On May 20, 1989, Elizabeth C. Prophet gave a lecture on Gautama Buddha, his path and teaching, during which she made the following remarks:

Beginning of quote:
"Gautama proceeded to teach his disciples the Four Noble Truths: First, that life is dukkha 'suffering'. Second, that the cause of this suffering is tanha 'desire' or 'craving'. Third, that suffering will cease when the craving that causes it is forsaken and overcome. This state of liberation through the cessation of suffering leads to nirvana, which means literally extinction or blowing out-the blowing out of the not-self. The Fourth Noble Truth is that the way to this liberation is through living the Noble Eightfold Path, or the Middle Path.

"To elaborate further on the Four Noble Truths, dukkha is a Pali word translated as suffering, pain, sorrow, discontent, imperfection, sin, or evil; it is an out-of-alignment state. Huston Smith explains that the word dukkha's more constructive overtones suggest themselves when we discover that it is used in Pali to refer to an axle which is off-center with respect to its wheel, also to a bone which has slipped out of its socket. In both cases the picture is clear. To get the exact meaning of the First Noble Truth, we should read it as follows: Life in the condition it has got itself into is dislocated. Something has gone wrong. It has slipped out of joint.

"Tanha, the desire or craving that causes suffering, is a Pali word that is also translated as 'thirst.' Wanting something that we do not have makes us suffer. But Gautama does not denounce all forms of desire in his Second Noble Truth. Tanha must be understood as craving in the sense of inordinate or wrong desire, self-centered desire, selfishness. It is 'the drive for private fulfillment' or 'craving for finite existence, pleasure, and success.'

"Eminent Buddhist author Christmas Humphreys provides a valuable understanding of this term in the context of Gautama's revelation of the Four Noble Truths:

"Tanha means in the first place the craving which supplies the binding force to hold men on the Wheel of Rebirth . . For the passional element of this desire, the word kama is generally used, and in this latter sense desire is associated with temptation, as is shown by a Chinese version of this second Noble Truth, which is 'the assembling of temptation.'

"In brief, desire means those inclinations which tend to continue or increase separateness, the separate existence of the subject of desire; in fact, all forms of selfishness, the essence of which is desire for self at the expense, if necessary, of all other forms of life. Life being one, all that tends to separate one aspect from another must needs cause suffering to the unit which even unconsciously works against the Law. Man's duty to his brothers is to understand them as extensions, other aspects of himself, as being fellow facets of the same Reality.

"It is, therefore, not desire itself which is the cause of suffering, but 'wrong' because 'personal' desire. [Edmond Holmes writes:] 'It is the desire for what belongs to the unreal self that generates suffering, for it is impermanent, changeable, perishable, and that, in the object of desire, causes disappointment, disillusionment, and other forms of suffering to him who desires. Desire in itself is not evil. It is desire to affirm the lower self, to live in it, cling to it, identify oneself with it, instead of with the Universal Self, that is evil.'"
end-quote

The above excerpt is presented here as an illustration of the quandary, if not a dilemma, any translator, even the most respected academic scholars, finds himself in, when confronted with a spiritual text and its comprehension, as well as translation challenges vis a vis specialized vocabulary. Although over 2 500 years old, Buddhism still generates linguistic controversy, spiritual debates and is open for translators' discussion in the Anglo-Saxon culture, literature and in worldwide study of religion, offering points of multi-meanings and diversified linguistic approaches, not to mention vocabulary uncertainties, problems with bias-free usage, which gender to use with pronouns, citing sources, creating lists, offering quotations in foreign languages, abbreviations, hyphenation, compound words, names and symbols, mathematical expressions, references and citations, capitalization, restrictive and non-restrictive punctuation, clauses and word division. The above - are some of the more obvious and easier of the concepts which prompted my following remarks.

Having had a privilege of being a translator of the Ascended Masters' teachings for over 28 years now (with the Messenger's detailed instruction how to approach this task, as well as nearly two years of direct, hands-on training under the Messenger in her Editorial Department as her personal guest), after consulting with several professionals in the field and my colleagues (university lecturers and tutors in the subject of applied linguistics and international translation), a review of the Summit University Press impressive ongoing publication of the Teachings of the Ascended Masters in foreign languages resulted in the following points of immediate and urgent import:

1. Copyright permissions to publish foreign translations of the Masters teachings need to be coordinated internationally by English speaking professional applied linguists, experienced translators, editors and professional foreign language speakers. This vast field of international literary outreach must not be left exclusively to the Summit Lighthouse sales/copyright permissions department personnel or the foreign rights/permissions administration.

For decades E. C. Prophet has maintained a well established editorial department with several editors (and other qualified editorial personnel) additionally trained by her to produce original publications of Masters' dictations, Messengers' lectures, decrees, songs, rituals, rosaries and calls/invocations in English. These English originals warranted (and still do) such highly and indeed uniquely trained staff, not to mention Messenger's personal leadership of this department. Publishing translations of same, without at least an attempt at similar professional integrity, discipline and editorial order cannot and will not produce even an approximation of purity of the teachings in foreign languages.

2. Guidelines regarding English usage/idiom/idiosyncrasies of the Masters' English, as well as glossary of terms which do not exist in the currently spoken languages of the world (ex. I AM Presence, Electronic Presence, dweller, etc.) must be compiled and appropriate linguistic advice, initially for Latin based, Indo-European and Slavonic languages, later for agglutinative tongues, assembled. Language mapping of areas which belong to other families of foreign languages needs to be conducted.

a. Recommendations which books to publish first and in what order, are needed. There is an intelligent progression of teachings released by the Messengers in English, not to mention a time-line, as well as series of admonishments/recommendations given by the Ascended Masters themselves, regarding the order of releases of their teachings - it needs to be respected in foreign languages. (please, refer to quotes enclosed below).

b. Rhythm and mantric "music" of the foreign translations of verse needs to be addressed, especially in languages whose grammar requires the use of flexion.

c. Advice regarding Masters' and Cosmic Beings' proper names (spelling, pronunciation and phonetic transcription) needs to be given, so that the fohatic keys of the names do not get lost or corrupted in translation.

