[PAGE 1] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE ------------------------------------------------- [ T E A C H I N G S O F A N I N I T I A T E ] [ ] [ BY ] [ ] [ M A X H E I N D E L ] [ [1865-1919] ] ------------------------------------------------- THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS MT. ECCLESIA P.O. BOX 713 OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA, 92054, USA [PAGE 3] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE FOREWARD This volume of the writings of Max Heindel, the Western Mystic, is the concluding number embodying the messages he sent out through monthly lessons to his students. These lessons, reprinted since this great soul was called to a greater work in the higher worlds on January 6th, 1919, may be found in the following books in addition to the present volume: "Freemasonry and Ca- tholicism"; "The Web of Destiny"; "The Mystical Interpretation of Christmas"; "The Mysteries of the Great Operas"; "The Gleanings of a Mystic"; and "Letters to Students." These writings comprise the later in- vestigations of this seer. The helpful messages and the spiritual encouragement that the readers have received from the inspired words in the earlier volumes we know have been far-reaching in their effects. We also feel that in years to come en- lightened and advanced students and seekers along mystical and occult lines will realize more and more the true value of the works of Max Heindel. His words reach the very depths of the heart of the reader. Many who have read his first work, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception," have been thrilled by their contact with it. [PAGE 4] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE Max Heindel, who was the authorized messenger of the true Rosicrucian Brotherhood, lived the teachings which he taught. Only one who has suffered as he suffered during his lifetime is able to touch the heart strings of hu- manity. Only he who has felt the labor pains of spiritual birth which has admitted him to the realms of the soul can write with the power to thrill his readers. As the result of such a spiritual birth the writings which Max Heindel has bequeathed to humanity will live and bear fruit. May the read- ers of this book feel the heart throbs of this great lover of humanity, who sacrificed his very physical existence in his desire to impart to man the wonderful truths which he had garnered through his contact with the Elder Brothers of the Rosicrucian Order. --August Foss Heindel [PAGE 5] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I PAGE The Days of Noah and of Christ ...................................7 Chapter II The Sign of the Master...........................................16 Chapter III What is Spiritual Work?..........................................23 Chapter IV The Way of Wisdom................................................33 Chapter V The Secret of Success............................................40 Chapter VI The Death of the Soul............................................47 Chapter VII The New Sense of the New Age.....................................54 Chapter VIII God's Chosen People..............................................61 Chapter IX Mystic Light on the World War Part I.--Secret Springs....................................66 Chapter X Mystic Light on the World War Part II--Its Promotion of Spiritual Sight..................72 Chapter XI Mystic Light on the World War Part III--Peace on Earth...................................81 Chapter XII Mystic Light on the World War Part IV--The Gospel of Gladness............................88 [PAGE 6] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE Chapter XIII The Esoteric Significance of Easter..............................96 Chapter XIV The Lesson of Easter............................................103 Chapter XV Scientific Method of Spiritual Unfoldment Part I--Material Analogies................................108 Chapter XVI Scientific Method of Spiritual Unfoldment Part II--Retrospection....................................115 Chapter XVII The Heavens Declare the Glory of God............................122 Chapter XVIII Religion and Healing............................................126 Chapter XIX Address at Ground Breaking, Mt. Ecclesia........................133 Chapter XX Our Work in the World, Part I...................................141 Chapter XXI Our Work in the World, Part II..................................148 Chapter XXII Our Work in the World, Part III.................................157 Chapter XXIII Eternal Damnation, and Salvation................................163 Chapter XXIV The Bow in the Cloud............................................172 Chapter XXV The Responsibility of Knowledge.................................180 Chapter XXVI The Journey Through the Wilderness..............................190 [PAGE 7] THE DAYS OF NOAH AND OF CHRIST CHAPTER I THE DAYS OF NOAH AND OF CHRIST When Nicodemus came to Christ and was told about the necessity of re- birth, he asked, "How can these things be?" And we also with out inquiring minds are often anxious for more light upon the various teachings concerning our future. It helps us if we can feel that these teachings fit into physical facts as we know them. Then we seem to have firmer ground for our faith in other things which we have not yet proved. It has been the writer's work to investigate spiritual facts and corre- late them with the physical in such a manner as would appeal to the reason and thus pave the way for belief. In this way it has been his privilege to give light to seeking souls on many of the mysteries of life. Recently a new discovery was made which, though it seemed as remote from connection with the coming of Christ as east is from west, throws considerable light on that event, especially on the manner of our meeting with the Lord "in the twinkling of an eye" as the Bible has it. Our students well know how dis- [PAGE 8] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE tasteful it is to the writer to relate personal experiences, but sometimes, as in the present case, it seems necessary, and we shall crave indulgence for using the personal pronoun while relating to the incident. One night some time ago while in transit to a place in a far country where I had a mission to perform, I heard a cry. Though the human voice can be heard only in air, there are overtones which are heard in the spiritual realms at distances exceeding those traversed by wireless messages. The