Jesus

At around the age of thirty Jesus became enlightened. He must have faced the same dilemma that everyone does in that moment, what to do this enlightenment? Yes, one can have a good laugh, shrug one’s shoulders and just get on with life. But every now and again someone becomes enlightened and is mysteriously driven to teach, to share, to encourage others in their search. Such a person has become a master. Jesus was such a person.

So Jesus began his ministry. His teachings were bold, direct, vital, full of the energy of life, urging people to discover God for themselves, to enter the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom, by this he means enlightenment and he was not talking about something that happens after death. His message was focused on how to live, here, now. It was a personal message, he brought religion back to the common man. By his time Judaism had become an establishment with the synagogues, the hierarchy of priests, rabbis, everything mediated. When a religion becomes established like that it often becomes more of a barrier than a channel to God. There are just too many priests in between the man on the street and God. Jesus brought the focus back to direct connection, a direct experience.

As with all enlightened ones, his teachings had a paradoxical aspect. They were mystical. Also, they carried some energy of rebelliousness. This is necessary. It is essential, if one is to breakthrough all the conditioning that has been heaped upon one. One needs a certain rebelliousness. Of course all this is rather unpalatable to establishment, to orthodoxy.

So Jesus was nailed to a cross. It was the Jewish establishment that saw to it, with the help of the Romans, of course. So Jesus was only teaching for a short time, some say one year, some say three. I wonder what sublime depths his teachings would have reached if he had been allowed to live longer. Anyway, I urge you to look into the teachings of Jesus. Start with the gospel of Thomas, it is by far the best, and for that reason it didn’t make it into the Bible but you will find it if you have a look around.