3. Basic training of the willing translators, who do not have the linguistic training/background, neither appropriate academic education/degree in languages/literature needs to be addressed and/or provided/monitored to avoid the so-called word-to-word translations which are being published in full faith of presenting true teachings of the Masters while the translations are incomprehensible, illegible, therefore unacceptable. Not only do they misrepresent the depth and instructional meaning of the original teachings but unfortunately place the organization's administration in a rather unfavorable light as stewards and indeed sponsors of such pseudo-publications.

Editorial/translating tests need to be administered before granting permissions to publish one's translation. All reputable publishing offices around the world require them, if not a portfolio of approved translation work to check the credentials of the aspiring translators of one of the most difficult and linguistically demanding languages - Ascended Masters' English.

4. Careful attention needs to be given to the current SU Press permission forms which allow for any translation standard to pass for Ascended Masters' literature. This also applies to commercial publishing since without stricter contracts and their execution unchecked/corrupted material is being sold as Masters' or Messengers' publications and distributed worldwide as the Aquarian Gospel.

Major stress regarding the above approach needs to be placed upon the translations of the Masters' dictations (in any form) as research/story type books published by Summit University Press do not require such in-depth linguistic approach because of their general/academic, even everyday language.

5. Editing a piece of writing, audio or video linguistically for publication in a foreign language entails layers of attention. The first and most important is editorial work over the meaning/sense. It does not include proofreading (ex. capital versus lower case letters, spelling, punctuation). It is a level which has to be respected as such, without deviation into the details of the above technical aspects of editing, which are the final cosmetic work. Internationally, professional translators abide by these rules.

First one clears matters of linguistic understanding, suggestions vis a vis usage, vocabulary, understanding of idiom. Spelling and proofreading (which includes flexion in some languages) constitute the second and third level of editing.

6. Translating versus interpreting are major problems with unprofessional translations. Just as paraphrasing an original text is prone to alter its meaning, so is the case with interpreting while translating. When at a loss how to translate a concept, a sentence or a phrase, amateur translators tend to superimpose their own understanding of the word/phrase/sentence upon the translation. It is a serious breach of the translator's ethic, not to mention a sacrosanct professional no-no.

However, it has been around for centuries - one example being the famous phrase from one of apostle Paul's letters about "women to be silent in church." The male-dominated world of Paul's era until recent ages could not accept
the fact that the holy apostle was simply admonishing women to abstain from chatter and gossip, while at church services. So the concept of Paul supposedly preaching women's domination by men and their subservience to their husband's will was born in an interpreter's mind. Translation is as translation does . . .

More statements of Paul involve translators' choices and have ever been thus. As the apostle recounted,

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

" . . . For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
(1Corinthians 1:18, 21-24, Holy Bible, King James' version, 2002 edition)

Translating through interpretation may lead to exclusion and deletion. This practice has been the inception of removing the concept and belief in reincarnation from the Bible and consequently from the New Testament. E. C. Prophet states:

Beginning quote:
"We will examine what the Bible says, and doesn't say, about reincarnation— who believed in reincarnation in Jesus' world and why they believed in it.

"Then we will look at some early Christians who believed in reincarnation—Gnostics and others—and ask why the Church rejected their beliefs. To do this, we will examine the councils at which the Church decided that for all time to come reincarnation was not an acceptable belief for Christians. We'll also live through the stories of reincarnationist Christians in medieval France who were willing to die for their beliefs.

"Finally, we will look at the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls and other scriptures and see how some scholars today are reaching the conclusion that Jesus may indeed have been a mystic who taught both reincarnation and the path of developing our relationship with the God within."
end-quote

God's Word was apparently not politically correct enough for 15 American and British scholars who recently "modernized" the New International Version of the Bible, calling it Today's New International Version.

The NIV's "dynamic equivalent" translation philosophy was already somewhat suspect in regards to the literal meaning of the Hebrew and Greek, but the TNIV reaches a new level. Examples include the word "saints" being translated as "God's chosen people" and Mary's being "pregnant" rather than "with child." (At least they didn't say "with fetus.") Gender-inclusive language is also used: "When God created Man, he made him in the likeness of God" (Gen. 5:1) now reads, "When God created human beings, he made them in the likeness of God."

When the "translators" were finished, more than 45,000 changes -- about seven percent of the text -- had been made. So rather than educate "human beings" about the original meanings, the goal appears to be a dumbing-down the Scriptures so much so that "stoned" no longer refers to a biblical form of execution, but rather the state of mind of these 15 American and British scholars.

7. Use of outside advice - in most cases the so-called outside language professionals who are not students of the Ascended Masters - is of little, if no value, for editorial purposes for our translators. Masters' language/concepts/idiom are so unique that without being a student of their teaching, outside linguists are indeed of little use in resolving linguistic translation problems. Assembling worthy KOFs will offer satisfactory results.

Case in point: the so-called technical English translation, required of all Ph.D. applicants when submitting their dissertation, has routinely been done within the academic world by the so-called technical English/foreign translators. No self-respecting engineer would request assistance with his translation from a literature professional, neither will he rely on his opinion in matters of technical texts translation.

