The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
At the Sea of Galilee (John 6)
- Chapter 86 -
The Lord as teacher of the art of living.
Said I: "I say to this nothing else, than that I specifically have come into this world to the people as a person Myself, to teach them this most greatest and most important art without any compensation, and I also will teach you without compensation. But that I do this to the people of many countries and towns and confirm My teaching as fully true with the right signs, those who have came with me are witnesses through word and deed, since they are My disciples. They have already been quite deeply initiated in this secret and can show you the way and the means for it.
2
Who accepts this, believes and decisively lives, does and acts accordingly, will infallibly attain the secret of life and will after the attained real rebirth of his own life's spirit in himself, become a master of his life and thereby also a master of the life of his fellow-men, because he will be able to show them the way to it and through mastering his own life he will be able to show them the great life's advantages of such mastering.
3
But this I also say to you, that nobody will become a master overnight and that the pure, even most solid knowledge about the means and ways for attaining this greatest art, are absolutely of no use to any person, if he does not applies it fully practical to his life. The theory on its own is there of no use at all, but only the praxis.
4
It is similar with the learning of other arts. For example you wanted to learn how to play a music instrument masterly, like the perfect lyra of the Greek or the even better sounding harp of the Jews, you apparently had to engage a master of this instrument. He would teach you very precisely the rules which are absolutely necessary to play the music instrument, so that you precisely would know what you had to do and to practise to become in time a master musician yourself. Would you be already a harp- or lyra player with only the so precise knowledge of all rules, means and ways? O, surly not! You first had to troublesome learn the ability by diligently exercising the fingers and ears according to the rules known to you to become a master. And it is precisely the same with the attainment of the art of life.
5
Only by practising one becomes a master, and the higher or lesser degree of the attained mastership depends directly on the greater or lesser practising of the recognised rules. The more practise, the more the mastership! Therefore you should not think that by the knowledge of the rules of life's art alone, you already are able to achieve something, or that thereby the veil of your Isis is already lifted! I say it to you: through pure recognition alone, you will not even nearly understand the possibilities, that by the practising of such rules the veil of the Isis could be lifted! Only by continuous and diligent practising you will come to the increasingly brighter realization, that the rules are right and true and will lead to the set goal. And once you have reached mastership through practising, only then you will have the totally lifted veil of Isis in front of you. - See, this were the pre-instructions to the subsequent rules which had to be practised and executed for man can attain the true mastership of life! What does your judgement say to this?"
6
Said the tax collector: "I find all this in the most perfect order. That one cannot become a master by the knowledge of the rules alone, or hardly even a disciple, is a truth which finds its confirmation in countless experiences; but endlessly much is already achieved if one, for reaching such goal, has learned the certain and infallible means and ways. The rest of course depends completely on ourselves. That also the potential disciple cannot even clearly realize in himself that he can become a master, but only then when through a lot of practising he himself has achieved mastership, is also sun clear; but that without you and prior to you, no person could not even nearly have found these most important rules, is something which my mind in no way can understand. Neither old-Egypt nor Canaan, nor Greece and Rome, nor Persia and India could produce any wise man who could find the right rules for this art. You are thus the first one who did not learned this art, but apparently have produced it out of himself! - Tell me, how was this possible to you as a person?!
7
Since that you own the mastership of life in the fullest measure, the most tangible and truest proof is sitting next to us. You also could have attained this only by practising the necessary rules for it, which you yourself however had to invent first. Now, this is what I cannot understand in the least; since also I in my younger years have travelled all over the world and informed myself about everything. The activities of the Essenes with their false miracles is only too well known to me, just like all the magic arts and fortune-telling, which schools I often have attended myself; but here we do not have any consent, no magic wand, no mystic magic words, no magic potion and no invocation of demons, but just the most pompless and most destitute truth. You speak and want and the effectuation of the word and will is there! Yes, this is something which surpasses sky high all horizons of knowledge! To effectuate something is most likely very easy, once one has become a master; but to have attained mastership and especially the necessary rules without master or guide, - is a completely different matter! Tell me then, how you have achieved this! Who has shown and given you the rules?"