The Many Faces of the
         Great Guru, Sanat Kumara

                      Excerpts from a lecture
                  given by Elizabeth Clare Prophet
                          on July 2, 1993
                  FREEDOM 1993: "Healing the Earth"
 

 Sanat Kumara figures in several roles in the religious traditions of the
 East. Each one reveals another facet of his Divine Self. In each role, he
 teaches us something different about God and about our path to God.

 Skanda or Karttikeya

 Sanat Kumara is revered in Hinduism as one of the
 four or seven sons of Brahma. They are portrayed as
 youths who have remained pure. The Sanskrit name
 Sanat Kumara means "always a youth." 1

 In Hinduism, Sanat Kumara is sometimes called
 Skanda, or Karttikeya the son of Shiva and Parvati.
 Karttikeya is the god of war and commander-in-chief
 of the gods. He is the commander and chief of the
 divine army of the gods. He was born specifically to
 slay Táraka, the demon who symbolizes ignorance, or
 the lower mind. Karttikeya is often depicted holding a
 spear, this spear represents illumination. He uses the
 spear to slay ignorance.

 In Hinduism, stories of war are often used as allegories for the internal
 struggles of the soul. 2 Indian author A. Parthasarathy says that
 Karttikeya represents the "Man of Perfection who has discovered the
 Supreme Self. The wielding of his spear of annihilation symbolizes the
 destruction of all negative tendencies which veil the Divine Self."3

 Skanda-Karttikeya, as he is sometimes called, is also acclaimed as the
 god of wisdom and learning. 4 He is said to bestow spiritual powers upon
 his devotees, especially the power of knowledge. 5 An inscription on a
 fifth-century stone pillar in Northern India describes Skanda as the
 guardian of the Divine Mothers. 6

 The Divine Mother is in you. Her abiding place, as you know, is the white
 four-petaled chakra at the base of the spine. This sacred fire is your life
              force. It is the energy that rises to meet the light that
              descends over the crystal cord. You can see the crystal
              cord on the Chart of the Presence. The energy of the
              Father-Mother God descends over the crystal cord and
              the sacred fire of the Mother rises from the base chakra.
              So, we are nourished by Father above and by Mother
              below and yet Father above contains Mother, and Mother
              below contains Father.

 Subramanya

 In southern India, Karttikeya is known by the name of Subramanya,7
 which means "dear to the Brahmans," 8 the members of the priestly
 caste. Every village, even the smallest, has a temple or shrine to
 Subramanya. 9

 Guha

 In the Hindu mystic tradition, Karttikeya is known as Guha, which means
 "cave" or Secret One, because he lives in the cave of your heart. 10

 How secure we must feel knowing that the Lord Sanat Kumara, the Great
 Guru who sponsors earth, her evolutions and all Buddhas and
 Bodhisattvas and Christed Ones actually lives in the cave of our heart.

 Hindu scriptures also depict Sanat Kumara as the "foremost of sages"11
 and a knower of Brahman.12

 Ahura Mazda

 The Ascended Masters teach that the
 supreme God of Zoroastrianism,
 Ahura Mazda, is Sanat Kumara.13
 Ahura Mazda means "Wise Lord" or
 "Lord who bestows intelligence."14

 Again, Sanat Kumara, is the dispeller
 of ignorance. He represents the
 principle of Good and is the guardian
 of mankind and the opponent of the
 Evil principle.15

                                  The symbol of Faravahar signifies the final
                                  goal of a true Zarthosti to live in a manner
                                  befitting the progress of the soul towards
                                    Ahura Mazda, or the "Wise Lord".
 