Here is a recently recalled situation when the English word "copyright" was embarrassingly translated into French in one EU text as "the right to copy."

and/or, comments from Bible translators .


8 . The Messenger's and El Morya's explicit statements regarding the type of English used in dictations, as well as the grammarians' opinion re same confirm that:

Masters' literature had been dictated mainly in traditional, conservative, formal, if not on occasion archaic old English language, with contemporary idiom thrown in for good measure. In historical terms it would mean traditional literary language, based on pre-technology age, core national vocabulary and idiom of the translations. Therefore, seeking and applying advice furnished by outside professionals who have studied (for example) at technical colleges in communist countries, would need subtle or major adjustment of the consulting work techniques.

Linguistic consultation work cannot be left to outside sources (see above). However, a professional in comparative linguistics and English literature, together with a long-term student of the teachings, would be able to supply first hand comment regarding a certain translation's attempt versus the Master's dictation original.

9. In several teachings the Messenger and Masters seriously warn us about the influence of communism upon the language of the (now formerly) subjugated countries. Personal involvement and discussion of this major problem by the Messenger points to its seriousness - as well as the need for diligent awareness of old/pre-communist language/literature, in juxtaposition to, if not versus, the so-called modern tongue, tinted by the influence of communist rhetoric, vocabulary and vibration.

Communist era has changed the basic language of these subjugated countries and through Soviet directed massive publishing effort, flooded the market with accordingly adjusted dictionaries and language reference textbooks/materials. Pre-communist editions of dictionaries, though getting more and more rare to find, retain the historical purity and missing/taken out words/phrases of these languages, whose literary heritage is otherwise astoundingly high.

Beginning quote:
"The publishing industry of the world, in the hands of a few through cartels and secret agreements, seems bent upon pushing humanity into a one-world government, founded not upon ascended master law but upon the decadent philosophies of the laggards. Many are the couriers trained in Moscow who have gone forth in the name of religion, in the name of brotherhood, in the name of Christ to create an ecumenical attitude in the hearts of men. Concealing their real purpose of world control through a world council, they espouse noble causes—but their motives are dark.

". . . I am certain that many understand that modern methods of communication, if properly used, would enable the people to educate their young and to receive untold blessings in this day and age; instead, they are being victimized through the misuse of the very instruments which were released by the Brotherhood for the enlightenment of man."
end-quote

Post-Hitler era furnished a similar dilemma. Compared to the literature of Shiller and Goethe, the modern German language and linguistics are new fields of research and study. Therefore, the above concepts regarding traditional, elegant and formal Masters' language apply accordingly to the German applied linguistics culture today.

10. Regarding audio recordings of decrees, rosaries or Ashram Rituals/Sunday Service Rituals etc. in foreign languages - they need to be done in the Court at the Royal Teton Ranch, with professional AV personnel's assistance, from the podium, for a basic studio recording fee.

The Light of the High Altar and all the teachings/dispensations/sacraments which went forth from this holy place need to be anchored in these tapes, which are the sole spiritual food for many non-English speaking lightbearers in their native countries around the world. Such a policy would reinvigorate the foreign following/membership, more linguistic professionals from among the membership would come to the conferences, if our superb AV personnel could work night shifts to produce recordings before, during and after the conferences.

Here is what Mother Mary has to say in support of the above point:

Beginning quote:
"I say, if you are looking for a place to take a vacation, then why not go to one of the places of my appearances, where so many thousands come? Why not, then, go bearing my cassettes of the songs that you sing that will tie them to this altar and this particular statue of myself? Why not go, then, with the rosaries of the New Age that they might understand these and feel the tie to the heart of the Two Witnesses?"
end-quote

11. Proper reference books (local foreign Bible translations, appropriate dictionaries and language reference manuals) need to be agreed upon and ratified. The Masters' language is the language of the New Age, as well as traditional English - a lot of concepts from the Bible have not been translated properly in the last two thousand years and/or have been corrupted through the years of the Piscean dispensation.

After all - even in the English language today, there are several versions of the Bible and Masters, together with the Messengers, addressed this diversity, by singling out the so-called sponsored from un-sponsored versions. Not to mention, that the Bible and The New Testament translation/alteration woes have left us, after 4 000/2 000 years respectively of translations, with some teachings either deleted or irrevocably altered.

The Messenger and the Masters revised and revitalized a lot of these missing or changed teachings, introduced new ones or discarded outworn or untrue ones. They are either not in the Bible or are quite new to the languages of the foreign nations. Undisciplined and indiscriminate quoting from unreliable foreign Bible/New Testament sources is professionally and linguistically as unacceptable as "word-to-word" translation. Work on 'reinventing' foreign languages and their version of the accepted Bible becomes a job of the translators' mandala, as an indispensable "fact-check" adjunct to the editorial work.

Again, working in groups of three resolves some of these matters - at least one proficient translator, one who knows enough of the language of the nation to significantly contribute to the translation work and a third member of the team possessing similar qualities and training, to tip the scales in case of the need to vote.

12. Knowledge and respect for current and changing national publishing laws needs to be considered - there are laws in foreign countries which do not support Ascended Masters' standards of publishing - therefore, either establishing private publishing companies by Keepers of the Flame or avoiding/heavily restricting commercial publishing contracts, might be a route to recommend.

Currently The Summit University Press offers translation rights for sale to international commercial publishers, among others, during an internationally respected Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany. As much as the original Summit University Press book publishing rights might indeed be for sale one day around the world, with strict copyright provisos regarding the originals' contents, translations, per above remarks, are a completely different matter.

