Here we have a detailed description of that last act of the Redeeming Teacher on this earth, before His final sacrifice on Golgotha. But theurgy does not limit this great happening to time and space: our teaching is, that the mysterious
supper
of the Master, at which selection of His disciples was made in order to separate the wheat from the chaff (remember the dismissal of the traitor Judas?)
lasts forever.
Every son of man must pass through it, before he enters the mansion of the Father, no matter how many lives might be necessary for it. During the supper the Lord gave his faithful disciples the final initiation and admitted them in His communion forever. Presiding at the traditional paschal table, He blessed the food and wine, using them as visible symbols of spiritual unity among the ripe human beings around Him. He called the bread, which He broke for them, His flesh and the wine He gave, His blood. Matter, the vehicle of the spirit through its wandering in manifestation, is an exact analogy of the true relationship between physical man and his spiritual immortal self. In it lies the ultimate truth of being.In deep inner silence merge into this truth through His grace.
2.
Let me be allowed today
asa participant
This prayer for admission (that is, spiritual enlightenment) belongs to our
'today',
to our present, and not to any unknown and indefinitefuture.
This is an important point that shows us, that efforts for our spiritual resurrection should be started immediately we realize its meaning for us.What does
adjournment
mean, even the shortest one, in the spiritual realm, as in theurgy? Simply that you actually prefer other things, that something else attracts younow
and therefore you give a priority to the perishable which should be offered to the eternal living in your hidden depths. There fore in delaying the most essential problems by placing perish able and mortal aims before them, you prevent your admission to the supper. Be your ownj
udge in this matter, but an impartial and
just
judge I 3. 0Son of
God!80 THEURGY
who have united their consciousness with that of the Father, and thereby become His emanation, descendants, to whom the term 'Son' is applicable, perhaps the closest in the limited language of the human mind.
All mystical realities achieved along the way of theurgic prayer belong to the spiritual realm, to the holiest interior of the human soul. Only there can eternity dwell, and only from those depths is the spectre of death truly banned.
Inspired Thomas a Kempis, when speaking about the king dom of God in his 'Imitation of Christ' tells us that the whole of its beauty is interior, that is, independent and beyond the visible shell of this world. The repentant thief also knew that the kingdom lies in the realm that is free from earthly life. After he had been initiated through his suffering and by his faith, he said to Christ: ' ... Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom'.
After having performed the first ritual of Holy Communion, which was the symbol of the basic unity of the universe, the Teacher separated-as has already been mentioned-the wheat from the chaff. Then, with His powerful and tragic words he said: ' ... That which thou dost, do quickly'. He thus expelled the traitor, in whom-as the Evangelists say the Devil entered immediately he received the salted bread from the Master. He fled to finalize his betrayal, as he could not endure the presence of the Master and his saintly disciples any more.
This brief reminder of the great story has been given here so as to refresh it in your minds and tune you towards its in expressible, initiatory inner sense, and thus prepare you for the performance of the prayer.
It was not without deep insight that the genius of Leonardo da Vinci chose this final initiation of the Last Supper as the theme for the masterpiece he painted in a Milanese monastery refectory. To be admitted into the presence of the Spiritual Master means enlightenment of the highest degree. The disciple should know this and we can see the fact from the assurance he gives in the next line.
4. For neither will I betray any secret to Thine enemies This is the first vow of the worship. No initiation can ever
THE LAST SUPPER WORSHIP 81
be predestined for all and sundry. In the mass, the cruel world is far from being ripe enough to accept that which only advanced and chosen disciples can realize. The innermost mysteries of spiritual life should not and cannot be divulged. 5. Nor will I give Thee a kiss like judas
Another vow, to reject the monstrosity of hypocrisy and lies, while having as deterrent the tragic example of the archetype of all traitors-the luckless Judas. You must fully grasp the significance of these two aspects of attitude, forbidden for the initiate, and upon freedom from which you can build your hope of being accepted at the supper.
6. But like the thief I pray unto Thee:
In facing the supreme suffering (the prolonged agony and death on the cross is one of the most painful penalties ever inflicted on a human body) on Golgotha, three condemned men behaved themselves differently. The words of Christ are recorded in the gospels and are well known.
