Greetings from Russell's Remnant:
Our group, which Russell Whitesell called his "Remnant," is preparing for the Three Great Full Moon Festivals. These three full moons are the three most important days of the spiritual year. They are the "Easter Festival" at the Aries full moon, the "Wesak Festival" at the Taurus full moon, and the "Goodwill Festival" at the Gemini full moon. The most important of these three is the Wesak full moon. It is the most important day of the year. It will be the most holy day of the year when the religions of the world unite – when separativeness is removed. Wesak will become the central spiritual event of all religions. Russell admonished his students to attend the Wesak meditation, no matter what – even death.
Russell told his disciples to prepare for these festivals. He suggested that his groups might consider some of the following when preparing for the Wesak Festival – the full moon of Taurus. He also stated that these things could also be beneficially used at the other full moon mediations.
To prepare for Wesak:
As the Sun moves northward each year, prepare on you knees.
Spend time in invocation so that the evocation can be received at the full moon. The Teachers do not look forward to communicating with their disciples, but if they communicate – it often occurs during the twelve hours prior to the full moon, and the Wesak full moon is the one full moon when this is more likely to happen. The more advanced disciples do not look forward to communication from their Teacher because it usually means the student is failing in some way.
Fast a day or two before the full moon. If this is not possible, at least try to fast the day of the meditation.
At Wesak, it is nice to find a way to give a gift to needy persons. Russell’s Teacher once gave a bicycle to a young man who did not have the money to purchase such a bike. Another disciple took food to the food bank.
Prepare your meditation room with candles and incense (sandlewood is a good choice). Fresh flowers are also nice to have present in the room.
In the meditation room, be aware of the four gates – North, East, South, and West.
The North gate (an empty chair will do) is left empty, it represents "darkness." The Day of the Lord is darkness. Like a black light, it brings out the lightness in everything.
The East gate represents "the light." The Sun rises in the east. The Master or Teacher sits at this point and gives the blessing and instruction to the group.
The South gate represent "mother into form." Group members often brought gifts to the group. It could be food or desert. It was often wine or grape-juice. One disciple brought prayer rugs for each group member. This is an interesting gift for many meditators sit on a rug. This rug gathers good energy at each meditation and then lends that good energy to the meditator each time they meditate. One disciple brought little rocks with "Aum Mani Padme Hum" painted on them.
The West gate represents "purification." A crystal bowl of distilled water is placed at this gate. This bowl of water gathers the new energy that the Buddha sends to the Christ at Wesak. After the mediation, this water is served to each member of the group. It is a true "holy water."
Before the meditation, a reader reads Revelation 7: 9–17 in the Christian Bible. This is a Biblical description of a true gathering of disciples at a Wesak Festival in the Wesak Valley in the Himalayas.
Have the group meditation as close to the exact full moon as possible, but at least have the meditation within the twelve hours prior to the exact full moon. This twelve hour period at each full moon is when the Teachers make themselves available for the disciples.
Include the Great Invocation and the AUM in these meditations.
KJV - Rev. 7: 9-17 9 After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could count, from every nation, kindred, people, and tongue, standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palms in their hands. 10 They cried with a loud voice saying, "Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb." 11 All the angels who were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God. 12 They said, "Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom, and thanksgiving and honor, and power and might, to our God for ever and ever. Amen." 13 One of the elders spoke to me saying, "Who are those who are clothed in white robes? And where did they come from?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the people who survived the great trial. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. He that sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They will never hunger or thirst any more, nor will the sun or any heat beat down on them, 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will lead them to the springs of the water of life. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."