Why I Am A Rosicrucian
BY MA" HEINDEL
R osicrucia n i ali orn a . Ocea nsid e, C f
P r in ted in U. S . A.
T H E
R o s i c ru c i a n My s t eries
An Elemen ta ry Ex po sition o f
Their Sec ret Teachings
MA" HEINDEL
Au th o f: Th e R c uc i a m c e t i Th e R c u c a or osi r n Cos o Con p on . osi r i n
Ph l h i ue ti a n d we Th e R o sic ru i osop y n Q s ons Ans rs .
o f h i t a t R a s c ia n In t e rp ret a t ion C r s i ni y . y
m h e R e et c f t . ro os Cross ,
P R ICE 75 CENTS Nep
R O SICR UCIAN FELLOWSHIP
o c a M unt Ec le s i .
O CEANSID E, CAL IF O R NIA. ' h Co pyrlg t. 1 9" By
° All ri ht inc ludxn uw lotio n m ed but erm“ g s. g . p to copy a mmlu e arill be readi ly given “Po. ER CHAPT I .
TH E ORDER OF R OSIOR UOIANS AND THE ROSICRUCIAN FELL OW SHIP A NewS tep Mo un t Eccles ia
E CHAPT R II .
THE P R OBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 27 Three Theories of Life 34 Ar e Etern l th e We a . ( Poem by Auth or)
ER III CHAPT .
TH E V ISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORL D 54 The Chemica l R egi on 54 Th e Etheric R egi on 61 The D esi re World 74 Th e Wo rld of Th o ug ht 95 reed o r h ri t o m C C s . ( P e by the Author)
H ER IV C APT .
TH E CONSTITU TION OF MAN Th e Vita l Body The D es i re Body The Mind E V CHAPT R . LIFE AND DEATH Invis ible H elpers a n d Mediums D ea th The P a nora ma of P a s t Life
The F i rs t H ea v en
Th e S econd H ea v en
The Thi rd H ea v en
Bi rth a n d Child - Life Th e M ter Li ht l nd y s y of g , Co or a Cons ci ous nes s Educa tion of Children CHAPTER I .
l Elie Gbrhrr nf Enzirmriana
AND THE
R O SICR UCIAN FELLOW SHIP
O UR M ESSAG E AND MISSIO N
A Sa ne M i n d
A Soft H ea r t A Sou n d Body
Before entering upon an explanation of i of th e the teach ngs Rosicrucians , it may be well to say a word abo ut them and about the place they hold in the evolution of humanity. F or reasons to be given later these teach ings advocate the dualistic view ; they hold that man is a spirit enfolding all th e powers of o d th e G as the seed enfolds plant, and that these powers are being Slowly unfolded by a series of existences in a gradually im proving earthy body ; also that this process o f development has been performed under the guidance of exalted beings who are yet ordering our steps , though in a decreasing 5 6 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERI ES
i measure, as we gradually acqu re intellect h h nu and will . These exalted Beings , t oug h s h seen to the p y ical eyes , are nevert eless ff f l potent factors in all a airs o ife , and give to the various groups of humanity lessons whi ch will most efficiently promote the
growth of their spiritual powers . In fact, the earth may be likened to a vast training school in whi ch there are pupils of varying age and ability as we find it in one of our th e es own schools . There are savag , living and worshipping under mo st primitive con h dition . s , seeing in stick or stone a God T en, as man progres s es onwards and upwards in the of scale civilization, we find a higher and of d ow higher conception Deity, which has ered here in our Western Wo rld in the bean tiful Christian religion that now fu rnishes our spiritual inspiration and incentive to
improve . These various religions have been given to each group of humanity by th e exalted beings whom we know in the Chris tian reli h s won gion as the Recording Angels , w o e d erful previs ion enable them to view th e trend of even so unstable a quantity a s th e h s h n to human mind, and t u t ey are e abled determine what steps are n ecessary to lead TH E ORDER OF R OSIOR UOIANS 7 our enfoldment along the lines congruous to i the h ghest universal good . we study the hi story of the ancient -When nations we shall find that at about six hun dred years B . C. a great spiritual wave had its inception on the Eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean wherethe great Confucian R e ligion accelerated the progress of the Chi nese nation, then also the Religion of the Buddh a commenced to win its millions of adherents in India, and still further West we have the lofty phi lo s ophy of Pythagoras . Each system was suited to the needs of the particular people to whom it was sent . Then came the perio d of the Sceptics , in Greece, th e m r and later, traveling westward sa e spi itual wave is manifes ted as the Christian “ ” religion o f the s o -called Dark Ages when the do gma of a dominant church compelled belief from the whole of Wes tern Europe . It is a law in the universe that a wave of spiritual awakening is always followed by s h a period o f doubting materiali m, eac phase is necessary in order that the spirit f and ma y receive equal development o heart intellect W ithout bein g carried to o far in Th e o either direction . Great Beings af re for s al mentioned, Who care our progre s , 8 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES ways take steps to safeguard humanity an d h o against that danger, w en they f re s aw the wave of materialism whi ch com menced in the sixteenth century with the
birth of our modern Science , they took s teps to protect the Wes t as they had for merly safeguarded the Eas t against the Sceptics who were held in check by the My s
tery schools . In the thirteenth century there appeared in central Europe a great spiritual teacher whose symbolical name was
Christi an Rosenkreuz . or
Christian Rose Cross . who founded th e mysterious Order of the o n n m R osy Cr ss , concer i g which so any spec ula tion s have been made and so little has o o become kn own t the w rld at large , for it is the Mys tery school of the West and is only open to those who have attained the stage of spiritual unfoldment necessary to be initiated in its secrets concerning the f Science o Life and Being. If we are so far developed that we are able to leave our dense physical body and take a soul flight into interplanetary space we shall find that the ultimate physical atom TH E ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS 9 is spherical in Shape like our earth ; it is a ball . When we take a number of balls of
n o n even size and group them arou d e, it will take just twelve balls to hide a thirteenth within . Thus the twelve vi sible and the one hidden are numbers revealing a cosmic re la ti onship and as all Mys tery Orders are based upon cosmic lines , they are composed of twelve members gathered around a thir teenth hea d who is the invisible . There are seven colors in the spectrum red n , ora ge, yellow, green , blue , indigo and violet . But between the violet and the red there are still another five colors which are invisible to the physical eye but reveal themselves to the spiritual sight . In every Mystery Order there are al s o s even brothers who at times go out into the world and there perform whatever work may be neces s ary to h advance the people among w om they serve, but five are never seen outside the temple They work with and teach those alone wh o have passed through certain stages of spir itu al unfoldment and are able to visit th e temple in their spiritual bodies a feat taught in the first initiation which usually takes place outs ide the temple a s it is not 1 0 TH E ‘ ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES convenient for all to vi s it that place physic ally. Let not the reader imagine that this initi on m th e l o o s ati akes pupi a R s icrucian, it d e n ot a n mo n m s s H h , y re tha ad i ion to a ig h Sc o ol makes a b oy a member of th e faculty . No r do es he become a Ro sicrucian even af ter having passed through all the nine de~ f hi h o grees o t s or any other Mystery Sc o l . Th e Ros icrucians are Hierophants of the s s o lesser My terie , and bey nd them there are still sch ools wherein Greater Mysteries are o wh o h o taught . Th se have advanced t r ugh the les s er Mys teries and have become pupils f o the Greater Mysteries are called Adepts , but even they have not reached the exalted standpoint of the twelve Brothers of the R o s icrucia n Order or the Hier ophants of any other lesser Mystery Scho ol a ny more th an the freshman at college h a s attained to the knowledge and position of a teacher in the High school from which he has just gradu ated .
A later work will deal with initiation, but we may say here that the door of a genuine Mystery School is n ot unlocked by a golden o o n key, but is nly pe ed as a reward for meri toriou s service to humanity and any one THE ORDER or R OSICRUCIANS
who advertis es himself as a R osicrucian or for makes a charge tuition, by either of o i s h those acts sh ws h m elf to be a c arlatan . The true pupil of any Mystery School is far too modest to advertise the fact, he will or o scorn all titles honors fr m men, he will have no regard fo r riches save th e riches of love given to him by those whom it becomes his privilege to help and teach . In the centuries that have gone by since the Ro s icrucian Order was first fo rmed they have worked quietly and secretly, aiming to mould the thought of Wes tern Europe f through the works o Paracelsus , Boehme,
n s F . E Baco , Shake peare , ludd and others ach night at midnight when the phys ical netiv s ities o f the day are at their lowe t ebb, and the spiritual impul s e at its highest flood out h tide , they have sent from t eir temple s oul - stirrin g vibrations to counteract mater f iali sm and to further th e development o T owe th e s oul powers . o their activities we gradual spiritualization of our once so ma teria lis tic science . h With the commencement o f the twentiet century a further step wa s taken . It was real m iz ed that something must be done to ake 1 2 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES religion s cientific as well as to make ons o ul s cience religi , in rder that they may timately blen d for at the pre s ent time heart a nd n in i tellect are divorced . The heart s tinctively feels th e truth Of religious teach ings concernin g such wonderful mys teries as th e Immaculate Conception (the Mys tery th e on s birth) , Crucifixi , ( The My tic Death) , th e clean s ing blo od and the atonement a nd o h o of t er d ctrines of the Church , all which the intellect refuses to believe as they n o f m r m are i capable de ons t ation , and see ingly at war with natural law Material advancement may be furthered when in tellect i s domin an t an d th e lo n gings of the n s s o o h heart u ati fied, but s ul gr wt will be retarded un til th e heart als o receives satis o facti n . In order to furnish to th e world a teachi ng which s hall s atis fy head a n d heart alike th e — R o s icrucian F ell owship wa s s tarted not to o h to m n pr selyte, but rat er ake the Christia Religion a living factor in the land by en c our a gin g people to remain with their churches whi le giving them the explanations h h s h s w ic creed may ave ob cured . To such a s h ave already severed their connections with the church it offers a temporary eu TH E ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS 1 3 chorege until they have become aroused anew to the beauty of the Christian teach ing . People of various denomi nations enter ed uca tion al institutions such as Harvard or
Yale, and study Mythology, Psychology and
C R o re u omparative eligi n there , without p j o f o dice to their religi us a filiati n . Students may enroll with the Rosicrucian F ellowship An on the very same basis . yone is eligible H n otis t P ro es si ona l Me who is not a yp , f di m P lm A trolo r a i t e . a , s or s g These higher teachings are never given n old for a monetary co s ideration . Peter in o en days , severely rebuked Sim n, the Sor cerer who wan ted to buy spiritual power that he mi ght pr o stitute it for material gain, and the Elder Brothers als o refuse to open the door to those who pros titute th e spirit o ual sciences by cas ting h roscopes , reading palms or giving clairvoyant readings pro
i n a ll o . fes s o y , for m ney The Rosicrucian F ellows hip advocates the s tudy of Palmistry m fur and Astrology by all its me bers , and textbooks at nominal 11 may acquire of of ability, instead remaining the dupes 1 4 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIE S pro fes s ionals who are often mere pretend ers . During the pas t few years since we firs t commenced to di s seminate the Ro s icrucian
h s - fire teachings , t ey have pread like wild o over the civilized w rld . They are studied with avidity from the Cape of Good Hope to a nd o the Arctic Circle bey nd , they have found responce in the hearts of all clas ses
f - s o people . Among the snow clad hut of Alaskan miners and in Government Hous es where a tropical wind unfurls the British L o o f s o i n . In the capitals Turki h Aut cracy a n d m our a dher American De ocracy alike, ents may be found in Government Ins titu o m f ti ns as well as in the hu blest walks o life , all in lively corres ponden ce and cl os e touch with ou r movemen t and working for pr omul g a ti on of th e deeper truths con cerning Life th e Offices of s piritual a nd medical adviser and Being which are helping them. Applicatio n for enrollment a s S tud en t may be made to Gen eral Secretary Ros ioru cia n F ellows hi w n i p, , Ocea “ n orn h n on Calif ia . We exact neit er I itiati fee n or ex ences me b dues . Our p are t y freewill o ff m erings fro Students .
1 6 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES itu a l powers will enable us to help or harm u o h i s o l s o r weaker br t ers . It n y ju tifiable when efficiency in Service of Humanity is the object . The Ros icrucian metho d of attainment differs from other Systems in one especial : particular It aims , even at the very start, to emancipate the pupil from dependence up on m hi m ELF - EL others , to ake S R IANT s s o in the very highe t degree , that he may be able to stan d alone under all circumsta n on ces and cope with all c ditions . Only one wh o is thus strongly poised can help the weak . When a number of people meet in a class or circle for self-develo pment along NEGA E l i TIV lines , results are usua ly ach eved in a short time on the principle that it is easier to drift with the tide than to breast the cur hi rent . The medium i s not master of s a c o ti ns , however, but the slave of a spirit con H trol . ence such gatherings must be shun o ned by Pr bationers . Even classes whi ch meet in positive atti tude of mind are not advis ed by the Elder s th e Brothers , becau e latent powers of a ll members are mas s ed and visions of the inner worlds obtained by anyone there, are partly TH E ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS 1 7
of due to the faculties others . The heat of coal in the center Of a fire i s enhanced by o n surr u ding coals , and the clairvoyant pro duced in a circle, be it ever so positive, is a - too hot house plant, dependent himself to be of o trusted with the care thers . Therefore each Probation er in th e Rosi crucian F ellows hip performs his exercises in the seclus ion and privacy Of his ro om . Results may be obtained m ore slowly by this h system , but when they appear, t ey will be manifest as powers cultivated by himself, f h Be useable independently o all ot ers . o s o sides , the R icrucian meth ds build charac ter at the same time as they develop spir it u al faculties a nd thus safeguard th e pupil against yieldin g to temptation to prostitute for o divine powers w rldly prestige . The term of probation depends upon the o f n i s diligence the aspira t, but at least a h e year . At the end of that period may s end a written request for individual in s h truction by th e Elder Brothers . T is will o th e ob be given if p s s ible , and Pr ationer le hi will then be advan ced to Dis cip s p . E A F URTHER ST P . Having thus inaugurated a new School of 1 8 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
Thought we are now contemplating a fur
ther step . It is a trite saying that ma n is o f few ” f o o days and full o tr uble, but am ng all vi cis s itud es of life n one affect u s more than o s o f ma or l s health . We y lose fortune m m b ut friends with co parative equani ity, h a nd h h when healt fails deat t reatens , the a n d im strongest falter, realizing human potence we are more ready to turn to divine for h power succor t an at other times . Therefore the oflice of spiritual adviser h a s always been closely a s s o ciated with h m a l ealing . A ong s avages the priest was ‘ ’ - Aes cul so medicine man , in ancient Greece s pins was particularly s ought by thos e in s and need of healing . Chri t healed the s ick h o in Hi er the early C urch f llowed s steps . C tain Catholic Orders have continued the eu d eav or to assuage pain during the Cen turies which have interven ed between that s day and the present . In times of ickness ‘ ’ the good father came as a repres entative f u F H o o r ather in eaven , and what he lack ed in skill was made up by love a nd sympa thy— If he was indeed a true and h oly pries t — and by the faith engendered in th e patient ce His of h by the priestly o fii . care t e pa TH E ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS 1 9 tient did n ot commence at the sickbed nor m was it ter inated at recovery. The grati o tude of the patient t wards the physician, a n d the tie clos er th an ever possible where
are divorced . It is not denied that the double Office gave the incumbents a mo s t dangerous power o th e o a nd h o ver pe ple , t at that p wer was s th e at times abused . It is al o patent that art o f medicine has reached a stage of effi c iency which could not have been attained s ave by devo tion to that one particular end of and aim . The safeguards sanitary laws , the extinction of in s ect carr iers of diseas e and the consequent immunity are monu mental tes timonies to the value of mo dern n m s m a s scie tific ethods . Thu it may see if h f r all were well and no need o f furt er e fo t, m n h o en but in reality, until hu a ity as a w le s mo joys perfect health, there is no i sue re important than the question : H ow ma y we attain and maintain health " In addition to th e regular School of Sur gery a nd Medicine which depends exclus ive dis ly upon phys ical means for th e cure o f h h ease, other systems have sprung up w ic n the depend entirely o n mental heali g . It is custom of organizations which advocate 20 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
‘ ’ mind cure, nature cure , and other like h met ods , to hold experience meetings , and publish journal s wi th te stimonials from thousands of grateful supporters wh o have
‘ ’ h s a nd s ben efited by t eir treatment , if phy i cia n s of the regular scho ol did likewise there would be no lack of similar testimonials to h f t eir e ficiency . The opini on of thousands is of great n ot thi value, but it does prove any ng, for c thous ands may hold an opposite view, o ca sionally a Single man may be right and the f o a G a llileo res t o the w rld wrong, s when h s maintained that t e earth move . Today th e wh ole world h a s been converted to the n o for h f o opi i n w ich he su fered t rture, s ma n i a com os ite and we as ert that, a s s p ein c re a r ucce l n r or i n b g , u s e s ss fu i p op t o a s the remed d e ect on h h ic l mor l y y f s t e p y s a , a a nd men ta l la n es o Bein s m p f g . We al o ain tain that results ma y be obtained more easi ly at certain times when stellar ray s are propitious to h ealing of a particular dis o m ease, r by treatment with re edies pre vi ou sly prepared under auspicious condi on ti s . It i s well known to modern physician s that — th e condi tio n of th e blood and therefore of THE ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS 21
the whole body— changes in sympathy with
the state of the mind, and the more they u s e
suggestion as an adjunct to medicine, the l F more successfu they are . ewperhaps would credit the further fact that both our mental and physical condition is influenced by plan eta ry rays which change as the planets — move, and yet in these days since th e prin ciple of radio-activity has been established we kn ow that every body projects into space numberless little particles . Wireless tele graphy has taught us etheric waves travel swiftly and surely through trackless space and operate a key according to our will . We als o know that the rays of the sun affect us difi erently in th e mornin g when they strike us horizon tally and at noon when they If h s om are perpendicular . the lig t ray fr the swift moving sun produce phys ical a nd n ot th e s mental changes , may persi tent ray of Slower planets als o have a n effect " If h h n ot they have, they are factors in ealt to be overlooked by a thoroughly scientific h ealer . n o n Dis ease is a manifestation of Ig ra ce, th n in H n is mon s r o e o ly s , and eali g a de t ati n of applied knowledge which is th e only s a l 22 THE R OSICBUCIAN MYSTERIES
m di vation . Christ is an e bo ment of the Wis d om principle, and in proportion as the m Christ is for ed in us, we attain to health . h l Therefore the ealer must be spiritua , and endeavor to imbue his patient with hi gh ideals so that he may eventually learn to ’ conform to God s Laws which govern th e uni vers e a nd thus attain permanent health in a s future lives as well now . If But faith without works is dead . we persis t in living under uns anitary condi s n ot u s om h o tion faith will save fr typ id, and when we apply preventatives o f proper or m s s s kind re edie in Sickne , we are really h showing our fait by works . Like other Mystery Orders the Ro s ioru c ian s have als o aimed to help h umanity in th e attainment of bodily health and it h a s been written in various works that th e mem bers o f th e Order to ok a v ow to h eal others L h o s o free of charge . ike all ot er previ us ‘ ’ called revelations this statement is s ome The la b roth er v ow what garbled . y s take a to min ister to all accordin g to th e best o f ree o cha r e h in their ability f f g . T at vow h n of o s fo r h men a s cluded eali g c ur e, suc
24 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
M NT E LESIA OU CC . At this writing we have just bought forty o of 83 h acres in the t wn Oceanside , miles sout f Lo f th e s o s Angeles . It is one o sightlie t s o of o h i s p ts beautiful S ut ern Californ a , itu ated upon the promontory of a hi gh table o o o land, and overl king the surrounding c un i f try n a radius o fo rty or more miles . Santa Ana Mountains shelter it from the cold No rth E s ee o L s Wind . astwards we the l vely San ui Rey Valley with its his toric old Mission a n d the river like a silver band winding its way F E t owards the Ocean . arther ast the San "a cinto Mountain rears its snow- capped o of La "o peak . The prom ntory lla with its wonderful caves hi des from view the pro gres siv e city of San Diego in the very South ’ westerly corner Of Uncle Sam s spacious m th e real . Towards setting sun is Santa s m u Catalina I land, with its re arkable s bma ni rine Gardens , gliste ng like a jewel upon he m of t boso the Pacific Ocean, while a gor n of geons sunset, a car ival color, inspires love and devotion to th e Master Artis t Who
s r de igned all this beautiful Wo ld .
- hi is o th e r Surf bat ng in v gue yea round , s the climate is frostless , fre h fruits a nd veg THE ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS 25
etables are plentiful in all seasons . The
balmy air is in itself an elixir Of life, exces s n n ive heat is u known . Co dition s are alto gether conducive to attainment Of health a nd
healing power , as in no other place we have
- ever seen in our world wide travels .
We named this beauty- spot of nature ” Mo n t Eccle i u s a . — Ecclesia is a Greek word translated ” ” church or congregation in the Bible . “ — It is derived from ekk a leo o I call out
and really means an assembly of the called . As soon as funds become available we will s for H erect suitable building eadquarters , the H m School of ealing, Dormitory, Sanitariu of sh and las t, but not least, a place wor ip, an Ecclesia— where the Spiritual Panacea
may be prepared . There also Healing Services may bring succor Of the highest poten cy to afflicted
o h nes , who seek t is avenue to Obtain relief from the Great Physician : Our F ather in H Heaven . He is the Great ealer Who per who His instru forms all cures , no matter is
or m hi . ment, what that essenger calls mself “ Even Christ testified I can of mine own 26 THE R OSIOR UOIAN MYS TEBIES
l i ” se f do noth ng, and gave the Glory to the F O h s o s s ather . S s all we al content our elve to fervently praise G o d for the privilege of being one of the channels for His Healing
Power . Meantime we will seek out prospective helpers in the work who c a n give their time our o and talents , and it is intenti n to build a small cottage in a corner o f th e grounds for m n h s l te porary occupa cy . T i work wi l probably be completed before the end of th e a nd o 1 1 91 2 present year, s , after January , , all communications o f whatever nature should be addres s ed to THE R OSICRUCIAN F ELLOWSHIP
Mount Eccles ia
D C I F OCEANSI E, AL ORNIA . CH E II APT R .
