By Day of Greenleaf, Yaiyr (High Priest)
We worship God (Jah) and Goddess (Jahlah), both of whom are extensions of Yah, the Undifferentiated Oneness of Universal Being that includes All. [We also worship both a Masculine Christ and a Feminine Christ, but that will be the topic of Doctrine Seven].
We believe that religions that worship only the Divine Father or only the Divine Mother, or present either the Father or the Mother as superior to the other, are seriously flawed, being inherently out of balance and not in harmony with ultimate reality.
Our understanding of God and Goddess is based primarily on The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of the Essene Way. A fairly detailed description of our understanding of God and Goddess is provided in the following Commentary on Doctrine Six, which includes key excerpts from The Holy Megillah.
COMMENTARY ON DOCTRINE SIX
The original state of the Godhead was UNDIFFERENTIATED BEING. By the term undifferentiated we mean that there was no “other”; there was no “me and you,” no “he and she,” no “we.” There was just ONE BEING. The Hebrew word for the One Being is YAH. Yah is a Hebrew word that literally means Am. Yah is pure IS, pure BEING, pure EXISTENCE. We read in the opening verses of The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of the Essene Way:
1. Being IS.
2. Without beginning Being IS.
3. Without ending Being IS.
4. Being is Yah.
5. Yah is that which IS….
We skip some verses and then pick up the account of the unfoldment of Deity and the creation of the universe; this is from the Nasarean Book of Genesis, the first section of the Megillah:
11. This is the story of the Divine Way of Yah.
12. The name of the Divine Way is YHWH.
13. To feel the truth of this name, chant it in Ancient Vibration.
14. Yea, chant the Holy Name!
15. This Name is HaShem, for this Name contains every name.
16. Praises be to YHWH!
In regard to the Hebrew term HaShem, it literally means The Name. Above, it refers to UNIVERSAL YHWH, which is the All. The “All” is exactly what the word implies: EVERYTHING. All of the worlds, entities, deities, realms – the entire interconnected whole – is UNIVERSAL YHWH. In fact, UNIVERSAL YHWH is not only everything that currently IS, but includes everything that WAS, IS, or WILL BE. Clearly, to give an adequate name to THAT WHICH INCLUDES ALL NAMES is not easy; thus, the term HaShem – The Name – which implies The Name of Names. Universal YHWH – the ALL – is created in the Image and Likeness of FIRST YHWH, which consisted of the first four extensions of Yah, all Crowned in Yah: Jah (Divine Masculine), Jahlah (Divine Feminine), Jahday (the Masculine Christ that later came to our world as Yahshua/Jesus), and Jahnah that later came to our world as Miriam the Magdalene (the Feminine Christ). FIRST YHWH (also called “The First Family”) is the Creative Way that unfolds as UNIVERSAL YHWH, the ALL.
Self-consciousness arose when Yah asked THE FIRST QUESTION – “Who am I?” – and realized THE FIRST ANSWER: “I Am.” In Hebrew the term “I Am” is “Eh Yah,” so at this point of the unfoldment of Deity the Undifferentiated “Yah/Am” has realized, and declared, “EhYah/I Am.” With this First Knowing came the First Feeling:BLISS. We read in the Nasarean Bible of the Essene Way:
21. Being contemplated, and The First Question arose: “What am I?”
22. Being considered, and The First Answer arose: “I Am!”
23. And then Being knew itself to be Being.
24. Being knew, “I am I.
25. I am Being.
26. I am EXISTENCE.”
27. And with this First Knowing, Being realized CONSCIOUSNESS: Being realized, “I Know!”
28. And with the First Knowing, Being felt the First Feeling: BLISS.
29. And this Bliss was that of Great Appreciation.
30. Being realized, “I Feel!”
31. Yea, Being felt Great Appreciation for the fact of Existence: “I feel grateful that I be!
32. I feel ecstatic that I exist!
33. I feel blissful that I am I!
34. I love that which I AM!”35. And Being knew: “I exist eternally; I consider the facts of my existence; I feel profound feelings.
