My Understandings of Christ Parables

By
Per H. Wibe
www.kriyabanservice.com

Commentaries to Gospel St.Matthew and St.Thomas

Introduction
Questions about where we come from, who we are and where we are going are the
substance in our search for Truth as we attempt to understand the connections and
mysteries of life. Individuals with experiences of and insight into the changing nature
of life and its mechanisms begin their search by looking inward to the nature of
consciousness. This is how meditation arose: Can we find something stable and
lasting inside of us, something other than what we can see with our physical eyes or
experience with our senses? Such questions have given rise to the prophets and the
yogis.

It seems not to be possible to pass on experiences of the Infinite, which is

fundamental, through words alone. This is the problem of the prophets. Their words
have been misinterpreted, and with the passage of time the distance from the
original words, and their true meaning, increases. At the same time, a lot of the
original message can be lost in translation.

History and present day events show that misinterpretations often lead to conflicts
and wars in the religious sphere. So what is the real message of the prophets? Their
intention was to share the understanding that the Infinite power of Life can be
recognized inside of us, as ourselves. Every soul has the opportunity to experience
this reality.

Our misunderstanding of religions is that we glorify the prophet and make him to be
unlike anything we are or could not be. This is how we are confused. Salvation is said
to be obtainable through belief in the prophet, and not through our own experience
of who we are, of our true nature.

We are all God’s children from birth, but it is not helpful to hear this if we do not
experience this as reality. Self-realization happens through the personal experience
that “the Father and the Son are one”. Without this realization, knowledge remains
only intellectual. To hear about strawberries is not the same as tasting them.
Fundamental transformation and insight develop from within through meditation,
through experience of Silence, in the consciousness.

What does the word, God, mean? Unfortunately, this word has created many
misunderstandings and unnecessary disagreements among people. Perhaps the
word Life is better, a word that could convey the truly religious meaning. Then it
would not be about belief or not, but about reality, because Life is a concrete reality
for all of us.

Since I choose to make use of religious texts as an aid in communicating my own

experience and understanding, it is just as well that I clarify my own relationship to
the word: God. As a boy, I was insatiably interested in the existential questions. I
examined Christianity, into which I was born, very carefully. I wanted to be a good
Christian, who believed in Christianity ´s central tenet: belief in Jesus Christ. But I was
not able to confess such a faith, because I doubted. Nonetheless, my religious
longing did not die, but it took many years before it resurfaced. Then, I understood
my childhood doubt and its legitimacy, and started seriously to search inwardly to
satisfy the longing of the soul for tranquillity, harmony and my own inner
knowledge.

Now, after many years, I see that the longing for harmony, to recognise ones own
fundamental nature, is part of the consciousness. Everyone recognises the need for
inner harmony when they experience difficulties, and when conflict and restlessness
dominate the mind. My experience has been that the best way to proceed is to
experience for oneself a level of existence where duality does not exist, to unite with
the Self, where one experiences oneself in an infinite space of peacefully dynamic
Silence. True Life takes place inwardly. If the mind is quiet, we have a better
opportunity to handle what happens in a good way, because harmony first and
foremost is a state of the mind.

A happy life is not synonymous with never meeting difficulties or having problems.
Many seekers after truth are mistaken here, because they believe this to be so. They
create expectations that are not realistic, and the inner conflict continues. Inner
happiness is first possible when the conflict is resolved internally. The state of mind
where unity and duality exist together in a harmonious way, and simultaneously
make use of the nature of conflict to progress, is the way of development. Then, we
also live more comfortably in the material element, because this is spiritual as well. It
is the arena in which we test, confirm and develop our spiritual capacity, the ability
to live in harmony with Life.
ST. MATTHEW

Chapter 2

Verse 10: When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

The star in the text symbolises inner Silence, the spiritual eye, our own experience of
the Self. It is worth noting that the spiritual eye can be seen inwardly, when the mind
is completely still. It gives us peace of mind and inner joy. (“They were overjoyed.”)

Chapter 3

Verse 10: The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not
produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire

The soul´s desire to reunite with the Infinite, with the Self, is an intrinsic part of the
consciousness – it is a fundamental need. (“The axe is already at the root of the
trees.”) What obstructs that conscious realisation will be removed and burnt to
ashes. (“Every tree that does not produce good fruit…”.)

The Truth is here and always will be here. What is ceases to exist is duality,
ignorance about who we are, because that alone is what works against the “good
fruit”: the good fruit is the core of Life, the experience of who we are.