61h» firnhlrmnf ifiifr aah Ilia S olution
THE P R OBLEM OF LIF E .
s Of Among all the vici situdes life, which ’ h vary in each individual s experience, t ere is one event whi ch sooner or later comes — to everyone Death " No matter what our th e h a s Station in life, whether life lived on been a laudable e or the reverse, whether great achi evements have marked our path among men ; whether health or Sicknes s have n mo s been our lot, whether we have bee fa u and surrounded by a host of admi ring friends or have wandered unknown through th e years of o ur om m h om s mo life, at s e ti e t ere c e a men t when we s tand alone before th e portal of death and are forced to take th e leap into the dark . The thought of this leap and of what lies beyond must inevitably forc e itself upon 27 28 TH ER OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
of every thinkin g person . In the years our l f youth and health, when the bark Of i e f o s h a sails upon seas o pr perity, w en all p l th e pears beautifu and bright, we may put h i t ought beh nd us , but there will surely come a time in the life of every thinking per s on when the problem o f life and death for ces its elf upon hi s consciousness and re s h l fu es to be set aside . Neit er wi l it help him to accept the ready made s olution of anyone else without thought and in blind b e for i i o h lief, th s s a basic pr blem whic every one must solve for himself or herself in or der to Obtain satisfaction . Upon the Eastern edge of the Desert of Sahara there stan ds the world - famo us Sphi nx with its ins crutable face turned to E h its ward the ast, ever greeting t e sun as r s wa s i ing rays herald th e newborn day . It s aid in the Greek myth that it was th e wont of this monster to a sk a riddle o f each trav eler . She devoured thos e who could not a n h h swer, but w en Oedipus solved the riddle s e s h de troyed erself. The riddle which sh e asked of men was th e d f a nd d h h rid le Of li e eat , a query whic i s a s a s r a n d h h h relevant today eve , w ic eac one must answer or be devoured in th e jaws TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 29
h Of death . But w en once a pers on has found s o th e o m the lution to pr ble , it will appear n O h that in reality there is deat , that what SO r n appears , is but a change f om o e state ex is tence o h r Of to an t er . Thus , fo the man wh o finds the true s olution to the riddle of f life , the sphinx o death has ceas ed to ex i s t h rium , and he can lift his voice in t e t “ i Oh phant cry Oh death where s thy sting, ” o grave where is thy vict ry . Various theories Of life have been a dv oca t f ma ed to solve this problem o life . We y n m the divide them into two classes , a ely moni tic theor o s th e s y , which h ld that all facts Of life can be explained by reference s h to this vi ible world wherein we live, and t e du a lis tic theor th e y , which refers part Of phenomenon Of life to another world whi ch now is invisible to us . “ R aphael in his famous painting th e ” School of Athens has mo s t aptly pictured to us the attitude of these two s chools Of o m o thought . We see up n that arvel us painting a Greek Court such a s those where in philosophers were once wont to congre in gate . Upon the various steps which lead to the bui lding a large number Of men are o engaged in deep conversati n, but in the 30 THE R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES center at the top Of the steps s tand two s s figure , suppo edly Of Plato and Ari s totle , on e n h poi ting upwards , the ot er towards the h o h h e eart , each l oking the ot er in t face , m utely, but with deeply concentrated will . Each seekin g to convince th e other that hi s attitude is right for each bears the convio o hi s o of ti n in heart . One h lds that he is h om the earth earthy, that he a s c e from the dust and that thereto he will return , the other firmly advocates the po s itio n that there is a higher something which has al ways exis ted and will continue regardless Of whether the body wherein it now dwells holds together o r not . The question who is right is still an open i Mil one with the maj o rity Of mank nd . ’ lions Of tons Of paper and printer s ink have been used in futile attempts to settle it by s m o argument , but it will alway re ain pen to all who have not solved the riddle them for o s elves , it is a basic pr blem, a part of the life experience Of every human being to one settle that question , and therefore no can give us the solution ready made for our e acceptance . All that can be done by thos l who have really solved the prob em , is to Show to others the line a ng whi ch they
32 TH E R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES
fo rms are s o changeable that th e meta mor ph o sis recoun ted in fairy s tories is dis coun ted h m h t ere to an a azing degree, and t erefore we have the surprising revelation s Of mediums o h n wh o and t er untrai ed clairvoyants , h o h h ma s t ug t ey y be perfectly hone t, are de c eiv ed by illu sions Of fo rm whi ch i s evanes h n cent, becaus e t ey are i capable Of viewing th e life that is the permanent basis Of that m for . m s We u t learn to see in this world . The new - born bab e h a s n o conception Of dis tance a nd h for h n o will reac t i gs far, far bey nd its gr as p until it h a s learn ed to gauge its ca a ci n wh o p ty . A bli d man acquires the fac ult Of s h o r o o y ig t, has it rest red by an pera o s n o hi ti n , will at fir t be incli ed to cl s e s eyes h n mo a nd w e ving from place to place , de clare that it i s eas ier to walk by feeling than h s n d by sight , t at is becau e he has not lear e to hi use s newly acquired faculty . Similar ly the man whose spiritual vision h a s been
newly opened requires to be trained, in fact he is in much greater need thereo f than th e h e ma n n on babe and t blind already me ti ed . Denied th at train ing h e would be like a new born babe placed in a nurs ery wher e the walls are lined with mirr ors Of different TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 33
o convex and c ncave curvatures , which would dis tort its own shape and the forms
Of its attendants . If allowed to grow up in s uch surroundings and unable to see th e real s hapes Of itself and its nurses it would nat ura lly believe that it s a w many different and dis torted shapes where in reality the mirrors o for o th e were resp nsible the illusi n . Were pers ons concerned in such an experiment and th e child taken out Of the illusory sur i n n round gs , it would be i capable Of rec ogn iz ing them until the matter had been h m pro perly explained . T ere are Si ilar dangers of illus ion to tho s e who h ave de l d ve o pe s piritual s ight , until they have been trained to dis count the refraction and to a nd l vi ew the life which is permanent stap e, disregarding the form which is evanescent and changeable . The danger Of getting things out Of focus always remain s however im and Is s o s ubtle that the writer feels an per ativ e duty to warn his readers to take all s tatements concerning the unseen world
elin ed rather to magnify than to minimize his limitations and would advise the stu ’ dent to accept nothing from the author s pen 34 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
f s or . without reasoning it out him elf Thus ,
i - if he is deceived , he w ll be self deceived and i s the author blameless . h h eo r Li e T ree T i es of f . Only three notewo rthy theories have been Offered as solution s to th e riddle Of ex ist ence a nd in order that th e reader may be able to make th e important ch oice between h m h t e , we will state briefly what t ey are and give some o f th e arguments which lead us to advocate th e do ctrine Of Rebirth a s the method which favors soul - growth and th e ul m f o h s f timate attain ent Of per ecti n, t u O fer ing the bes t s olution to the problem Of life . 1 ) THE MATER IAL ISTIO THEORY tea ch es tha t life is b u t a s ho rt j ou rn ey from the cra dle to the ra v e tha t th ere i n o hi h in elli g , s g er t g en ce in the univ ers e tha n ma n ; tha t his min d is p r oduc ed by certa in cor rela ti ons of ma tter a n d tha t th erefor e d ea th a nd d is olu ti on o the b od termina te ex i ten f y s ce. There wa s a day when the arguments Of Materialis tic phi lo s ophers seemed c onv in n a s ci g, but science advances it dis covers more and more that there is a s piritual side to n h the u ivers e . T at life and con s cious nes s ma y exis t with out being able to give us a h a o n Sign, s been amply pr ve in th e cas es TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 35
Where a person who was e ntranced and th o ught dead for days has suddenly awaken ed and told all tha t had taken place aro und i the body . Such eminent sc entists as Sir L F mm Oliver odge, Camille la arion, Lambro S O and other men Of highes t intelligence and n n i l scie tific training, have u equ vocal y stated of s th e a s the result their inve tigations, that intelligence which we call ma n survives death Of the body and lives on i n our mids t as independen tly Of whether we see them or n o t as light and color exis t all about the blind man regardle s s Of th e fact that h e m h s s does not perceive the . T e e scienti ts have reached their conclus ion after years Of l h o n h carefu investigation . They ave f u d t at
S - a n d n n the O called dead can , u der certai cir c um ta n e d o m s h s c s , com unicate with us in uc o a mann er that mis take is out Of th e questi n . We maintain that their tes timony is worth more than the argument Of materialism to o the contrary, for it is based up n years Of n o mon h careful i ves tigati n , it is in har y wit s uch well established laws as the la w of con s erv a ti on of ma tter a nd the la w of cons erv a on n r i i s o of ti of e e gy . M nd a f rm energy, and immun e from destruction as claimed by o th e the materialist . Theref re we disbar 36 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
h materialistic t eory as unsound , becaus e out of harmony with th e laws Of nature and with well established facts . 2 ) THE THEORY of THEOLOG Y cla ims tha t j us t pri or to ea ch bi rth a s oul is cr ea ted by G od a nd en ters in to the wo rld wher e i t liv es for a time v a rying from a few minutes to a few s core of y ea rs ; -tha t a t the end of this s ho rt spa n of life it r eturns through the por h n l nd re ta l of d ea th to t e i vis ib e b ey o , whe i t rema ins forev er in a c onditi on of ha ppi n es s or mis ery a ccording to the d eeds d one in the b ody during the fewy ea rs it liv ed here. Plato in sis ted upon the neces s ity Of a clear defini tion Of terms as a basis Of argu ment and we contend th at that is a s necessary in dis cus sing the problem of life from the Bible point of view as in argu m m o ents fro the platonic standpoint . Acc rd ing to the Bible man is a compo s ite being o s o l a nd s c n isting Of b dy, sou pirit . The two s l latter are u ua ly taken to be synonymou s , but we insist that they are not interchange able and pres ent the following to support
our dictum. V i All things are in a state of vibration . b r ations from Objects in our surroundings are constantly impingin g upon us and carry TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 37 to our senses a cogni tion Of the external o o world . The vibrati ns in the ether act up n our O eyes S that we see , and vibrations in the r n air t a smit sounds to the ear . We also breathe the air and ether whi ch is thus charged with pictures Of our surround s ou m n s o ing and the sounds in r environ e t, that by means Of the breath we receive a t m o f our intern a ll a c each mo ent life , y an curate picture Of our external surroundings . s That is a cientific proposition . Science does not explain what becomes Of thes e vi b ra ti on s o however , but according to the R si crucian Mys tery teaching they are trans mi tted o o to the blo d , and then etched up n a little at om in the heart as automatically as a moving picture is imprinted upon th e sen s itized n d o o s eu film , a a rec rd Of s und is h graven upon the phon ographi c dis c . T is breath - record s tarts with th e firs t breath Of the newborn babe and ends only with the ” a nd o is last gasp Of the dying man, s ul a of th e h n s s o sh product breat . Ge e i als ows the connection between breath a nd s oul in th e “ words : An d th e Lord G od formed ma n Of the Of o hi s dust the ground, and breathed int nos trils th e breath of life ; a n d man became ” : n e hes h a living soul ( The same word p , is 38 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIE S translated breath and soul in the above quo a i n t t o . ) In th e post mortem existence the breath Th e o record is di s posed Of. g od acts Of life produce feelings Of pleasure a nd the inten s ity Of attraction incorpo rates them into the
- Thus the b rea th -rec spirit as soul power . o rds of our g ood a c ts a re the s o ul whic h is a v ed th s , for by e union with the spirit they A h become immortal . S t ey accumulate life or o l a nd after life, we become m e s ulfu they s s th e s s oul ro h are thu al o ba i Of s g wt . Th e reco rd Of ou r evil acts is als o de rived from o ur br eath in the moments when h mm Th e s ff t ey were co itted . pain and u er ing they brin g cau s e the s pirit to expel the
h - o i n r breat record fr m ts bei g in Pu gatory. AS that cannot exis t independently Of the
- n s th e h - o life givi g pirit, breat rec rd of our s on Sins dis integrate upon expurgati , and “ h s s ee h th e o h s nn h t u we t at s ul t at i et , it ” h Th e m mo ff n S all die . e ry Of the su eri g n on s i cidental to expurgati however , remain the c on s ci ence to om with spirit as , deter fr on o f th e m s repetiti sa e evil in later live . Thus both ou r good and evil acts are re o d h o th e th e h c rde t r ugh agency Of breat , hi f l w ch is therefore the bas is O the sou , but
40 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
na lly improving tewture its la tent powers a re b eing s lowly unfold ed a nd b ecome a v a il a ble a s dy na mic en ergy ; tha t n on e ca n b e los t but tha t a ll will ultima tely a tta in to per ecti on nd n d h rin in f a reu ion with G o , ea c b g g with it the a ccu mula ted ex perien ce which is the fruitag e of its pilg rima g e through ma t t r e .
x Or, as we may poetically e press it
E AR E E E L W T RNA .
stormcloud on " wm On whistling ; ephyrus g, The Spirit - choir loud the Wo rld - anthems s mg ’ Hark "Lis t to their voice we have pa s s ed ’ through death s do o r ’ There s n o Death ; rejoice "life lives ever ” more .
We are , have always been , will ever be . We are a p ortion Of Eternity h f Older t an Creation, a part O One Great
Whole,
Is each Individual and immortal Soul. TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 41
’ On Time s whirring loom our garments we ’ve wrought
E on o h ternally weave we network Of Th ug t , a n d our o Our kin c untry, by Mind brought
to birth , Were patterned in heaven ere molded on h eart .
We have shone in the Jewel and danced on th e Wave, We have sparkled in F ire defying th e grave ; s Through hapes everchanging, in Size, kind and name
Our individual es s ence s till is the same .
An d when we have reached to the highest Of
all, The gradations Of growth our minds shall recall SO that link by link we may join them to gether And trace s tep by step the way we reached
thither .
n Thus in time we shall k ow, if only we do
. What lifts , ennobles, is right and true to o With kindness to all ; with malice n ne, That in and through us God ’s will may be
done . 42 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
We venture to make the assertion that there is but one sin : Ignora nce and but one
: A lied " n owled e E salvation pp g . ven the wisest among us know but little of what may ne be learned, however, and no o has attained to o perfecti n , or can attain in one single
Short life, but we note that everywhere in na ture slow persistent unfoldment makes for higher and higher development Of every n thi g and we call this process evolution . One Of the chief characteristics Of ev olu tion lies in the fact that it manifes ts in alter nating periods Of activity and rest . The mm h busy su er, when all things upon eart are n h ms s n o h i s exerti g t e elve to bri g f rt , follow h Th e ed by t e res t and inactivity Of winter . h busy day alternates with the quiet of nig t . The ebb Of the o cean i s succeeded by th e
o d - h s a s h n m flo tide . T u , all other t i gs ove in th e h s s f u cycles, life t at expresse it el here p on earth for a few years is n ot to be thought a s h h a s h Of ended when deat been reac ed , but as s urely as the s un rise s in the morning n h l th e h after having set at ig t , wi l life t at was ended by th e death Of on e body be taken up again in a new vehi cle and in a di fferent
environment . TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 43
Thi s earth may in fact be likened to a scho ol to whi ch we return life after life to h learn new lessons, as our c ildren go to scho ol day after day to increas e their kn owl Th e h h edge . c ild Sleeps t rough th e night which interven es between two days at sch o ol and the spirit also has its rest from active h life between death and a new birth . T ere are also differen t clas ses in thi s world school which correspond to the various n th e grades from ki dergarten to college . In lower clas s es we find spirits who have gone m h to the s chool Of life but a few ti es , t ey n w in m b e are savages o , but ti e they will come wi s er and better than we are, and we our s elves Shall progress in future lives to spiritual heights Of which we cann ot even con ceiv e at the present . If we apply ourselves to i learn the lessons Of l fe, we shall Of f co urse advance much faster in the sch o ol o m life than if we dilly-dally and idle our ti e on h h gov away. This , the same principle w ic erns in one Of our own institutions Of learn ing.
We are not here then , by the caprice of
He n ot one G o d . has placed in clover and another in a desert n or has He given on e a healthy body SO that h e may lIv e at ease 44 THE R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
He a n from pain and sickness , while placed other in po or circumstances with never a on rest from pain . But what we are , we are , n r accou t Of ou r own diligence o negligence , and what we shall be in the future depends upon what we will to be and n ot upon Divine N caprice or upon inexorable fate . O matter i ms s to what the c rcu tance , it lies with us i r to m . master them, o be astered, as we w ll Sir Edwin Arnold puts the teaching most “ ” beautifully in hi s Light of Asia .
" h The Books s a y well , my Brothers eac man ’ s life The outcome Of hi s fo rmer living is ; The bygone wrongs bring forth s orrows and woes
The bygone right breeds bliss . i i " O O O Each has such lordshi p as the loftiest ones h o Nay for wit powers ar und , above , below As with all flesh and whatsoever lives A woe ct maketh joy or . t t it Q
ho m W toiled, a slave may co e anew a prince F or gentle worthines s and merit won h o i ma n W ruled , a k ng y wa der earth in rags ” F r o things done or undone . TH E PROBLE M OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 45
n Or, as an unk own poet says One shi p sails East and another sails West W th e s m o ith elf sa e winds that bl w . ’ Tis s et th e the Of sail , and not the gale, th e o Which determines way they g .
As the winds Of the sea are the ways Of fate on h i As we voyage al g throug l fe . ’ h e Tis the act Of t soul, which determines the goal n And ot the calm or the strife .
When we wish to engage s omeone to nu dertak e a certain mission we cho ose s ome one whom we think particularly fitted to fulfill the requirements and we must suppose that a Divine Being would use at least as much o n o h o o c mmon sense, and t c se anyone to go SO his errand who was n ot fitted therefor . when we read in the Bible that Samson was foreordained to be th e s layer Of th e P hilis f tines and that Jeremiah was predes tined to o be a prophet, it is but logical to supp se that they must have been particularly suited to s h l uc occupation . John the Baptist a so , was bo rn to be a her ald of the coming Savior and to preach th e kin gdom Of G od which is to take the place Of the kingdom Of men . 46 TH E R O SIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
Ha d thes e people had n o previous train h o ing, how could t ey have devel ped such a n to h o s s s o s fit e s s fulfill t eir vari u mi i n , and o if they had been fitted, how els e c uld they have received their training if not in earlier lives " Th e Jews believed in the D octrine Of R e birth or they would n ot h ave as ked John the if E i h a s o th c Baptist he were l ja , rec rded in Th e o o f fi I st chapter Of John . Ap s tles Christ als o held th e belief a s we ma y see from the incident recorded in the sixteenth chapter Of Mathew where th e Chri s t asked “ them the questio n : Whom do men say that ” I th e Son Of Man am " The Apostles re “ plied : S ome say that Tho u art John the m E o Baptist ; so e, lias ; and thers Jeremia s o r ” n e f h e o h s o o t Pr p et . Upon thi s occasion the Chris t tacitly assented to the teachi ng Of Rebirth becaus e He did not correct the dis ciples a s would have been His plain duty in Hi s a s capacity teacher, when the pupils cn a n d tert i e a mistaken idea . But to Nicodemus He said unequivocally E o xcept a man be born again , he cann t see ” th e kingdom Of G od and in th e eleventh h of He c apter Mathew, the fourteenth vers e , “ of h th e th said, speaking Jo n Baptist is
48 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
Europe there is no case where both father f and son are repres ented . Thus the sons o criminals , though they have the tendencies to crime, keep out Of the clutches Of the law . Neither wi ll Heredity hold good upon the for m ma plane Of the intellect, any cases y be cited where a genius and an idiot spring from the same stock . The great Cuvier , m whose brain was Of about the sa e weight, ’ as Daniel Webster s , and whose intellect was as great, had five children who all died Of paresis , the brother Of Alexander the Great h was an idiot, and thus we old that another solution mus t be found to account for the f facts o life . The law Of R ebirth coupled with its com
s h . panion law, the law Of Cau ation does t at h n l f W en we die after o e i e , we return to m mi earth later , under circu stances deter ned h h The by the manner in w ic we lived before . gambler is drawn to pO Ol parlors and race to s o h o tracks as ciate wit thers Of like taste , the musician is attracted to th e concert halls a nd di o s music s tu , by congenial spirits , and th e returning Ego als o carries with it its likes and dis likes which cause it to s eek par n h h h e ts among t e class to w ic it belongs . TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 49
But then s omeone will point to cases where we find people Of entirely oppos ite tas tes liv h ing lives Of torture, becau s e gr ouped in t e s m m a nd n a e fa ily, forced by circumsta ces to h o h stay t ere c ntrary to their wills . But t at n ot h e h h does vitiate t law in t e slig tes t, in each life we contract certain Obligations n o h h which can t t en be fulfilled . Per aps we have ran away from a duty such as the care Of an invalid relative and have met death witho ut coming to a realization of our mis o th e h ma take . That relative up n ot er hand y ff o ou r have s u er ed severely fr m neglect, and have sto red up a bitterne s s again st us before fi rin h death terminates the s u e g . Deat and th e subs equent removal to another environ m h s f ment does n ot pay ou r debts fro t i li e, any mo re than th e removal fr om the city where we n ow live to another place will pay the debts we have contracted prior to our r e i s o o h moval . It theref re quite p ssible t at the two who have injured each other as de m m scribed, ma y find the selves me bers Of re the s ame family . Then, whether they ot th e eu member the past grudge or n , Old mity will assert itself and cause them to hate anew un til th e con sequent discomfort h forces them to tolerate eac other, and per TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES haps later they may learn to love where they hated . Th e ques tion also arises in the mi nd Of in qu irer s : If we have been here before why do n o m m is h we t re e ber " And the an s wer , t at while mo st people are n o t aware Of h owtheir h previous exis tences were s pent, t ere are others wh o have a very distinct recollectio n ’ f n o f th e s o previous lives . A frie d writer for s h F one in tance , w en living in rance , day star ted to read to her s on about a certain city where they were then go ing upon a b i h ex cla imcd : ou cycle tour, and t e boy y do n ot to me o h h need tell ab ut t at mot er . I o h a nd wa " kn w that city, I lived t ere s killed He then commenced to de s cribe the city and s o L o o his al a certain bridge . ater he t k mother to that br idge and sh owed her th e s pot where h e had met death centuries b e o o h n n in f re . An t er frie d travelli g Ireland s aw a scen e which sh e reco gn ized a nd sh e a l s o des cribed to th e par ty th e scene around the bend Of th e r o ad which s h e had never s n in h s o m s h m ee t is life , it u t ave been a me c r m o s h y fro a previ u life . Numerous ot er ins tance s could be given where s uch mino r flas he s Of memor y reveal to u s glimpses from s hi a pa t life . The verified case in w ch a lit TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 51
tle three year Old girl in Santa Barbar a de scribed her life a nd death h a s been given in
s C sm Co on er the Ro icrucian o o ncepti . It is p haps th e mo s t con clus ive evidence as it hinges on the veracity Of a chi ld too young to n have learned deceptio . Thi s theory Of life does n ot rest upon s pec ula tion o n h h wever, it is o e Of t e first facts of life demonstrated to the pupil Of a Mystery s o He is to h hi th e cho l . taught watc a c ld in h e s act Of dying, also, to watch it in t invi ible o om m to w rld fr day to day, until it co es a or Then new birth a year two later . he kn ows with abs olute certainty that we return to earth to reap : in a future life what we n ow w s o . The rea s on for taking a child to watch in is is r e preference to an adult, , that the child o f r its h o on b rn very quickly, o s rt life earth has borne but few fruits and these are s o on ha s assimilated , while the adult who lived a n n s long life, and had much experie ce remai in s o h the invis ible wo rlds for centuries , t at the pupil could n ot watch him fr om death to re f birth . Th e cause O infant mortality will be to em explained later , here we merely desire ph a size the fact that it is within the range of possibilities Of every one without ex cep 52 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES tion to become able to kn ow at first hand that which is here taught . The average interval b etween two earth h i s lives is about a t ousand years . It de termined by the movement o f th e s un kn own to s m s a s reces s i on o the uin ox a trono er p f eq , by which th e s un move s through one Of the of " i in 21 00 signs the od ac about years . Dur ing that time th e c onditions upo n earth have changed s o much that th e s pirit will find en tirel y new experiences here, and therefore it returns . The Great Leaders of evolution always Oh tain the maximum ben efit from each condi s m a th x n tion de igned by the , and s e e perie ces in the s ame social conditions are very difi erent in th e cas e Of a man from what m h e they are for a wo an , t human spirit takes birth twice during the 21 00 years measured by the preces sion Of the equinox as already o ma n explained , it is b rn once as a and a n m h i o . s b u ther time as a wo an Suc the rule , t it is subject to whatever mo dification s ma y be neces s ary to facilitate reaping what the o n h f Spirit has s wn , as required u der t e law O Causation which works hand in han d with the f h m m O . s s a law Rebirth T u , at ti e a s pirit y be brought to birth long ere the thous and TH E PROBLEM OF LIFE AND ITS SOLUTION 53
s h year ave expired, in order to fulfill a cer m s or h tain is ion, it may be detained in t e in vis ible worlds after the time when it should have come to birth according to the Strict re
uirements q Of a blind law. The laws Of na not ture are that however . They are Great Intelligences wh o always subordinate minor
on hi n c siderations to gher ends , and u der their b eneficent guidance we are constantly pro gre s sing from life to life under conditions ex a l v ct y suited to each indi idual, until in time we shall attain to a hi gher evolution and b e m come Super en . Oliver Wendell H olmes has s o beautifully voiced th at aspiration and its consummation in the lin es
Build thee more Stately mansions Oh "my
soul, o As the swift seasons r ll , Leave thy low- vaulted past ; o h n the s Let each new temple, n bler t a la t, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more
vast .