 Sometime between 1700 and 600 B.C. Zarathustra founded Zoroastrianism
 in ancient Persia. One morning when he went to fetch water in a river, he
 beheld a luminous being who led him to Ahura Mazda and five other
 radiant figures.16

 So great was their light that 'he did not see his own shadow upon the
 earth.' From this group of beings he received his first revelation of a new
 religion.17

 Shortly afterward, Zarathustra became a spokesman for Ahura Mazda.18

 The Ancient of Days

                       The prophet Daniel recorded his vision of Sanat
                       Kumara, whom he called "the Ancient of
                       Days." Daniel writes,

                            "I beheld till the thrones were set
                            in place,19 and the Ancient of days
                            did sit, whose garment was white as
                            snow, and the hair of his head like
                            the pure wool. His throne was like
                            the fiery flame and is wheels as
                            burning fire. [His chakras.]

                            "A fiery stream issued and came
                            forth from before him. Thousand
                            thousands ministered unto him,
                            and ten thousand times ten
                            thousand stood before him.

                            "I saw in the night visions, and,
                            behold, one like the Son of man
                            came with the clouds of heaven,
                            and came to the Ancient of days,
                            and they brought him near before
                            him.

                            "And there was given him
                            dominion and glory and a kingdom,
                            that all people, nations and
                            languages should serve him. His
                            dominion is an everlasting
                            dominion, which shall not pass
                            away, and his kingdom that which
                            shall not be destroyed."20

 And so, not only does Daniel foresee Sanat Kumara, the Ancient of Days,
 but also he sees the son of manifestation. Did he see the Christ Jesus, the
 Buddha Maitreya, Manjushri, and/or the Buddha Gautama?

 Ascended Master Sanat Kumara

 The Ascended Master Sanat Kumara is the Hierarch of Venus. Long ago
 during earth's darkest hour, Sanat Kumara came here to keep the
 threefold flame of Life on behalf of earth's people.

 Can you imagine a time in the world when only one individual kept the
 flame of life for all of mankind? There was a time when not a single person
 on this planet gave adoration to the God Presence.

 After Sanat Kumara made his
 commitment to come to earth,
 144,000 souls from Venus
 volunteered to come with him to
 support his mission. Four hundred
 who formed the avant-garde were
 sent ahead to build the magnificent
 retreat of Shamballa on an island
 in the Gobi Sea where the Gobi
 desert now is.

 Sanat Kumara resided in this physical retreat but he did not take on a
 physical body such as the bodies we wear today. You could say the retreat
 was in the Matter universe but highly etheric. Later it became expedient
 to its protection that Shamballa, this wondrous retreat that was in the
 physical octave, be withdrawn to the etheric octave.

 Dipamkara

 So after this took place, this withdrawal of Shamballa to the etheric
 octave, Sanat Kumara embodied as Dipamkara, the Lamp-Lighting
 Buddha 21 He came to light our lamps or we came with him as part of the
 144,000 to help him light the lamps of souls in the earth.

 In Buddhist tradition, Dipamkara walked the earth to save souls.22 The
 Sanskrit word Dipamkara means "kindler of lights" or "the luminous."23

 Dipamkara is a legendary Buddha who lived long, long ago.24 He was the
 first of twenty-four Buddhas who preceded Gautama Buddha.25

                      Sanat Kumara being Dipamkara, as we
                      understand it, had twenty-three Buddhas before
                      Buddha Gautama incarnated. So we can get the
                      sense of the long chain of those who came to
                      earth to attempt to regalvanize, requicken, bring
                      humanity, bring mankind back to even a desire
                      to have the light of God within them.

                      Think how it would be if the earth should be lost
                      and civilizations were destroyed and people
                      returned almost to the level of caveman--almost
                      to the level of being on all fours, unable to stand
 upright because they have no flame. Think of having to work with an
 evolution from that point and bring that evolution to where we are today.

 Well that's where some of you have been and that's what some of you
 have been doing for a long time. And therefore you have a tremendous
 vested interest in seeing to it that the teaching is sustained--that the
 teaching will be there and that the fire that you ignite will stay and will not
 be snuffed out. We all, including the Ascended Masters, have a
 tremendous investment in the future and the fate of planet earth.

