Preface by Robert Powell

In this section I shall try to elucidate upon a question raised by Steve Bonn of Evera Books, the publisher in English translation of the works of Peter Deunov (the Master Beinsa Douno). Steve, as he mentions in his letter below, has some degree of familiarity with the teachings of the great Austrian teacher of esotericism Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), who—like his contemporary, the Bulgarian initiate Peter Deunov (1864-1944)—brought many previously hidden aspects of Esoteric Christianity into the public arena. Rudolf Steiner referred to his teaching as spiritual science or Anthroposophy. Here with Steve’s question:

Dear Robert, Thanks for sharing this. One thing that is a bit confusing for me in the article, is the distinguishing of Master Jesus from the Christ. I generally relate to Jesus Christ as a single being, with a Divine dimension, Christ, and a human dimension, Jesus, but not as two separate beings. I suppose that by the Master Jesus, you are referring to the being who was Zarathustra [in an earlier incarnation], whereas Jesus Christ, if my novice level understanding of Anthroposophy is correct, would refer to the Nathan Jesus being in oneness with the Christ. Is that correct? When you refer to the Christ in the article, are you referring to this Nathan Jesus being in oneness with Christ, the Solar Logos of this solar system, independent of any human being, or something else? I am sure that other students of Beinsa Douno [Peter Deunov] may be even more confused when reading this article than I am, unless they are deeply steeped in Anthroposophy. Please clarify. Best Wishes, Steve.

Before clarifying this question raised by Steve, it is important to have some background:

In considering the Circle of Council of the twelve great teachers of humanity around Christ, these twelve sublime spiritual teachers—known as Bodhisattvas in the Buddhist tradition—can be likened to “planets” around the Spiritual Sun, who is Christ, known in the Apocalypse as the Lamb of God, “whose face shines like the Sun at full strength.” Individual Bodhisattvas from this group of twelve incarnate from time to time to bring new aspects of the ever-unfolding message and impulse of Christ—the message being tailored to the time, place, and circumstances prevailing at the location where their teaching mission comes to expression. Often they are the founders of religions or new spiritual streams.

At this time—since the end of the 5000-year long period of Kali Yuga (3102 BC to AD 1899), coinciding with the onset of the Satya Yuga (“Age of Light”) in 1899, and especially since the beginning of Christ’s second coming in 1933, His return in the etheric realm (“in the clouds,” as it is expressed in the Apocalypse)—the Circle of Council plays an analogous role on the spiritual level to the circle of twelve disciples around Jesus Christ on the physical level two thousand years ago.

At that time Christ deliberately chose twelve “ordinary” human beings from the region of Galilee—six of them were fishermen—to make it clear that he had come for all humanity, not just for the rich and powerful, the learned and influential. Now, in this time of Christ’s return in an ethereal (rather than a physical) body, His coming is universal, for the entire Earth and humanity, and the circle of the great teachers of humanity are in His service in order to awaken the universal Christ consciousness and communicate His teaching and impulse of Divine Love for our time. Bearing this in mind, we can see how important the Circle of Council is: that we continuously need to spiritually strive to find a relationship—and contact—with this lofty and sublime Circle of Twelve. Hopefully the following may prove helpful in this spiritual quest.

In my research into the Circle of Twelve, it was from the beginning clear to me that not only is there a correspondence of the twelve disciples with the twelve zodiacal signs, elaborated upon in my 1998 book Christian Hermetic Astrology: The Star of the Magi and the Life of Christ, but also a correspondence of the circle of twelve great teachers of humanity with the twelve signs of the zodiac. From this point of departure, it gradually became clear to me which individualities from the Circle of Twelve correspond to specific zodiacal signs, whereby I must emphasize that this research is ongoing, and so far I have complete and crystal clear clarity of this correspondence only in the case of the Bodhisattvas corresponding to the signs of Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. For now we shall limit the focus of our attention to the Bodhisattva-Master corresponding to Gemini, who, as shall be discussed below, was incarnated long ago as the great Persian initiate Zarathustra, and who continues to incarnate in the post-Christian era and is known esoterically as the Master Jesus.