cry was close by, however, and I was on the scene in an instant, but not soon enough to give the needed help. I found a man sliding down a slanting em- bankment, bare of vegetation, perhaps a dozen feet in width, and as it proved on subsequent examination, almost smooth, and without a fissure which would have afforded a hold for his fingers. To have saved him would have involved materialization of both arms and shoulders, but there was no time. In a moment he had slid over the overhanging precipice and was falling to the floor of the canyon below, probably several thousand feet, though I am not certain, being a poor judge of distance. Prompted by a natural spirit of fellow feeling I followed and on the way observed the phenomenon which is the basis of this article, namely, that when the body had attained a considerable velocity, the ethers composing the vital body commenced to ooze out, and when the body crashed into the rocks below, a mangled mass, there was very little of any ether left in it. [PAGE 9] THE DAYS OF NOAH AND OF CHRIST Gradually, however, the ethers drifted together, took form, and hovered with the finer vehicles above the mangled corpse; but the man was in a stupor un- able to sense or realize the fact of his altered condition. As soon as I saw that he was beyond present help I went on; but on think- ing the matter over it dawned on me that something unusual had happened and that it was my duty to find out if the ethers left that way in every one who feel, and if so, why. Under old-time conditions this would have been dif- ficult, but the advent of the flying machine claims many victims, especially in these unfortunate war times. It was therefore easy to ascertain the fact that when a falling body has attained a certain velocity, the higher ethers leave the dense body, and the falling man becomes insensible. As the body reaches the ground, it is mangled, but the poor man may regain consciousness when the ether has reorganized itself. He will then begin to suffer from the physical consequences of the fall. If the fall continues after the higher ethers have left, the increased velocity dislodges the lower ethers, and the Silver Cord is all that remains attached to the body. This is rup- tured at the moment of impact with the ground, and the seed atom passes on to the breaking point, where it is held in the usual way. From these facts we came to the conclusion that it is the normal air pressure which holds the vital body within the dense. When we move with an abnormal velocity, the pressure is removed from some parts of the body and a [PAGE 10] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE partial vacuum formed, with the further result that the ethers leave the body and flow into this vacuum. The two higher ethers, which are most loosely bound, are the first to disappear and leave the man senseless after they have produced the panorama of life in a flash. Then if the fall con- tinues to increase the air pressure in front of the body and the vacuum be- hind, the more closely bound lower ethers are also forced out, and the body is dead before it reaches the ground. It was found by examining a number of people in normal health that each of the prismatic atoms composing the lower ethers radiated from itself the lines of force which set spinning the physical atoms in which it is in- serted, enduing the hole body with life. The united trend of all these units of force is toward the periphery of the body, where they constitute what has been called the "Odic Fluid," also designated by other names. When the air pressure from without is lowered by residence in a high altitude, a tendency to nervousness becomes manifest because the etheric force from within ruses outward unchecked; and were the man not able to shut off the outflow of solar energy in part by an effort of will to overcome the dif- ficulty, no one could live in such places. We had heard of "shell shock" and we were aware that numbers of people who had not even the slightest wound were found dead on the battle field. In fact, we had seen and spoken with people who had passed out in this [PAGE 11] THE DAYS OF NOAH AND OF CHRIST manner but were at a loss to know why death has resulted. They all dis- claimed fear and were unanimously in their assertion that they had suddenly become unconscious and a moment later they had found themselves in that they had not a single scratch on their bodies. Our preconceived idea that it must have been a momentary fear at a particularly close call which though unrealized, had caused their demise, prevented a full investigation; but the ascertained results of the consequences of a fall led us to believe that something similar might take place in this connection, and this surmise proved to be correct. When a large projectile passes through the air, it creates a vacuum be- hind it by the enormous velocity wherewith it moves, and if a person is within this vacuum zone while the shell is passing, he suffers in a measure determined by his own nature and his proximity to the center of suction. His position is in fact a reverse replica of the man who falls; for he stands still while a moving body removes the air pressure and allows the ethers to escape. If the amount of ether dislocated is comparatively slight and is composed only of the third and fourth ethers which govern sense per- ception and memory, he will probably suffer only a temporary loss of memory and inability to sense things or move. This disability will disappear when the extracted ethers are again fitted inside the dense body--a much more [PAGE 12] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE difficult achievement than where the physical body succumbs and the reorga- nization takes place without reference to that vehicle. Had the people thus hurt learned now to perform the exercises which separate the higher and lower ethers, they might have found themselves out- side the body in full consciousness and perhaps ready for their first soul flight if they had had the courage to undertake it. However that may be, it is safe to say that on their return to the dense body they would have expe- rienced very little if any inconvenience, and in case the vacuum had been strong enough to extract all four ethers and cause death, there would prob- ably have been no unconsciousness such as overtakes the ordinary person; for it was discovered that the people who said that they felt unconscious for a moment only were wrong. It required a time varying from one to several days in the