The Prodigal Son — Luke 15:11-32. is truly one of great biblical stories of inner transformation. It’s about a certain man who had two sons, one becoming spiritually lost and the other not having a capacity of expressing unconditional love or unconditional forgiveness. In this biblical lesson of personal spiritual growth, the two sons, while appearing to be separate, are one and the same soul/being, but, for the purpose of relating the story philosophically, and making the message intuitively understood, are portrayed as separate sons or souls. They represent aspects of you/me which is/was a reality for us at some point on this material plane of existence.
The prodigal son’s squandering of the divine inheritance on prostitutes means the soul was living through ego-created thought patterns designed to blind it from Truth. Also, having become impoverished spiritually, was put to work on a farm feeding pigs in a foreign land. This foreign land symbolizes lower consciousness and the pigs are the glutenous non purified senses who thrive on worldly gratification. Similarly, the older son, who was out in the field, meaning in the carnal mind — not within — then called the servants [of that field], the thought patterns of the lower ego, to make judgment through ego.
Adding further context on how these two aspects of consciousness came into being: one son by choice, the younger one, asked for his share of the Father’s estate – divine existence, faculties of creating and manifesting, and ability of attaining eternal Spirit nature consciously. On receiving, he descended into [hell] the material world experience. The other son, ‘having always been with the Father’ the parable informs – but unconsciously – meaning, behaving self-righteous, seen to be upholding a societal image and of rigid religious obedience. This elder son did not consciously know his true spiritual nature either. He only thought he was a good person, and, knowing only anger, bitterness and resentment, could not exhibit the soul’s very essence, unconditional love. Behaving under the aegis of his societal / religious ego, the older son felt as though morally perfect in every way, hence the unforgiving, non compassionate nature towards the seemingly non-spiritual younger son. Therefore, saw no reason for repentance, for self-purification, hence, spiritual pride and why he could not enter into the house [inner temple] to celebrate [love].
The younger son, due to his leaving the Father (entering into the spiritual wilderness of psychic sleep) and returning, made the conscious, courageous and contrite transition from human lower ego into higher spiritual nature.On the other hand, rather than of choice participation in divine matters, the elder son admitted to being as a slave [to ego], therefore never consciously or directly experienced Ascension of consciousness or gained spiritual realization — freedom from dominant ego. In other words, being always under the control of enforced outer belief systems, was not of his own volitional choice inner spiritually found — not awakened in higher vibrational consciousness — but merely adhering to man-made rules and rooted egoism — above redemption – which could be described as spiritual pride.
God-given Free Will
In asking for his share of the Father’s Estate, the younger son,exercised his God-given ability of free will, which request the Father didn’t deny, for we’re each given free will to consciously exercise. In taking on the physical material life experience — and by implication, the human ego — the younger son loses conscious awareness of his divine Spirit nature. From this state of spiritual ignorance commences the inner journey of consciousness transformation, of becoming consciously re-united with the Divine, Cosmic or Transcendent state within his own consciousness. Even though we were each in heaven [albeit unconsciously] previous to entering the material world, coming to the material plane and becoming spiritually lost, the prodigal ego is the means or dynamic through which Ascension is gained — for conscious return into Divine Stature. In this context, neither sons, prior to material existence, were ever consciously aware of the soul’s Divine eternal state.
Involution / Evolution
This process of material life experience and later back into Spirit status is called involution / evolution: involution into matter – and He descended into hell — then evolution or Resurrection out of matter into Spirit, from where we started, only this time endowed consciously of eternal Divine Nature – “hell” meaning the suffering nature of the material-physical ego-driven world while spiritually asleep.
The prodigal son, having realized his fall from Grace – squandering his inheritance of higher soul status to mere ego-sense gratification or feeding the pigs – subsequently encounters soul promptings, inner awareness, thereby to eventually experience his Higher Self, his own inner Christ or Redeemer – the Fatted Calf. The fatted calf is symbolic of experiencing and expressing our Higher Self gained by way of self-purification. It was the prodigal’s riotous lower life living and subsequent heeding of the inner awareness which led him to saying “enough is enough”. In this momentous decision, of recognizing the utter futility of his human ways, does he consciously awaken to the cosmic unbounded nature of his eternal Spirit soul – where previously there was no conscious awareness.
