THE SEVENTH OR SABBATH DAY OF REST by Ralph M. de Bit

THE SEVENTH DAY OR THE SABBATH DAY OF REST. (By Ralph M. de Bit.)

 

 

 

Among the many Christians throughout the civilized world of today, there is shown forth a deep concern regarding the question as to which day of the week God intended us to observe as the Sabbath, or in other words, as a special day of worship. There are many who firmly believe that Sunday is the appointed day, while others just as firmly believe they are following the instructions set forth in the Bible when they worship on Saturday. Many arguments, having for their basis, a purely intellectual premise, could be brought to bear, showing that it would be impossible for all the people everywhere on this earth to observe the same Sabbath at exactly the same time, because, when the sun is shining on one side of the planet, the other side is in darkness, and then think of those living near the North Pole and the South Pole, who only have one day and night in a whole year.

 

 

 

But it is not our purpose to advance any arguments whatever, or to set forth any belief that may be held by any person or persons. What we most desire just now, is to show you by pure reason and logic, that God never could have appointed any “day” or time in which we should be required to labor or finish our labor, or appointed any day on which we should rest and worship. In the light of pure reason and logic we desire to show you the utter impossibility of God having a conception of a “day,” as the finite being in mortal form would understand the divisions of time, which we call “days.”

 

 

 

A little reflection will convince you that time and space exist only in the imagination of man; that is, in his concept. In common with all other conditions which man holds in his consciousness as realities, is the belief that space can be walled in or divided, and the measurement of space is time. We will admit that just so long as a person is conscious of these things and conditions as realities, he is constantly receiving back into his consciousness the reaction of his belief, which as constantly suggests to him the reality of the so-called thing or condition. The objective world with all of its ramifications of “things” and “conditions” does not exist separate or apart from the consciousness of the individual. In fact all these so-called objectified forms and conditions are but the reflection of qualities in the consciousness of the individual. All these ideas – the objective world with all its conditions – have only a conditional existence, always dependent entirely upon the individual to hold the idea in consciousness. The individual changes the objective world just in proportion as he changes his consciousness regarding it. So time and space exist to us as realities only so long as we hold the idea of time and space in the consciousness, as realities, and then, consequently a division of time which we are pleased to term a “day” will also exist as part of that conditional idea of consciousness.

 

 

 

Tomorrow never comes, so the next moment is never realized.

 

 

 

We Live Now.

 

 

 

It is always in the present that we are conscious of anything or any condition, in the so-called past or future.

 

 

 

Above the plane of conditional existence – the plane of ideas or illusion – exists Consciousness, freed from all ideas, and this Consciousness is the Eternal, Absolute God. In that Absolute plane, time or space does not exist, and if they do not exist there in God, we can clearly and readily perceive that there can be no “day” to God, that there is no day appointed by Him.

 

 

 

If we accept the premise that God is Perfect and All-in-All, we are, at the same time, forced to concede that All (God) is Perfect. God can never be more or less than what God Is, which is Perfect, and, being All, He can never know anything else existing outside of Himself, because, there is nothing else; God being All. So by the purest and most simple logic, we see that God is forever knowing Himself in the eternal Now; and there is nothing else for Him to know.

 

 

 

And then, if we see things and conditions subject to change or changeable, we at once arrive at the conclusion that if a thing can change, it must necessarily have something to change for, and therefore, it lacks that now for which it is going to change. Now, if it lacks anything it is imperfect. To remain logical, we see that if anything is imperfect, it cannot be of God, or of Perfect.

 

 

 

God, Perfect only knows Itself, there being nothing else for It to know in a world of All-God. If it were possible for God to know anything imperfect it would show imperfection in the Perfect God; and would also show that God could know something outside and apart from Himself, either of which would destroy our premise and would also destroy the God who is Perfect and All. So in order not to destroy our premise and to realize the Truth of the statement, that God is Perfect and knows no imperfection, we must find a solution within the bounds of logic and reason which will account for this imperfect world of form-creation.

 

 

 

This has been so clearly brought forth in the “Life and the Way,” the Christian Yoga Metaphysics by A. K. Mozumdar, that we will not take the time now to make the explanation. We have told you enough, however, to show you from a logical point of view, that God as a Whole cannot know us as we know ourselves, and therefore, in consequence could not possibly be conscious of “days,” as we ourselves conceive of “days.”

 

 

 

And now, my friends, there is a “day” of rest.

 

 

 

The Sabbath is that condition of consciousness of the individual when the individual has ceased to hold wrong ideas in consciousness – when the consciousness of the individual is freed from form-creation. In that condition of the consciousness of the individual it becomes filled to the very limit of its capacity of formless God, and this condition of Consciousness is the Sabbath Day; it is rest from holding changeable ideas in consciousness through six periods, or through six “days” of labor.

 

 

 

If we worship God on any particular day, let us not attach any significance whatever to the day itself. For the more significance we attach to a day the more we are giving recognition to an idea temporarily existing in the race consciousness.

