THE SAINT AND HIS VIRGIN
Sacred Sexuality in Early
Christianity
and the Inner Teachings of Jesus
by Walter Last
The
Gnostic Gospels as well as other writings point to a central role of sacred sexuality
in early Christianity. No details of these practices seem to have survived as
the Church later tried to erase all records. In the following I will show that,
according to my understanding, these sacred sexual practices are central to the
teachings of Jesus about the “
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The Unique and Authentic Image of the Master Jesus From http://www.gnosticteachings.org/content/category/5/108/114 Taken from an emerald cutting said to be engraved
by order of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. It comes from the Treasure of Constantinople
and was surrendered by the Sultan of Turkey to Pope Innocent VIII as ransom
payment for his brother, held captive by the Christians. This image has
been taken directly from the priceless emerald, belonging to the Vatican
Treasury. |
Historical
Background Information
Early
Christianity had a strong oral tradition of what Jesus had said and done, and
this was only gradually written down. After the crucifixion the inner teachings
of Jesus seem to have been the basis of Jewish Christianity under the
leadership of James the Just, the first bishop of Jerusalem and the brother of
Jesus. The innermost teachings were always kept secret and never written down,
but even more general teachings went underground with the destruction of
At this time gentile Christians became the dominant
group with their power base in
The
apostle Paul did not know Jesus personally and seems to have had a different
agenda than Jewish Christianity under the leadership of James. Only one of the
letters of James is in the New Testament. Most of his writings were apparently
destroyed by the church and survived only as part of the Gnostic Gospels. In
contrast most of the New Testament writings are by Paul and his followers. Many
of the Jewish Christian leaders rejected the writings of Paul in preference to
oral transmissions from reliable sources.
Paul
was subordinate to James, but after the scattering of Jewish Christianity the
writings of Paul became the basis of Western Christianity. After the New
Testament scripts had been selected based on Paul’s doctrines, writings
with differing viewpoints, such as now found in the Gnostic Gospels, were
declared as being heretical, and they and their owners were destroyed. Only
some of them surfaced again in the last century; see www.gnosis.org.
While
this greatly reduced the number of Gnostic Gospels that did survive, it also
protected them from being creatively rearranged to correspond to changing
church doctrines as apparently happened to Canonical Gospels in the New
Testament [1]. Furthermore, the Canonical Gospels are basically stories of
happenings and parables, while the Gnostic Gospels are mainly collections of
sayings and teachings of Jesus, and therefore more instructive.
The
In
our modern perception we associate Jesus with the teaching of being “good
and loving”, but a different picture emerges from the Gnostic Gospels,
and even from parts of the New Testament and other writings.
For
instance in the Gospel of Thomas Jesus said 16): "Men think, perhaps, that
it is peace which I have come to cast upon the world. They do not know that it
is dissension which I have come to cast upon the earth: fire, sword, and war.
For there will be five in a house: three will be against two, and two against three,
the father against the son, and the son against the father. And they will stand
solitary." Or in 10) Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world,
and see, I am guarding it until it blazes."
According
to this more hidden understanding Jesus was not greatly concerned with this
world and did not try to improve it (e.g. “give Caesar what is
Caesar’s”). Instead his teaching was centered on the kingdom of
heaven, and the quickest way to get there.
It
is clear that this kingdom is not just the afterlife but a special condition
that actually is the goal of human existence, similar to the Nirvana of
Buddhism or the highest goal of yoga. Jesus, Krishna and Buddha all taught
special ways to overcome the human condition. In present New Age terminology
these teachings are about ascending, and becoming an ascended master.
In
order to enter the kingdom, we must first build a new and higher energy body
that is superior to the normal human soul. This is the goal of many religious
and spiritual traditions, such as Yoga, Tantra, Tao, Buddhism, Alchemy,
Rosicrucians, Theosophy, New Age, and it can also be found in the Gnostic
teachings of Jesus.
There
is general agreement that this higher energy body is an “immortal light
body”. Lao Tzu explained the light body thus: “It is self-aware yet
without ego, capable of inhabiting a biological body yet not attached to it,
and guided by wisdom rather than emotion. Whole and virtuous, it can never
die” [2]. In the last paragraph of the Gospel of Philip we read:
“He who will receive that light will not be seen, nor can he be detained.
And none shall be able to torment a person like this, even while he dwells in
the world. And again when he leaves the world, he has already received the
truth in the images.”
The
interesting part is that all these different traditions agree that to build
this immortal light body it is necessary to balance our male and female
energies. In this light we can understand the widespread practice during the early
stages of Christianity of devout Christian males living with their
“virgins”.
The
Agapetae
Agape
is Greek and defined as spiritual, selfless or universal love - in contrast to
Eros being romantic or sexual love. Agapetae may be translated as the beloveds
or holy virgins and described as holy virgins who personify and radiate
universal love.
A
further definition that needs to be cleared up is the term
“virgin”. As I understand it, in biblical times a virgin simply was
an unmarried young woman who was not a widow or a prostitute. Physical
virginity was not the issue, although it may have been assumed.
There
is very little known about the spiritual sexual practices of these Christian
males (agapeti) with their holy virgins (agapetae) because most of the writings
that survived were polemics against this practice. It seems to have been
widespread for several centuries until it was outlawed by the synod of Elvira
(305 CE) and the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, and replaced with asceticism and
monasticism, except for the clergy who could live with their subintroductae or
housekeepers. This was the beginning of the suppression of sexuality in
Christian societies, the consequences of which are still with us at
present.