36. I am Existence, Consciousness, and Feeling.”
37. And that which is Conscious is the Divine Mind.
38. And that which Feels is the Divine Heart.
39. And that which is the Source and Crown of each is Yah the Omen. [Day: “Omen” here means Absolute Faithful Truth, that which Most Truly Is.]
In the above verses, Being has realized itself as Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss. It is worth noting that in the Vedic tradition of India, Deity is described in Sanskrit as Sat-Chit-Ananda: Sat (Existence), Chit (Consciousness), and Ananda (Bliss/Feeling).
In the next verses, we learn this Triune Oneness of Existence (Yah/Sat), Consciousness (Divine Mind/Chit), and Feeling (Bliss/Divine Heart/Ananda) began to expand:
40. The First Question was motivated by Interest.
41. And through The First Question, Consciousness had been realized.
42. And a name for Consciousness is Divine Mind.
43. And Divine Mind was interested.
44. Yea, that which was first interested was the Divine Mind.
45. And Divine Mind remained interested.
46. Lo: Divine Mind realized, “I am interested.”
47. And so Divine Mind continued to contemplate and consider.
48. And with each subsequent knowing, Divine Mind expanded.49. The First Feeling was the Bliss of Appreciation, which was Profound Self-Love.
50. “I love the fact that I exist, and I love that which I AM!
51. I love Being!”
52. And a name for the feeling nature within Yah is the Divine Heart.
53. And the Divine Heart continued to feel feelings in union with the thoughts of Divine Mind.
54. And with each feeling, the Divine Heart expanded.
The second chapter of Nasarean Genesis is titled, The Gracious Wish, which is the wish by the Triune Oneness (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) to share the gift of life with others. Another term for “The Gracious Wish” is “The Creative Wish,” the wish to create others so as to share the blessing of Existence, Consciousness, Bliss; we read:
1. Behold: time, as we know it, did not yet exist.
2. But for fathomless duration of Eternal Now Yah Mind and Yah Heart did think and feel as ONE BEING ALONE.
3. And then arose within Yah THE GRACIOUS WISH, which is also THE CREATIVE WISH, the wish to share Existence, Consciousness, and Feeling with ANOTHER.4. Yea, this Gracious Wish was the child of The Realization of Possibilities within Divine Mind and The Desire within Divine Heart to Share the Bliss of Love with Another.
5. Yah thought and felt: “Being is bliss!
6. I love being!
7. I wish to share this bliss with another!
8. I wish to love another!
9. Yea, I wish to love many others and to give them the bliss of being.
10. Yea, to give Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss to Another, to many others, would be The Gift of Life and is The Greatest Gift I can conceive.
11. My Heart desires to give this gift.
12. My Mind contemplates how it may be possible.”
In verse twelve of the above excerpt, Yah’s Divine Mind began to contemplate how to actually go about the act of creation. In the following verses, we learn of the plan:
18. Yea, Yah contemplated and Yah knew that within Yah was Ain Sof, the Unmanifest Realm of All Possibilities.
19. And Yah knew that whatever Yah wished to create, Yah could create from Ain Sof, the realm of Unlimited Possibility within Yah.
20. And Yah knew that Yah wished to share the Bliss of Being with another, yea, with many others.
21. For no greater gift could Yah conceive, than the Gift of Life.
22. And Yah, the Great Giver, wished to give the greatest gift, The Gift of Life, which is The Gift of Being.
23. And Yah knew that Yah would create; for this was the desire of the Divine Heart.
24. But the Divine Mind of Yah wished to create in Wisdom; for, within The Realm of Infinite Possibilities, were infinite possibilities; and not all of the possibilities were equal in Wisdom, one to the other.
