AsIDream
05-08-2006, 09:28 PM
The GOSPEL of THOMAS
Elucidation of the secret words
The TAO TE CHING of LAO TZU
No copy-right. May be freely and unlimited plagiarized, copied, pirated and quoted as much as possible. Feel free to disseminate anything here without permission, but please mention http://gospelofthomas.fol.nl
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gospel of Thomas
These are the secret words, which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.
Elucidation:
There are two reasons why the teachings were secret. The most important is that they go against all vested interests, knock over all holy houses and invalidate all things man consider to be true. The second might be that the disciples, because they did not really understand, considered it somewhat secret. They called Jesus "the living" only meaning he had risen from the dead (or he had freed himself from the world of shadows)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
And he said: He who shall find the interpretation of these words shall not taste of death.
Elucidation:
He who will understand these words and live accordingly shall awaken and reach enlightenment. It is not being literally but rather figuratively dead from which man must rise. Then he will no longer live in time, but in an eternal present, without past or future. That is the meaning of eternal life. Then, old and full of years, he will finally return to the place from which he originated..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2
Jesus said: He who seeks, let him not cease seeking until he finds; and when he finds he will be troubled, and if he is troubled, he will be amazed, and he will reign over the All.
Elucidation:
You must first break away from the herd, from all things you have considered normal, understanding that all you have learned in your life only served self-interest and group-interest; that so far your life, driven by vanity and selfishness, has been a mistake, and that you did not live as you might have. You must see that your character has been a learned behavior, until you have redeemed your last penny and stand completely naked. Then you will be granted the last step, from despair to rest. Then you will be able to see clearly. It is then that you will understand you are only man. At that moment, you will see everywhere around you people acting out their play, adorned with the masks of their character, occupation, religion and other group masks, and initially you cannot imagine that they cannot see this. It disturbs you when you realize you know more than all the great men of earth, because such knowledge is not needed. If you know yourself, you realize you only need knowledge in order to live in society, and that you must refute that same knowledge in order to live free from the world system. But, you understand everything!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3
Jesus said: If those who lead you say unto you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of the heavens will be before you. If they say unto you: It is in the sea, then the fish will be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you know yourselves, then shall you be known, and you shall know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.
Elucidation::
Do not believe the words of your spiritual leaders. They tell you heaven is the reward and hell is the punishment after death. The true hell is the world of the dead, the unconscious, the sleeping here on earth. Heaven is the state of the awakened. When you know yourself, you feel a part of the entire creation and all people. When "Jesus" talks of the Kingdom and the Father, he tries to catch the unspeakable in a metaphor. About that which you cannot speak, you must pass over in silence. It is useless to talk of the unspeakable goal; it is enough to show the way. If you do not know yourself, you lead a miserable life; perhaps rich to the world, but poor for your Self.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4
Jesus said: The man aged in his days will not hesitate to ask a little child of seven days about the place of life, and he shall live. For there are many first who shall be last, and they shall become a single one.
Elucidation:
A small child of 7 days is still open-minded, not yet saddled with the weight of culture. It does not play a role and is itself. It has neither fake needs nor property. It does not know past nor future, frights, problems nor anxieties. It lives in the present and is neither male nor female in behavior. It does not have the schizoid character and spuriousness of an adult. Therefore, if you want to live a real life you must be as a child once again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
Jesus said: Know what is before thy face, and what is hidden from thee shall be revealed unto thee; for there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest.
Elucidation:
You will understand everything when you know yourself. If you understand your inner world, you understand the outer world. Men say they know themselves with all their faults and shortcomings. If you know your faults, why do you continue to commit them, and why do you accept your shortcomings? When you conform to society, you do an injustice to yourself and sin against yourself. What is good for nature is wrong for culture, and what is good for culture is wrong for nature.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
His disciples asked him and said unto him: Wilt thou that we fast? And how shall we pray? Shall we give alms? And what rules shall we observe in eating? Jesus said: Do not lie; and that which you hate, do not do. For all things are revealed before heaven. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, and there is nothing covered which shall remain uncovered.
