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| The Reincarnation of Jesus as Appolinius of Tyana - and Now
Apollonius of Tyana
by Bette Stockbauer
"The Disciple Jesus (24 BC to 9 AD), who is now the Master Jesus, was
born in Palestine as a third-degree initiate. [See "Initiation, Human
and Solar" by Alice Bailey for an indepth explanation] When He went
out of incarnation at the Crucifixion, Jesus was a fourth-degree
initiate. In His next incarnation, as Apollonius of Tyana (16 AD to
c.97 AD), He became a Master [of Wisdom] (fifth-degree initiate)...
"Many of those who followed Him during His life as Jesus were still
alive during this subsequent incarnation and many of them became
convinced that Jesus had reappeared in their midst. It was Apollonius
who undertook a journey to India, and this became the basis for the
story, which many believe, that Jesus did not die on the cross but
went to India and died in Kashmir, having lived to a venerable old
age." (Peter Liefhebber)
"The whole earth is mine, and it is given me to travel through it."
With these words, Apollonius of Tyana sounded a keynote of his life,
for he was known as one of the greatest travelers of antiquity. He
lived in the days when the Roman Empire covered thousands of square
miles, and the Mediterranean allowed free access to its major
population centers. He made full use of the great sea, and the span of
his life recorded his presence on all its shores, from Egypt to Spain,
from North Africa to the lands and islands surrounding his beloved
Greece. He was the first of his countrymen to visit India, at that
time a hazardous and unmapped land. Who was Apollonius, how did he
live, and what was the purpose of his constant movement?
Early life
He was born of a wealthy family in Tyana, a city of Cappadocia (part
of what is now Turkey). Legend says that great signs attended his
birth, and that he was an incarnation of the Egyptian God Proteus. As
a child he was remarkable for his powerful memory and great beauty. At
14 he was sent south to Tarsus to complete his studies, but grew
unhappy in what he considered frivolous surroundings and moved to
Aegae in Greece.
Here he found the teachings of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, whose
code of conduct prescribed obedience to higher laws, silence,
moderation in diet, and simplicity in dress and possessions.
Pythagoras taught the doctrines of immortality and reincarnation, and
advised the pursuit of self-knowledge. The proper use of philosophy,
he said, was to study the inner nature of man one who knew himself
could then know the universe. At 16 Apollonius submitted himself to
the Pythagorean principles. He was to follow them for the rest of his
life. Renouncing the use of animal flesh, he ate only those foods
grown from the earth, clad himself in linen garments, and walked
barefoot or in shoes made of tree bark. He abstained from wine and
wore his hair long. For five years he took a vow of silence and spoke
not a word, though often faced with ridicule and derision.
In Aegae he lived at the temple of Aesculapius, the Greek God of
Medicine. These hospitals' were scattered throughout the land. The
doctors were the priests of the temple. The psychic and spiritual
sciences were used to heal the patients who came to consult the Gods.
In such surroundings Apollonius soon surpassed his teachers, who
marveled at his pious life and brilliant mind. Here began his
reputation as a miracle worker, for all the townspeople knew of the
young ascetic's innate capacity for healing. At 20 he inherited a
considerable fortune. He kept a pittance for himself and gave the rest
away. From this time he never accepted money, though great sums were
offered by many admirers. Freed from worldly attachments, he began his
travels.
Teachings and travels
The Roman Empire was at the zenith of its power but a restlessness
pervaded its lands. Assassination was common. Emperor followed Emperor
in quick succession, for the power of the office also brought the
riches of the kingdom and there were many who coveted both. The
temples of the land were noted more for adornment than for devotion.
Blood sacrifice was common, and the rituals of initiation had been
corrupted to become empty rites of prestige.
The spirit of Christianity was embryonic. So little was Christianity
known that many historians of the period fail to mention it at all.
Yet many sought a truth more profound than that offered by the
dominant culture. Small groups of people the Therapeuts, the
Gymnosophists, the Essenes began to establish religious communities
in out-of-theway places such as deserts and forests. There they lived
simple lives that revolved around the love of truth. Ancient forms of
worship were followed in their original purity. Temperance and mutual
regard were the rule of conduct.
To these groups Apollonius offered guidance and support. He joined in
their ceremony and instructed the priests in the ways of initiation.
In the large cities with their public temples, his intent was to
purify the liturgy and reconsecrate the inner sanctuaries, returning
the sacred sites to the spiritual discipline of their ancient
traditions.
