the essential features of the
present-day _system_ of religion, known as Christianity, were instituted by
Paul rather than by Jesus, and that the system itself, like Buddhism, is
the work of the followers of the great teacher, rather than that of the
Master.

Our present concern, however, is not with the system or method of the
church, but with those historic facts which bear upon the question of the
Illumination of Jesus, classifying Him, not as an incarnate son of God, in
the accepted theological interpretation, but in the light of cosmic
consciousness.

Jesus the Christ was born, according to the most reliable authorities,
about six hundred years after Gautama, the Buddha.

Whether or not the Nazarene was familiar with the Buddhist doctrines or
whether He spent the years of His life which are shrouded in mystery, in
the inner temples of either Thibet, India, Persia, China, or other oriental
country, will doubtless always be a disputed point among controversialists.

The fact does not matter, either way.

There is an encouraging similarity in the fundamentals of all religious
precepts, arguing that when a teacher is really inspired, the truth makes
friends with him or her.

Some writers on the subject of Illumination give exact dates when the flash
of cosmic consciousness came to the various teachers of the world, but
these dates are problematical, and they are also inconsequential.

That Jesus was among those historic characters who had attained cosmic
consciousness, there can be no possible doubt, even though his exact words
will be disputed.

Enough has come down to us through the ages to prove the fact that Jesus
knew and taught the illusory character of external life (_maya_) and that
he was himself absolutely certain of the "kingdom within," which he
admonished his hearers to seek, rather than to live so much in the
external. This he did because he well knew that constant dwelling in the
external consciousness led not to liberation.

_The light within_, was the substance of his cry, and that light, when
perceived, leads to illumination of everything, both the within and the
without.

The transfiguration of Jesus was undoubtedly the effect of his being in a
supra-conscious state, a state of exaltation, in which many mystics enter
at more or less frequent intervals, according to their mode of life, and
their objective environment.

"And he was transfigured before them; and his garments became exceedi