Translation publishing rights routinely apply exclusively to the originals' copyright owner and are strictly guarded by him/her, as well as constitute a 'trump card' on the publishing stage. They are offered for sale much later to the worldwide publishing community. Except for hit novels and substandard literature, unless a book is a major international release (as much as Masters' books are, it is the markets and the lowest common denominator readers who define this concept for the general public) we need to show restraint in downgrading our originals by offering poor translations at too rapid a pace, without restraints and protective measures to assure the purity of translations. Noblesse oblige , , ,

The above concerns need to be addressed in an orderly fashion in a mailing to international Teaching Centers and Study Groups, and an invitation extended for a training course and/or recording opportunities of master CDs, so that the international membership could assess their approach and start planning accordingly. Planning translators' training, testing, counseling sessions around the time of conferences (even as optional part of SU) will increase respect and appreciation for the administration of the publishing arm of our organization.

Statistically, recent years have proven that English-speaking members are being rapidly outnumbered by non-English speaking foreigners. Therefore, more AV simultaneous translation booths need to be designed and built or purchased (affordable ready-made manufactured units) and conference registration forms need to include a question: What simultaneous foreign language translation will you need during the conference/SU? What foreign language/s do you speak? What level (on the simultaneous translators' rating scale)? Would you be interested in offering your skills to translate Ascended Masters' publications from English to . . . ?

Based on such feedback we will ensure that conferences and especially SU program will be designed with respect towards our brothers and sisters from non-English speaking countries and geared equally towards the non-English speaking membership, as it has so far been to the English-speaking students.

Just as the President of the United States takes an oath of office, with his hand on the Bible, to carry out presidential duties within his allegiance to God, so do the professional translators, retained by the governments and large corporations, as well as those working for reputable publishers - that is why some of us are professionally referred to as "sworn translators." It is a point of ethics, of equanimity and poise, as well as an integral part of a translator's resume - to be licensed in his/her line of specialization and/or "sworn in." I wholeheartedly recommend this standard for our activity. It warrants attention, since it breeds respect among professionals.

As a point of interest, President Lech Walesa of Poland, sponsored by the Ascended Masters (and personally approached by Saint Germain via the Messenger's representative) as a leader of the Polish Solidarity which overturned communism in Poland and started worldwide domino effect of the demise of communism in the 80s, delivered his visiting professor's lecture at the Montana State University in Bozeman a few years ago. One of our church ministers attended. To my consternation, this most inspiring speech, delivered in Polish by Lech Walesa, was corrupted in translation.

When approached by one of the TC leaders to arrange for Lech to address the chelas of the Masters resident in the Paradise Valley, the minister refused to recommend Lech as a speaker, based on his individual assessment gleaned from the linguistically embarrassing translation, that President Lech Walesa, a Peace Nobel Prize Laureate, was not welcome among us due to his supposed pro-communist leanings.

Are we indeed reaching the level of Soviet communist anti-propaganda which dethroned their key dissident and beloved of the Masters - Prof Sakharov, another Peace Nobel Prize Laureate? Seeing the famous movie about this lightbearer, highly recommended by the Messenger, might resolve a lot misunderstandings for our TSL administration these days.

I do sincerely trust that hopefully additional independent reasons would have been behind such refusal. Nevertheless, all missed out on quite an opportunity. It was most moving to see the students and youth present at Lech Walesa's MSU lecture (standing room only), who en masse recognized his Light and cheered him accordingly in a several minutes' long standing ovation. The universal language of the heart never suffers from a blundered simultaneous translation. Published Word, however, is a different matter . . .

If we know where we want to go, we have a much better chance, if not a spiritual and physical opportunity, to get there. "The Road Not Taken" - a famous poem by Robert Frost, illustrates this concept so well. Central intelligence fusion of multilingual information regarding our state of affairs in the translations field will assist us in carrying out the Masters' objectives, if we approach the subject with spiritual attunement and professionalism. It will either be a victory for the Great White Brotherhood, or a big disaster - there does not seem to be any other option for professional Sons and Daughters of God, neither for professional translators.

There is a web site www.translation2.paralink.com which mechanically "translates" text from several languages to English and vice versa. It also offers continuous speech recognition software for sale. The series of teachings on the Mechanization Concept by the Great Divine Director and the unheeded serious warnings contained therein, have been fully illustrated via this internet methodology. I highly recommend a try - and a dispassionate comparison of this site's resulting "translation" with the English original of the Ascended Masters' teachings. Some of the samples, which have been checked for accuracy, do look disturbingly similar to a few of the Summit University Press publications in foreign languages.

There is a web-page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page which covers Computational linguistics - a subfield of Linguistics in which logical modelling of natural language from a computational perspective is central. This modelling is not limited to a particular field of linguistics. It is quite an interdisciplinary field, drawing the involvement of linguists, computer scientists, experts in artificial intelligence, cognitive psychologists and logicians, amongst others.

Some of the areas of research that are studied by computational linguistics include:

Computer aided Corpus linguistics
Design of parsers for natural languages
Design of taggers like POS-taggers (part-of-speech taggers)
Definition of specialized logics like resource logics for NLP
Research in the relation between formal and natural languages in general
Machine Translation, e.g. by a translating computer.

The Association for Computational Linguistics defines computational linguistics as:

". . .the scientific study of language from a computational perspective. Computational linguists are interested in providing computational models of various kinds of linguistic phenomena, as well as in natural language processing, machine translation and translation memory. the study of Machine translation reveals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_translation that "translation is anything but simple. It is not a mere substitution for each word, but being able to know "all of the words" in a given sentence or phrase and how one may influence the other. Human languages consist of morphology (the way words are built up from small meaning-bearing units), syntax (sentence structure), and semantics (meaning). Even simple texts can be filled with ambiguities".