As shown in my 2012 book Astrogeographia, written together with David Bowden, it is interesting that Ancient Persia (modern Iran) comes under the sidereal sign of Gemini that is embedded in the constellation of the Twins. The great leader of humanity, one of the twelve Bodhisattvas, who was the spiritual teacher of the Ancient Persian civilization during the Age of Gemini (6266-4106 BC, when the vernal point was in the sidereal sign of the Twins) was Zarathustra, whose name means radiant star.

It was known to the ancient Persians, and this was confirmed by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), that the star of Zarathustra is Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens—the sidereal longitude of which is 19½° sidereal Gemini—hence the appropriateness of the name radiant star. There is much that could be said about this Bodhisattva individuality, who was the bearer of the Archangel (Folk Spirit) of Ancient Persia, and perhaps the most significant thing of all was communicated by Rudolf Steiner: that Zarathustra later reincarnated as the child Jesus whose birth is described in the Gospel of Matthew, who was visited by the three kings (Magi), who themselves were reincarnated disciples of Zoroaster (the Greek name for Zarathustra), and that since that time, in his subsequent incarnations—one in almost every century—is known as the Master Jesus.

Rudolf Steiner also indicated that he (RS)—who was asked if the Master Jesus was then physically incarnated—responded positively and added that he (RS) stood in close inner connection with the Master Jesus, who was in the Carpathian Mountains:

In response to a question [date unknown, but possibly 1917, and certainly prior to 1923] from Friedrich Rittelmeyer concerning the Friend of God [from the Oberland, fourteenth century], Rudolf Steiner answered that he was [an incarnation of the] Master Jesus, who since the Mystery of Golgotha was incarnated in every century. Regarding the further question whether he was presently [at that time] incarnated, the answer was that at the present time [i.e. shortly before 1920 or shortly after 1920] he was in the Carpathians— and Rudolf Steiner indicated that he was in purely spiritual connection with him. (See footnote 4 at the end of this article)

Here it is important to be clear about a fundamental discovery made by Rudolf Steiner, which, if one is not aware of it, could lead to misunderstanding. This discovery is that two children, each with the name Jesus, were born in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago. The births of these two children—and their respective biographies—are carefully discussed in my book Chronicle of the Living Christ, published by SteinerBooks in 1996. The birth of the older child is described in the Gospel of Matthew as having taken place in a house in Bethlehem. This child, who was born on the evening of March 5 in the year 6 BC, has an entirely different genealogy (see the Matthew Gospel) to the younger Jesus child, whose genealogy and birth, described in the Gospel of Luke, was born in a cave in Bethlehem and was visited by shepherds. This younger Jesus child was born shortly before midnight on the night of December 6/7 in the year 2 BC. In other words, the Luke Jesus child was four years nine months younger than the Matthew Jesus child. It is this younger Jesus child whom we know as Jesus of Nazareth—Rudolf Steiner also refers to him as the Nathan Jesus, being of the genealogical line of Nathan—who became bearer of the Christ, the Logos, at the event of the baptism in the River Jordan, and who 3½ years later passed through death on the cross at Golgotha on the historical Good Friday, April 3, in the year AD 33.

If one studies the various depictions in the art works from earlier centuries, one makes the extraordinary discovery that one can sometimes differentiate between these two Jesus children. The painting of the Virgin and Child by Fra Angelico reproduced above shows a very alert and awake Jesus child, conscious of his mission in blessing the world. This is clearly the (older) Jesus child of the Gospel of Matthew—the wise and enlightened child who has continued to incarnate as “the Master Jesus, who since the Mystery of Golgotha was incarnated in every century” (Rudolf Steiner—see footnote 4 at the end of this article). It is this individuality, this great teacher of humanity, who is the focus of attention in this article NOT the Luke Jesus child, Jesus of Nazareth, the Nathan Jesus, who had never before incarnated upon the Earth and who since his death on the cross at Golgotha at the age of 33 years and 4 months on April 3 AD 33 has never incarnated upon the Earth again, but works spiritually in guiding humanity and the Earth towards the goal of evolution.