Elucidation:
By fasting, praying and giving alms, no man has ever become more human. These things belong to a life in society. By fasting, you do not do yourself justice. You only pray to a god if you do not realize that you are god yourself. You can only give alms if you posses property, and property is theft from community.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7
Jesus said: Blessed is the lion, which the man shall eat, and the lion become man; and cursed is the man whom the lion shall eat, and the lion become man.
Elucidation:
Man is the crown of creation. Literally it means that if a lion devours you it is an upgrade for the lion to be admitted into man, but is a degradation if man is admitted into the lion. Figuratively, it means that man should devour culture and leave nothing. For, if culture devours man, he is not doing well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8
And he said: Man is like a wise fisherman, who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea; he chose the large fish with no trouble. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Elucidation:
Of everything man possesses, his true nature is the only thing of value. The rest is rubbish to be discarded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9
Jesus said: Behold, the sower went forth, he filled his hand with seed, he cast. Some fell upon the road; the birds came and gathered it. Others fell on rock, and sent no root down to the earth nor did they sprout an ear up to heaven. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed, and the worms ate them. And others fell on good earth, and brought forth good fruit unto heaven, some sixty -fold and some an hundred and twenty -fold.
Elucidation:
Only when the lessons of the master find a good breeding ground will they bring forth fruit and plenty. Civilized people have entrenched themselves in their stubbornness and are deaf to the voice of their common sense. They have confused their common sense with their own laws and rules and therefore are always in conflict with themselves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10
Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze.
Elucidation:
"Jesus" was convinced that his message would eventually be understood and would spread like wildfire across the world, leaving a track of awakened ones. He understood that the men in power would resist to the utmost. He envisioned that culture and falsehood would go up in flames and he expected man to choose en masse for a simple and righteous life. Unfortunately, power continues to prevail over love. However, power is never brought to an end by power. The eternal law is that power is overcome by love.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11
Jesus said: This heaven shall pass away, and that which above it shall pass away; and they that are dead are not alive and they that live shall not die. In the days when you were eating that which is dead, you were making it alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?
Elucidation:
He proclaims the eternal truth that man is man, no matter what he considers himself to be and no matter what unnatural behavior he shows. Man is doomed to be happy notwithstanding his efforts to resist and he can only return to himself. The degenerated man does not really live and once awakened can never fall asleep again. What is it you are to do when you have reached enlightenment? As a small child you were whole; by adapting to society your life has become split and full of contradictions. Between character and nature, between your inside and your outside, between your mask and your true face. What will you choose?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12
The disciples said to Jesus: We know that thou wilt go from us. Who is he who shall be great over us? Jesus said to them: No matter where you are, you shall go to James the Just for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.
Elucidation:
Do not depend on the master. Everybody has his inner master, the voice of his conscience. The true master is the master that tells you to listen to yourself. He who will listen to himself unconditionally will become like the master. Every man can become wise and you are either wise or foolish, there is nothing between. He who is at a depth of one yard will drown just as the one who is at a depth of 500 fathoms. He who surpasses it can "walk on water".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13
Jesus said to his disciples: Compare me to something, and tell me whom I am like. Simon Peter said to him: Thou art like a righteous angel. Matthew said to him: Thou art like a wise man of understanding. Thomas said to him: Master, my mouth will no wise suffer that I say whom thou art like. Jesus said: I am not thy master, because thou hast drunk, thou hast become drunk from the bubbling spring which I have measured out. And he took him, went aside, and spoke to him three words. Now when Thomas came to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus say unto thee? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the words which he said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; and a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.
Elucidation:
True man appears common just like everybody else. Although he carries the scars of his former life, he can only be recognized by his imperturbability. He does not know fears nor sorrow and he does not worry about tomorrow. He can play the social game faultlessly, but does not allow it to influence him. He is joyful and devoid of emotions. He feels safe and realizes he can no longer become ill or injured. He drifts with the current of life and does not try to manage it. The sleeping ones do not understand him. His disciples will only understand him as soon as they have become like their master. For only being like "Jesus" is understanding him, just as only being like "god" is understanding "god", but if you tell them that, they will stone you to death. Although it says: you are gods! Why then not behave as such?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14
Jesus said to them: If you fast, you will beget a sin upon yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do evil to your spirits. And if you enter into any land and travel in its regions, if they receive you, eat what they set before you. Heal the sick among them. For that which goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which comes forth from your mouth that is what will defile you.
