The Gospel of Thomas (GT) is one of fifty-three treatises that were found in 1945 near the Egyptian town of Nag-Hammadi and close to an ancient monastery whose monks were most likely the ones who carefully hid them in a vat.

The reasons for the monks’ caution may be because of GT’s strong focus on personal transformation, a doctrine not in keeping with the way the Christian message was understood at the time of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and the conversion of Emperor Constantine. The Church at that time took an authoritarian approach to the literal interpretation of texts, beliefs and precepts. It endorsed their ritual and moral aspects rather than their more mystical teachings. The fact is that the GofT, which had circulated normally until then, disappeared so completely that, when the Canon was established at the Council of Trent (1546), no mention of it could be found in the preliminary discussions. It was unknown|3|.

The manuscript of the GT was written in Coptic and dates from the second half of the 3rd century. It is thought to be a translation of an earlier one in Greek which may even have come from an earlier one in Aramaic. The dating of the earliest version of the Gospel itself is not clear, although it seems to me that there is some consensus among scholars in placing it between AD 60 and 140, roughly coinciding with that of the Synoptic Gospels.

Some scholars believe that its literary style reveals a greater resemblance to the source of the Synoptic Gospels (Source Q), which could indicate an earlier date and constitute an early exposition of the Christian message.

As Roberto Pla says: “It was not without some haste that the entire Nag-Hammadi library was classified from the outset as Gnostic, but subsequently, as some of the treatises in the collection have come to light, it has become clear that it is impossible to ascribe all the works to a single current of Christian thought“.|4| And, in fact, both his considerations and those of many later researchers converge in attributing this gospel to the apostolic tradition. Its importance in communicating the Christian message has also been increasingly emphasised, since it develops, even more than the Canonical Gospels, the interiorized and contemplative essence of that message|5|.

As for authorship, there is no clarity. Some think that the sayings are those of Jesus kept in the oral tradition and later collected. Others attribute it to the apostle himself or to his school, and there are also those who see in the GT a certain oriental influence, a consequence of his legendary migration to India.

The GT consists of 114 Sayings or Logia of Wisdom of Jesus, just over half of which roughly coincide in content with the Canonical Gospels, but do not relate his life, miracles, death and resurrection. The fundamental message that inspires it is the presence of light in the world and in human beings; it deals with the process of making the light manifest in them. In this respect it bears a special resemblance to the writings of St. John.

The Sayings of the GT have a very close or intimate style (Saying 62) which brings to mind the “in private” teachings referred to in the Synoptic Gospels (Mk. 4,34; Mt. 13,11; Lk. 8,10). In this sense, they perfectly complement those of the Canonical Gospels.

The opening (or ‘Incipit’) of the Gospel reads as follows:

These are the hidden words which the Living Jesus spoke and Didymus Judas-Thomas recorded.

The expression the Living Jesus indicates the condition of full Life, one with the eternal Christ, the Word of God.

The fact that the words are hidden or secret lends itself to different readings. On the one hand, as Roberto Pla points out, the words are hidden “[…] because the true interpretation is not made known or felt easily… because they refer to the mystery of God, that of the Living Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2, 3). Our habitual conscience is so covered with dead works (Heb. 9, 14), that is, with conditioning, temporality, erroneous interpretations and ignorance, that it prevents the right and free contemplation of the Living One of whom each one of us has been constituted […]”|6|. And it is precisely this contemplation that permits the true interpretation of the metaphors that the words express. The process should be experiential, not purely intellectual.

Nothing is hidden that cannot be revealed, and he who has ears to hear, let him hear, are the most frequent exhortations in the GT, which are also present in other gospels. Both seem to point to something that is not evident, but which is important, the discovery of which implies an unusual, different awareness.

St Paul says that the Kingdom is […] the mystery hidden for centuries and generations of Christ in us, the hope of glory|7| […] and that […] your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 1, 26-27; Col 3, 3). The GT refers to the Kingdom as […] the hidden treasure that always remains, and as the cornerstone rejected by the builders (Sayings 66 and 76), expressions which are repeated in other gospels and which insist on the non-evident and non-expressible nature of the Kingdom|8|.

