, in such a way and to such
purpose that they will not enchain you in the maze of manifestation, and
thereby require that you postpone your claim to immortality."

This statement is distinct enough, as is also the one: "He who longs to be
rich is like a man drinking sea water. The more he drinketh, the more
thirsty he becomes and _never leaves off drinking until he perisheth_."

The hypnotism of the external world is too well illustrated to need further
comment. The man who enters upon the pursuit of worldly possessions;
temporal power; personal ambition; thinking that when he shall have
attained all these, then will he turn to the solution of the mystery of
mysteries, finds himself caught in the trap of his desires, and he can not
escape. He is under the spell of enchantment, wherein the unreal appears as
real, and the real becomes the illusory.

To sum up, the fragmentary accounts we have of the life and character of
the man Jesus are conclusive proof that he had entered into full
realization of cosmic consciousness.

Like Lord Gautama, he appeared to his disciples after he had left the
physical body, "glorified," as one who had taken on immortality.

Nor was there ever, it would appear, any doubt in the mind of Jesus, of his
right to godhood, while retaining, also, his self-consciousness.

The intellectual superiority.

The wonderful spiritual magnetism and attraction of his presence.

The absolute, unwavering conviction of his mission, and of his immortality.

The transfiguration, after his "temptation" and his prophetic vision.

His great love and compassion for even his enemies.

These are what made him indeed a Christ.

The term "Christ" and the term "Buddha" are synonymous. They both mean one
who has entered into his godhood. One who has attained to cosmic
consciousness, leaving forever the limitations of the lower self.

CHAPTER X

PAUL OF TARSUS

The system of worship known as Christianity owes its systematic foundation
to Paul of Tarsus. Paul's sudden conversion from zealous persecution of the
followers of Jesus of Nazareth to an equally zealous propaganda of the
gospel of Light, offers a perfect example of the peculiar oncoming of
cosmic consciousness.

Paul evidently occupied a position of authority among the Jews and it is
equally probable that he was near the same age as Jesus, as he is referred
to as a "young man named Saul" in Bible accounts of the persecution of the
early Chri