All religions without exception have their roots in the Spiritual Hierarchy of the Great White Brotherhood (GWB), although some have strayed afar from the original teachings of their messengers and founders and the purposes of their establishment. Fortunately, in every religion there is an esoteric side perpetuated by the Initiates of the GWB. We will not discuss the Great White Brotherhood in detail here, those who are interested in acquiring more information may refer to the many metaphysical books on the subject. Suffice to say that the GWB is the "community of saints" mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. The members are non-sectarian and universal in their attitudes and beliefs. Collectively and individually, they have transcended dogmatic religions and their schisms, and have embraced the pristine teachings, principles, and laws of the Spirit, which is the source of pure Religion. Within the GWB is a Spiritual Hierarchy of Cosmic beings that represents the God-Government of our beloved planet operating at present in higher dimensions. The members currently holding offices in this hierarchy were the saints, prophets, sages, and avatars of the past. In one aspect, "heaven made manifest" is the application of cosmic laws governing the omniverse and upheld by the GWB, on the individual, social, national and international levels.

As alluded to above, every religion has an esoteric aspect where the Ancient Wisdom of the GWB is preserved for those who are spiritually awakened and prepared to receive higher revelations. Teachings of Deity cannot be confined or limited to a single book, tradition, or teacher. Revelation is a continuous process that meets the growing spiritual and psychological needs of humanity.

As the "prodigal son," humanity answers to God's call to return Home by initially being obedient to the unfolding spiritual "conscience," or the "still small voice" of the Spirit. Religions were established to foster this growth--not to enforce and educate a false conscience based on man-made interpretations of the Word of God, but to awaken within the soul that which is already inherent and supra-natural. This was recognized by Socrates who, with his unique system of inquiry, sought to awaken the souls of his listeners to "recollect" Truth.

Pure religious precepts direct men and women to free themselves from the creation of a sense of limitation and negativity in all expressions--in thought and behavior, for these hinders the voice of the Spirit from making its presence felt--and consequently, the delay of the spiritual evolution of the indwelling Soul.

Enforced religious dogmas programs in us a state of being where we no longer have any personal desire to commit theological "sin," of which consequence is the rise of a sense of morbid guilt and fear in their violation or non-obedience; this unnatural psychological condition prevents the Christ photonic-energies from penetrating the lower aspects of the microcosm. It is to the voice of the Spirit and the scripture of the Heart that one should pay heed, not to the confused interpretations of the minds of men.

"Behold, I (the Christ-force) stand at the door ("Sahasrara" chakra, or crown psychic-center), and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Rev:3:20)"

Essentially, the purpose of exoteric religion is to prepare us psychologically for the pursuit of the greater metaphysical mysteries where we are taught to transcend our mortal state of being in mind, body, and soul, and to acknowledge and identify ourselves with the Truth of our inner nature.

Purification is the first step in the Mystery Schools of the GWB, and essential religion is the portal leading toward the atrium of the GWB. Only when an individual is perfected in the embodiment of the cardinal virtues as taught by religion, will he be ready for the next phase of esotericism. Bypassing any step along the way only entails returning to the point of embarkation. People may claim to be illumined, to have witnessed Heaven in all its splendor, to have experienced the highest bliss, to know and socialize with the Ascended Masters, to have risen the kundalini and anchored the higher chakras into their physical form, or to have "seen" God; however, if the sense of duality and the sense of the false ego with its negative expressions still exist strongly within them, and their inner light shines but dully, all of their claims are false. They have entrapped themselves in a world of glamour and illusion and misinterpreted esoteric precepts. Students of spiritual paths may assert that their methodology takes them quickly to the mountain-top via the helicopter route; however, they often land on the holy mountain still with their feet shod, back loaded, and hands empty--with nothing to offer their Source but earthly garbage. Alternatively, while flying in their helicopter, they sometimes do not land at all, preferring to enjoy the ride and view. This is unfortunate--as they end up in a cloud of spiritual smugness.

Esotericism is the "meat" of the Spirit in contrast to the "milk" of exoteric religious precepts meant for infants aspiring to the spiritual path. In Islam, the heavier nourishment symbolised by meat is referred to as "Hakikat" and "Marifat" or in Christianity as "Gnosis." Judaism knows it as the "Kaballah" while in Hinduism it is the "Gupta Vidya." "Vajrayana" and its teachings is the Buddhist equivalent to the esoteric side of the Semitic religions.

Christianity, like so many other traditions, was influenced by various foreign elements--not only Judaism, and Buddhism, but also by the various Mystery Schools existing in the several centuries prior to and after its establishment. One of these Mystery Schools were the Essenes, a mystical Order of some prominence and existing in the region of the Holy Land when the Piscean Master walked the earth. They are unrecorded in the gospel stories except for the few references regarding their members--the men in white robes who were mistaken and interpreted to be angels. The Essenes were a semi-monastic Order that was formed for the purpose of preparing the conditions necessary for the incarnation of the Christ Spirit macrocosmically and microcosmically. The parents of Jesus were members of the Essenes as were the parents of John the Baptist. Naturally, the future avatar and his way-shower were raised under the tutelage of the Essene Brotherhood in preparation for their holy missions. According to esoteric tradition, while in his teens and early manhood, Jesus traveled to Egypt, India, Tibet, Persia, and Greece to study in the Mystery Schools. This was Jesus' so-called "lost-years"--18 long years that the canonical scriptures enshroud in mystery and are mute.

During his ministry Jesus formed a secret metaphysical school. The number of members in this school was at least 120 (see Acts 1:15). These students were given esoteric teachings in contrast to the general populace who were taught metaphysical mysteries in parables and similitude. The masses were taught exoteric precepts, the gospel, or the "good news" which were clarified and elaborated in secret assemblies. Students of the esoteric doctrines of Jesus were shown how to realize the truth of the gospel in a single embodiment, here and now, and not senselessly wait for some future event to occur that would raise them from the grave.

