by S. Poulos
had started to gather outside. The chairman did not seem concerned, and signaled the clerk to go, but he thought it might be useful to ask the Teacher a question about law and order.
"What is your opinion about law and order? Should a citizen of a country obey the country's laws even if he feels they are unjust?"
"If this question is concerned with a dictatorial regime," said the Teacher, "sooner or later, people will find the way to change things. The spirit of man cannot accept oppression. It is unnatural for a man to impose his will upon others, even if they mean well, for they transgress the law of spiritual movement. But I would like to elaborate about the so-called democratic states. Democracy means freedom, and freedom stipulates responsibilities, which many of their citizens seem to forget.
"In a democratic state, the citizens must uphold the laws by all means. As these laws have been invented by man, obviously there will be pitfalls. Inner pressure brings changes through constant vigilance and demand in a democratic way from their citizens."
"And how should the citizens react then?" asked the chairman.
"Through a constant involvement of the citizens for the better, an uplifting evolution takes place. In turn; the state's laws will change eventually. Until then, the law must be kept to the letter. Otherwise erosion will creep in a deceitful way, and eventually anarchy will follow, with all the consequences we witness in many countries today.
"The importance of a citizen of a country obeying the laws has been indicated by Jesus when he said, 'render to Cesar whatever belongs to him'. He also emphasized it by sacrificing his own life. He could easily have run away to save his life. So could Socrates, whose students were begging him to run away with them after the court find him guilty of a crime that he never committed. But then, they would be outlaws, fugitives, hypocrites, contrary of what they were preaching of the importance of man respecting the law.
"So Socrates calmly and majestically, drank the poison presented to him. There are numerous cases of great man who obeyed the laws to the limit."
"But these are exactly the charges that are made against you," said a lady from the panel, "that you are inciting young people in to defiance, disobedience, and rebelliousness. Will you accept then the findings, the recommendation which will be issued by the WCFET?"
"You forget to mention violence, lady," said the Teacher, "for I am accused even of that. Anyhow, it is true that I advocate young people to break any bonds, any fetters that bound their spirits. If that is going to bring uneasiness in some communities, I will accept the finds against me, but I will never advocate violence."
"You, reactionary one!" shouted someone, "with your 'brilliant' ideas! People like you encourage fascist governments to survive and oppress all the people round the world. Why don't you stay out of politics?"
"Are we supposed to obey the rules of a democratic state? Or are we supposed to have a democracy a la carte? Is the democratic elected government, or a coalition for that matter, elected to govern the country? Or do we question the wisdom of the majority of the people, and try to impose our will to others? If so, who is the fascist one?"
One other heckler from the back of the room shouted that the Teacher should stick to the spirituals and to leave the rest to the experts.
The chairman, obviously irritated, said to the Teacher, "Look, my friend. If I am sick, I will go to a doctor, if I want to build a house I will go to a licensed builder. When I travel on an airplane, there is a licensed pilot that... that pilots the damn thing. All these people spend years of their time mastering their professions. Why should you roaming freely about intervening in the affairs of others? You don't have the barest of qualifications for it."
"Mr. President," calmly answered the Teacher, "If I am sick I will go to the doctor although I may ask the opinion of more than one. If I want to build a house I will follow the procedures of the law. As for piloting an airplane you don't have to worry, because I am reluctant to use airplane."
There were some whispers, but a strong voice from the back rows cut the casual scene immediately. "But you do enter into the affairs of others; into others' professions without a second thought, and without qualifications."
"That may be," said the Teacher. "What is your qualification? What is your profession?"
"I am a theologian, and you do jump into our affairs daily. You cannot deny that. You are an agitator. You do all that with no hesitation. I heard you condemning my profession in a public place. There are hundreds of witnesses. There are even comprehensive reports in the local newspapers, about you, Mr. Nobody, inciting young people into defiance."
