Chapter II
We arrived at Potal, from where the expedition was to start, late in the afternoon of December 22, 1894, and found we were to start Christmas morning upon what was to be the most memorable expedition of our whole lives. I never shall forget the few words Emil said to us that morning. These words were delivered in fluent English, although the speaker did not boast an English education, and he had never been out of the Far East.
He began by saying, “Tis Christmas Morning; to you I suppose it is the day Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, was born; to you the thought must come that He was sent to remit sins; to you He must typify the Great Mediator between you and your God. You seem to appeal to Jesus as a mediator between you and your God, who seems to be a stern and, at times, an angry God sitting off somewhere in the place called heaven, located where I do not know, except it be in man’s consciousness. You seem to be able to reach God only through His less austere and more loving Son, the great and noble One whom we all call Blessed and whose advent into the world this day commemorates. To us this day means more; to us this day not only means the advent into this world of Jesus, the Christ, but also this birth typifies the birth of Christ in every human consciousness. This Christmas Day means the birth of the Great Master and Teacher, the Great Liberator of mankind from material bondage and limitations. To us this great soul came on earth to show more fully the way to the real God, the great Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient One; to show that God is all Goodness, all Wisdom, all Truth, All in All. This Great Master, who came to this world this day, was sent to show more fully that God not only dwells without us but within us, that He never is, nor can be, separated from us or any of His creations; that He is always a just and loving God; that He is all things; knows all things; knows all and is all Truth. Had I the understanding of all men, it is beyond my power to express to you, even in an humble way, what this Holy Birth means to us.
“We are fully convinced and we hope you also will see that this Great Master and Teacher came to us that we might have a fuller understanding of life here on earth; that all mortal limitations are but man-made and in no other way should they be interpreted. We know that this greatest of all teachers came to show more fully that the Christ in Him and through whom He did His mighty works is the same Christ that lives in you, in me, and in all mankind; that we can, by applying His teachings, do all the works that He did and greater works. We believe that Jesus came to show more fully that God is the one great and only Cause of all things, that God is All.
“You may have heard it said that we believe Jesus received his early training among us. Perhaps some of us do believe. Let that be as it is. Does it matter whether His training came from among us or as a direct revelation from God, the one source where all things really exist? For when an idea from God-mind has been contacted by one man and sent out through the spoken word, cannot one, or all, again contact that thought in the Universal? Because one has contacted the idea and sent it out, it does not follow that it is his particular possession. If he did appropriate and hold it, where would be room for receiving? To receive more we must give out what we have received. If we withhold what we receive, stagnation will follow and we will be like the wheel that generates power from the water and suddenly, of its own volition, begins to withhold the water which it is using. It will soon find itself stifled with inert water. It is only when the water is allowed to flow freely through that it is of value to the wheel to create power. Just so with man. When he contacts God’s ideas he must give them out in order to receive the benefit from them. He must allow all to do the same, that they may grow and develop as he is growing.
“I am of the opinion that what Jesus taught came to Him as a direct revelation from God, as it no doubt has come to our great teachers. Are not all things of God, and whatever one human being can do, cannot all do? We believe you will be convinced that God is ever willing and ready to reveal Himself to all men as He has revealed Himself to Jesus and others. The only requisite necessary is for each one to be willing to let God come forth.
We believe, with all sincerity, that all are created equal; that all men are one man; that the mighty works done by Jesus can and will be done by all. You will see there is nothing mysterious about these works. The mystery is only in man’s mortal concept of them.
“We fully realize you have come to us with minds more or less skeptical. We trust you will live with us and know us as we really are. Our work and the results accomplished, we leave you to accept or reject, as you will.”
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