Till at length thou art free, ’ hfe s Leavin g thy outgrown shell by unrest ’ ing sea . CH E APT R III.
” (the h is ihhr sail the Ennis ihlr Worm
THE CHEMICAL R EG ION .
If one wh o i s capable Of consciously using his spiritual bo dy with the same facility that we n ow u s e ou r phys ical vehicle s should glide away from the earth into interplanetary a nd o h space, the earth the vari us ot er plan ets Of ou r solar sys tem would appear to him m Of n s Of m to be co posed three ki d atter, i Th n s . e roughly peak ng de s es t matter, our t o which is visible ear h, w uld appear to hi m as being the center Of the ball as the yolk is in the center of an egg . Around that neu cleu s he would Observe a finer grade Of matter similarly dis posed in relation to the m s hi Of central as , as the w te the egg is dis po s ed outs ide the yolk . Upon a little closer inves tigation he would also di s cover that this second kind Of substance permeates the solid 54
56 THE R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTER IES engine rotates under th e impetus Of an in m s m vis ible ga s called s tea . Before tea filled n o s h its cylinder, the e gine st od till, and w en the impelling force is shut Off its motion The n m n again ceases . dy a o rotates u der th e s till more subtile influence Of an electric current whi ch may also cause the click Of a telegraph ins trument o r th e ring Of an elec hell i tric , but the dynamo ceases ts swift whirl and the persistent ring of the electric bell becomes mute when the invis ible electric h ff m f ity is switc ed O . The for O the bird the animal a nd th e human being als o ceas e their motion when the inner force which we li e it n call f has winged s i visible way . All forms are impelled into motion by de sire — th e bird a nd th e animal r o am land and air in their des ire to secure food and shel s n man i s a l ter, or for the purpo e Of breedi g, s s s o so moved by the e de ire , but has in additi n other and higher incentives to s pur him to f h m s for e fort, among t e is de ire rapidity Of motion which led hi m to cons truct th e steam engine and other devices that move in Obedi ence to his desire . If there were no iron in th e mountains h n h ma n could n ot build mac i e s . If t ere were s o o s Of th e no clay in the il, the b ny tructure TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 57
s o keleton would be an imp ssibility, and if h n o h o h t ere were P ysical W rld at all , wit its ui hi s olids, liq ds and gases, t s dense body Of h n ours could never ave come into existe ce . Reasoning along similar lines it must be at once apparent that if there were n O Desire
- f h World composed Of desire stu f, we s ould n o n s mo n s have way Of forming feeli g , e tio o o th e and desires . A planet c mp sed Of ma teria ls we perceive with our phy s ica l eyes of h h e and no other substances , mig t be t n o o s home of pla ts which grow unc nsci u ly, h but have no des ires to caus e t em to move .
The human and animal kingdoms however, would be impossibilities . Fu m s rther ore , there is in the world a va t i m m s a nd number Of th ngs , fro the si ple t m to n most crude instru ents , the most i tricate and cunning devices which have been c on h structed by the hand Of ma n . T ese reveal ’ the fact Of man s thought and ingenuity . Thought must have a source as well as form an d eelin h wa s s f g . We saw t at it nece sary to h ave the requisite material in order to build a steam en gine or a body and we rea s on ed from the fact that in order to Obtain material to expres s d es ire there must al s o be ff C a world compo s ed Of desire stu . arrying 58 TH E R OSIOR UCIAN MYSTERI ES
u r m n to it o on s a l o argu e t s l gical c clu ion , we s o hold that unles s a World Of Th ought pro vides a res ervoir of mind stufi upon which u s we may draw, it would be impossible for to think and invent the things which we see in n o s o eve the l we t civilizati n . Thus it will be clear that the division Of a planet into worlds is not based on fanciful h o metap ys ical speculation , but is l gically h necessary in the economy Of nature . T ere fore it must be taken into consideration by any one who would s tudy and aim to under Of stand the inner nature things . When we ee th e m n o s street cars ovi g al ng our streets , it does not explain to say that the moto r is driven by electricity Of s o many amperes at
so many volts . These names only add to our confus ion until we have thoroughly studi ed the science Of electricity and then we shall s s fo find that the my tery deepen , r while the street car bel ongs to the world Of in ert form our o perceptible to visi n , the electric cur rent which moves it is indigenous to the realm o rce Of f , the invisible Desire World , and the hi thought w ch created and guides it, comes from the still more subtile World Of Thought h f whic is the home world O the human spirit , E the go . TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 59
It ma y be objected that thi s line Of argu ment makes a s imple matter exceedingly in tricate , but a little reflection will soon show
the fallacy Of such a contention . Viewed superficially any Of the sciences seem ex tremely simple ; anatomically we may divide m the body into flesh and bone, che ically we ma th e s m s o s y make i ple divi i n between solid, th o m liquid and gas , but to roughly aster the scien ce Of anatomy it i s neces sary to spend years in close application and learn to know h n all t e little erves , the ligaments which form articulations between various parts o f
the bony structure, to study the several kinds Of tissue and their di sposition in our
s s m s sy tem where they form the bone , uscle , h e n o glands , etc . , which in t aggregate we k w To o as the human body. pr perly under stand the science Of chemis try we must study the valen ce Of the atom whi ch de termines th e power Of combination Of the
various elements , together with other nice
s . ties , such as atomic weight, den ity, etc New wonders are constantly opening up to wh o the most experienced chemist, under stands best the immensity Of his chosen s cience . 60 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
h The youngest lawyer, fres from law school kn ows more about the most intricate his own h cases , in estimation , t an the judges upon th e Supreme Court bench who spend o long hours , weeks and months , seri usly de liberating over their deci sions . But those hi un who, without having studied , t nk they d ersta nd and are fitted to dis course upon of o f the greatest all sciences , the science
L a m . ife and Being, m ke a greater istake f After years O patient study, of holy life o spent in clos e applicati n, a man is Often times perplexed at the immensity Of the sub He s S O j ect he studies . find it to be vast in both the direction Of the great and small ffl that it ba es description, that language
s . fails , and that the tongue mu t remain mute o Theref re we hold , ( and we speak from knowledge gained through years Of close t study and inves igation) , that the finer di s inc i n i t t o s wh ch we have made, and shall make , are not at all arbitrary, but absolutely necessary as are divisions and distinctions or made in anatomy chemistry . NO form in the physical world has feeling in the tru e sense Of that word . It is the in i dwelling life which feels , as we may read ly see from the fact that a body which respond THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 61
ed to the slightest touch whi le instinct with hi life, ex bits no sensation whatever even out to when pieces after the life has fled . Dem onstra tion s have been made by scientists,
particularly by Professor Bose Of Calcutta, to Show that there is feeling in dead animal h tissue and even in tin and ot er metal, but we maintain that the di agrams whi ch seem ‘ to supp ort hi s contentions in reality demon s trate only a respons e to impacts similar to a n d the rebound Of a rubber ball, that must n lov e not be confused with such feeli gs as , r i on o h s ha t m a th a v e s . e, s y p y and G et e al o, “ ” Alfinities in hi s novel Elective , (Wahl n m verwa dt s chaft) , brings out so e beautiful illustrations wherein h e makes it seem as if
' th e fa ct h atoms loved and hated, from t at s ome elements combine readi while other h o substances refuse to amalgamate, a p en m enon produced by the difi erent rates Of speed at which various elements Vibrate and
an unequal inclination Of their axes . Only where there i s sentient life can there be feel
s o or . ings Of pleas ure and pain , rrow joy
n The Etheri o R egi o .
s a nd In addition to th e s olid , liquids gases which compo s e the Chemica l R egi on Of th e 62 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
o s Of Physical W rld there i , also a finer grade m E h h h m atter called t er, w ic per eates the atomic structure Of th e ear th and its atmos h p ere substantially as s cience teaches . Sci s n s enti ts have ever een , nor have they r s ub weighed , measured o analyzed this h stance, but t ey infer that it must exist in order to accoun t for tran smis s ion Of light h and various ot er phenomena . If it were possible for us to live in a room from whi ch the air had been exhausted we might speak s m at the top Of our voice , we ight ring the largest bell or we might even disch arge a ; cannon clo s e to our ear and we should hear for is m no sound, air the edium which tran s mits sound vibration s to the tympanum Of h o i it our ear , and t at w uld be lack ng . But
an electric light were lighted , we should at once perceive its rays ; it would illumine the H room despite the lack Of air . ence there in must be a substance , capable Of being set h to vibration , between the electric lig t and ur m di s o eyes . That e um cientists call ether, but it is so subtile that no ins trument has been devised whereby it may be measured or analyzed and therefore the scientists are without much information concerning it,
though forced to postulate its existence .
64 THE R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES
These investigations are as thorough and as reliable as researches by material n o scientists , but t as eas ily demons trable to
the general public . Spiritual powers lie w dormant ithin every human being, and d when awakene , they compensate for b oth telescope and microscope , they enable their
ins ta nt r possessor to investigate, e , things b e n m yo d the veil Of atter, but they are only de v eloped by a patient application and contin ua nce in well doing extended over years , and few are they who have faith to start upon the path to attainment or perseverance to go oc~ through with the ordeal . Therefore the cultist ’ s assertions are not generally cred it d e . We can readily see that long probation must d m n for s prece e attain e t , a per on equipped with spiritual sight is able to penetrate walls Of houses as easily as we walk through in the atmosphere, able to read at will the Of nermost thoughts , those about him , if not actuated by the most pure and unselfish mo tiv e m . s , would become a scourge to hu anity Therefore that power is safeguarded as we would withhold the dyn amite bomb from an anarchi st and from the well - intentioned but THE VISIBLE AND TH E INVISIBLE WORLD 65
n or h ignora t person, , as we wit hold match f m and powder barrel ro a child . In the hands Of an experienced engineer the dynamite bomb ma y be us ed to open a mm a nd highway Of co erce, an intelligent farmer may u s e gun powder to good accoun t
Of - s s in clearing his field tree tump , but in the hands Of an illintentioned criminal or ig n ora nt chi ld an explo sive ma y wreck much o m n Th e fo is pr perty and end a y lives . rce s m s ff n to the a e , but u ed di ere tly, according or o o f h ma the ability intenti n t e u s er , it y produce res ults Of a diametrically opposite SO h s o nature . it is also wit piritual p wers,
- o there is a time l ck upon them , as upon a n ou ba k safe , which keeps t all until they have earned the privilege and the time is ripe for its exercise . s s ma t As already aid , the ether is phy ical ter and re s pon s ive to th e s ame laws which govern other phys ical s ubs tances upon this n h fo plane of exi s te ce . T ere re it requires but a s light exten s ion Of phy s i ca l sight to s ee h h h s o in fo d et er , (w ic is di p sed ur gra es n th e h s mo n Of de s ity) , blue aze een in u tain canyon s i s in fact ether Of th e kind known ’ ‘ r to o ccult investigators a s chemi ca l ethe . h nu Many people wh o s ee this et er , are 66 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
aware that they are posses sed Of a faculty n ot h wh enjoyed by all . Ot ers , o have de v eloped spiritual sight are not endowed s m with etheric vi ion, a fact which see s an anomaly until the subject Of clairvoyance is s o thoroughly under t od . The is ma t reason , that as ether is physical s ter, etheric ight depends upon the s ensitive ness Of the optic nerve while spiritual s ight is acquired by developing latent Vibrato ry powers in two little organs situated in the brain : the Pituitary body and the Pineal
gland . Nearsighted people even , may have s etheric vi ion . Though unable to read th e
print in a book, they may be able to see ” through a wall , owing to the fact that their optic nerve responds more rapidly to fine than to coarse Vibrations . When anyone Views an Object with etheric sight he sees through that Object in a man ner similar to the way an x -ray penetrates lOOk opaque substances . If he s at a sewing
machine , he will perceive ; first an outer i casing ; then , the works with n , and behind him both, the casing furthest away from . If he has developed the grade Of s piritual vision which opens the Desire World to l him and he looks at the same Object, he wil TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 67
out see it both inside and . If he looks close l y , he will perceive every little atom spin ning upon its axis and n o part or particle
will be excluded from his perception . But if his spiritual sight has been develop ed in s uch a meas ure that he is capable Of viewing the s ewing machine with th e Vision to o h h b e peculiar the W rld Of T oug t, he will h old a cavity where he had previously seen h o m t e f r . Things seen with etheric vi sion are very h much alike in colo r, they are nearly reddis r o o n blue , purple o vi let, acc rdi g to the den it Oh s y Of the ether , but when we view any jcet with the s piritual sight pertaini ng to o w the Desire W rld , it scintillates and co s cates in a thous and ever changing colors so indes cribably beautiful that they can only om be c pared to living fire, and the writer therefore calls this grade Of vision color i ht of s g , but when the spiritual vision the World Of Thought is the medium Of percep i o tion, the s eer finds that in add ti n to still m o s m ore beautiful c lor , there issues fro the cavity des cribed a constant flow Of a certain o o s ton e h o harm ni u . T us this w rld wherein we n ow con s ciously live and which we per ceiv e by means Of our physical senses is pre 68 THE R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES
m orm e inently the world Of f , the Desire Wo rld i s particularly th e world Of colo r and h is the m Of tone the World of Thoug t real . Because Of th e relative proximity or di s o s s o rm tance Of these w rld , a tatue , a f , with O f m fo r m u s tands the ravages ti e illenni ms , but th e c olo rs upon a painting fade in far h m fo r h om o s s orter ti e, t ey c e fr m the De ire a nd m s ic h h Wo rld , u w ic is native to the h s h e Wo rld furt e t removed from us , t World
h o i s - O- - Of T ught, like a will the wisp which on or i n e may catch hold , it s gone again as o s s o n a it has made its appearance . But there is in color and mus ic a compensation fo r h n s n s n t is i crea ing eva e ce ce . Th e statue is c old a nd dead a s the minera l Of which it is composed and h a s attraction s for but few though its fo rm i s a tangible reality . The forms upon a pain ting are illus ory li e on n Of l yet they express f , accou t the c o o r which has come from a region where nothi ng s is inert and lifele s . Therefore the painting m is enjoyed by any .
Music is intangible and ephemeral , but it comes from the home world Of the spirit and though so fleeting it is recognized by the spir it as a s oul-speech fresh from the celestial TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 69
m o h real s , an echo fr m t e home whence we h o are now exiled , and t eref re it touches a o our n f c rd in bei g, regardless O whether we s or n ot realize the true cau e . Thus we see th at there are various grades h s to h Of spiritual sight, eac uited t e s uper physical realm which it opens to our per o o nd ception : Etheric vis i n, color Visi n a n to al vision . The occult investigator finds that ether is i or Of n s : Of four k nds , grades de ity
E h The Chemical t er, Th L E h e ife t er, h E The Lig t ther, E The Reflecting ther .
The Chemica l Ether i s the avenue Of ex n s s m o pression for forces promoti g a i ilati n, growth an d th e maintenance Of form f The Life Ether i s the vantage groun d O or forces active in propagation, the building
Of new forms . The Lig ht Ether transmits the motive power Of the sun along the various nerves Of living bo dies a nd makes motion po s sible . The R eflecting Ether receives an impres
m . o sion Of all that is , lives and oves It als 70 THE R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
n records each change , in a similar ma ner as h the film upon a moving picture mac ine . In this reco rd mediums and psych ometris ts s m may read the past, upon the a e principle e i o s mo as , under prop r cond ti n , ving pictures d are reproduce time and again . We have been speaking of ether as an of orce h o avenue f s , a word w ich c nveys no meaning to the average mind , because force is invisible . But to an occult inve s tigator the forces are not merely names s uch as m c He m in stea , ele tricity, etc . finds the to be telli ent s s ub g beings Of varying grade , both “ and superhuman . What we call laws Of na ” ture, are great intelligences which guide more elemental beings in accordance with certain rules designed to further their evo luti n o .
In the Middle Ages , when many pe ople were still endowed with a remnant Of n eg a tiv e n h Of n om a nd clairvoya ce, t ey spoke G es E r F h o m h e lves o airies , whic r a ed about t he mountains and fores ts . Thes e were t e rth s o of a spirits . They al o t ld the Undine rite h nh a nd o r wa ters p , w ich i abited rivers m f s strea s , o Sylphs which were aid to dwell m mo a nd m o a s in the is ts above at o r, air n m wa s s Of l spirits , but ot uch aid the Sa a
72 TH E R OSICR UOIAN MYSTER IES
h m help, but t ey are ostly active under h s x lo ground . T ey are re s pon ible for e p s ions and volcanic eruptions . The clas s e s Of bein gs which we h ave men
ion d -h an b u l t e are still sub um , t wil all at some time reach a stage in evo lution corres pond m h ff ing to the hu an, t ough under di erent circums tances from tho se under which we evolve . But at pre s ent th e wonderful intel li ence f g s we speak Of as the laws o nature, mars hall the armies Of less evolved entities mentioned . TO arrive at a better unders tandi ng Of n s re what these various bei g are , and their u s ma n o lation to , we y take a illustrati n Let us suppo s e that a mechani c is making a nd m h d o an engine , eanw ile a g is watching him s ees ma n . It the at his labor, and how s tO Ol to he u es various s shape his materials , h ow om th e s also , fr crude iron , steel, bras a n d other metals the engin e slowly takes d o om V shape . The g is a being fr a lower e olution a n d does n ot comprehend the pur po s e Of the mechanic but it s ees bo th the of workman, his labor and the result there , h m s a s a n n n whic anife ts e gi e . Let u s now suppose that th e dog were only able to see the materials which Sl owly THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 73
s change their shape, as emble and become an engine but that it is unable to perceive th e o s h workman and to see the work he d e . T e dog would then be ‘ in the same relation to th e mechanic as we are to the great intelligences a nd h s s s n we call laws Of nature, t eir a i ta ts , th e f o h nature spirits , or we beh ld t e mani festa tion s of their work as force moving matter in various ways but always under m o i mutable c nditions . In the ether we may also Observe the o h angels , wh s e dens es t body i s made Of t at o u i s orm d of material, as r dens e body f e s a nd s o s n ga es , liquids lid . These bei gs are n on m s a r e o e step bey d the hu an tage, as we n a degree in advance Of the animal evolutio . We have never been animals like our pres o s s e ent fauna, however, but at a previ u tag in the develo pment Of our plan et we had an
- h th e n e s an imal like con s titution . T en a g l n o n e os were huma , th ugh they have ev r p a o n or r s essed a dens e body such s urs, eve fun ctioned in any material dens er than n om o o , ether . At s e time , in a future c nditi h n the earth will again become ethereal . T e s h for th e ma n will be lik e the angel . T ere e l le Bible tell s us that man was made a itt ’ while lower than the angels ( Paul s letter to 74 THE R OSIOR UCIAN MYSTERIES
H the ebrews , second chapter, seventh verse ; s ee ma r ina l rea din g g . ) f As ether is the avenue O Vital, creative o u f rces , and as angels are such expert b ild ma ers Of ether, we y readily understand that they are eminently fitted to be warders Of the a nd propagative forces in plant, animal All m man . through the Bible we find the thus engaged : TW O a ng els came to Abraham f r m and announced the birth o Isaac, they p o is ed h m a c ild to the an who had obeyed God . Later thes e s a me a ng els destroyed Sodom a bus e o the c rea tiv e o rce An el for f f . g s fore o to the a ren t ld p ts Of Samuel and Sams on , the birth Of these giants Of brain and brawn . E n l To lizabeth came the a g e (not archangel) , n h e ohn Gabriel and annou ced t birth Of J , later he appeared als o to Mary with the mes h o sage that S e was ch s en to bear Jesus .
The De ire World s . When spiritual sight is developed so that it becomes pos sible to behold the Desire h e m World, many wonders confront t newco f r on o s wi ff n er , o c diti n are so dely di ere t o from what they are here, that a descripti n must s ound quite as incredible a s a fairy tale to anyone wh o h a s n ot hims elf s een them. TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 75
Many cannot even believe that such a s s h world exi t , and t at other people can see h h h i s o t at w ic invisible to them, yet some pe ple are blind to the beauties Of thi s world h ma . n w ich we see A who was born blind, ma y say to u s : I know that this world ex i t m s s , I can hear , I can s ell , I can taste and above all I can feel but when y ou speak Of o o o light and Of col r , they are n nexistent t You ou ee h I me . say that y s t ese things , cannot believe it for I cannot s ee myself. You say that light and colo r are all about me th e s m , but none Of sense at y command reveal them to me and I d o not believe that h i ht n ou t e sense you call s g exists . I thi k y ff o n h s u er fr m halluci ations . We mig t sym pa thize very sincerely with th e po or man ffl m who is thus a icted , but his scepticis , rea s oning s a n d Objection s and s neers n otwith s tanding we would be obliged to maintain nd o that we perceive light a c lor . The man who se spiritual Sight has been awakened i s in a similar p o sition with r e s pect to thos e who do not perceive th e De th e n s ire World Of which he speaks . If bli d ma n acquires the faculty Of s ight by an op era ion n t , his eyes are ope ed and he will be d compelled to a s s ert th e exi stence Of light a n 76 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
i color whi ch he formerly den ed, and when al spiritual sight is acquired by anyone, he s o perceives for himself the facts related by o h t ers . Neither is it an argument against the exi s tence Of spiritual realms that s eers are at variance in their descriptions Of condi o s o n ti ns in the invi ible w rld . We eed but to o on m l ok into books travel , and co pare sto h In ries brought home by explorers Of C ina, dia or Africa a nd we s hall find them difi er on ing widely and Often c tradictory, because each traveler saw things from his own stand o n n p i t , u der other conditions than tho s e met
by his brother authors , and we maintain that the man who h a s r ead mo s t widely these varying tales concern in g a certain Country a n d wres tled wi th th e con tra dicti ons of na r ra tor s , will have a more comprehensive idea Of the country or people Of whom he has one read , than the man who has only read i story assented to by all the authors . Sim la rl th e s to y , varying stories Of Vi itors the
Des ire World are Of value , because giving a all fuller View, and more rounded , than if
had seen things from the same angle .
