What is the meaning of Jesus casting out devils? - Part 3

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What is the meaning of Jesus casting out devils? - Part 3

 

And there was a man in the synagogue possessed by the spirit of an unclean

demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, " Ha! What do we have to do with you,

Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One

of God! " And Jesus rebuked him, saying, " Be quiet and come out of him! " And when

the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him without doing

him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began discussing with

one another saying, " What is this message? For with authority and power he

commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. " (Luke 4:33-36)

 

(p.401) There is a distinct difference between the condition of a person acting

under the influence of possession by a tramp soul or unclean devil, and that of

one acting under a hypnotic spell or the obsession of a subconscious idea, or

autosuggestion. Men and women under the influence of hypnosis or strong

obsession of the subconscious mind can be made to act in either a noble or a

devilish way. Real possession consists of the actual presence in one's body of a

soul that has cast off its own physical garment and in its astral form is

partially, completely, or spasmodically incapacitating the rational faculties of

the possessed. One human body ordinarily cannot house another being along with

its own self (except in the case of a mother carrying a child). But spiritual

experts are able to distinguish true cases of spirit possession, because by

their psychic powers they are able to behold, within the person possessed, the

astral body of the invisible visitor side by side with the astral body of the

host. The only way a layman is able to deduce a case of spirit possession is by

analyzing the different states of paroxysm and wild behavior to which a

possessed person is subject. The evil-spirit-possessed person usually displays

unusual physical strength, bloodshot eyes, uncanny expression, and general lack

of normal behavior. This bestial irrationality is variously displayed and

described in the instances of spirit possession exorcised by Jesus.

 

Like attracts like, so the possessed man in the synagogue, by the attraction of

his own sinful vibration, drew to himself an unclean spirit. Jesus, possessing

the universal Christ Consciousness, could feel exactly what was going on within

the body of the bedeviled man. And the unclean spirit, through the intuition of

its astral body, could feel the power of Jesus. (Astral-bodied souls perceive

through the sixth sense of intuition; but they can use it to perform the

functions of vision, audition, smell, taste, touch, and so forth.) The unclean,

wicked spirit kept the mind of the possessed man in a state of suspension,

neutrality, and sub-hypnosis of obsession, so that its victim's instruments of

consciousness--senses, brain, and body--could be used without interference.

(p.402) A possessed individual may or may not be unconscious within his

spirit-controlled body, just as a person under hypnosis may manifest the

unconsciousness of sleep or the superficially normal state of the obsessed

conscious mind. The unclean spirit saw Jesus through the eyes of the possessed

man, and used his voice to cry loudly: " Let us alone; do not deny us our freedom

of expression, be it good or evil. "

 

The possessive spirit, itself obsessed with satanic evil, recognized in Jesus

the opposing force of godly good: " I know who you are--the Holy One of God. " The

spirit rightly feared that Jesus, with his Christ Consciousness having control

over all life, would put an end to the unauthorized, forced occupation of the

possessed man's mind. It knew that the omnipresent Christ Consciousness in Jesus

was the Lord of creation. Astral beings, whether clean or unclean, know that it

is the Christ Intelligence and not Satan's 'maya' that has ultimate power over

the inner world, even though Satan tries to exert his influence in the astral

world to the same degree he succeeds on earth. But heaven is not a comfortable

place for a fallen archangel.

 

Jesus did not want the unclean devil, in its irritated state, to do harm to the

brain of the obsessed man. If possession by unclean devils or disembodied souls

continues for long, great mischief is done to the brain, mind, and sense organs

of the possessed individual, posing a threat of the advent of permanent

insanity. By his life-controlling will power, Jesus spoke: " Be quiet and come

out of him. " That is, stop the devilish work of wrecking possessed brains; hold

on to the inner peace of the soul, hidden behind the dark barrier of

self-created past evil propensities, and restore again your right behavior by

coming out of the body you have forcibly and unethically occupied.

 

It requires strong concentration and divine will power to dislodge an evil

spirit. If one has dynamic spiritual force, the entity can be thrown out by

constantly looking into the eyes of a stricken individual, using steady, silent

will power continuously, inwardly commanding the evil spirit to leave. The

entity will depart provided the will of the healer to drive the evil force out

is stronger than the latter's will to remain.

 

By the repeated whisper of " Aum " in the right ear of a possessed individual, the

evil spirit is bound to leave. Tramp souls, having wandered out of the dark

lower astral regions, cannot stand the high vibration of spiritual thoughts and

consciousness. The utterance of holy names and words, especially 'Aum', 'Aum',

'Aum', into the ear of possessed individuals usually brings forth a quick,

frightened reply from the individual like: " I am going; don't utter that holy

word, " which indicates spirit possession.

 

Jesus, drawing power from the Cosmic 'Aum' Vibration, commanded, with his

'Aum'-impregnated voice, the devil to come out of the body of the afflicted

individual. The devil, unwilling to obey Jesus, fought against the powerful

vibration. This created convulsions in the body of the bedeviled man as the

powerful Cosmic Current vibrating within him tried to dislodge and shake out the

intruding spirit. At last the evil entity came out of the body violently,

leaving the man limp and shaken but not hurt, unable to harm him due to the

intervention of the divine Christ Jesus. The people who beheld this casting out

of an unclean spirit were in awe of the sovereign authority in the word of

Jesus, which even demonic entities were constrained to obey--adding far and wide

to the renown of Jesus.

 

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

You) Volume 1, Discourse 24, pg. 401-403

Paramahansa Yogananda

Printed in the United States of America 1434-J881

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

ISBN-10:0-87612-557-7