On the other hand, Roberto Pla points out that since these were the words of Jesus the Living One, that is, of a completely transcended psychic consciousness, it is possible to suppose that they were not words expressed in human language, but “indivisible ideas “, and therefore had to be transcribed, often in parables, by a twin (this is what Didymus means) who maintained the duality. This is what the name of Judas added to that of the disciple Thomas represents, as Roberto Pla explains.

Be that as it may, it is a remarkable coincidence that this Gospel reappeared after the Second World War, around the time that the theologian Karl Rahner S.J. made his well-known prediction: “The Christian of the future will be contemplative/mystical or there will be no Christians”. The teachings of the GT reiterate and clarify the introspective orientation of Jesus’ message.

In the following pages I will elaborate on the meaning of this Gospel by quoting and commenting on some of its Sayings. This is only a rough approximation as I do not feel qualified to undertake a more in-depth study. I do this in the spirit of joining the current of renewal in the understanding of the message of Jesus and with the conviction that the GT is a great contribution to this. I would also like the important book by Roberto Pla, to which I have referred, to become better known.

The following comments reflect my rough understanding and position on a subject that is particularly difficult (see Chalmers and Koch, the “hard problem” of consciousness). Sharing this understanding seems to me to be necessary if we are to get closer to the interpretation of some of the Sayings and the spiritual message in general, but I do not intend to argue about its correctness.

The origin or cause of attention (and consciousness) in the human being is in our times a controversial issue. The dominant scientific paradigm is eminently materialistic and considers consciousness to be an epiphenomenon of matter, of the brain. However, this premise is not based on proven facts.

There is no doubt that our habitual consciousness involves the brain, but the question is whether this organ, and perhaps others as well, act as an interface, a tuner or a filter, through which a spiritual, cosmic element works in us, providing the basis and fundamental faculties for the subsequent formation of content consciousness. This latter is more closely related to what we call the mind and, as part of it, the psychological or habitual self.

Our starting point is that such a cosmic element exists and that this premise is necessary for any transcendent consideration of the human being. In the GT and in the Gospel of St. John, it is often called Light, but within the Christian context it is also referred to in other ways, as we shall see. In this paper I will call it Light or Attention (as Simone Weil and Dietrich Bonhoeffer describe God), which are the common denominator of the experience of any “name” we give to such an element. Correspondingly, the “light” in the human being is his “attention”, which is the name we give to the faculty that gives rise to contents in consciousness. Human attention comes from the divine Light or Attention “filtered” by our brain/organism. Obviously, the quality/conditions of the “filter” affects the capacity for light/attention and consciousness that we will have available.

We can compare light/attention to usual light, in that both allow us to “see” although they are not perceptible in themselves, and consciousness to the screen on which the contents appear. The contents make up the mind and a mind without contents does not exist as such, it is a light/attention that reveals the Light/Attention that is God.

It is very important to point out two aspects: 1) Our light/attention goes usually unnoticed; we are only aware of the contents of consciousness. 2) Habitual consciousness, our mind, implies duality and separation. One is aware of something. There is a subject or self that perceives and an object or subject that consciousness grasps.

We can access the awareness of attention, of our light, from our consciousness maintaining duality. I become aware in the present of what I perceive (be it an object or mental content) and of myself as the subject of that perception. I become aware that I am perceiving with my light/attention. Having this experience usually requires an act of will in the present, in the now. I understand that the phrase attributed to St. Teresa that “God is among the pans” refers to this kind of consciousness.

The power of the now is a first access to the light/attention that places us in a presence that allows us to own our actions and experience the freedom to carry them out. This presence can also act as a “guardian” of the contents of our mind, both of the external stimuli to which we assent and of the thoughts and feelings we take in. The presence, the awareness of the light/attention that gives rise to what is in my mind in the present, undermines the dominance of the psychological self and its tendency to automatism.

