P1432:1, 130:3.1
It had been an eventful visit at Caesarea, and when the boat was ready, Jesus
and his two friends departed at noon one day for Alexandria in Egypt.
P1432:2, 130:3.2
The three enjoyed a most pleasant passage to Alexandria. Ganid was delighted
with the voyage and kept Jesus busy answering questions. As they approached
the city's harbor, the young man was thrilled by the great lighthouse of
Pharos,
located on the island which Alexander had joined by a mole to the mainland,
thus creating two magnificent harbors and thereby making Alexandria the maritime
commercial crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe. This great lighthouse was
one of the seven wonders of the world and was the forerunner of all subsequent
lighthouses. They arose early in the morning to view this splendid
lifesaving
device of man, and amidst the
exclamations of Ganid Jesus said: "And you,
my son, will be like this lighthouse when you return to India, even after
your father is laid to rest; you will become like the light of life to those
who sit about you in darkness, showing all who so desire the way to reach
the harbor of salvation in safety." And as Ganid
squeezed Jesus' hand, he
said, "I will."
P1432:3, 130:3.3
And again we remark that the early teachers of the Christian religion made
a great mistake when they so exclusively turned their attention to the western
civilization of the Roman world. The teachings of Jesus, as they were held
by the Mesopotamian believers of the first century, would have been readily
received by the various groups of Asiatic religionists.
P1432:4, 130:3.4
By the fourth hour after landing they were settled near the eastern end of
the long and broad avenue, one hundred feet wide and five miles long, which
stretched on out to the western limits of this city of one million people.
After the first survey of the city's chief attractions -- university (museum),
library, the royal
mausoleum of Alexander, the palace, temple of
Neptune,
theater, and
gymnasium -- Gonod addressed himself to business while Jesus
and Ganid went to the library, the greatest in the world. Here were assembled
nearly a million manuscripts from all the civilized world: Greece, Rome, Palestine,
Parthia, India, China, and even Japan. In this library Ganid saw the largest
collection of Indian literature in all the world; and they spent some time
here each day throughout their stay in Alexandria. Jesus told Ganid about
the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek at this place. And they
discussed again and again all the religions of the world, Jesus endeavoring
to point out to this young mind the truth in each, always adding: "But Yahweh
is the God developed from the revelations of Melchizedek and the covenant
of Abraham. The Jews were the offspring of Abraham and subsequently occupied
the very land wherein Melchizedek had lived and taught, and from which he
sent teachers to all the world; and their religion eventually portrayed a
clearer recognition of the Lord God of Israel as the Universal Father in heaven
than any other world religion."
P1432:5, 130:3.5
Under Jesus' direction Ganid made a collection of the teachings of all those
religions of the world which recognized a Universal Deity, even though they
might also give more or less recognition to subordinate deities. After much
discussion Jesus and Ganid decided that the Romans had no real God in their
religion, that their religion was hardly more than emperor worship. The Greeks,
they concluded, had a philosophy but hardly a religion with a personal God.
The mystery cults they discarded because of the confusion of their multiplicity,
and because their varied concepts of Deity seemed to be derived from other
and older religions.
P1433:1, 130:3.6
Although these translations were made at Alexandria, Ganid did not finally
arrange these selections and add his own personal conclusions until near the
end of their sojourn in Rome. He was much surprised to discover that the best
of the authors of the world's sacred literature all more or less clearly recognized
the existence of an eternal God and were much in agreement with regard to
his character and his relationship with mortal man.
P1433:2, 130:3.7
Jesus and Ganid spent much time in the museum during their stay in Alexandria.
This museum was not a collection of rare objects but rather a university of
fine art, science, and literature. Learned professors here gave daily lectures,
and in those times this was the intellectual center of the Occidental world.
Day by day Jesus interpreted the lectures to Ganid; one day during the second
week the young man exclaimed: "Teacher Joshua, you know more than these professors;
you should stand up and tell them the great things you have told me; they
are
befogged by much thinking. I shall speak to my father and have him arrange
it." Jesus smiled, saying: "You are an admiring pupil, but these teachers
are not minded that you and I should instruct them. The pride of unspiritualized
learning is a
treacherous thing in human experience. The true teacher maintains
his intellectual integrity by ever remaining a learner."
P1433:3, 130:3.8
Alexandria was the city of the blended culture of the Occident and next to
Rome the largest and most magnificent in the world. Here was located the largest
Jewish synagogue in the world, the seat of government of the Alexandria Sanhedrin,
the seventy ruling elders.
P1433:4, 130:3.9
Among the many men with whom Gonod transacted business was a certain Jewish
banker, Alexander, whose brother, Philo, was a famous religious philosopher
of that time. Philo was engaged in the laudable but exceedingly difficult
task of harmonizing Greek philosophy and Hebrew theology. Ganid and Jesus
talked much about Philo's teachings and expected to attend some of his lectures,
but throughout their stay at Alexandria this famous Hellenistic Jew lay sick
abed.
P1433:5, 130:3.10
Jesus commended to Ganid much in the Greek philosophy and the Stoic doctrines,
but he impressed upon the lad the truth that these systems of belief, like
the indefinite teachings of some of his own people, were religions only in
the sense that they led men to find God and enjoy a living experience in knowing
the Eternal.