cases we investigated before the vital body was reorganized and con- sciousness reestablished. Let us now see what bearing these newly discovered facts have on the com- ing of Christ and our meeting with Him. While we lived in ancient Atlantis in the basins of the earth, pressure of the moisture-laden mist was very heavy. This hardened the dense body, and as a further result the vibrations of the interpenetrating finer vehicles were considerably slowed down. This was especially true of the vital body, which is made of ether, a grade of matter belonging to the physical world and subject to some of the physical laws. The solar life did not penetrate the dense mist in the same abundance [PAGE 13] THE DAYS OF NOAH AND OF CHRIST as is present in the clear atmosphere of today. Add to this the fact that the vital bodies of that day were almost entirely composed of the two lower ethers, which further assimilation and reproduction, and we shall understand that progress was very slow. Man lad mainly a vegetative existence, and his main exertions were devoted to the purpose of obtaining food and reproducing his kind. Had such a man been removed to our atmosphere conditions the, lack of ex- terior pressure would have resulted in an outflowing of the vital body which means death. Gradually the physical body grew less dense and the amount of the two higher ethers increased, so that man become fitted to live in a clear atmosphere under a decreased pressure such as we have enjoyed since the historical event known as the "Flood" when the mist condensed. Since that time we have also been able to specialize more of the solar life force. The larger proportion of the two higher ethers now found in our vital bodies enables us to express the higher human attributes appropriate to the devel- opment of this age. The vibrations of the vital body under the present atmospheric conditions have enabled the spirit to build that which we call civilization, consisting of industrial and artistic achievements and of moral and spiritual stan- dards, the industrial and moral excellence being as closely connect and in- terdependent as the artistic achievement is dependent on a spiritual concep- [PAGE 14] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE tion. Industry is designed to develop the moral side of man's nature, art to unfold the spiritual. Thus we are now being prepared for the next step in our unfoldment. Let it now be remembered that the qualifications necessary for our eman- cipation from the conditions prevailing in Atlantis were party physiologi- cal; we had to evolve lungs to breathe the pure air in which we are now im- mersed and which allows the vital body to vibrate at a more rapid rate than did the heavy moisture of Atlantis. With this in mind we shall readily see that future advancement lies in freeing the vital body entirely from the trammels of the dense body and letting it vibrate in pure air. This is what happened in the lofty altitude exoterically known as the "Mount of Transfiguration." Advanced men of various ages, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus (or rather the body of Jesus ensouled by Christ) appeared in the luminous garment of the liberated soul body, which all will wear in the New Galilee, the Kingdom of Christ. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the king- dom,: for it would interfere with the spiritual progress of the day; so when Christ appears we must be prepared with a soul body and thus be ready to part from out dense body to be "caught up and meet Him in the air." The results of the investigation which form the basis of the present ar- ticle may give us an insight into the method of transition when compared with the information given in the Bible. It is said that the Lord will [PAGE 15] THE DAYS OF NOAH AND OF CHRIST appear with a mighty sound like the voice of an Archangel. We read of thun- ders and the blasts of trumpets in connection with the event. A sound is an atmospheric disturbance, and since the passage of a projectile made by man can lift the vital bodies of soldiers out of their dense bodies, it needs to argument to prove that the shout of a superhuman voice could accomplish similar results more efficiently--"in the twinkling of an eye." "When shall these things be?" asked the disciples. They were told that as it was in the days of Noah (when the Aryan Epoch was about to be ushered in), so should it be in the Day of Christ. They ate and drank, they married and were given in marriage. But some who perhaps seemed not so different from the rest, had evolved the all-important lungs so that when the atmo- sphere cleared they were able to breathe pure air, while others who had only the gill clefts perished. In the Day of Christ when His voice sounds the Call, there will be some who will find themselves with a properly organized soul body, able to ascent above the discarded dense bodies, while others will be like the soldiers who meet death from "shell shock" on the battle fields today. May we prepare for that day by following in His steps. [PAGE 16] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE CHAPTER II THE SIGN OF THE MASTER There are at the present time many who, judging from the signs of the times, believe Christ to be at the door and are watching him in joyful an- ticipation. Though, in the opinion of the writer, the "things which must first come to pass" have not taken place in many important particulars, we must not forget that He gave warning that "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall be in the day of the Son of Man." Then they ate, drank, and made merry; they married and were given in marriage up to the very moment when the flood descended and engulfed them. Only a small remnant was saved. Therefore we who pray for His coming will do well to watch also lest our prayers be answered before we are ready, for He said, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night." But there is also another danger, a very great danger which He pointed out, namely, "There shall be false Christs;" and "they shall deceive even the very elect, if that were possible." So we are warned that if people say, "Christ is here in the city or there in the desert," we are not to go, [PAGE 17] THE SIGN OF THE MASTER or we shall certainly be deceived. But on the other hand, if we do not investigate, how shall we know? May we not run the risk of rejecting Christ by refusing to hear all claimants and judging each according to merits? When we examine the injunctions of the