Awakening The Highest Dimension of Life |
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The following text restores the excitement and fascination of an ancient - approx. 2000 years old - scripture. It also adapts it to contemporary language and comprehension. (Available as pdf-file at DOWNLOADS At the time this manuscript was written, the custom to furnish texts with a title did not exist. Thus when this Nag Hammadi scroll was discovered in 1945, in lack of a designated name, the beginning of the first line - 'The Gospel of Truth ...' (meaning : 'Good and True News') was taken as its label. Yet this label does little justice to the very contents of this document. Far more adequate is - Awakening
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And it delivers from great fear.
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(11) Those who desire to see their dreams, ideas, their fears take bodily form (i.e. those desiring material existence), intentionally detach from the Majestic Sublime for this purpose. Yet they go well prepared into this formative encounter. They go in perfect certainty that they again regain cognition of the All-Permeating, Sublime Awareness (from whence they sprang), as soon as they experienced all they chose to learn by taking physical appearance. Everyone with the immense courage to confront his dreams, ideas as well as his fears in material form, becomes aware of his fantastic origin as soon as his or her encounter with (material) experiences is complete. Once that part of us that's not immersed in the material world, notices that this learning process is concluded, it makes us again perceive the Majestic Sublime. Yet as long as we still are deeply engaged in (material) encounters, we stay ignorant of this particular connection. All those whose time of awakening has not yet come, are incapable of heeding this call. Until their learning process is complete they stay ignorant, - for only by being unaware of their magnificent origin can they experience what they intend to learn with the intensity they crave. And for as long as they are unaware of their true origin, they also die in this ignorance once their life ends. Thus it is worth the effort to seek what makes aware of the Majestic Grand Awareness. (12) Whoever lives this insight, is always someone from above. If he is called, he answers, turns again towards That which is calling him, ascends to It, and grows in insight simply by following this call. Aware of this special knowledge he manifests the Grand he feels within through all his action, - and in consequence is handed the sovereignty and freedom, serenity and perfect peace of the Majestic Grand. He feels like someone who was drunk and then became sober. And since he found himself again, he tidies up what is his own. (13) The messenger brought many back from error's grip. He led them to their origin, - into the All-Encompassing Awareness they lost once they adopted error to their life. He revealed the depth of the Sublime, - how It encompasses all roads and spaces, - how It is penetrating all that has existence, - and how It is even greater than all this. (14) What happens is a great mystery: - Initially those currently engaged in the material world existed in the All-encompassing Sublime, - unaware of Its - their very own - grandeur. And they realized that they were incapable of seeing the full greatness of the Grand Sublime in which they lived. Thus they took on material existence out of their own choice. The Grand Sublime then revealed itself to them as (new) insight. And they became aware that the material world too is perfectly in harmony with the Majestic Grand. These individual impulses of consciousness, - these beings in human form, - are unique initiatives of self-experience through which the Majestic Sublime expands awareness of itself. Yet knowledge about this process (The Book of Life) is no mere scripture someone may read and interpret foolishly. This special knowledge carries within the full power of truth and clarity only those can truly speak who consciously do live this truth within their life. These words of highest truth connect to the Entirety, they open access to what is Great, to the Sublime within us. Each of this message's words presents a complete thought, - each word a flawless manifestation of highest reality. The words took form (sound) so that the world may recognize their inborn, imperishable connection to the Majestic Sublime, - so that those presently experiencing themselves as separate from the Eternal Awareness again may see the timeless connection to their magnificent origin.
