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- Herausgeber: Books on Demand
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
This book gives a deeper insight into the world view and teachings of the Essene Communities as describes in the original texts which have been published in the book "Gospel of Love and Peace". The author describes and explains the communinions with the Angels as practised by the Essenes.
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To all those who perceive that peace for the whole depends upon the effort of the individual.
CONTENTS
Editor's Preface
About the Author
Author's Preface
1. The Essenes and Their Teaching
2. The One Law
3. The Essene Tree of Life
4. The Essene Communions — Their Purpose and Meaning
4.1. The Morning Communions
The Earthly Mother
The Angel of Water
The Angel of Earth / Soil
The Angel of Joy
The Angel of Air
The Angel of Sun
The Angel of Life
4.2. The Evening Communions
The Heavenly Father
The Angel of Eternal Life
The Angel of Creative Work
The Angel of Power
The Angel of Love
The Angel of Peace
The Angel of Wisdom
5. The Essene Communions — Their Actual Practice
5.1. Prologue to the Communions
5.2. The Actual Morning Communions
The Earthly Mother
The Angel of Water
The Angel of Earth / Soil
The Angel of Joy
The Angel of Air
The Angel of Sun
The Angel of Life
5.3. The Actual Evening Communions
The Heavenly Father
The Angel of Eternal Life
The Angel of Creative Work
The Angel of Power
The Angel of Love
The Angel of Peace
The Angel of Wisdom
6. The Sevenfold Peace
6.1. The Noon Contemplations – Their Purpose and Meaning
Peace With the Kingdom of the Earthly Mother
Peace With the Mind
Peace With the Body
Peace With Humanity
Peace With Culture
Peace With the Family
Peace With the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father
6.2. The Noon Contemplations – Their Actual Practise
Peace With the Kingdom of the Earthly Mother
Peace With the Mind
Peace With the Body
Peace With Humanity
Peace With Culture
Peace With the Family
Peace With the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father
6.3. The Great Sabbath
6.4. The Sevenfold Vow
7. Essene Psychology
8. Individual Inventory
8.1. The Earthly Forces
8.2. The Cosmic Forces
The Essene Tree of Life with the Communions
EDITOR'S PREFACE
When Edmond Bordeaux Székely published his books about his findings in old scriptures, the scriptures of Qumran had not been discovered yet. In the decades following the first publication of Székely's books, many publications about “the Essenes“ became popular and much discussed. However, these later publications refer to the Essenes of Qumran, quite a dogmatic community, one of many of it's time.
Székely's books about the Essenes do not refer to those Essenes living at the shore of the Dead Sea.
The term “Essenes“ refers to many different spiritual communities that dedicated their lives to a spiritual life and the coming of the Messiah.
When speaking about the “Essenes“, Székely is referring to two specific communities, one in Egypt, the “therapeutae“ living in Alexandria near Lake Mareotis, and the other living at Mount Kharmel in the former Kingdom of Israel (not Judah).
The “therapeutae“, the Essenes of Lake Mareotis were known for their healing, and it is said, it was to them, in Egypt, that Mary and Joseph fled with the infant Jesus, as it is told to escape from the murder of the children, but also so that Jesus could receive tuition from them.
The Essenes of Mount Kharmel were Nazarenes. These Essenes belonged to the “School of the Prophets“, calling themselves the Beni-Amen (“Sons of God“). They were not living in celibacy, women were seen as equal to men and many of the things that applied to the Essene Osseans of Qumran, did not apply to them. It was amongst them, in the Kingdom of Israel, that Yahuwshua-ha-Masshiach, that is Jesus the Messiah, appeared. This was the main branch of the Essenes in the “Holy Land“, the elders and teachers of whom were living in nature: in tents and caves, near the Cave of Elijah, which is still present within the Mount Kharmel. “Essenes“ did not exist, as hardly anything was known about these groups and the famous scriptures of Qumran, which are party exhibited in Israel today had not yet been discovered, let alone translated.