However, the practice
seems to have survived in some form for several centuries longer. When looking
for AGAPETI and AGAPETAE I found the following entry in the Dictionary of Religion & Ethics: “Monks and nuns of the early Middle Ages, who,
while professing celibacy, dwelt together in what they called holy love. The
practice was suppressed by the Lateran Council, 1139.”
The Cathars with their
strong links to the Gnostics also encouraged chastity and avoidance of
procreative sex. They became prominent in Southern France and neighboring
countries from about 1000 CE to the middle of the 13th century when
they were massacred by the papal army. Afterwards the Inquisition was
established to eliminate any survivors and their teachings. There are also
suggestions that the Cathars have been the protectors of the Holy Grail of Christian
mythology. From the 15th century the gnostic tradition of sacred
sexuality was cautiously carried on by the Rosicrucians who celebrated a
mystical marriage, and later by the Alchemists in their search for the elexir
of life.
Marnia
Robinson in Spiritual
Brides of Early Christianity and Andrew Moore at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~moorea/agapetae.html
give many referenced examples of the polemic against the agapetae custom, which
I do not want to repeat here but give just a few general descriptions.
"Our fathers,"
Chrysostom begins, "only knew two forms of sexual intimacy, marriage and
fornication. Now a third form has appeared: men introduce young girls into
their houses and keep them there permanently, respecting their virginity."
And later he continues: “The virgin is free from these burdens (of a
married woman). She retains her vigor and her youthfulness, and even at the age
of forty may rival the young nubile girl (= teenager).”
Desert
ascetic St. Jerome wrote: “I blush to speak of it, it is so shocking; yet
though sad, it is true. How comes this plague of the agapetae to be in the
church? Whence come these unwedded wives, these novel concubines, these
harlots, so I will call them, though they cling to a single partner? One house
holds them and one chamber. They often occupy the same bed…”
Even
St. Paul alludes to the agapetae in his first letter to the Corinthians:
7:36
- But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if
she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will,
he sinneth not: let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he that standeth steadfast in
his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so
decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
Here Paul clearly states that it was accepted practice for a Christian man to live with his virgin. If she got on in years and now wanted a conventional family or if she became pregnant, it was not a sin, and it was fine to marry. However, his preferred way was for them not to marry but just live together as a holy couple.
While
Paul states in the first Corinthian that he is single, he seems to have
acquired his own virgin some time later. The ACTS OF PAUL AND THECLA is a second Century apocryphal of
Another
reference to the agapetae may be a saying of Jesus according to the New
Testament in Luke 23:29: “Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never
bore and the breasts that never nursed.” A similar saying is in 79) of
the Gospel of Thomas. Here Jesus seems to say that remaining a virgin or
practicing undefiled sex is preferable to reproductive sex.
Mary
Magdalene
There
must have been a powerful reason that caused this agapetae phenomenon to erupt
so suddenly and widely in our first century, and I believe that it was the
teaching of Jesus of the Sacrament of the Bridal Chamber and his relationship
with Mary Magdalene.
According
to the Gnostic Gospels Mary Magdalene seems to have been the consort of Jesus
and the first of the agapetae. In paragraph 59 of the Gospel of Philip [3] it
says: “And the Consort of the Christ is Mariam the Magdalene. The Lord
loved Mariam more than all the other Disciples, and he kissed her often on her
mouth."
In
Chapter 9 of the Gospel of Mary Levi said to Peter: 8) “But if the Savior
made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her
very well. 9) That is why He loved her more than us.”
If
Jesus and Mary Magdalene had been married it is unlikely that the disciples
would have been upset about his affection for her. Therefore it is much more
likely that this was a loving spiritual relationship.
The
other aspect that concerned Peter and other disciples was Mary
Magdalene’s role as a disciple because women had a rather low standing in
their society. Even worse, after the crucifixion Jesus gave teachings to Mary
Magdalene, which she passed on to the male disciples, so that she became the
teacher or apostle to the apostles.
However,
Mary Magdalene was not the only female in that group. There were also other
women following Jesus and the disciples. In those times such women would either
be wives or prostitutes. No further details are given, but these women do not
seem to have been disciples in the way that Mary Magdalene was, and Peter did
not voice any recorded objections against them [4].
There
are no indications that they were wives or prostitutes. All of this points to
the possibility that these women were the agapetae of some of the disciples.
After all, according to the Gnostic Gospels the sacrament of the bridal chamber
was the most central and holy part of the teachings of Jesus, and that required
men as well as women to perform together.
Uniting
Male and Female
According
to all mystical and most religious traditions, in the beginning was the
undivided Whole which split into its opposite parts, and their interaction
created the multitude of manifestations. In regard to sexuality we see this
when the androgynic Shiva-Shakti splits into the male Shiva and the female
Shakti, or when the androgynic Adam-Eve splits into the separated Adam and Eve.
The
idea is that a non-sexual or androgynic spiritual being manifests on a denser
plane of existence by splitting into dualistic male and female parts.
Conversely, to permanently ascend from a denser to a less dense plane, male and
female need to permanently unite to become again whole or androgynic.
The
commonly used term ‘androgynous’ may lead some to think of
hermaphrodites with male and female sexual traits, or bisexual plants. However,
the spiritual condition of androgyny (andro = male, gyny or gynic = female) is rather
different and I prefer to refer to it as ‘androgynic’ rather than
‘androgynous’.