As the contents of our mind are pushed aside through the exercise of our light/attention (there are many methods or ways of doing this practice), its progressive cleansing allows the Light/Attention to enter consciousness with increasing intensity. The experience is that we are accessing a Light/Attention that is “there” and that in our hands there is only a small tool (one which is getting smaller and smaller) that we can use to enter into it. If the process intensifies to the point where there is no longer duality (the observing mind), there remains a full Light/Attention that experiences itself, as the Psalm says: In your light we see the light (Ps. 36, 9). There is no more duality, One is It.

As we will see below, Jesus asks us to regain the ability to experience Light/Attention by clearing our mind of contents: These nursing babies are like those who enter the Kingdom (Saying 22).

The newborn child does not come with thoughts, projects, habits or problems, nor does it feel separate. It comes with open attention and a clean consciousness, full of potentialities, as well as the instincts and reflexes necessary for survival. The formed contents of consciousness, that is, those that clearly have a cerebral or organic basis, are minimal in babies. Then, life (experiences, education etc.) forms a mind, a psychological self, with a separate sense of identity and a self-referential tendency. The psychological self is not only dependent on factors such as age, culture, experiences or education, it also easily changes mood and opinion according to stimuli and circumstances. It is not a stable entity.

As I have said, the light/attention with which we perceive the world that gives rise to our habitual consciousness, could be likened to an echo, mediated by the brain, of its original source of Light/Attention. And while our habitual consciousness is exercised from a psychological self, a mind, variable according to circumstances and stimuli, the Light/Attention that gives it existence is permanent and individual (as we shall see) and can therefore be said to be our true identity. As Teilhard de Chardin said, “We are not human beings living a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings living a human experience.”

Those who are most certain about Light/Attention are, of course, those who experience it fully, and say: I Am, That I Am, “God is the centre of my soul”, “Christ in me”, pure Attention or Light, Silence, Love, or such similar expressions. This is the fundamental self-knowledge to which we are called because, as Jesus says: One who knows all but lacks within lacks All (Saying 67).The manifold contents of our mind are “all”, and exist for us because of the light/attention that makes them conscious. The All includes some degree of experiential awareness of that light/attention or Light/Attention (the boundary may be blurred between these) which is the within referred to in the Saying.

The potentiality to experience Light/Attention is always within us because, in fact, it is who we are. We can experience it from duality, through a practice of will that keeps us in the present, as I have indicated. The way to the non-dual experience of Light/Attention is to smooth out or lessen the obstacles of the mind and, among them, the false mental notion that we are not in it. As Ramana Maharshi says, the goal of practice is the elimination of ignorance, not the attainment of realisation. Light/Attention is permanent, ever-present, now and here, because it is eternal|9|.

For what comes from the Spirit to be effective in our psychological self, it is necessary to come closer to fulfilling Jesus’ advice: [...] learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart […] (Mt. 11, 29). Although this meekness is a gift in itself, there may be strong prejudices that act as insurmountable barriers to his word being done in us. In such a case, Jesus’ warning would be fulfilled: […] a servant cannot serve two masters, or he will honur one and offend the other. […] (Saying 47).

The Kingdom implies the dual process of experiencing light/attention, which can become non-dual, and also that of the transformation of the psychological self in harmony with what emanates from the Spirit (see Gifts of the Spirit). Both aspects constitute the metanoia that Jesus announces.

The traits embodied in the psychological self that are not akin to the self (guilt, fears, ambition and so on) are to be “burned out” (diminished, disappeared), releasing the energy or consciousness held captive in them, while that which is akin to the self (fruits and gifts) must grow. In this respect we could also cite the aforementioned Saying 41.

The GT is insistent on the need to overcome the duality (or strive for unification) between the psychological self and our inner self. I quote some of the Sayings on the topic:

Saying 48: If two make peace with each other in one house, they will say to the mountain: ´Move from here!´, and it will move. The ultimate achievement of unification is a major work of mind transformation, possible only through faith in our divine essence and perseverance in the practice of the presence it bestows. Then transformation will come to us as a matter of course. And who knows the power of a truly unified being? Jesus is the paradigmatic example.

Saying 61: Two will rest on a bed: one will die (which will be burnt), the other will live […] the disciple who is unified will be filled with light, but the one who is divided will be filled with darkness“.

