Oahspe Study and Faithism
Four Foods of Man Part 8
Appropriate Es Foods lead Man to
Me-de-ans and learning to Read Grades
As man progresses in light, so there must be a concurrent progression in the food itself for man. Mind, Spirit, Soul, and Form progress as man's Es Foods do.
After man in Bon began to move toward the inner temple, he began to grow in his desire to sustain the Tree of Light within him, and hopefully even have it grow. But the Beast deflected man from fulfilling his quest, until at last man nearly lost the Tree of Light within. Indeed, just as man was at his lowest ebb, the cyclical dan'ha rise of light came upon him (about 800 years before the end of the cycle). From then to the beginning of Kosmon, man deeply desired to build his soul in light. But the Beast outmaneuvered him at nearly every turn so that man began to grow skeptical even cynical toward the inner realm, the unseen realm.
As a consequence, by the time the light of the Arc of Kosmon came upon man, he essentially lost his desire for high aspiration beyond corporeal things. The Tree of Light was still alit within him, but he cared little to nothing for going out of his way for its growth --- for the Beast had conditioned him to that end. Now in early Kosmon, man is beginning to reawaken to that Tree of Light within. As a shoot that springs up out of the dark ground to breathe fresh air, so is the spirit of man in early Kosmon. But the shoot does not as yet see the sun since the ground is covered thickly with the detritus of disintegrating mulch from last dan'ha's fallen leaves (broken forms). But even as a bird covered in darkness sings forth its spirit, so man will set forth his rising spirit till at last he pierces the thick debris and the sun appears.
In coming out from the dross of the beast, zealous to protect that sprig --- that fresh growth of his spirit --- man went to the opposite extreme, perceiving anything including goodness itself to be a threat or harmful to the well-being of his spirit. For, man having been beaten down by the Beast, viewed everything as a hammer. From his bewildered point of view, all things from the outside pressed upon him as unwanted imposition. For which reason he gauged things that were even good as being detrimental to his spirit, and therefore adverse to his conception of the Ideal Form.
Kosmon's Crystalline Light
The problem was that man had nearly lost sight of his crystalline light, and in his recovery during the dan'ha cyclical rise of light, the beast either tried to nip back that new growth or subsume it under the beast's own banner. But even as when trying to weed a meadow large as the continents --- not every sprout could be subdued or destroyed. The result was man limping into Kosmon, sore and out of sorts, with his Tree of Light barely alit.
But the Arc of Kosmon came and rejuvenated the Tree of Light and its Crystalline Light. But this new light was unlike that light of Bon. In other words, the crystalline light from Bon was superseded by the Crystalline Light from Kosmon. And unlike Bon's light that required the minimum of assistance from man to keep alit, the light of Kosmon requires more of man's active assistance to keep it illumed. Yet that heritage of Bon's Crystalline Light is not useless, for, Bon's light does not disappear, but rather it becomes insufficient to feed the needs and desires of man in this Kosmon cycle. Neither can it provide for the vibrations of the expanded, more comprehensive, fuller light of Kosmon. It is like having only water to live on when you need the nutrients and nourishing atmosphere of a fresh fruit juice.
This is not to say that either Bon's light or Spe-ta's light or any other of the previous dan'ha lights are unnecessary for today --- they are just insufficient. Thus with each progression through the Dan'ha cycles leading up to Kosmon there was a rising gradation in density and quality of light.
In the time of Osire, Son of Jehovih, man immersed himself in corporeal food --- i.e., inspiration from his corporeal surroundings --- to feed his inner person--his mind in this case; and toward the end of that cycle man began to long for a more fulfilling food for his inner being. In the time of Fragapatti, man was given a brightly warm (fiery) nougat of light, which he hungrily devoured, but toward the end of the cycle that food was becoming stale and dry which also developed a thirst in man.
