Rejoicing in the Voice of the Bridegroom - Introduction & Part 1

[Guest guest]

Rejoicing in the Voice of the Bridegroom

 

Introduction

 

(p.285) " In the womb of Mother Nature, Spirit gives birth to creation....Jesus

was one with the omnipresent positive consciousness of Spirit....He was a

complete manifestation of God--the Bridegroom, Universal Spirit wedded to

universal Nature. "

 

(p.286) After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea;

and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in

Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were

baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.

 

Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about

purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, " Rabbi, he that was with

thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and

all men come to him. "

 

John answered and said, " A man can receive nothing, expect it be given him from

heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but

that I am sent before him.

 

" He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom,

which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's

voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must

decrease.

 

" He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and

speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath

seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that

hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

 

" For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the

Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things

into his hand.

 

" He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not

the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. "

 

When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and

baptized more disciples than John, (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his

disciples,) he left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go

through Samaria.

 

--John 3:22-4:4

 

 

Part 1

 

(P.287) The opening verses of this Discourse again call attention to the

difference between symbolic baptism with water and the true baptism of Spirit.

John observed the outer purificatory rite of physical immersion in water to

highlight the superior spiritual initiation of baptism with the Holy Ghost that

Jesus as the long-awaited Christ had come to bestow. As a God-ordained savior,

Jesus had begun to attract masses of souls with the magnetism of his divine love

and power.

 

" He must increase,

but I must decrease " :

what John the Baptist

meant

 

The fact that Jesus was drawing larger crowds than the theretofore acclaimed

John the Baptist became part of a dispute between some of John's disciples and

the Jews about purification. When they brought to John the report of Jesus'

fame, John reminded them of his previous commendation of Jesus, who had come

with a greater role to play than himself in manifesting God on earth. [1] It was

thus the will of God that the renown of Jesus would increase while his own role

would now decrease. He pointed out to them that man could have no powers except

those received from the Heavenly Spirit. This does not mean that souls are

specially created with individual advantages and limitations predestined by

Heaven. Spirit is the fountain, and all created things--stars, souls, thoughts,

universes--are Its spray. (p.288) In the case of each evolving soul a person

manifests God more or less completely according to the right use or misuse of

his innate divine power. But as applicable to liberated souls who return to

earth at God's behest, John's words mean that each is individually invested by

God with those powers and characteristics that would best serve his divine

commission and support the delusive realism of the cosmic drama by making real,

in the relative sense, the experiences they undergo in their incarnate

portrayals. So here John is referring specifically to the will of God that

designated significant differences between himself, who came in this incarnation

as an ordinary saint, and Jesus, who incarnated as a world savior.

 

Advanced souls, those who are able partially or fully to manifest the Divine as

a result of promoting their own spiritual evolution through incarnations of

endeavor, are sent by God to help in the accomplishment of His divine plan on

earth. Saints and prophets who come to earth to aid in the upliftment of souls,

but who are not fully liberated or have no world mission to perform, may be

called partial incarnations ('khanda avatars'). Those liberated masters in whom

God openly manifests as a world savior, or who have a divine dispensation to

facilitate the redemption of the masses, may be called full incarnations of God

('purna avatars'). Jesus Christ, Bhagavan Krishna, Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri

Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, and many others down the ages have been full

manifestations of God. John the Baptist, though liberated in his previous

incarnation as Elijah, was sent on earth as John in a more humble but

distinctive role: to bear witness of a world savior; to declare the special

divine dispensation of the coming of Jesus.

 

It is providential that masters who come on earth with a public mission be

declared, or properly introduced, so that people may recognize their importance

and attentively receive their spiritual services. As it takes an expert

gemologist to rightly declare the value of a gem, so preeminent incarnations,

divinely humble and never trumpeting their own greatness, can be identified only

by qualified souls. Thus was John sent to testify to the God-given credentials

of Jesus, so that people might readily know him and embrace his wisdom.

 

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

You) Volume 1, Discourse 16, pg. 285-288

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] See Discourse 6.