The Book of Isaiah

Throughout the remainder of the day following Rama Sandlob's description of my personal involvement in the enslavement of people with electronic devices, I mused upon what we had said. As a disillusioned American, I had felt the need to express dissent with government policy. I objected to the mind stifling of youth by our system of public education and lamented our failure to establish any intelligent policy for regulating the use of channels of communication. Now I had to look at myself as a former Atlantean arch-criminal. I was guilty of enslaving people by direct interference with the operation of their minds. What a humiliating experience this was!

I had thought of myself as one of the relatively few who were painfully aware that America was not the source of blessings to other nations that the news media said she was. I could see how our technology and productive capacity had been perverted to produce wholesale misery and fear among downtrodden peoples. We exploited the common people of backward nations by our trade policies. Our financial giants stole their natural resources. In the small countries where the common people were kept in poverty and ignorance, our financiers could deal with the rich land owners to purchase the oil or timber or mineral resources. Instead of alleviating the poverty of the masses in such nations, we encouraged American private interests to legally steal the wealth that should have been their heritage. When the common people of backward countries began to struggle for better distribution of their nation's wealth, they found that American private interests claimed they owned the wealth of their land. If a revolution unseated a corrupt dictatorship and the common people would try to regain their rightful heritage they found their efforts sabotaged and their leaders assassinated by the very nation that was founded on the ideal of freedom. An American Agency dedicated to the protection of private interests abroad was authorized and financed to freely use every tool available to undermine the political power of groups that were favorable to the interests of the common people. Bribery, murder, and the instigation of revolts were activities of that Agency. It had unlimited government funds at its disposal and freedom from supervision by representatives of the public. It operated in secrecy. Its policies were directly contrary to the ideals for which the American people thought their nation stood. It was furnished all that modern science could provide to carry on its cruel treason against human decency throughout the whole earth.

I thought about the murder of President Kennedy which took place shortly after his announced intention to disband that Agency. Many Americans like myself believed that his murder was part of a conspiracy by corrupt influences in our government. The Justice Department, the FBI and the American Medical Association joined hands to amass a report of the assassination that seemed an elaborate smoke screen. Truly, I thought to myself, the nation had fallen into the hands of ungodly men.

"David, you had best dwell upon your own sins rather than those of the nation," the words cut into my thoughts like a knife. "The errors of your past were the result of your disbelief in the laws which govern in the lives of all individuals. Should you be raised from infancy in the same kind of environment as those toward whom your thoughts were just now directed, you could possibly fall into the same kind of error that you once pursued so energetically as an Atlantean." One of Rama Sandlob's assistants was evidently monitoring my thoughts and had decided that it was time to interrupt them.

"I think you have a system that is more effective for eavesdropping than any of the electronic devices so effectively used by that Agency," I said with wry humor.

"We are simply trying to help you to learn to think correctly, David. It is going to require mental discipline upon your part to overcome the habits of wrong thinking acquired from your years in a confused and spiritually ignorant society. Remember, those who acknowledge only a single life and one physical body for each individual lived in a darkened half world of apparent injustice. Neither the causes for the vast differences in circumstances of individuals, nor the great inequities existing among races could be understood or intelligently explained in your times."

"You are saying all of the abuse of political power and the great injustices suffered by the common people were not the wrongs they appeared to be," I asked.

"Under no circumstances or conditions, David, may the natural laws which operate in the lives of individuals be violated. No force can bring to a soul an experience which was not created by the interaction of his own thoughts and deeds with his own physical, mental, and spiritual environment. There is no injustice in the assassination of presidents, in the use of hypnotised victims to commit such crimes, or the deception of the masses with false reports, and farcical jury trials. Your emotions, as you form judgement while thinking of these things, will generate forces that must compel you personally, to return in confusion in a future time to such a society as you just left, unless you discipline your mind to think about realities instead of appearances."

"God save me from such a fate!" I said with feeling. Then I thought about what had just been projected into my mind. I applied my powers of reasoning and argued with myself over the possibility that I was in deep sleep and must be still dreaming away in my first month of suspended animation back inside the lonely cave in the Appalachians.