Elucidation:
Fasting is against nature, praying requires a personal god and giving alms is only possible because of inequality between people. If you return to the people, participate in their play again and do not worry about that which you will eat. Whatever you may or may not eat and what is healthy or not is only determined by people. If you are a whole man, you can eat everything. You will not get ill from wrong food but from what you utter. Because what comes from your mouth comes from your thoughts: dishonesty, annoyance, hatred, greed, egoism, jealousy, eagerness, viciousness, unrighteousness, ruse and deceit. This is what makes man ill. If nothing that enters the mouth makes ill, nothing that enters will cure as well. Medicines, vitamins and healthy food are for the sleeping ones. Cure the sick by showing them the way to wholeness and simplicity. The living do not turn ill, because there is no need for warnings to show them they have left the right track. Do not cure the body, that is in vain, but cure the soul and the body follows automatically. After all, a healthy spirit lives in a healthy body.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15
Jesus said: When you see him, who was not born of woman, throw yourselves down upon your face and worship him. He is your Father.
Elucidation:
All men are born from a woman, but if you feel "one" with everything and realize that what gives life to all gives it to you too, then "you see" as it was once written "god". Then, you know you have made it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16
Jesus said: Perhaps men think that I am come to bring peace upon earth, but know not that I am come to cast divisions upon earth, fire, sword, and war. For there shall be five in a house; there shall be three against two, and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father, and they shall stand alone.
Elucidation:
He realized that once his message was understood, it would result in a separation of minds. The one who is not with him is against him. The one that does not fight for himself fights against himself. A grim fight would start between the powerful and their subjects, between man and woman, between parents and children, between leaders and followers, between clergy and believers, between the dependent and the free. The reversal of all values would cause a total collapse of all structures of power, within families, churches and states. The biggest threat to a culture is happy, independent, satisfied and free people. That remains valid.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17
Jesus said: I will give you that which eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and hand has not touched, and which has not entered into the heart of man.
Elucidation:
Man, when he has taken the last step and has awakened, experiences an overwhelming feeling of unity with the entire creation. To experience it is not seeing, not hearing, not touching.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18
The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us how our end shall be. Jesus said: Have you then discovered the beginning that you seek after the end? For where the beginning is, there shall the end be. Blessed is he who shall stand in the beginning, and he shall know the end and shall not taste death.
Elucidation:
The end will be like the beginning. The old man will become like a child. As you were, you will become. If you do not see through the present, you cannot know the end. If you know yourself, you know what you were like before and how you became what you were. It is called returning to the origin, to yourself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19
Jesus said: Blessed is he who is as he was before he came into being. If you become my disciples and hear my words, these stones shall minister to you. For you have five trees in Paradise which do not move in summer or in winter, and their leaves do not fall. He who knows them shall not taste death.
Elucidation:
Blessed is he who did not change, who remained who he is and did not turn into someone who is split inside. Blessed is the child, which has not been expelled from paradise by adapting to an unrighteous society. Blessed is he who hears clearly, looks clearly, smells clearly, tastes clearly and feels clearly, and who does not let experiences from the past distort these things. He has reached enlightenment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20
The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said to them: It is like a grain of mustard seed, smaller than all seeds; but when it falls on the earth which is tilled, it puts forth a great branch, and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven.
Elucidation:
The righteous world starts from a solitary person, but if mankind will be open to his message, the movement for the restoration of the original condition and a righteous world will spread rapidly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21
Mary said to Jesus: Whom are thy disciples like? He said: They are like little children dwelling in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say: Yield up to us our field. They are naked before them, to yield it up and give them back their field. Therefore I say: If the master of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes, and will not let him dig into the house of his kingdom to carry off his vessels. You, then, be watchful against the world. Gird up your loins with great strength, that the brigands may not find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. May there be among you a man of understanding! When the fruit was ripe, he came quickly, his sickle in his hand, and reaped. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear
Elucidation:
As long as the disciples are not like the master, they have not understood the message. Therefore, it says: First seek the Kingdom of
Elucidation of the secret words
The TAO TE CHING of LAO TZU
No copy-right. May be freely and unlimited plagiarized, copied, pirated and quoted as much as possible. Feel free to disseminate anything here without permission, but please mention http://gospelofthomas.fol.nl
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gospel of Thomas
These are the secret words, which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.
