Oahspe Study and Faithism
The Beast and the Mountain
Consider a pyramid with grade 1 at the bottom and grade 99 (the Godhead) or grade 100 (Jehovih) at the peak. Grade 33 (the number of man) is 1/3 the way to the top, and the beast (grade 66) at 2/3 the way to the top.
At the bottom of the pyramid, freedom is the chief concern of man. That is so, not only because the development of his spirit requires it, but also because of the prevalence of the animal or beast within him demanding it. Whereas at the top, responsibility is the chief concern. For, as man grows toward the top of the pyramid he increasingly becomes responsive to those around him as well as to his environment; and sooner or later he perceives and ultimately takes on the responsibility of dominion as to nurturing or building the good within the domain wherein he finds himself.
The beast in man will turn this sense of responsibility inward to self, so that his own self becomes the chief concern of his responsibility; and as such a person moves from grade 33 to 66, he will tend to focus his attention on the outer realm and how it should be ruled to his liking, which usually means with himself at the head of things, although willing to take a lesser role as noted shortly. All this movement becomes most pronounced at grade 66.
In contrast, as man moves from grade 33 to 66, the Es in man will increasingly turn the focus of his responsibility inward to the soul of things, and especially to his own soul --- this movement reaching its greatest intensification at grade 66. From grade 66 to grade 99 the es-man turns his responsibility increasingly inward to the soul of things while not concerning himself as to his own personal fruits (rewards, reapings) --- for he knows that Jehovih provides perfectly according to what is truly deserved and needed. At the same time that man moves to grade 99 from 66, if he is Es-oriented he will also voluntarily and jointly take on the responsibility in the outer realm of nurturing and building for the All Good.
Accordingly, events at the 1/3 plateau level (33) are widespread and leisurely compared to the concentration of events at the 2/3 plateau. The sense of things being widespread stems out of the view from the lower half of the pyramid in which things seem to be disconnected and lacking unity (relatedness). Also, in the rise to responsibility, at grade 33 only a certain amount of attention is available so that a limited scope only can be perceived compared to the greater scope attainable at grade 66. And at the top everything has come together and all is One. The Great Seal of the United States --- E. Pluribus Unum (out of many, one), on the back of a one dollar bill, is symbolic of this. (The implementation of this ideal is a different issue).
There are many reasons why the beast at 2/3 is higher than the number of man at 1/3. For instance, as man looks ahead of him he perceives the beast looming over him. (For symbols of this overhead looming, see images i055 Tablet of Baugh-ghan-ghad, i054 Tablet of Tau-ghan-ghad, i053 Tablet of Bah-ghan-ghad; who signify the three types of leadersforth of the beast for those in grades 1-33, 33-66, and 66-99 respectively.) And if a person does not acknowledge them in their positions ahead and above the person, then at the very least such a person will almost surely perceive or understand that the beast is ever attempting to be the alpha / ruler / leader / top-position / first-in-rank over everyone. The wise mortal also takes into consideration the fact that each person has an animal inheritance from Asu and is therefore susceptible in some degree to the importuning of the beast.
In his climb from grade 1 to grade 33, man learns what it means to be human. As he attains to grade 33, man realizes that he is an individual distinct from his surroundings. In this grade span of 1-33, he does not particularly seek higher light for its own sake, but rather he seeks for escape from the strictures of the beast, and the light can often provide him with a way out. Usually the light is of low grade; the favored being a'ji (semi-dark), being most potent at that span.
From grade 33 to 66, man comes to realize that in addition to his es nature, he also has a beastly nature that he must more directly deal with. He also intimately learns that the beastly influence is powerful in the ways of the outer realm, so much so that man discovers how difficult it is to live with the beast without losing the higher light. Unlike grade group 1-33, here in 33-66, man desires greater light so as not to lose the gains of his soul, or at least he hopes to find a way to live without loss of light. Although he may aspire to be an alpha himself, he has an aversion to losing the benefits he receives from the es light. For that reason, the light of ji'ay (semi-light) is often preferred by him, being not too bright and not too dark.
From grade 66 to 99, man learns how to gain mastery over his surroundings in such a way as to deal more successfully with the beast, especially through the use of higher es knowledge and understanding. He also learns and puts to use the higher use of light, that of helping others to increase their own light, or as might be said, to blossom toward their potential in light. For that reason, Dan (an atmosphere of light) is preferred by those in this group 66-99. This is not to say that satan is wholly transcended by all in that highest group of 66-99, but whether or not they accept Jehovih and His wisdom, their understanding of Jehovih's creation will be developed over the course of those grades 66 to 99. And of those who reject Jehovih, that is, cannot yet perceive Jehovih's reality on the soul level, will listen to satan in their souls and their wisdom will suffer if they heed his advice with the consequences that their understanding of Jehovih's kingdom will be skewed awry.