Linguistic approaches

It is often argued that the problem of machine translation requires the problem of natural language understanding to be solved first. However, a number of heuristic methods of machine translation work surprisingly well, including:

Lexical lookup methods
Grammar based methods
Semantics based methods (Knowledge-based machine translation)
Statistical methods
Example based methods
In general terms, rule-based methods (the first three) will parse a text, usually creating an intermediary, symbolic representation, from which it then generates text in the target language. This approach requires extensive lexicons with morphologic, syntactic, and semantic information, and large sets of rules.

Statistical-based methods (the last two) eschew manual lexicon building and rule-writing and instead try to generate translations based on bilingual text corpora, such as the Canadian Hansard corpus, the English-French record of the Canadian parliament. Where such corpora are available, impressive results can be achieved translating texts of a similar kind, but such corpora are still very rare.

Given enough data, most MT programs work well enough for a native speaker of one language to get the approximate meaning of what is written by the other native speaker. The difficulty is getting enough data of the right kind to support the particular method. The large multilingual corpus of data needed for statistical methods to work is not necessary for the grammar based methods, for example. But then, the grammar methods need a skilled linguist to carefully design the grammar that they use.

Universal Networking Language

In machine translation, a Universal Networking Language is an artificial pivot language, that requires semi-automated translation from the initial text into its pivot equivalent, but allows automated translation from documents expressed in the pivot language into virtually any language.

Universal Networking Language died. After a few days of observation, we found UNL's official web sites disappeared as of early March, 2004. http://www.undl.org/ http://www.unl.ias.unu.edu/

The Universal Networking Language Project was a primitive attempt to build a knowledge-based controlled translation system. It has developed a format specification of an intermediary language (UNL), a limited lexicon (UW KB) and several demos each of which converts UNL to a natural language. The project remains incomplete when it is terminated.

BabelCode, UNL and KCE (by CMU) are all more or less based on knowledge representation theory but apply it in different levels.

In conclusion I wish to refer to the Masters' original words in regards of the above considerations:

Beginning quote:
"You must recognize your responsibility in delivering this teaching and [you must] recognize that if you do not understand it clearly and study it well, you may make the karma of sowing seeds of error in the minds of your hearers. And they may not recover from that error and its consequences in this or a number of embodiments, and [your neglect will] lie upon your own record [until the error is corrected in the minds of those you have misled]."
end-quote

Beginning quote:
"Each time the message of the Ancient of Days is translated through the several tongues of hierarchy, it transmits the unique energy and vibration of that tongue. And all of these collectively, cumulatively, do manifest the great power, wisdom, and love witnessed by the chelas of our messengers in the dictations of the Lord's host delivered by the Holy Spirit through them . . .

"The confounding of the tongues at the building of Babel, by the judgment of Love delivered by the Archangel of the Third Ray, was the sign from God that He would not allow the pure language of the Word to be used in the defilement of that Word. Therefore the judgment manifested as the confounding of the original angelic tongues as the people could no longer communicate to one another their negative vibrations in the higher vibrating tongue of the Word. And the languages of earth and their uses by a karma-ridden and rebellious people departed farther and farther from the original sound of the Word.

"Some of the languages spoken by the people on earth today are so far removed from the original Word of the angelic tongue as to be inadequate for the transmittal of light. For this reason, the Ascended Master Saint Germain chose the English language to deliver the teachings of the Word on the I AM Presence. For the same reason, the dictations of the ascended masters delivered through our messengers over the past fifty years have also been released in the English language.

"Inasmuch as there are numerous laggard languages in use today as well as the tongues of fallen angels whose languages quite understandably are also fallen languages, it is the desire of the Great White Brotherhood to see English become the second language in all nations. For the new tongue of the dynamic decree spoken in unison by hearts of light the world around will surely precipitate a rolling momentum, reversing the tide of darkness and bringing in the long-awaited golden age of peace, freedom, enlightenment, and universal love.

"Some who are sensitive to the astral plane have heard sounds like chimpanzees chattering, described by the prophet as familiar spirits and as wizards [members of the false hierarchy who interchange on the physical and astral planes] that 'peep and mutter'. We call it demon drivel. And the lowest of the low of these are the grunts and growls of devils echoing from lowest levels of subterranean pits of the astral plane. Contrast this manifestation with choirs of angels singing alleluias in perfect pitch and pronunciation of the Word and you will see just how vast are the degrees and the dynamics (as well as the degradation) of the Holy Spirit.

"As the individual's Christ consciousness is, so is his mastery of the Word, his delivery of the Word, and his capacity to transfer the sacred fire of the Word to fulfill its God-ordained purpose. Every work of the Lord that he has purposed to accomplish in the heavens and in the earth is fulfilled by the spoken Word of the Son through the agency of the Holy Ghost. Therefore every office of the servant-sons of the Godhead owns a unique manifestation of the Word.

". . . Beloved ones, I perceive that you are beginning to understand that the pursuit of the gift of speaking with new tongues has many ramifications. May I tell you that most noteworthy of these is your speaking the universal language of Love. For this is the new tongue that I have brought to earth in my service as bodhisattva, as Buddha, as the beautiful Christ.

"The language of Love is the language of the heart whereby you are empowered by the Holy Spirit of the lineage of the Ruby Ray to transfer the understanding of the treasured teachings of the ascended masters to all people, to all levels of awareness, to all states of consciousness. This making plain the truth is making straight his paths. And the strait gate to God is the soul's ascent through the mediation of the individual Christ Self to the three-in-one of the Holy of Holies within his own Godhood.

