Ascended Master - Do "Initiation" and "Ascension" (the Sixth Initiation) Differ From "Salvation" By Christ?

Do "Initiation" and "Ascension" (the Sixth Initiation) Differ From "Salvation" By Christ?

The subject of Initiation, as discussed in this article, seems to be (in many ways) a different matter than the series of events in the Judeo-Christian tradition known as the "Christ Event." More specifically, it appears that what Christian theologians refer to as "salvation" (by Jesus Christ) is not the same spiritual process or spiritual attainment as "Ascension" (the Sixth Initiation), even though Jesus himself was reported to have ascended near the close of his spiritual mission on Earth.

According to the esoteric tradition, the "Christ Event" - and, more specifically, the "salvation" of mankind by Jesus Christ - was/is a set of spiritual events which, mysteriously, are occurring "simultaneously with" and/or "parallel to" the process of spiritual initiation in general. The "Christ Event" (which began about 2000 years ago, and certain aspects of which will be continuing into the far-distant future) involved the "descent" of a spiritual being known as the "Cosmic Christ Spirit" down through various dimensions of the universe, until it finally "incarnated" in a human being (Jesus of Nazareth) on planet Earth. In the Christian esoteric tradition, the Cosmic Christ Spirit is also known as the "Word" (Logos). In Hinduism, this same divine being is called Vishvakarman or Vishvakarma, and is described as being the "Principal Universal Architect" and the "Lord of Creation." When the Cosmic Christ Spirit "incarnated" on Earth, it united with the man Jesus of Nazareth and utilized him as its physical human aspect, physical human expression, or physical human terminus. The esoteric tradition holds that at the time of his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth was partially "incorporated" into the Cosmic Christ Spirit, and thus actually became a functional part or functional aspect of the Cosmic Christ Spirit itself - at least temporarily (for about 3 years).

From the above account, careful students of the esoteric tradition will realize that what happened to Jesus during his baptism was neither Jesus attaining union with his own Holy Christ Self, nor Jesus attaining union with his own Mighty "I AM" Presence. Rather, what actually happened was very similar to a "soul transfer" or "walk-in" event: the higher subtle bodies of Jesus left his physical body, and were replaced by a series of subtle bodies which had been assembled by, and were under the direct control of, the Cosmic Christ Spirit. Many of these subtle bodies had been temporarily donated to (and were temporarily incorporated into) the Cosmic Christ Spirit by a wide variety of highly-evolved spiritual beings - specifically for this purpose. What occurred to Jesus of Nazareth during his baptism is thus a fundamental aspect or fundamental part of the Great Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ!

This view of the nature of Christ was first made public by the Gnostic writer Cerinthus (fl. 98-117 AD), and it was a view which became known as Cerinthianism in the history of Christianity. Other early Christians - among whom were Theodotus of Byzantium (fl. 190-200 AD), Paul of Samosata (200-275 AD), and Lucian of Antioch (c.240-312 AD) - held to a Christological doctrine known as Adoptionism or Dynamic Monarchianism, which was very similar to Cerinthian Christology. In modern times, the Christian initiate/clairvoyant Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) also held Christological views very similar to those of Cerinthus. As a result of his painstaking clairvoyant research into the life of Jesus, Steiner was able to determine - by direct clairvoyant (multidimensional) observation of Jesus in the Akashic Records - that Cerinthus had the correct understanding of the nature of Christ. Steiner explained many of the spiritual/metaphysical intricacies involved in the "incarnation" of Christ on Earth, in detail, in his great spiritual classic The Gospel of St. Luke (1909). Other beings, beside Jesus, who were similarly partially "incorporated" into the Cosmic Christ Spirit (except they were "incorporated" on various dimensional levels higher than the 3rd-dimensional, physical level) in the process of its descent to and "incarnation" on Earth, included the Solar Christ Spirit (as differentiated from the Cosmic Christ Spirit - the Solar Christ Spirit resides in the higher-dimensional levels of the Sun of our solar system), Sananda Kumara (one of the "Seven Holy Kumaras" or "Lords of the Flame" living in the higher-dimensional realms on the planet Venus - he is a brother of Sanat Kumara), and the bodhisattva Maitreya (the being next in line, after Gautama Buddha, to attain buddhahood on Earth, sometime in the future). This was the real/authentic bodhisattva Maitreya, not the imposter/false Maitreya (whose real name is Rahmat Ahmad, or Rahmat Ahmad Apostikane, of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community) currently being endorsed/promoted by Benjamin Creme.

According to the esoteric tradition, mankind as a whole was "saved" by this very mysterious spiritual process entailing the "incarnation," "crucifixion," "resurrection," and "ascension" of the Cosmic Christ Spirit on Earth. Also, the "salvation" of mankind by the Cosmic Christ Spirit is an ongoing spiritual process which is occurring - simultaneously - with the general process of spiritual initiation. However, according to the esoteric spiritual tradition, the "salvation" of mankind by the Cosmic Christ Spirit actually is a cosmic spiritual process which is somehow occurring on a "more profound" and "more fundamental" level of spiritual reality than the simultaneous and parallel process of general spiritual initiation. Rudolf Steiner, in his writings, referred to this seemingly paradoxical and inexplicable situation as the "mystery of Golgotha." This ongoing cosmic spiritual process of the "salvation" of man by the Cosmic Christ Spirit is indeed a very great mystery which, to date, has never been adequately understood or explained.