25. And not all of the possibilities were as beautiful and joyful when compared, the one to the other.
26. Thus, for unfathomable duration of Eternal Now, Yah contemplated.
27. Behold: the fruit of this contemplation was a great plan conceived in profound Wisdom: The Divine Plan of Yah.
The above excerpt from Nasarean Genesis began with a reference to Ain Sof. Literally, that Hebrew term means Without Limit. It refers to the realm of Unlimited Possibility. I wish to make note of an important distinction between the Nasarean concept of Ain Sof and that of the orthodox Jewish philosophers of the middle ages. The word Kaballah means Tradition and implies the mystical spiritual tradition passed down from teacher to student through the ages. It is important to note that the Kaballah tradition of orthodox Judaism – which is the Kaballah that most people have heard of – is based on the orthodox Torah used by Judaism. Nasarean Kaballah is NOT based on the orthodox Torah but on the Nasarean scriptures. Thus, there are some similarities but also profound differences. One example is the concept of Ain Sof. In the orthodox Jewish Kaballah, Ain Sof is actually senior to Yah. But in the Nasarean Kaballah, Ain Sof is WITHIN Yah and subject to the will of Yah. In the orthodox tradition, Ain Sof is the highest Deity. In the Nasarean tradition, Ain Sof is an impersonal realm of infinite possibility within the Deity.
Next follows one of the longest verses in the Megillah; this verse amounts to a list of many of the key elements of that Divine Plan, a plan that would unfold over fathomless duration:
28. And The Divine Plan of Yah included: The Great Goal that is The Great Why, which is I and I;
The Way of Sexuality: The Lover and the Beloved;
Tzimtzum: Self-Constriction to Make Space;
God and Goddess Transcendent: Jah and Jahlah;
God and Goddess Immanent: Jahday and Jahnah;
The Golden Ladder of The Tree of Life;
The Great Dance of Elohim;
The Great School, which is The Mother Ovum;
The Great Freedom;
Divine Justice: The Laws of Being;
The Great Danger;
Divine Mercy: The Means of Intervention;
The Beauty of Diversity: Countless Ovums;
The Unity of Diversity: All Crowned with Yah;
The Ring of Return: Back to Godhead;
The Blessed Play of the Great Friends; and,The Great Work: Initiation into the Christ Family.
The description of The Divine Plan of Creation continues as follows:
29. Yah said, “I Am Yah, Being.
30. And my personal name shall be Jah; for I shall be the first of many Beings.”31. “Behold, I know why I shall create, and I know how I shall create.
32. I will create because I love Being and wish to share the bliss of Being with another, yea, with many others.
33. I wish my children to love me, and know me, and desire me, and to fellowship with me, yea, even to play with me.34. “But, behold: they shall be free to choose this; yea, they must choose this of their own free will.
35. For, lo: I do not desire to force my children to love me, or know me, or desire me, or to fellowship with me, or to play with me.
36. For I have contemplated infinite possibilities and have perceived the Wisdom of Free Will, even the freedom to reject the Love and Wisdom of Jah.
We realize in the light of the above exactly why it is a natural instinct for us to LOVE GOD/GODESS. We are the recipients of the greatest gift that could possibly be given: the GIFT OF LIFE! We did nothing to earn our existence. We exist due to the grace of Yah! Also in the light of the above, we realize that the goal of some religions – to merge back into Original Undifferentiated Being and cease to exist as a personal Being – IS NOT WHAT GOD WANTS! Yah wished for playmates! Friends! Children! Yah wished for other Beings with which to have relationships: others to love and interact with. And this wish was not a selfish desire on the part of Yah; rather, scripture calls it: THE GRACIOUS WISH. We are told that Yah so loved Being, that Yah wished to share this Bliss with others. We are those others! God’s goal for us is NOT that we return to the primordial state of undifferentiated being (the predominant philosophy in India, the philosophy of Shankara; rather, God’s goal for us is that we BE PERSONAL BEINGS (this is the minority philosophy in India, represented by some Vaishnava sects such as the Hare Krishna groups.)