Bible upon this point, they seem bewildering and altogether subversive of the end they are supposed to help us attain, and the great question,: How shall we know Christ at His coming?" is still rife. We have issued a pam- phlet on this subject but feel sure additional light will be welcome to all. Christ said that some of the false Christs would work signs and wonders. He always refused to prove His divinity in that sordid manner when asked to do so by the scribes and Pharisees, because He knew that phenomena only ex- cited the sense of wonder and whetted the appetite for more. Those who wit- ness such manifestations are sometimes sincere in their efforts to convince others but they are generally met with an attitude of mind which says in ef- fect: "You say you have seem him do so and so and therefore you believe. Very well! I also am willing to be convinced. Let him show me." But even supposing a Master were willing to prove his identity, who among the multitude is qualified to judge the validity of the proof? No one! Who knows the sign of the Master when he sees it? The sign of the Master is not [PAGE 18] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE a phenomenon which may be repudiated or explained away by the sophists, nei- ther is it something the Master may show or hide as he pleases, nor can he take it up and lay it aside at will. He is forced to carry it with him al- ways as we carry out arms and limbs. It would be just as impossible to hide the sign of the Master from those qualified to see, know and judge it as it would be for us to hide our members, from anyone who has physical sight. On the other hand, as the sign of the Master is spiritual, it must be spiritu- ally perceived, and it is therefore is impossible to show the sign of the Master to those who lack spiritual sight as it is to show a physical figure to the physically blind. Therefore we read: "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it." A little further on in the same chapter (Matt. 16) we find the Christ asking His disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The answer developed that though the Jews saw in Him a superior person, Moses, Elias, or one of the prophets, they were incapable of recognizing His true character. They could not see the sign of the Master, or they would have needed no other testimony. Christ then turned to His disciples and asked them, "But whom say ye that I am?" And from Peter came the answer weighted with conviction, quick and to the point, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." He had seen the sign of the Master, and he knew whereof he spoke, independent of [PAGE 19] THE SIGN OF THE MASTER phenomena and exterior circumstances, as emphasized by Christ when He said, "Blessed art thou, Simon, Son of Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not re- vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." In other words, the perception of this GREAT TRUTH depended upon an interior qualification. What this qualification was, and is, we learn from the next words of Christ: "And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter (PETROS, A ROCK,) and upon this rock (PETRA) I will build my church." Christ said concerning the multitude of materialistic Jews: "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonah"; and much speculation has been the consequence among equally materialistic Christians in latter times. Some have contended that an ordinary whale did swallow the prophet and later cast him ashore. Churches have divided on this as on many other foolish is- sues. But when we consult the occult records we find an interpretation which satisfies the heart without doing violence to the mind. This great allegory, like so many other myths, is pictured upon the film of the firmament, for it was first enacted in heaven before it was staged on the earth, and we still see in the starry sky "Jonah, the Dove," and "Cetus, the Whale". But we will not concern ourselves so much with the celestial [PAGE 20] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE phase as with its terrestrial application. "Jonah" means dove, a well recognized symbol of the Holy Spirit. During the three "days" comprising the Saturn, Sun, and Moon revolutions of the Earth Period, and the "nights" between, the Holy Spirit with all the Cre- ative Hierarchies worked in the Great Deep perfecting THE INWARD parts of the earth and men, removing the dead weight of the moon. Then the earth emerged from its watery stage of development in the middle Atlantean Epoch, and so did "Jonah, the Spirit Dove," accomplish the salvation of the greater part of mankind. Neither the earth nor its inhabitants were capable of maintaining their equilibrium in space, and the Cosmic Christ therefore commenced to work with and on us, finally at the baptism descending AS A DOVE (not in the form of a dove but AS a dove) upon the man Jesus. And as Jonah, the dove of the Holy Spirit, was three Days and three Nights in the Great Fish (the earth sub- merged in water), so at the end of our involutionary pilgrimage must the other dove, the Christ, enter THE HEART of the earth for the coming three revolutionary Days and Nights to give us the needed impulse on our evolu- tionary journey. He must help us to etherealize the earth in preparation for the Jupiter Period. Thus Jesus become at his baptism, "a Son of the Dove," and was recognized by another, "Simon Bar-Jonah," (Simon, son of the dove). At that recogni- [PAGE 21] THE SIGN OF THE MASTER tion, by the sign of the dove, the Master calls the other "a rock," a foun- dation Stone, and promises him the "Keys to Heaven." These are not idle words nor haphazard promises. These are phases of soul development involved which each must undergo if he has not passed them. What then is the "sign of Jonah" which the Christ bore about with Him, visible to all who could see, other than the "house from heaven" wherewith Paul longed to be clothed; the glorious treasure house wherein all the noble deeds of many lives glitter and glisten as precious pearls? Everybody has a little "house from heaven." Jesus, holy and pure beyond the rest, probably was a splendid sight, but think how indescribably effulgent must have been the vehicle of splendor in which the Christ descended; then we shall have some conception of the "blindness" of those who asked for "a sing." Even among His other disciples He found the same spiritual cataract. "Show us the Father," said Philip, oblivious to the mystic Trinity in Unity which ought to