"Oh, come now, David, if you don't think you're really here with us in this meditation tower, then go jump into the ice water tank down at the lower level and see what that does for you." The humorous twist of having this response to my private thoughts made me grin widely.

"All right," I said, "go ahead and work on me for my sins. I guess I deserve it."

"It's good that you put it that way, David, for it gives us a basis to discuss the science behind the religious terminology that you are familiar with."

"Well," I responded to this telepathic communication, "I know that I have much to learn in order to get my intellect to feel compatible toward the concepts and teachings of Christianity."

"David, meditation will enable you to verify directly, clarify or discard the concepts we present you, as you exercise and develop your own faculty for communication with the God-mind within. Your inner discernment alone must be the final test and only means of evaluation of all data which enters the consciousness through these senses. Sooner or later, all will come to the recognition that they, like Apostle Paul, must get their religion directly from Christ within, for no authority is higher than the `Still Small Voice.'"

"If you mean that each person must decide for himself what he believes, there will be as many different religions as there are individuals," I said.

"To the contrary, David. All are offspring of the One Force and each will eventually become conscious of this Oneness and of their own place as an expression of a particular facet of Divine Mind."

"Perhaps, then, you will give me your explanation of the uniquely Christian concept among the world religions that God had to have a blood sacrifice by a perfect man in order to forgive the sins of the humans He had created?"

"There is nothing unique about blood sacrifices, David. These have been used since the most ancient times to produce psychic phenomena in connection with idol worship. The black magicians and witch doctors cast spells, caused crimes of violence, and engaged the services of discarnates with the energy released by the shedding of the blood of animals. The techniques for accomplishing such things were being rediscovered in your times. There was a widespread revival of the practice of the black arts."

"But the Israelites made blood sacrifices and said that it was God's instructions for them to do it," I said thoughtfully.

"Yes, David, this is true. Remember, also, how they often became sidetracked and made blood sacrifices to the idols of the peoples whom they had conquered or who lived in an adjacent territory. Some of the Israelites even sacrificed their own first born sons to make atonement for their sins. They felt that they should take what was most precious to them and destroy it as a sacrifice to please an angry god. Can you, David, imagine worshipping such a god?"

"How could the people become so deluded?" I asked.

"Easily, David. Their priests had learned how to produce phenomena that the people could see and hear and smell. They had developed the techniques which enabled them to manipulate natural forces to create powerful thought forms that became visible, and were even able to use them to win battles with their enemies."

"Do you mean that all of the Old Testament stories about God demanding sacrifices for the sins of the people or for worship were actually just accounts of how the priests maintained control of the people with the aid of psychic phenomena produced by the practice of black magic?"

"It's not that simple, David. You can't just roll all the various stories about blood sacrifices into a lump and discard them as error. It wasn't like that. In Homer's story of Odysseus, he describes how the shades were able to be given temporary consciousness and could make themselves visible after an ox was slain to furnish them fresh warm blood to drink. Homer was recording just one of many different kinds of psychic phenomena obtained by making blood sacrifices. Odysseus was thus enabled to talk to some spirits of deceased persons with whom he was familiar. These shades were the astral shadows of the dead who had fought with him in the siege of Troy. His deceased mother was there also, according to Homer's tale. This is one application of blood sacrifices. The discarnates did not drink the physical blood, of course, but absorbed its life energy, which enabled them to materialize for a short time. Neither were they the reality we call the soul but only a shadow of the personality, according to Homer."

"There is surely no relation between that story and the elaborate ritual of blood sacrifices set up by Moses?" I asked.

"That's a good question, David. As a matter of fact, there is an interesting parallel between them. The Lord God who led the people out of Egypt should not be thought of as The Infinite Creative Energy of the Universe. The demand that he should have been is only one example of the immature thinking and the self-centeredness of a primitive people who think they are the only inhabitants of the universe. The Lord was a member of a more advanced race whose people are serving God by acting as guardians to the evolving human race on earth. The individual soul who was in charge of the horizontal pillar-shaped cloud, the great celestial ship, was appropriately referred to as the Lord God of Israel by Moses. His celestial ship was spoken of as a pillar of a cloud for lack of other terminology. The Lord God protected the fleeing Children of Israel with the advanced understanding of Natural Law at his disposal."