The
androgynic condition, required to transcend the density level of
three-dimensional humanity, commonly involves a body with normal male or female
characteristics but with an additional higher energy body that is neither male
nor female. We all have several energy bodies, such as the etheric and the
astral bodies which are part of what we call the soul, and which may be visible
to some psychics. But all of these bodies are polarized which then become
manifest as our sexual characteristics.
The
Gospel of Thomas speaks of the mystery of entering the kingdom of heaven when
male and female become one: 22) "When you make the two into one, and when
you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper
like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that
the male will not be male nor the female be female, ….. then you will
enter (the kingdom).” This theme is also found in the Gospel of Philip
and in other Gnostic texts.
In
114) Simon Peter said: “Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of
(eternal) life." Jesus replied: "I myself shall lead her in order to
make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males.
For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of
heaven." This, too, refers to androgyny.
According
to Lao Tzu: ”For those who aspire to the higher realms of living, there
is angelic dual cultivation. Because every portion of the body, mind, and
spirit yearns for the integration of yin and yang, angelic intercourse is led
by the spirit rather than the sexual organs. Where ordinary intercourse is
effortful, angelic cultivation is calm, relaxed, quiet, and natural. Where
ordinary intercourse unites sex organs with sex organs, angelic cultivation
unites spirit with spirit, mind with mind, and every cell of one body with
every cell of the other body; culminating not in dissolution but in
integration, it is an opportunity for a man and woman to mutually transform and
uplift each other into the realm of bliss and wholeness” [2a].
The
saying of the Buddha “Enlightenment is in the vagina" (in Sanscrit
“Buddhatvam Yosityonisamasritam”) points to the necessity of
uniting male and female energies for ultimate success. The same approach is
used in the higher tantric methods to reunite their Shiva and Shakti natures.
For
alchemists, carrying on the tradition of the Gnostics, the 'completed work' has
recreated the Divine Androgyne. A 20-picture series of the alchemical and
Rosicrucian tradition has been discovered that shows an ethereal spirit being
emerging from a long and largely motionless male-female union [5].
Thelema
Press promotes the teachings of the late Samael Aun Weor. It has released a
75-minute documentary DVD on the mysteries of sacred sexuality. This shows the
symbols and parallels in the traditions of the Kabala, Alchemists, Tantra,
Mayan carvings, Tibetan Buddhism, Christian Gospels, and many others (http://www.gnosticteachings.org/).
We see that the central aspect of all these teachings is the original
male-female split that needs to be reversed in order to return to our ultimate
spiritual condition.
Nakedness
Early
Christian leaders have written about the symbolism of nakedness as a sign of
innocence and perfection. This comes from the central teaching of Jesus that we
must become again sexually innocent like little children to recreate the
conditions between the sexes as they were between Adam and Eve before the
“fall”.
In 36) of the Gospel of
Thomas Jesus said, "Do not be concerned ….
about what you will wear." And in 37: "When you disrobe
without being ashamed and take up your garments and place them under your feet
like little children and tread on them, then will you see the son of the living
one, and you will not be afraid."
For
the early Christians, nakedness and holy men living together in lust-free
purity with their virgins was a recreation of the condition of Adam and Eve in
paradise before the “fall”. The fall consisted of eating from the
tree of knowledge. “Knowledge” referred to procreative sexuality.
In biblical terms to know a woman meant to know her sexually. There are
countless references to this in the bible. Therefore, the fall means that the
descending spirit entities became aware of duality and with this of good and
evil when they started to have orgasmic and procreative sex. Accordingly, the
aim of Jesus was to reverse duality by encouraging men and women to live
together in holy innocence as before the fall. This then created the right
condition for ascending back into the kingdom.
Here
are some of the sayings in the Gospel of Philip to show this point:
76) “In the days when
Eve was within Adam, there had been no death. When she was separated
from him, death came to be. If she again enters and he receives her to him,
death shall no longer be.”
86)
“If the woman had not separated from the man, she should not die with the
man. His separation became the beginning of death. Because of this, Christ came
to repair the separation, which was from the beginning, and again unite the
two, and to give life to those who died as a result of the separation, and
unite them.”
90)
“Adam came into being from two virgins— from the Spirit and from
the virgin earth. Therefore Christ was begotten from a virgin, so that
the fall which occurred in the beginning shall be rectified.” This
saying also illustrates the importance of symbolism in early religious
thoughts.
Accordingly,
reuniting the sexes in order to return to immortality was the central task of
Jesus, and nakedness was a symbol of innocence and purity of spirit. Following
this understanding of the teachings of Jesus many holy men have been living
more or less naked in the desert either alone or with their holy virgins.
Accordingly, the agapetae were sometimes derisively called ‘unclad
virtues’ or having ‘sun-clad power of chastity’.
The
Sacrament of the Bridal Chamber
Because
the Church was so vigilant in destroying all dissident views and heretical
documents, we can only infer the details of the sacrament of the bridal chamber
and its relationship to the phenomenon of the agapetae. Over the centuries both
seem to have been practiced in a wide variety of ways, from the purest and
highly spiritual to normal intercourse resulting in offspring.
Our problem is to piece together the original teachings to come to an understanding of how Jesus may have taught this ritual. In this I regard the Gnostic Gospels as the most persuasive sources, and of these the Gospel of Philip [3] has by far the most detailed information. For relevant sayings from this gospel see the Appendix at the end of this article.
The
sacrament of the bridal chamber is obviously meant to reverse the male-female
split and make us energetically and emotionally whole again. From the Gospel of
Philip we can see some important elements in this sacrament.