 

 

 

Our purpose in life is to become freed from these conditional things and conditions, and, by giving any one idea a particular significance, we, knowingly or unknowingly, employ a well-known law of psychology “that with whatever we associate ourselves, of that we shall manifest like quality.” So if we should give conscious recognition to a relative measurement of time, which we term a day, we shall manifest more material or relative conditions of consciousness. But if we keep our mind and consciousness on That which is above all relativity and conditions, we shall manifest a Spiritual quality of being.

 

 

 

In common with the race, and in accordance with the long established condition of racial consciousness, we devote one particular day, more than other days, to services, devotion to God and to meetings. But we, as students of Truth, should never attach any significance to the day on which we worship. If we do attribute any special significance to a particular day, it should be in the manner of performing a symbolical rite in remembrance of, or anticipation of, that condition of consciousness which we shall enjoy when freed from all misconceptions, ignorance, or ideas in illusion. In other words, (relatively considered) there being seven days in the week and having the concept of seven states or stages of consciousness in this journey through illusion, if we attached any significance whatever to one of the seven days of the week, it should be as a symbolical rite in refreshing the consciousness of the individual, or holding before the consciousness, that seventh period or condition of consciousness above the plane of illusion. This full grasp of God above the plane of conditional things and conditions is the real Sabbath Day of Rest. Within our conception of things and conditions we can attached that significance to any one of the seven days of the week. It makes no difference whether it be Saturday or Sunday.

 

 

 

If the race, among whom we are living, have an idea that Sunday or Saturday, as the case may be, is the most convenient day to discontinue material pursuits, let us conform to that concept outwardly, but inwardly; that is, in the inner conscious plane, if we attach any significance whatever to any day, let it be as a symbol of that condition of the individual’s consciousness above the plane of illusion. And this we can do by imagination – or realization – on any day of the week.

 

 

 

The true worship of God is on no particular day, but in constantly seeing through everything and every condition One Consciousness, which is God Eternally. Yes, it is even more than this. The Consciousness which is the individual, is part of the Whole-Consciousness, and back of every concept-form or idea is also another part of the Infinite Whole; so the true worship of God is to let God see God in everything, and, as All there is, until we realize living, moving and having our Being in the Omnipresent Ocean of Divine Consciousness. This is the All-in-All, or the worship of God upon one nightless day.

 

 

 

As that Divinely inspired book, “The Aquarian Gospel,” has so beautifully and concisely expressed it -

 

 

 

“When all the essences of carnal things have been transmuted into soul, and all the essences of soul have been returned to Holy Breath and man is made a perfect God, the drama of Creation will conclude. And this is all.”

 

 

 

Many passages of Scripture are quoted to prove that one or the other day of the week has been Divinely appointed. Let us consider these scriptural passages in the light of Christian Yoga.

 

 

 

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”

 

 

 

“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Gen. ii:2-3.

 

 

 

We have seen in reason and logic, that God as a Whole does not and cannot create. In these passages it definitely states that “God created and made,” and this is easily reconciled when we remember that all power or any power cannot exist outside of All. Therefore it is God Power that is the creator, but the God Power creates through the idea held in the consciousness of the part or individual. The individual consciousness gets the reaction of the idea within itself; and God Power or the Self knowing-power of God, is self manifested. Like the sun and its rays, the rays will shine through any medium set up for the light to pass through and will cast a shadow corresponding to the image in the medium. If it was conscious the sun would shine on in all its splendor unconscious of the medium, image or the shadow cast. So God knows Himself and is unconscious of an idea, image or concept existing in the consciousness of part of Himself. The part, while in illusion, only sees the shadow.

 

 

 

Considering these two verses in another light we see that God creates a world by the activity of His self-knowing power, which is above the plane of illusion. And in the highest, or seventh condition of consciousness, is rest. As a rapidly revolving wheel appears to stand still, owing to its terrific revolutions, so it is the individual’s consciousness of God above the plane of illusion which is creating a perfect image of Itself; therefore by the very tremendous rapidity of vibrations it comes to perfect rest, the part knowing the All, to the limit of its capacity to grasp God.

 

 

 

Adhering to our statement that the “six days of creation” are states or stages of the individual’s consciousness in its journey through illusion or form-concept, and the “seventh day” is the state or condition of the individual’s consciousness freed from all false opinions or ideas of itself, therefore it is at rest in knowing God; we can now consider the individual as part of the Whole, therefore in essence, God.

 

 

 

On the seventh day, or, in the last state of consciousness; God (as the part) rests from the imaging of ideas of itself in wrong significance.

 

 

 

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day; and hallowed it.” Exodus xx.11.

 

 

 

Back of every apparent atom and cell in this universe is the One ever self-manifested Consciousness; what we see as a stupendous aggregation of electrons, atoms or cells, that which we call this phenomenal or objective universe, is the reflection of ideas held in the consciousness of the individual Parts of God. All idea that we ever can be conscious of in “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,” is the creation of the knowing power of God through the image in the consciousness of these individual parts. And when the part, (which is God in part, therefore God), at the final stage, “the seventh day,” stops creating ideas or images for God power to manifest through, the “day” will indeed be “blessed” and “hallowed” for it is the complete dispelling of all conditions of darkness, ignorance, bondage and illusion.