"It is the tongue of the learned that I give freely to my devotees that they 'should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.'Yes, I, the Lord God in the person of Sanat Kumara, wakeneth morning by morning thine ear to hear as the learned. I will open thine ear, my beloved, if you are not rebellious against my Holy Spirit, if you grieve not my coming by allowing the energy veil of misqualified energy to cover over the heart chakra or the chakras of life.

"'Yes, unto you who trust in my name and who stay upon your mighty I AM Presence when confronted by the Adversary who would confound and contend with thee—yes, unto you who do not quench my Spirit by disobedience to my law, I will convey the tongue of the learned, the seven holy Kumaras, and I will give to you the new tongue whereby you shall, my beloved, deliver to the evolutions of the seven rays and to all evolutions of earth the true teachings of the Lord Christ of every ascended master.'

"This is my promise, beloved, and these are the conditions of my promise to you. They are not hard to bear. Do not err. Follow me, and I will carry you by the sound of the Word to the Void and back again so that you may have and know that commeasurement of life: you, the soul on earth, intoning the Word, the same Word that is spoken simultaneously in the center of the Central Sun of the God Star Sirius."
end-quote

The Ascended Masters have dictated the Aquarian Age Gospel in logical sequence. They offer the same option to wise non-English speaking students, by offering them a challenge of translations of the pertinent teachings, in order they were meant to reach chelas from abroad. Here is a word from Saint Germain

Beginning quote:
"Take my 'little book' [On Alchemy], this precious book given to you by the devotees and staff and co-workers, by the Messengers therefore manifesting that concerted effort to see the physical manifestation of that which I have long desired to have in print. 'I hold it in my hand in this dictation for a very purpose. For I am charging this copy and through it every copy of this book with the full, flaming presence of my new day, my revolution to all. May this book itself find its goal in every nation and in every language.

"It is a handbook. It is the little book which may be devoured, and it will begin the alchemicalization. It will begin the process worldwide of the raising up of the coil of the violet flame. To this, then, be dedicated, and know that I have indeed come again, my mantle with me, our beloved Alpha and Omega and the Cosmic Council so decreeing that I may go forth in this hour and that I may truly have the opportunity of the quickening.'"
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Beginning quote:
"Beloved hearts, the people of this nation [United States of America] have an endowment and a protection from the Master. Therefore, we make it known that for the integration of the Word and the entering into the universal age and an international unity of nations and peoples, it is truly a requirement that English be taught in the very lower schools to the littlest children of every nation upon earth. For this you must decree. For, beloved, how can they choose a path and a Master whose language and writings and entire dispensations and initiations are in a language that is foreign to them? Whether for commerce or education or the arts or brotherhood, there are manifold reasons why this, the language so rich in its incorporation of many other languages, should be the common knowledge of every schoolchild throughout the planet.

"Thus, the thoughtform for the year may appear complex, but then the organization, the Path, and even the awareness of the average chela has also become complex in a nuclear and space age-an age of computers and technology accelerating the capacity of the mind to know Truth in every area of learning."
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Beginning quote:
"This is an age of the misuse of language—and of violation of the Word, if it were possible. And therefore, language, instead of cups of consciousness of the angels themselves, has become a device of manipulation and conditioning. There are words in this language whose original meaning has been so lost that I would no longer use those words to convey to you mighty truths, so colored are these and so charged with hostility and 'instant' ideas that are based on fear.

"I tell you, the Dark Cycle in Pisces has so colored and burdened the people (combined with anti-God-mastery, anti-World Teachers on that two o'clock line) as to make the children and youth of this nation bereft of a true understanding of life. Even their courses in literature and history are colored and turned and revised to reflect again the political thinking of the day.

"Beloved ones, there is scarcely anything taught today that is not colored with a fear that therefore succumbs to simplistic ideas. You cannot reduce two and a half million years of karma and the betrayal of the fallen ones and the final age of Armageddon to simple ideas of peace and war, or freedom and anti-freedom."
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Beginning quote:
"Do you see then that mankind's science has been perverted through the perversion of the Mother? And since the Fall of Woman—the descent of her consciousness in to the lower levels of expression—science has not been true and the plumb line of Truth has not been the measurement of mankind's science.

"The sacred Cosmos in the energy consciously enfolding man-this is the meaning of the word science. And so in the release of Fohat, the Sacred Fire from the letters, man finds the root meaning of every word in the lexicon of the Godhead. You are privileged, beloved ones, to have the inheritance of the English language wherein the expressions of the priests of the Sacred Fire upon Atlantis are realized through the sacred key I AM."
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Beginning quote:
". . . assemble this [information] and to present it to you at this New Year' s conference, the very subject of the internalization of the Word, of language, the ability to read, to read not only the letters of words, beloved, and to know them but to know within the inner meaning of the word in the English language, the vibration of the letters, the fohatic keys. For these things do the souls who come to you have as inner awareness. Therefore, let them learn, for they are able. The Mind of God is with them and in them uninhibited, unlimited. They know no limitation, these babes in arm.

"But let us dwell upon the Holy Spirit as the means of enlightenment and teaching and let us know that the geometry of God as the mathematics of God is assimilated as easily as the written and spoken word. And those who teach shall also find a transmutation through this science that while imparting it to children they themselves will know the healing power of the Word.