Chapter 4

Verse 4: Jesus answered, “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on
every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Every word that emanates from the mouth of God can be interpreted as the life
force, the breath, the prana. Without prana, the body dies. What can bread and
water do when the power of life has left the body? The body can exist for many days
without bread, for a short time without water, but without prana, the power of life,
it instantly dies.

However, the meaning of this verse is primarily practical and spiritual: what is life
without God´s presence in the consciousness? Can we obtain inner peace without
being united with the innermost part of us, the Self? To live by every word that
emanates from God’s mouth means being consciously connected to the Life, having
realized who we are.
Verse 10: Jesus said to him, “Away from me Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord
your God, and serve Him only.”

How can we interpret the concept of Satan? Who has given man life and breath?
Who has created heaven and earth? Satan dissolves automatically when we
recognize our true nature, the divine in the consciousness and in all living creatures.
(“Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”) This is how Satan dies, for Satan
is born and sustained only in the state of duality. In the consciousness of unity, Satan
embraces God and gives up his independent existence.

Chapter 5

Verse 44: But I tell you; Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.

This is not like a command or a law that a higher force expects or demands us to
follow. The message is practical and drawn from an insight into human nature, the
mind and conduct. A loving mind loves others spontaneously, and the mind in turn
improves through this action. The result is peace of mind and inner stability.

This it is with all religious tenets: they are drawn from experiences, not prejudices. A
person who lives in harmony with himself feels a natural love for every living thing,
because in a state of consciousness that is unity of the mind, these characteristics
are inherent. The state itself entails an actual freedom to be, and is the result of
experience and insight into life´s mechanisms and contexts. In such a state of mind,
there are no enemies, only Life´s souls, clad in various dresses and forms of
expressions.

Chapter 6

Verse 6: But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward
you.

The room is inside of us, in the consciousness. In meditation the door to

disturbances is shut, and we reconnect with our Father (Silence) inwardly. (“…pray to
your Father, who is unseen.”) What is the reward? No one is sitting in heaven giving
out rewards or punishments. Reward and punishment are in our minds. Experiences
of silence purify the mind, and the reward, peace and harmony, are spontaneously
integrated in our daily lives. (“Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
reward you.”)

Verse 14: For if you forgive men their sin against you, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you.
The consciousness is the meeting point between God and man. Here contrasts unite:
the ability to give makes us able to receive; when we forgive, we are forgiven. We
can more aptly describe it like this: we give and receive simultaneously – the time
difference is not real, because everything happens in the mind.

Verse 19: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Verse 20: But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do
not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

The “treasures in heaven” are a stable mind and the state of love, which cannot be
ruined by moths or worms and which no thief can break in and steal.

Material wealth rusts and crumbles if it is not being used to benefit the whole. There
are limits on how much material wealth we need for personal use. The material
provides the mind with temporary satisfaction. This implies that the thirst for more
material goods is not quenched. In the empty space after material satisfaction, we
often find disgust and discontent. After many disappointments, failures and
problems, we realize that permanent satisfaction only can grow and be manifested
inwardly, in harmony with the Self.

Verse 22: The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will
be full of light.

How we feel inside influences everything we do in a decisive way. The best

nourishment is peace of the mind. “The eye”, meaning the Inner Eye, heals and
makes life bright.

Verse 33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.

Unity with God – who creates everything, knows everything and can do everything -
is the gift from Life. To realize this, to experience and perceive this in the
consciousness as a true reality is God’s kingdom.

What belongs to the Creator belongs to us because man is created in God’s image. A
small piece of gold has the same qualities as a large piece of gold; the differences lie
in the size and volume. The individual consciousness is a fragment, a spark of the
Infinite consciousness, with the same qualities and possibilities, the same substance.

Verse 34: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The key is to improve the state of the mind (its ability to be) and the mind’s structure
and alertness with the help of meditation. Then everything will become better
spontaneously: this moment, the past and the future.
Worrying steals energy and separates us from our lives. By handling today, we also
handle tomorrow. The capacity of the mind is with us all the time. Alertness
increases along with the care we put into the moment.

Chapter 7

Verse 7: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will
be opened to you.

The one who searches will find, and the one who asks will get answers. To search
and ask is one side of the coin, to find and receive answers is the other. This is
inherent in the consciousness. By praying, searching and knocking on the door, we
activate the consciousness to find what we are searching for. The yearnings of the
soul cannot be satisfied through the senses, the intellect or by greater material
wealth, but only through personal experience of who we are.

Verse 21: Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Here we are close to the core of a common religious misunderstanding: the words “I
love you” are not the same as loving. The word apple is not the same as an apple.
Words are not the same as the real thing; “the map is not the land.” When we have
realized unification with God, then we are doing the will of the Father.