One of the thieves crucified beside the Redeemer-in his despair, torture and fury of the deadly frustration of the lost life-started to insult the Man on the middle cross. But the other thief stopped him. He pointed out that the punishment was rightly deserved by both of them, but the saint between them was innocent. Then, turning to Jesus he prayed to Him. Parts 5 and 6 of our theurgic formula remind us that we should have a just attitude towards all suffering and injustice inflicted on us. The suddenly converted thief is given as an everlasting example. This lesson must always stand before you when you prepare yourself to perform the great prayer of the Last Supper. Every human being born into this world has to bear its self-made and hence deserved cross, called 'karma' by our Eastern brothers and the law of cause and effect in occultism. It is only the way in which you solve this problem that matters. The living example of a right solution has been given in this chapter. Meditate about it.
We now come to the conclusion of the prayer:
7. Remember me, 0 Lord, when coming into Thy Kingdom! Here lies the true hope and solution-the Great Teacher's grace. That was the last cry to come from a human being
tortured to death. And it is the right final request: not for delivery from the cross (physical desire), but a
spiritual
re quest, from a man who suddenly matured to the intuitive realization of truth (he recognized who Jesus was); to initia tion into the life beyond the grave (hence his prayer for the care of his soul); repentance (the burning off of karma), and realization of the ultimate destiny of a human being (the Kingdom of God).This is the material upon which you have to meditate in order to be able to perform the worship of the Last Supper with full understanding and a right attitude. This prayer is recommended for use against all inner troubles, painful ex periences, attacks of despair, temptations; fear of death and frustration.
It is a very personal formula and in theurgic tradition I
could not find any example of the 'Last Supper' being per formed by a group or aloud. It is a far too intimate and inner worship, requiring so much intense insight and melting of the hard shell of egoism and indifference, that it seems to be impractical to use it apart from individual action.
Further, we should know that despair is one of the deadliest evils, if not the worst, because its results are so terrible. The examples that follow highlight this. One of the thieves on Golgotha was a prey to despair and as a result he insulted the Christ, for he was completely blinded by his destructive vice. The Church agrees that the cause of damnation of the traitor Judas was not just the fact of betraying and selling his master. The infinite compassion of the Lord is always greater than even the heaviest crime a man can commit and on the way of repentance every sin can be washed away, if a man only takes this step towards the Lord.
But despair efficiently excludes such regeneration, for it is like the hopeless, icy breath of death. Accordingly, Judas found only one solution: elimination through wilful destruc tion of his body and self-annihilation of spirit (see Chapter XII- 'Invocation to the Holy Spirit').
I have known of advanced theurgists who preferred to per form such a sublime spiritual flight, as is the prayer of the
THE LAST SUPPER WORSHIP 83
when the pews were unoccupied and silence and peace reigned supreme in the house dedicated to the Lord.
When praying at home you must ensure that you have con ditions in which there will be no disturbances or interruptions caused by the outer world.
CHAPTER XIV
THE LORD'S PRAYER
The prayer given to us by the Great Teacher forms one of the chief pillars of theurgy. In Hermetism, the Lord's prayer is used and analyzed with the help of the Kabbalah and in Chapter X of The Tarot (pages 203-208) we can find its un
folding done through the classical system of the Sephiroth, which explains its esoteric and initiatory meaning.
Neither hermetists nor theurgists make any claim to a com plete unveiling of the mysteries of the gospels, for they all recognize that, in the unsurpassed words of wisdom of Christ, there are depths, unfathomable for the ordinary human mind. These words belong to the eternity and infinity of the uni verse. So, in the following method of adaptation of the Lord's Prayer for theurgic operations, the writer does not attempt to present his version as a unique or complete one. In any case, this unfolding of the prayer is in accordance with the best theurgic traditions, as it is based on comments by eminent theurgic masters as well as on personal experience, which gives unshakable certainty in interpretation. The reader is sup posed to be well acquainted with the text of the Lord's Prayer, so it will not be given here first as a whole, but each part of it will be treated separately.1
The prayer is considered to a most powerful means for con tacting the Father, to whom it is expressly directed. You should use it before every major theurgic activity, as this will add sanctity and a greater chance of success to your operations.
Invocation: Our Father who art in heaven ...
Here our relation to the Supreme Creative Power is firmly established: it is as intimate as that between an earthly father
1 The version of the Lord's Prayer which is used in this chapter has been taken from the Vulgata bearing the imprimatur of Cardinal Francis J. Spell man, D.D., August 15, 1945, U.S.A. This applies to all other references from gospels used in this book.
THE LORD'S PRAYER 85
and his child. This is most reassuring for every faithful soul. But, the Father is the Supreme Being, who generated and rules every form of life including our own. He is the ultimate cause of everything which was, is and will be in the unending eternity of life. He is the only one over whom the universal law of cause and effect has no power. This state of absolute freedom is called Heaven in this invocation.