"Blessed ones, giving the gift of speech, locution, elocution, understanding the meaning of sound, entering into the heart of the divine science of linguistics, these things, beloved, become, then, the foundation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And thus you find in your midst Sarasvati herself. For wherever wisdom is so extolled there she is and she has not left since the hour of the announcement of her appearing."
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Beginning quote:
"Blessed hearts, the people of this nation must become a part of the struggle for freedom and of the casting out of the fallen ones in every nation. There must be a brotherhood understood. And that brotherhood must be manifested by the breaking down of the language barrier. Let Keepers of the Flame realize that this is a bilingual hemisphere, that English and Spanish become the principal languages of the freeborn, and that the languages—when they are not shared and not spoken together—create that barrier whereby manipulation increases.

"Therefore, blessed hearts and blessed Keepers of the Flame, mindful that my own once mother tongue of French is also spoken, I must say to you that this teaching must be delivered to all people, north and south and throughout this hemisphere. And I commend you—all of you who come from everywhere upon the planet—to realize that this hemisphere must be kept free, that the fallen ones must be cast down, that communism must go and that the tyrants sitting in the thrones of capitalism and their capitalistic governments must not be allowed to keep the people from freedom, from unity, from divine union with their Mighty I AM God Presence."
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Beginning quote
"And I offer you my heart. I offer you my mantle. I offer you the staff of the Lord this day if you will but place yourself on that path of being tutored and God-taught, that you may indeed know the scriptures and impart them by the Holy Spirit. And [I desire you to] know the Word and Work of God and to know the meaning of and to use those teachings brought together under the office of the Messenger. [Thus] fully and finally shall this seed of Christ in every nation hear spoken and taught in their [own] language that which is the true mystery of God as that mystery was broken and shared by our Lord Jesus Christ.

"O beloved, the fervor of my being is that I myself have been unleashed by the Lord God as never before! And I am determined that ere this cycle of this decade pass, this teaching (but a portion of which you have heard this evening) shall reach every Lightbearer on this planet!

". . . My beloved, it is this gospel of salvation that must be preached in every nation before the end shall come–the end of opportunity for souls of Light to be bonded to their Lord. Therefore understand that many have thought that it is the orthodox Christian message that had to be preached in every nation, but I tell you, it is the true mysteries of Jesus Christ that must be preached.

". . . And I tell you, beloved, you must have just as intricate a knowledge of the Teachings of the Ascended Masters as you do of the Old and New Testaments. It is essential. And therefore, let the courses and the study begin! Let it be across the land. May you take those courses and understand that this [knowledge] is something that you must be able to carry with you."
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Having researched the body of the published Pearls of Wisdom, it becomes clear to us that the Ascended Masters have put the utmost priority on stumping the English and Spanish speaking areas of the world first. Then, they recommend and indeed plead for translations of the most important teachings into foreign languages, provided, the translators fulfill the above described characteristics.

Just as a loving and most devoted heart with no professional background in English applied linguistics would not have been retained by Mother in her editorial department to assist with publishing texts which have already been put into English via dictations and lectures, we may safely agree that loving foreign chelas, with few years of tenure in the activity, not to mention no formal training in English, linguistics and indeed translations (all these being academic disciplines, requiring minimum lower university degree, and a successful completion of the program) would hardly qualify in Mother's eyes to assist in the Editorial Department, (not to mention discerning public readership's similar opinion) to be a faithful and reputable vessel for a translation.

I venture to state, based on the three decades of lecturing/teaching/translating and working for our activity in the capacity of a translator, that challenges faced by a translator of the Masters' English are much higher than those of an editor working on English original texts of the Masters' literature. One is basically alone, with hardly any cooperation from the co-chelas who barely speak the language, one depends on the sponsorship and personal decree work, and one has to understand and know the teachings being translated very well indeed, if not to the highest degree! Otherwise—it is a fiasco of cosmic proportions in the making. Welcome to Translation Land . . .

Beginning quote:
"Be it so, I, too, am subject to the Lords of Karma. And if they have decreed it, set aside your questioning and your resistance and get on with this mastery and take the Mother's gracious offer—opportunity in the name of Portia to study and master the [English] language in such a very short time and therefore to be able to delve into the mysteries that are revealed in the Word. Our translations are for you the opening of the door. You must push it wide open and step through and get on then with perfecting yourself as examples of myself throughout Europe.

"Blessed hearts, I speak out of profound love. And you must understand how Love does teach his children. Love, as the Mother flame within me, must come after you to let you know that in many areas of learning on this continent [of Europe] there have been highly disciplined ones who have become masters of science, of art, music, and every branch of human endeavor. They have stood out in the centuries, and always they are characterized as the ones who have been self-disciplined for a virtue, for a cause, for a talent, for a vision, for a goal."
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Beginning quote:
"Who will come forward with what it takes to put these teachings through satellite to all the stations in the world that broadcast the English language? Who will do that?

"If that person or persons are not here, beloved ones, then let them be invoked! There is a pyramid of individuals who come from all over the world who should be here and must be here. I say, cut them free! Call to their souls! Meet them at the retreats at night. And, above all, do it simply."
end-quote

Beginning quote:
"Yes, beloved ones, it is time for a massive campaign for the education of the heart and the mind and for the development of the true Mind of God in every person on earth. Education is waning at every level. Some universities ought not to be called universities. The courses they offer are watered-down gruel.

"Blessed ones, education is fading. And if it fade any more, I tell you that the retreats of illumination of the God and Goddess Meru and other retreats such as the Royal Teton Retreat will find themselves receiving many who are so poorly trained and backward as to have to begin with the ABCs that should be being taught in the physical plane but are not. Thus, not only are souls illiterate in the things of the Spirit but they are illiterate in the things of the world because they cannot even read that which is prepared for them in the schoolrooms of earth, let alone in the higher octaves.