Verse 24: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Verse 25: “ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat
against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

To build one’s house on the rock instead of on sand is like building one’s life on inner
stability instead of on the changing circumstances in life. The first is a secure
foundation; the other is insecure. Sooner or later, the downpour and flood will
come because change and adversity is the nature of life.

Verse 29: Because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teacher of
the law.

One who experiences the inner self and is established in this realm expresses himself
from a level of unity. (“Because he taught them as one who had authority…” ) He
does not express himself from a theoretical level, which is -characterized by duality
and ignorance. (“…and not as their teachers of the law.”)
Chapter 9

Verse 4: Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in
your hearts?”

Truth is translucent and penetrates everything. Consciousness sees through the

material world to subtle parts of existence, where communication can happen on
the mental plane. This is not created by the mind, but as spontaneous inner
knowledge.

Verse 37: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are
few.”

Consciousness is Infinite (“The harvest is plentiful…”), but very few direct their
attention toward it (“…the workers are few.”) by consciously working to realize what
the Lord has sowed.

Chapter 10

Verse 27: What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your
ear, proclaim from the roofs.

What we realize in deep Silence, in deep meditation (what is revealed to us in the

darkness), we shall express in our daily life and proclaim it from the roofs.

Verse 28: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather
be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

“Fear the one who is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell” does not
mean God will punish us in hell. What we should fear is ignorance about our true
nature, the duality of the mind and the fight within, which is the true punishment for
body and soul. This is the hell.

Verse 37: Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

To love God, the Lord, is the main purpose in life. The word “worthy” is not used
because of no value, but rather to describe the result. Unity in the consciousness,
the state of love and bliss, is the true religious life. By loving Truth, God, we love
everything.

Verse 38: And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

If we do not dissolve duality in our mind (if you do not “follow me”), God as a reality
will be absent in our lives (…”is not worthy of me”.)
Chapter 11

Verse 28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest.“Join me in Truth and experience who you are.”

A mind without the idea of duality is in -harmony and rest.

Chapter 12

Verse 43: “When an evil spirit comes out a man, it goes through arid places seeking
rest and does not find it.

“A demon spirit” means a mind experiencing duality. This makes the mind restless,
uneasy and bothered by life’s challenges (looking for a resting place, but is not
succeeding). The resting place is deep inside, in Silence, in meeting the Self, in a state
where duality does not exist.

Verse 44: Then it says,“I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the
house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.

The urge to return to our true home, to realize unity, the self, is an inherent part of
the soul. When returning, we see the beauty, in what we really are, because we are
all unique (and at the time of return, we find it prepared for us).

Chapter 13

Verse 3: Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to
sow his seed.

Verse 4: As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came
and ate it up.

Verse 5: Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up
quickly, because the soil was shallow.

Verse 6: But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered
because they had no root.

Verse 7: Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Verse 8: Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty
or thirty times what was sown.

What is not built on a firm foundation is easily destroyed. To harvest a healthy crop,
one needs good soil and must sow the seed at the most advantageous place. A firm
consciousness is the best soil for our seed. If we only sow in the outer world, which
by nature is unstable, we do not cultivate the eternal fruits that we aim for. Rooted
in the inner harmonious reality (Being), our harvest will be plentiful (peace of mind).

Verse 12: Whoever has will be given more, and he will have in abundance.Whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

To receive means to be alert, in keeping with Truth. There we receive in abundance,

every moment is alive and vibrates, and life is continually created. The one whose
sense of reality is in duality, “even what he has will be taken from him”.

Verse 16: But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they
hear.

What the blessed ones see and hear is the experience of Silence, the Infinite in the
consciousness.

Verse 31: He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed, which a man took and planted in his field.

Verse 32: Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the
largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and
perch in its branches.”

In the seed one finds the characteristics of the flower or herb. The mustard seed,
which is the smallest seed that exists, illustrate the smallest element of creation, the
emptiness, the foundation of creation. The manifestation of emptiness is the
dynamic action of the concrete creation. Herbs, trees and birds symbolize the
interaction in this reality – created out from the emptiness which is in the seed.

Verse 44: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found
it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

The treasure is hidden in the field, in the interior of man. (A man found it and hid it
again). The joy of finding the treasure is the greatest thing that can occur in our lives.
(He sold everything and bought the field.) It means he lost interest in which usually
interest people, and put all his energy into his joy and the treasure.

Verse 49: This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and
separate the wicked from the righteous.

Verse 50: And throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
The end of the world is a continuous process. That which begins is discontinued at
the same moment. The battle between good and evil is in the mind; in a state of
trouble and doubt, in inner agony, is the evil (duality).