Associated with it is anointing. Commonly the oil used for anointing is called the chrism. This consists of consecrated olive oil prepared with various fragrances, such as balsam or myrrh. During anointing the oil may be applied to the forehead and other parts of the body. However, in this gospel chrism is equated with “receiving the light”.
We
see this in saying 101. The chain of anointing from Jesus to the apostles and
their disciples is clearly meant as transmitting “the light”. Also
in 81) it says: ”The light is the chrism” (therefore it is not the
oil that is used as the chrism). The crucial explanation is in saying 71:
“The fire is the Chrism, the light is the fire. I do not speak of this
fire that has no form, but rather the other one— whose form is white and
which is made of beautiful light and which bestows splendor.”
This
indicates to me that the beautiful white light is the halo of the saint, or in
other words the opened crown chakra which may more easily be seen in dim light.
The chakras are vortices in our energy bodies; for details see www.health-science-sprit.com/bioenergies.html.
Emotional
imperfections or imbalances show up as colors in our aura while white light
indicates perfection. Each chakra has a different rainbow color from red at the
base to violet at the top. A clairvoyant may see these different colors.
However, when all the chakras are fully opened and vibrating in harmony with
each other, then they appear as a unified field of white light. Therefore the
sacrament is intended to focus our emotions on our highest ideals and so clothe
us in white light.
Saying 72 tells us on which image we need to focus in the bridal chamber to become clothed in white light: “It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Which one? Resurrection.” We need to focus on the image of the resurrection. What is this image? It is the image of our perfected spirit body clothed in white light. We may imagine this as a sphere of brilliant white light which makes it difficult to discern the features of the figure inside from which this white light originates.
Continued
practice of this image was then associated with the development of a higher
energy body, an immortal white light body that was able to ascend into the
kingdom of heaven without being seen. This is indicated by saying 112. Those
who are not able to see and seize him (or his body) are the rulers of the
different levels of the astral world through which the ascending soul must pass
on its way to the kingdom.
Saying
113 indicates that those who are not completely perfected when leaving their
human body will get stuck in the astral world. Several of the Gnostic Gospels
give detailed instructions of Jesus on how to deal with the ascent through the
astral world. The simplest way is not to be seen by developing a perfected
light body. Jesus obviously regarded the sacrament of the bridal chamber as the
fastest way to prepare for ascension.
Central
to it is guided imagery leading towards the resurrection or rebirth of an
immortal light body (72).
Other Sacraments
However,
it is clear that candidates for this sacrament need to be suitably prepared so
that they have the right state of mind. This was the function of the other
sacraments. Baptism was a ceremony of spiritual cleansing, of washing away past
sins at the start of the spiritual path. Being a symbolic act, it was
successful only if it succeeded in uniting the conscious with the subconscious
mind in a firm resolve from now on to live a spiritual life.
In
various traditions a five-fold process of rituals is practiced, some of them
performed only once, while others are frequently repeated for reinforcement. In
the Gospel of Philip we see five mysteries or sacraments:
1.
baptism
2.
anointing
3. Eucharist
4. redemption
5.
bridal chamber
These
are like five stages of initiation. Also the mystical path in general is
commonly divided into five stages, with the first being spiritual awakening and
the last forming the immortal light body suitable for ascension.
It
is known that oil or water and other liquids can be energized by a healer or
during a spiritual ceremony. This energized agent can then be used as the
Eucharist or as chrism oil to transmit uplifting energy to the recipient in a
ceremony. However, the strength of this transmitted energy is generally weak
compared to the energy that can be directly transmitted through laying-on of
hands. To activate the crown chakra a high initiate placed his or her radiating
hands at the top of the head of the neophyte. This was a ritual commonly
practiced in early Christianity, and has been described, for instance as part
of the Valentinian sacraments and those of Marcus, two prominent early
Christian leaders with Gnostic tendencies. These practices closely resembled
those of other Christian communities of the second and third centuries, and
included some forms of the sacrament of the bridal chamber [6].
Looking
at it from a practical point of view we may assume that the sacrament of the
bridal chamber consisted of a public and a private aspect. The public ceremony
was performed only once for each neophyte while the pure embrace was from then
on practiced in private by the couple at set intervals. During the public
ceremony, which included prayers, chants, sometimes dance, and invocations,
there was the laying on of hands to transmit the chrism, and presumably the
practice of the pure embrace was explained in detail, including the image or
images on which one had to focus. The public ceremony may also have been
combined with a wedding feast, the Eucharist, in which bread and wine was used
to signify the body and blood of the Christ, and included a redemption ceremony
with specific prayers and invocations to symbolically guide the soul back to its
creator. Valentinus and Marcus seem to have performed this combination of
sacraments in weekly meetings [6].
Actually
Valentinus almost became the Pope or Bishop of Rome in 143 CE. He claimed to
have been personally initiated by a disciple of the apostle Paul who taught him
secret wisdom that Paul had taught privately to his inner circle [7]. This line
of initiation through Paul could be the reason why the Valentinian sacrament of
the bridal chamber seems to be more symbolic and less physical than that portrayed
in the Gospel of Philip. But in all cases the imposition of hands on the head
was used to activate the crown chakra as an essential part of the sacrament of
the bridal chamber, in addition to the sacrament of redemption which involves
the liberation of the mind from the ‘clutches of the world’. In
later years similar rites were used by the followers of the prophet Mani and
the Cathars [8].