The upshot is that to man from grade 33 onward the beast becomes increasingly attractive for expediency's sake as he, man, approaches the beast level (66), especially if he feels events are rushing toward a culmination, which, since he is climbing toward the mountaintop, they certainly do appear to be doing. For, the higher you climb, the faster time seems to fly; but in the lower grades, time seems to move comparatively at a snail's pace. (Think of young children --- a wait of two hours can seem like an eternity for them, while a week is so inconceivable as to be meaningless as a measure of time.) Thus, by giving in somewhat to his beast-nature, it can seem to man that he is slowing down the pace of what may appear to him to be simply a race to the top. To the beast-in-man (or beast-man for short) the top is the alpha position; the position of highest dominion whence the alpha can gain instant respect (or so he believes) as he rules/leads others. Alternatively, the beast in man can prompt him to be the first to attain to something which is desired by others whether an alpha position or some other treasured rarity, and thus prove his fitness as an alpha, or at least for his own self-image to attain the prize before the opportunity is gone.
Yet the Es-aspiring person reaches upward not toward being alpha, but toward Jehovih; or at the very least, the Es-in-man (or es-man for short) reaches upward toward some ideal such as Wisdom. Such unseen realities as Jehovih or Wisdom are more difficult to attain than realities of that which is seen (i.e., the outer realm); thus the beast knows how to attain money, for example, but not how to build a kingdom of Jehovih. And while some things are transitory, especially corporeal things, and do require proper timing to attain and sustain, still, the truth of the matter is that the deeper things of soul are of long duration in their essential nature, even eternal. Moreover, these are increasingly accessible to those persons who have developed in cleanliness, purity, goodness of heart, and wholesomeness. As such mortals then continue to grow in virtue and clarity, so the higher wisdom and movement of Jehovih and His creation (and hence perfect timing) stand increasingly revealed to them who were thus raised high.
To attain to that exalted state, in man's rise to the mountaintop he must learn to transcend / master the influence of the beast upon his person. That is, the beast (66) stands between man (33) and the mountaintop (99 or 100). The mastery method of the beast is through fear and force (coercion). But the mastery method of the Es-nature within man is through love, wisdom (wise dominion), and power applied in such a way as to manifest the ways and means of Jehovih's kingdom (see, e.g., the Rules of Light in Oahspe's Book of Discipline, 33/8.11-12). But the beast is wily and his subterfuges and intimidation tactics will intensify the closer one draws to his position (66). Yet after a person attains to above grade 66 the beast is still active, but changes his approach from 'presumed master' to that of feigned acquiescence while resorting to image manipulation, subterfuge, subtle sabotage, sowing of confusion, flattery, etc. In the pretence of being an equal or best friend or an advisor, he does this. Thus especially for those above grade 66, the beast takes the false appearance of looking out for that person's best interests and feigning selflessness. (Note that the beast may also use that tactic on those below grade 66, pretence being simply one weapon in his arsenal, but most other approaches tend to be ineffective on those above grade 66.)
One reason the beast begins to look increasingly attractive to man in his rise above grade 33 toward the beast plateau, is that as he rises, so his atmosphere becomes increasingly rarefied. Yet it is only through a self-sacrificing discipline that the denser substances and coarser habits slowly fall away in the rise. For that reason, the high aspiring es-man can grow weary from slow progress; and this tendency is magnified if he becomes impatient. In those moments of weakness the beast will appear, calling that person downward toward a denser atmosphere to fulfill deeper desires. Yet, although they could be, those deeper desires need not be coarse-grained nor evil, nor even consciously indulged past habits of lesser light. (For example as a child, one may have desired to be a part of a school play or musical group, or wished to sing or dance, or become friendly with a child who was in a different socio / cultural class, etc.) Instead, some of such deeper desires almost surely will be surrounded by past coarse reactions by the person's or others' beastly reactions to any expression of these deep desires. Unfortunately, holy reactions to the deep-seated desire from back then, would tend to become buried among the coarse sentiments engendered by the beast.
Note that many of our most holy desires thus lay deep, covered and untended within the soul. And as man rises, becoming first clean, then afterwards pure (spotless in spiritual garment), so the coarseness covering these holy sentiments buried deep within, begins to rarefy. This gradually exposes to the aspirant the holy nature of the original experience before it got assaulted, constricted into a warped shape (interpretation), and buried. To say the least, having been uncovered, the emanating revelation of the original experience causes a person to feel a sense of wholeness and completeness, in fact, a oneness with Jehovih and His creation, which as an abiding reality is as yet far off. Such episodes initially are few and fleeting, but increase in frequency, duration and intensity as purity and higher virtues flourish.