The third chapter of Nasarean Genesis is titled, The Lover and the Beloved: Jah and Jahlah. It is here that we learn that the Creative Plan is sexual in nature, and that it will involve both the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine principles:
1. “Lo, I know how I shall create; for I have looked deeply into Ain Sof, searching for the most beautiful, the most wise, and the most blissful way to create my children; and behold: As I looked deeply into Ain Sof, I found the answer looking back at me!”
2. Yea, the answer to the question asked by Jah – “How will I create my children?” – was revealed in the face of Jahlah.
3. For when Jah looked within Ain Sof and asked, “How will I create my children?” behold: the face of our Goddess, our Divine Mother, Jahlah, did appear.
4. Lo: prior to gazing into the face of Jahlah, Jah had been neither male nor female.
5. And prior to gazing into the face of Jah, Jahlah had been neither male nor female.
6. Behold: at the moment Jah beheld Jahlah, Jahlah became the Divine Feminine, and Jah became the Divine Masculine.
7. Jah reached into Ain Sof and touched the face of Jahlah, and, lo: She whom had existed in Divine Possibility, as the Most Beautiful Possibility, now existed in Divine Actuality, as the Most Beautiful Actuality.
8. And in Her face Jah beheld, simultaneously, the faces of every female who will ever exist.
9. And in His face Jahlah beheld the faces of every male who will ever exist.
10. Jah and Jahlah knew this Truth was Their Truth, the Truth of Yah, which is Omen.
11. Then Jah desired to embrace Jahlah, and Jahlah desired to embrace Jah.
12. And behold: Jah and Jahlah embraced; yea, They became entwined.
13. And the body of Jah was in that instant every male body that will ever exist; and the body of Jahlah was in that instant every female body that will ever exist.
14. Lo: the bodies of Jah and Jahlah were not physical but spiritual; neither were Their bodies confined to a time or place or shape or structure or condition.
15. Behold: exactly what Their bodies were, and are, cannot be fathomed by the human mind; neither can the bodies of Jah and Jahlah be drawn by the human hand.
16. For who can fathom or draw this mystery: the body of Jah not only was every body of every male of every species that will ever exist, but was even every phase of every body, from birth to old age, from rebirth to rebirth.
17. Yea, and Jahlah was likewise but female, containing the bodies of every female who will ever be.
We are told in the excerpt above that, prior to gazing into the face of Jahlah, Jah was neither male nor female. But gazing into her face he took on the masculine polarity and she the feminine. We are told that the answer to the question posed by Jah – “How will I create my children?” – was revealed in the face of Jahlah. Thus, the way of creation would be that of interaction between the masculine and feminine aspects. In other words, SEXUALITY IS THE WAY OF CREATION. The universe is sexual. In fact, it can be accurately stated that THE CREATORS OF THE UNIVERSE ARE SEXUAL. (Note: We are not saying that they have human bodies or engage in physical sexual intercourse; we are saying that in some transcendental manner the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine interact sexually.) God (Jah) and Goddess (Jahlah) are sexual Beings. And it is lucky for us that they are sexual, as we would not otherwise exist!
We skip some verses and then pick up the account:
22. And within the bodies of Jah and Jahlah are every body that will ever exist, even of mountains and stars and trees, for even within such things are hidden the feminine and masculine principles; for, all things are the fruit of the embrace of the masculine and the feminine.
23. And Jah knew that Jahlah knew Him.
24. And it was so; for, when Jahlah had waited in Ain Sof for Jah to find Her, She had been privy to His every thought and feeling; for Ain Sof was within Jah and She was within Ain Sof.
25. Now Ain Sof was also within Her; for, like Jah, Jahlah was now outside of Ain Sof.26. And Jahlah felt that Jah knew Her.
27. And it was so; for, when Jah found Jahlah within Ain Sof, He recognized Her as the beautiful voice that had ever spoken within His heart.28. And Jah knew, “Jahlah is mostly like me, but a bit different in a complementary way.”