Elucidation:
There are two reasons why the teachings were secret. The most important is that they go against all vested interests, knock over all holy houses and invalidate all things man consider to be true. The second might be that the disciples, because they did not really understand, considered it somewhat secret. They called Jesus "the living" only meaning he had risen from the dead (or he had freed himself from the world of shadows)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
And he said: He who shall find the interpretation of these words shall not taste of death.
Elucidation:
He who will understand these words and live accordingly shall awaken and reach enlightenment. It is not being literally but rather figuratively dead from which man must rise. Then he will no longer live in time, but in an eternal present, without past or future. That is the meaning of eternal life. Then, old and full of years, he will finally return to the place from which he originated..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2
Jesus said: He who seeks, let him not cease seeking until he finds; and when he finds he will be troubled, and if he is troubled, he will be amazed, and he will reign over the All.
Elucidation:
You must first break away from the herd, from all things you have considered normal, understanding that all you have learned in your life only served self-interest and group-interest; that so far your life, driven by vanity and selfishness, has been a mistake, and that you did not live as you might have. You must see that your character has been a learned behavior, until you have redeemed your last penny and stand completely naked. Then you will be granted the last step, from despair to rest. Then you will be able to see clearly. It is then that you will understand you are only man. At that moment, you will see everywhere around you people acting out their play, adorned with the masks of their character, occupation, religion and other group masks, and initially you cannot imagine that they cannot see this. It disturbs you when you realize you know more than all the great men of earth, because such knowledge is not needed. If you know yourself, you realize you only need knowledge in order to live in society, and that you must refute that same knowledge in order to live free from the world system. But, you understand everything!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3
Jesus said: If those who lead you say unto you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of the heavens will be before you. If they say unto you: It is in the sea, then the fish will be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you know yourselves, then shall you be known, and you shall know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.
Elucidation::
Do not believe the words of your spiritual leaders. They tell you heaven is the reward and hell is the punishment after death. The true hell is the world of the dead, the unconscious, the sleeping here on earth. Heaven is the state of the awakened. When you know yourself, you feel a part of the entire creation and all people. When "Jesus" talks of the Kingdom and the Father, he tries to catch the unspeakable in a metaphor. About that which you cannot speak, you must pass over in silence. It is useless to talk of the unspeakable goal; it is enough to show the way. If you do not know yourself, you lead a miserable life; perhaps rich to the world, but poor for your Self.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4
Jesus said: The man aged in his days will not hesitate to ask a little child of seven days about the place of life, and he shall live. For there are many first who shall be last, and they shall become a single one.
Elucidation:
A small child of 7 days is still open-minded, not yet saddled with the weight of culture. It does not play a role and is itself. It has neither fake needs nor property. It does not know past nor future, frights, problems nor anxieties. It lives in the present and is neither male nor female in behavior. It does not have the schizoid character and spuriousness of an adult. Therefore, if you want to live a real life you must be as a child once again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
Jesus said: Know what is before thy face, and what is hidden from thee shall be revealed unto thee; for there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest.
Elucidation:
You will understand everything when you know yourself. If you understand your inner world, you understand the outer world. Men say they know themselves with all their faults and shortcomings. If you know your faults, why do you continue to commit them, and why do you accept your shortcomings? When you conform to society, you do an injustice to yourself and sin against yourself. What is good for nature is wrong for culture, and what is good for culture is wrong for nature.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
His disciples asked him and said unto him: Wilt thou that we fast? And how shall we pray? Shall we give alms? And what rules shall we observe in eating? Jesus said: Do not lie; and that which you hate, do not do. For all things are revealed before heaven. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, and there is nothing covered which shall remain uncovered.