In this world matter and force are widely, ff h h s m di erent . The c ief c aracteri tic Of atter here is inertia : the tendency to remain at THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 77 res t un til acted upon by a force which s ets it m o h . t e s in oti n In De ire World, on th e con tr a r m y , force and atter are almo st indi s tin ui sh a b le on e m th e o m h g fro ther . We ig t a l
o s s - f or - m m t de cribe desire stu f as f ce atter, for is s s m o s on it in ince ant oti n, re p s ive to th e slightes t feeling of a vas t multitude of beings which populate this wonderful world f h “ in nature . We Often speak o t e teeming ” m o of Ch of our illi ns ina and India, even s L o o hi va t cities , ndon, New York, Paris r C on s h m o o in th e cago, we c ider t e vercr wded m th e n s s o on o f extre e , yet even de e t p pulati any spot upon earth is s pars ely inhabited c ompared with th e crowded condition s of th e r No n on n n Des i e World . i c ve ie ce is felt by n h n of h m a y of t e denize s t at real , however, h two hi n s o for , w ile in this world t g cann t th m i is occupy the same space at e sa e t me, it a nd difi erent there . A number Of people thin gs ma y exist in the s a me pla ce a t the s a me time and be engaged in most diverse s s of h d o activitie , regardle s what ot ers are i s of s ing, such s the wonderful ela ticity de ire on ma o stuff. As an illus trati we y menti n a case where th e writer while attending relig ious service , plainly perceived at the altar certain beings interested in furthering that 78 THE R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIE S
o s ervice and w rking to achieve that end . At the same time there drifted through th e room a nd u s the altar , a table at which fo r person were engaged in playing cards . They were as oblivious to the exi s tence of the beings en n ou r gaged in furtheri g religious service, as h though t ese did not exist . The Des ire World is the abode of those who om m s have died, for s e ti e ubsequent to that ma m n the event , and we y e tion in above con ‘ ’ nection that the s o -called dead very Often stay for a long whi le among their still living h o friends . Unseen by t eir relatives they g h about the familiar rooms . At firs t t ey are often unaware of the condition mentioned : “ that two persons ma y be in the same place m m ” m at the sa e ti e, and when they seat the in h o r s elves a c air at the table , a living rela o tive may take the supp sedly vacant seat . The man we mis takenly call dead will at firs t ut hurry o Of his seat to escape being sat upon , but he soon learns that being s at upon d oes him his on h not hurt in altered conditi , and t at he may remain in hi s chair regardles s of the fact that his living relative is also sitting there . In the lower regions of the Desire World ma the whole body of each being y be seen, but
80 TH E R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES
are expert manipulators of forces in the De s ee sire World , and these forces , as we shall , o th e move all the world to action . Theref re Archangels work with humanity in dus tria lly and p olitica lly as arbitrato rs of the destiny
o f peoples and nations . The Angels may be s aid to be fa mily - s pirits whose mission is to unite a few spirits as members Of a m m m fa ily, and ce ent the with ties of o o o f i l bl d and love kin , wh le the Archange s ma o s y be called race and nati nal pirits , as they unite whole nations by patriotis m or love s s Of home and co untry . They are re pon ible f of o s or the rise and fall nati n , they give war o r or peace , victory defeat as it serves the
be s t interests Of the people they rule . This for om of we may see, instance, fr the book
Daniel , where the Archangel Michael ( not to
be confounded with the Michael , who is um b a a d or om s s fr the sun to the earth) , is called o f n the prince the childre of Israel . Another th e Archangel tells Daniel , ( in tenth chapter) that he intends to fight the prince Of Persia f by means o the Greeks . There are varying grades of intelligence m m among hu an beings , so e are qualified to h old high and lofty p ositions entirely beyond h the ability of ot ers . SO it is also among TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 81
n ot n l higher beings , all Archa ge s are fitted to o a nd destin of govern a nati n rule the y a race, o r m no people tribe , so e are t fitted to rule h m s a h e u an being at all, but s t animals als o have a des ire nature these lower grades Of Archangels govern the ani mals a s group spirits and evolve to higher capacity thereby. The work o f the race s pirits is readily Oh h o Th e o s ervable in t e people it g verns . l wer f n h e o th e o in the scale o evolutio t pe ple, m re n h they s how a certain racial like es s . T at is One due to th e wo rk of th e race spirit . national spirit is respon s ible for th e swarthy n s for s n complexion common to Italia , in ta ce, while another causes th e Scandin avian s to be o th e m of hu bl nd . In ore advanced types n om th e manity, there is a wider diverge ce fr omm o to th e n E o c n type , due i dividualized g , which thus expres s es in form and feature its mo th e own particular idio syncras ies . A ng on o n s lower types Of humanity s uch a s M g lia , native African Negroes a nd South Sea s n s m n n s I la ders , the re e bla ce Of i dividual in each tribe makes it almos t impo s s ible for civi liz ed Westerner s to distinguish between m m n n m s h th e the . A o g a i al , w ere separate nd - on s spirit is n ot individualized a self c sciou , the res emblance in not only much mor e 82 TH E R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES marked physica lly but extends even to traits b i and characteristics . We may write the o ra h f f g p y Of a man , or the experiences o each varies from that of others and his acts are f n o di ferent, but we can t write the biography of an animal for members of each tribe all act s alike under similar circum tances . If we de o E V II sire to know the facts ab ut dward , it would profit us nothing to study the life of
h - o f t e Prince Consort , his father, or George hi on h ff III, s s , as bot would be entirely di er E ent from dward . In order to find out what of s manner man he was , we mu t study hi s
own . on individual life If, the other hand , we wish to know the characteristics of beav ma ers , we y observe any individual of the idi o s n tribe , and when we have studied its y cra ies o o f h s , we shall kn w the traits the w ole ‘ ’ of . s is tribe beavers What we call in tinct, in reality the dictates of group- spirits whi ch govern separate individuals of its tribe telepathically, as it were . The ancient Egyptians knew of these ani s m mal group spirits and ketched any of them, o nd in a crude way, up n their temples a tombs . Such figures with a human body and an animal head actually live in th e desire h ma s o world . T ey y be p ken to , and will be TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 83 found much more intelligent than the aver
age human being . That statement brings up another peculi a rity of conditions in th e Desire World in re s of H r i pect language . e e in th s World hu ma n s peech i s s o divers ified that there are co untries where people wh o live only a few miles apart s peak a dialect s o different that they un ders tand each other with great diffi l o own cu ty, and each nati n has its language that varies altogether from the speech of o ther peoples .
In the lower R egions Of the Desire World , there is th e s ame diversity Of tongue s a s on ‘ ’ SO - of one earth, and the called dead nation fin d it impo s s ible to converse with th o s e who H lived in another co untry . ence linguistic accomplishments are of great value to th e ’ ‘ of h om h h Invi s ible Helpers , w we s all ear s s n m later, a s their phere Of u eful ess is enor ou s ly extended by that ability. Even apart from difference of language o ur mode of speech is exceedingly productive Th e s m o Of of mi sunders tan din gs . a e w rds di fi erent ten convey mo s t oppo s ite ideas to “ ” m s of of , inds . If we peak a body water f o ne person ma y think we mean a lake o small h of dimensions , the thoug ts another may be 84 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES directed to the great American Lakes and a ’ third person s thoughts may be turned to or i wards the Atlantic Pac fic Oceans . If we “ ” of l h ne ma speak a ig t , o y thi nk of a gas Of Arc ~la m or light, another an electric p, if “ ” s a s we y red , one per on may think we mean a delicate Shade of pink and another gets the o f m s o f idea crims on . The isunder tandings s what word mean goes even farther, as illus tra ted in the following . The writer once open ed a reading room in a hi large city where he lectured , and invited s o Am audience to make use there f. ong those who availed thems elves o f the opportunity was a gentleman who had for many years “ ” s been a veritable metaphy ical tramp, o m r aming fro lecture to lecture , hearing the teachings Of everybody and practicing noth ’ L on H ing . ike the Athenians Mars ill, he “ ” wa s for m always looking so ething new, of m particularly in the line pheno ena , and his mind was in that seething chaotic state which is one of the most prominent symptoms of ‘ mental indigestion . Having attended a number of our lectures “ he knew from th e pro gram that : The lec o n ot or c h o turer d es give readings , ast or o r a on of sc pes fo p y . But seeing the door THE VISIBLE AND THE INVI SIBLE WORLD 85
n the ewly opened reading room, the legend “ ” F n m ree Readi g Roo , his erratic mind at on ce jumped to the con clusion that alth ough o s to n or n s for we were ppo ed telli g f tu e pay,
wa s much dis appo inted that we did not inten d to o r tell f rtunes , either g atis or for a con sid “ o on h rati , and we c anged our Sign to F ree ” Library in order to obviate a repetition of the error . In the higher R egions of the Desire World th e c onfu sion of tongues gives place to a uni versal mo de of expre s s ion which absolutely r s n r n n f u n p event mi s u de s ta di gs o o r mea ing. There each Of ou r th oughts takes a definite a nd o a ll and h form c l or perceptible to , t is
h - o m o hi h is t ought Symb l e its a certain t ne, w c n ot o on our n to the a w rd , but it c veys mea ing o n e we addres s no matter what language he n spoke o earth . To arrive at an understanding of howsuch a un ivers al lan guage becomes po s sib le a nd i s h o at on ce comprehended by all, wit ut prepa n a s s t ratio , we ma y take an illu ration the manner in which a musician reads music . A German or a Polish compo ser ma y write an E h own termmol opera . ac has his peculiar 86 THE R OSIOR UCIAN MYSTERIES o it own n gy and expresses in his la guage . When that opera is to be play éd by an Italian or band master , by a Spanish or American he musician , it need not translated, the notes and symbols upon the page are a un iversally understood language o f s ymbols which is in telligible to mus icians o f n o matter what na tionalit h s th e y . Similarly wit figure , German : F n s : counts ein , zwei, drei ; the re chman say nu E s , deux , trois , and in ngli h we use the : one two h th e : 1 2 3 words , , t ree , but figures , , , ff to though di erently spoken , are intelligible m is n o o sibil all and ean the same . There p s ity of misunderstan ding in the cases of either r s s th e music o figures . Thu it is al o with uni versal language peculiar to the hi gher R e gions of the Desire World a nd the still more t i s subtile realms in na ure , it intelligible to
o . all , an exact m de of expression R eturning to our description of the entities commonly met with in the lower Desire O re World, we may note that ther systems of li E m gion than the gyptian , already entioned , has spoken of vari ous clas ses of beings native " O s . f these realm The oroastrian Religion , S ev en Ames ha s ends for instance, mentions p and the Izzards as having dominion over cer tain days in the month and certain months in
88 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
- s is twenty eight day , while man correlated to
m of o r - one the solar onth thirty thirty days . The ancient Persians were astronomers but s no m s of not physiologist , they had ean know ing the different nervous cons titution o f a ni nd h s a w mal a man , but t ey clairvoyantly s thes e superphys ical being , they noted and recorded their wo rk with animal and men and our own anatomical inves tigations may show us the reas on fo r thes e divis ions Of the clas s es of Izzards recorded in that ancient of hi system p losophy. Still another class of beings Should be mentioned : those wh o have entered the De sire World through the gate O f death and are h n m our s now idde fro phy ical vis ion . Thes e ‘ ’ s o - called dead are in fact much more alive h of t an any us, who are tied to a dense body s to and ubject all its limitations , who are forced to slowly drag thi s clog along with us th e of m o wh o at rate a few iles an h ur, must expend such an enormou s amount of energy upon propelling that vehicle that we are easily and quickly tired, even when in the best of health and who are Often c on
fined to a bed, sometimes for years , by the of indisposition this heavy mortal coil . But when that is once shed and the freed spirit TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 89
s can again function in its piritual body, Sick ness is an unknown condition and distance i or is annih lated, at least practically SO, for though it was necessary for the Savior to liken the freed s pirit to the wind whi ch blows s h m where it li teth, t at Si ile gives but a po or des cription of what actually takes place in s o h s i is o s h a s ul flig t . T me n nexi tent t ere, s O the r h a s we shall pre ently explain , S w iter o m h ms f h a on never been able t ti e i el , but s several occas io ns timed others when he wa s in the phys ical body a nd they speeding Dis through s pace upon a certain errand . tances such as from th e Pacific Coast to Eu h Of s o m s s h rope, t e delivery a h rt e age t ere and the return to th e body has been aecom pli sh ed in s lightly less than one minute . o o h om Therefore our a s serti n, that th se w we call dead are in reali ty much more alive than
i . we, s well founded in facts We spoke of the dense body in which we “ “ ” t . s n owlive, as a clog and a fetter It mu h o h hi n ot be inferred , wever, t at we sympat ze o wh o n with the attitud e Of certain pe ple , whe they have learned with what eas e soul - flights o o mo n th e are accomplished, g ab ut be ani g a r e fact that they a r e n owimpris oned . They lon in for th eda V c ons ta ntly thinking of, and g g , 90 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
when they shall be able ‘ to leave this mortal coil behind and fly away in their spiritual
body. Such an attitude of mind is decidedly
mistaken, the great and wise beings who are invi s ible leaders of our evolution have not les placed us here to no purpose . Valuable s ons are to be learned in thi s visible world l h wherein we dwel , t at cannot be learned in m n h any other real Of ature, and t e very con ditions of dens ity and inertia whereof such m i people co plain, are factors wh ch make it possible to acquire th e knowledge this wo rld i wa s s o m is des igned to give . Th s fact a ply illustrated in a recent experience Of the wri — ter z A friend had been studying o ccult ism for a number of years but had not stud ied astrology. Last year she became aroused to the im portance of thi s branch of study as a key to self knowledge and a means Of understand f f ing the natures o others , also o developing for h the compas s ion t eir errors , so necessary ’ h in the cultivation of love of one s neig bor . Love of our neighbor the Savior enjoined upon us as the Supreme Commandment l of which is the fulfil ment all laws , and as a r o rb ea r Astrology teaches us to b e and f , it helps as nothing else can, in the development THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 91 of the supreme virtue . She therefore j oIned one of the classes started in Los Angeles by the writer, but a sudden illn ess quickly ended in death and thus terminated her Study of ~ the subject in the physical body, ere it was well began .
Upon one of many occasions when she vis ited the writer subsequent to her release o th h fr m the body, she deplored e fact t at it seemed so difficult to make headway in her of Th e s con study astrology. writer advi ed s tinned attendance at the cla ses , and sug ‘ gested that Sh e could surely get s omeone On h ’ the o t er s ide to help her s tudy. At this she exclaimed impatiently Oh “ n s s yes "of cours e I atte d the cla es, I have “ done s o right along ; I have al s o found a “ ou nnot friend who helps me here . But y ca imagine h ow difficult it i s to concentrate her e upon mathematical calculations a nd the judg ment of a h o ro scope or in fact upon any s ub ect h h o h - n j here, w ere every little t ug t curre t “ takes you miles away from your study I used to thi nk it difficult to concentrate when i s n ot m I h a d a phys ical body, but it a circu t s tance to th e obs tacles which face the studen 92 THE R OSIOR UCIAN MYSTERIES
Th e physical body was an anchor to her,
and it is that to all Of us . Being dense . it is
also to a great extent impervious to di sturb. ing influences from which the more subtle i spiritual bod es do not shield us . It enables us to bring our ideas to a logical conclusion with far les s effort at concentration than is neces s ary in that realm where all i s in such s T inces ant and turbulent motion . hus we are gradually develo ping the faculty of holding our th oughts to a center by existence in this our world, and we should value opportunities h mi here, rather t an deplore the li tations whi ch help in one direction more than they h fetter in another . In fact, we s ould never ha o s o . deplore any c ndition , each its less n If we try to learn what that les s on is and to assimilate th e experience which may b e ex m tracted therefro , we are wiser than those who waste time in vain regrets . We said there is no time in the Desire th e i World, and reader w ll readily under stand that such mus t be the case from the
fact, already mentioned, that nothing there
is opaque . In this world the rotation of the opaque earth upon its axi s is res ponsible for the al f terna ting conditions o day and night . We turned towards th e sun and its rays illumine our environment, but when our home i s turned away fr om the sun and its rays Oh s tructed by the opaque earth we term the r e
s ultin n : g dark ess Night . The passage of the earth in its orbit around the sun produces th e s s s a nd h ea on the year, w ich are our di s s f m vi ion o ti e . But in th e Desire World is h is on e on where all lig t there but l g day. The s pirit i s n ot there fettered by a heavy s o o n physical body, it d es ot need sleep a nd s is exi tence unbroken . Spiritual s ubstances are n ot s ubject to contraction a n d expan sion s om h h n such as ari e here fr eat and cold, e ce
n on - s summer and winter are als o exi tent . Thus there is nothin g to differentiate one moment from another in res pect of the con n s s m a nd diti on s of light and dark e s , u mer f i m m for u s . h o winter , wh ch ark ti e T ere re, ‘ ’ whi le the s o -called dead ma y have a very accurate memory of time as regards the life o s they lived here in the b dy, they are u ually unable to tell anything about the chronolo gl h a cal relation Of events which have ppened and to them in the Desire World , it is a very t n common thing to find that they do n o eve know how many years have a lapsed Since 94 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
out h o f s they passed from t is plane exi tence . Only students of the Stellar Science are able to calculate the passage of time after their
demise . When the occult investigator wishes to
study an event in the pas t his tory of man , he may most readily call up the picture from th m m n t re h e s s to e e o ry of a u , but if de ire fix
the time of the incident, he will be obliged to count backwards by th e motio n Of the b eav enl F or o l y bodies . that purp se he genera ly ’ us es the measure provided by the sun s pre ’ cession : Each year the s un crosses th e earth s
o - fir of equato r ab ut the twenty s t March . Then h o day and nig t are of even length , theref re n o a this is called the Ver al equin x . But on c co unt Of a certain wabbling motion of the ’ s un o o earth s axis , the d es not cr ss over at "o h the same place in the diac, it reac es the reced e equator a little too early, it p s , year by b a ckwa rd year it moves s a little . At the time f h o f C for s V er o the birt hrist , in tance , the nal Equinox was in about seven degrees of i the "od acal s ign Aries . During the two thousand years which intervene between m that event and the present ti e , the sun has moved b a ckwa rds ab out twenty- s even de s o o grees , that it is now in ab ut ten degrees
96 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
n h s m o e eternal NOW . T ere ee s to be neither pleasure n or pain a nd yet there is n o abs ence of feeling but it all seems to center in the one “ ” — a m —Th e h m E o idea I / u an g , stands s f e face to face with it elf as it were , and or th h ou i time being all els e is s ut t. Th s is the ex perience of anyone wh o passes that breach between the Desire World and the World of h o h h h o th e T ug t , w et er inv luntarily, in course of an ordinary cyclic pilgrimage of s the soul , which we hall later elucidate when s -mo m or peaking Of the post rte existence , by o f a s th e s Of an act the will , in ca e the trained s o ex eri occult inve tigat r , all have the same p ence in transition .
There are two main divi sions in the Physi cal World : th e Chemical Region and the Th e o Of Etheric Region . W rld Thought also ha s two great subdivis ions : The Regi on o f concrete Thought and the Region of abstract
Thought . AS we specialize the material o f the Physi nd h n o cal World a s ape it a de se b dy, and as we form the force -matter of the Desire o s o s o d o World a desire b dy, al we appropri ate a certain amoun t of mind s tu ff from the h h Region of concrete T oug t ; but we, as spir TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 97
- its , clothe ourselves in spirit substance from the Region of abstract Thought and thereby E we become individual, separate gos .
The R e i on o Concrete Thou ht g f g . Th e R egion of concrete Thought is neither s nor o h e hadowy illus ry. It is t acme of real ity and this world whi ch we mistakenly re l gard as the on y verity, is but an evanescent i of repl ca that Region . A little reflection will Show the reas onable ness of thi s s tatement and prove ou r conten tion that all we see here is really crystallized o s our m h our th ught . Our house , ac inery, m chairs and tables , all that has been ade by ” the hand of man is the embodiment of a s th e s o o of thought . As the juice in ft b dy the s nail gradually crystallize into th e hard and flinty shell which it carries upon its back o h n our and which hides it, s everyt i g used in n s in civilizatio n i s a concretion of i vi ible,
- ufi o of m tangible mind s t . The th ught Ja es Watt in time congealed into a steam engin e ’ E o and revolutionized th e world . dis n s thought wa s conden sed into an electric gener and ator whi ch has turned night to day, had d Ma r it n ot been for th e th ought Of Mors e a n th e h not hi coni, telegrap would have anni l 98 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
ated distance as it does today . An earth quake may wreck a city and demolish the h lighting plant and telegraph station, but t e h E t oughts of Watt, dison and Morse remain , and upon the basis Of their indestructible ideas new machinery may be constructed and m a re operations resu ed . Thus thoughts more permanent than things . The sensitive ear Of the musician detects a certain mus ical note in every city whi ch is ff of He b ea di erent from that another city . rs h o in eac little bro k a new melody, and to him the sound of wind in the treetops of di fferent n s forests give a varyi g sound . In the De ire World we noted the exis tence of forms simi o f lar to the shapes things here , also that s ound roceeds rom orm seemingly p f f , but in the Region o f concrete Thought it is di fi er for ent, while each form occupies and oh n onex scures a certain space here , form is istent when viewed from the standpoint of of h the Region concrete T ought . Where the o f rm was , a transparent, vacuous s pace is ob F r m tha t em t v oid co me a servable . o p y s ‘ ’ s o un d whi ch is the keynote that crea tes and maintains the form whence it a pp ea rs to o l s c me , as the a most invi ible core of a gas
flame is the source Of the light we perceive .
1 00 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES
” ‘ not type , for man lives by bread alone, but “ s s o - o by the WORD , and the la t und vibrati n ‘ ’ of the keynote is the death - knell of th e phy sical body . In this world we are compelled to investi gate and to study a thing before we know l fo r ab out it, and although the faci ities gain ing information are in some respects much t greater in the Desire World, a cer ain amount of investigation i s neces s ary never o th eles s to acquire kn owledge . In the W rld f on is . of Thought, the contrary, it di ferent When we wish to know about any certain w o thing there , and e turn our attenti n there
o . t , then that thing speaks to us , as it were The sound it emits at once gi v es u s a mos t luminous comprehens ion of every phase o f o its nature . We attain t a realization o f its past history ; the whole story of its unfold ment is laid bare and we seem to have lived through all of those experiences together with the thing we are inves tigating .
for one m Were it not enor ous difficulty, the story thus Obtained would be exceedingly : hi s o m h valuable But all t inf r ation , t is life r o o m s pictu e , fl ws in up n us with an enor ou in m n in w n n rapidity a ome t , the t i kli g of an h eye, so that it has neit er beginning nor end, TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 1 01
for s in th e of h o h a ll , as aid , World T ug t, is one o not great NOW, Time d es exist .
