And the Scroll Opened Author:George M. Lamsa 'Love is the hidden force which at birth binds your body and soul together...it is the key which opens the petals of your heart and lets the flowers unfold before the sun, so that the sweet fragrance may ascend as an offering to the god of nature.' — Thus the holy man, in his ancient shrine, begins to read from the first scroll, sharing i... more »ts message of love with his listeners. And as he reads on, opening scroll after scroll -- twelve in all -- it becomes apparent that this is a book of rare poetic wisdom, based on the time-honored teachings of Near East wise men and the literature of the Old Testament.
A large part of And the Scroll Opened... recreates the author's own experiences on pilgrimages during his youth to the almost legendary shrine of Korra-Jenney. There people flocked from far away to a rock believed to have magical powers and to listen to a famous sage read to them from scrolls of undetermined antiquity. After an introductory chapter leading into the romantic world of the sage and his shrine, the reader is made to feel as if he were there while, through a long day and the night that follows, the scrolls are opened and read, imparting the knowledge and understanding of the ages. The scrolls deal with all basic aspects of being human: love, marriage, children, happiness and sorrow, faith, prayer, flowers, wealth, government, freedom, time, and life in the hereafter. 'Time,' the holy man intones, 'never looks behind or listens to those who have refused to greet the sound of its feet and listen to the melody of its drum.'« less