Volume
The Message Papers
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There are two Kinds Among the Souls
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The Message Papers
There are two Kinds Among the Souls
There are two kinds among the souls who belong to the spiritual hierarchy, God-man and man-God. The former is the God enveloped in man, and the latter man veiled by God. That is really speaking the difference between the two Biblical terms the "son of God" and the "son of man." For in one there is a descent of God from Heaven to the earth, in the other there is ascent of man, from earth to heaven.
[man-God] In the former God directly comes on the earth in the time of need in the form of man. In this case from infancy the soul shows God-hood, which no doubt develops with years.
[God-man] In the latter man rises toward divine perfection more strongly drawn by it, and attracts to himself others also to raise them upwards; he is the guide. He may be a guru, a teacher, a master, or even a prophet. But the God-man, who in India is called Ishwara Awatara, the incarnation of God, or the Godhead, begins as a healer of souls and culminates in a savior. May he appear as a king, as a beggar, as a preacher, as a wanderer, as a priest, as a teacher, as a poet, as a warner, he begins his life as a Nabi, even in a small way, which culminates in Rasul, whose influence spreads throughout the world.
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