The Word made flesh

Christmas Day, 1969

Today is the day on which Christ was born as Jesus. He was not Jesus; He was born as Jesus. What did John say about Him?

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

So Christ manifested in the human body as Jesus; that was born the same way as any other man was born. He was born the same way, was He not? As Jesus, not as Christ. So we call Jesus the Christ. There are two things: one is the Son of man, the other is Christ in man. Do you follow me?

I went to America; I gave a talk one day and some people asked me.

When is Christ returning?

I told them,

Has He ever left you?

He said,

I am always with you till the end of the world.

This is what He said. But Jesus was the Human Pole.

So He was Word made flesh – Christ, God-into-Expression-Power. The Wordless state of God was manifested, came into expression, and was termed Word.

In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And the whole creation came into being after that, is it not so? So Christ was Word made flesh; He was born as Jesus.

He said,

I am that I am.

So Christ lived before Jesus. Don’t you see that?

So I told them,

If He has not left you, how can you expect that He will come back again?

Of course, that Power manifests itself from time to time in the Human Pole, in the human body, to guide the child humanity – to take them back to God. It is God Who sends Them to the world to bring back all His children. What did Christ say?

I have many sheep to look after.

Did He not say so? That is what the Bible says.

So today is the day on which He was manifested in the human body of Jesus. We celebrate that day. Why? What for? Just to understand His True Teachings and compare whether we have lived up to His teachings or not.

He said,

I am the Light of the world. I am the way.

And what more did He say, do you remember?

I am the Light of the world, as long as I am in the world.

Do you recall? These words are there:

As long as I am in the world.

What did this mean? This Light; God is Light; Word is made flesh.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Word made flesh is Light.

Do you follow me? So, that Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Once He asked His disciples,

Do you recognise who I am?

They said, some say You are this one and that one, born on such and such day. And then Simon said,

You are the Son of the Living God.

Do you remember? Then what did He say?

It is not the human intellect that has suggested these things to you. My God, Father, has suggested these things.

Do you follow me? So He was Word made flesh and dwelt among us. Then He said,

I am the Light of the world; whosoever shall come to my feet, he shall never walk in darkness.

There may be a little difference in the words, but it is the purpose I am telling you.

So what is the criterion of the Christ? That Power manifests at different times in the human bodies of different Masters, called by different names. Their purpose is to guide the child humanity. We are to see now what He said in reference to that.

I am the Bread of Life. This Bread of Life has come down from Heaven. Whosoever shall partake of It shall have Everlasting Life.

This Bread of Life – Bread or Word – has come down from Heaven.

Then He said that others are to eat me and drink me. You find these words in the Bible. Are you to eat the flesh of the human body of Jesus? No, not in the least. He was Word made flesh, and we have to eat the Word within us already. So, how can we have contact with Christ now? He is with us forevermore. That Christ-Power is the God-into-Expression-Power, or the Master-Power or the Guru-Power, as we say, that manifests itself at a Human Pole, in the human body. Masters are commissioned from God; They are sent from God to bring back His children. So that Power is manifested at different times.

Once someone asked me in America,

What do you say in case we say that Christ is the highest of all?

I said,

Very good. But is there anything like that to quote?

He said, I am the Son of God.

I answered,

That’s all right.

Then I told him,

Well, look here: many other Masters Who came in the East – everywhere – also said the same thing. Then what would you think of Them?

I quoted some references from Guru Arjan and from the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. They said,

I and my Father are One;

and

The son is imbued with the colour of God; they have taken up a common business.

So, all these human bodies in which that Power is manifested – They are the True Sons of God. They know the Father and others to whom they reveal Him. Reveal. The word revelation is there. That means That already exists with us, never leaves us. The matter remains only a revelation. ‘Revelation’ means just to withdraw our attention from outside, from the outgoing faculties, from mind and matter, and rise above them and contact the God-Power or Christ-Power or Word-Power which is already within us, which is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path. When you withdraw within, you see the Light of God. That is seeing the God into expression, the Christ, which is Light within you. Do you follow me now?

So this is the birthday of that Great Jesus, the Lord Jesus, as you say. Of course, Masters come from time to time to guide the child humanity.

So people asked Him,

How can we meet Him?

He said,

You cannot, except you be reborn. You must be reborn.

How can we be reborn? Nicodemus, an advocate, a learned man of the times, came up to Him and asked,

Lord, how can we re-enter the womb of the mother and be reborn?

And Christ told him,

Well, look here, you are a very learned man; everyone respects you, holds you in high esteem; don’t you know that flesh is born of the flesh and spirit of the spirit?

You must be reborn.

These very teachings are the same everywhere. The Hindus here have a custom to make men twice-born. It is the same thing as to be reborn. They give them one birth into this physical body and the other into the beyond. Even children of five, seven, and nine years of age were made twice-born; and they gave them a demonstration of the Light within, which is God.

Jesus said,

I am the Light of the world.

You see, Christ is the Light of the world. If you see the Light, it means you see the Light of the Christ into expression, is it not so? And that was manifested in some human body with a special errand. Fortunate is the human body which came to the earth to guide the child humanity.

For that we have to be reborn. And what did He tell His disciples?

What you got in secret, speak to them from the housetops, so the people may know what is what. Don’t put it under a bushel, but place it somewhere where it can attract the eyes of someone who is seeking for it.

These teachings are the same everywhere. The pity is that we are not very conversant with other scriptures. Their teachings are universal, for all mankind.