"The alarm that is sounding across the retreats of the Great White Brotherhood in this day and in this hour concerns the education of people at all levels. People are losing the ability to speak their own languages, to formulate their own ideas, to enter into the logic of a Pythagoras, to come to an understanding of the basic concepts of the science of life or of music or of so many disciplines that allow the expansion of the chakras.

"We are living in a time when ignorance is a plague. It is a plague in every household. And that ignorance must be wiped out by the absolute fire of creation, the fire of the Holy Ghost!

". . . I daresay, some of you could give this dictation yourselves in terms of what you know, what you see happening in the earth, what you observe of souls decelerating into the grayness of nothingness to be permanently lost."
end-quote

"We have the passionate desire, the appetite that is the only lawful appetite, that is the appetite for victory, for freedom for every soul. And we know that in order to meet the cosmic timetable we must accelerate." And yet, "look not here or there, but look within-you upon whom the mantle of responsibility has been placed."

"I AM extending a great energy in this hour, the energy of opportunity. It is a dispensation that the thrust for the purpose of truth must be forthcoming through each individual chela and that this dispensation of the Lords of Karma will not be released by the mere Word of God but only by the action of those who will make it so by the thrust of truthful, honorable action within their individual life."
end-quote

Beginning quote:
"We look this year, therefore, to the people of Holland to render the translation of Alchemy I and certain decrees [and for them to be translated into] the Eastern European languages also. For there are yet souls of light who are not so disposed in English to be drawn to my heart without that translation.

My presence as the Wonderman of Europe, my presence as the sponsor of freedom must be planted by the translations and by the giving of the violet flame. While there is time, then, let all the nations of the earth receive the preaching of the word. Your striving availeth much.

And those who participate in the very alchemy of the translations increase immensely their capacity to receive my light directly. Therefore it is an honor on the path of chelaship under the seventh ray to engage in these translations. And we are grateful for all who sincerely keep this flame, which indeed is the dharma of the keepers of the flame rather than the responsibility of the messenger who, as you can see and hear and understand, has much teaching that ought to be published, that individuals should understand how to live the way of life of a chela of the ascended masters."
end-quote

Beginning quote:
"I am therefore concerned, as you have been concerned, regarding a more speedy and accurate translation of our work. And I place upon the European students the full responsibility for the translations into their mutual languages. But I place upon American students and others of the English-speaking peoples the burden of responsibility for the translation of our teachings into two key languages that are critical and important when the turning of the worlds be upon us. These languages are Russian and Spanish, respectively.

"Realize, then, that the angels of light will fly with the Everlasting Gospel and bring it to those for whom it is appointed. They cannot carry it if it is not translated. And therefore, let us move on, that the people of South America and Central America and your counterparts and your twin flames embodied in Russia might hold a mighty balance. We will see to it that the teachings are delivered if you will see to it that they are translated and published."
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Beginning quote:
"Beloved hearts, I stand for Saint Germain this day. I AM Zarathustra. I lay my crowns and attainment and sacred fire before him and before all who are his Keepers of the Flame. I tell you, beloved hearts, my heart is determined that this Master shall not suffer setback any longer by condemnation or by media or in any form, but that his chelas and his activity, his books and his teaching shall be known throughout the continents.

"I urge you, then, to have a plan and a program for the translation of his works into foreign languages, that the people of the earth might be acquainted with his face and image and message and therefore live and be at peace and come to understand that they truly must overturn not only World Communism but all the powers that be in the West who are the cause of the support of that system, who feed it with their technology, their wealth, their subsidies."
end-quote

Beginning quote:
"Having taken up the commands to preach the gospel to every creature, to believe and to be baptized, and to cast out devils, we come to the second sign that shall surely follow them that believe (meditate upon my Word day and night): 'They shall speak with new tongues.'

"Truly the speaking with new tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit that is given by initiation to the souls who ardently pursue the living Word in the preaching of his gospel and who are daily believing and being baptized by meditation on and immersion in the living Father of the Lamb. The signs of the Spirit, of which this is the second, must be desired by you with all your heart, so much so that your temple is given over to the Holy Spirit to be his dwelling place forevermore.

" . . . And the sacred vows of the communicant before the altar of the Most High God are made to and through this same Holy Ghost. Those who would speak with new tongues must understand the elements of the pursuit of the Lord’s Spirit–the intense striving of the chela of the Guru that can be explained only by the soul on fire with the holy zeal of the Lord’s Spirit.

" . . . They have touched the hem of the Comforter’s garment. They are entering into the fiery baptism. Hour by hour, the chelas of the will of God commune with the Word. They intone the Word and they feel the flow of the sacred fire rushing through their temples. To them, Pentecost is not a day but a lifetime of experiencing moment by moment the infilling fire of that Holy Ghost.

"They understand the supreme gift of speaking with new tongues as it is given for the crystallization of the Word of God from the Spirit to the Matter cosmos. Their celebration of the Word can be heard in their masterful giving of the mantra of the Mother. It is heard in the soundless sound of the secret chamber of the heart where the soul of the devotee communes—through the agency of the Holy Spirit—with the Lord Christ himself, who enters there and initiates the cycles of an expanding Threefold Flame.

" . . . The earning of the new tongue conveyed by the Master El Morya is by devotion to the diamond in the center of the whirlwind of the Lord’s Spirit. That diamond is the point of the universal mind of God that is lowered into manifestation in the beginning and in the ending of the Word. From the Alpha to the Omega of the Word, the disciples of God’s will chant the chant of love. Their offering upon the altar is the invocation to the fire infolding itself, the heart fire of their own Central Sun of Being."
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