Matt 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Matt 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
John 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
John 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
John 1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
John 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
John 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
John 3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?
Thom 29:x Jesus said: If the flesh has come into existence because of the spirit, it is a marvel; but if the spirit has come into existence because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. But I marvel at how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty.
Thom 7:x Jesus said: Blessed is the lion which the man eats and the lion will become man; and cursed is the man whom the lion eats and the lion will become man.
Thom 60:x They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to His disciples: Why does this man carry the lamb with him? They said to Him: In order that he may kill it and eat it. He said to them: As long is it is alive, he will not eat it, but only if he has killed it and it has become a corpse. They said: Otherwise he will not be able to do it. He said to them: You yourselves, seek a place for yourselves in Repose, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.
Thom 112:x Jesus said: Woe to the flesh which depends upon the soul; woe to the soul which depends upon the flesh.
Thom 87:x Jesus said: Wretched is the body which depends upon a body, and wretched is the soul which depends upon these two.
Teachers describe in hymns and songs the following as the means of spiritual realization . . . By uninterrupted loving-service. By hearing and singing the glory of the Lord, even while engaged in the ordinary activities of life. Primarily, it is got only through the grace of great souls, or through a slight measure of Divine grace.
Abdul-Qadir called together all his adherents and said to them:
"I beg you never to forget what I am now going to tell you, because otherwise you will become the source of great error. I address those of you who will remain more ignorant than the others, because the Knowers and the Attainers will never make the mistake which I shall now describe.
"During the period of Duty and Repetition [certain exercises] many people acquire the capacity to affect others with a strange experience. This produces trembling, excitement and many other feelings, and signals a stage of awareness. There may be visions of great teachers, or of divine influence.
"Acting upon the unprepared "heart," such experiences must instantly be stopped, because they cannot progress to real contact with the Divine until something else has been cultivated in the disciple.
"This opening of capacity, once discovered by the ignorant or raw, spreads especially among villages and other simple people, until they indulge it regularly, thinking it to be a true state. It is in fact merely a signal, a sign of something. When it occurs, it must be reported, and those who experience it should undergo an appropriate period of preparation.
"Persistance in this practice in the past exhausted the capacities of the followers of saints and prophets, all deludedly believing themselves to be the recipients of Baraka (grace). Those who Attain dare not induce this state once it has appeared. Those who indulge it may never Attain.
"Follow only the practices of the Teacher, who knows why these things occur and who has to adjust the study accordingly."
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© Copyright 1996 by Joseph Morales