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(16) By making wisdom and insight accessible again, the messenger thus also dissolved all appearances and all pretense. This world, dominated by jealousy and quarrel, is in a state of deep privation. The Majestic, Sublime however doesn't know any kind of lack. Privation only comes into existence because the Great, the Noble, the Magnificent is not lived consciously. Yet the very moment we realize the Grand Sublime within, every privation and all lack cease to exist. As insight dissolves ignorance, - as darkness vanishes before the light, - so also privation disappears before the Grand Awareness's perfection. Once we perceive the Grand Sublime all outer appearances dissolve. (Once we perceive the All-Permeating Grand Sublime, we recognize EVERYTHING as an impulse of this All-Encompassing Majestic. To experience this is infinitely beautiful. It bestows deep serenity, assuredness and sovereignty. We do not vanish in some faceless nirvana, but experience a high state of bliss when we regain and reclaim our own Grand Self.) (17) As we perceive our identity with the All-Encompassing Awareness, we find our Self. This insight dissolves all our entanglement in the kaleidoscopic world of matter. Like fire insight into the Grand Sublime burns (cleanses) life of all fragmentation, - in its Light all darkness drowns, - in its Life death vanishes. (18) And once we truly experienced this, let's bring our life (our house) in order, so calmness may enter it and we perceive more of our union with the Grand. Let us behave like people who discard broken, useless vessels before they leave a place. This brings the master of the house no loss. On the contrary, - it delights him, since only intact vessels can be filled, bad ones can't. Breaking bad vessels is judgment that comes from above. It judges everyone. It's like a double-edged sword whose blade can cut both ways. (Untouched by flawed perceptions we valuate whether persons, objects, projects and ideas we surrounded us with do justice to the spirit of the Grand we deeply sense within. Applying this yardstick to the world we formed, we measure it, - and thus free ourselves from all that doesn't live up to our unerring perception. We ourselves are this incorruptible judge. We only keep what deepens our union with the Sublime. We discard all that impedes this, our exalted perception.) (19) This message flows from compassion, from the heart of those communicating it. It imparts more than the mere words you hear or read, - it also transmits the fascination and strength the messengers radiate, and the example of their actions. Yet this did cause bewilderment amongst the people. - Some realized that they were nothing, despite how high they deemed themselves, - some realized how great they really were, despite the low position they occupied. Some quickly rose to their true eminence, - while others lost what little they had, since they lacked will to grow farther. Some became pure and strong, while others broke before this challenge. All the material world's quarters trembled. Everyone was shaken as it became obvious that pride and error's creation had no substance and was doomed. Error got terrified, unable to react. It despaired because in all its assumed might it so plainly lacked orientation and knowledge. Whenever error encounters insight, error drowns, and with it all it ever created. And it became clear to everyone that error was empty, void and lost all power to mislead. (20) Highest Truth became life's center to everyone it touched (to everyone truly longing to experience It), - and this enabled them to really see the Grand Sublime. They welcomed their perception and the Sublime's immeasurable strength, - which became theirs because they realized their unity with It. Everyone perceiving this embraces this clarity and loves the truth It radiates, - because he feels it in his very being's core. Everyone encountering this highest clarity becomes enchanted and wants to share his insight. And while communicating it to others, his words carry this clarity in all its glorious vivacity and thus move others to the core. The Grand Sublime communicates by way of fascination, its radiant truth arouses those entangled in the world of matter. Through fascination and inspiration the Grand Sublime reveals what man forgot for such long time.