Preconditions and Conditions
In
1) of the Gospel of Thomas Jesus said, "Whoever finds the interpretation
of these sayings will not experience death", meaning that he or she will
enter the kingdom of heaven. It is instructive that Jesus did not require
‘belief in his teachings’ as the essential ingredient for reaching
the kingdom; rather ‘understanding’ was the key.
This
is also apparent from Matthew 13:10 -11ff: And the
disciples came, and said unto him: “Why speakest thou unto them in
parables?” He answered and said unto them: “Because it is given
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not
given.” Jesus did not
simply tell people what to believe or do, but rather adjusted his teachings so
that everyone could follow them according to the level of their individual
understanding.
In
light of the presently growing interest in spiritual matters and ascension
teachings it will be interesting to reconstruct the sacrament of the bridal
chamber in a modern interpretation. It is clear that this sacrament was not
meant to be practiced by everyone but rather by those with a serious commitment
to the spiritual path. This interpretation is made easier by being able to draw
on other traditions with similar goals, such as Tantra, Tao and Yoga, and on
the knowledge of the chakra system and the higher energy bodies.
A restriction on who may
successfully use this method is contained in 75) of the Gospel of Thomas where
Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who
will enter the bridal chamber." In 42) of the same gospel Jesus may give a
clue of what ‘solitary’ means: "Become passers-by", and
in 49) Jesus said: "Blessed are the solitary and
elect, for you will find the kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will
return." From these and other passages of the Canonical and Gnostic
Gospels it appears that Jesus regarded as solitary those who heeded his call to
leave family and possessions to follow him and his teachings.
In our modern context I
interpret ‘solitary’ to mean spiritual seekers who are no longer
pursuing worldly goals, or those who are in the world but not of the world. It
could also mean ‘independent’- having found their own (divine) way
and not being dependent on other people’s or society’s rules or
guidance for living, no longer dependent on others for survival and security
[4a].
131)
indicates that this sacrament is performed in the light of day with an attitude
of pure love and exchange of holy kisses (35). However, “day” may
not be meant literally but rather symbolic as ‘spiritual light”. An
essential precondition for the success of this sacrament is purity. This
relates to our mind, emotions and body or lifestyle (114). To achieve and
maintain purity the conscious mind needs to obtain the full cooperation of the
subconscious mind or inner child. Traditionally this was achieved with
ceremonies and rituals which greatly impress the subconscious mind.
Presently
we have no ritualized initiation system complete with competent teachers and
supportive community to transform the subconscious minds of spiritual seekers.
Therefore those following the spiritual path need to do their own homework for
inner purification. For guidance in this process see The Spiritual Path (www.health-science-spirit.com/spiritualpath.html).
The
importance of natural, clean and spiritual living for the early followers of
Jewish Christianity can be understood from their connection with the Essenes,
the forerunners of the Gnostics. The Essenes had desert communities with very
strict rules in this regard. Apart from somewhat inconclusive historical
evidence, Rudolf Steiner and Edgar Cayce both gave detailed psychic information
linking Jesus and his followers with the Essenes.
Further,
in regard to clean living, early Christians lived on organic food and clean
drinking water, without any exposure to drugs, chemicals, electromagnetic or
air pollution. We have to make great efforts to purify our bodies to come to a
condition where early Christians started.
The Lord’s Prayer
The
Lord’s Prayer supposedly is the only prayer that Jesus taught. Its origin
is from the 'Kadish' in the
Talmud and contains key words and meanings that relate to specific chakras or
energy centers. While saying each line, one needs to focus the meaning on the
relevant chakra. It is very likely that Jesus also used it at the beginning of
the ceremony to activate the chakra system. However, the original Aramaic has
different layers of meaning, and while the commonly used translation from
Aramaic to Greek to Latin, old English and finally to modern English seems to
have been distorted to focus on the lower or material aspects, it is likely
that Jesus, especially as part of this sacrament, focused on the highest
spiritual meaning.
For
instance the line “Give us this day our daily bread”
in Aramaic is: “Give us nourishment for our daily activities.” This
could mean bread in its lower aspects, or it could mean love or wisdom and
loving guidance if one is spiritually focused. “Man lives not by bread
alone!” For information on its origin and various direct translations of
this prayer from Aramaic into modern English see www.thenazareneway.com/lords_prayer.htm.
Considering
the Aramaic text, the meaning that Jesus would have given it as part of the
sacrament may be as follows, starting with the 7th or crown chakra
and going down to the 1st or base chakra:
Divine Parent in Heaven, holy is your
name,
Fill my whole
being with Light, your kingdom come,
Your
Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Fill my Heart with Love,
Forgive my mistakes
as I forgive others,
Guide me in
the right use of sexual energy,
And in my
relationship with the forces of nature.
Amen
(to seal and confirm).
If
you use the common English version, you may focus on certain key words and give
them these meanings for the appropriate chakras. These key words are HEAVEN for
the 7th chakra, followed by NAME, then WILL, BREAD, DEBTS,
TEMPTATION, and finally EVIL [9]. The often used ending “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, for ever and ever. Amen” was not present in the original
version but there is no harm in using it.
It
is also possible that there was a short chant of AUM from which the present
‘Amen’ is derived at the end of the prayer. This activates
especially the throat center, and sound energy can be used instead of sexual
energy to empower images. This was supposedly the means by which our spirit
ancestors created (Philip 35) before they used guided imagery to genetically
modify and inhabit bipedal apes for their own sexual experiences, thereby
causing the ‘fall’. This was
the 'original sin'. When the spirits started using the second chakra for
procreation instead of the fifth chakra, they became more deeply enmeshed in
matter and lost the connection with their home, the mental density level
or kingdom of heaven.