In asking for his share of the Kingdom of Heaven, his inheritance, the younger son was given all God-Nature ability-mechanisms for the purpose of spiritual Glory reunification. This infers he accepted that, for the purpose of spiritual consciousness alchemy into conscious eternality, the soul would lose its spiritual awareness – metaphorically it would die a spiritual death, become contaminated in illusion or Maya — phrased in the Apostle’s Creed “He descended into hell, suffered death and was buried”. This qualifies to some extent what is meant when the Father said to the older son — when he complained about not receiving any reward for his good-doing — “but you are always here with me, what’s mine is yours” (but unconsciously). That, in order for the kingdom inheritance to be a conscious affair, the soul must descend into matter, the material world, thereby fulfilling Resurrection of consciousness or Soul Realization – becoming Ascended Master as biblical Jesus became the Christ.
The Way
After much experiencing, finally we begin to intuit the flip-side of this earth-material existence –sensing our core Essence. We become irresistibly drawn to people and events that our soul resonates with: a comfortable feeling about a particular spiritual navigational means out of this material hell, this jungle of snares and traps -biblically referred to as the Way or Jesus – which Way-ability was inherent in our receiving when asking for our share of the kingdom. Meaning, we can discern that Ascension of consciousness is actually within our conscious grasp whenever we choose such. When this depth of soul awareness begins to unfold truly has our white flag been hoisted, the lower-self accepts the utter futility of human effort to be eternally happy, content and at peace within. Truly then, and without fail, does an army of compassionate Angels — inner guidance of a non-judgemental nature — rush to our assistance in aiding re-union with our Divine Father within.
Spiritual application of The Fatted Calf
When, through our chosen meditation, journeying back to our true nature becomes a momentous, love-filled occasion. This is when the fatted calf, the innate love or Christ-nature of the soul, resurrects out of spiritual death to become experiential Life awareness – born again, the second birth — when feasting on divine-consciousness becomes our daily soul nourishment. In this instance, biblical “fat” symbolizes our very best offering, which, in this instance, is utter surrendering of the ego, which, in so achieving during meditation, our Spirit soul or Christ consciousness becomes united with the Father. Biblically phrased: “let us bring forth the fatted calf and celebrate” – celebrate, meaning live through the awakened Christ consciousness as opposed to the prodigal son’s dead or soul-sleeping awareness- the famine in the foreign land [within].
Practical Means of Purification
This parable surly deserves our fullest attention. It highlights the essential inner silence work required for the soul’s Home-coming — soul becoming conscious unto itself – and realization of the eternal status we each inherited of the Father, the Christ within. From here can we further comprehend the Bible phrase “I and the Father are One”. Without an off-spring – the prodigal son returning — there is no Fatherhood experience. In other words, the Father required a sacrificial Lamb (innocence) or the Christ soul to descend into the material world in order for Father/Son dynamic to be known consciously as “I and the Father are One” — the purpose of this earth journey and the prodigal son experience. Expressed “fatted calf” nature gradually over time, brings this Oneness into focused reality within consciousness, when our lives become as service channels of His nature for the purpose of assisting others on their prodigal journey Homeward. But, to be of divine service, we must each first undergo the self-purification process of returning. In this context, the pivotal points of this soul-saving parable is when the younger son says: “I will arise and go to my Father [within]”, meaning, I will take steps to raise my consciousness to Transcendental Father level. And this inner journey, once commenced upon, immediately becomes known to the Father: “the Father saw him from afar” — “afar” meaning from within.
Addictive Thought Patterns
And while substance-addiction may not be an issue for us, biblically, addiction is mainly to do with compulsive thought production and addictive thought patterns of a non-soul-serving nature — like the farm pig-sty the younger son was sent to work in. Thus, the practical means of prodigal son purification is through crucifying the main source of inner pollution, the riotous ego, symbolism of the Crucifixion on Mount Calvary, meaning, highest point of inner Purity; a level of transcendental awareness, minus ego, leading to Ascension of consciousness — Resurrection out of prodigal existence into conscious Unity with and AS the Father.
In conclusion, we remember that it was the Father who was ecstatically happy on the son’s return, meaning, it is into this ecstatic bliss state which the son comes on returning Home. And, gaining Home is by daily silence contact in actual meditation leading to bliss-consciousness and then living this post meditation nature throughout our daily life. Thus “let us prepare the fatted calf [through meditation] and be merry”. This is the Glory of daily meditation in relation to the prodigal son — a leading to awakening out of the psychic sleep and egoic web entanglement thereby directly knowing our own Christ or Fatted Calf nature within – the highest offering / prayer we can make to the Father.