Chapter 15

Verse 8: These people honour me with the lips, but their hearts are far from me.

This is the essence of religious acknowledgement. The spoken word cannot

substitute for the experience of fundamental reality. The word “water” cannot
quench our thirst; this occurs only when we actually drink the water; when the heart
burns with love for the Truth.

Verse 9: They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.

What arises from God is fresh and original, adjusted in the ever-changing course of
life. Rules and regulations created by man may serve their purpose for a certain
time, but they have their limitations. In reality word, believes, dogmas, rituals, can
never reach to the Self – only our own experience of the level of no duality, the deep
Silence, through following the life of the breath, love itself, can take us there.

Verse 20: These are what make a man “unclean”; but eating with unwashed hands
does not make him “unclean”.

Duality in the mind is the human bondage. The most important aspect of existence is
not outward glamour, but the purity of our minds, the absence of ignorance about
who we are.

Chapter 16

Verse 11: How is it you do not understand that I was not talking to you about bread?
But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The misunderstanding between Jesus and the disciples, between the master and the
student in spiritual teaching, is about where one’s focus is placed. While the prophet
is centred inside himself, towards God, the pupil is focused outside himself. The
problem arises when Truth is sought outside oneself, not in the consciousness, inside
oneself.

Verse 25: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
me will find it.

To stick to the ego (save one’s life) means to lose it. The one who acknowledges and
experience unity with creation, with Silence inside, looses simultaneously the
experience of the ego and finds his true Life.
Chapter 17

Verse 19: Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why could not we
drive it out”.

Verse 20: He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have
faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to
there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

A faith, established in certainty and formed in silence; there we find the smallest
seed, in the emptiness, that is the most powerful of all. In that reality the mountain
is moved and the mystery takes place. In certainty, duality between man and God is
expelled, and the power of God is visible in everything.

Chapter 18

Verse 4: Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.

The mind’s idea of duality makes us believe we exist independently of the Lord. This
is an illusion and the real ignorance. We believe we are the owners of our minds and
actions. The fact is that it all belongs to the Life. This reality is confirmed in the
consciousness when duality is dissolved. The one who realizes unity with God is like a
child, the idea of the ego disappears - He “is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven”.

Verse 32: Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I
cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged to me.

Verse 33: Should not you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on
you?”

Verse 34: In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he
should pay back all he owed.

Verse 35: This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive
your brother from your heart.

If we are not able to forgive, we suffer. Why is this? Not because we are punished,
but because our mind is in duality, which we experience as pain, that is, in conflict
with our true nature, in opposition with the condition of unconditional love.
Chapter 19

Verse 23: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Verse 24: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

What is the meaning of being rich? To be rich on the mundane plane is not a
hindrance to knowing God. It all depends on attitude. If extra money is used for the
benefit of the many, wealth can be a blessing. In any case, the real meaning of being
rich in these verses is that we believe we are the owners of our actions and our lives
(ego). The example with the camel illustrates that it is impossible to enter into the
kingdom of God with the feeling of ego.

Verse 25: When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked,
“Who then can be saved?”

Verse 26: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God
all things are possible.”

To be saved is impossible as long as we experience life in the ego. Only unity

consciousness can save us. The duality of the mind makes us believe that we exist
independently of the Lord.

Verse 30: But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

In the sense of spiritually, eternity is here and now. Considering this fact, no one is
more or less spiritually developed than another.

Chapter 20

Verse 23: Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my
right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have
been prepared by my Father.”

Consciousness increases by means of sincere and continuous inner work. We can

offer money and other material benefits to other people, but we have to realize the
deep inner experience of Truth ourselves. When duality ceases in the mind, we unite
with God, and thereby sit on the left or right side of Christ.

Verse 32: Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you? ” he
asked.

Verse 33: “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Verse 34: Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they
received their sight and followed him.

These verses means to open the inner eye, to drive out the mind’s unrest with light
(Silence). When Silence penetrates consciousness, we experience whom we are and
are guided by the inner Master.

Chapter 21

Verse 21: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not
only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain,
“Go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done.”

Verse 22: If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Faith includes doubt. That is, faith must be founded on certainty, in a state of non-
duality. Nothing is impossible for God, who creates everything. The manifested
process of the creation proves Life´s inconceivable intelligence and creativity.

Chapter 22

Verse 1: Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:

Verse 2: The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for
his son.

Verse 3: He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell
them to come, but they refused to come.