Wherever he went, he held to a regular division of the day. Mornings
were spent in religious exercises and in teaching the priests and
initiates the Sacred Mysteries. In the afternoon he walked among the
people, healing their illnesses and instructing them in ethics and
practical life. Three times a day he meditated to the Sun or to the
"Lord of the World".
Damis, the disciple
In the city of Nineveh he met Damis, who became his constant companion
and loyal disciple. The core of our knowledge of Apollonius comes from
the faithful notebooks Damis kept of their travels. Damis never seemed
to comprehend the deeper mysteries that Apollonius taught and did not
attend the secret councils of the initiates. He humbly accepted his
place, for he loved Apollonius and saw in him a divine being, with
powers marvelous to behold. By nature he was timid, ever fearful for
himself and for his Master, yet was so attached that he followed when
other disciples fled. So he became a trusted servant with the joyful
words: "Let us go together. Thou shalt follow God, and I thee."
These words were prophetic, for soon afterwards Apollonius determined
to visit India. All of his disciples, save Damis, abandoned him, but
he calmly held his intent, saying: "I must go whithersoever wisdom and
my inner self may lead me. The Gods are my advisers and I can but rely
on their counsels."
In those days India was considered an exotic and mysterious land.
Tales were told of its inhabitants protecting their cities by bolts of
lightning rather than combat. Its snow-clad mountains contained
species of plants and animals elsewhere unknown. Bands of thieves
roamed its vast plains, but its rulers were often holy men and sages.
Damis, Apollonius, and their well-chosen guides departed to find the
men the Tyanean would later describe in these words: "I saw men
dwelling on the earth and yet not on it, defended on all sides, yet
without defense, possessing nothing, yet having everything." They
visited the Magi, the Wise Men of Babylon, then traveled on to the
priest-king Phraotes. This humble ruler who "loved peace above all
things," greeted Apollonius with the words: "I look on you as superior
in virtue, for of all gifts a prince can possess, I deem wisdom the
brightest." Discussions of philosophy filled their days. When they
parted, Phraotes gave him a troop of milk-white camels for the journey
and a note to the King Iarchos.
When the band arrived at the palace of Iarchos, the ruler already knew
of the letter of Phraotes, and the details of Apollonius' life. He
told the party that most mortals greet a newcomer by asking questions
about his life, but the priests of India greet him instead by telling
him about his life. The notebooks of Damis suggest the psychic and
spiritual powers of the sages they could tell the past and future,
see events at a distance, and read the past lives of men.
Beyond this we know little of what they taught Apollonius, who was
always silent in such matters. But a letter written to his hosts
suggests the journey's effect: "I came to you by land and ye have
given me the sea; nay, rather, by sharing with me your wisdom ye have
given me power to travel through heaven. These things will I bring
back to the mind of the Greeks, and I will hold converse with you as
though ye were present."
Miracles and wonders
When he returned to his homeland, a new power pervaded his every deed.
Word of his miracles, his brilliance, and his piety spread throughout
the land. From town to town he taught from the steps of the temples.
He urged the people to turn from dissipation and the cruel sports of
the day, and spend their time instead in study and philosophy. He
spoke of the community of goods, and the necessity of sharing with the
needy. He decried the popular notion that ridiculed generosity toward
the poor saying: "What else, then, have we to do, but shut ourselves
up at home, like birds, to be fattened for use, and indulge our
appetites in darkness till we burst with fat?"
For the poor and needy, for the sad of heart and ill of body he always
had a word of compassion. Many he healed with the touch of his hands.
He could gaze into a troubled soul, see its past, and offer direction.
In Rome he brought to life a young girl on her way to burial. He cast
out demons and could see across time and space. At Ephesus he warned
the citizens of a coming plague and later rid the area of the plague
itself. He knew of the burning of a temple in Rome and the
assassination of the Emperor Domitian at the moment they occurred,
though he was in a distant place. Great crowds would gather to hear
the words of this man who could speak to the soul in a time when such
voices were few.
Political activism
Apollonius was equally at home in the streets of the cities and the
palaces of its rulers. Before his ascent to the throne, the Emperor
Vespasian received his advice in long discussions on the philosophy of
ruling. The later rulers Titus and Nerva were his friends and
confidants. About the despots of the time he was never silent, as he
deemed it his duty to speak against oppression wherever he found it.