have been obvious to him. Simon, however, was quick to perceive, because he himself had by spiritual alchemy made this spiritual petros or "stone" of the philosopher which entitled him to the "Keys of the Kingdom"; an Initiation making usable the latent powers of the candidate evolved by service. We find that these "stones" for the "temple made without hands" undergo an evolution or process of preparation. There is first the "petros," the [PAGE 22] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE diamond in the rough, so to speak, found in nature. When read with the heart, such passages as 1st Cor., 10:4, "And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock (Petros) that fol- lowed them: and that Rock was Christ," are illuminating in this connection. Gradually, very gradually, we have become impregnated with the WATER OF LIFE which sprang from the Great Rock. We have also become polished as "lithoi zontes" (LIVING STONES), destined to be grouped with that GREAT STONE which the Builder rejected; and when we have wrought well to the end, we shall fi- nally receive in the Kingdom the diadem, the most precious of all, the "psiphon leuken," (the white stone) with its New Name. There are three steps in the evolution of "THE STONE OF THE SAGE": PETROS, the hard rough rock; LITHON, the stone polished by service and ready to be written on; and PSIPHON LEUKEN, the soft white stone that draws to it- self all who are weak and heavy laden. Much is hidden in the nature and composition of the stone at each step which cannot be written; it must be read between the lines. If we hope to build the Living Temple with Christ in the Kingdom, we would do well to prepare ourselves that we may fit in, and then we shall know the Master and the Sign of the Master. [PAGE 23] WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WORK? CHAPTER III WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WORK? In this connection we will give some extracts from the wonderful poem by Longfellow which is called "The Legend Beautiful." "In his chamber all alone, Kneeling on the floor of stone Prayed the Monk in deep contrition For his sins of indecision, Prayed for greater self-denial In temptation and in trial; It was noonday by the dial, And the Monk was all alone. "Suddenly, as if it lightened, An unwonted splendor brightened All within him and without him In that narrow cell of stone; And he saw the Blessed Vision Of our Lord, with Light Elysian Like a vesture wrapped about him, Like a garment round him thrown." [PAGE 24] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE This was not the suffering Savior, however, but the Christ feeding the hungry and healing the sick. "In an attitude imploring, Hands upon his bosom crossed, Wondering, worshiping, adoring, Knelt the Monk in rapture lost. * * * * * * "Then amid his exaltation, Loud the convent bell appalling, From its belfry calling, calling, Rang through court and corridor With persistent iteration He had never heard before." This was his call to the duty of feeding the poor as Christ had done, for he was the almoner of the Brotherhood. "Deep distress and hesitation Mingled with his adoration; Should be go, or should he stay? Should he leave the poor to wait Hungry at the convent gate, Till the Vision passed away? Should be slight his radiant guest, Slight his visitant celestial, For a crowd or ragged, bestial [PAGE 25] WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WORK? Beggars at the convent gate? Would the Vision there remain? Would the Vision come again? Then a voice within his breast Whispered, audible and clear As if to the outward ear: 'Do they duty; that is best; Leave unto they Lord the rest!' Straightaway to his feet he started, And with longing look intent On the Blessed Vision bent, Slowly from his cell departed, Slowly on his errand went. "At the gate the poor were waiting, Looking through the iron grating, With that terror in the eye That is only seen in those Who amid their wants and woes Hear the sound of doors that close, And of feet that pass them by; Grown familiar with disfavor, Grown familiar with the savor Of the broad by which men die! But today, they knew not why, Like the gate of Paradise Seemed the convent gate to rise, [PAGE 26] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE Like a sacrament divine Seemed to them the bread and wine. In his heart the Monk was praying, Thinking of the homeless poor, What they suffer and endure; What we see not, what we see; And the inward voice was saying: 'Whatsoever thing thou doest To the least of mine and lowest, That doest unto me!' "Unto me! but had the Vision Come to him in beggar's clothing, Come to mendicant imploring, Would he then have knelt adoring, Or have listened with derision, And have turned away with loathing? "Thus his conscience put the question, Full of troublesome suggestion, As at length, with hurried pace, Towards his cell he turned his face, And beheld the convent bright With supernatural light, Like a luminous cloud expanding Over floor and wall and ceiling. "But he passed with awe-struck feeling At the threshold of this door, For the Vision still was standing [PAGE 27] WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WORK? As he left it there before, When the convent bell appalling, From its belfry calling, calling, Summoned him to feed the poor. Through the long hour intervening It had waited his return, And he felt his bosom burn, Comprehending all the meaning, When the Blessed Vision said, 'Hadst thou stayed, I must have fled!" Let me tell you a story: Ages and ages ago--so long ago in fact that it was almost as far away as yesterday--darkness enveloped the earth, and men were groping for the light. Some there were who had found it and who undertook to show men the reflec- tion thereof, and they were eagerly sought. Among them there was one who had been to the city of light for a little while and had absorbed some of its brilliancy. Straightway men and women from all over the land of dark- ness sought him. They journeyed thousands of miles because they had heard of this light; and when he heard that a company was traveling towards his house, he set to work and prepared to give them the very best he had. He planted poles all around his house and put lights upon them so that his visitors might not hurt themselves in the darkness. He and his household ministered to their wants, and he taught them as best he knew. [PAGE 28] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE But soon sine if his