Who turns the other cheek?

The true meaning of "showing the other cheek"

It says in the Gospel, “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also”. I sincerely hope that Christians who hear what I am going to say about this phrase will forgive me, for it is far beyond anything they could imagine. Let me assure them, at once, that the future will prove that my interpretation of it is the right one.

Certain moral precepts which were valid in the past are no longer right or useful for the present or the future. Jesus' words do not mean that we must always be passive in the face of insults an ill-treatment. He was not telling us always to accept and submit to violence and put up with torment and, in the long run, allow ourselves to be wiped out. It is true that this is how these words have often been interpreted, but I shall show you that that is not what he meant. Of course, if one does not possess the light, there is only one solution: to submit passively and allow others to destroy you. But that is a code of behavior for the weak and ignorant and it must not last for ever. It has never been decreed that spiritualists, the wise, Initiates and sons of God, should be perpetually oppressed, enslaved, ill-treated and put to death, while idiots and criminals prosper. For the time being this is still the situation, because men have lost the divine spark, they have lost the strength that comes from the sun, they have lost all fire, warmth, light and life and, because they have lost all this they will necessarily be beaten and ill-treated.

It has also been said,”You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasonned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” So, there it is: if you lose your flavour you will be trampled on by men until you find it again. The Gospels do not say that you must be trampled underfoot for ever, but when you deserted God you lost all your powers and, now, you are an easy prey for the violent and corrupt.

At the time of Jesus, men needed to develop certain qualities and virtues which had never been emphasized before that; qualities such as indulgence, forgiveness and mercifulness. At the time, the code was one of justice, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The new moral code that Chrsit introduced was designed to encourage men to cultivate the qualities of the heart. Instead of reacting to others with such crude weapons as stones or knives or the sword, they had to learn to respond with nobler, more loftly means; with humility, love, patience and magnanimity. This is what Christ meant. But he was speaking to the men and women of his day and age, and what he said to them is not necessarily valid for the rest of time. He is telling us, now, that there is a better way: “When you are the victim of an injustice, you must respond with such intelligence, such strength of character, such understanding, light and warmth, that your enemy is completely bowled over, blinded and thunderstruck. Yes, thunderstruck; that is to say, transformed. Not annihilated, not killed, but regenerated. Instead of killing your enemy you give him life by leading him closer to God. If you are capable of doing this, you are a true hero, a true son of God.”

Why should we always let our enemies massacre us and crow over us? We must not kill or hurt anyone, we all know that, but that is no reason why we should be the eternal underdog. We have to learn to defend ourselves by becoming like the sun and shining so brightly that even if people try to attack us with senseless cruelty, they will be dazzled and blinded. In this way you blind your enemies and then you open their eyes, just as Christ opened Saul's eyes when he was on his way to Damascus, bent on massacring the Christians. One ray of light and he fell blinded to the ground. And Saul became Paul. If you could blind people in this way, for just a few moments, and then heal them again, do you think that they would still be determined to persecute you? The new philosophy does not teach us to remain weak and at the mercy of cruel and violent people; it teaches us to become like the sun so that our enemies cannot touch or soil us and, if they approach us, they will melt like wax.

If human beings do not possess the power to use light in this way, it is simply because it has never occured to them. They have embraced a mindless philosophy of weakness and impotence on the pretext that they are supposed to turn the other cheek. Well, you can turn as many cheeks as you like, it will not do you any good and you will not change your enemies that way. They will continue to slap your face and, in the long run, to assassinate you. You are just going to have to understand the question differently. The “other cheek” is the other side, the other aspect of yourself, the side of spirit, the side of power and light. Jesus showed this other side to his tormentors. Hiw whole attitude proclaimed it: “You can imprison my physical body, you can even crucify it, but I'll show you the other side of my being, the indestructable, divine side. Strike me, if you like, but within three days I shall rebuild my temple.” And he kept his word: he showed his other side with the result that the whole world was revolutionized. He showed the divine side of his being, not the earthly side, and he rose from the dead!

Christians and spiritualists in general still have a lot to learn and understand. Instead of always allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by the powers of darkness or by materialistic philosophies, they must learn to unite. They have a habit of saying, “Amen. Amen. So be it”, and accepting whatever is flung at them. But it is time to stand together, now, for they have it in their power to transfrom the world and restore the Kingdom of God on earth. The time for saying that Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek and let ourselves be martyred is over. This may have been acceptable in the past, because people could not do otherwise, they were not sufficiently advanced to hit back with sublime, divine weapons. But that is no longer true today.