Therefore, when we want to use the arche m h typal infor ation in the P ysical World, we mus t dis entangle and arrange it in chron o logical order with beginning an d ending b e fore it becomes intelligible to beings living in m i m Th a real where T me is a pri e factor . at rearrangement is a most difficult task a s all wo rds are coined with relation to th e three dimens ion s of space and the evanes cent unit of m m m h ti e , the fleeting o ent, hence muc Of n that info rmation remains u available . Among the denizens Of this Region of con crete Th ought we ma y note particularly two s s i s of n s cla es . One called the powers dark e s by Paul and the mystic investigator Of the Wes tern Wo rld kn ows them as Lords of m h n Mind . They were human at the ti e w e h the earth was in a condition Of darknes s suc as worlds in the making go through b efore they become luminous and reach th e fireml s t our mmera l stage . At that time we were in
ff h th e the ball Of mind stu , w ich was then m th e s H m n earth . At that ti e pre ent u an Spi lIfe whlch its were as much as leep as is th e 1 02 THE R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES
s ou r en ouls minerals Of today, and as we are wo rking with the mineral chemical constitu Of ents the earth, molding them into houses ,
- railways , steam boats , chairs , etc . , etc . , so h o L of d t se beings , who are now ords Min ,
o - w rked with us when we were mineral like . h T ey have since advanced three steps , through stages s imilar to that of the Angels a nd h n s n Arc a gel , before they attai ed their present pos ition and became creative intelli n h ge ces . T ey are expert builders of mind f stu f, as we are builders of the present min eral substances and therefore they have given us necessary help to acquire a mind which is i o of m the h ghest devel pment the hu an being . According to the foregoing explanation it seems to be an anomaly when Paul speaks o f th em as evil and exhorts us to withstand h ffi l s t em . The di cu ty di appears , however , when we understand that goo d and evil are n i but relative qua tities . An illustration wll — make the point clear Let us suppose that an expert organ builder has constructed a ul m wonderf organ , a asterpiece . Then he has n followed his vocation in the proper man er , and is therefore to be commended for the h good which he a s done . But if he is not sat is fi u ed to leave well enough alone, if he ref ses
1 04 TH E R OSIOR UOIAN MYSTERIES fore it attains to the stature Of a giant Of the ma n n fo res t . A does ot become an Angel by the mere fact of dying and entering a new world any more than an animal advances to man be a by the same process . But in time all that lives , mounts the ladder of Being m o od m fro the cl d to the G . There is no li ita s tion po sible to the spirit, and so at various stages in its unfoldment the Human Spirit o o works with the other nature f rces , acc rd ing to the stage of intelligence whi ch it has o attained . It creates , changes and rem dels nu the earth upon which it is to live . Thus , f h der the great law Of cause and e fect , whic tu we observe in every realm of na re , it reaps upon earth what it has sown in heaven , and vice versa . It grows slowly but persistently and advances continually.
A tr ht The R egion of bs a ct Thoug . Various religious systems have been given ff to to humanity at di erent times , each suited meet the spiritual needs Of the peo ple among o whom it was promulgated, and, coming fr m — od the same divine source G , all religions exhibit Similar fundamentals or first princi ples . All systems teach that there was a time d rkn E when a es s reigned supreme . verything TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 1 05 which we now perceive was then n on - exist E ent . arth, sky and the heavenly bodies were uncreate, so were th e multitudinous forms which live and move upon the various s — planet All, all, was yet in a fluidic condi tion and th e Un iver s al Spirit brooded quies c en t in imi th e E l tless Space as One xistence . The Greeks called that condi tion Of homo eneit ha o g y C s , and the s tate Of orderly segre g a tion which we now see ; the marching orbs i l n wh ch illumine the vau ted canopy of heave , the stately procession Of planets around a m s central light, the aje tic sun ; the unbroken sequence of th e seas on s a nd the unvarying alternation of tidal ebb and fl ow —all this f m o wa s aggregate o sys te atic rder, called o mo o s to o C s s , and was supp ed have pr ceeded from Chao s . The Christian Mystic obtains a deeper com prehen sion when he opens his Bib le a nd pon ders the first five verses Of that brightes t gem of all spiritual lore : the Gospel Of St .
John . As he reverently opens his aspiring heart to acquire understanding of thos e sublime mystical teachings h e transcends the form om n o s ms of side of nature, c prisi g vari u real s whi ch we have been s peaking, and find him 1 06 TIIE R OSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
“ ” self in the spirit , as did the prophets In H i olden times . e s then in the R egion of ah stract Thought and sees the eternal verities ul i which also Pa beheld in this , the th rd,
heaven .
F or those among us who are unable to oh tain knowledge save by reaso ning upon the m atter, however, it will be necessary to ex amine the fundamental meaning of words u used by St. John to clothe his wonderf l teaching, which was originally given in the h s m Greek language , a muc i pler matter than fo r s is commonly supposed, Greek word have been freely introduced into ou r modern lan fi guages , particularly in scienti c terms , and we sha ll show how thi s ancient teaching is supported by the latest discoveries of mod ern science . f f The Opening verse o the gospel o St . John “ is as follows In th e b eginn ing was the rd th e Wo rd G od the Wo , and was with , and ” od l m Wo rd was G . We wi l exa ine the ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ d ’ o . words : beginning, Word and G We may al s o note that in the Greek version the ‘ concluding sentence reads : and God was th e ” ff m Word , a di erence which akes a great
distinction .
1 08 THE R OSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
th e h of co v ery of the electron , atomic t eory Th i no . e matter , is longer tenable pr nciple Of radio - activity h a s later vindicated the AI
chemists . Science and the Bible agree in h h a s teachi ng, that all t at is , been formed
from one homogeneous substance . It is that ba s ic principle which John called a rche — — n primordial matter, and the dictio “ ary defines Archeolo gy a s : th e science o f h the origin ( a rche) Of t ings . Mas ons style “ ” h e God t Grand Architect, for the Greek i s word ; tektos means builder , and God the ek o f r he : Chief Builder ( t tos ) , a c the primor dial virgin matter whi ch is also the chi ef f source o all things . Thus we see that when the opening sen ’ ohn s s is tence of St . J go pel properly trans our h s o n h lated, C ri tian Religi teac es that once a virgin subs tance enfolded the divine — od Thinker z G . That is the identical condi tion which th e s earlier Greek called Chaos . A little thought will make it evident that we are not arbitrary in finding fault with the translation of the
- gospel , for it is self evident that a word can b e i not the beg nning, a thought must precede the word , and a thinker mu s t originate thought before it can be expres sed as a word . TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 1 09 W hen properly tran slated the teaching of o m o s J hn fully e b die that idea, for th e Greek m l ter og os means both the reas onable — we s L — thought , ( al o say ogic) , a nd th e word which expres s es thi s logical thought ( ) . 1 ) In the primordial s u bs tance was thou ht g , and the thought wa s with G od And G od was the word ,
2 T T The Wo rd a ls ) HA , " ", o was with G od in the rimal s at p t e. L R C F ater the divine WO D ; the reative iat, reverber ates through space a nd s egegra tes the h omogeneous Virgin substance into s epa o m rate f r s .
3 ) Ev ery thing has come into ex is tence be ca us e o th a t rime a ct The o f p f , " W rd o f G o d a nd n thin ex i s ", o g s t apart from tha t a t f c . 4 In tha t a i e ) w s L f . In the alphabet we have a few elementary s ound s fr om which words may be con struct
ed . s m of s s o They are ba ic ele ents expre i n , a s o m m ls bricks , ir n and lu ber are raw ateria o f a o r om o rchitecture , as a few notes are c p t m nent par s of usic . h of But a eap bricks , iron and lumber, is mb m s s of not a house , neither is a ju led a n o s m a r te usic , nor can we call a haphazard rangement of alphabetical s ounds : a word . 1 1 0 T R OSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
These raw materials are prime necessities in of m con struction architecture, usic, literature o o o f n h o r poetry, but the c nt ur the fi is ed pro duct and the purpo se it will serve depends m of th e m upon the arrange ent raw aterials , ’ whi ch is subject to the cons tructo r s de sign . Building materials may be formed to prison o r palace : notes ma y be arranged as fanfare o r funeral dirge ; words may be in dited to ln s s or th e spire pa ion peace, all according to of s i will the designer . So al o the majest c rhythm of the Wo rd of G od has wrought the m : a rche multitudi n pri al substance , into the ous forms which comprise the phenomenal
n Hi s . world , accordi g to will Did the reader ever stop to consider th e m C mi wonderful power of a hu an word . o ng o f ma u to us in the sweet accents love , it y l re us from paths of rectitude to shameful igno miny and wreck our life with sorrow and r e o o ffo t m rse, or it may spur us on in n bles t e r s o to acquire glory and h nor , here or hereafter . According to the infl ection of the voice a wo rd may strike terror into the bravest heart The or lull a timid chi ld to peaceful slumber . r ou s e th e s s o word of an agitator may . pa i ns of l o s a mob and impel it to awfu bl od hed , as F R in the rench evolution, where dictatorial
1 1 2 TH E R OSIOBUCIAN MYSTERIES
to sustain the marchi ng orbs and impel them
onwards in their circle paths , the Creative Word continues to produce forms Of gradu i emci n di s ally increas ng e cy , as me a expre sing i u life and consciousness . The harmon o s enunciation of consecutive syllables in the Divine Creative Word mark successive stages in evolution of the world and man . When the last syllable has been spoken and the com ete pl word has sounded , we shall have reached f m l per ection as hu an beings . Then Time wi l th of be at an end, and with e last vibration d the Word Of God , the worlds will be resolve m into their original ele ents . Our life will ‘ hid h Cos then be wit Christ in God , till the — C — d to mic Night haos , is over, an we wake “ ” “ d o greater things in a new heaven and a ” new earth . According to the general idea Ch aos and Cosmo s are superlative antitheses of one a n
other . Chao s being regarded as a pas t condi tion of confusion and di sorder whi ch h a s long since been entirely s uperseded b y cosmic or .
der which now prevails .
of h As a matter fact, C aos is the seed mo s th e sis o f o s s ground of Co s , ba all pr gre , for thence come all IDEAS which later ma TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WOBLD 1 1 3 teri a li z e m as Railways, Stea boats, Tele phones , etc . “ We s peak of thoughts as being conceived ” m h by the mind, but as both father and ot er
s h f hi s o are nece sary in t e generation o a c ld, also there mus t be both idea and mind before thou ht n m a g can be conceived . As seme ger in a ted in the positive male organ i s projected o h n on int t e negative uterus at co cepti , so ideas are generated by a positive Human Ego in the spirit- substance of th e Region of ab h h h s is o e n stract T oug t . T i idea pr ject d upo n o o s th e receptive mi d, and a c ncepti n take m o place . Then , as the sper atoz ic nucleus draws upon the maternal body for material to shape a body appropriate to its individual o s o o h s expre s s i n , does each idea cl t e it elf in fi is h a peculiar form of mind stu . It t en a
s to o of com thought , as vi ible the inner visi n
i e man h to . po s t , as a c ild is its parent Thus we see that ideas are embryonic the h of - s om thoug ts , nuclei spirit sub tance fr
Regi on of abs tract Thought . Improperly h om v a conceived in a dis eas ed mind t ey bec e h s in garies and delusions , but w en ge tated a . tl on al h o ht s ound mind a n d formed into ra t ug s
they are the basis of all material, moral and 1 1 4 THE R OSICR UOIAN MYSTERIES m th e ental progress , and closer our touch h Ch o s th e wit a , better will be our Cosmo s , for in that realm o f abstract realities truth i s no t s m s - ob cured by atter , it is elf evident . “ ” wa s s h n Pilate a ked what is Trut , but o n s f a wer is recorded . We are incapable o cognizin g truth in the abs tract while we live h om o fo in the p en enal w rld , r the inherent na m s ture of atter is illu ion and delusion , and we are cons tantly ma king allowances and cor rections whether we are conscious of the fact o r no s t . The unbeam which proceed s for 90 m o s o f m s n illi n ile in a straight li e , is refract o r ed bent, as soon as it s trikes our dense a t mos h ere p , and according to the angle of its o a ea r on o or eu refracti n , it pp s to have e col r s h other . The traig test stick appears crooked mm in a nd when partly i ersed water, the truths which are s o self- evident in the Higher s i s world are l kewise ob cured, refracted or twisted ou t of all semblance under the illu i sory conditions of this mater al world . “ ” The s C truth shall set you free , aid hrist, and the more we turn our aspirations from material acquisitiveness and seek to lay up mo treasure above , the re we aim to rise , the “ i ” oftener we get in the spir t , the more read “ ” ily we shall know truth and reach libera
1 1 6 THE R OSIOBUCIAN MYSTERIES
o m of 5 up n the re ainder the first verses of St . John ’ s gospel “ And i e beca me Li ht in man L f g , ” 5 and i ht shines in Da rk n ) L g ess . We have now seen that the earth is com posed of three worlds whi ch interpenetrate one another so that it is perfectly true when C “ ” hrist said that heaven is within vou or, the translation should rather have been ; a mon on g y . We have also seen that of these three realms two are subdivided . It has also been explained that each div ision serves a great purpose in the unfoldment of various forms of life which dwell in each o f these o in worlds , and we may n te conclusion , that the lower regions of the Desire World con s titute what the Catholi c religion calls P nrga ~ r o f l to g , a place where the evil a past ife is s transmuted to good, u able by the spirit as hi s conscience in later lives . The gher region of the Desire World are the firs t Hea v en h a s s where all the good a man done , is a sim o l Th e ilated by the spirit as s n power . Region e ond Hea v en of co ncrete Thought is the s c , s where , as already said , the spirit prepare R e its future environment on earth, and the gion of abstract Thought is the thi rd Hea v TH E VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE WORLD 1 1 7
en , but as Paul said , it is scarcely lawful to
speak about that .
‘ Some will ask : is there then no hell l— No " The mercy of G od ten ds a s greatly towards “ the principle of GOOD as the inhuma nity ” o ma n f towards cruelty, so that h e would consign his brother men to flames of hell dur ing eternity for the puerile mistakes com mitted or h for during a few years , per aps a s ff n h a s light di ere ce in belief . The writer heard of a min ister who wished to impres s “ ” his flock with the reality of an eternity of m m s of hell fla es , and to de on trate the fallacy a heretical notion entertained by some of his pa risioners : that when sinners came to hell they burn to ashes and that is the end . He took with him an alcohol lamp and some as besto s into the pulpit and told his audience that G od would turn their souls He into a s ubstance resembling asbestos . showed them that though the asbesto s were heated red hot it did not decompose into F of h e ashes . ortunately the day t hell ' th e preacher has gone by , and if we believe “ Bible which says that in G od we live a nd ” r ea dIly move and have our being, we can im understand that a los t s oul would b e a n o h lit one , p os s ibi y , for were single soul l st t en 1 1 8 THE R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
logically a part of God Himself would be our or lost . No matter what color, our race our a ll of creed, we are equally the children God and in our various ways we sh all obtain Let satisfaction . us therefore rather look to Christ and forget Creed .
Creed o r Chris t"
NO man loves God who hates hi s kind ; ’ Wh o tramples on his Brother s heart and
soul . Wh o seeks to shackle ; cloud o r fog the mind ; By fears o f Hell has nor perceived our
goal .
God - sent are all religions blest ; An d Ch s th e h L ri t ; the Way, Trut and ife, To the - give heavy laden rest, for o And peace S rrow, Sin and Strife .
At his request the Universal Spirit came ; To a ll the ch urches n ot to on e o ; al ne, On Penteco s tal mo rn a tongue of flame ; h Round ea ch apostle as a alo shone .
h Since t en , as vultures ravenous with greed ; fo m We oft have battled r an empty na e , And o o E C s ught by D gma , dict, reed , h th e To send each ot er to flame .
H E IV C APT R .
an,» a ns tttufinn of Matt
c a h s o Our h pter ead , the con tituti n o f ma n ma s s who , y urpri e a reader ha s not previo us ly s tudied th e Mys h o r he ma n h tery teac ings , y imagi e t at n o m o we intend to give an a at ical dis s ertati n, n o s o but such is ot ur intention . We have p ken of the earth upon whi ch we live as being composed o f several invisible realms in a d dition to the world we perceive by means o f s s o f our senses . We have al o poken man as being correlated to these various divi s ions in nature , and a little thought upon the subject will quickly convince us that in order to function upon the various planes of exist ence described , it is neces sary that a man should have a body compo s ed of their sub or stance, at least have specialized for hi s own of use, some the material of each o f these worlds .
We have said that finer matter , called de ’ ff mi s tufl sire stu and nd , permeates our at 1 20 TH E CONSTITUTION OF MAN 1 21 mo s here h p and the solid eart , even as blood
o of our h perc lates through all parts fles . But that i s n ot a sufficient explanation to a o f or . count all facts of life If that were all, then minerals, which are interpenetrated by th e o of o of w rld thought and the w rld desire, would have thoughts an d desires as well as no o h n man . This is t the case, s somet i g mo re than mere interpenetration must be r e quis ite to acquire the faculties of thought and feeling. We kn ow that in order to function in this h s n mon oth world , to live as a p y ical bei g a g i s h s o er , l ke, beings , we mu t have a p y ical b dy all ou r own ; built of th e ch emcia l constitu o s ents of this Vis ible world . When we l e it o o h o at death, it pr fits us n t ing that the w rld is full of just the very chemicals needed to o n h n build such a b dy . We ca not t e special o n s to ize them, and theref re we are i vi ible m not os s s s all others . Si ilarly, if we did p e o a special body made of ether, we sh uld be unable to grow a nd to propagate That i s n Ha d n o the cas e with the mi eral . we sep h o arate in dividual des ire body, we S uld be d mo on s h r unable to feel des ires a n e ti , t e e would be no in centive to move from one o h place to another . We Sh uld t en be station 1 22 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERI ES
an d di d o ary as plants , we not p ssess a mind, s o o f h we h uld be incapable thoug t , and act s a nd n upon impul e insti ct as animals . S ome one ma y of course Object to thi s last m state ent, and contend that animal s do hi O our o t nk . S far as d mesticated animals
are concerned that is partially true , but it is not quite in the same way that we think f and reason . The di ference may perhaps best be understood if we take an illustrati on from the electrical field . When an electric current of hig h v oltag e is passed through a o coiled copper wire , and an ther wire is plac in o f o s i ed the center the c il , that wire w ll become charged with electricity of a lower v olta s o g e so al o the animal , when br ught of m o within the sphere hu an thoughts , ev lves of a mental activity a lower order . the Paul , in his writings , also mentions n a tura l b ody and the s pi ritua l b ody whi le the man himself is a spirit inhabiting those vehi l o s c cs . We will briefly note the c n titution o f the various bodies of ma n invisible to the physical sight but as objective to spiritu al v sight as the dense body to ordinary ision.
l Bo The Vita dy . Th at b ody of ours which is composed of “ ” ether is called the vita l b ody in Wes tern
1 24 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
light of the moon from what is the case when h h m they are planted w en t e oon is dark . There is also a difference in plants s own when the moo n is in barren and fruitful signs of " the odiac . The solar ray is absorbed by the human spirit which h a s its s eat in the center o f th e h l fore ead, the stel ar ray is absorbed by the en brain and spinal cord , and the lunar ray ters our system through the spleen .
s Both solar, tellar and lunar rays are
- h three colored , and in the lunar ray whic our is th e supplies vital force , the blue beam of F h m life The ather, whic causes ger ination, h f h the yellow beam is t e life o The Son , w ich is the active principle in nutrition and th e the growth, and the red beam is life of H s o d oly Spirit, which stimulate to acti n, issi pating the energy stored by the yellow force . This principle is particularly active in gen i erat on . The various kin gdoms absorb thi s life ff h n itu force di erently, according to t eir c o s t An 28 o f tion . imals have only pairs s pinal m h nerves . They are keyed to the lunar ont o f 28 days and therefo re dependent upon a G roups pirit for an infus ion of stellar rays necessary to produce consciousnes s . They TH E CONSTITUTION OF MAN 1 25
are altogether incapable of absorbing the f direct ray o the sun .
Ma n is 1 in a transition stage , he has 3 pairs o f spin al nerves which keys him to the solar
mo th e o - nth , but the nerves in s called cauda — equina literally : horse - tail at the end of ou r spinal cord, are still too undeveloped to act as avenues for the Spiritual ray of the t s n o r u . In prop rtion as we draw ou creative force upward by spiritual thought we develop these nerves and awaken dormant faculties of o m the s pirit . But it is danger us to atte pt that development except under guidance of
a qualified teacher, and the reader is earnest ly warned not to use any method published or o in books , s ld, for their practice usually o leads to dementia . The safe meth d is never sold for money or any earthly consideration however large or small ; it is always freely “ Ask given as a reward of merit . and ye s s hall receive, seek and ye hall find, knock ” Ch . and it Shall be opened , said the rist If m o the our life is a prayer for illu inati n,
search will n ot be uncertain, nor the knock
without response . When solar energy has been transmuted in the spleen it traverses the whole nervous system of the body glowing with a most 1 26 THE R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTEBIES
i of i beaut ful color a del cate rosy hue . It answers the same purpose as electricity in a telegraph system. We may string wires be n tween cities , erect telegraph stations , i stall n receivers and transmitters . We may eve o the have operat rs ready at keys , but until d ou h electric flui is turned into r wires , t e s telegraph keys will refu e to click . So also in the body, the human spirit is operator, and r om s o of f the central tati n the brain , nerves h ramify, go through the w ole body to all the i ff i d erent muscles . When this Vitalizing flu d of which we are speakin g traver s es the ner o E o hi s omm s v us system , the g may send c and to the mus cles and cause them to move but if the vital fluid for any reason does n ot flow into a certain part of the body such as an s a rm o r a limb , then the pirit is powerless to move that part of the body and we say that it is paralyzed .
When we are in health , we specialize solar energy in such great quantities that we can n ot use it all in th e body and therefore it radiates through the pores of ou r skin in s traight streams and serves a simi lar pur pose as an exhaust fan . That machine drives the foul air out of a room or building and keeps the atmosphere within pure and sweet.
1 28 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
If ‘ digestion . the meal has been heavy, the o ni outfl w is very perceptibly dimi shed, and does not then cleanse our body as thoroughly nor as when the food has been digested, are
they as potent in keeping out inimical germs . Therefo re one is mos t liable to catch cold
or other disease by o vereating, a fault which s hould be avoided by all who wish to keep
in good health . During ill health the vital body special o i izes but little s lar energy. Then , for a t me , th e visible body seems to feed upon th e vital h body as it were, s o that the ve icle becomes more transparent and attenuated at the same rate as the vi s ible body exhibits a s tate of on emaciation . The cleansing odic radiati s
are almost entirely absent during s ickness , therefore complications set in so easily. Though science has not directly Observed of ma n this vital body , it has upon several occasions postulated the existence of such a vehicle as necessary to acco unt for facts in life and the radiations have been Observed by a number of scientists at difi erent times Blondlot and under varying conditions . and Charpentier have called them N- rays after the city of Nantes where the radi ations were observed by these scientists, others have TH E CONSTITUTION OF MAN 1 29
“ named them Th e Odic fluid Scientific inves tigators wh o have conducted researches into psychi c phenomena have even photo graphed it when it h a s been extracted m r through the spleen by ate ializing spirits . H Dr . otz for instance obtained two ph oto s m graph Of a aterialization, through th e
m m - D mmler n Ger an mediu , Minna e . On o e a cloud of ether is s een o ozing out through th e m m a nd h left side Of the ediu , shapeless wit out Th n m. e o for s ec d picture , taken a few m m h m o ents later , s ows the aterialized spirit ’ th e m m h h o standing at ediu s side . Ot er p togr a ph s Obtained by s cientists from th e m m Eus a io o Italian ediu , p Palladin Show a
- luminous cloud over hanging her left Side . We s aid in the beginning of this descrip tion that the vital body is an exact counter part Of the den s e body with one exception : it is of th e oppo site s ex or perhaps we should A th e o rather s a y polarity . S vital body n ur n s ma di y un ishes the de e vehicle, we y rea l d er s ta nd that blo od is its highest vis ible ex a nd h pre s s ion , als o t at a positively polarized vital body would generate more blo od than a m wh o i s h negative on e. Wo an p ysically neg o h sh e en ative has a pos itive vital b dy, ence g h ev ed era tes a surplus of blood which Is re by 1 30 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
fl w the periodical o . She is also more prone i ma n to tears , wh ch are white bleeding, than , whose negative vital body does not generate more blood than he can comfortably take care of h o n ot s him to . T eref re it is neces ary for have the outlets whi ch relieve excess of blood in woman .
h De ire Bo d T e s y .
