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The Tree of Life and the Inner Christ
The Kabbalah is a vast body of esoteric knowledge that is extremely important in the Gnostic teachings. It originated far before this present humanity, during the time when the universe was brought into existence. Master Samael Aun Weor states that "the Kabbalah is lost in the night of the centuries, within the womb of Maha Kundalini, the Great Mother, where the universe was engendered." The Hebrew Kabbalah is comprised of three works - the Zohar, the Talmud, and the Sephir Yetzirah. These works are extremely profound, yet simply reading and studying them only introduces us to the exoteric, or intellectual, aspects of the Kabbalah. Gnosis stresses that one must become a practical, or esoteric, Kabbalist - one who consciously visits the higher realms that the Kabbalah speaks of, in order to actively participate in the processes of these worlds and to guide cosmic forces which shape events here on Earth.
The Kabbalah is the science of numbers, and in Hebrew it means "to receive". It is a system of knowledge that relies on the use of symbols. Its most famous symbol is the "Tree of Life", which as the enlightened rabbis of olden times unanimously agree, was created by the angels. This Tree is a symbolic representation of the Divine Consciousness and of the processes whereby the universe came into existence. It reduces to diagrammatic form every force in the manifested universe and within the soul of man; it reveals and correlates these manifestations so that their locations can be seen and the relations between them can be traced. The Tree of Life, as described by the Hebrew Kabbalists, contains ten sephiroth, or emanations. Synthesized in each sephiroth of the Tree of Life are the concepts, ideas, and attributes that should be meditated on in order to grasp intuitive insights about the Tree. Self-realization occurs when the initiate realizes all ten sephiroth within himself or herself. The Tree of Life is Jacob's Ladder, the Ladder we must climb to reach self-realization, the Ladder of the vertical path.
The ten sephiroth (with their translation from Hebrew, followed by a brief description) are:
Sephiroth Translation Description Kether Supreme Crown First Logos, the Father Chokmah Wisdom Second Logos, the Son,
the Cosmic ChristBinah Intelligence Third Logos, the Holy Spirit Chesed Love Inner Self, the Atmic World,
the Atmic BodyGeburah Justice Feminine Spiritual Soul, the Buddhic World, the Buddhic Body Tiphereth Beauty Inner Christ, the Son of Man, the Masculine Human Soul, the Causal World, the Causal Body Netzach Victory Mental World, the Mental Body Hod Splendor Astral World, the Astral Body Jesod Foundation Etheric World, the Etheric Body Malkuth Kingdom Physical World, the Physical Body From the above table it can be seen that each of the sephiroth are related to the outer world, as well as to our internal vehicles. Thus Jesod correlates with both the etheric world and the etheric body, Hod is associated with both the astral world and the astral body, etc. Therefore the entire Tree of Life not only exists outside of us, but within our psyche as well.
Above Kether is found the Absolute, with its three aspects:
AIN The unmanifested aspect of the Absolute AIN SOPH The manifested aspect of the Absolute AIN SOPH AUR The first cosmic manifestation, or Protocosm, consisting of multiple spiritual suns Below Malkuth are found the Kliphoths, consisting of the infradimensions of nature, which many religions refer to as "hell".
The Tree of Life contains three pillars, or columns, that span the Tree vertically:
The Pillar of Severity The Pillar of Equilibrium The Pillar of Mercy on the left side of the Tree in the center
of the Treeon the right side of the Tree contains Binah, Geburah, and Hod contains Kether, Tiphereth, Jesod, and Malkuth. contains Chokmah, Chesed, and Netzach In addition, the Tree of Life is composed of three triangles, each with its own center of gravity:
Triangle Sephira Center of Gravity Logoic Kether, Chokmah, Binah Kether Ethical Chesed, Geburah, Tiphereth Tiphereth Magical Netzach, Hod, Jesod Jesod It is important to note that the centers of gravity of each of the three triangles are intimately related with the sephiroth of the Logoic Triangle. Kether has itself as its own center of gravity, and thus is the gravitational center of the Logoic Triangle. Chokmah, the Cosmic Christ, has its center of gravity in Tiphereth. By manifesting in Tiphereth, it causes Tiphereth to be the gravitational center of the Ethical Triangle. Similarly Binah, the Holy Spirit, has its center of gravity in Jesod, causing Jesod to be the center of gravity of the Magical Triangle.
The association between Tiphereth and Chokmah is important in light of the Easter holiday and the Holy Week. Tiphereth is a special sephiroth, and Master Samael Aun Weor states that "extraordinary events happen with Tiphereth". It is located at the center of the Tree of Life, and is the only sephiroth that directly connects with all the other sephiroth on the Tree (with the exception of Malkuth, which is often referred to as a fallen sephiroth). Chokmah, the Cosmic Christ, is a universal force, beyond individuality, personality, and the ego. It is a Cosmic Force, and can save a human being only if it is individualized and humanized. This process occurs in Tiphereth, where the Cosmic Christ manifests and converts Himself into our own particular, individualized Inner Christ. The incarnation of the Inner Christ is known as the Initiation of Tiphereth, and can occur only after an initiate :
1) has undergone the Five Initiations of Greater Mysteries,
2) has sacrificed himself or herself for humanity over multiple lifetimes, and
3) has chosen to take the Direct Path for Final Liberation. Jesus, Buddha, Hermes Trismegistus, Quetzalcoatl, and many other masters incarnated their Inner Christ.
The Inner Christ must undergo within us the entire life, trials, and drama that Jesus lived publicly. He is born in the stable full of animals, which represent the psychological "I's" within our psyche. Through their disintegration He gains strength and glory. The Inner Christ must deal with the three traitors within us - Judas (the demon of desire), Pilate (the demon of the mind), and Caiphas (the demon of ill-will). He must be crucified, esoterically speaking, and then must enter the sepulcher for three days. During this time he undergoes three great purifications, when even the last inhuman element in His interior is finally disintegrated. Then the Son of Man, the Inner Christ, resurrects with the Elixir of Longevity, having killed death with death.
It has been said that the Kabbalah was given to humanity after its fall, in order for humanity to be shown the path back to the Absolute. Master Samael Aun Weor tells us "there are two types of Kabbalists - Intellectual Kabbalists and Intuitive Kabbalists." Gnosis teaches and explains the practical aspects of the Kabbalah, and tells us how to prepare to receive the unwritten, or Intuitive, Kabbalah. It is only by becoming Intuitive Kabbalists, through the practice of these teachings, that we can eventually incarnate the Inner Christ and begin the long road back to the Absolute.
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