"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man (the Truth, the Way, and Life) coming in his kingdom (the lower microcosm)." Matt. 16:28

Out of the many there were those earnest few who wanted to delve further into the mysteries of life and they were subsequently invited into Jesus' secret school. The metaphysical seminary that Jesus established may be referred to as the Inner Court, in contradistinction to the Outer Court that are represented by the Churches of our present day.

In the 3rd and 4th centuries after the advent of Christ, because of political and egoic ambition, the leaders of the Outer Court divorced itself from the Inner Court and even attacked and persecuted its members and hierophants. Later known as Gnosticism, the doctrines of the secret school of Jesus subsequently went underground and branched-out into several spiritual/magical Orders, metaphysical schools, and secret fraternities. The Cathars, Knights Templars, the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Round Table, the Martinist Order, the Rosicrucians, and the Alchemists, were some of these organizations descended from the arcane school of Jesus and preserved and perpetuated the metaphysical teachings that he had taught.

The esoteric precepts of the incarnated Christ concerns the transformation of man into a divine being, the manifestation of Heaven on Earth, the unfoldment of spiritual virtues and powers within humanity, the embodiment of the Christ force and consciousness within the lower aspects of the microcosm, etc. Jesus especially taught how each member of the human race might emulate him and acquire what he acquired, attain what he attained, overcome what he overcame. In his public teachings Jesus emphasized that he was the model for us all, that we should all become like him in order to unfold the Kingdom of Heaven within our hearts and be saved from our personal ignorance with the power of the Truth of our spiritual essence.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6

We will not go into detail of the story of Christianity and its hidden history in this mudra-series. All we wanted to do was to give a basis for the secret practices of the mudras associated with Christianity. These disciplines were known to various historical personalities who were initiates of Esoteric Christianity. There were those whose profession was art, and they depicted the secret signs and mudras in their paintings, drawings, and sculpture. Although there are many secret mudras in the Esoteric Christian Tradition, below we will present just a few of the more popular ones including their purposes--these may be practiced by the spiritual aspirant with untold benefits.

The Benediction Mudra (Mano Pantea)

If we can curse and swear at one another so easily why is it that no one ever thinks of blessing one's fellow men? Blessings, or Barokah as it is called in Islam, are dynamic operations of the Divine Spirit acting through pure instruments, whether angelic or human. Ideally, the operator channeling blessings from on High must be pure in mind, body, and soul and have attained a certain degree of attunement and oneness with his/her Progenitor. Whatever flows through a conduit is tainted by it. This is how energies are transformed into force. Force is energy imbued with a certain quality or character. It is for this reason that some degree of spirituality must be attained before one is qualified to serve as a channel for blessings to others, for it is inappropriate to radiate from our beings the quirks and negative characteristics of our personality. At least, when giving blessings, we should strive to raise our vibrations and frequency to match as much as possible the standards of our Higher Self. How this is done may be learnt from a true spiritual teacher.

The act of blessing or consecration is facilitated by the benediction mudra. The benediction mudra is a sign, signal and code to our Higher Self and spiritual beings that the act of blessing is about to take place and that cooperation from them is requested. Psycho-energetically, the mudra also temporarily rearranges the auric and etheric structures to act as a conduit for the flow of "gift-waves," as blessings are called in the Buddhist Vajrayana tradition.

In the Benediction or blessing mudra the first two fingers and thumb are used--these represents the etheric, air and fire elements of which the formal ritual of the baptism of "fire" is facilitated and enacted.

The object to be blessed may be a living organism, an object, or an act. Blessings raises the frequency of the person or thing receiving the blessing, and integrates into them a divine power that lasts for some time. Being blessed by a holy, spiritual person, acting as mediator, is spiritually beneficial in that it makes the Path of Life easier for one to tread and to spiritually evolve. Both the giver and receiver of blessings are benefited in some manner that is often too subtle for detection by the insensitive, untrained mind.

In this literary work it is possible for us to offer only a simple method for blessing others. The art of glorification actually requires spiritual training and disciplines that are beyond the subject matter of this mudra-series.

To bless an object or someone, first visualize energy in the form of a ball of light hovering over your head. Reach out to it mentally and emotionally, raising thoughts and feelings as high as you spiritually can. Then let the light descend as a beam through the crown of your head and flow outwardly from you from these three points: Ajna chakra, or between the eyebrows; anahata chakra, or heart center, and your right hand which is making the sign of benediction.

The full or complete sign of benediction is executed by first placing your left hand over your heart, and with your right hand assume the Mano Pantea sign, that is, extend your thumb and first two fingers vertically while folding the ring and little finger into the palm. Then recite this invocation:

"Elohim (3x). I call upon the angelic powers of the Universe, in the name of the Most High, in the name of my Mighty I AM Presence and Holy Christ Self, (state the name of your Holy Christ Self if known) to establish N . . . (name of person or object) in the Power of Truth, Light, Life, and Love. Ateh Gadol Le Olam--A.m.e.n." 3x

Next focus upon the subject or object that you wish to bless. See light from those three points mentioned above flowing to and enfolding them. If an individual, visualize the person expressing joy, peace, and happiness, or the object aglow with divine radiance. Especially see the subject's higher chakras aglow with light. After several minutes of this, seal the energies in the person's aura or object with the mudra by making the sign of the cross or any other symbol meaningful to you while at the same time decreeing: "May the peace and power of Heaven's blessings be upon thee."

This operation may be done from a distance with the subject visualized in one's mind's-eye.

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