In addition to the visible body and the vital body we also have a bo dy made of de s ire stuff from which we form ou r feelings m s and e otions . This vehicle al o impels us to s hi seek sen e gratification . But w le the two in struments of which we have already s pok s a en , are well organized , the de ire body p pears to spiritual sight as an ovoid cloud extending from sixteen to twenty inches b e yond the physical body. It is above the head and below the feet so that our dense body s its in the center of thi s egg- shaped o n f cl ud as the yolk is in the ce ter o an egg . The reason for the rudimentary state of i i i s th s veh cle , that it has been added to the human constitution more recently than the i E of bod es previously mentioned . volution form may be likened to the manner in whi ch
1 32 THE R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
number of other vortices . The desire body exhibits all the colo rs and shades which we know and a vast number of others which are s indescribable in earthly language . Tho e colors vary in every per son according to hi s characteristics a nd temperament and they also vary from moment to moment as pass it o s o o g m od , fancies r emoti ns are ex peri n c d h o e e by him . T ere is h wever in each one a certain bas ic color dependent upon n s the mom of hi the ruli g tar at ent s birth . o ro The man in wh se ho scope , Mars is pecu lia rly strong usually ha s a crimson tint in h u is o his aura , w ere J piter the str nges t planet th e prevailing tint seems to be a bluish on h th e tone, and so wit other planets . ’ There was a time in the earth s past hi s m tory when incr us tation was n ot yet co plete, and human beings of that time lived upon
h . islands here and t ere , amid boiling seas
They had not yet evolved eyes or ears , but : i o a little organ the pineal gland, wh ch anat m s s the thi rd e e i t have called y , protruded through the back of the head and was a loca l ed o r n eelin iz g a of f g . which warned the man when he came too near a volcanic crater and l him c thus enab ed to escape destruction . Sin e then the cerebral hemi spheres have covered TH E CONSTITUTION OF MAN 1 33
a nd s of r the pineal gland , in tead a single o f h e h o o n a nd out gan o feeling, t w le b dy i side o im h h of is sens itive t pacts , w ic course is f a much higher state o development .
In the des ire body every particle is s en si tive to vibrations simila r to th o se which we s h s n a n d n a nd call ig t , ou ds feeli gs every par ticle is in in ces sant motion rapidly swirling about S O that in th e s ame in stant it may be at the top and bottom o f the desire body and im part at all points to all the other particles a sen s ation of that which it has experienced thus every particle of desire stufi in this vehicle of ours will instantly feel any sensa tion experienced by any single particle . Therefore the des ire body is of an exceeding l of m y s ens itive nature , capable ost intense feelings and emotions .
nd The Mi . m This is th e lates t acquis ition of the hu an a nd mo s o wh o h n ot spirit, in t pe ple ave yet to cons e u accus tomed thems elves orderly, c h m h o o d1 s tive th oug t, it is a ere inc ate cl ud
h e h d . po s ed particularly in th e region of t ea h When lo oking at a pers on clairvoyantly t ere th e n appear s to be a n empty space in ce ter n the of th e forehead jus t above and betwee 1 34 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTEBIES
s th e eyebrows . It look like blue part of a gas h is m i h flame . T at ind s tuff wh c veils the hu ma n or E o spirit, g , and the writer has been told that n ot even the mo s t gifted seer can penetrate that veil which is s aid to have been “ spoken o f in ancient Egypt as the v eil of ” Is i b e s which none may lift and live , for H of H hind that veil is the oly olies , the tem of our ple body, where the spirit is to be left
secure from all intrusion . To those who have not previously studied th e deeper philos ophies the question may oc cur : But why all thes e divi s ions ; even th e of fo r s Bible speaks only soul and body, mo t people believe soul and s pirit to be s yn ony
mous terms . We can only answer that this s no divi ion is t arbitrary but necessary, and
founded upon facts in nature . Neither is it correct to regard the s oul and the spirit as u t s ysnonymo s . Paul himself speaks of he n a tu ra l b ody which is composed of physical : substances solids , liquids , gases and ethers ; o iritu a l b od i s he menti ns a s p y , which the vehicle of the spirt c ompo sed of th e mind and s the s i rit i ts el hi de ire body, and p f, w ch is “ ” E or E called go in Greek I in nglish . “ ” That term I is an appelation which can
only be made by the human s pirit of itself.
CH E V APT R .
Eifr aah l32 t
In i l H l r nd Medi m v s ib e e pe s a u s . There are two classes Of people in the o on w rld . In e class the vital and dense bodies are s o firmly cemented that th e ethers cannot be extracted under any circums tances but remains with th e dens e body at all times n o o om h and u der all c nditi ns fr birt to death . Tho s e people are insens ible to any s uper s en h h f s uon s s ights o r s o unds . T ey are t ere o re i n usually exceed gly s ceptic , and believe noth s the ing exi ts but what y can see . There i s another class o f people in whom the connection between th e dense and the o s is mo o r s o o vital b die re le s l ose , s that the ether of their vital bodies vibrates at a h higher rate th an in t e first class mentioned . Thes e people are therefore more or less sen i iv o r s t e to the s piritual w ld . This clas s of sen s itives ma y again be di vid ed h m . Some are weak c aracters , do inat 1 36 LIFE AND DEATH 1 37
of h ne a tiv e nn ed by the will ot ers in a g ma er, m wh o as ediums , are the prey of dis embodied spirits des irous of obtaining a phys ical body own h when they have lost their by deat . The other clas s of sensitives are strong os itiv e on p characters , who act ly from with to h own h ma in , according t eir will . T ey y
e o n r o and dev l p into trai ed clai v yants , be their own masters in stead of slaves of a dis m o In om n f o h e b died s pirit . s e s e s itives o b t classes it i s po s s ible to extract part of th e hi o h o h ether w ch f rms t e Vital b dy . W en a dis embodi ed s pirit obtains a subject of that o th e n a s a ma te nature, it devel ps se sitive ria li in medi m Th e ma n wh o z g u . is capable o f extracting hi s own vital body by a n act of om of two or s ind will , bec es a citizen w ld , e n d s o pendent a free . The e are usually kn wn In v i l H el er o h as s ib e p s . There are certain t er abnormal conditions where th e vital body a nd the dense body are s eparated totally o r in n n our m part , for i sta ce if we place li b in an uncomfortable po s ition s o that circulation of s ma s ee th e h the blood cease . Then we y et eric limb hanging down below the visible limb a s o on a nd a stocking . When we rest re circulati r o the etheric limb seeks to ente int place, an to the intense prickly s ens ation is felt, due 1 38 THE R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
of h fact that the little streams force , whic to radiate all through the ether, seek per meate the molecules of the limb and stir them
into renewed vibration . When a pers on is o drowning, the vital body als separates from the dense vehicle and the intense prickly pain incident to resuscitation is also due to th e
cause mentioned . While we are awake and go ing about our o s work in the Physical W rld , the de ire body r and mind , both pe meate the dense and the is s b e vital bodies , and there a con tant war
tween the des ire nature and the vital body . The Vital b ody is continuallyengaged in build m m s ing up the human organis , while the i pul eS of the desire body tend to tire a nd to break l s th e down tissue . Gradual y, in the cour e of o o s o o day, the vital b dy l e s gr und bef re the o of o o s of nslaughts the desire b dy, p ison de cay slowly accumulate and the fl ow o f vital m s s fluid becomes ore and more luggi h , until at length it is incapable o f moving th e mu s
cles . The body then feels heavy and drowsy . s At last the vital body collapse , as it were , the little streams of force whi ch permeate E o each atom seem to shrivel up , and the g is forced to abandon its body to the res tora
tive powers of sleep .
1 40 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
ul the desire body is not f ly extracted , hence the res tles s s leep whi ch usually accompani es dreams of a confused nature .
m o s There are ti es of c ur e , when dreams o h ms are prophetic and c me true , but suc drea result o nly after complete extraction of th e s m h de ire body. Under circu stances w ere the i h s pirit has seen some danger perhaps , wh c ma y befall , and then impresses the fact upon he a t the momen t o a wa k enin t brain f g . It al s o happens that the spirit goes upon a s oul flight and omits to perfo rm its part of th e o s o w rk Of re t ration , then the body will n ot to re- th e mo be fit enter in rning, so it n ma h m sleeps o . The spirit y t us roa afield fo r m or a nu ber Of days , even weeks , before it again enters its phys ical b ody and assumes the normal routine of altern ating waking and i o i r n . s t ce sleep Th s conditi n called a , and the spirit may remember upon its return what it h a s seen a nd heard in th e super -phy i l or ma o s ca realm , it y have forgotten , acc rd ing to the stage Of its develo pment and th e f depth o the trance condition . When the trance is very light, the spirit is usually present in th e room where its body lies all th e time, and upon its return to the body it will be able to recount to relatives all they LIFE AND DEATH 1 41
said and did while its body lay uncons cious . h Where the trance is deeper, t e returning spirit will usually be uncon s cious of what
ma happened around its body, but y recount o experiences from the invisible w rld . A few years ago a little girl by the name
of F nn " o s lorence Be ett in ankakee, Illin i , h e fell into such a trance . She returned to t s h n n body every few days , but tayed wit i o ly
a few hours each time, and the whole trance h or h s s m . n e la ted t ree week , ore less Duri g t o s h e h returns to her b dy told relatives, t at in her absence she seemed to be in a place
inhabited by all the people wh o di ed . But sh e s tated that non e of them spoke about dy ing a nd no on e among them s eemed to realize on h os sh e ha d that they were dead . Am g t e seen wa s a locomotive en gineer wh o ha d been His o wa s m n d accidentally killed . b dy a gle The lit in the accident whi ch caused death . tle girl perceived him there walking ab out s o on his h d minus arms , and with le i ns up ea ,
o wh o h e by mystic investigators . Pers ns av o been hurt in accidents go ab ut thus , until they learn that a mere wish to have their or body made whole, will supply a new arm 1 42 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES limb ; for desire s tuff is most quickly and h o h readily molded by t ug t .
h Dea t .
After a longer or shorter time there comes o h n in each life a p int , w e the experiences which a spirit can gain from its present eu vi ronment , have been exhausted, and life terminates in death . Death may be s udden and seemingly nnex ected s h p , as for in tance by eart quake , upon -field or the battle , by accident, a s we call it, but in reality, death is never accidental or H unforeseen by igher Powers . Not a spar o row falls t the ground without divine Will . ’ o i of There are al ng l fe s path , partings the on on way, as it were, e s ide the main line of life continues onward, the other path leads into what we might call a blind alley . If the m an . takes that path , it soon ends in death We are here in life for the sake of gainin g experience and each life has a certain harves t to our reap . If we order life in such a man o ner that we gain the kn wledge , it is intended i we should acquire , we continue in l fe , and opportun ities of different kinds cons tantly u m a nd come o r way . But if we neglect the , the life goes into paths whi ch are not con
1 44 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
m o h n s s of i pulsive y ut , to the ripe e manhood or of womanhood , before it becomes true spiritual use The longer we live after ma turity has been attained ; when we have com of i menced to look upon the serious side l fe , and started to truly learn les s ons which make ul owth for s o gr , the more experience we shall gather and the richer o ur harves t will be . s Then , in a later exi tence , we shall be so much a nd o f more advanced , capable taking up ta sks that would be impo s sible with less h Be length of life and breadt of activity. to for sides , it is hard die the man in the prime of life with a wife and growing family; whom h e loves ; with ambition s of greatness h h o f him unfulfilled ; wit s ts o friends about , and with interests all centered upon th e ma ‘ i terial plane of exis tence . It s sad for the woman whose heart is bound up in home a nd h a s to m the little ones she reared , leave the , perhaps without anyone to care for them ; to know that they have to fight their way al one through the early years when her tender care i s n eeded , and perhaps to see those little ones sh e abused , and unable to lift a hand , though her heart may bleed a s freely as it would in h All eart life . these things are sad , and they bind the spi rit to ea r th for a much long LIFE AND DEATH 1 45
h er time than ordinarily, t ey hinder it from reaping the experiences it should reap upon of the other side death, and they make it de s irable along with other reas ons already m n on e ti ed, to live a long life before passing onwards . The difference between those wh o pass out old on e wh s h s at a ripe age, and o leave t i th e of ma s earth in prime life, y be illu trated by the manner in whi ch th e seed clings to a of fruit in an unripe state . A great deal force is necessary to tear the stone from a green peach ; it has such a tenacious h old upon the fru it that shreds of pulp adhere to m o it when forcibly re oved, s also the spirit clings to th e flesh in middle life and a cer d tain part of its material interest remain a n h th e o h bind it to earth after deat . On t er to th e l hand, when a life has been lived ful , when the spirit has h a d time to realize its n ambitions or to find out their futility, whe d the duties of life have been performed an sati s faction rests upon th e brow of a n aged h a ma n or woman ; or when th e life s been h mis spen t an d the pangs of conscience ave a nd o him hIs worked upon th e ma n , Sh wn h th e h a s mistakes ; w en , in fact, spirit learn h to om ed the lessons of life, as it must ave c e 1 46 TH E R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES to old age ; then it may be likened to the seed of ut the ripe fruit whi ch falls o clean , with out a f n h e vestige o flesh clingi g thereto , at t moment the encasing pulp is opened. There h fore we say, as before , that t ough there is a brighter existence in store for those who i have lived well , it s nevertheless best to live a long life and to live it to the fullest extent
possible .
We also maintain , that no matter what may ’ s o f be the circum tances a man s death, it is not accidenta l ; it h a s either been brought about by his own neglect to embrace oppor tunities of growth , or else life has been lived e o s s ex ce to the ultimat p ible . There is one p ’ tion to that rule , and that is due to man s exercise of his di vine prerogative o f inter
ference . If we lived according to s chedule , if we all assimi lated the experiences design g o ed for our growth by the Creative P wers ,
we Should live to the ultimate length , but we ours elv es usually s ho rten our lives by not o f taking advantage opportunities , and it also happens that o ther men may shorten our lives and cut them off a s suddenly as the s o called accident whereby the divine rulers
our . terminate life here In other words , mur o h o h der, or fatal accidents br ug t ab ut by u
THE R OSIOBUOIAN MYSTERIES
s final relea e from the body. Then the dying person views both worlds at once , and is cog ni zant of the presence of both dead and liv h ums s ing friends . Under suc circ tance it very Often happens that a mother sees some wh o o o h of her children have g ne bef re , and s e “ m : Oh ohnn will exclai joyously , there is J y ’ standing at the foot of my bed ; my but hasn t he grown " The living relatives may feel s shocked and unea y, thinking the mother suf ferin s g from hallucination , while in reality
m - s she is ore clear ighted than they, she per ceiv es s those who have pas ed beyond the veil, who have come to greet and as s is t her to find herself at home in the new world she is eu tering . E ach human being is an individual , sepa m h s ex eri rate and apart fro all ot er , and as p ences in the life Of each differ from tho s e Of all others in the interval from the cradle to s o ma s the grave , we y al o reasonably infer that the experiences of each s pirit vary from h f h s t os e o every ot er spirit, when it pas es f through the gates o birth and death . We print what purports to be a s pi rit mes s a g e commun icated by th e late profes sor James of o on m Harvard at the B st s pirit te ple , and in which he describes sens ations which he felt LIF E AND DEATH 1 49
of when passing through the gate death . We d o n ot vouch for its authenticity as we have not investigated the matter personally. Professor James had promised to com munica te after death with his friends in this o of life, and the wh le world psychi c res earch was and still i s on watch for a word from m m h him . Several ediums have clai ed t at Professor James has communicated through m m h o the , but the most re arkable are t se given through the Boston spirit temple as follows “ h s is de th on to fa a s on to And t i a , ly ll leep , ly a waken in th e mo rning a nd to kno w that a ll is well .
m not dea d o n a r sen . I a , ly i
an: a: a
hoc I o nly know that I experienced a great s k hr u h m nt r s st m a s if so m m ht ond t o g y e i e y e , e ig y b d r F o r a mom nt I wa s da d ha d been rent a sun e . e ze h n I a wa n d I fo und a nd lo st c o n sc iousn e s s . W e ke e h ch h a d my sel f sta nding bes ide the old bo dy w i To sa that wa s served me fa ith fully a nd well . y I the sen surpri sed would o nly ina dequately exp ress r n a nd I r a i d sation that thrilled my ve y bei g, e l ze d ac . Su that some wonderful ch ange ha d ta ken pl e m o d wa s sur denly I beca me co nscio u s that y b y fr nds a nd a n uncontro ro unded by many o i my ie , l f me to s ak and l able desire took po sse s sio n o pe
that Stlll d . to uch them that they might know I live hat wh ch wa s so e Drawing a little nea rer to t i lik 1 50 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
and et un m s f I stretch d fo r h m y like y el , e t y hand ” m b u h and touched the t the eeded me n t. , y o
a: t s a: as i t
Th en it wa s th at the full significa nce o f the great ch ange that had tak en pla ce fla shed upo n my newly awakened senses ; then it wa s tha t I rea lized th at an impenetrable ba rrier separated me from my o ed ones o n a rth a nd that th s r a t cha n l v e , i g e ge h h a n a a n h A s ns w ic h d ta ke pl ce w s i deed dea t . e e o f wea riness a nd lo nging fo r rest too k po sse s sion f m m t ran h u a c o e. I s e d o t s o rt d t r h s e e be p e o g p e , a nd I ost co nsc ou sn ss to a a n in a a nd so l i e , w ke l diffe rent a nd yet s o simila r to the o ne which I ha d la tely le ft. It wa s not po s sible fo r me to desc ribe my sensa tions when I aga in rega ined conscio usne ss and rea ed that tho u h d a d I wa s st l a liz , g e , i l live. “ Wh en I fi rst beca me consciou s o f my new en v iro nment I wa s r st n in a a u t fu r o an d e i g be i l g ve , wa s rea lizing a s never befo re what it wa s to be at ” e th p ace wi mysel f a nd all the wo rld .
t it it i
I know that only with the gre ate st diffi culty sha ll I be enabled to express to yo u my sensa tio ns when I fully rea lized that I h a d awa ken ed to a new l s n ou n r n Da r Al a st o s d h . f . w o t s c li e ill , b ke e ile e k surr und me In fa ct m d to n ss ha d o d . I s e e , ee e be en o ed in a h a m st ond h ch m a vel p e vy i , bey w i y g ze c u n n t rat o n in h sta nce dis o ld ot pe e e . So t e di I c rn d a fa nt mm r o f ht h ch s o w a e e i gli e lig , w i l ly p ro a ched me a nd th n to m won d r a nd o I p , e , y e j y , beheld the fa c e o f her who h a d been my gu iding ” star in h r a s m r t e ea ly d y o f y ea th li fe.
1 52 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
Probably there is no form of torture more commonly inflicted upon the dying, than that which is caused by administering s timulants . Such potions have the effect of drawing a de parting spirit into its body with the force of ff a catapult, to remain and to su er for some m o s o e ti e l nger . Inve tigators f c onditions b yond have heard many complaints of such treatment . When it is seen that death must no s inevitably ensue, let t selfi h desire to keep a departing spirit a little longer prompt us o to inflict such t rtures upon them . The death chamber should be a place of the utmost i of qu et, a place peace and of prayer , for at o hr n one- h l da that time , and f r t ee a d a f ys a ter the la s t b rea th f , the spirit is passing through a Gethsemane and needs all the as i n f s s ta ce that can be given . The value o the life that has just been passed depends greatly upon conditions which then prevail about th e body ; yes even the conditions of its future life are influenced by our attitude during ur h that time, so that if ever we were o brot ’ i er s keeper in life, we are a thousand t mes
more so at death .
- a Post mortem ex minations , embalming and n m n ot cremation duri g the period entioned , th e s m only disturbs passing pirit entally, but LIFE AND DEATH 1 53
is even productive of a certain amount of h pain , for there is still a slig t connection with th e i n discarded veh cle . If sa itary laws r e quire u s to prevent decomp osition while thus n o for m on ma keepi g the b dy cre ati , it y be packed in ice till th e thr ee a nd one- h alf days h h m th e ave pas s ed . After t at ti e spirit will n o t s ff m u er , no atter what happens to the body .