visitors murmured. They had thought to find him seated upon a pedestal radiant with celestial light. In fancy they had seen themselves worshiping at his shrine; but instead of the spiritual light they had expected they had caught him in the very act of stringing electric lights to illuminate the place. He did not even wear a turban or a robe, because, THE ORDER TO WHICH HE BELONGED HAD AS ONE ITS FUNDAMENTAL RULES THAT IS MEMBERS MUST WEAR THE DRESS OF THE COUNTRY IN WHICH THEY LIVED. So the visitors came to the conclusion that they had been tricked and swindled and that he had no light. They they took up stones and stoned him and his household; they would have killed him had it not been that they feared the law, which in that land required an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Then they went away again into the land of the darkness, and whenever they saw a soul headed towards the light, they help up their hands in horror and said, "Do not go there; that is not a true light, it is as a jack-o-lantern and it will lead you astray. We know there is absolutely no spirituality there." Many believed them, and thus came to pass in that case, as so many times before, the saying that was written in one of their old books: "This is the condemnation, that light has come into the world but men love darkness rather than light." As it was in that far-away yesterday, so also it is today. Men are run- ning hither and thither seeking for light. Often like Sir Launfal they [PAGE 29] WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WORK? travel to the ends of the earth, wasting their whole lives seeking for the thing that they call Spirituality," but melting disappointment after disap- pointment. But just as Sir Launfal, having spent his whole life in vain search away from his home, finally found in the HOLY GRAIL right at his own castle gate, so every honest seeker after spirituality will, shall, and must find it in his own heart. The only danger is that like the company of seek- ers mentioned, he may miss it because he does not recognize it. NO ONE CAN RECOGNIZE TRUE SPIRITUALITY IN OTHERS UNTIL HE HAD IN A MEASURE EVOLVED IT IN HIS OWN SELF. It may therefore be well to try to settle definitely, "WHAT IS SPIRITU- ALITY?" to give a guide whereby we may find this great Christ attribute. In order to do this we must leave our preconceived ideas behind, or we shall certainly fail. The idea most commonly held is that spirituality manifests through prayer and meditation; but if we look at our Savior's life, we shall find that it was not an idle one. He was not a recluse, He did not go away and hide Himself from the world. He went among people, He ministered to their daily wants; He fed them when that was necessary; He healed them when- ever He had the opportunity, and He also taught them. Thus He was in the very truest sense of the word A SERVANT OF HUMANITY. The monk in "THE LEGEND BEAUTIFUL" saw Him thus when he was engaged in prayer, rapt in spiritual ecstasy. But just then the convent bell struck [PAGE 30] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE the hour of twelve, and IT WAS HIS DUTY TO GO AND IMITATE THE CHRIST, feed- ing the poor who had gathered around the convent gate. Great indeed was the temptation to stay, to bathe in the heavenly vibrations,; but there came the voice, "DO THY DUTY, THAT IS BEST; LEAVE UNTO THY LORD THE REST" How could he have adored the Savior whom he saw feeding the poor and healing the sick while at the same time leaving the hungry poor to stand outside the convent gate waiting for him to perform his duties? It would have been positively wicked for him to have stayed there; and so the Vision said to him upon his return: "HAST THOU STAYED, I MUST HAVE FLED." Such self-indulgence would have been absolutely subversive of the purpose he had in view. If he had not been faithful in little things pertaining to earthly duties, how could it be expected that he would be faithful in the greater spiritual work? Naturally, unless ABLE TO STAND THE TEST, he could not be given greater powers. There are many people who seek spiritual powers, wandering from one so-called occult center to another; who enter monasteries and like places of seclusion, hoping by running away from the world's clamor and glamour to cultivate their spiritual nature. They bask in the sunshine of prayer and meditation from morning till night while the world is moaning in agony. [PAGE 31] WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WORK? Then they wonder why they do not progress; why they do not get further upon the path of aspiration. Truly prayer and meditation are necessary, abso- lutely essential to soul growth. But we are doomed to failure if we depend for soul growth upon prayers which are only words. TO OBTAIN RESULTS WE MUST LIVE IN SUCH A MANNER THAT OUR WHOLE LIFE BECOMES PRAYER, AN ASPIRA- TION. As Emerson said: "Although your knees were never bent, To heaven your hourly prayers are sent, And be they formed for good or ill, Are registered and answered still." It is not the words we speak in moments of prayer that count, but IT IS THE LIFE THAT LEADS UP TO THE PRAYER. What is the use of praying for peace on earth on Sunday when we are mak- ing bullets during the whole week? How can we pray God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us when we carry hate in our hearts? THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO SHOW OUR FAITH, AND THAT IS BY OUR WORKS; It does not matter in what department of life we have been placed, whether we are high or low, rich or poor, it is immaterial whether we are engaged in stringing electric lights to save our fellows a physical fall, or whether it is our privilege to stand upon a platform to give out the spiritual light [PAGE 32] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE and point out to others the way of the soul. It is absolutely unessential whether our hands are grimy with the lowest labor, perhaps digging a sewer to maintain the health of our community, or whether they are soft and white as required when nursing the sick. The determining factor which decides whether any class of work is spiritual or material is our attitude in the matter. The man who strings the electric lights may be far more spiritual than the one who stands upon the platform; for alas, there are many who go to that sacred duty with the desire to tickle the ears of their congregation by fine oratory rather than to give heart-felt love and sympathy. It is must more noble work to