As discussed in my book Chronicle of the Living Christ, there is much more to be learned concerning the mystery of these two Jesus children. The one under discussion in this article is known esoterically by the name Master Jesus in all his many incarnations since his birth as the Jesus child of the Gospel of Matthew. This (older) Jesus child had been incarnated many times on the Earth before the time of Christ—for example, as Zarathustra, the great teacher of the Persian people in the ancient Persian culture during the Age of Gemini around 6000 BC, and then as Zoroaster, who was born into the royal family of the Persian king Cyrus the Great around 600 BC. Zarathustra, whose name means radiant star—in a higher sense this refers to his star as the star Sirius—and Zoroaster are one and the same individuality in different incarnations. And this individuality as Zoroaster, the initiator of Pythagoras (sixth century BC), founded the stream of the Magi, of whom the last representatives were the three kings who came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the reincarnated Zoroaster as the child Jesus whose birth is described in the Gospel of Matthew. The foregoing, in response to Steve’s question at the head of this Preface, still needs some further clarification. Here I shall draw upon the background given concerning the mystery of the two Jesus children by Rudolf Steiner as summarized in chapter 4 of my book Chronicle of the Living Christ.

Readers acquainted with Rudolf Steiner’s works will recall his descriptions of the event of the 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple, when the two Jesus children united to become one. In the words of Rudolf Steiner: “This is magnificently presented to us in the Gospel of Luke, in the passage referring to the astounding scene where the 12- year-old Jesus is sitting among the learned Rabbis and saying things that sound utterly strange to them. How could the 12-year-old Jesus of the Nathan line be capable of this? The explanation is that at that moment the Zarathustra-individuality had passed into him…” (quoted from Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on the Gospel of Matthew).

In other words, the (older) Jesus child of the Matthew Gospel—an incarnation of the Zarathustra individuality—passed over at this Temple event to unite spiritually with the bodily constitution of the (younger) Jesus child, Jesus of Nazareth, the Nathan Jesus child of the Luke Gospel, who was twelve years of age at the time of this event. The (older) Jesus child of the Matthew Gospel then started to waste away and died a short time after leaving his body at the time of the Temple event. First there were two Jesus children. Then, at the Temple event, dated April 3 AD 12, the two became one: Wisdom and Love united in the person of the 12-yearold Jesus of Nazareth. The older Jesus child, known esoterically in his subsequent incarnations as the Master Jesus, was a tremendously wise being, full of wisdom, which was suddenly and unexpectedly revealed to the Rabbis in the Temple through his incorporation into the younger Jesus child, known to us as Jesus of Nazareth. The Nathan Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, who had never before been incarnated, was a being of pure love, who had not undergone any incarnations upon the Earth and had thus not been subject (like other human beings) to the consequences of the Fall—and who then at the age of 29 years and 9½ months united with Christ, the Logos, at the baptism in the River Jordan, and thus became Christ Jesus: the human being Jesus of Nazareth united with the Divine being Christ, sometimes referred to as the Solar Logos, also known as the Son of God. Christ Jesus is thus characterized in Christian theology as the God-Man—the union of the Son of God with the pure and perfect human being, Jesus of Nazareth, who works spiritually for the redemption of the Earth and humanity, and is the great leader of humankind towards the ultimate goal of evolution: the resurrection, which, up to the present point in time, only he has attained.

Returning now to Rudolf Steiner’s statement that at that time—at some time between 1917 and 1923—he spoke of the great teacher, the Master Jesus, as being incarnated in the Carpathians:

Closer research concerning this statement reveals that the Master Jesus was active in his incarnation at that time in the Rila Mountains in Bulgaria, that—as can be seen from any map— are a continuation of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathian Mountains meet the great mountainous uplift that covers much of the Balkan Peninsula at a place called the Iron Gates of Orsova. Here, the Danube River cuts through the mountain barrier before making its final run to the Black Sea. The Balkan uplift is composed of numerous mountain ranges, including the Rila Mountains. And the Iskar river takes its source from Rila and runs through the Balkan Mountains forming a gorge to reach the Danube.