"I second that!" A bishop stood up, addressing the panel. Turning to the Teacher he continued, "Over all, you are accused, of slandering theologians, religious leaders, and religious organizations. Why should we tolerate such behavior? Don't you think we have reason to be annoyed with you?"
"So you people are upset because I intervene into your fields? But I tell you, no man on this Earth can claim that he is a specialist, successor, heir, or qualified in God's matters. On the contrary, in the eyes of the lord, a peasant may stand better than a professor of theology, an elderly lady may stand better than a priest, a mullah, or the pope of Rome. Concerning God's matters, man's laws do not apply; nor even for someone who happens to know the bible or any other religious book by heart.
"If that was the case, Jesus would have chosen scribes and Pharisees to teach the word to the world. On the contrary, he chose simple people of every walk of life to spread his message."
A lady rose, and asked the Teacher in a polite but firm manner, "Are you aware of a charge pending on you, concerning a defamation case against you from the National Society of Hypnotherapists? I am a qualified hypnotherapist." She turned towards the panel. "I say to the council that nobody, absolutely nobody, has ever engaged in such a wild and slanderous manner against a qualified and legitimate profession as this man. I accuse this man of being a slanderer, an impostor of the worst kind. I will not stay here to listen to his ridiculous outbursts. These allegations and the rest will follow in the criminal courts." She turned furiously and left the crowd.
There was a prolonged silence. The Teacher looked sad and frail.
"Well?" The voice of the chairman sounded like a bell.
"I do not deny the accusations and the charges of defamation against me. I don't even worry about it anymore. It is already too late; for thousands there is no return. I can only shed some light for those who are willing to listen, and are still flirting with the idea of hypnotism.
I will state it loud and clear with all my heart. Those who practice hypnotism are either totally ignorant or outright criminals of the lowest and darkest kind. It is either this, or that. You either know this or willingly suck thousands into abyss of perdition, or you are completely ignored. Regardless of the case, the law will prevail.
"I tell you when a hypnotist hypnotizes someone, he binds his spirit. In short, he transgresses the law of the spirit."
"But how can this happen?" asked the chairman. "If the participant participated willingly what is the problem? And what do you mean by transgressing the spirit anyway?"
"The transgression that takes place is of the gravest kind. For many hypnotists, there will be no return. In order for redemption to take place in this case, all the hypnotized ones that have been sucked in to this abyss by these 'experts', willingly or not, will have to be released. Each one, one by one, will have to break the chains that hold them bound with the hypnotist. For this to happen, if it happens, decades or even centuries will pass. For many, it will be too late. As for the hypnotized one, if in the meantime he realizes into what a horrible situation he has fallen, he may ask for help and with a fervent prayer, he may succeed in breaking the bond that holds him with the hypnotist, and gradually break the chain that holds him down. This does not happen overnight. In many cases, it takes years but with persistent and unceasingly prayer, help will surely come."
"What is so important about this so-called fr
ee will?"
"The unique charisma that a man has inherited from God is free will. With this, man shapes his environment towards beauty or towards ugliness. With this free will he also shapes the environment in the beyond when he passes over, and also shapes the conditions here on Earth if he is going to be reincarnated, or to ascend even to higher spheres, up to the sphere of the paradise. When the hypnotist hypnotizes someone, he binds his free will. In short, he plays God. Man cannot be forgiven for this. He may do the most appalling things and be forgiven if he changes his mind for the better, but not for this, for he has sinned against the spirit."
An Anglican bishop asked the Teacher, "As far as I know, there is equality between man and woman in God's eyes. Can you elaborate about why Jesus chose only man to teach the word and excluded woman from it? This led to women being excluded from their rights in becoming priestesses."
"When Jesus incarnated on Earth, he did not came here to uproot traditions, or to revolt, as a rebel would do today, sweeping away traditions and cultures. He came to up-build on whatever existed at that time. But this is not the main reason that he chose men only. I will try to explain, and whoever has ears may be receptive to it.
"There is no doubt about the equality of man and woman in God's eyes. The