clean out the clogged sewer, as did THE DESPISED BROTHER in Kennedy's "Servant in the House," than it is to live falsely in the dignity of a teacher's office, implying a spirituality that is not actually there. EVERYONE WHO TRIES TO CULTIVATE THIS RARE QUALITY OF SPIRITUALITY MUST ALWAYS BEGIN BY DOING EV- ERYTHING TO THE GLORY OF THE LORD; FOR WHEN WE DO ALL THINGS AS UNTO THE LORD, IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT KIND OF WORK WE DO. DIGGING A SEWER, INVENT- ING A LABOR SAVING DEVICE, PREACHING A SERMON, OR ANYTHING ELSE IS SPIRITUAL WORK WHEN IT IS DONE IN LOVE TO GOD AND MAN. [PAGE 33] THE WAY OF WISDOM CHAPTER IV THE WAY OF WISDOM It is now several years since the teaching of the Elder Brothers was first published in THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION, and we have since added to our literature. It now seems appropriate that we take stock of our work to see what we have don with the talents entrusted to our care. In the first place let us realize that the reason why we are in the Rosicrucian Fellowship is because at some time we have been dissatisifed with the explanations of the problems of life given elsewhere. We have all sought light upon the riddle, and some among us, like the man spoken of in the Bible saw a pearl of great price and went and sold all we had and bought the pearl, which symbolizes knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, some among us have been so anxious to find light and so overjoyed when it was found that we have given our whole life, thought, and energy to this work. Previously assumed obligations prevent the majority from enjoy- ing this great privilege, but everyone of us, if we have been helped, is bound under the law of compensation to make some return, for interchange and [PAGE 34] THE WAY OF WISDOM circulation are everywhere correlative to life, as stagnation is to death. We know that we cannot continue to gorge ourselves upon physical good and retain what we have eaten, and that unless elimination maintains the equi- librium, death soon follows. Neither can we with impunity gorge ourselves with a mental diet. We must share our treasure with others and use our knowledge in the world's work or run the danger of stagnation in the quag- mire of metaphysical speculation. During the years which have elapsed since THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION was published, students have had ample time to familiarize themselves with its teachings. We can no longer excuse ourselves by saying we do not know the philosphy because we have had no time to study it and therefore cannot explain it to others. Even those who have had the least time to study because of the duties which call them in their work in the world ought now to be sufficiently posted to "GIVE A REASON FOR THE FAITH" which is within them, as Paul exhorted us all to do. Even if we do not suc- ceed in showing the light to everyone who asks for it, we owe it to our- selves, to the Elder Brothers, and to humanity to make the attempt. Our own soul growth depends upon the share we have in the growth of the movement wherewith we have connected ourselves, and it is therefore expedient that we should realize thoroughly WHAT THE MISSION OF THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP IS. [PAGE 35] THE WAY OF WISDOM This you will find thoroughly and clearly elucidated in the introductory chapter of the "COSMO." Briefly stated, it is TO GIVE AN EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM OF LIFE WHICH WILL SATISFY BOTH THE MIND AND THE HEART, and thus solve the perplexities of the two classes of people who are now groping in the dark for want of this unifying knowledge, and who may be broadly spoken of for the purposes of our discussion as THE CHURCH PEOPLE and the SCIEN- TISTS. By the first term we will designate all who are led by sincere devo- tion or kindliness of nature, whether belonging to a church or not. IN the second class we mean to include all who are looking at life from the purely mental viewpoint, whether they class themselves as scientists or not. It is the aim and object of THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION to widen the spiritual scope of rapidly increasing number among these two classes who re- alize more or less clearly that there is a lack of something vitally impor- tant in their present view of life and being. You will remember that when David desired to build a temple for the Lord he was denied the privilege because had had been a man of war. There are organizations in the world today which are always fighting other organiza- tions, always finding fault and striving to tear down, thus warring just as much as David did in ancient days. They cannot with such a state of mind be permitted to build the temple which is made with living stones of men and [PAGE 36] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE women, that temple which Manson in "The Servant in the House" speaks of in such beautiful terms. Therefore, when we go about endeavoring to spread the truths of the Rosicrucian teachings, let us always bear in mind that we may not with impunity decry the religion of anyone else nor antagonize him, and that it is not our mission to war against his error, which will manifest it- self in due time. Do you remember that when David had passed out and Solomon reigned in his stead, the latter saw the Lord in a dream, and asked for wisdom? He was given the choice of whatever he might ask, and he asked for wisdom to guide the people. This answer, in effect, was given him: Because it was in your heart to ask wisdom, because you have not asked for riches or long life or for victory over your enemies or anything like that but have prayed for wis- dom, therefore that wisdom shall be given you and much more than that. Therefore it may be well for us at this time to devote ourselves to heart- felt prayers for wisdom, and in order that we may recognize it, it will be well to discuss what true wisdom is. It is said, and truly, that KNOWLEDGE is power. Knowledge, though in it- self neither good nor evil, may be used either for one purpose or the other. Genius merely shows the bent of knowledge, but genius also may be good or evil. We speak of a military genius, one who has a wonderful knowledge of the tactics of war, but such a man cannot be truly good, FOR HE IS BOUND TO [PAGE 37] THE WAY OF WISDOM BE HEARTLESS AND DESTRUCTIVE in the expression of his genius. A man of war, whether he be a Napolean or a common soldier, can