Verse 4: Then he sent some more servants and said, “Tell those who have been
invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been
slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”

“Come to the wedding banquet!” The wedding between God and Man. Unification
until death does us part. The prophets are the servants (thoughts), sent by God to
invite us to the wedding, but the invited will not come. (We are too busy with other
matters.) The feast is prepared. The creation is perfect all the time. Every soul can
realize this reality, the inner Universe through meditation. Our task is to join the
wedding, and in so doing, confirm our marriage with the Lord.

Verse 14: “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

There is no law excluding somebody or saying one person is more worthy than
another to be chosen. In this context, the chosen simply means those who realize
Truth, the consciousness of Christ. The possibility to achieve this is the same in every
human being; the Lord does not discriminate in this way. Everybody is invited, and
will in due course realize this.

Verse 31: But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said
to you?

Verse 32: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not
the God of the dead but of the living.”

God is alive in all the creation. No religion, philosophy, faith or lack of faith is able to
change this fact. Truth exists independently of words and arguments. When the rays
of the sun touch the cheek, no one can say this does not happen. Reality cannot be
ignored. All creation is penetrated by the power of God. Which name we use, God or
Creator, the Lord or the Infinite Power of Life, is of no importance; the fact, Truth is
decisive.

Verse 36: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Verse 37: Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
mind.

Verse 38: This is the first and greatest commandment.

Verse 39: And the second is like this: Love your neighbour as yourself.

Verse 40: All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”

This is a summary of the Trinity. You shall love the Lord and your neighbour as
yourself. There is no separation in the consciousness. God is manifested in
everything, in our brothers and sisters and in ourselves, in the consciousness and in
the infinite power of the creation. God, my neighbour and myself, we are all one.

Chapter 23

Verse 25: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean
the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

In all religions it is usually the external, the history and rituals that are regarded as
the Truth at the expense of the inner aspects of life. It is inner purification that is
essential; the external, in this context, is purely ornamental.

Verse 26: Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the
outside also will be clean.”
One thing we always have is ourselves. Our thoughts, attitudes and how we perceive
what is happening in our lives is changed when the structure of our mind is purified
through the process of meditation.(“first clean the inside of the cup and dish”).

Verse 27: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like
whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of
dead men’s bones and everything is unclean.

This gets right to the point. The external dominates. What we see and hear we
believe. Our struggle for happiness is directed toward satisfaction of the senses and
gaining recognition from others. Simultaneously, we experience chaos, conflict and
restlessness inside (skeletons and all kinds of impurities).

Verse 28: In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on
the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Again, this is quite obvious. Our way to look at man´s development is connected to
the external, while the internal, where the real life is experienced and is going on, is
forgotten. To pretend is a common human feature. We act in one way, but inside we
might be thinking differently. The fact is that human development takes place inside
through dissolving duality in the mind.

Verse 29: Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build
tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.

Verse 30: And you say, “If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not
have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.”

Ignorance and hypocrisy are expressed in the same manner regardless of historical
era. Take as an example the way in which Jesus was paid homage to after his death.
If Jesus came to earth today, he probably would have the same experience again.
Christ consciousness is alive and unpredictable. A new Christ would disagree with the
Christians. His way of teaching would differ from the sermons in the churches and
with how theology is taught at the universities. To idolize or worship a human being,
treating him as an icon as the religions do, is the foundation of the crucifixion.

Chapter 24

Verse 13: .. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Everybody stands firm to the end. Eternity includes everyone; evolution takes place
from the perspective of eternity. Every soul will realize Christ consciousness. Still,
this statement is valid because it serves as inspiration for those who are seeking the
sphere of Truth with complete devotion and yearning.
Verse 22: If those days had not been cut short, none would survive, but for the sake
of the elect those days will be shortened.

A literal and limited understanding of the word “chosen” promotes fundamentalism

and war. Time is already shortened as time is in this very moment, in Christ
consciousness.

Verse 23: At that time if anyone says to you, Look here is the Christ! or, there he is!
Do not believe it.

Verse 24: For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible.

Miracles are not a signpost, outward splendour or acknowledgement from

supporters. Truth emerges in the Silence, and Existence itself is the miracle.

Verse 35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away

Hidden deep inside conscience, in the depths of Silence, is the Word of God, eternal
alive, independent of outer changes and chaos.

Verse 42:” Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord
will come.”

Verse 43: “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of
night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his
house be broken into.”

Verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour
when you do not expect him.”

Stay alert. If you knew this were the moment, you would stay awake all night.

Chapter 25

Verse 8: The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are
going out.”

Verse 9: “No,” they replied. “There may not be enough for both us and you. Instead,
go to those who sell oil and buy some for your selves.”