A
Modern Interpretation
In
addition to general purity of participants, also each individual performance of
the sacrament of the bridal chamber needs to be approached with an attitude of
purity. Commonly dedication, invocation, prayer and anointing were used to
uplift and focus the mind on the holy mission. This may have been followed by a
light massage of key parts of the body with olive oil, and by some holy kisses.
“Holy” in this case means gently loving and uplifting rather than
passionate. Holy kisses were called ‘the kiss of peace’ by the
early Christians.
Our main disadvantage is
that we do not have a transmission of light for opening our crown chakra before
starting to practice this sacrament. This means that we need to concentrate
more on the crown chakra during each session, and it may take longer until we
are successful. In a group setting the crown chakra might be activated by
several individuals placing their energized hands together on top of the head
of the one to be initiated.
Several bible passages
(Matthew 6:22-23 and Luke 11:34-35) contain this saying: ”When your eyes
are single your whole body is full of light.” This shows that Jesus
taught chakra meditation. It is common in chakra meditation to turn the closed
eyes up and inward as if looking behind the middle of the forehead, focusing on
the third eye. In this way you can keep the second chakra activated without
having to pay any attention to it. With some practice you not only see an image
like a spiritual eye (your eyes being single), but also your whole body appears
to be filled with light. I have no doubt that this is what Jesus really meant
and that he also taught to focus on the third eye during meditation, thereby
making the eyes single. Another common meditation practice is to rest the tip
of the tongue against the roof of the mouth to facilitate the downward flow of
energy.
The goal is the
formation of an immortal light body. The purpose of the male-female union is to
balance each others polarized energies in the various soul bodies, and in
addition to generate a flow of kundalini or sexual energy up the spine to
activate the whole chakra system.
For
this it is not essential that the sexual organs are connected. I believe that
sexual organs may remain entirely unconnected, they may just be in loose
contact, or they may be quietly connected without movement. The choice or
decision on what is appropriate depends on previous sexual activities of each
participant, separately and in their relationship as a couple. For those coming
together for the first time it is definitely better not to connect sexually,
especially if they have not practiced ejaculation control.
The
stronger the sexual energy of the participants, the less they need to be
sexually connected, but skin contact is always required. A young, healthy and
spiritual virgin usually has extremely strong sexual energy, which will make it
easy for both participants to become uplifted. An old or elderly couple, on the
other hand, may require preparatory work to revitalize their sexual energies,
and need stronger stimulation for activation during the sacrament.
Couples
in a long-term relationship, especially with orgasmic sex, may initially not
have the necessary charge of sexual energy that is required for the sacrament
of the bridal chamber. Therefore, they would be advised to avoid intimate
contact for a sufficiently long period until their love and sexual desire for
each other have been fully restored. Then they can enter the bridal chamber
like singles. Alternatively they may approach it gradually by initially
adopting a period of Karezza. Also elderly individuals may need first to improve
their overall vitality.
The
normal resting position would be a frontal embrace lying side by side with legs
intertwined. The initial connection of the bodies or the sexual organs should
produce a heightened awareness of feeling energy in the pelvic area and at the
base of the spine. With part of the mind this feeling may be maintained or
reinforced, possibly leading it upward with the mind and breath to the heart
area.
The
other part of the mental focus is on the top of the head, the crown chakra.
Here you imagine sending out a loving feeling towards your High Self of
God-Self. In response you feel a strong inflow of love energy in the form of
white light into your crown chakra and also engulfing the rest of your body.
For a suitable visualization see The Magic Presence at www.health-science-spirit.com/spirituality.html.
When
you can strongly feel the inflowing energy and preferably also the energy in
the sexual area, then switch the main focus of your attention to the heart
center. Feel the energies coming through the top and from the bottom condensing
at the center of your chest or in the heart, and now radiate it out onto your
partner, surrounding both of you with a cloud of love and white light. Become
more and more submersed in the feelings that these flows of energy generate.
This first part of the ceremony is designed to activate our chakras and energy flows in a way that the transmission of the chrism of light by laying-on of hands and allied sacraments may have achieved. After some time you can forget the energy flows and just focus on the image of your perfected spirit body arising out of you as a sphere of brilliant white light.
Eventually
the participants may just remain still for an indefinite period, melting into
each other. Couples will need to experiment to find the best intervals at which
to repeat the sacrament for experiencing the strongest flows of energy and
feelings of love.
On Using Sexual Energy
Sexual
energy is our most concentrated form of life-force energy. Life-force energy is
what maintains our body and what we need to live, heal and create. The basic
act of creating involves forming an image and then filling it with our energy.
The image can be anything from winning a race, to healing a diseased organ, to
creating a white light body. The energy source may commonly be breath energy,
sound energy or sexual energy. Of these, sexual energy is by far the strongest
and may be used just by believing in something, or more specifically by using
guided imagery or meditation. If properly done, this results in what is called
a rise of ‘kundalini’ energy up the spine, which can now be used to
activate a chakra or energize an image.
Stronger
energy flows can be generated by combining male and female sexual energies. Intimate
contact with an opposite sex partner causes a much stronger activation of
sexual energy than meditating alone. For some possibilities see Spiritual Sex.