Those who know anything about the life of Peter Deunov, also known as the Master Beinsa Douno, will know that he founded the Bulgarian branch of the Great White Brotherhood—also known as the Great White Lodge—in which the yearly retreat high up in the Rila Mountains, in the region of the spectacular Seven Rila Lakes, was central to the activity of this spiritual group. This yearly retreat in the month of August continues still to the present day. In this connection, the following indication is interesting: “The Great White Lodge leads all spiritual movements, and Master Jesus and the Master Christian Rosenkreutz belong to it [the Great White Lodge]” (Rudolf Steiner, Gesamtausgabe, vol. 264, p. 329, lecture of June 1, 1907— see footnote 4 at the end of this article)

On a personal note I would like to mention that I was fortunate to be able to attend the yearly retreat in the Rila Mountains in 1996. Shortly thereafter I met Beredene Jocelyn, author of Citizens of the Cosmos (1981). She described how, as a young woman, she had been working in Bulgaria as a teacher of English and had encountered there the work of Peter Deunov (the Master Beinsa Douno) and had joined the group that had formed around him and had participated in the group activities. After returning from Bulgaria to the United States, she came across Rudolf Steiner’s work and henceforth this became—alongside the work of Peter Deunov— the focal point of her life, as is evident from her book Citizens of the Cosmos.

When I met Beredene—this was in New York in 1997—she introduced me to a Bulgarian woman, Viola Bowman—author of Paneurythmy vols 1 & 2 (Evera Books)—who had studied Paneurythmy with Beinsa Douno before moving to the United States. Beredene had written an Introduction to Paneurythmy volume 1 in which she put forward her perspective that Peter Deunov was the great spiritual teacher for the Slavic people, preparing them for the sixth cultural epoch (Aquarian Age), just as Rudolf Steiner was the great spiritual teacher of the Western European people in the fifth cultural epoch associated with the Age of Pisces, in which we are still living at the present time.

Against the background of the identity of the Master Jesus with the Master Beinsa Douno (Peter Deunov), these words of Rudolf Steiner evidently confirm Beredene Jocelyn’s perspective:

Through the principle of brotherly love, represented by the Master Jesus, the coming together of humanity in the sixth epoch, based on this principle of brotherly love, will be brought about, leading into the future. (See footnote 4 at the end of this article).

Moreover, against the background of Rudolf Steiner’s indication above, let us consider these words communicated by Peter Deunov to a disciple, translated from Bulgarian by Harrie Salman:

I have been inspired and this happened on March 7, 1897 [in the Gregorian calendar on March 19]. Then I received a mission from heaven, I was told that I am a teacher for the whole of humanity. The mission assigned to me is connected with the new path of the Slavs and with the coming of the Sixth race [regarding this quote, see Harrie Salman’s Prophecy article below].

Noting especially the statement “I am a teacher for the whole of humanity”—if we take these words seriously—the identification of the Master Jesus with the Master Beinsa Douno is not only plausible; it is virtually certain, given that a Master, in the deeper esoteric sense of the expression, is a human being who has risen to become a teacher for the whole of humanity.

Rudolf Steiner spoke of two Masters—two teachers “of the whole of humanity”—the Master Jesus being one of them: “At the head of our Western [Esoteric] School stand two Masters: Master Jesus and the Master Christian Rosenkreutz”— see footnote 4 at the end of this article. Moreover, once one studies the sidereal horoscopes of conception, birth, and death of the child Jesus of the Gospel of Matthew with the sidereal horoscopes of conception, birth, and death of Peter Deunov, the child Jesus, whose biography and horoscopes are given with precise dates in my book Chronicle of the Living Christ, the Master Beinsa Douno emerges with a high degree of probability as an incarnation of the Master Jesus. Through precise and accurate astrosophical research, the identity of this child Jesus—an incarnation of the Master Jesus—with the Master Beinsa Douno is more or less certain.