Elucidation:
By fasting, praying and giving alms, no man has ever become more human. These things belong to a life in society. By fasting, you do not do yourself justice. You only pray to a god if you do not realize that you are god yourself. You can only give alms if you posses property, and property is theft from community.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7
Jesus said: Blessed is the lion, which the man shall eat, and the lion become man; and cursed is the man whom the lion shall eat, and the lion become man.
Elucidation:
Man is the crown of creation. Literally it means that if a lion devours you it is an upgrade for the lion to be admitted into man, but is a degradation if man is admitted into the lion. Figuratively, it means that man should devour culture and leave nothing. For, if culture devours man, he is not doing well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8
And he said: Man is like a wise fisherman, who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea; he chose the large fish with no trouble. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Elucidation:
Of everything man possesses, his true nature is the only thing of value. The rest is rubbish to be discarded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9
Jesus said: Behold, the sower went forth, he filled his hand with seed, he cast. Some fell upon the road; the birds came and gathered it. Others fell on rock, and sent no root down to the earth nor did they sprout an ear up to heaven. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed, and the worms ate them. And others fell on good earth, and brought forth good fruit unto heaven, some sixty -fold and some an hundred and twenty -fold.
Elucidation:
Only when the lessons of the master find a good breeding ground will they bring forth fruit and plenty. Civilized people have entrenched themselves in their stubbornness and are deaf to the voice of their common sense. They have confused their common sense with their own laws and rules and therefore are always in conflict with themselves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10
Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze.
Elucidation:
"Jesus" was convinced that his message would eventually be understood and would spread like wildfire across the world, leaving a track of awakened ones. He understood that the men in power would resist to the utmost. He envisioned that culture and falsehood would go up in flames and he expected man to choose en masse for a simple and righteous life. Unfortunately, power continues to prevail over love. However, power is never brought to an end by power. The eternal law is that power is overcome by love.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11
Jesus said: This heaven shall pass away, and that which above it shall pass away; and they that are dead are not alive and they that live shall not die. In the days when you were eating that which is dead, you were making it alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?
Elucidation:
He proclaims the eternal truth that man is man, no matter what he considers himself to be and no matter what unnatural behavior he shows. Man is doomed to be happy notwithstanding his efforts to resist and he can only return to himself. The degenerated man does not really live and once awakened can never fall asleep again. What is it you are to do when you have reached enlightenment? As a small child you were whole; by adapting to society your life has become split and full of contradictions. Between character and nature, between your inside and your outside, between your mask and your true face. What will you choose?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12
The disciples said to Jesus: We know that thou wilt go from us. Who is he who shall be great over us? Jesus said to them: No matter where you are, you shall go to James the Just for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.
Elucidation:
Do not depend on the master. Everybody has his inner master, the voice of his conscience. The true master is the master that tells you to listen to yourself. He who will listen to himself unconditionally will become like the master. Every man can become wise and you are either wise or foolish, there is nothing between. He who is at a depth of one yard will drown just as the one who is at a depth of 500 fathoms. He who surpasses it can "walk on water".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13
Jesus said to his disciples: Compare me to something, and tell me whom I am like. Simon Peter said to him: Thou art like a righteous angel. Matthew said to him: Thou art like a wise man of understanding. Thomas said to him: Master, my mouth will no wise suffer that I say whom thou art like. Jesus said: I am not thy master, because thou hast drunk, thou hast become drunk from the bubbling spring which I have measured out. And he took him, went aside, and spoke to him three words. Now when Thomas came to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus say unto thee? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the words which he said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; and a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.
Elucidation:
True man appears common just like everybody else. Although he carries the scars of his former life, he can only be recognized by his imperturbability. He does not know fears nor sorrow and he does not worry about tomorrow. He can play the social game faultlessly, but does not allow it to influence him. He is joyful and devoid of emotions. He feels safe and realizes he can no longer become ill or injured. He drifts with the current of life and does not try to manage it. The sleeping ones do not understand him. His disciples will only understand him as soon as they have become like their master. For only being like "Jesus" is understanding him, just as only being like "god" is understanding "god", but if you tell them that, they will stone you to death. Although it says: you are gods! Why then not behave as such?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14
Jesus said to them: If you fast, you will beget a sin upon yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do evil to your spirits. And if you enter into any land and travel in its regions, if they receive you, eat what they set before you. Heal the sick among them. For that which goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which comes forth from your mouth that is what will defile you.