The P nor m P i e a a a of a a s t L f . No matter h owl ong we may keep th e spirit om s s n u h o s h fr pa i g o t wever, at la t t ere will come a time when n o s timulant can h old it h n th e s a nd the las t breath is drawn . T e ilver f h a nd h h cord , o whic the Bible speaks , w ic holds the hi gher and the lower vehi cles to h or gether, snaps in the heart and causes t at s s th e gan to stop . That rupture relea e vital s o a nd body, and that, with the de ire b dy o for om mind float above the visible b dy , fr
a nd on e- h th e one, to three alf days , while h s spirit is engaged in reviewing t e pa t life , an exceedingly important part of its po s t on mortem exper ience . Up that review de pends its whole existence from death to a new birth . 1 54 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
th e cradle to the grave , when we do not even m reme ber what we did a month ago , and to o m l f r a proper basis for our future ife, this t record ought to be very accura e , but even th e best memory is faulty " When we under s tand th e difference between the conscio us and sub - conscio us memory and th e manner i th e s ffi in wh ch latter operate , the di culty s i ff a nd vani hes . Th s di erence the manner in which the sub - cons cious memo ry keeps an accurate record of our life experiences ma y o fol be best understood by an illustrati n, as lows : When we go in to a field and view the s d c o urroun ing lands ape , vibrati ns in the ether carries to u s a picture of everything hin f u v i s i on wit the range o o r . It is as sad “ is as it true however , that we have eyes and ” . s see not, as the Savior said The e vibra s tions impinge upon the retina of our eye , s h even to the very smalle t details , but t ey our o s usually do not penetrate to consci usne s , m m E and therefore are not re e bered . ven the most powerful impressions fade in course of time so that we cann ot call them back at will , when they are stored in our con scious memory. When a photographer goes afield with his ca mera the results which he obtains are dif
1 56 THE R osrc nu orAN MYSTERIES
as the blood passes through the heart, cycle
after cycle , the pictures of our good and evil acts are inscribed thereon to the minutest de
- tail . This record may be called the sub con s of fu scious memory . It form the basis our ture life when reproduced as a panorama just of subsequent to death . By removal the seed — atom which corresponds to the sensitized — plate in a camera, the reflecting ether of the i vital body serves as a focus , and as the l fe om unrolls slowly, backwards fr death to birth the pictures thereo f are etched into the de sire body which will be our veh icle during our sojourn in purgatory and the first heaven s where evil is eradicated and good as imilated, so that in a future life th e fo rmer may serve as cons cience to withhold the man from r e a in of th pe t g mistakes e past, and the latter will spur us to greater good . A phenomenon s imilar to the panorama of life usually takes place where a person is u s ci drowning . People who have been r es ta ted speak of having seen their wh ole life in a fla s h . That is because under such con ditions the vital body also leaves the dense body. Of course there is no rupture of the
r . silver cord , o life could not be restored
Unconsciousness follows quickly in drowning, LIFE AND DEATH 1 57 while in the usual post - mortem review the c on s ciousn es s continues until the vital body collapses in the same manner that it does h n to h w e we go sleep . T en con s ciousnes s ceases for a while and the pan orama is ter min a ed t . Therefore also the time occupied by th e panorama varies with different per s o n o wa ns , accordi g to whether the vital b dy s s m h n trong and healthy, or had beco e t i and m s s n e aciated by protracted illne . The lo ger th e m s the o ti e pent in review, and m re quiet n and peaceful the s urroundi gs , the deeper will be the etching which is made in th e desire o s im body . As already said, that has a m t fi ect for h portant and far reaching e , t en the s ufferings which the spirit will realize in purgatory on account of bad habits and mis h deeds will be much more keen , than if t ere i s only a s light impression , and in a future life the still small voice of conscience wi ll warn so much more insistently against mis takes which caused sufferings in the past . When conditions are such at the time of death that the spirit is disturbed by outside th e turmofl conditions , for instance din and n o conditions of a of a battle , the harr wing f accident or the hysterical wailings o rela reah z tiv es , the distraction prevents it from 1 58 THE R OSICRUCIAN MYSTERI ES ing an appropriate depth in the etchi ng upon th e o s -mo r desire body. C n equently its pos t s tem existence become vague and ins ipid , the spirit does not harvest fruits of experience a s s l h a d it hou d have done , it passed out o f the bo dy in peace and under normal condi o l ti ns . It wou d therefore lack incentive to o g od in a future life, and miss the warning against evil which a deep etching of the pano of rama life would have given . Thus its growth would be retarded in a very marked b eneficen of degree , but the t powers in charge evolution take certain s teps to compensate for our ignorant treatment of the dyin g and ms other untoward circu tances mentioned .
What these steps are , we shall discuss when considering the life of children in heaven, for ffi the present let it be su cient to say, that in ’ God s kingdom every evil i s always tra nsmut ed to a greater good though the process may not be at once apparent .
P r t r u g a o y .
During life the collaps e of the vital body at night terminated our v iew o f the world o s about us , and caused us to lose urselve in unconsciousness of sleep . When the vital
1 60 THE R OSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES spiritual world than to this present plane of existence . Some lose the spiritual sight very of early, others retain it for a number years and a few keep it all through life, but as the birth of a child is a death in the spiritual world and it retains the spiritual sight for a time , so also death here is a birth upon the spiritual plane , and the newly dead retain a consciousnes s of thi s world for some time s m sub equent to de ise . When one awakes in the Desire World a f ter having pas s ed through aforementioned experiences , the general feeling seems to be one of relief from a heavy burden, a feeling perhaps akin to that of a diver encased in a heavy rubber suit, a weighty brass helmet upon his head , leaden soles under hi s feet and heavy weights of lead upon his breast in and back, confined his operati ons on the bottom of the ocean by a short length of air tube , and able only to move clumsily with ’ d a wo k difficulty. When after the y s f r such r a man is hauled to the su face, and divests himself of his heavy garments and he moves about with the facility we enjoy here , he must o f s urely experience a feeling great relief. S omething like that is felt by the spirit when h of i it a s been divested the mortal coil , and s LIFE AND DEATH 1 61
able to roam all over the globe instead of b e ing confined to th e narrow environment whi ch
bound it upon earth .
There is also a feeling of relief for those who have been ill . Sickness , such as we know
it, does not exist there . Neither is it neces
sary to seek food and shelter, for in that world there is neither heat nor cold . Never theles s , there are many in the purgatorial re of gions who go to all bothers housekeeping, eating and drinking just as we do here . George Du Maurier in his novel “ Peter Ih ” b etts on gives a very go od idea of this condi tion , in the life lived between the hero and s h l the Countes of Towers . T is novel also i lustrates s plendidly what has been said of the
- m m fo sub conscious e ory, r Geo . Du Maurier h om o o s a s somewhere , s eh w disc vered an ea y method which anyone may apply to do what “ ” he calls dreaming true . By taking a cer s tain pos ition in going to sleep, it is pos ible, after a little practice, to compel the appear m of in our a s t ance , in a drea , any scene p
s to o . life, which we de ire live ver again The book is well worth reading on that account . When a fiery nebulae has been formed in o the sky an d c ommences to rev lve , a little matter in the center where motion is slowest 1 62 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIE S
commences to crystalize . When it has reached
a certain density it is caught in the swirl , and whirled nearer and nearer to the outward m extremity of what has , by that time , beco e of the equator a revolving globe . Then it i s hurled into space an d discarded from the un economy of the revolving s . Thi s process is not accomplished automat icall y as scientists would have us believe, a n assertion whi ch has been proven in The R os icrucia n Cos mo Conc eption and other our H places in literature . erbert Spencer also rejected the nebular theory because it F C hi required a irst ause, w ch he denied, though unable to fo rm a better hypothesis of o of m — the formati n solar s ys te s , but it is accomplished through the activity of a Great ma G od Spirit, which we y call or by any h other name we c oose . As above , so below, Man s ays the Hermetic axiom . , who is a s lesser spirit , al o gathers about himself
- s spirit substance, which cry tallizes into mat ter and becomes the visible body which the s piritual sight reveals as placed in s ide an
aura of finer vehicles . The latter are in con s tant motion . When the dense body is born
as a child it is extremely s oft and flexible .
1 64 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
L Robert ouis Stevenson, but is founded upon s fact well known to spiritual investigators .
Such cases are extremes of course, but they are nevertheless pos sible and we have nu fortunately laws which convert such po s sibil ities to probabilities in the case of a certain
f - clas s o s o called criminals . We refer to laws which decree capital punishment as penalty of murder . When a man is dan gerous he should of c ourse be restrained , but even apart from the questi on o f the moral right of a community — t o take the life of anyone which we deny s ociety by its very act o f retaliatory murder d for efeats the very end it would serve, if the vicious murderer is restrained un der what di in ever scipline is necessary a prison , for a of hi s number years until natural death , he will have forgotten hi s bitterness against his s victim and again t society, and when he
stands as a free spirit in the Desire World , he may even by prayer have obtained for
giv enes s and have become a good Christian . h on He will t en go his way rejoicing, and will in the future life seek to help those whom
b e hurt here . When society retaliates and puts him to a violent death shortly after he has commit LIFE AND DEATH 1 65
ted the crime, he is most likely to feel him n self as havi g been greatly injured, and not h wit out cause . Then such a character will ‘ ’ y a s h e h usually seek to get e en calls it, e will go about for a lon g time inciting others to m i m a n d h im h co m t urder ot er cr es . T en we have an epidemic o f murders in a c om n ot munity, a condition infrequent . The regicide in Servia sh ocked the Western Wor ld by wiping ou t a n entire r oyal h ous e in m s o i th e a o t sh ck ngly bloody manner , and Minis ter of th e Interior was on e of th e chief on r L h o hi m c s pi ators . ater e wr te s me oirs , a n d therein he writes that whenever the con s pir a to r s h a d tried to win anyone as a re cruit h h h , t ey always succeeded w en t ey burn s H e n o o wh sim ed incen e . did t kn w y , but ply men tioned it as a curious coincidence . To th e mys tic inves tigator th e matter i s per f l h sh s s of ect y clear . We ave own the nece ity having a vehicle made of th e materials of any wo rld wherein we wish to fun ction . We usu ally obtain a phys ical vehicle by going th m or s in few through e wo b, perhap a special cases from a particularly good mate in m m h o neces ria liz g ediu , but w ere it is nly d ue sary to work upon th e brain a n infl nce v ehIcle s omeone els e to act, we need but a 1 66 THE R OSICEUCIAN MYSTERIES
made of such other as may be obtained from of ff c E fumes many di erent substan es . ach ff of kind attracts di erent classes spirits , and there is no doubt that the incense burned at meetings where the conspirators were suc ~ ces s ful was of a low and sensual order and
' attracted s pirits wh o had a grudge against humanity in general and the " ing of Servia r nu in pa ticular . These malcontents were " able to injure the ing himself, but used a subtle influence which helped th e cons pirators s in their wo rk . The relea ed murderer who has a grudge against s o ciety on account of his ma low s a ~ execution , y enter gambling loons where the fumes of liquor and tobacco furn ish ample opportunity fo r working upon the class of people who congregate in such man s h places , and the who e spiritual sig t has been developed is o ften sadly impres s ed when he sees the subtle influences to which tho se is who frequent such places are exposed . It a f h man of fact o course , t at a must be a low low h caliber to be influenced by thoug ts , and that it is as impos sible to incite a person of — benevolent character to d o murder unles s — we put him into a hypn otic s leep as to make a tuning fork which vibrates to C s ing h by striking another attuned to t e key of G,
1 68 TH E R osroEUCIAN MYSTERIES
nd . a more . Yet there is no true satisfaction He sees the full glas s upon the counter but i He h s spirit hand is unable to lift it . suf fers tortures of Tantalus until in time he realizes the imposs ibility o f gratifying his on s o base desire . Then he is free to go He far as that vice is concerned . has been purged from that evil without intervention o f an angry deity or a conventional devil with ’ hell s flames and pitchfork to adminis ter
punishment, but under the immutable law, h s h a s uf t at as we sow so hall we reap , he s fered hi s exactly according to his vice . If k h e craving for drin was of a mild nature , would scarcely miss the liquor whi ch he c an n n If his r s ot there obtai . desi e were strong s i for uf and he mply lived drink , he would s fer veritable tortures of hell without need m s of actual fla e . Thus the pain experienced in eradication of his vice would be exactly commensurate with the energy he had ex pended upon contracting the habit as the fo rce wherewith a falling stone strikes the earth is proportionate to the energy expend in in ed hurl g it upwards into the air . ‘ ’ Yet it is not the aim of God to get even ; lov e is hi gher than lawand in His wonderful mercy and solicitude for our welfare He has LIFE AND DEATH 1 69 opened the way of repentance and reform h n fo of in a w ereby we may obtai rgivenes s s , s th e L of Lo : th No taught by ord ve e Christ . t f Hi indeed contrary to law, or s laws are im m o of h h utable , but by applicati n a ig er law, h om s w ereby we acc pli h here , that which would otherwis e be delayed until death h a d o of n n h o is f rced the day recko i g. The met d as follows In our explanation concerning the sub - con s cious memory we noted that a record of m every act, thought and word is trans itted a nd u n to the by air ether into o r lu gs , thence o fi of bl od , and nally inscribed upon the tablet — d tom h h the heart a certain little s ee a , w ic is wa s thus the book of Recording Angels . It later explained h ow this panorama of life is etched into the desire body a nd forms th e b a h av sis of retribution after death . When we e committed a wrong and our conscience a o and h s o cu s es u s in cons equence, t is accu ati n m is productive o f sincere repentance a cco ni ed b re o rm of h n pa y f , the picture t at wro g act will gradually fade from th e record of our h s out h w life , so t at when we pas at deat it ill o not s tand accusingly against us . We n ted w d s that the pan orama of life unwinds ba ck ar the just after death . Later, in purgatorial 1 70 TH E R os roEUCIAN MYSTERIES life it again pas ses before the s piritual vis ion o f ma n h the , who then experiences t e exact o f o om h a feeling th se wh he s wronged . He seems to lo s e his own identity for th e time b e
ing, and assumes the condition of his one i m h e a time v cti , experiences all the ment l and physical suffering him s elf which he inflicted u he pon others . Thus learns to be merciful d o o instead of cruel , and to right instead f if wrong in a future life . But he awakens to a thorough realization of a wrong previous to o his death ; then , as said , the feeling of s rrow for his victim and the restitution or redress of which he gives his own free will , makes the s ff u ering after death unnecessary, hence ‘ ’ his sin is forgiven . The R osicru cian Mystery teaching gives a s cientific metho d whereby an as pirant to high er lifema ur e i s y p g h mself continually, and thu be able to entirely avoid existence in purga E n re tory . ach ight after retiring the pupil views his life during the past day i n rev ers e o rder He . starts to visualize as clearly as possible the scene which took place just b e He l fore retiring . then endeavors to impartia ly view his actions in that scene examining
them to see whether he did right or wrong . If eel an d rea liz e a s the latter, he endeavors to f
1 72 THE R OSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
The same force formed the s parrow Th at fashioned man the king ; The God of the whole Gave a spark o f soul
To furred and feathered thing.
’ An d I am my brother s keeper h hi And I will fig t s fight, And speak the word F or beas t and bird
Till the world shall set things right .
Thus the pupil will continue to review each scene in rev ers e o rd er from night till morn eel rea ll o rr fo r h ing, and to f y s y w atever he He l el ha s done amis s . wil not neglect to fe gla d either when he comes to a scene where o the mo re in ten l h he has d ne well , and s e y e n el the more tho rou hl he will era di ca fe , g y ca te the record up on the ta blet of the hea r t a nd ha r en his c ons cience a s s p , so that time on s goes from year to year, he will find le s cause for blame and enhance his soul power o l enorm usly . Thus he wi l grow in a measure impossible by any less systematic method, and there will be no necessity for hi s stay in purgatory after death .
Thi s evening exercise and another , for the morning, if persistently performed day by LIFE AND DEATH 1 73
day, will in time awaken the spiritual vision
a s . h m they improve life T is atter has , how s o ever, been thoroughly treated in number 1 1 f “ o the lecture series : Spiritua l Sight a n d Ins i ht its s a e cultu re and control g ; f , that it is unnecessary to dwell upon the mat
ter further in this place .
The F i r t He s a ven.
In the first heaven , which is located in the of higher regions the Desire World, the pan o rama of life again unrolls and reveals every s cene where we aimed to help or benefit oth m ers . They were not felt at the ti e the spirit for hi s was in the lower regions , gher de ires cannot express themselves in the coarse mat ter composing the lower regions of the De
s ire World, but when the spirit ascends to the firs t heaven it reaps from each scene all
the goo d which it expressed in life . It will feel th e gratitude poured out by thos e whom
it helped, if it comes to a scene where itself received a favor from others a nd was gra te
l . fu , it will experience the gratitude anew The sum of all these feelings is there amalga mated into the spirit to serve in a future life
as incentives to good . 1 74 THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
Thus , the soul is purged from evil in pur a tor a nd o g y , strengthened in g od in the first one th e of s ufi er heaven . In region extract ings become c ons ci ence to deter us from do ing th e n s c wrong, in other region the qui tes en e of go od is transmuted to benev olen ce and al truism which are the bas is of all true prog o is ress . M reover, purgatory far from being of unis hmen t h s th e s a place p , it is per ap mo t b eneficen l b ec e o t rea m in nature , for a us f r ti on n pu g a we a re b o rn in ocent life after life . The tendencies to commit the s ame evil for which we suffered remain with us and temp ta ti ons to commit the s ame wrongs will b e placed in our path un til we have consciously th e i m o n o s i overcome ev l here , te ptati n is t n. in however , the sin is yielding . Among the inhabitants of the invi s ible wo rld there is one class which lives a partie ula rl m y painful life , so etimes for a great s m ed many year , na ely, the sui cide who tri to f is play truant from the school o life . Yet it not an angry God or a malevolent devil who m s s ad ini ter punishment , but an immuta ble law which proportion s the s ufferings differ ~ o ently t each individual s uicide . us We learned previo ly, when considering of the World Thought, that each form in this
1 76 TH E R osroEUCIAN MYSTERIES
enced in consequence o f the act of suicide will remain with him in futur e lives and deter him o fr m a similar mistake . In the first heaven there is a class who have not had any purgatorial existence and who lead a particularly joyous life : the children .
Our homes may be saddened almos t beyond th e endurance, when little flower is broken and the sunshine it brought has gone . But could we see the beautiful exis tence which s t n the e little ones lead , and did we unders a d the great benefits which accrue to a child from m s o ur d be its li ited tay there , sorrow woul at m least ameliorated in a great easure, and the wound upon ou r heart would heal more s quickly . Beside , as nothing else in the s s o world happens without a cau e , there is also a much deeper cause for infant mortal o f ity than we are usually aware , and as we t th e s awake to the facts of case, we hall be able to avoid in future the sorrow incident to f ou r loss o little ones . To understand the case properly we mus t revert to the experiences of th e dying in the m m death hour . We re e ber that the pano rama of the past life i s etched upon the des ire body during a per iod varying from a few h h ne- ub s e ours to t ree and o half days, just s LIFE AND DEATH 1 77
to m . s quent de ise We recall al o , that upon h t e depth of this etching depends th e clear s s of ne the picture , and that the more vivid h n m t is pa ora a of life, the more inten s ely will the s pirit suffer in purgatory a nd feel the o of j ys heaven ; also, that the greater the s uf fering in purgatory the stronger th e consci n e ce in the next life . It was explained how the horrors of death r h upon the battlefield , in an accident o ot er untoward circumstan ces would prevent th e s pirit from giving all its attention to the pan orama of life with the result that there would hi o o be a light etc ng in the desire body, f ll wed by a vague and insipid existence in purgatory s h and the first heaven . It was al o stated t at hys ter ical lamentations in th e death chamber o ff would pr duce the same e ect . A spirit which had thus escaped suffering to its m h proportionate is deeds , and whic had n ot experien ced th e pleasure commen sur ate h o o not fu wit the g d it had done, would in a ture life have as well developed a conscience to n o b en ev a s it ought have, r would it be as n o f ole t as it ught to be, and therefore the li e, terminated under conditions over whi ch th e
n on s . spirit had o c trol, would be partly wa ted The Great Leaders of humanity therefore 1 78 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES take steps to counteract s uch a calamity and r o prevent an injus tice . The spi it is br ught
o in h re- en t birth , caused to die child ood , it ters the De s ire World and in th e first heaven it is taught the lessons of which it was de priv ed previously . As the first heaven is located in th e Desire o — i s m W rld , which the real of light and col o — i s r , where matter shaped most readily by o l o o th ught , the litt e nes are given w nderful toys impossible of constru ction here . They are taught to play with colo rs which work upon their mo ra l cha ra cter in exactly the i manner each child requ res . Anyone who is at all s ensitive is affected by the colo r o f his clothing and surroundings . Some colors have ff i i a depressing e ect , wh le others nspire us with energy, and others again soothe and ff comfort us . In the Desire World the e ect o f m colors is much ore intense . they are much more potent factors of good and evil there and i il than here, in th s color play , the ch d imbibes uncons ciously the quali ties which it did n ot acquire on account of accident or la m o entations of relatives . Often it als falls to the lot of such relatives to care for a child in v h the in isible world , or perhaps to give it birt and see it die . Thus they recei ve just retri
1 80 TH E R o sroEUCIAN MYSTERIES
for - counts the inane , goody goody nons ense of i which these th ngs deliver themselves . When passing from the first to the s econd h s eaven , the pirit experiences the condition “ known and described previously as The ” Great Silence , where it stands utterly alone o s s of c n ciou only its divinity . When that si lence i s broken there floats in upon the s pirit celestial h a rmonics of the wo rld of tone h the o w ere sec nd heaven is located . It seems then to lave in an ocean of sound and to ex perience a joy beyond all des cription and s ome— i words , as it near its heavenly h for th s i s the first o f the truly spiritual realms from which the spirit has been exiled during its earth life and the subsequent post -mortem s existence . In the De ire World its work was correctiv e Wo o f , but in the rld Thought the human spirit becomes one with the nature cr ti forces and its ea v e activity begins . Under the law of causation we reap exactly to what we sow, and it would be wrong place one spirit in an environment where there is a f scarcity of the necessities o life , where a scorching sun burns the crop and mi llions die or h from famine , w ere the raging flood sweeps away primitive habitations not built to withstand its ravages , and to bring another LIFE AND DEATH 1 81
spirit to birth in a land of plenty, with a fer tile s oil which yields a maximum of in creas e mi m m of h r h with a ni u labor , where t e ea t is rich in min erals that ma y be used in indu strv to facilitate tran s portation of products of th e om ne soil fr o point to another . If we were thus placed witho ut action or acquiescence ur h o no upon o part, t ere w uld be justice, but a s our po s t -mortem exis ten ce in purgatory and the fir st heaven is bas ed upon our moral attitude in this life so our activities in the secon d heaven are determined by our mental a s piration s a nd they produce our future for in th e on b phys ical environment , sec d eav en om of , the spirit bec es part the nature forces which work upon the earth and change r of a n m a n d . its cli ate , flora fauna A spi it wh o n in r ms in dolent nature , i dulges day d ea here not and metaphys ical speculation s , is tran s formed by death respecting its mental mo attitude a ny more than regarding its ral i m im in propen s ities . It w ll drea away t e
o s a nd o n s . heaven, gl rying in its ights s u d Thus it will neglect to work up on its future
nd . c ountry and return to a barren and arid la on o h n o s Spirits , the t er ha d , wh e material - s ol as piration s lead them to des ire s o called who a m to id comforts of hearth and h ome ; 1 82 TH E R os rcnu oIAN MYSTERIES promote great indus tries and whose mind is o m c ncerned in trade and com erce, will build in heaven a land that will suit their purpose : imminer aliz ed fertile , , with navigable rivers and sheltered harbors . They will return in time to enjoy upon earth the fruits of their o on lab rs in the sec d heaven , as they reap the result of their life upon earth in purgatory and the first heaven .
The Third He n a v e .