Furthermore, Peter Deunov (the Master Beinsa Douno) is referred to by some of his followers as “the Master sent to teach Love,” which is similar to the above-quoted designation of Rudolf Steiner concerning the Master Jesus as the representative of the “principle of brotherly love”— see footnote 4 at the end of this article. Against this background, the following compilation by Harrie Salman of Peter Deunov’s prophecies is most interesting and illuminating, considering it as the words of the Master Jesus, one of the great guiding initiates of humanity, one of the Circle of Twelve comprising the Circle of Council around Christ. (See, also, footnote 4 at the end of this article).

Peter Deunov (Master Beinsa Douno)

Peter Deunov, also known as the Master Beinsa Douno, was born with the Sun in the constellation of the Twins at 26°25’ Gemini in conjunction (within one degree) with the star Castor (25°30’) in the star sign of Gemini on the morning of June 29, 1864 in the old Julian calendar in use in Bulgaria at that time, corresponding to July 11 in the New Style Gregorian calendar in use in the West. Venus (24°27’ Gemini) was in superior conjunction with the Sun—that is, from the Earth’s perspective Venus was behind the Sun—and was also close to Castor (about one degree away).

The planet Mercury (19°14’ Gemini) was closely aligned with the star Sirius (19°20’ Gemini), and, moreover, the planet Uranus (3°51’ Gemini) was located near the beginning of Gemini, close to where the Sun (2½° Gemini) had been located at the historical event of Pentecost on May 24 AD33—the descent of the Holy Spirit, when the early Christian community formed.

The foregoing astrosophical note concerning the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Uranus in Gemini at the birth of the Master Beinsa Douno is of interest in our consideration of his relationship with sidereal Gemini, with which the star Sirius, the star of the Master Jesus (according to Rudolf Steiner) is aligned.

The original Peter Deunov prophecy text that was published in English in 2003 on the internet, speaks of the prophecy as having been given a few days before Peter Deunov’s death on the morning of December 27 in 1944. However, as is evident from Harrie’s article below, it is, rather, a compilation of statements made by Peter Deunov at different points in time, which has been considerably expanded upon in the following version compiled by Harrie.

Peter Deunov – Prophet of the New Age of Christ

on the 75th occasion of his passing away on 27 December 1944

Harrie Salman

The spiritual teacher Peter Deunov was born on June 29 in the old Julian calendar, in the modern Gregorian calendar on July 11, 1864 in the village of Hadarcha, near Varna, Bulgaria, to the family of the orthodox priest Konstantin Deunovski. At the age of 19, from February to June 1884, he passed through a severe illness, which brought him to the brink of death. At that time his was living in Varna in the family of his sister Maria and her husband, who were Methodists.

The Spirit of Truth (1884)

Around 1904 Peter Deunov said: “You think that I am Mr. Deunov. No! A long time ago, 20 years ago Peter Deunov left his physical body and now I, who is speaking to you, am the Spirit of the Truth. Peter Deunov ceased to exist at the age of 19. And from that time the Pure Spirit of Truth is living here.”¹ In the Gospel of St. John, the Spirit of Truth is a title of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who will be sent by the Father in the name of Christ.² Later in his life the Teacher, as he was called by his disciples, revealed his spiritual name: Beinsa Duno (or Douno). Its meaning is not known.

This change of identity can be compared to the event that took place with the 12 year old Nathan Jesus of the Gospel of Luke, when the “I” of the Solomon Jesus child of the Gospel of Matthew entered the soul of the other Jesus child, the Nathan Jesus, whose birth is described in the Gospel of Luke. According to Rudolf Steiner the Solomon Jesus, who died shortly after this event, was a reincarnation of the spiritual teacher Zarathustra. In his later incarnations he was called Master Jesus. If Steiner’s statement on the 20th century incarnation of Master Jesus as recorded by Friedrich Rittelmeyer is rightly interpreted, then Master Jesus incarnated in the body of Peter Deunov in 1864 and experienced a deep transformation in 1884.

¹ Velichka Draganova and Lyudmila Dimitrova, ‘Spomen ot mladezhkite godini na Uchitelya’, in: Bratski zhivot, nr 39, July 2009.

² John 14:15-17, 15:26 and 16:13, on the ‘Spirit of Truth and Knowledge’. John 14:26 “He will teach you everything.”