Elucidation:
Fasting is against nature, praying requires a personal god and giving alms is only possible because of inequality between people. If you return to the people, participate in their play again and do not worry about that which you will eat. Whatever you may or may not eat and what is healthy or not is only determined by people. If you are a whole man, you can eat everything. You will not get ill from wrong food but from what you utter. Because what comes from your mouth comes from your thoughts: dishonesty, annoyance, hatred, greed, egoism, jealousy, eagerness, viciousness, unrighteousness, ruse and deceit. This is what makes man ill. If nothing that enters the mouth makes ill, nothing that enters will cure as well. Medicines, vitamins and healthy food are for the sleeping ones. Cure the sick by showing them the way to wholeness and simplicity. The living do not turn ill, because there is no need for warnings to show them they have left the right track. Do not cure the body, that is in vain, but cure the soul and the body follows automatically. After all, a healthy spirit lives in a healthy body.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15
Jesus said: When you see him, who was not born of woman, throw yourselves down upon your face and worship him. He is your Father.
Elucidation:
All men are born from a woman, but if you feel "one" with everything and realize that what gives life to all gives it to you too, then "you see" as it was once written "god". Then, you know you have made it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16
Jesus said: Perhaps men think that I am come to bring peace upon earth, but know not that I am come to cast divisions upon earth, fire, sword, and war. For there shall be five in a house; there shall be three against two, and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father, and they shall stand alone.
Elucidation:
He realized that once his message was understood, it would result in a separation of minds. The one who is not with him is against him. The one that does not fight for himself fights against himself. A grim fight would start between the powerful and their subjects, between man and woman, between parents and children, between leaders and followers, between clergy and believers, between the dependent and the free. The reversal of all values would cause a total collapse of all structures of power, within families, churches and states. The biggest threat to a culture is happy, independent, satisfied and free people. That remains valid.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17
Jesus said: I will give you that which eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and hand has not touched, and which has not entered into the heart of man.
Elucidation:
Man, when he has taken the last step and has awakened, experiences an overwhelming feeling of unity with the entire creation. To experience it is not seeing, not hearing, not touching.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18
The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us how our end shall be. Jesus said: Have you then discovered the beginning that you seek after the end? For where the beginning is, there shall the end be. Blessed is he who shall stand in the beginning, and he shall know the end and shall not taste death.
Elucidation:
The end will be like the beginning. The old man will become like a child. As you were, you will become. If you do not see through the present, you cannot know the end. If you know yourself, you know what you were like before and how you became what you were. It is called returning to the origin, to yourself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19
Jesus said: Blessed is he who is as he was before he came into being. If you become my disciples and hear my words, these stones shall minister to you. For you have five trees in Paradise which do not move in summer or in winter, and their leaves do not fall. He who knows them shall not taste death.
Elucidation:
Blessed is he who did not change, who remained who he is and did not turn into someone who is split inside. Blessed is the child, which has not been expelled from paradise by adapting to an unrighteous society. Blessed is he who hears clearly, looks clearly, smells clearly, tastes clearly and feels clearly, and who does not let experiences from the past distort these things. He has reached enlightenment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20
The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said to them: It is like a grain of mustard seed, smaller than all seeds; but when it falls on the earth which is tilled, it puts forth a great branch, and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven.
Elucidation:
The righteous world starts from a solitary person, but if mankind will be open to his message, the movement for the restoration of the original condition and a righteous world will spread rapidly.
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21
Mary said to Jesus: Whom are thy disciples like? He said: They are like little children dwelling in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say: Yield up to us our field. They are naked before them, to yield it up and give them back their field. Therefore I say: If the master of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes, and will not let him dig into the house of his kingdom to carry off his vessels. You, then, be watchful against the world. Gird up your loins with great strength, that the brigands may not find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. May there be among you a man of understanding! When the fruit was ripe, he came quickly, his sickle in his hand, and reaped. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear
Elucidation:
As long as the disciples are not like the master, they have not understood the message. Therefore, it says: First seek the Kingdom of