In the reign of Nero he was charged with high treason, but when the
charges were brought before him, they mysteriously disappeared from
the parchment as it was unrolled. When Nero expelled the philosophers
from Rome in 66 AD (the year of St Peter's martyrdom), Apollonius left
and traveled to Spain. Damis implies that he conferred there with
certain activists who later led the revolt against Nero.
Under the reign of Domitian he bravely entered a hostile Rome to
defend a friend charged with treason. There he was seized and
imprisoned in fetters. When a distraught Damis visited him, the
teacher told him not to worry and easily removed his legs from the
chains. He spent his days in prison giving hope to his fellow
captives, teaching the real meaning of freedom the inner freedom of
God's kingdom. It had been 38 years since he visited India. His hair
was gray, his face was lined, but his beauty and bearing was as
attractive in age as it had been in youth. As he stood in court before
all the great men of Rome, he mesmerized the crowd and calmly answered
the charges against him. Domitian, who was both judge and jury, seemed
entranced and confused. In a short time Apollonius was acquitted, and
to the astonishment of all, disappeared from the tribunal. On the same
day he was with Damis in Puteoli, a three-day journey from Rome. News
of his freedom spread through the land. Few had thought that he could
escape alive.
The last years of his public life were spent traveling and teaching,
with Damis by his side. When he finally departed from his friend, he
did so obscurely, sending him to Rome with a message for the Emperor.
Damis never forgot his parting words: "Damis, whenever you think on
high matters in solitary meditation, you will see me." Rumors
regarding Apollonius' death abounded, although his body was never
found.
History views Apollonius
Throughout the Graeco-Roman world, Apollonius was accepted as the most
brilliant philosopher of the 1st century. After his disappearance,
temples were erected in his honor. The Emperor Adrian made a
collection of his letters. The books he wrote on astrology,
philosophy, the life of Pythagoras were preserved in the great
libraries of the day.
Early in the 3rd century Julia Domna, the wife of the Emperor Septimus
Severus, procured the notebooks of Damis. She commissioned
Philostratus, a philosopher of the time, to write a biography. This
book is the only account of the teacher's life that has survived the
destructions of time. It lovingly honors his place in history and
describes the homage accorded him in the lands of his ministry. By the
4th century, however, the view of Apollonius as a worker of miracles
became a matter of acrimonious debate. Christianity had become an
established religion and the Church Fathers had begun to accord Jesus
status as "the only Son of God". Neither reincarnation nor the
miracles of Apollonius had any place in their philosophy. Hereafter
the theologians posited Apollonius against Jesus. They called him a
charlatan, a black magician, and the anti-Christ, as if two holy ones
could not walk the earth in the same era.
In more recent times the dispute continues. Most modern translators of
Philostratus take a cynical view, supplementing the text with abundant
footnotes ridiculing the biographer's descriptions of miraculous
events. Apollonius of Tyana by G.R.S. Mead (Helena Blavatsky's
personal secretary) is the only recent work that is wholly favorable
to the Tyanean.
The legacy
The lives of Jesus of Nazareth and Apollonius of Tyana demonstrate the
eternal Laws of Rebirth and Perfection. When Jesus died, his life gave
a promise to the world: "Verily, I say unto you, he that believeth in
me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these
shall he do, because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12).
Apollonius demonstrated the possibilities of that promise, for in his
lifetime he achieved perfection as a Master of Wisdom. He had lived
his life disclaiming the possessions of the world. Despite his fame,
he established no organization. Despite his many disciples, he trained
no one to carry on his task. His last will and testament contained his
legacy to humanity the principles of the philosophy he had loved.
Although they left so little visible trace of their passage, the two
lives of this one great Soul gave a blueprint to their brothers. In
the darkness of the world, they were a beacon that sought the hearts
and minds of men, a gentle touch that healed the soul. Theirs was a
call that beckoned then, and still sounds today, leading humanity down
the ancient Path of Initiation. By their lives they showed the Way to
God a Way that is the promise, the hope, and the divine inheritance
of all who walk the earth.
Sources: Mead, G.R.S: Apollonius of Tyana; Berwick, Edward: The
Life of Apollonius of Tyana; Priaulx, Osmond De Beauvoir: The Indian
Travels of Apollonius of Tyana.
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- this article appeared in the April 1995 issue of Share International
magazine
http://www.share-international.org
For more information about Jesus - go to the above site and do a
keyword search. In a few years, maybe only 4 or 5 the whole world
will see Jesua and several other Masters of Wisdom. They will be known
by everyone and will tour the world - giving mankind advice on how we
can rebuild the world so that all men may flourish.
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