Everyone must go themselves to the merchant (the inner) and get what is needed.
Inner steadiness, a constant burning candle, no one can give us this but ourselves.
Verse 29: For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

This verse refers to alertness and inner steadiness, to be united inside; no one can
offer this to us nor take it from us. Alertness leads to more alertness, wisdom and
Truth, and therefore we will be given in abundance. If we are inattentive, fighting in
inner conflicts, we shall even be deprived of what we have.

Verse 34: Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by
my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of
the world.”

Everyone is blessed by the Lord because the Existence is blessed. But we have to
recognize this before we can experience it. The Kingdom is ours, but to enter into it
we have to experience and acknowledge it.

Verse 40: The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Every Soul is a spark or reflection of God. Man is made in the image of God. Life is
God. I am not God, but God is Me.

Chapter 28

Verse 18: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.”

Jesus teaches from the level of unity with God – there we find the authority (“All
authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”).

Verse 20: “And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In experiencing unity we acknowledge that God is always present in us and in our

lives.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

St Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of statements made by Jesus. The texts are
from a -papyrus manuscript found in 1945 along with twelve other manuscripts at
Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt. The 13 manuscripts contain a total of 52 religious and
philosophical texts from antiquity.
It is said that the Gospel of Thomas in its current form dates from the year 100,
although some sections are older. The manuscript consists of a number of
statements and metaphors by Jesus. Some of these we are familiar with from the
New Testament; others are of unknown origin. Dr.Theol. Søren Giversen, author of
the book “The Gospel of Thomas”, is a professor at the University of Århus,
Denmark, who for many years has worked with the Gospel of Thomas. He has
translated the text directly from Coptic, an ancient Egyptian language, to Danish.

Text 1: Whoever finds the interpretation of these saying will not taste death.

Whoever realizes his true nature has overcome death through the experience of
immortality (experience of Silence, of the Self) in the consciousness.

Text 3: If those who lead you say, “Look, the kingdom is in heaven”, then the birds of
heaven will precede you. If they say, “It is in the sea”, then the fish will precede you.
Rather, the kingdom is within you and outside you. When you know yourselves, you
will be known, and you will know you are children of the living Father. But if you do
not know yourselves, you live in poverty and you yourselves are the poverty.”

The main religious concern is: Where is the Kingdom to be found? When the
Kingdom is established in our consciousness, it also exists outside us. This insight
shows the substance of the Kingdom: that men are children of the living Father.
Without this experience and insight, we live in poverty.

Text 4: The person advanced in days will not hesitate to ask an infant of seven days
about the place of life, and that person will live. For many who are first will be last
and they will become a single one.

The seven-day old child has recently arrived on earth from the Infinite. Many who
are the first will be the last, and they will become a single one. The oneness is always
there; no matter if you are first or last, because every moment is Divine, every step
in the Life is perfect. A growing flower is always perfect, also before it flowers. It
flowers as a result of growth, from every step and every change along the way. This
is so with all creation, including with men. The potential of men is to fully live this
reality.

Text 6: His disciples asked him, “Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we
give alms? What diet shall we keep?” Jesus said, “Do not lie, and do not do what you
hate, but all things are revealed in the sight of heaven. For nothing is hidden that will
not be revealed, and nothing is covered that will remain covered.”

Truth means to be true to your self. Be who you are, do not pretend to be something
you are not. Everything will be displayed and disclosed in the light of the divine
mystery. Nothing can be hidden from God because God is Life.
Text 17: I shall give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard and no hand
has touched, and what has not come into the human heart.

I, meaning Him, the Lord, give us the experience of “what no eye has seen”, of the
Infinite, of Silence deeply inside; that which is beyond the senses and the intellect,
beyond belief and doubt.

Text 18: The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will come.” Jesus said, “Have
you discovered the beginning that you search for the end? In the place where the
beginning is, there the end will be. Blessed is he who will stand at the beginning. He
will know the end and will not taste death.”

In the unification of the beginning and the end, in the unending moment, death is
dissolved.

Text 22: Jesus saw some infants being nursed and said to his disciples, “These
children are like those who enter the kingdom.” They said to him, “If we are children
shall we enter the kingdom?” Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and
when you make the inner like the outer, and the outer like the inner, and the upper
like the lower, then you shall enter the kingdom.”

The dissolving of duality takes place through the complete action, like an infant
being nursed. The outside is made like the inside and opposite. This is the condition
of love, the realization of heaven (God).

Text 23: His disciples said, “Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it.” He
said to them, “Whoever has ears to hear let him hear. There is light within a man of
light and it illuminates the whole world. When it does not shine, there is darkness.”

