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History
of the Ishayas
and the Ishayas' Ascension
The Ishaya
Tradition
Any discussion of the
Ishayas' historical tradition must begin with a reminder that the
Ishayas' teachings are centered around personal experience and
empowerment only, and require no belief whatsoever. All traditions teach
some form of inward contemplation or prayer, and the Ishayas' Ascension
-- being a very powerful tool to achieve this inward movement -- can
exist within and even without any system of belief.
Nonetheless, the history
of Ascension itself is quite long and beautiful. Several segments of
that story are recounted in the Thunder
series of books, which hint that Ascension has been active in the
human sector for many thousands of years -- far longer than most
historians would consider plausible.
Other than the present
time, the most recent revival of Ascension began approximately 2,500
years ago in India, when a young boy named Shankara set off to become
enlightened. Being especially gifted, he achieved his goal at an early
age, attracting a large following in the process. He rediscovered the
principles of Ascension, and founded the four major schools, or Maths,
that still exist in the four corners of India. Before disappearing from
the world at about age 30, he taught at the northern Math. To this day,
principal teachers at all four Maths are given the honorary title of
Shankaracharya. Descendants of that tradition were traveling in Egypt
some 500 years later, and met another very special young seeker known as
Isha, Yeshua ben Joseph, or Jesus, son of Joseph.
From a very early age,
this gifted youth had known and lived one central truth -- that I and my
Father are One -- and had an intense desire to share this forgotten but
explosively beautiful human legacy with others. He had, with the
assistance of his merchant uncle, traveled extensively seeking a
spiritual tradition that resonated to this Truth, but to no avail. When
he met these sages from India, however, he knew that his search had
ended.
Jesus made the dangerous
journey to India and practiced this tradition for several years, then
returned to Judea to complete his mission. Second century Tibetan
records exist that recount his return journey. The New testament
describes many aspects of the three years of Jesus' public ministry. For
the most part, however, it details the public mission, and refers only
off-handedly to the teaching he was giving his rather large body of
followers -- those going out in pairs to share his teaching with others.
There are many casual
references to the esoteric teachings throughout the Scriptures, but
because they were ignored by the Pauline tradition, they are much more
apparent in texts that have not undergone centuries of editing. Of
these, the recently discovered and authenticated Gospel of Thomas serves
as a clear link between the inner and the outer teachings of Jesus.
After the Crucifixion, the
remaining disciples traveled to the boundaries of the known world to
continue their mission. It was, of course, in the Roman Empire that
Pauline Christianity flowered, flourished and finally crowded out
teachings it labeled as heretical. John the Beloved was entrusted with
assuring that the inner teaching would survive undistorted. He was
captured by the Romans and exiled to Patmos for a number of years, where
he wrote the Book of Revelation and perfected his practice of Ascension.
Upon his release, he and
twelve companions began a journey to the mountains of India. He and the
three others who completed the pilgrimage contacted the Masters who had
originally welcomed Jesus. With their assistance, the Ishaya (meaning for
Christ) Order was established in a remote valley of the Himalayas.
This beautiful and remarkably temperate garden setting, which has been a
favorite retreat of enlightened sages for millennia, has been referred
to in the legends and lore of many cultures. The Ishayas call it Vashti,
and it is there that the tradition of ascension has been preserved for
the last 2,000 years, awaiting its advent into the modern world. It was
in Vashti that MSI was trained in the Ascension
techniques, and it was from there that he brought the Ishaya Tradition
to America.
Upon his return to the US,
MSI began teaching the techniques to all who were willing to learn. He
also instructed those who responded to their hearts' desire to fully
live the Ishayas' tradition how to teach and share Ascension. Hosted in
living rooms throughout America, the teaching quickly expanded to
several countries including Canada, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and
Australia.
Today, the teaching
continues to expand wherever the interest is expressed. As it has in
centuries past, the Ishayas' Tradition continues to serve the desire of
all who choose to remember their natural birthright of enlightenment.
The
Founder of SFA: Maharishi Sadashiva Isham (MSI)
Hear
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