Jesus said,

I am the Light of the world.

He never said, I am the Light of the Christians, nor the Light of the place where He was born. He said,

I am the Light of the world.

So the Christ-Power we have to contact resides in every heart. We can have It when we are reborn and when that Christ-Power is manifested.

The Son knows the Father and others to whom the Son reveals Him.

That is the only criterion we can have. If there is anyone who can withdraw you from outside, drag you up to the beyond, open the Inner Eye, the Single Eye, to see the Light of God, that means that Power is working there.

Once a disciple asked Jesus,

You talk of Your Father always. It would suffice us if You would just show us Your Father.

I am quoting from your Bible, not my Bible. All Masters Who come say the same thing. Jesus answered,

It is a very strange thing; I have been around with you for so long and you have not come to know that the Father works through me?

And He went on further to say,

Whosoever has seen me has seen my Father.

So what is the Christ-Power? The Christ-Power is the God-into-Expression-Power, which is called Word, Name, Shabd, Kalma. That is the Controlling Power of the whole universe; and that also controls us in the body, the physical body. When that is withdrawn, we have to leave the body.

So we are His children, drops in the Ocean of All-Light, of All-Consciousness. We have just taken up the physical body; we are also microgods. But the pity is we are just identified with the mind and matter and outside things; so much so that we have forgotten ourselves. We must know ourselves – not as a matter of feelings, or as a matter of emotions, or as a matter of drawing inferences; for feelings, emotions, and inferences are all subject to error. Seeing is above all. All Masters Who came in the past, Who became Conscious Co-Workers of the Divine Plan, said the same thing. Of course, it was given out in the language that was prevalent at the time. The mode of expression and thread of thoughts might have been a little bit different, but they said the same thing. God is Light and Christ is Light, because it is an expression of God-Power; and that is called Guru; and that is also called Master-Power.

Once someone wrote me from England,

You use two different expressions: sometimes You say Master, sometimes You say Master-Power. What do You mean by that?

The Master-Power, Christ-Power, and Word-Power are the same. He wrote me,

When You write Master-Power is Master, what do You mean by that?

By Master is meant that Master-Power, that Christ-Power, that God-Power which is manifested in the Human Pole. I term it the Master. That Power never leaves us; that is always the Controlling Power within the body. The human body is the temple of God. Fortunate are we that we have this human body.

The highest ideal before us as a man is to know Him. To know Him, we must know ourselves first.

Know thyself.

We can know ourselves, not as a matter of drawing inferences, or by emotions, or by feelings, but by really rising above body consciousness. You can have this demonstration at the feet of Someone in Whose human body He is manifested. When you are sitting for a while, you withdraw from the outside and rise above the body consciousness: you see the Light. That depends, of course: the less you are attached outside, the more experience you will have.

So today we have to see what teachings He gave us. They are the common parallel teachings of all Masters. Once I was giving a talk in America. I told the people in the audience that you cannot understand the teachings of Christ unless you see through the eyes of an Easterner. There was a big roar – awwwwch! – in the whole room! Because Christ was an Easterner; truth travels from East to West. History has shown that: all Masters lived in Central Asia and India.

So we have the human body; we are fortunate. I wish a happy Christmas to you. But with this Power, the Bible says,

You’ll see things that the old prophets wished to see, but did not see; and you’ll hear things the old prophets wished to hear, but did not hear.

You are fortunate, are you not, to be put on the Way? You have some Light to see, some Voice of God to hear. Then develop It. You are microgods. Develop It and you can be again deputed to guide other children. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Every Saint has a past, and every sinner a future.

So happy Christmas to you. Just see how far you have proceeded. And that Power manifests in human forms at Whose pole that was made manifest.

Once, when I was in America, a lady met me. She used to talk to Christ and see Him. She was attending all the talks I was giving, and on the day of initiation, some people expected that she would come up for initiation; but she did not. So people asked her, Why didn’t you come on the initiation day? … – Well, she answered, I talk with Christ. I asked her, Do you meet Christ? She said, Yes. – And He talks to you? – She said, Yes. – All right, now. When He next meets you, just ask Him what to do further. That’s all I said. It so happened that for some days Christ did not appear to her. When He did appear, she asked Him, What should I do further? He directed her to go to Master’s initiation. I had to leave for Louisville from Washington the next morning. At about seven or eight in the evening, she phoned: I want to be initiated. – Why? – He has guided me to You.

I mean to say that the Master-Power, God-Power, and Christ-Power are the same. That manifests itself; that never dies. Once It takes possession of some soul, that never leaves you until the end of the world. So that is within you.

The Kingdom of God is within you; that cannot be had by observation.

Man is thrice-blessed. You have a physical body, intellect, and conscious entity. We should develop all health – physically, intellectually, and spiritually. You give food to your physical body; you become strong. You give food to your intellect by reading, writing, and intellectual wrestling; you become intellectually strong. What food do you give to your soul? It is consciousness, is it not?

So the Bread of Life is to come in contact with the Light and Sound Principle within you. That is the Controlling Power called Word.

Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

As I told you, you are all microgods. God once wished,

I am one and wish to be many,

and the whole creation came into being. We are drops of the same Ocean of All-Consciousness. Can’t we make one town? We can: only when we know ourselves and withdraw within. Great power. Great is man, of course.

This year is ending; in January we’ll take a step into the new year. Learn to die and learn to rise into the beyond in the new year.