This is inward light, the opening of the third eye. If we look through green glasses,
then the whole world appears green. Similarly with light inside, the world is
illuminated. If it is dark within, the outside world is also dark. Everything we
experience is coloured by our consciousness, by our presence and knowledge about
connections in life.

Text 25: Jesus said, “Love your brother like your soul, and guard him like the apple of
your eye.”

This is about no-duality in the mind. We dissolve doubt and conflict inside, to unite
God, myself and my brother in the condition of love.

Text 26: Jesus said, “You see the splinter in your brother’s eye but you do not see the
plank in your own eye. When you have taken the plank out of your own eye, then you
will be able to see and remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

In ignorance we transfer the responsibility to something outside ourselves. When we

have taken the plank out of our own eye, when we realize our true nature, then the
splinter from our brother’s eye is simultaneously removed. The realized state of
mind sees everything in the light of God’s presence in all human beings.

Text 27: If you do not fast with the respect to the world, you will not find the
kingdom. If you do not keep the Sabbath as Sabbath, you will not see the Father.

If we are involved in everything that happens without a stable mind, the suffering
will continue (“will not find the kingdom.”) To live in this world, being fully
established inside, is the real fast. This is necessary in order to find the Kingdom and
realize who we are.

Text 48: Jesus said, “If two make peace with one another in the same house, they will
say to the mountain ‘Be moved’ and it will be moved.”

To make peace in the same house means to dissolve duality in the consciousness, to
unite the masculine and the feminine, to unite God and man. The condition of God
consciousness is without limitations; men can be healed and mountains moved.

Text 49: Jesus said, “Blessed are the solitary and the chosen, for you will find the
kingdom. Because you have come from it, you will go there again”.

To stand alone (inside in solitary) – when we live in harmony with our true nature,
then we can find the Kingdom. That is where we come from and where we are going.
It happens in the mind; we unite with the Self through Kriya practise.

Text 50: Jesus said, “If they say to you ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them

‘We have come from the place where the light came into existence of its own accord
and revealed itself in their image.’ If they say to you ‘Who are you?’, say to them ‘We
are his sons and we are chosen of the living Father.’ If they ask you ‘What is the sign
of your Father who is in you?’, say to them ‘It is a movement and a repose.’”

The main principles are movement and rest (repose). By adopting these elements in
daily life, unification is realized in the individual consciousness.

Text 51: His disciples said to him, “On what day will the repose of the dead occur and
when does the new world come?” He said to them, “That repose you look for has
come, but you have not recognized it.”

What is this “new world” we are waiting for? Are we looking for a world without
changes and problems? A world where nothing happens, where only the “good” is to
be found? “That repose you look for has come, but you have not recognized it.” The
world is the masterpiece of the Creator, perfect as it is. What we are waiting for is
here, in every moment.
Text 52: His disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel and all of
them spoke of you.” He said to them, “You have neglected the Living One in your
presence and have spoken only about the dead.”

“The Living One” is what happens here and now, what is in front of us right now.
Instead we are concerned about “the dead” - the inner conflict. The intellect is not
able to realize this secret completely. Kriya practice is needed because first and
foremost the “Living One” is a state of mind – inner calmness, joy, wisdom and
stability, based on the mind established in the Self, in Silence. These qualities, or this
reality, are the foundation for peacefully living the Moment.

Text 59: Jesus said, “Look upon the Living One as long as you live, lest you die and
seek to see him but cannot see.”

Practice Kriya, meditate, be aware and observe. If not, we die (duality in the mind)
and lose what is our birthright: the acknowledgement of who we are.

Text 67: Jesus said, “He who knows all but fails to know himself lacks everything.”

Let us presume that a man has all the knowledge of the physical world, but still lacks
the experience of his origin, of who he is, what will all the knowledge be good for?
Neither intellectual knowledge nor experiences through the senses can promote a
permanent state of love, which is what man is longing for. If the longing is not
satisfied from inside, then disharmony and darkness are our companions, and in
reality, we are missing everything.

Text 71: I shall destroy this house and no one will be able to build it again.

“Destroy this house” means to remove whatever prevents inner Silence. When that
is done, the embankment is open, and whatever made the hindrance can not be
rebuilt. Then the river of life flows freely.

Text 72: A man said to him, “Tell my brothers to divide my Father’s possessions with
me.” He said to the man, “ O man, who made me a divider?” He turned to his
disciples and said to them, “I am not a divider, am I?”

Divided means duality, conflict. The Christ-consciousness, the state of mind that
Jesus has realized, is characterized by cessation of duality, a condition of unity and
not of dividing. (“I am not a divider, am I?”)