 Dipamkara prophesied that the ascetic Sumedha would become Gautama
 Buddha in a future life.26 Buddhists consider Dipamkara, Gautama
 Buddha and Lord Maitreya to be the "Buddhas of the three times"--past,
 present and future.27 Dipamkara is the past Lord of the World, Gautama
 Buddha is the present Lord of the World and Maitreya will be the future
 Lord of the World.

 Author Alice Getty writes, "The Buddha Dipamkara is believed to have
 lived 100,000 years on earth. He was 3,000 years on earth before finding
 anyone worthy of hearing the Divine Truth. He then decided to convert the
 world."

 He "caused 'the appearance of a great city to proceed from his lamp and
 fix itself in space.' While the people were gazing upon this miracle, fierce
 flames were emitted from the four walls. Fear filled their hearts, and they
 looked for a Buddha to save them. Then Dipamkara comes forth from the
 burning city, seats himself on the Lion Throne, and begins to teach the
 Law."28

 Brahma Sanam-kumara

 In Buddhism, there is a great god known as Brahma Sanam-kumara. His
 name also means "forever a youth."29 Brahma Sanam-kumara was a
 being so elevated that he had to create an apparition body in order to be
 seen by the gods of the heaven of the Thirty-Three.30 In one text, he
 appeared in this apparition body to extol the Dharma and praise Gautama
 Buddha's understanding of the Dharma.31

 Sakka, the ruler of the gods, describes his appearance, "He outshines
 other devas in radiance and glory, just as a figure made of gold outshines
 the human figure. And as for the matter of his speech, his voice had eight
 qualities. It was distinct, intelligible, pleasant, attractive, compact, concise,
 deep and resonant. Whoever has heard such a voice is said to have heard
 the voice of Brahma."32

 
    1.Dowson, Classical Dictionary, p. 277
    2.Nikhilananda, Intro to the Bhagavad-Gita, p. vi.
    3.A. Parthasarathy in Symbolism in Hinduism, p. 151.
    4.Asim Kumar Chatterjee, The Cult of Skanda-Karttikeya in Ancient India, p. 101.
    5.Frawley, From The River of Heaven, p. 124; Danielou, p. 298; Ions, p. 87.
    6.Banerjea, Hindu Iconography, pp. 363-64.
    7.Chatterjee, The Cult of Skanda-Karttikeya in Ancient India, p. 72; Parthasarathy in
      Symbolism in Hinduism, p. 148
    8.Encyclopaedia Brittanica, s.v. ¦Skanda,¦ and Danielou, The Gods of India, p. 299
    9.Danielou, Gods of India, p. 299
   10.Swami Swahananda, Hindu Symbology, p. 30
   11.Mahabharata, vol. 9, p. 295
   12.Nikhilananda, the Chandogya Upanishad, p. 325
   13.Encyclopedia Brittanica, s.v. "Ahura Mazda."
   14.1985 Pearl of Wisdom, Vol. 28, No. 17, note 1
   15.Collier's Encyclopedia, s.v. "Ahura Mazda."
   16.1992 Pearl of Wisdom, Volume 35, p. 455
   17.ibid
   18.1992 Pearl of Wisdom, Vol. 35, p. 456
   19.JB, Dan. 7:9
   20.Dan. 7:9, 10, 13, 14
   21.1984 Pearl of Wisdom, Vol. 27, Book 2, p. 52; Saint Germain On Alchemy, glossary
   22.1984 Pearl of Wisdom, Vol. 27, Book 2, p. 52
   23.Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, s.v. "Dipamkara." Also,
      Humphreys Popular Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 68, s.v. "Dipankara Buddha."
   24.Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, s.v. "Dipamkara."
   25.ibid. Also, Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, p. 13
   26.Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, s.v. "Dipamkara."
   27.ibid
   28.Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, pp. 13-14
   29.Robinson, The Buddhist Delight, p. 61
   30.Walshe, Thus Have I Heard, p. 295; Robinson, The Buddhist Religion, p. 61
   31.Robinson, The Buddhist Religion, p. 61; Walshe, p. 295.
   32.Maurcie Walsh, Thus Have I heard, pp. 295-96