To refer to the metanoia of unification, the GT often uses the simile of the union between the feminine (soul, psyche) and the masculine (attention, spirit). For example:

Saying 22: […] When you make the two into One, and when you make the inner (inner self, light/attention) like the outer (mind) and the outer like the inner […] and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female […] then you will enter the Kingdom.

Saying 75: There are many standing at the door, but it is the solitaries (unified) who will enter the bridal chamber (Kingdom). Sayings 16, 23 and 114 also refer to the unique or unified as those who complete a process.

It is noteworthy that the idea of integrating soul (psyche, feminine) and light/attention, spirit (masculine) is also found in the process of individuation studied in Jungian psychology. This is the “rest” or “repose” alluded to in the verses 60 and 90 above. As Cynthia Bourgeault writes in her wonderful book The Wisdom Jesus, “with unification our inner being rests and this peacefulness flows out into the outer world as wisdom and compassion.”|15|

Saying 4 adds an interesting nuance: The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same.

The mature man (with many mental contents) will see in the newborn who he really is (Light/Attention) and will understand that it is the latter that endures (firsts that will be last) as well as that there will be during his life or at the end of it some kind of unification with his within or core being.

Such a unification may involve an “addition” to the divine realm as a consequence of one’s own life. A meaning of this order may be suggested by the Saying 57: The Kingdom of the Father is like someone with good seed. His enemy came at night and sowed weeds among the good seed. He did not let them (servants) pull up the weeds but said to them: No, or you might go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them. On harvest day the weeds will be conspicuous and will be pulled up and burned.

The first thing to note is that the wheat and the weeds grow in the same field; they are nourished by the same source of Light/Attention that sustains the mind. The enemy that comes when there is no light is a mind not aligned with the essence from which it comes. Undoubtedly, with the harvest (experience of Light/Attention) the weeds (the self-referential of thoughts, desires, attachments etc. in the psychological self) lose vigour as they realise their incongruence with the source from which they come and, in any case, their real non-existence. Saying 40 expresses it very well: A grapevine has been planted outside of the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by the root and destroyed.

Also interesting is the recommendation not to pull up the weeds as long as the wheat ear can continue to grow. The risk of such an intervention is great and perhaps another saying of Jesus applies: If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit (Saying 34).

But, as the Parable of the Sower suggests, there may be good fruit, greater than the seed used in sowing (Saying 41). It could also be that the day of harvest is the day of death, when all mental contents are burned up or die. In such a case, something, in a way that we cannot even imagine, will add to or qualify the divine realm and endure|16|

The means for metanoia that the gospels point to are, in essence, attentiveness, detachment and purity of heart. Continuing with the GT, here are some of the sayings in this regard:

Attention: Jesus recommends to us […] As for you, be on your guard against the world, gird up your loins with great strength, lest the robbers find a way to get to you; for then they will find the necessaries on which you are counting […] (Saying 21) because: It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a strong man and take it by force […] (Saying 35), and refers to the necessary strength (Saying 103) or will to practise the watch that prevents us from being robbed of our ability to actualize the Presence of the Kingdom rest. If we allow ourselves to be robbed of the light/attention (even if only by our own minds), the possibilities of developing our interiority disappear.

The above paragraph expresses an awesome call to be awake and attentive so that we do not miss our essence, the self, the hidden treasure that we are, the Kingdom. The advice is: exercise the poor light/conscious attention that we can access so that, by strengthening it, we have more capacity to clear our mind and the experience of Light/Attention can emerge.

There are, of course, many ways to exercise light/attention. In previous sections I have referred to two types of practices: One is a one-time, intensive practice, referring to a specific period of time, in which it is even possible (though not easy) to experience the Light/Attention without duality as we “free” ourselves from the mind, and another in which duality is maintained, i.e., the observer’s awareness. The latter practice, as I have already indicated, keeps us in the Presence and in much needed vigilance. Jesus recommends us to pray always and not to faint (Lk. 18.1).

Clearly, there are many times when we need fully concentrated light/attention to accomplish a task, but there are many others when we can be present with it with an intensity that will depend on the circumstances.