Text 73: Jesus said, “The harvest is great but the labourers are few, so pray to the
Lord to send labours to the harvest.”

The Truth (harvest) is unlimited, but few are interested in it.

Text 74: He said, “Lord, there are many standing around the drinking trough, but
there is nothing in the well.”
“Standing around the drinking trough” means the search for truth in the outward, in
the theoretical, the dogmatic, the ritual – but those parts can not catch the real flow
of life (there is nothing in the well), only what is growing from inside can bring water
to the well.

Text 75: Jesus said, “Many are standing at the door, but those who are alone are the
ones who will enter the bridal chamber.”

To be alone means to be established inside, in loneliness without duality in dialog

with the Creator. Then we enter the bridal chamber – the marriage with Him, the
Lord, the Life.

Text 77: Jesus said, “I am the light that is above everything. I am all, all came forth
from me, and all has returned to me. Split the wood and I am there. Lift up the stone
and you will find me there.”

Jesus describes his state of mind, Christ-consciousness – from which everything is

descended and which is within everything. “Split the wood”, the divine also exists in
whatever is split.

Text 82: Jesus said, “Whoever is near me is near the fire, but whoever is far from me
is far from my Kingdom.”

Jesus do not mean near or far away from him as a person, but near or far from his
inner condition – the ocean of the fire, the ocean of Silence, the ocean of Truth.

Text 89: Jesus said, “Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not know that
he who made the inside is also the one who made the outside?”

By purifying the inside, the outside is also purified. When established inside, the
inward and the outward will be realized as ONE. The One who created the inward,
also created the outward.

Text 91: They said to him, “Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you.”

He said to them, “You examine the face of heavens and the earth, and yet do not
know what is in front of your face nor do you know how to discern this present time.”

“What is in front of you” is the power of life, and the answer to the mystery of time -
that which you are not able to interpret.

Text 94: Jesus said, “Whoever searches will find. It will be opened to him.”

The door breaks from the intensity of the seeker.

Text 95: Jesus said, “If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give to those
from whom you will not receive it back.”

Give your ego, your actions, to the Life, then you will not get them back; they will not
cling to your mind, to your consciousness.

Text 103: Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who knows where the robbers will enter so
that he may rise and gather his strength and arm himself before they invade.”

“Where the robbers will enter” is the place in your mind where duality exists, thus
leading to disharmony and allowing fear to enter. “Gather his strength” means it is
necessary to mobilize inner stability, peace and knowledge, so that the mind is
armed before the robbers invade.

Text 106: Jesus said: “When you make the two one, you shall become sons of man,
and when you say, “Mountain be moved, it will move.”

“Make the two one” - there is no duality in the consciousness, so what remains is a
united reality, where infinity dominates, and mountains can be moved.

Text 107: Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.

One of them, the largest, went astray. The shepherd left the ninety-nine and
searched for that one until he found it. After he had laboured he said to the sheep, ‘I
love you more than the ninety-nine.’”

This text tells about our search for the One, our search for Truth, which demands all
our interest, energy and sincerity to realize – He left everything to find the One.

Text 108: “Whoever drinks from my mouth will be as I am, and I shall be that person,
and the hidden thing will be revealed to that person.”

“Drink from my mouth.” The one who has experienced the Divine and realized Unity
inside, “will be as I am”, enters into the same state of mind as Jesus. “I shall be that
person”- both have realized Unity consciousness, and consequently, they are the
same. Then “the hidden things” will be revealed and understandable.

Text 111: Jesus said, “The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence
and he who lives in the Living One will not see death.” Does not Jesus say, “He who
finds himself, of him the world is not worthy.”?

Death only exists when we have not realized our immortal nature. To “lose the
body” is to move from one condition to another. For “He who finds himself” - the
world, the outward, loses its attraction as an aid for permanent happiness because
happiness is a state of mind, the result of cessation of conflict in the consciousness.
Text 113: His disciples said to him, “When will the Heaven arrive?” It will not come
according to your expectation.”- They shall not say, -“Look here!-” or -“Look there!-”
The Kingdom of the Father is spread all over the world, but men do not see it.”

The human dilemma is that we often desire something other than what we have. But
the Truth, that which we seek, is already present. It is the Kingdom, found
throughout the world, but we do not see it because we expect or desire something
else – perhaps a heaven in which nothing but “the Good” happens. But this is
impossible, for it is duality between the One and the Three that creates and
maintains Creation. Happiness is the unification of these contrasting elements in our
consciousness. This is the Kingdom, the Truth that we seek.