The Holy Grail Part Four
Now the question is, could such an object of such spiritual significance be of earthly origin? Could it really be the cup that was used by Jesus during the last supper and in which His blood was later collected? Though this vessel could be considered as sacred since it was associated with Jesus but could that cup of the last supper be the cup that could hold men in such rapture? As mentioned above, diagrams of the chalice have been seen in caves of ancient men and the chalice was certainly known even before the advent of Christianity and was only adopted as a Christian symbol only relatively recently in the Middle Ages. Why did the Greeks consider it as the matrix of Creation? Why this consistency in its association with power, blessings, purity and service? These are questions that have not been hitherto resolved.
The Grail has also many times been associated with Paradise as can be seen in the earlier works on the Grail legend. Because the chalice or the Grail was already known even before the advent of Christianity, the idea that it was the cup, which Jesus used during the last supper is already out of the question. That single fact alone completely disqualifies this concept. That cup of the last supper moreover was a physical cup, which in any case over time would have to decay, a concept totally inconceivable with the Grail. The legends surely did not convey the idea of a cup that would age and decay. In addition how could a cup, which was supposed to impart eternal life itself decay which would in the natural course of events would have to happen.
Some might say that since it had been associated with Jesus then it at the same time acquired the quality of remaining eternal. Lofty as this idea may sound, it does not detract from the fact that in the end this cup was a physical one whereas the actual Grail from what one can garner from the legends is spiritual. It even had the power to conceal itself from the gazes of sinners. It is difficult to accept that any physical cup had that quality.
What then is the Grail? In the book “In the Light of Truth” the Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin, we read “At the summit of the eternal sphere of Spiritual Substantiality stands the Castle of the Grail, spiritually visible and tangible, because it is still of the same species of spiritual substantiality. This Castle of the Grail contains a Sanctuary which lies on the outermost border adjacent to the Divine Sphere, and is thus of still finer consistency than the rest of spiritual substantiality. In this Sanctuary, as a pledge of the eternal Goodness of God the Father, as a symbol of His Purest Divine Love, and the point from which Divine Power issues, stands the Holy Grail! This is a chalice in which it bubbles and surges unceasingly like red blood without overflowing. Enveloped as it is in the most Luminous Light, it is granted only to the purest of all spirits in the Realm of Spiritual Substantiality to look into this Light! These are Guardians of the Holy Grail!”
The Holy Grail according to this book lies at the summit of the spiritual creation. This would identify the Grail as a spiritual object, a view, which is consistent with the legends where the Grail had been associated with Paradise.
The Grail therefore has a spiritual origin but more than that it has its origin at the summit of this realm. As we find in the legends, the Grail always resides in a castle called the Grail castle and this would be consistent with what Abd-ru-shin says of the Holy Grail occupying a sanctuary called the Castle of the Grail. Abd-ru-shin gives a clue as to why the Grail had been associated with power and with blessings when he referred to it as the point from which Divine Power issues. This Divine Power that issues from it is what is responsible for the blessings and the immense effect it has on people. The Holy Grail therefore, has its origin in the highest spiritual realm and only the purest from this realm are allowed to be its guardians. If the Holy Grail therefore has its origin at such a height, a height as we are told in religion that no sin can ever enter, a realm synonymous with Paradise, how then are we to explain the failure of the fisher king or Amfortas or whatever we may want to call him.
If the guardians are the purest of spirits, then it is impossible for them to fail. If therefore, no sin can ever enter into Paradise, why this apparent contradiction because as mentioned above, if the paradisal realm is perfect and as indeed it should be, then there could be no question of a failing of its first guardian. Certainly not at that point where Divine Power issues. Certainly such a place cannot be transformed to be a waste land. Paradise cannot from what we know so far about it be transformed into a waste land as a result of the failure of its first priest. This cannot be explained away by saying that after all Adam and Eve failed in Paradise.