they might be found.
By comparing the many schools of thought, both great and small, The Wisdom shows the relationship of each to the other; it shows the same golden thread which runs through each and holds them linked together like beads on a string. The teaching shows how the old forms of separateness can be superseded, and that a common meeting ground can be attained where universal understanding is the language spoken by the masses.
In doing this, The Wisdom never claims exclusive right to God, nor does it ever deny God by refusing to recognize His Son. It never attempts to tear down another’s faith in their God, nor to take from them their accepted form of religion. The Wisdom endeavors to teach humanity the relationship of all to one another, to give it an understanding which results in peace. It endeavors to show one the Truth, both in one’s accepted form of religion and within all others, and one day it is hoped that they too will share this knowledge with their brothers. Thus, in thought, word, and deed, brotherhood will become more than just a concept, it will become a living structure of Truth for all to see. This teaching has come forth as a result of world need. At no other time in the history of humanity has the need been so great: need for a common understanding which will alleviate the suffering of the masses engaged in war, fear of war, hunger, hatred, sickness, and misery of every kind. Humanity stands today on the brink of self destruction, and why? Because in its ignorance humanity has separated itself from God and from our brothers.
Human beings stand alone, afraid, and hating because they have cut themselves off from everyone and every thing which could be their salvation. They fight everything they cannot understand, little knowing that much of what they fight is their own destiny, their growth into the consciousness of The Christ.
Without realizing it, humanity has called forth this teaching. In one sense, it has been demanded as humanity has aspired to something beyond the appearances seen all about it. A reality has been sensed and if attained, it would eliminate these undesirable appearances. In calling to that reality, humanity has brought forth the new form.
There are those in the world who have sensed the need and intuited its fulfillment. They have been aligned with you and with the reality. They have transferred your call for help to the Source, and in doing so have given form to that which you seek. They work behind the lines, so to speak, asking no reward, seeking no recognition.
They work because they know you, because they love you, and because their greatest desire is your good. Those who serve you in this way have given this teaching its written form. You do not know their names for they do not appear in the teaching. They have learned one of the basic concepts of Truth, that no one individual, or group of individuals, can lay claim to Universal Truth. They have only helped to give it form in response to your silent plea. These people are as much inspired as were any of the inspired writers of the past.
It is hoped that you will recognize their inspiration and prove the Truth of the teaching which they represent. Only you can do that. Only you can prove or disprove the authenticity of the teaching, and therefore its Source, as you receive it and apply it to your daily life and affairs. What specifically does this teaching attempt to do? To relate humanity, both collectively and individually, to That Inner Being, The Christ. Every human being is a potential Christ. The Wisdom teaches that the Reappearance of The Christ will not be in one human alone, or in a group of humanity, but within the human family.
It is the contention that the next evolutionary step of humanity is the Birth of The Christ, the realization within everyone that they are Christ, the Son of God, and their gradual growth into that conscious awareness of True Self.
The Wisdom, in one sense, is playing the part of John The Baptist, serving to prepare the way for that Reappearance, that coming of The Christ. The Wisdom’s part in that preparation is the formulating of Truth in terms understandable to all, and the relating of that which has been formulated to all aspects of Truth present within the world today.