"The sacrifices were the means to enable the materialization of his form into our level of vibrations. These advanced beings were invisible to the human eye because they exist in another level of material which is more refined and at a higher vibrational rate. Moses was a man who had purified his own nature in order to serve the people under the direction of the Lord. This means that Moses raised the level of vibrations of his body and developed his psychic faculties. This enabled him to communicate with more evolved beings quite directly. It was for the priests that would need contact through their senses that the blood was required by their Lord."

"Then you would say that, by means of the blood sacrifice, they held what scholars of the paranormal called a full materialization seance? The Lord needed ectoplasm from animal blood to enable himself to appear to the priests? The very mention of such an idea seems irreverent in the extreme," I said.

"Not one thousandth as irreverent as the suggestion that the Creator of Heaven and Earth had to be pacified with the blood sacrifice of a Perfect Man before He could forgive the mistakes of the human beings that He, Himself, brought into existence."

"There must be some strange distortion of meanings here. It would seem impossible to believe such a thing. Surely such a teaching as this has concealed the true purpose of the crucifixion," I said thoughtfully.

"Not really, David. Anyone who sincerely seeks to lose himself in service to others is not confused or disturbed by the perverted meanings that are generated in the minds of those who are not yet ready to lose themselves in Him."

"Please explain more about the blood sacrifices which Moses was ordered to establish," I said.

"If you will think back over the Old Testament story, you will remember that there were very elaborate instructions concerning the entire procedure. To carry out the ritual properly demanded objects made from various metals, colored cloth, selected wood overlaid with gold, designs embroidered in cloth, precious stones, special garments for the priests that included metal breastplates and stones inset in certain patterns. So far from being a product of a superstitious tribe, a primitive people, behind all of this was a profound science. All was related to the vibrational makeup of the human body and the proceedings were planned to enable it to withstand forces to which it was not accustomed. The blood sacrifice also provided energy to raise the vibrational level of the physical body of the priest and enable him to communicate with members of the advanced race guiding the Israelites. The inner chamber, the meeting place for the priests and the Lord, was designed to protect the priest and exclude interference by discarnate beings of lower realms."

"Well," I said, "I see now that the sacrifices were not for the Lord's benefit but for the people's. This makes more sense to me. I never could follow the reasoning behind God wanting to smell the smoke of burning flesh. But why all of the other sacrifices...the first born male of every clean animal killed as a sacrifice, for example?"

"A nucleus of souls who had chosen to serve the race were being prepared to be instrumental in bringing evolutionary forces to raise the entire human race to a higher level. This, of course, was the real meaning of the chosen people. The purpose of the sacrifices was to provide the energy needed by the angelic influences to cause changes in the Israelites' physical-mental-spiritual bodies. After the refinements were brought about in the body patterns of the `chosen' souls, they were to incarnate into other races. By this means, the entire human race was to be infiltrated with their upgrading influence. As soon as the work on their soul bodies was accomplished, the blood sacrifices were intended to be discontinued."

"Sir, you are giving me an entirely different slant on the whole Bible," I said.

"Remember, David, this science of an advanced race of guardians was far beyond the comprehension of the common people," Rama's assistant continued. "The application of the science was necessary to produce the changes in the ether body of this dedicated group of souls. The Bible provides a history of these events which stimulates and renews the dedication of the "Chosen People." It speaks to the unconscious mind of all but especially to that small group of Light Bearers who incarnate again and again with the same dedication to serve the race."

"Well, then," I asked, "did Moses have a personal, man to man kind of relationship with the Lord?"

"David, if you will carefully read the story of Moses, you will realize that he was dealing with a Celestial Being, who seemed to have somewhat human emotions. On occasion, Moses had to plead with the Lord to talk him out of annihilating the entire tribe of Israel. This doesn't quite sound like the All-Merciful Father of whom Jesus spoke, does it?"

"Do I understand, then, that such beings were needed to guide the race because the physical-spiritual mechanism of the people in those days was too poorly coordinated for them to have the inner consciousness of their real God-Self?" I asked.

"Yes, yes. Such had not always been so, but this was the condition into which mankind had deteriorated."