If this energy is allowed to dissipate in a conventional orgasm it is simply
lost while the resulting neurochemical changes may lead to a greater sense of
emotional separation between partners [10]. However, if one or both of the
partners hold a specific image during orgasm, then this image can be energized
and helped to manifest. This is a commonly used method in what is called sex
magic and black or left-handed Tantra. It has often been abused in unequal
power relationships and used for lower or selfish goals. Also much of the energy
is lost in an explosive discharge.
A
more economic use is a gradual release of sexual energy flowing between male
and female like an electric battery. This may be just with skin contact, or
resting with the sexual organs connected, or slowly moving as with Karezza.
Again, this energy flow may be used to create only pleasurable feelings, or it
may in addition be used to energize an image. In 64) of the Gospel of Philip it
says:” Therefore contemplate the Pure Embrace (or undefiled intercourse),
for it has great power!” This saying points to the enhanced
creative potential of sexual energy when it is used to manifest a high ideal.
The Embrace of Peace
I
believe the early Christians with their holy agape relationships had something
that we have lost and deep within us long for ever since: The Embrace of Peace.
This is how I imagine the saint and his virgin exchanged their sexual energies
– they were lying together naked in a frontal embrace, legs intertwined,
but without much movement, perhaps with some occasional touches of endearment,
and they were just melting into each others feelings of love and deep peace.
There was no striving for anything, nothing to achieve or to perform, just
being and feeling.
I
regard this embrace of peace as one of our best tools for healing. It counters
the greatest scourge of our time: stress. Presently we are stressed at all
levels of our existence, from pollution in our air, food and water, from food
allergies and nutrient deficiencies, from medical drugs, microbial infestations
and parasites, expectations to perform at school, workplace and marriage,
suppressed and misdirected sexual energies, and many other emotional shocks and
disappointments. All these stresses combine to make us feel unhappy or
unfulfilled, separate from each other, and susceptible to depression, diseases
and premature aging.
Antidotes
to this are relaxing hobbies, and especially meditation, but the embrace of
peace has the added dimension of healing our bruised male–female
relationships. Touch is a great healing tool, and with this kind of prolonged
touch our emotional and muscular tensions can just melt away. This has been
shown with hypertension and other stress-related conditions [10], and I am
confident that also muscle tensions like those associated with hip and back
problems or arthritis will be relieved, and it will be beneficial for all kinds
of sexual problems or dysfunctions. It will be great for those who prefer to
live in chastity. But the greatest benefit will be emotional improvements, greater
emotional stability and enjoyment of life, and above all a previously unknown
emotional closeness in our male-female relationships.
The embrace of peace may be enjoyed once a week instead of conventional sex, while at other times couples may just continue with their usual sexual practices. However, even greater health and relationship benefits can be gained by combining the embrace of peace with regular periods of meditation and more advanced sexual practices such as Karezza.
Afterthought
Going
by the Gnostic Gospels I believe that the sacrament described above is close to
how Jesus may have taught it. I do not claim or believe that this is the only
method to reach ascension or will be best for everyone. While it may be
difficult at present to find a suitable saint or virgin to team up with,
nevertheless this method should be worth investigating for those who are
seriously interested in the spiritual path and especially in ascension.
Those
coming from a tradition of conventional sex may gradually draw closer to this
ultimate sacrament by first experimenting with the Embrace of Peace on its own
or combined with Perfect Sex and Karezza [10]. An advanced form of Karezza was
described by Alice Bunker Stockham, MD in Karezza: Ethics of Marriage:
“At the appointed time and after joint meditation the couple calmly
engages in physical contact and expressions of endearment and affection,
followed by the complete, quiet union of the sexual organs.”
The
premise of this article that Jesus had inner teachings for his disciples, and
that the central part of these teachings was sacred sexuality, will be
completely unacceptable to doctrine-committed Christians, but it will give hope
to those who are trying to understand the fragments of secret teachings that
have survived the millennia.
However,
the very nature of these inner teachings of Jesus makes it clear that they have
as little mass appeal now as they had two thousand years ago. This makes it
understandable why Paul found it necessary to promote a version of outer
teachings that appealed to the masses while keeping the inner teachings for a
small circle of those who were ready to receive them. The aim of the outer
teachings was to lead individuals towards the solitary life, while the inner
teachings guided the solitary individuals back to their heavenly home.
The
tragedy of our history is that the newly established church decided to
completely eliminate the inner teachings of Jesus instead of providing a guided
path from the outer to the inner teachings. Nevertheless, belatedly it is still
possible in our time to build a bridge from the religious aspirations of the
wider community to the understanding of the inner teachings of Jesus as
presented in the Gnostic Gospels.
Summary of the Inner Teachings
A
summary of the inner teachings of Jesus as revealed in the Gnostic Gospels and
other writings may read as follows:
1. Our ancestral spirits became trapped in matter and duality
when they were tempted to experience procreative sex.
2. After physical death they became stuck in the astral
world and this prevented them from returning to their heavenly home.
3. Jesus came to show a way for advanced or
“solitary” individuals to return to heaven by creating a white
light body.
4. This can be done by reuniting males and females in a
pure embrace while using specific imagery.
5. The result is a return to the condition of sexual
innocence that prevailed before the fall into matter and duality.
Appendix
Here
I have assembled several relevant excerpts from the Gospel of Philip [3] as
used in this article.
28.
There is water in a Baptism of water; there is fire in a Chrism.
35.