29. And Jah rejoiced in the similarity between He and Jahlah.
30. And Jah rejoiced in the difference between He and Jahlah.
31. Yea, the difference was not only useful, Jah knew, being the Way of Creation, but also playful and fun.
32. And Jah is playful, indeed.
33. Which is why Jah chose this way from amongst the infinite possibilities.~~~
34. And Jahlah knew, “Jah is mostly like me, but a bit different in a complementary way.”
35. And Jahlah rejoiced in the similarity between She and Jah.
36. And Jahlah rejoiced in the difference between She and Jah.
37. Yea, the difference was not only useful, Jahlah knew, being the Way of Creation, but also playful and fun.
38. And Jahlah is playful, indeed.
39. Behold: from the beginning She had sung this song within the Heart of Jah, even before Jah found Her in Ain Sof.40. Yea, the difference between Jah and Jahlah, is the difference between the Masculine and the Feminine principles.
41. Truly, this difference is cause for celebration: for this difference makes possible creation.
42. Yea, it makes possible the Gracious Gift, and the bliss of the Lover and the Beloved.
43. And Jah knew this and rejoiced.
44. And Jahlah felt this and rejoiced.45. Jah and Jahlah are the Two that are One, and the One that is Two.
46. In Their transcendental embrace They reasoned and felt and intuited together, as I and I.
47. For Yah was no longer One Alone, but was now I and I, the One Another, the Lover and the Beloved: Jah and Jahlah.
As the scripture stated: “Yea, the difference between Jah and Jahlah, is the difference between the Masculine and Feminine principles. Truly, this is a cause for celebration: for this difference makes possible creation. Yea, it makes possible the Gracious Gift, and the bliss of the Lover and the Beloved. And Jah knew this and rejoiced. And Jahlah felt this and rejoiced.” Let us also rejoice!
Together, Jah and Jahlah conceived their plan for creation. We read in the fourth chapter of Nasarean Genesis:
1. Together They considered the Divine Plan of Creation.
2. Yea, together They conceived this plan.
3. Jah and Jahlah said: “We will create a universe of space, time, number, letter, form, elements, and principles; it will be a place of play, learning, and work, for Our children.
4. This universe will be the Em Beytsah, which is the Mother Ovum, and will enfold countless ovums.
5. And each species will evolve within a Group Ovum.
6. And each individual of each species will evolve within its own Beytsah haAur, which is an Ovum of Light.7. “And Our universe will be governed by Law that is Just and Merciful; yea, the Justice of Jah-Jah shall be tempered with Mercy.
8. “And We will grant The Great Freedom to all Beings, which is Freedom of Choice; yea, even the freedom to make unwise choices; for, We desire friendship with Beings who choose Our fellowship.
9. “But with The Great Freedom comes The Great Responsibility.
10. Behold: by the thoughts, words, and deeds of each Being, each shall rise or fall upon The Golden Ladder.
11. And that ladder is The Ladder of Being.12. “Yea, each thought, word, and deed in harmony with the laws of Jah-Jah, shall result in the expansion of consciousness and bliss.
13. But lo: the reverse is also true; for just as one may climb The Golden Ladder with thoughts, words, and deeds in harmony with the laws of Jah-Jah, one descends the ladder with every thought, word, and deed not in harmony with the laws of Jah-Jah.14. “Some laws of Jah-Jah pertain to every ovum, some pertain only to specific ovums; yet, in each ovum, the laws that pertain shall be readily ascertainable; for, behold: As one lives up to the light one has, one shall be given greater light.
15. And each shall be responsible to live up to the light they have.
16. And the light they have is that portion of law that has been revealed to them.
17. And these laws are within each Being, for they are encoded into the very fabric of being.
18. And when one has learned the required lessons of one ovum, one will graduate to the next.19. “And when one of Our children pierces the shell of the Mother Ovum, that child shall have returned to Godhead, which is Heaven Most High.