At the time when Székely wrote his books the confusion about the name did not exist. Today after the scholarly and esoteric discussion, publication and exhibition of the scriptures of Qumran the term “Essenes“ refers mostly to this group living at Qumran. Therefore it would seem to be wise to avoid this term in the books written by Edmond Bordeaux Székely. But how could this be done? Which alternative do we have?
The Greek θεραπευτής [therapeutés], meaning “Worshippers of God“ is probably the best choice. This term is used by Philo of Alexandria in the first half of the first century in his script "De Vita contemplativa" (“about the contemplative life“).
We do not know much about the whereabouts of the original texts the author claims to have translated. So we cannot use the originals as reference to check the meaning in cases of uncertainty. We rely entirely on Székely's work. On his interpretation and description of Essene life, no references to original texts are quoted. So we cannot always be sure what is interpretation, or what is his imagination in relation to the text, or what are historical facts.
Other sources are not of any use, because most authors on the Essenes write about different communities and use different text sources. The typically quoted Qumran scriptures consist more of gaps than of legible text units.
Does it matter whether or not we can trace the origins of Székely's transcripts? Perhaps for historians these kinds of facts are important and the absence of explicit details about the original scriptures are a meaningful ambiguity for them. To us, who see the spiritual beauty and meaningfulness in Székely's work, such criticism is insignificant, even more so when regarding his life's work and conduct.
These scriptures and books can be more than just an enrichment to our life, they can be a revelation. They re-connect us to what we really are. They fill the gaps of common book-religions, especially in regard to mysticism and affinity with nature.
However in Székely's translation we find two angel names that might give rise to discussion or doubt. Alongside the “Angel of the Mother Earth“ we find the “Angel of Earth“. At first glance this looks like a duplication. But it is not. “Angel of the Mother Earth“ describes the channel to the feminine divine principle or gospel, as “Angel of the Heavenly Father“ describes the channel to the masculine divine principle or gospel. “Heavenly Father“ is not the sky with clouds and stars, but it is the concept of Heaven. “Mother Earth“ is not oceans and land masses but the concept behind all this. It is the characteristics of God as represented by the feminine, nourishing, birth-giving Mother Earth. On the other hand, “Angel of Earth“ refers to Earth as our environment. It refers more to “soil“, which in many languages is a synonym. Keeping that it mind it is quite easy to understand that from the text itself.
“Angel of Work“ also needs a closer look. Nowadays speaking of work we have labour in mind, the selling of our life's time, body power and intellectual abilities to some employer. None of this existed in the communities of the Essenes who did not know slavery or the services of servants. To them, work is the action done to cultivate the Holy Garden, a term referring to their community. Thus “work“ to them is all activity, social, mental, physical that is dedicated to the sustenance of mankind. This can be working on the field, copying or reciting scriptures, playing music or composing poems, cooking, therapeutic work etc., all done according to the One Law. Therefore the expression “creative work“ is sometimes used instead of “work“, and this expression probably should be favoured.
According to the author each communion was practised by the Essenes on a specific day of the week. However, the pattern is a matter of social consensus and thus arbitrary. While a year, a month and a day are astrological units of time, a week is a unit of time that is not related or connected to any natural phenomenon. The choice to pack seven days in a week's unit is a symbolical one, probably related to the sets of seven communions described in this book.
Since we do not live in the same cultural environment as the Essenes, it is advisable to disconnect the communions from their original assignments to specific days of the week. Any user of the Essenes teachings and practitioner of the communions can thus find his own system and dedicate the communions with Mother Earth and the Heavenly Father to the holidays of his cultural environment. Therefore we decided to delete the connections to specific days of the week in the text.
At the end of the book we give an overview of the original assignments as mentioned in Székely's books and suggest a system adopted to the common Christian system, putting the communions with the Heavenly Father and the Mother Earth to our weekend. So the “holiday“ starts with the communions with the Heavenly Father Saturday evening and continues with the communion with Mother Earth on Sunday morning, following the original system where a new day starts with the sunset. In this way our weekend and our common day of resting and probably going to church remains the day dedicated to the direct devotion to God.