Grace comes forth by him from the mouth, the place where the Logos came forth;
one was to be nourished from the mouth to become perfect. The perfect are
conceived thru a kiss and they are born. Therefore we also are motivated to
kiss one another— to receive conception from within our mutual grace.
71.
The soul and the spirit have come forth in water and fire with light, which
pertain to the Son of the Bridal-Chamber. The fire is the Chrism, the light is
the fire. I do not speak of this fire that has no form, but rather the other
one— whose form is white and which is made of beautiful light and which
bestows splendor.
72.
The truth did not come unto the world naked, but rather it has come in symbolic
imagery. The world will not receive it in any other fashion. There is a rebirth
and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the
image. Which one? Resurrection. The image must rise again through the imagery.
The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth:
this is the restoration….. For this-one is no longer a Christian but
rather a Christ.
73.
The Lord did everything in a sacrament: with a Baptism, a Chrism, a Eucharist,
an Atonement and with a Holy Bridal-Chamber.
74.
a) He says: ‘I came to make the inner as the outer and the outer as the
inner.’ He spoke of everything in the place above this place by means of
the symbolic images. [...]
79.
Let the Bridal-Chamber not be for the animals nor for the slaves nor the impure
women, but rather for free men and virgins.
82.
…The Baptism is the holy vestibule, the Atonement is the holy of the
holies but the holiest of the holies is the Bridal-Chamber. The Baptism has the
resurrection with the Atonement entering into the Bridal-Chamber. Yet the
Bridal-Chamber is more exalted than those. [...] Thou will find nothing that
compares with it.
85.
The powers do not see those who are clothed in the perfect light, and are not
able to detain them. One will be clothed in this light sacramentally in the
union.
86. If the woman had not separated from the
man, she should not die with the man. His separation became the beginning of
death. Because of this, Christ came to repair the separation, which was from
the beginning, and again unite the two, and to give life to those who died as a
result of the separation, and unite them. But the woman is united to her
husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have united in the bridal
chamber will no longer be separated. Thus Eve separated from Adam because it
was not in the bridal chamber that she united with him.
89…..
It left the bridal chamber as one who came into being from the bridegroom and
the bride. So Jesus established everything in it through these. It is fitting
for each of the disciples to enter into his rest (or peace).
101.
The Chrism is made lord over the Baptism. For from the Chrism we are called
Christians, and not because of the Baptism. And he was called the Christ
because of the Chrism. For the Father anointed the Son, yet the Son anointed
the Apostles, yet the Apostles anointed us. He who has been anointed has the
totality— he has the resurrection, the light, the cross, the Holy Spirit.
The Father bestowed this upon him in the Bridal-Chamber and he received.
112.
Not only shall they be unable to seize the perfected person, but they shall be
unable even to see him. For if they see him, they will seize him. In no other
manner will one be able to be begotten of this grace, unless he is clothed in
the Perfect Light and Perfect Light is within him. Thus clad, he shall go forth
from the World. This is the perfected.
113.
It is appropriate that we are made to become perfected persons before we come
forth from the world. Whoever has received everything without mastering these
places, will not be able to master that place; but rather he shall go to the
transition as imperfect. Only Jesus knows the destiny of this one.
114.
The sainted person is entirely holy, including his body. For if he received the
bread he will sanctify it, or the chalice, or everything else he receives he
purifies. And how will he not purify the body also.
131.
If the marriage of impurity is hidden, how much more is the Immaculate Marriage
a true sacrament! It is not carnal but rather pure, it is not lustful but
rather loving, it is not of the darkness or the night but rather of the day and
the light.
References
[1]
Tony Bushby: The Forged Origins of the
New Testament. Nexus 14-04 (2007).
[2]
Hua Hu Ching by Lao Tzu (Translated
by Brian Walker) www.abuddhistlibrary.com
(use Search facility), also Hua Hu Ching:
Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu, trans. Brian Walker, Harper SanFrancisco
(1995), section 66.
[2a]
Ibid. section 69
[3]
Generally the version of The Gospel of
Philip that was used was downloaded from http://www.gnosticweb.com/index.php?PageID=114
because paragraphs in this version are numbered, while the more popular version
from www.gnosis.org is not numbered.
However, on a few occasions I used the gnosis.org version to clarify the
meaning of a saying.
[4]
Mary Sharpe: Sexuality and the Sacred in
Gnostic Literature. Dissertation University of Cambridge 2001, http://reuniting.info/SharpeDissertation.pdf
[4a] Mary Sharpe personal communication
[5]
http://www.istanbul-yes-istanbul.co.uk/alchemy/images-rpn/index.htm shows
the 20 drawings only. The Hierosgamos
Theme in the Images of the Rosarium Philosophorum at http://www.istanbul-yes-istanbul.co.uk/alchemy/Rosariumfinal.htm
gives some explanations for the drawings.
[6]
David Brons: Valentinian Sacramental Practice. http://www.gnosis.org/library/valentinus/Valentinian_Sacramental.htm.
[7] David Brons: Valentinus. http://www.gnosis.org/library/valentinus/Valentinus.htm.
[8]
Stephan A. Hoeller: VALENTINUS A Gnostic
for All Seasons. www.gnosis.org/valentinus.htm.
[9] Further interesting information
on this and related subjects is in the book Edgar
Cayce on the Revelation by John Van Auken, A.R.E. Press, Virginia Beach 2000, http://www.near-death.com/experiences/cayce10.html.
[10] Walter Last: Sexual Energy in Health and Spirituality: Nexus 14-03 (2007); also at www.health-science-spirit.com/heal-sex.html.