The practices of bringing light/attention into awareness are a true prayer to our divine within as Nicolas Malebranche puts it in the initially enigmatic phrase: “Attention is the natural prayer we make to our inner truth in order that it may manifest in us”.

As I noted in Chapter II “Clarifications“, as the mind becomes clearer, we become aware of a Light/Attention that is not “ours”, we find it, and we are it. We then understand better what St. Paul says about the help the Spirit gives us in prayer (Romans 8:26-27).

Detachment: Jesus said: Do not be concerned from morning until evening and from evening until morning about what you will wear. (Saying 36), the affairs of the mind, and the already quoted and explicit saying 37. In a practical way, Jesus advises us: Let him who has grown rich be king, and let him who possesses power renounce it (Saying 81), that is, not be “possessed” even by them. And in the same sense: He who has found the world and become rich, let him renounce the world (Saying 110). Jesus reiterates the Beatitude of the poor (Saying 54) and warns us: […] your kings and your great men wear fine apparel and cannot recognize truth.” (Saying 78). Not being captivated by the world and letting go of the dominance of the psychological self is Jesus’ proposal, as noted above. Material detachment is only one aspect of a much wider non-identification.

Becoming a little child, of those who suckle, taking off and stepping on clothes, and so on, are powerful images of leaving the accessories and staying with the essential: the Light/Attention, the Presence, the Kingdom. For Jesus, not to be identified with the affairs of the world, to keep an observant distance is primary. We remember his advice: be bystanders.

Cleansing of the heart: As the Beatitude says, it refers to clarity of vision to enter the Kingdom. As we have said, it is the clear or pure mind that leads to being immersed in It. Jesus said: Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that he who made the inside is also he who made the outside? (Saying 89) and, I understand, in the same sense: […] be as shrewd as serpents (perceptive, alert to the kingdom) and as innocent (clear-minded, meek and humble) as doves (Saying 39). I have previously referred to Sayings 7 and 60 as examples of the dangers that stain or devour the human being.

Attention and detachment facilitate the cleansing of the heart. Attentiveness is a devouring fire that brings us closer to the Kingdom as it weakens the dominance and interference of the psychological self when its participation is unwanted. In this way, pure, we approach the Kingdom that is within us.

A succinct but forceful conclusion is expressed in Saying 68: Blessed are you when you are hated, when you are persecuted and no place (an I) is found where you have been persecuted. Blessed are we when we distance ourselves from the self with which we identify ourselves, and go about, instead, engendering the within (spiritual core, self) in us, which will save us (Saying 70).

Saying 69 announces something complementary: Blessed are those who have been persecuted in their heart; these are they who have known the Father in truth. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled. I understand Jesus to be telling us, on the one hand, that blessed are those who have found their core (inner self) and maintain the connection or presence in it in spite of difficulties (and distractions). On the other hand, he announces wholeness to those who are hungry, to those who are longing and searching for meaning because they may be experiencing emptiness or sadness in their lives.

The importance of fidelity to our within, to our heart, as Jesus also calls it, in spite of difficulties and temptations, is underlined by Jesus telling us that we have to carry our cross to be worthy of Him (Saying 55). A similar meaning seems to me to be conveyed by Saying 58: Blessed is the man who has suffered|17|; he has found life. The necessary abasement and governance of the psychological self that enables one to find Life involves work and, often, suffering. On the other hand, suffering can be a teacher for detachment and a stimulus for the search for greater meaning in life. I believe this is true both for the subject who suffers and for those who witness that suffering. Thanks are due to them.

In the GT there are additional references to how the Light/Attention is hidden and to our task of making it explicit, notably in Saying 83: Jesus said: Images are manifest to man, but the light that is in them is hidden. In the image of the light of the Father it will be revealed, and the images will be hidden by his light.

This saying, cryptic on first reading, I read as follows: Light/attention enables us to become aware of the images of the world, but we are not normally aware of them; the images ‘cover’ the light/attention that enables us to see them, just as thoughts and other mental contents do. The world is thus an image of the Father (of light/attention), from which comes the light/attention with which we see it. But it is precisely by ‘passing through’ this image that we come to experience the Attention, the Light, which is far more relevant than the perceived image of it.