Today we have the possibility of manifesting the power of the spirit through our knowledge and love, through our gestures and the whole of our behavior. This is where true strength lies. Why should we forever try to show that we are true Christians by being weak and spineless and cowardly? If that were the Christian ideal I should be the first to say that the world will never be rid of evil if we have to rely on a bunch of weaklings like that! We have to be strong an mighty, dynamic, active, impetuous, even violent – although, obviously, not with the violence of the physical plane. If Christianity is not properly understood it is worthless. True Christianity teaches us to be well armed, but with other arms and, when we are attacked, to show that other side, the side that is well armed, not the puny, impotent side. Until now no one has ever explained what that “other side” was.

Many of the things that were not well understood in the past will be better understood, today, and other entirely new things will have to be learned, for nothing is ever stagnant; everything changes and evolves. Jesus himself demonstrated this very clearly in teaching a new morality which was not that of Moses. The Gospels relate how, on several occasions, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old... But I say to you...” Let met give you some examples of this: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, “Thou shalt not kill”, and whoever kills shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment”; “You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”; “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.” But I say to you, do not swear at all”, and, finally, “You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven”.

It is obvious, from these passages, that the moral law thaught by Jesus was no longer that of Moses. So why should there not be another, even more perfect moral law today? Christians will be scandalized by this suggestion because they consider that Jesus thaught a definitive doctrine: there is nothing more to be said. And what if Chrsit himself came and added some new notions? Can Christians deny him the right to do that? After all, everything has to grow and evolve. The laggards and all those who are too set in their ways, will be left behind. We are in favour of evolution, of something even more sublime, of the new life, the new religion which will be known throughout the length and breadth of the world, the true religion of Christ which has never yet been put into practice.

As long as men were still primitive, what could they be expected to understand? Before anything else, they needed to learn justice, and Moses was sent to teach them justice. Later on, Jesus was sent to teach love and forgiveness. But why stop there? That is not all there is. Forgiveness cannot solve all our problems. If someone tries to trash you, is there a law against you being stronger than he is? Why shouldn't you grab him by the leg and hold him up in the air, saying, “Do you want me to break every bone in your body?” Not that you would do it, of course. On the contrary, very gently, you would put him back on his feet again. Wouldn't that be much better?

What kind of Christianity is it that obliges you to be constantly ill-treated and massacred? I cannot accept that. You must be stronger than your enemy. So strong that the slightest gesture, a glance, a divine vibration flowing through you is enough to make him realize that you are far superior to him. And, when he feels so small, he will beg you to spare his life. “Very well, my friend”, you reply; “You're beginning to understand?” And as soon as you put him down, he will take to his heels and leave you in peace. Tell me frankly: wouldn't it be far better to be strong enough to react like that? I assure you it would. But no one has ever dared to envisage the possibility. The very idea seems far too ambitious, and that is exactly what I am interested in: giving you this ambition. How long it will take you to achieve such strength is another matter, but you can, at least, cultivate the desire to do so. You will never do anything worthwhile in the world if you are always passive, conciliatory, meek and vulnerable – wishy-washy.

There will be no more martyrs in the future. The martyrs of the past have already made the contribution that was required of them. They have fulfilled their mission. Besides, the main reason for their martyrdom was to allow them to pay off their debts and make good their past misdeeds more rapidly. Now that they have done that, why should they be martyred all over again? In the future, some beings will be so strong that when they know that someone is planning to injure them they will be able to put him to sleep at a distance, before he can get close enough to do them any harm. You will say, “That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it? You're going too far.” Not a bit of it. On the contrary, the time has come to lead human beings very, very far. At the moment they are in a dead-end street.

If you think that what I am saying is too much for you, very well, stay where you are. Others have more heroic ambitions. They want to be strong, powerful and full of light. They have no desire to be eternally victimized by the powers of darkness. When people like that are attacked they put up a fight. They know that they are not obligated to submit passively until they go under, on the theory that their destruction is “the will of God”. When Christians are stupidly submissive the powers of darkness smack their lips in gleeful anticipation of a feast. “Oho”, they say: “these Christians are tasty mosels. So juicy and tender! Let's make a dainty dish of them.” In other words, by their attitude, Christians actually serve themselves up as a choice dish for the powers of darkness. Sometimes one gets the impression that that is their only goal in life. Well, if they really want it that way, I have no objections. Let them go ahead and nourish the powers of darkness, but a true Christian defends himself by projecting a protective screen of light when he is threatened by forces of darkness. That is the reaction of a true Christian.

Thread: The true meaning of "showing the other cheek"