"Then the Israelites truly were a chosen people and became superior to others through the help they received from an advanced race visiting earth in space craft. Their religious rituals were based on scientific knowledge of natural laws and raised the sensitivity of all their faculties. While the Bible may not give a clear picture of the science involved, yet it was actually describing a constructive use of a little understood form of energy released by blood sacrifices?" I asked.

"Exactly, David."

"Then in all nations the most superior people, whether in government, or music, or in science, were likely to be former members of the tribe of Israel, no matter in what ethnic group they were born?" I asked.

"Right."

"Evidently, they frequently were born Jewish, too," I said, "for I remember how often the finest musicians and writers and scientists were of Hebrew blood."

"Yes, this is true, of course. However, all of us are inclined to set ourselves above others in the wrong way. The Israelites, who had chosen to enter into the earth to serve their fellow man, became confused during some of their incarnations and used their superiority to take advantage of others. The Jewish people, as a group, became identified with the `Chosen Race,' but the term did not refer to an ethnic group. It was when they were the purest and most humanitarian that they were the nation to which the true Israelites were attracted. The nature of the children born into any family group, community, or nation is determined by the law that like attracts like in spiritual matters. Nations rise and fall according to the ideals they hold. When they are elevated, those who choose to serve the best interests of the race enter into them. The sons of Belial were recognized as such by King David when they revealed their readiness to take unfair advantage of those of his followers who were injured or exhausted when it was time to divide the spoils. He used every method he could to overcome the destructive influence they were having upon the ideals of the nation."

"Well," I said, "every nation must be a mixture of some Israelites, some sons of Belial and then the masses who are neither."

"Right, David. Jesus made reference to this situation in denying descendence from Abraham to those who oppressed Him. Although they were of the blood lineage of Abraham, yet He identified them as sons of Belial because of their actions."

"What has been the solution to the question of racial prejudice and minority groups," I asked.

"Very simple and obvious, David. Each person is evaluated as an individual. Each is given a truly equal opportunity to show how well he can serve in the great work of elevating the human race. Those who serve the race well to bring beauty in art, music, dance, to improve science and government, are our most loved and honored citizens. Blood lineage or color are not even considered to be a basis to have an opinion upon the merits of an individual. To express an opinion on such a basis would be an evidence of very low intelligence."

"You make this sound like just plain common sense," I said. "Can you tell me why that considerations of family, race, creed and color so dominated the lives of people in my time?"

"Easily, David."

"Then, why?"

"Because various facets of human nature needing refinement were being worked upon by an effective method to bring individual progress, that of group therapy. Each nation, each ethnic group, each minority, each family represented a particular set of human traits which needed to be brought into balance among the individuals incarnating into it. Individuals can best learn about themselves by meeting group destiny coinciding with their individual destiny. Of course, this means their thinking was similar and so there were parallels in their physical appearance."

"Then there is actually more individual responsibility when ethnic differences are not considered among men?" I asked.

"The progressive development of mankind, David, is marked by increased individual responsibility, increased recognition of the uniqueness and importance of the place of each individual in the overall scheme. As the evolution of consciousness progresses, the need for various ethnic groups, creeds, religions, and all that they represent disappears. To present the incoming soul with inequities is no longer a function of the circumstances of birth. Now each person is informed of his own strengths and weaknesses. He learns the purpose of life, is offered every assistance and chooses what he, himself, is willing to achieve through self-discipline and effort. No man relegates another to a class or group, but each man establishes his own position in society. There is no misunderstanding or injustice. We do have classes of human beings with vast differences. The superior are making personal progress by guiding and teaching and inspiring the lesser developed souls. There is no resentment upon the part of the lesser evolved souls but deep gratitude and humility in the presence of more God-like souls who are their servants and benefactors."

"Sounds like Utopia to me," I said.

"It is a Utopian society. This dream has always been in the consciousness of the great minds of the earth. The founding of America was a turning point in the history of the human race. The concept that all men should be born into a society that presented equal opportunity for them to develop and express their individuality was the ideal upon which it was founded. Those same epoch making leaders are in the earth today improving upon the work they began with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America."

I fell into a thoughtful inner silence. The invisible entity who had broken into my consciousness by his powerful projection of thoughts bade me good wishes and departed.