First Request: Hallowed be Thy name . . .
This is instruction on how the holy name of the Father should be respected and pronounced, while on the other hand, the meaning is much deeper and points out that the Great Name should be placed upon the altar of the temple of our souls. There is not and cannot be anything more holy and per fect than is our Father in heaven.
Second Request: Thy kingdom come . . .
Can we say that at the present time under today's condi tion the kingdom of God is flourishing on our little planet? That everything is perfect and good, and that we also possess
these two qualities, which must manifest themselves when the kingdom is ripe within us? The true answer can be only in the negative; but we should desire and expect the coming of the final perfection and Christ reminds us about it. This desire is innate in the developed human consciousness; but not being in a position to attain and practise perfect justice (also one of the attributes of the kingdom), men create their own code of laws, which attempts to reach as much impartiality and give as much support for justice as is possible in the given epoch.
The same applies to the idea of peace and other positive factors of planetary life. Find and meditate about them for yourself on the basis of what has just been said. It may be easier than you think.
Third Request: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ...
God is omnipotent, there is nothing which can resist His will. And this is the axiom of theurgy as well as of many religions. This will must be realized in establishing His king dom everywhere (as in the second request), but first of all in everyone of us. Only then is fulfilment possible. The great
mystery arising from the problem as to why His will is not realized here and now, is not as unanswerable as it seems. However, the answer lies inside and not outside us and this is the cardinal thing which you have to recognize, if you really want to 'know'.
A contemporary Indian sage and saint (Ramana Maharshi, 1879-1950) stated: 'You are in the world-you are the world.' Now, why does not everyone of us, who are the components of the world, arrange the kingdom of God within him-or herself? Why are we not absolutely good, wise, just, and so on? That is WHY the world is also not perfect. The true answer
lies within you, and nothing will change this fact.
But in our striving towards Him, in our love for Him and in our hope in Him lies the whole solution, as has always been used by advanced human beings and advocated by the Great Teacher. He is in us and it seems that the part of His will which may be realized through us, is not yet fulfilled.
The Lord teaches us to strive and to pray for this ultimate realization, which is already achieved in Heaven, that is, in the realm which is immaterial and independent of matter Spirit.
Fourth Request: Give us this day our supersubstantial bread ...
This can be understood as a request for conditions, suitable for our life and the development of its purpose in us. This 'bread' is asked for only for our daily needs: we should not look too far forward in our material conditions, for they will come in due time, according to our destiny, which we created in aeons of our existences as separate beings. Now we are returning to the Father's mansions, which is the main aim for a theurgist.
Fifth Request: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our
debtors ...
Here is the expression of a great spiritual law, which rules over our evolution through existence in forms. The annihila tion of our 'karmas' (debts) is dependent upon the way in which we resolve and liquidate the karmas of our neighbours, which is in our power.
This means that there is not a one-sided (and therefore un just) forgiveness of transgressions. We can expect from the
THE LORD'S PRAYER 87
Supreme the justice that we practise towards our fellow men. If men only realized this law, the fate of humanity would assume a much better shape. So then it is your personal duty and right to satisfy this law of forgiveness. Remember, upon you depends the fate of the world!
Sixth Request: And lead us not into temptation ...
Until we are perfect, two forces will always fight in us: that of light (spiritual progress) and that of darkness (the reverse, the attraction of matter). In other words these are two poles, positive and negative, good and evil, construction and destruction, love and hatred, and so on. In the case of a confrontation of such opposing forces, man undergoes 'tempta tion' or a trial. Which way will he choose? These are painful and dangerous experiences, and the Lord teaches us to pray so that we will be spared them if possible.
The more we advance spiritually, the more numerous be come our victories (right choices) and the less our defeats
(wrong solutions).
Seventh Request: But deliver us from evil ...
We pray for delivery from the onset of the evil forces, op posed and hostile to human liberation from the miseries of life in dense matter. It can also be generalized as a request for freedom from every danger and subterfuge, which some times face men. Do not give much thought to enumerating the evils you want to avoid; but simply pray as the Lord taught, and He will know what you really need.
Conclusion: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
This is a final confirmation of our faith in God and our glorification of Him.
The Lord's Prayer is seldom used in theurgy as a separate worship. It usually precedes a main operation, or concludes it. Sometimes (see Part II of this book) it forms part of an especi ally important invocation or exorcism.
Tradition recommends the joining together of hands during the invocation and the conclusion of the prayer, while leaving the use of genuflections during the pronunciation of the seven requests to the operator himself.