The resonance with 1Jn. 3, 2 is great:  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Another saying with cryptic aspects is 50: Jesus said: If they say to you: “Where have you come from?” say to them: “We have come from the light, from the place the light came into being by itself; it arose, and appeared in their image”. If they say to you: “Is it you?” say: “We are its children and the chosen of the Living Father”. If they ask you: “What is the sign of your Father in you?” say to them: “It is motion and rest”.

In this Saying, the image refers not so much to the images of the world that ‘block’ the light/attention with which they are perceived, but to the very essence of the human being who is the image or daughter of the Light, the Living Father. Added to this is the reference to the dynamism that this Light has; it is the origin, the evolutionary force and sustainer of all creation (‘by which all was made’), including the extraordinary creation that takes place through human beings. As we become aware of the Light/Attention, it is recognised and ‘expands’: Its enormous dynamism has an ultimate meaning that refers to the Light/Attention itself, for It is unique, permanent, resting in itself.

What we have been considering resonates with the Islamic Hadith of the Hidden Treasure: I was a Hidden Treasure and I wanted to be known. Therefore I created the Creation that could know Me. To “be known” implies also to know myself.

I understand that Saying 29 refers to the self-knowledge of the spirit: If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of body, it is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty.” Jesus marvels at the creation of human beings and he marvels doubly at the spirit becoming aware of itself (meaning a birth) through them as the only beings who can know him, become aware of him. Jesus marvels at this fabulous process|18| which I associate with an idea of the infinite realisation, expansion or glory of Light/Attention.

As I was finishing writing the above, I received a circular letter from Richard Rohr, Franciscan and founder and inspirer of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC). I find it so timely in relation to the fundamental message of the GT that I cannot help but share it:

“I have been thinking lately about how the search for God and the search for our deepest selves ends up being the same search. This insight is not unique to me, but it has become truer for me as I’ve grown older. Teresa of Ávila often expressed the wonderful idea that one finds God in oneself, and one finds oneself in God. Both are true! And when one experiences this and discovers one’s chosenness and inherent belovedness, one can rest deeply in it. Indeed, that is a great spiritual gift of contemplative seeing. What the CAC has started calling the Christian contemplative movement is a broad rediscovery and renewal of this way of seeing from our early Christian traditions. In contemplation—the practice of being fully present in mind, body, and spirit—we join in deep solidarity with other spiritual traditions in working toward the healing and restoration of ourselves and our world. To support transformation and inspire loving action, by making the wisdom and practices of the Christian contemplative traditions accessible to people throughout the world, is the mission of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC)|19|.

Contemplation and action, that is what Jesus exhorts us to do.: […] For no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, nor does he put it in a hidden place […] he puts it on a lamp-stand, so that everyone who comes in and goes out will see its light (Saying 33), and points to the need for action: The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord to send labourers to his harvest (Saying 73).

There are countless ways to fulfil Jesus’ commandment: Love your brother like your soul, guard him like the pupil of your eye (Saying 25) and all of them will gain in accuracy and power if they are nourished by silence and contemplation that bring us closer to some degree of awareness of the Light/Attention that we are and is present in all (Sayings 67 and 77). As I have been considering, in brotherly love we also progress in overcoming duality for in us love is made complete (1Jn. 4, 12), we realise the love that is inherent in our within because of the Union in which we belong

I have also recently read a short excerpt from a work by John Main, Benedictine and founder of the World Community for Christian Meditation:

“The encounter with India and the East is teaching us something that we should never have forgotten: that the essence of the Christian experience is beyond the capacity of any cultural or intellectual form to express. This is the “glorious freedom of the children of God”: No restriction. It became so clear to us talking with Father Bede Griffiths (1906 – 1993), that this experience has to be restored to the heart of the Church if she is to face creatively the challenges before her: the challenge of the renewal of contemplative religious life, the challenge of finding union in the Spirit of all Christian communions, the challenge of embracing the non-Christian religions with the universal love of Christ present in the hearts of all people and which she has a special duty to release and identify. To meet these challenges, each one of us must be personally rooted in the experience of God that Jesus personally knows and shares with us all through His Spirit”|20|.