In the time of Spe-ta, man's soul was parched and he grew desirous of slaking that thirst. The light from the Arc of Spe-ta was as pure refreshing water provided for the soul of mortal man. During the Spe-ta cycle, man, having his thirst quenched, began to long for a fare with more substance. After all, man cannot live on water alone. This food was brought forth in Bon, emblemized by the Ahaoma --- bread from heaven; see, e.g., 27/4.30; Book of Bon) with which the Faithists of Capilya were fed while in the wilderness. The Faithists and Hangers-on following Moses were also fed with a materialized "bread from heaven --- manna" (as recorded in the Ezra bible). In China man was fed by the possibilities of Form (including corporeal possibilities) that come from living in a highly developed es (recall there was an overabundance of magicians near the beginning of Bon). With Chine, man witnessed the miracles performed by a person of substance not only of corpor but of es. Thus Chine became an example of how the outer realm (feats of Chine in this case) could feed the inner realm, namely, man's longing for something of substance outside himself to inspire him that would also feed his soul hunger.
Nourishment and Balance of the Inner and Outer Realms
Later in Bon even Sakaya, Ka'yu, and Joshu taught the importance of the outer realm in feeding the soul. Recall, for instance, Sakaya's realization that in order to feed the inner man / the es-man / the soul, that the outer realm was not meant to be despised or turned from, but rather that the outer Form (i.e., outer realm such as the corporeal realm, rites & ceremonies, man's social order, etc.) was meant to provide food including any good, so as to nourish the life and growth of the es man. In other words, as the es in man was not to be sacrificed for the sole purpose of the outer realm, so, in turn, the corporeal man was not to be sacrificed for the sole purpose of the inner realm. In short, one purpose of the outer realm is to provide food for the soul of man and conversely one purpose of the inner realm is to provide food for the outer realm.
In Bon, Ka'yu for example, further emphasized the importance of the outer Form, especially as it manifests in the highest best social order. One critical feature of that requires set times and places for inner realm development (especially rites and ceremonies). Yet Ka'yu also included the importance of feeding (maintaining) the outer realm through the sustaining of the inner realm --- inner integrity being essential and integral to the health of the nation. And of utmost importance was for man to aspire to the Golden Mean, that is, a balance between all things including the inner and outer realm.
This Golden Mean is a direct descendant of the Me-de-an or Middle Way. Its presence in Bon was simply the manifesting in the mortal realm of the Me-de-an ideal, including its specific ideal of balance (recall the scales of Anubi) as first set forth m Spe-ta. In fact during Bon, man in all nations developed in this philosophy as well.
As emblems of the joining of Corpor and Es, both Capilya and Moses had been not only kings (Moses is recorded in history as Amenemhat IV in authentic King's lists, he was superseded by his foster mother / sister, 3 years before Amenemhat III died, ending the 12th Dynasty) --- kings were emblematic of the highest in the outer realm --- but each Leaderforth was a highly developed Es-man as well. Chine, on the other hand, showed man that man himself was capable of transcending the outer realm heights of even kings. And though Chine himself did not hold the title king, yet even kings beheld him in highest esteem and awe.
Holding the Kingship was also important because that office represented to the common man, the heights of attainment. Because Capilya and Moses walked away from their crowns, so they showed man by example that kingship is not the highest, but that the Es-man was higher. For Sakaya and Ka'yu, both of whom taught the importance of balance between the outer realm and the inner realm, it was only necessary that they be born as Princes. This demonstrated to man that kingship (mastery) over one's self -- i.e., developing one's es -- and the aspiration toward that end, is preferable to, indeed higher than striving for outer realm attainment of leadership. This renouncing reinforced in common man that the Es-man and the inner realm were higher than any outer realm attainment. In other words, while a person tries to attain a balance, the judgment of the Inner Realm stands more potent than the judgment of the outer realm.