For better overview and more pleasant reading we made some changes to the order of chapters and some improvement on their enumeration.
Dr. Jörg Berchem
26. January 2016
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edmond Bordeaux Székely, grandson of Alexandre Székely, eminent poet and Unitarian Bishop of Cluj, is a descent of Csoma de Körös, Transylvanian traveller and philologist who, over 150 years ago, compiled the first grammar of the Tibetan language, the first English-Tibetan dictionary, and wrote his unsurpassed work, "Asiatic Researches". He also was Librarian to the Royal Asiatic Society in India. Dr. Bordeaux earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Paris, and other degrees from the Universities of Vienna and Leipzig. He also held professorships of Philosophy and experimental Psychology at the university of Cluj. A well-known philologist in Sanskrit, Aramaic, Greek and Latin, Dr. Bordeaux spoke ten modern languages. In 1928, he founded the International Biogenic Society with Nobel Prize-winning author, Romain Rolland. His most important translations, in addition to selected texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the "Essene Gospel of Peace" (over a million copies in 26 languages) are selected texts from the "Zend Avesta" and from pre-Columbian codices of ancient Mexico. His last works on the Essene Way of Biogenic Living have attracted worldwide interest.
From the book cover
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
The several chapters of this book are compiled from material antedating the findings of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. During the twenty preceding years, 1927 to 1947, I wrote and published a number of books on the Essenes based on certain historical sources such as the works of Josephus Flavius, Philo and Plinius, and on manuscripts in the Library of the Vatican, the Library of the Habsburgs in Vienna and the Library of the British Museum. In these books I concentrated on the Essene traditions which I consider of great practical value for modern man.
When the first discoveries at Qumran became public and many persons urged me to publish an interpretation of these new findings, I decided to do so in two volumes. This first volume condenses the quintessence of the Essene traditions from pre-Qumran sources. The second volume will deal exclusively with the new discoveries.
The present work is concerned with the meaning of the Essene traditions in relation to their values for mankind today and the actual practices which result in an expansion of consciousness. These values may be considered from four standpoints.
The Essene traditions represent a synthesis of the great contributions to humanity of the different cultures of antiquity.
They represent for us a path leading away from the one-sided utilitarian technology of contemporary civilization, a valid and practical teaching utilizing all the sources of energy, harmony and knowledge everywhere surrounding us.
They give us permanent standards in an age where truth seems to dissolve in a continual shifting of concepts.
This resulting neurosis and insecurity is given a complete balance and harmony through the Essene teachings.
It is noteworthy that in his book, "The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls," A. Powell Davies says of the Essenes, "The Christian Church in its organization, its sacraments, its teaching and its literature is related to - and in its early stages may have been identical with - the New Covenanters, who were known as Essenes, some of whom wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls."
Likewise significant in the pre-Qumran traditions of the Essenes is the existence of certain Zoroastrian elements, a fact which I have previously maintained and which Arnold Toynbee has also pointed out in a recent writing. They bear a similar correlation to later teachings like those of the Kabbala and Freemasonry. Their most unique element, which has apparently been developed independently, is their science of Angelology.
The quotations from the "Manual of Disciplines" and the "Thanksgiving Psalms," or "Book of Hymns," I have translated from photostatic copies of the original texts found in the caves of Qumran.
Edmond Bordeaux Székely San Diego, California, 1957
The Law was planted in the Garden of the Brotherhood to enlighten the heart of man and to make straight before him all the ways of true righteousness, a humble spirit, an even temper, a freely compassionate nature, and eternal goodness and understanding and insight, and mighty wisdom which believes in all God's works and a confident trust in His many blessings and a spirit of knowledge in all things of the Great Order, loyal feelings toward all the Children of truth, a radiant purity which loathes everything impure, a discretion regarding all the hidden things of truth and secrets of inner knowledge.
From "The Manual of Discipline" of the Dead Sea Scrolls
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him.
Genesis 5:24
