The Resurrection of the Christ Within You - Part 1 of the Introduction

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

In the Introduction of 'The Second Coming of Christ (The Resurrection of the

Christ Within You)' Paramahansa Yogananda says that:

 

" The saviors of the world do not come to foster inimical doctrinal divisions;

their teachings should not be used toward that end. It is something of a

misnomer even to refer to the New Testament as the " Christian " Bible, for it

does not belong exclusively to any one sect. Truth is meant for the blessing and

upliftment of the entire human race. As the Christ Consciousness is universal,

so does Jesus Christ belong to all. "

 

i find this an important truth--that the teachings of the saviors of the world

are meant for all and that they are not meant to foster adverse, antagonistic,

harmful, hostile, hurtful, ill-disposed, noxious, opposed, pernicious,

repugnant, unfavourable and unfriendly--(in short, " inimical " ) divisions.

 

However, as we have seen with the SYSSR (Sahaja Yoga Subtle System Religion),

the truths given by the saviors, in this case Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, can be

taken by followers and interpreted according to their limited perceptions

through not yet having touched the inner Christ Consciousness within, though

externally they may feel they have already received this consciousness. But, in

truth, they still do not realize the Self within! The SYSSR (Sahaja Yoga Subtle

System Religion) and those who promote it, fall under that category, whereas

they only understand part of the truth, but not the full truth, which is greater

than dharma, even the dharma of Sahaja Yoga as given by Shri Mataji:

 

" For example, a person who is standing on truth, he doesn't care for any absurd

ideas about religion, even about Sahaja religion. He doesn't care that after all

'this is Sahaja, this is not Sahaja'. He goes beyond, in the sense that he sees

a global truth within himself. He sees the truth which is all pervading--not

only sees, but he knows and feels he is in the truth. So when Dharma flowers

into truth, it's a very beautiful happening. And that should happen to all of

you.

 

So many things can linger on, if you are only on the Dharma level. I've seen

people going into ego, making money. Sometimes they don't even ask me and go on

doing things, which they should not do. They do wrong things which are not good

for Sahaja Yoga. There is no humility about it and they don't understand whether

this Dharma is standing on truth or untruth. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Sahasrara Puja, Cabella, Italy - 04/05/97

 

regards,

 

violet

 

 

 

 

The Second Coming of Christ - Part 1 of the Introduction

 

(xxi) In titling this work 'The Second Coming of Christ', I am not referring to

a literal return of Jesus to earth. He came two thousand years ago and, after

imparting a universal path to God's kingdom, was crucified and resurrected; his

reappearance to the masses now is not necessary for the fulfillment of his

teachings. What 'is' necessary is for the cosmic wisdom and divine perception of

Jesus to speak again through each one's own experience and understanding of the

infinite Christ Consciousness that was incarnate in Jesus. That will be his true

Second Coming.

 

There is a distinguishing difference of meaning between 'Jesus' and 'Christ'.

His given name was Jesus; his honorific title was " Christ. " In his little human

body called Jesus was born the vast Christ Consciousness, the omniscient

Intelligence of God omnipresent in every part and particle of creation. This

Consciousness is the " only begotten Son of God, " so designated because it is the

sole perfect reflection in creation of the Transcendental Absolute, Spirit or

God the Father.

 

It was of that Infinite Consciousness, replete with the love and bliss of

God, that Saint John spoke when he said: " As many as received him [the Christ

Consciousness], to them gave he power to become the sons of God. " Thus according

to Jesus' own teaching as recorded by his most highly advanced apostle, John,

all souls who become united with Christ Consciousness by intuitive

Self-realisation are rightly called sons of God.

 

(xxii) A small cup cannot hold an ocean within itself. Likewise, the cup of

human consciousness, limited by the physical and mental instrumentalities of

material perceptions, cannot grasp the universal Christ Consciousness, no matter

how desirous one may be of doing so. By the definite science of meditation known

for millenniums to the yogis and sages of India, and to Jesus, any seeker of God

can enlarge the caliber of his consciousness to omniscience--to receive within

himself the Universal Intelligence of God.

 

What Jesus gave as chronicled in the New Testament of the Bible very few

people understand. They just read what he said and quote it; and because it is

written in the biblical Scripture they believe it blindly, with little effort to

realize the wisdom therein through personal experience. Realization is to attune

one's consciousness with Christ; then the right comprehension will come. When

persons try to deduce the meaning of Jesus' words by intellectual analysis

alone, or from the perspective of a specific dogma, they inevitably distort his

sayings to suit their purpose--however well-intentioned--or to comfortably

accommodate their level of understanding. Christ-wisdom has to be grasped by

communion, not by rationalization.

 

The only reliable standard of scriptural interpretation is the testimony of

actual perception--to go into that state of consciousness in which the prophets

perceived the truths they expounded and thereby witness the meaning they

intended. The words of Jesus fully unfold their wisdom only to those who

meditate deeply on the Christ Consciousness that Jesus possessed. Then one

understands Jesus in the light of his spiritual experience of the Cosmic

Consciousness of the Heavenly Father, realized through the Father's

Christ-Intelligence reflection present in all creation.

 

The detailed knowledge of the heavens as discovered by great astronomers

through study and the use of telescopes could not have been acquired by lay

persons lacking that training and equipment. Likewise, what enlightened sages

know about Truth and Spirit through the clarifying telescope of their intuition

can be known by ordinary individuals only when they have similarly extended

their vision by the use of their inner telescopic intuition erstwhile hidden in

the chamber of their souls.

 

(xxiii) Christ did not go through the sublime drama of his life merely to

provide sermon material for generations of preachers and their Sunday audiences.

He lived, died, and was gloriously resurrected as an inspiration to others to

live a divine life and attain in themselves his experiences of God and the

afterlife.

 

Jesus Christ was crucified once; but his teachings are crucified daily at the

hands of superstition, dogmatism, and pedantic theological misinterpretations.

My aim in offering to the world this spiritual interpretation of his words is to

show how the Christ Consciousness of Jesus, free from such crucifixion, can be

brought back a second time into the souls of all who make the effort to receive

it. Surely, with the dawn of this more enlightened age, the time has come to

stop the crucifixion of the Christ teachings as given by Jesus. His pristine

message should be resurrected from its entombment by Self-realization, the inner

enlightened experience of truth.

 

In these pages I offer to the world an intuitionally perceived spiritual

interpretation of the words spoken by Jesus, truths received through actual

communion with Christ Consciousness. They will be found to be universally true

if they are studied conscientiously and meditated upon with soul-awakened

intuitive perception. They reveal the perfect unity that exists among the

revelations of the Christian Bible, the Bhagavad Gita of India, and all other

time-tested true scriptures.

 

The saviors of the world do not come to foster inimical doctrinal divisions;

their teachings should not be used toward that end. It is something of a

misnomer even to refer to the New Testament as the " Christian " Bible, for it

does not belong exclusively to any one sect. Truth is meant for the blessing and

upliftment of the entire human race. As the Christ Consciousness is universal,

so does Jesus Christ belong to all.

 

The Second Coming of Christ (The Resurrection of the Christ Within You) Volume

I, Introduction, p.xxi-xxiii

Paramahansa Yogananda

Printed in the United States of America 1434-J881

ISBN-13:978-0-87612-557-1

ISBN-10:0-87612-557-7