The last paragraph captures, in my opinion, the core of the Christian faith: Jesus, with his consciousness perfectly open to the Father, full of love and having completed his mission of teaching, is determined to give up his earthly life as a testimony of his love. He then tells us that he will not leave us orphans, that he will return to us in spirit (another Paraclete) and be a giver of Life, an advocate, an instructor and guide, so that the Spirit of Truth, which in fact already dwells in us, may be supported or strengthened to facilitate our access to the experience of union with the Father. […] and I will draw all people to myself, says Jesus (Jn. 12:32). In terms of this paper, Jesus’ aim is for the light/attention of our habitual consciousness to awaken to itself and awaken to the Light/Attention from which it proceeds. In short, this is the central message of the all-important chapters 14 to 17 of John’s Gospel that St. Paul revalidates: […] For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Eph. 2, 17-18).

In Saying 17 of the GT Jesus enunciates his purpose or mission: I will give you what no eye has seen and no ear has heard and no hand has touched and what has never risen in the heart (the within) of man. In Saying 108 Jesus says: He who drinks from my mouth will become like me, and I will become like him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him. In other words, the same message as in Jn.6, 56-57 and Jn.17, 21 mentioned previously in Jesus mission.

Jesus Christ gives us strength to engender that (Saying 70), the knowledge of our within (Saying 67), the light within (Saying 24) and He announces His readiness to continue instructing us when we come to Him (Mt.20, 20 and Saying 92).

The text I copy below captures a central idea in John Main’s message:

“There is only the prayer of Jesus. His is the fundamental prayer, the stream or flow of his consciousness totally open to the Father. The wholly extraordinary truth about the Christian proclamation is that each one of us, wherever we start from, is invited to open our consciousness fully to the consciousness of Jesus and, in that openness, to be taken out of ourselves, beyond ourselves, into that stream of conscious love that flows between Jesus and the Father. This is the personal destiny of each one of us and in that experience we are made completely and eternally real. The paradox is to know yourself for the first time because you are lost in God. This is what the gospel tells us: whoever loses their life for my sake will find it (Mt. 10:39).

“Meditation is a sure way of losing your own life, to losing your own consciousness of yourself as an autonomous separated, entity. In losing it, you find yourself at one with God and at one with all creation because you are now at last one with yourself. Your consciousness is no longer divided, no longer confused. It is simplified. It is one in God.”|21|

Here is a clear description of our life as a pilgrimage towards the realisation or actualisation of the Divine in consciousness, which is already divine without knowing it. In this pilgrimage, the experience of the Presence (the Now of the Spirit) requires the practice of the watch and remain advised by Jesus. Antonio Machado expressed it thus:

“I love Jesus, who said to us:

Heaven and earth will pass away.
When heaven and earth have passed away,
my word will remain.
What was your word, Jesus?
Love? Forgiveness? Charity?
All your words were one word: Watch.”

As you do not know the hour,
in which you will be woken up,
you will be awakened while asleep, Wake up!

I end by quoting Roberto Pla when he mentions his purpose in writing the work that has enlightened me so much:

“Our one and only real purpose in writing this work has been to awaken love for the whole Christ, and when we speak of the whole Christ, we are referring both to the Christ who died for mankind in Jerusalem more than two thousand years ago, love for whom has been encouraged by manifest exegesis since the beginning of the Christian era, and at the same time, to the Christ preexisting and eternal. Although both are one and the same being, if we speak of the whole Christ, we cannot disregard the inseparable Christ who, from the beginning, has lain forgotten, unknown, crucified within every man, and who is only waiting to reveal his immortal, divine presence, invoked by love and faith. Then the true beatitude of his resurrection will arise in every man.”|22|

And also: “As for his coming, he always comes if you see him and know how to understand that it is he who is looking at you. He is the Living One who sees you, from your bottomless depths. When your soul becomes of one flesh with him, you will no longer be living by the well (Sayings 70 and 71), but in it.”|23|