Jesus Meets His First Disciples - Part 1

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Jesus Meets His First Disciples - Part 1

 

(p.181) " Jesus knew the secret law of emancipation inherent in the guru-disciple

relationship, and its pact of mutual help, as God began to send to him those

disciples destined to help him and to find liberation through his

instrumentality. "

 

(p.182) Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and

looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, " Behold the Lamb of God! " [1] And the

two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

 

Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, " What seek ye? "

 

They said unto him, " Rabbi, " (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,)

" where dwellest thou? "

 

He saith unto them, " Come and see. " They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode

with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

 

One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon

Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, " We

have found the Messiah, " which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

 

And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, " Thou art Simon

the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, " which is by interpretation, a

stone.

 

The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and

saith unto him, " Follow me. "

 

- John 1:35-43

 

(p.183) When great masters come on earth, they bring with them select advanced

disciples from past incarnations to help them in their mission and to further or

culminate the preparations of those disciples for liberation. Through

association with the master, receiving his guidance in the higher teachings of

soul freedom, and having their spirituality tested in the applied science of

life in this earth-school, while also assisting the guru in his God-ordained

work, such disciples and their guru fulfill in the highest way the divine

covenant of the guru-disciple relationship. Among the throng who followed Jesus

were many disciples, of greater or lesser qualification, known to him from lives

past. From among these disciples he chose and appointed twelve to serve as

apostles--those who are " sent forth " --notwithstanding that one among them failed

his test, and succumbing to delusion was the instrument of betrayal and the

cause of his own lost opportunity of salvation for many, many lifetimes of

sorrow. [2]

 

The mission of a savior on earth may be primarily quantitative, to influence as

many people as possible with his uplifting God-sent spiritual message, thus

urging the world forward in a right trend. The receptivity of the ordinary

person among the masses, however, has a limited capacity; he may be satisfied

with merely one thought or a few precepts from the master's teachings as being

all he feels he needs or wants to improve himself to an adequate degree in his

settled stratum of life. (p.184) Other masters concentrate primarily on

qualitative good: to serve those souls--be they few or many--who are eager to

know God, to help uplift them into Christ Consciousness and ultimate liberation.

Still other saviors, such as Christ, serve the world both quantitatively and

qualitatively. The qualitative task requires the endeavor of the disciple and

the blessing and guidance of the master in a mutual relationship sanctified by

God. Students are those who follow the master more or less superficially

according to their pick-and-choose inclination. But the disciple is one who

accepts wholly, with open heart and mind. He does not have to be coaxed, but

follows through his own will and determination. He remains steadfast, dedicated,

and devoted to the end, until he has found freedom in God. The Lord Christ and

the Lord Krishna both had such disciples.

 

God-ordained gurus feel intuitively the spiritual vibrations of their disciples,

whether near or far; and when a guru mentally calls his disciples, they come,

drawn by their soul attunement with the teacher, the channel of divine grace

appointed by God.

 

The Second Coming of Christ (The Resurrection of the Christ Within

You) Volume 1, Discourse 8, pg. 181-184

Paramahansa Yogananda

Printed in the United States of America 1434-J881

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

ISBN-10:0-87612-557-7

 

Notes:

 

[1] " John " in this verse refers to John the Baptist. See Discourse 6 for

discussion of " Lamb of God. " ('Publisher's Note')

 

[2] " When the 'Gospel of Judas' was first published, newspapers and other media

announced that it would undermine Christian anti-Judaism by rehabilitating Judas

(whose name is related to the word 'Jew'). No longer the betrayers of Christ,

Jews would be free from that slander at last. But while the 'Gospel of Judas'

does give a positive face to Judas's act of handing Jesus over, it also portrays

the Jewish chief priests and scribes as the ones who are waiting to catch Jesus.

No hint appears that the Romans - who actually put Jesus to death - played any

role at all. All blame is placed squarely on the Jews - those scribes who pay

Judas to hand Jesus over and even Jesus's own disciples, who are portrayed as

killers and sinners standing at the altar of the Jerusalem Temple. This ending

offers no redemption for Jewish-Christian relations, but it does call us to

reconsider how the (largely unhistorical) portrait of Judas in the gospels and

many other unhistorical features of the gospel story need to be corrected.

Whether people accept or reject what the 'Gospel of Judas' says, it should be

approached in terms of what we can learn about the historical situation of the

Christians who wrote and read it: their anger, their prejudices, their fears -

and their hopes. " - 'Reading Judas - The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of

Christianity', Comments on the Translation, Pg. 165, by Elaine Pagels and Karen

L. King. /message/10003