Four hundred years later, this last realization loomed important for Joshu's time. His labor included showing man that in truth the outer realm is, should be, and must be an outer expression of the inner realm. For which reason, he taught, a person should live in balance between the inner and outer realms, and that the purpose of living in the outer realm (corpor in the case of mortals) was for the perfection of the soul. For which reason, it was not required for Joshu to be an outer realm royal personage, but of humble birth, since the idea was to show that each man was king over his own inner realm and therefore king over his own outer person, and by extension, responsible for the just reaping (whatever the quality and quantity) from the outer and inner realms that comes from his previous sowing.
The king, Joshu showed, was found in attaining the heights of the Inner Realm. Indeed, Joshu's royal heritage was inner realm, not outer realm, and included directly a former king --- Illaes formerly Nu-ghan, Pharaoh of Egupt, the last of the outer realm builders (pyramidal age) who had set the outer realm in ascendance over the inner realm. The redeeming work of Illaes through the Essenes and their epitome, Joshu, brought the highest light back to the core of the inner realm and placed it in ascendancy over the outer realm.
Joshu showed that what Thothma achieved through the pyramid, could be attained without the necessity of a corporeal pyramid, or indeed any outer realm structure whatsoever. Kosmon man knows that wisdom because of the example and teaching of Joshu, the Es'ean / Es'yan (literally: follower and practicer of Es).
Twelve hundred years earlier, Capilya, when he and his followers cast down stones to form an altar, had demonstrated that no outer realm edifice was necessary to worship Jehovih but that worship comes from the soul; and the cast stones symbolized and became a talisman for the soul to remind them of their vows (27/9.4-6 Book of the Arc of Bon). Now in Kosmon, we Faithists, at least, recognize that while such objects can assist in realigning the soul to Jehovih, and while these may be desirable and their wise usage good, especially for the sake of man-not-so-far-along, yet they are, in fact, not absolutely necessary for man to realign to Jehovih.
However, a group practicing together as One Person under Jehovih, of which rites and ceremonies are the foundation, is a necessary prelude to rising to and attaining the second resurrection, which is an organic unit. The organic first resurrection consists of those rising toward that end. The act of laboring together toward a common end, will not in and of itself bring one into the second resurrection, although it will bring one to appreciate, and even partake of it in some osmotic or derivative way. Those who have become constitutionally grown in this are said to be in the second es grade (see e.g., 37/5.25 Book of Knowledge).
In Bon, because of the prevalence, ascendancy, and primacy of the Four Heads of the Beast among mortals and spirits, so those in the second es grade (note that the second es grade is not the same as the second resurrection, although it is the beginning of association) who adhered to the rites and ceremonies of these false Gods, were classified as the second resurrection of the Beast. This adherence behavior to the Beast in Bon especially pervaded hada (lower and lowest heavens). In Kosmon, however, because the heavens of the false Gods were removed, it is no longer possible for man to enter into any second resurrection of the Beast, There is no longer any such category, no organic heaven providing for believers in the false religions. Although the ex-heads of the Beast of Bon still receive those who worship them, they do not support the worship of their idols, rather the ex-heads work to rehabilitate their wards to put away their beast and turn to Jehovih.
Despite that, it is still possible for man to be ensnared within, tangled up with, and otherwise confounded by the remains of the Beast's body (the four widespread religions in early Kosmon) which will endure, albeit increasingly atrophying, till at last (by 2100 ce according to the cycles) they shall be gone as an influence in man. In that regard, man is, as they might say, in the end times (but not in the way the believers would hope nor expect). Thus, in Kosmon, although the beast has no head --- having been lost when the Four Heads were removed --- yet the body of the beast continues to thrash around and about, incapable of building anything of enduring substance. That is to say, the food they provide man is no longer sufficient for the grade of man, and sooner or later all will turn to more fulfilling fare, which they will ultimately find in Jehovih's fraternities formed around the earth.
In Part 9 the quality of Man's food regarding his inner and outer development continues to increase as man comes to realize, beginning in his Soul, the source of the higher grade food.
All Oahspe references are from the modern language edition: Oahspe Standard Edition 2007
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