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(21) Because in the end - what does exist beyond appearances, beyond all veneer, - what really does exist? - Only the Sublime, the Infinite, Majestic. - Everything taking material existence, every meandering path this world's inhabitants wander, - all springs from the All-Permeating Grand. Those touched by this message realize that they emerged from this Grand like children from a perfect being. They realized that they - before they took material existence - resided within the Grand Sublime in a state unmanifested. While in this unmanifested state they couldn't see what they were going to experience when taking material form: - To become aware of the Grand Sublime they were unable to perceive in all its grandeur as long as they lacked separate experience from It. Yet the Grand Sublime is above all this. It is aware of all paths (of all worlds) that reside within It. Once the Grand Sublime chooses to take form, whatever form it chooses does appear. The Grand gives form and task (name) to that which It intends to take appearance, - It thus causes this particular part of Itself to enter material life. But those not having entered life yet (those who haven't seen the Grand Sublime yet from an outside - separate - point of view), cannot perceive the whole of Majestic Grand that will (later) cause their existence. (22) I don't suppose that those who haven't assumed material life yet do not exist. They still reside in That which eventually will want them to experience the world of matter, - and also will want to manifest a future time for this to happen. The All-Permeating Grand knows what It creates before it takes form and appearance. But that particular part of the All-Encompassing Grand which has not taken form yet is unaware of this, is unable to act. Thus each path (each world) is rooted in the Imperishable, even if its manifested form is transient, perishable, temporary. As long as we don't see that we originate in the Imperishable, experiencing the world of appearances does not enrich us. Those thinking: 'I am imperishable, even in my material form' (as almost all humans do), lose their life again and again just because they think this way. Yet some truth resides in this view: - something imperishable needs to be there, for nothing could take form otherwise. Therefore think of yourself: 'I have material existence, yet I take it for a shadow or a chimera of the night.' Once light (perception of the Grand within us) shines on these horrors (of the night), we realize that all terror was mere hallucination. (23) As long as we are unaware of the Sublime Grand because we don't perceive it, we'll continue to be ruled by fear, doubt, vulnerability, confusion, weakness, alienation, - yet these are mere delusions and hallucinations like sleepers encounter in a nightmare. We flee and don't know where to hide, - we lose all strength and are hunted, - we fight and get beaten, - we fall from great heights or glide through the air, - we feel in mortal danger though no pursuer is seen, - or we kill others. As long as we live under confusion' sway, we won't gain clarity because of the pervasive illusion that surrounds us. Yet once we wake up, we do became able to see. Exactly this happens to everyone who sheds his ignorance like a bad dream. Fed up with delusion, tired of the greedy, egoistical objectives dominating the appearances' world he now knows that none of these appearances will last. He leaves all this behind like dreams of the night. Perception of the Grand Sublime becomes his light. And now he understands what motivates the sleepers, the unaware ones.- And he also observes how different he himself acts now, - how his activities did change the very moment he perceived his sameness with the Majestic Awareness, - the very moment he woke up. This is man's highest achievement: - to regain awareness, - to come around, - to wake up. And blessed is he who makes the blind open his eyes, - he who tenders his hand to the fallen to lift him up. This is the message: - That now again the path is open, that now again the chance exists to reclaim our very origin, to fully regain the Sublime we deeply sense within. (24) Man's mind has the ability to understand this message and to experience it in this very life. But we not only heard and understood the messenger's word, - we also could see him, touch him, smell him, - and thus experience how someone in human form (like we ourselves) was able to embody, radiate and purposely reveal the Grand Unfathomable. The messenger breathed into us what was his deepest mind. He touched our hearts, and thus connected us again to the Sublime within. And many opened up to this perception and took the path leading there. But to those deeply entangled in material existence all this looked strange. They never understood the real purpose of the message. They only saw the messenger's human form and could and would not want to see beyond it. But nobody and nothing was able to stop the message, because the Imperishable, Majestic Awareness can never be seized nor suppressed. (25) In new words (different from the clichés and phrases of existing religions and philosophies) the messenger spoke the heart of the Sublime. He spoke of imperishableness, of the validity of the eternal. Light spoke through him and his voice carried life. He gave man comprehension, mercy, freedom and strength of mind, - born of the boundlessness of the Sublime and its infinite compassion. He ended punishment and misery that clouded man's vision, - because man needed compassion far more than penalty since error had deceived him and bound him to his own ignorance. The messenger's strength dissolved all this. He demonstrated error's plain irrelevancy, its utter unimportance, - he showed how error faded to insignificance before perception of the Grand. To the misled ones he became the path, - to the ignorant insight, - to seekers the finding, - to the wavering staunchness, - and purification to those thinking themselves unclean.
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