In the third heaven most people have very little consciou snes s for reas ons explained in connection with the Region of Abstract h Thought , for there the t ird heaven is lo ed of ca t . It is therefore more of a place wait ing where the spirit rests between the time when its labors in th e s econd h eav en have been completed a n d the time when it again ex p eri f i ences the des ire or rebirth . But from th s realm inventors bring down their original ideas ; there the philanthropist obtains the clearest vision of how to realize hi s utopian dreams and the spiritual aspirations of the saintly minded are given renewed impetus . In time the desires of the spirit for further experiences draws it back to rebirth, and the
1 84 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
i been made no evasion s pos s ible during life . i h to We have free will w t regard the future , ‘ ’ but the past ma tu re des tiny we cannot os w cape , as sho n by the incident recorded in h R os ic rucia n Cos mo Conce ti on T e p , where the writer Warn ed a well known Los An geles lecturer that if he left his home upon a cer tain day, he would be injured by a convey s ance, in head , neck, brea t and shoulders . The gentleman believed and intended to heed s s our warning . Neverthele he went to Sierra He Madre to lecture upon the fateful day. was injured in the places stated by a collis i on “ and later explained : I thought the twenty eighth was the twenty-nint
When the spirit has made its choice , it de scends into the second heaven where it is in structed by th e Angels and Archangels h ow to build an archetype o f the body which it will later inhabit upon earth . Also here we note the operation of the great law of justice o which decrees that we reap what we s w. If our tastes are coarse and sensual , we shall build an archetype which will express these qualities if we are refined and of aesthetic taste, we shall build an archetype corre nd n l spo i g y refined , but no one can obtain a l better body than he can bui d . Then, as the LIFE AND DEATH 1 85
a rchitect who builds a hous e in which he af terwa rds ff lives, will su er discomfort if h e n neglects to properly ve tilate it, s o als o th e spirit feels disease in a poorly constructed o b dy, and as the architect learns to avoid mis takes and remedy the short- comings of one o s o h h u e when building an ther, so also t e ff m o spirit which su ers fro defects in its b dy, learns in time to build better and better vehi
cles . R In the egion of Concrete Thought , the spirit als o draws to its elf materials for a new
mind . As a magn et draws iron filings but s h leaves other sub tances alone , so also eac spirit draws only the kind of mind - stuff which it o m h h it used in s f r er life, plus t at whic it has learned to u s e in its pres ent post -mortem
state . Then it descends into the Desire World where it gathers material for a n ew des ire body such as will express appropri it ately its moral characteristics , and later attracts a certain amount of ether which i s built into th e mold of th e archetype c on structed in the s econd heaven and acts as cc n o s a nd o ment betwee the s lid , liquids gase us material from th e bodies of parents which f h forms th e den s e phys ical body o a c ild , and in due time the latter i s brought to birth . 1 86 THE R osroEUCIAN MYSTERIES
Bi rth a nd Child Li e f .
It must not be imagined, however, that t when the lit le body of a child has been born, of Th e the process birth is completed . dense physical body has had the longest evolution , and as a shoemaker who has worked at his trade for a number of years is more expert than an apprentice and can make better shoes uick er and q , so also the spirit which has built ui many physical bodies produces them q ckly, but the v ital b odv is a later acquisition of the i human be ng . Therefore we are not so expert in building that vehicle . Consequently it takes longer to construct that from the mate rials not used up in making the lining o f th e d l archetype, and the vital bo y is not born unti the seventh year . Then the period of rapid growth commences . The desire body is a s till later addition of composite man, and is not brought to birth until the fo urteenth year when the desire nature expresses itself mo st ‘ ’ - strongly during s o called hot youth , and the m ma n ma n n ot ind , which makes , does come
- to birth until the twenty firs t year . In law that age is recognized as the earliest time he is fitted to exercise a franchi se .
1 88 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES of morning a nd dwell in the uttermo st parts of h the sea, even there s all thy hand lead me .
of d When , in the dawn Being, G o the F a th er Th e Word he H enunciated , and T oly Spi r it moved upon the sea o f homogeneous Vi rgin Ma tter Da rkne , primeval s s was turned to Li ht g . That is therefore the prime ma nifes i n o f o f ta t o Deity, and a study the principles of Light will reveal to the mystic intuition a A wonderful s ource of spiritual ins piration . s it would take us too far afield from our sub jcet we shall not enter into an elucidation of a s that theme here , except so far to give an elementary idea of how divine Life energizes to the human frame , and stimulates action . ONE i He en Truly, God is and undiv ded , His folds within Being all that is , as the white He light embraces all colors . But appears
- three fold in manifestation , as the white light : is refracted in three primary colors Blue ,
Yellow and Red . Wherever we see these col m F o rs they are e blematical of the ather, Son s and Holy Spirit . These three primary ray of divine Life are diffused or radiated Li e Cons cious through the sun and produce f , n es s and F orm upon each of the seven light “ hi th e bearers , the planets , w ch are called LIFE AND DEATH 1 89
Seven Spirits before the Throne . Their m : E na es are Mercury, Venus, arth, Mars , ’ Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus . Bode s law proves that Neptune does not belong to our solar sys tem a nd the reader is referred to “ ” Simplified , Scientific Astrology by the s r m pre ent w iter, for athematical demonstra n o tion of this conte ti n . Each of the seven planets receives the light diff eern of the sun in a t measure, according to its proximity to the central orb and th e m b e constitution of its at osphere, and the o f ings up n each, according to their stage o m ff n of h e develop ent, have a i ity for some t s s olar rays . They absorb the color or color a nd congruous to them, reflect the remainder n upon the other pla ets . This reflected ray bears with it an impulse of the nature of the beings with whi ch it has been in contact . Thus the divin e Light and Life comes to m each planet, either directly fro the sun , or a s reflected from its s ix sis ter planets , and the s ummer breeze which has been wafted over bloomin g fields carries upon its silent invis ible wings th e blended fragrance of a f o s o th e influ multitude o fl wers , so al subtle ences fr om th e garden of G od bring to us the commingled impulses of all the Spirits and 1 90 THE R OSICRUCIAN MYSTEEIES in that varicolored light we live and move and have our being . The rays whi ch come directly from the sun l th are productive of spiritual il umination, e reflected rays from other planets make for added consciou snes s and moral development and the rays reflected by way of the moon give physical growth . But as each planet can only absorb a cer tain quantity of one o r more colors according i o to the general stage of evolut on there , s : i each being upon earth mineral , plant, an mal and ma n can only absorb and thrive upon a certain quantity o f the various rays project Th e m d o ed upon the earth . re ainder not af or o feet it produce sensati n, any more than the blind are conscious o f light and color hi s s w ch exi t everywhere around them. Therefore each being is di fferently affected by the stellar rays and the science of As trol o n m n o gy a fu da ental truth in nature , of e r mous benefit in the attainment of spiritual o gr wth . F rom a horoscopic figure in mystic script ur own s nd we may learn o trength a weakness, s u m with the path be t suited to o r develop ent, or we may see the tendencies of tho s e friends i who come to us as ch ldren , and what traits
1 92 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
con necessary to erect a horoscope . Many s truct a horos cope in such an involved ma n “ ” o r m ner , so fearfully and w nde fully ade h m s o s that it is unreadable to t e selve or ther , m of while a si ple figure , easy reading may be constructed by anyone who knows h owto add o and subtract . This method has been th r oughly elucidated in Simplified Scientific is m Astrology which a co plete text book , m though s all and inexpens ive , and any par ent who has the welfare of his or her children thoroughly at heart sh ould endeavo r to learn for n for themselves , eve though their ability may n ot compare with that of a profes s ional s m n f a trologer, their inti ate k owledge o the child and their deep interest wi ll more than compensate for such lack and enable them to ’ see mo s t deeply in to the child s character by f h means o its oroscope .
Educa ti on o hild r n f C e .
Respectin g the birth of the various vehi cles and the influence which th at h a s upon : m om life , we may say that during the ti e fr birth to the seventh year the lines of growt h of m the physical body are deter ined , and as it has been noted that sound i s builder both LIFE "AND DEATH 1 93
in the great and small, we may well imagine that rhythm must have an enormous infl u ence upon the growing and sensitive little ’ m Th child s organis . e apostle John in th e first chapter of his gospel expresses thi s idea “ mystically in the beautiful words : In th e beginning was the WOR D and without it was not anything made that was made and the word became flesh ” m hi the word is a rhyth ic sound , w ch issued h from the Creator, reverberated through t e uni verse and marshaled countless millions o f atoms into the multiplex variety of shapes o m Th e and f r s which we s ee about us . ma fl ower th e mountain , the y , the mouse and man are all embodiments of that great Cos mic Word which i s still s ounding through th e universe and which i s still building and ever buildin g though unheard by our insensitive
d o n ot won . ears . But though we hear that o o d erful celes tial sound, we may also w rk up n ’ mu s i the little child s body by terrestrial c, and though the nurs ery rhymes are with out s s of won sense , they are nevertheles bearer a mo ht derful rhythm, and the re a child is taug and h m to to to say, sing repeat t e , dance and incor o march to them ; the more mus ic is p ’ rated into a child s daily life, the stronger 1 94 TH E R osrc a u oIAN MYSTERIES
l and healthier wi l be its body in future years . There are two mottoes which apply during on e to h h this period, the c ild and t e other to : Ex a m le Imita ti on the parent p and . No crea ture under heaven is more imitative than a its o i little child, and c nduct in after years w ll depend largely upon the example set by its i parents during its early life . It s no use to “ ” not to i tell the child mind , it has no m nd s mi wherewith to di cri nate, but follows its
natural tendency, as water flows down a hill, h when it imitates . Therefore it be ooves every parent to remember from mo rning till night that watchful eyes are upon him all the time waiting but for him to act in order to hi m follow s exa ple . It is of the utmost importance that the ’ i s o o child s cloth ng h uld be very lo se, partien la rl of s y the clothing little boy , as chafing garments often produce vices which follow a
man through life . If anyone should attempt to forcibly ex~ tract a babe from the protecting womb o f its o ul h m ther , the outrage wo d result in deat , because the babe had not yet arrived at a ma turity sufficient to endure impacts of th e h o h n e P ysical W rld . In the t ree s epte ary p riod h i s w ich follow birth, the invisible veh
1 96 TH E ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIES
i s c that puberty rea hed . At the age of four of teen we have the birth the desire bod y, which marks the commencement of self-asser tion . In earlier years the child regards itself
u rdi more as belonging to a family, and s b o nate to the wishes of its parents than after o i the f urteenth year . The reason is th s : In the throat of the fcetus and the youn g child there is a gland called the thymus gland, ll which is largest before birth , then gradua y diminishes through the years of chi ldhood and finally disappears at ages which vary ao o r of h l c ding to the characteristics the c i d . Anatomis ts have been puzzled as to the func tion of this organ and have not yet come to any settled conclusion , but it has been sug gested that before devel o pment of the red marrow bones , the child is not able to manu own h e facture its blood , and that therefore t c d thymus gland contains an essen e , supplie hi hi by the parents , upon w ch the c ld may i d draw during infancy and ch ldhoo , till able wn to manufacture its o blood . That theory m he il is appro xi ately true , and as t fam y hi a blood flows in the c ld , it looks upon itself s m E But part of the fa ily and not as an go . the moment it commences to manufacture its E o no own blood, the g asserts itself, it is LIFE AND DEATH 1 97
’ ’ or b o longer Papa s girl Mamma s y , it h a s a n ‘ ’ I -dentit f own y o its . Then comes the criti cal age when parents reap what they have
o . n ot o s wn The mind has yet been b rn, noth ing holds the desire nature in check , a nd ' m h n much , very uc , depe ds upon h ow th e child has been taught in earlier years an d what example the parents have set . At this ‘ - s I a m point in life self a sertion, the feeling ’ m el i s o m y s f, stronger than at any ther ti e and therefore authority should give place to Adv ice m , the parent should practice the ut ost o for m b e t lerance , at no ti e in life is a human ing as much in need of sympathy as during the seven years from fourteen to twenty- one when the desire nature is rampant and nu checked . It is a crime to inflict corporeal punish h is n ment upon a child at any age . Mig t ever a n d o s sh o a l right, as the s tr nger, parent uld ways have compas s ion for the weaker . But there is one feature of corporeal punishment which makes it particularly dangerous to a p
: n h th e ply it to the youth amely, t at it wakens pas s ional nature which is already perhaps b e o yond the control of a growing b y . d o its If we whip a og, we shall so n break cur spirit and transform it into a cringing , 1 98 TH E R OSICEUCIAN MYSTERIES and it is deplorable that s ome parents s eem to regard it a s their mis sion in life to break the spirit o f their children with the rule o f on e ’ the rod . If there is universal lack among the human race which is more apparent th a n any other, it is lack of will , and as parents we may remedy the evil in a large measure by guiding the wills of our chi ldren along such lines as dictated by our own more mature l o reason , so that we he p them to gr w a back bone instead of a wi shbone with which un o s of ff f rtunately mo t us are a licted . There a s fore , never whip child , when puni hment is necessary, correct by withholding favors or withdrawing privileges . At the twenty- fir st year the birth of the mind transforms the youth into a man or a woman fully equipped to commence hi s own f x n life in the school o e pen e ce. Thus we have foll owed the human spirit ar ound a life cycle from death to birth and how m maturity, we have seen i mutable law governs his every step and how he is ever en compassed by the loving care of the Great and Glorious Beings who are the minis ters of d of t G o . The method his future developmen will be explained in a later work which will “ deal with The Christian Mystic Initiation .
TH E R O S I C R U C I AN CO SMO - CO NCEP TI O N
MYSTIC CHR ISTIANITY
AN ELEMENTAR Y TR EATIS E UP O N
MAN’ S AST EV OL TION P R ESENT CONSTIT P U , U TION AND FUTUR E DEV ELOP MENT
BY MA" HEINDEL
ITs MES SAG E AND MISSION.
A M D SANE IN . A O S FT HEART . A SOU D OD N B Y .
THIRD ED ITION
Enla r a n n R evised , g ed d I dex ed .
N DOLL R AND P RICE O E A FIFTY CENTS. P OST FREE . T H E R O SICR UCIAN CO SMO CO NCEPT IO N
T hir E t o n d di i .
Th e ha nds o me sy mb o li c a l c o ve r d e s ign is s ta mped in red a c a nd o ld ed es a s o t r c , bl k g , g l g il . P i e
T h s o o no w c o n ta n s 602 a s 1 2 - mo ll i b k i p g e . a nd a
a s fro m . 51 4 h a n r wr tt n th e s p ge p ve bee e i e , ubje ct o f In itia t io n h a s been muc h mo re th o ro ughly t rea ted th a n in th e ea rlie r ed itio ns a nd a n umbe r o f p a ge s h a ve bee n d evo ted to a n expl a na tio n o f th e Symbo lis m f h R o r o t e s e C o ss . La s t b ut n o t a s t a n nd ex o f a o , le , i b ut 60 pag e s ha s n a dd d h c h is s o tho ro u h tha i bee e , w i g t t might a lmo s t c a a o nco rda n be lled C c e . Th e I n dex is a rra ng ed with pa rtic u l a r view to fa cili t a t to c a s tud b ut a t th e s a m t m a h a c e pi l y , e i e lp beti a l o rd r h a s n a d h r d t a s n a r a s o e e bee e e o e ly p s s ible . W a n a h a t ca s t o f th o rds n d d a lp be i l li e w i dexed . O ppo s it e ea c h wo rd in this li s t will be fo u n d a n um f r o a i th e nd th b er h ch r s t a n I . O n a t a , w i e e p ge ex p g e th e wo rd is g ro uped with o the rs pe rta ini ng to th e c s a me to pi . Th e s tu de nt is pa rticul a rly req u es ted to n o te th e r F r n t c e rra n m nt o f r f n c s . o s a n c ons cut ive a g e e e e e e i e , “ ” r th e h a d n V ta B o d th e rs t r f r nc u n d e e i g , i l y, fi e e e e h h c h a d it s rs t n c t o n th e a s t t ell s whe re t a t ve i l e fi i ep i , l dire ct s to a p a ge whi ch tre a ts o f its fi na l s piritua liz a n a nd th e nt r n n r f r n c s o nt in o rd r tio , i e ve i g e e e e p i e ly s u cc es s io n to th e pl a c es wh e re it s g ra dua l u nfo ldme nt r rf~ hes r f r nc s in th ms s fo rm a n is de sc ibed . ; T e e e e e . e elve , exc elle nt s yll a b u s o f the vita l b o dy . h e R o s By dilige nt a n d i nt ellig e nt u s e o f thi s i ndex t m ic ruc ia n Co s mo Co nc eptio n will be fo und a mo s t co r n c ra r a n d we reco m plete a nd exh a us tive refe e e lib y ,
h o o . me nd s tud e nts to s tudy th e index a s much a s t e b k m The me re rea di n g o f refe re nc e s will o ften c le a r co ha t IS hld p reh en sio n o f a s u bje ct a nd reve a l mu ch t d en in a g ene ra l rea di ng o f the b oo k . lNFORMATlON BUR EAU
The R osicrucian fi bilusopbp
(h ummus sub g unners
432 1 2 mo . st e and ni sh h s pp. , yl fi like t i book : handsome s m o ca co r sta m ed in red ac and o E d . y b li l ve p , bl k g l dges fu o d re- nforc d an d r dura nd n r ll g l , e e ve y ble bi i g. P ice by ma il Many questions were asked the wri ter after hi s l ectures in various parts of the United Sta tes and Europe ; questi ons which dealt with and probed deeply into every phase of the
- r a r h soul life here and He e fte . T ese questions he sa ved
n at r s ct d 1 89 of th m whi ch w r of most un i a d l e ele e e , e e versal interest for compil ation into a book of occult in
n r f r nc formation a d ready e e e e . It is a book wh ich ought to be in the library of every
t stud nt th e han dsom st of th s u cat on wl occul e , e yle i p bli i i l “ ” make it much appreciated as a gift-book and the merely
i nt l r nominal price s an ince ive to ibe ality .
I I lawm a n
INTERPRETATION OF
I I I «thrusttamtp ANCIENT TRUTHS IN MODERN DRESS
The price o f these lectures is 5 cents each pl us 1 cent r h co postage fo ea c py. “ ”
1 . TH E R F D N . r o IDDLE O LIFE AND EATH . P esent in a so ut on wh ch is oth sc nt c and r s g l i i b ie ifi eligi ou . “ ” 2 W AR E D " N . o . HERE THE EAD “
3 . S TH E No . SPIRITUAL IGHT AND SPIRITUAL ” “ hown hat w WORLDS . S i g t e have a l aten t sixth ” d what i o ns u wh u ns an t e to us n c a . se e, p p e ltiv ted D A N . T M o . 4 S H LEEP, REAMS, R NCE YPNOTISM, EDI ” H IP UMS AND INSANITY . “D 5. L D ri No . EATH AND IFE IN PURGATORY . esc b in the m thod of d ath and ur at on a so how im g e e p g i , l mu table law and not an avenging Deity tran smutes r as n th e evil acts of life to eve l ti g good . “ A A 6 . IF E H n L . ho No . AND CTIVITY IN E VEN S wi g how the Human Spirit assimil ates the G ood of its past life an d creates its environment fo r a future re h a s how i r ar s n w od rt o t a e . bi , l p ep e b y “ ” F URP CLD h E . 7. B O D r n t e No . IRTH A VENT esc ibi g a t nata r arat ons for rth and h s r tua n e l p ep i bi , t e pi i l changes whi ch inaugurate the period of excess ive h s ca rowth in the 7th ar th aus of u ert p y i l g ye , e c e p b y n 2 h s at 1 4 a d maturity at 1 . T is kn owledge i s ab o h i t l a tely essentia l to t e r gh care of a child . “
8 . TH E S OF No . N H CIENCE UTRITION, EALTH AND ” Show n h r f PROTRACTED YOUTH . i g t e mate ia l cau se o r d a h nd h u s h ea ly e t a t e obvi o pro p yl actic . “ 9 TH E A . L LL No . STRONOMICA A ECCRIEs OF THE
BIBLE. “ ” No . 1 0 . A L G I S M STRO O Y ; TS COPE AND LI ITATIONS. Shown the s r tua s de Of a stro o ho i g pi i l i l gy, wit enables thos who stud it to h th ms s an d e y elp e elve others. N O. 1 1 . SPIRITUAL SIGHT AND INSIGHT Its cul tu r contro an d t mat use n e, l legi i e , givi g a definite and saf m th od Of atta nm n e e i e t. “ ” ’ NO 1 2 . . Wa n r PARSIFAL. g e s famous Mystic Music Drama a m n of ns rat on o s r tua efi ort , i e i pi i t pi i l . “ NO . 1 3 . TH E A F IN E L NGELS AS ACTORS VO UTION . Shown ust what art the An s Archan s i g j p gel , gel , Ch ru m r h S a m Drama of f . etc. a in the L e bi , e p i , , pl y i e “
4 . E h NO . 1 L UCIE R T OR BE E C S ow , EMPTER N FA TOR in th r i n an h i n orro g e o ig d t e mission Of pa n a d s w. N 5 “ 1 . TH E L O . MYSTERY OE G O GOTHA AND THE ” CL A ra na anat on wh ch EANSING BLOOD. ti o l expl i i h a n h r sati sfies e d a d ea t alike . “ N 6 H E M S 1 . T L O . STAR OF BETH EHEM ; A Y TIC F ACT . “ The N F L L . 1 7. TH E M O o . YSTERY THE HO Y G RAI nm n way to attai e t. “ ’ hown the sot r c N 1 TH E L . S 8 . S O . ORD PRAYER i g e e i s d and howit a s to the s n -fo d const tut on i e, pplie eve l i i f man o . No 1 9 TH E C F E V L OR W " . . OMING ORC ; RI HAT 2 “ N . 0 O . FELLOWSHIP AND THE COMING R ACE. Showing why the Bible contain s both the "ewish and the Ch r st an R ons and wh b oth com n d are i i eligi , y bi e pecu liarly adapted to the spiritua l n eeds of the West
ern World and why "esus was born a "ew. ' é uentitir g strulogp
This is a om ete oo Of ns t n It c pl b k i truc io . has a to set Of tabl es necessa ry to lea rn howto cast a horoscope in thorou h sc nti c mann r an h ru s ha g ly ie fi e , d t e le ve been simplified that ability to add and subtract is the only math matieal now d re u red r 50 3 . k le ge q i . P ice
This booklet and the simplified method it conta ins casting a horoscope in a thoroughly sc ientific ma nner published in order to enable anyone who can add and SD tract to do the wor h ms f ns tead Of r n on oth r k i el , i elyi g e Thus he will Obta in a deeper knowledge Of the causes whi t are Operative in his life than any professi onal astrolog who is a stranger can give . The as trologer who works in his own fami ly or amon his n h ors and fr en ds and works or love can do mo eig b i , f , to help them than the most accomplished profession: ro o er who is of ourse una e to see as dee int ast l g , c , bl ply their conditions. n th at such are the ws Of the wr t r he wish s I Seei g vie i e , e state most emphatically that he does not cast horoscopes an n E will not consent to do so u der any circumstances . r o f Of ch ar as art of the s r tu teaches ast ol gy ree ge, p pi i h h he has s ous d for the sam r a son the phi losophy w ic e p e , e e — he lectures on other phas es of occult knowledge to he" th s s those who want to help em elve .
THE PLANETAR Y HOUR DIAL
SHO W S AT A G LANCE the Pl a nets that ru le e a c h h u r f th e d a a nd th n fl u n th rt o o c . y , e i e e ey exe
A W O N DER F UL D EV ICE a rra ng ed in ha rmo n y with l a ws d i s c o ve red tho us a nd s o f ye a rs a g o by An c nt Cha d a n a nd E t a n As tro o rs et ie l e gyp i l g e , y c lea red o f a ll my s te ry a nd put in s ha pe tha t a ll ma y r n rs ta n ea d a d und e d .
NV A UA E fo r it t s ho w t ma u s o f Na I L BL , ell o ke e ’ t ure s la ws a t Criti ca l Mo ment s o f o ur live s ; a c c u ra t el a n d u c o nt n o u t th e h a rmo n s a nd y q i kly , p i i g ie d i s co rd s ; the be s t time to b ri ng th e va rious a ffa i rs f f o li e to a s uc c e s sfu l i ss u e .
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