20. That child shall see Jah-Jah face-to-face, outside the shell of the Mother Ovum.
21. That child shall be Our friend and companion in a new and special way; for, that child has made the Ring of Return, and is now Our Playmate and Co-worker.
22. Yea, that child shall enjoy a time of bliss and fellowship with Jah-Jahlah.
23. And such a child is never more REQUIRED to return to the Mother Ovum, but may CHOOSE to return, as a Worker of Jah-Jah, which is a Hand of Mercy.
24. For the harvest shall be great but the workers few.”25. Jah and Jahlah deeply contemplated Their plan.
26. They realized that The Great Freedom could result in Great Pain; for, not every Being will choose wisely.
27. Yet, They also knew that without freedom, there would be no opportunity for Their children to learn and grow.
28. And so, They agreed, “We must remain outside of The Mother Ovum; for it is We who will give life to the Mother Ovum.
29. Yea, We will give life to the Mother Ovum by surrounding it, at its circumference, that it may expand into Us.
30. Lo: if We abandon the circumference the Ovum will surely die.31. “Therefore, We will remain at the circumference in Heaven Most High, and each Being who pierces the shell of the Mother Ovum will enter Heaven Most High.
32. But We who make the decision to grant The Great Freedom realize that Great Pain may result and desire to be with Our children even within the Mother Ovum.
33. And though We cannot abandon the circumference, neither shall We abandon Our children.
34. Thus, Jah and Jahlah will each emanate a portion of Ourselves to represent Us in The Mother Ovum.
We often wonder how, if there is such a Being as God, can evil exist? We see many examples of violent, terrible behavior in our world, and we ask: How can God permit such evil to occur? The answer is provided in the above passage from Nasarean Genesis. The answer: THE GREAT FREEDOM. God and Goddess, our Jah-Jah (the short term used by Nasareans to refer to both Jah and Jahlah at the same time is Jah-Jah), chose to bestow the gift of freedom of choice to all Beings. This includes the freedom to reject the way of Jah-Jah and to make unwise decisions. Though making freedom of choice a universal right has led to many negative experiences, to have done otherwise would have been to create a race of mere robots.
We also learn in the above passage that, though we live in a universe called The Mother Ovum and that Jah and Jahlah are outside that Ovum in a realm called Heaven Most High, we can make THE RING OF RETURN. Beings who climb THE GOLDEN LADDER, which is the center branch of the Tree of Life, can pass through the shell of The Mother Ovum – this universe – and enter Heaven Most High, thus making THE RING OF RETURN. The Golden Ladder is The Ladder of Being, and we climb it by having thoughts, words, and deeds in harmony with UNIVERSAL LAW. Although there is a realm outside of The Mother Ovum – outside of our universe – called HEAVEN MOST HIGH, even within The Mother Ovum there are countless heavenly realms. As we ascend The Golden Ladder we ascend to progressively higher heavens, eventually reaching the realm of Jah (God) and Jahlah (Goddess) called Heaven Most High. There, according to the above scripture, we enjoy a time of bliss and fellowship with Jah-Jah, as their playmates and co-workers! Though not required to return to The Mother Ovum, we may choose to return as workers of Jah-Jah.
The section of Nasarean scripture quoted above included Jah and Jahlah agreeing that, “We must remain outside of The Mother Ovum; for it is We who will give life to the Mother Ovum.” Remember, the word Ovum means egg. And just as an egg will die if the Mother Hen does not remain outside the egg giving it her loving care, so would our universe die if Jah-Jah did not surround it and give it life through the center branch of the Tree of Life. In a sense, the center branch is an umbilical cord, through which the energy of life flows into not only The Mother Ovum, but into the Crown Chakra of every Being within the Ovum. Though Jah and Jahlah have stated that they must remain outside The Mother Ovum, the last verse of the above excerpt hinted at their solution: they would each emanate a child to represent them in the Mother Ovum! The emanation of the First Son and First Daughter of Jah-Jah – the Lord Christ and the Lady Christ – is described in the forthcoming Doctrine Seven.