On the other hand, during the process of his rising, man will also experience the rarefying of his atmosphere that reveals traumatic experiences caused by the beast but had long since been buried within a bandage of pain that time had soothed over till it sunk mercifully at last into the soul soil within. It is the usual case that rising man must deal with these first before any or many of the underlying experiences of wholeness can be revealed and restored.
There is also the obstacle of the desire to avoid facing these unpleasant memories, feelings and past painful reactions, that can cause a rising person to slow down or even stop the upward progress to the mountaintop. This intensifies as they close toward the beast plateau (grade 66). In other words, the Beast will use any and whatever means he can to stop a person's progress which bypasses or minimizes the power of the beast upon him. This is not, as some might think, because of any evil nature of Satan; instead it is Jehovih's way to help the rising person to realize among other things the great power of the beast, as well as to show man that he can of his own labor as expressed through his Es nature, rise beyond Satan. Yet that rise is limited till such a person perceives Jehovih as the Front and Head of all.
There is yet another reason why the rising man might turn aside from his ascent to heed the beast. The beast nature in man desires to have any yearning fulfilled immediately, and ideally without labor or at least with the minimum of exertion on his part. In that way the beast might convince the rising man that it is essential that his beastly needs be fulfilled. This, of course, in turn, could slow, stop, or even reverse the rarefying process. Because man's body is an animal body, being the heritage from Asu, so he will have certain needs and desires, such as food, clothing, shelter, and security, and also for most, marriage. Those are the basics. Other outer realm needs and situations requiring wisdom will arise. The light given through Oahspe can help a person to know how to fulfill his animal needs without detrimentally sacrificing his rise.
Finally, notice that despite a person's desire for a certain type of light or his constancy in rise, the a'ji or ji'ay or dan that comes upon the earth from the ethe'ic solution is mostly beyond his control. We say mostly because man can and has already to some extent learned to acclimatize his dwellings and buildings. Oahspe prophesizes that he will do more. But many improvements cannot yet come about because man must first rise sufficiently beyond the contentions and passions of the beast to live in cooperative peace. This restriction is not placed because man must be punished for bad (beastly) behavior . It comes about because the necessary inner harmony of the es-man, not yet attained, must be maintained sufficiently by the outer realm so as to sustain on a more enduring and broader level the finer ethers on which these higher understandings and mechanisms reside. That is, while a single man in light might be able to comprehend to some degree underlying structures of some previously unperceived process or invention, yet a group in light will be able comparatively to perceive the entirety of not only the main underlying structures but to manifest the concepts in actions and practical productions. In other words, and quite frankly, the man in darkness who continues to practice darkness and continues in his habits of darkness and in the indulgences of the beast, is terribly stupid with regard to es matters---and this includes them who have su'is but have turned it down into the earth---alas such a ones can only perceive at a relatively coarse level of understanding.
Among mortals, these latter types, being under the influence of the Bah, Tau, or Baugh, tend to (mis)use and (ab)use the higher es of others. Yet, as the milieu light of ethe'ic solution lightens over the course of the next 30 years or so (to circa 2049), so, many of those being (mis)used and (ab)used will tend to separate themselves from their abusers / misusers, because these separators will desire to develop more fully and righteously in their es light. And after the buildup to 2049 comes the harvest and start of the second dan of Kosmon. So then man will finish his first 200 years of learning about the power of Corpor and the Beast, and will be set to begin a 200-year es-oriented time of man learning about the power of Es to 2249, and especially too how it relates to Corpor and the Beast.
For, inasmuch as it is true that development of outer realm improvements for the melioration of man along with the corporeal creation of earth and her sky, requires clear thinking and clear perception, so it becomes absolutely necessary for man to perceive and comprehend in meaningful ways the es realm and its many wonders. Neither can man yet learn what fruits will come from the marriage of es-realm-clear-understanding with the corporeal-realm-clear-understanding. In order for that to occur, man must first learn of and then advance in his es understanding as a fraternity in light.
Man will voluntarily undertake this journey, and some have already begun, but it is currently only as a trickle is to a deluge. Challenges await man in many arenas both es and corporeal. His charge is to find the best solution for both es-and-corpor as one --- a solution that neither man's es nor his corpor realm have alone resolved without detrimental cost to the other.
Without self-sacrifice there is no gain. Without voluntary sacrifice there is no progress. Without wisdom in sacrifice there is only growth but no progress. For, the bottom of the pyramid may widen in growth but progress requires rising, and rising can only be done voluntarily, requiring Es, who guides man in building from his Inner Foundation. To induce others to rise, this is Godlike, we are told.
May we all become Godlike! And a Glory to our Creator, Jehovih! Forever!
All Oahspe references are from the modern language edition: Oahspe Standard Edition 2007
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