John Ballou Newbrough - Oahspe

12. But since all attestation by spirits can be set at defiance by the craft of philosophers, thou shalt not wait till after the death of thy heir, to teach the truths of the Father's kingdoms; but beforehand. Causing Zarathustra, whilst yet mortal, to write down rules of mortal life, and doctrines, and faith, and repentance, and praise of the Great Spirit; and of prophecy, and all manner of righteous gifts, and the power of miracles, and the triumph of the spirit of man over corporeal elements.

13. And when thou hast completed these things, thou shalt bring the spirit of Zarathustra to this House; but the druks who suffer death with him, thou shalt deliver in the usual way to the places prepared for their resurrection.

14. Tell me, then, how standeth thy heir; and ask thou of me whatsoever thou wilt, to assist thee, to carry out these, my decrees, and it shall be granted unto thee.

15. God said: Zarathustra hath attained his twentieth year, and comprehendeth the destiny put upon him. He is pure and wise, with faith and gentleness; but he is larger and more powerful than any other man in the world. He is instructed, both in the spiritual and corporeal senses, having a knowledge of the books of the ancients, and of writing and making tablets.

16. Fragapatti said: Five years shalt thou have in which to complete thy labor. Depart, therefore, to thy place, taking with thee such of thy Lords and hosts and thou mayst require. I will appoint a thousand messengers to travel betwixt thy place and this, that every day thou shalt ask for this or that, it shall be granted unto thee. To which God replied:

17. I will go now and cause Zarathustra to write a book of wisdom, and give him prophecy over the kings and nations and tribes of men. What I do shall be proven to thee in Mouru. Thus saying, God withdrew a little, and selected his Lords and such other assistants as he desired; and, after this, Fragapatti granted a day of recreation, in which time the ethereans were made well acquainted with the conditions of mortals and of the thousands of millions of spirits still lingering in the first resurrection, and in darkness and chaos.

18. On the next day God and his hosts departed for the earth, well attended by thousands of volunteers from the etherean sojourners of Haraiti.

Table of Contents

1. FRAGAPATTI said: The voice of Jehovih cometh to me, saying: My Son, appoint thou an assistant chief to sit on thy throne, and go thou around about atmospherea, taking surveyors and inspectors with thee; for thou shalt see with thine own eyes the condition of thousands of millions of spirits in hada.

2. Fragapatti said: In Jehovih's name, I announce Athrava my assistant, God of Mouru. There was great rejoicing in the Council at this. Then came Athrava forward, and ascended Jehovih's throne and sat on the right hand of Fragapatti. Etherean lights fell upon the place from every side, and Fragapatti gathered from the elements and made a crown for Athrava, and crowned him.

3. Officers and workmen were sent to build a conveyance for Fragapatti, and for such attendants as he might take with him. So, the next day, Fragapatti chose his companions, thirty thousand, making Verethragna speaker, and he and they departed for their inspection of hada and the earth.

4. His ship was built without lights or curtains, so they might travel unobserved. First he inspected the plateau of Haraiti, which, prior to this, had never been inhabited; and he found its distance from the earth was equal to ten diameters of the earth; and its east and west and north and south diameters corresponded in size to what the earth would be were it that volume; that is to say, the superfice of the plateau was five hundred and twenty-eight thousand miles in every direction. And in the ratio of the number of mortals on the earth, this plateau would inhabit five hundred and twenty-eight thousand million souls. And yet this was not the thousandth part of the number it could sustain, in fact, within and without.

5. Fragapatti said: Such is Haraiti, O Jehovih. And yet there have been, till now, no spirits to come and inhabit it! Who can survey Thy works, O Father! Who shall fear for the limit of Thy handiwork!

6. Verethragna said: And yet we shall find in the lowest hadas spirits huddled together like bees in a hive. And yet wherefore, O Chief, for is it not so with mortals also? They cluster together in cities and tribes, warring for inches of ground, whilst vast divisions of the earth lie waste and vacant!

7. Fragapatti said: Is this not the sum of the darkness of mortals and of spirits in the lowest realms--They know not how to live? A spider or an ant is more one with the Creator than these!

8. Next they visited Zeredho, six diameters of the earth distant. Here they found a colony of two thousand million spirits, that had been founded by Osire three thousand three hundred years before. But not the same people, but such as came up from the earth afterward. They had a God named Hoab, an atmospherean from the earth, two thousand one hundred years. And he was upright and wise, and of good works most excellent; but knowing nothing of etherea, had no ambition to rise thither. And his content had visited itself on the colony, and they were contented also.

9. Fragapatti said: To remain here forever, is this the extent of thy desires, O Hoab? And Hoab answered him, saying: Yea, Master. What more is life than to reach the highest place and remain there? To which Fragapatti said: Is this the all highest? And Hoab said: Yea, Master. Any place and condition is the all highest, if man make it so. None can attain higher than I; no people higher than my people. We are freed from the earth and hada; and we desire not to return thither, nor to go to any other place.

10. Fragapatti said: Let us walk a little, that I may see thy kingdom. Hoab consented, and they walked along, seeing the inhabitants lying at ease, some amusing themselves weaving threads of light, then unraveling them and weaving them over again; others playing with crystals and lenses and opaque and transparent elements, but not doing anything for another; nor, in fact, needed they, for all were capable of doing for themselves. Now, after they had traveled a while, Fragapatti said: Hast thou not, O Hoab, a desire to return to the plateaux below thee, where the inhabitants are in misery and darkness, and bring them into thine own realm? To which Hoab said:

11. Nay, Master. Let them shift for themselves. Even if we helped them up they would be thankless. Nay, my doctrine is: Man is the all highest of all things. The elements are dumb; the worlds are many and wide. Let man choose a corner for himself, and there settle forever. Fragapatti asked: Because a man chooseth a corner, is it necessarily his own? Hoab said: Our place was bequeathed us by our forefathers; of course it is ours, and to remain so forever. Neither suffer we any other spirits to settle in our dominions. Being far away from the rest of the world, we are not much molested.

12. Fragapatti said: How came ye hither? Hoab said: Long ago there came a God hither, named Osire, bringing six thousand million drujas up from the earth. With them he founded a colony here; with factories, colleges, hospitals, and all things necessary to enlighten the people, giving them ample teachers. In course of time, many of the inhabitants migrated away from this place, and it was almost depleted of its people. But the Gods below this sent new supplies of inhabitants, of which we are the second and third installments; so we inherited the place with all its factories and educationals, and other places.

13. Fragapatti said: As ye were raised up by the Gods of other places, would it not give ye joy to raise up others, who are still in darkness? Hoab said: Nay, Master. We are pure and refined; the atmosphere of drujas is unpleasant to us. They would vitiate our own happiness, besides entailing toil and responsibilities upon us. We cannot mix with any people but the refined and holy. We take care of ourselves; let others do the same, and all will be well.