never be WISE, because he must deliberately crush all finer feelings of which we take the heart as a symbol. On the other hand, A WISE RULER IS BIG-HEARTED as well as having a powerful intellect, so that one balances the other in pro- moting the interests of his people. Even the deepest KNOWLEDGE along reli- gious or occult lines is not wisdom, as we are taught by Paul in that wonderful thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, where he says in effect: Though I have all the knowledge so that I could solve all mysteries, and have not love, I am nothing. ONLY WHEN KNOWLEDGE HAS WED LOVE, DO THEY MERGE INTO WISDOM, the expression of Christ principle, the second phase of Deity. We should be very careful to discriminate properly at this point. We may have discrimination between what is expedient for the attainment of a cer- tain end AND WHAT HINDERS and we may choose present ills for future attain- ment, but even in this we do not necessarily express wisdom. Knowledge, prudence, discretion, and discrimination are all born of the mind; all by themselves alone are snares of evil from which Christ in the Lord's prayer taught us to pray that we might be delivered. Only when these mind-born faculties are tempered by the heart-born faculty of love does the blended product become wisdom. If we read the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, substituting the word WISDOM for the word CHARITY or LOVE, we [PAGE 38] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE shall understand what this great faculty is that we ought so ardently to de- sire. It is, then, the mission of the Rosicrucian Fellowship to promulgate a combined doctrine of the head and the heart, which is the only true wisdom, for no teaching that lacks either of these complements can really be called WISE, any more than we can strike a chord of music on one string; for as the nature of man is complex, the teaching which is to assist him to cleanse, purify, and elevate this nature must be multiplex in aspect. Christ fol- lowed this principle when He gave us that wonderful prayer, which in its seven stanzas touches the keynote of each of the seven human vehicles and blends them into that master chord of perfection which we call the Lord's Prayer. But how shall we teach the world this wonderful doctrine received from the Elder Brothers? The answer to this question is first, last, and all the time: BY LIVING THE LIFE. It is said to the everlasting credit of Mohammed that his wife became his first disciple, and it is certain that it was not his teaching alone but the life which he lived in the home, day in and day out, year in and year out, which won the confidence of his companion to such an extent that she was willing to trust her spiritual fate in his hands. It is comparatively easy to stand before strangers who know nothing bad about us and to whom our shortcomings are therefore not patent, and preach for an hour or two each week, but it is totally different thing to preach twenty- [PAGE 39] THE WAY OF WISDOM four hours a day in the home as Mohammed must have done by living the life. It we would have the success in our propaganda that he had in his, we must, each and everyone of us, begin in the hone, begin by demonstrating to those with whom we live that the teachings which guide us are truly wisdom teach- ings. It is said that charity begins at home. This is the word that should have been translated "love" in the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians. Change this also into wisdom and let it read, WISDOM PROPAGANDA BEGINS AT HOME. Then let this be our motto throughout the years: "By living the life AT HOME we can advance the cause better than in any other way." Many skep- tical families have been converted by husbands or wives in the Rosicrucian Fellowship. May the rest follow. [PAGE 40] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE CHAPTER V THE SECRET OF SUCCESS This is a subject which ought to interest everybody, for surely we all desire to be successful; but the question is what constitutes success? And to this question perhaps each individual would have a different answer. But a little thought will soon make it clear that whatever path we pursue in our desire to attain success, that path must be follow the evolutionary tread of mankind. Therefore there must be a general answer as to what constitutes success and what is the secret thereof. It would be a mistake, however, to try to find the solution of this problem just by examining the life of man during our present age. Paying regard to what he has been before and with an eye also to the future development of humanity is the only way to obtain the perspective which is necessary to arrive at the proper answer to this momentous question. We do not need to go into details to a great extent. We may mention that in the earlier epochs of our evolution when man-in-the-making was coming down from the spiritual world into his present material existence, the [PAGE 41] THE SECRET OF SUCCESS secret of success lay in a knowledge of the physical world and the condi- tions therein. It was not necessary at that time to tell humanity about the spiritual world and our finer vehicles, for these were facts patent to ev- erybody. We saw and lived in the spiritual realms. But we were then coming into the physical world, and therefore the schools of Initiation taught the pioneers of mankind the laws which govern the physical world and initiated them into the arts and crafts whereby they might conquer the material realm. From that time until a comparatively recent date humanity has been working to perfect itself in these branches of knowledge, which reached their high- est expression in the centuries just prior to the discovery of steam and are now in their decadence. At first thought this may seem an unwarranted statement, but a careful examination of the facts will very quickly develop the truth thereof. In the so-called "dark ages" there were no factories, but every town and vil- lage was full of small shops in which the master, sometimes alone and at other times with a few journeymen and apprentices, wrought the works of his trade from the raw material to the finished product, exercising his skill and creative instinct and putting his heart and soul into every piece of work that left his hands. If he were a blacksmith, he knew how to produce ornamental ironwork fit for signs, gates, and other things which went to make up the quaint beauty of those medieval villages and towns. Nor did his [PAGE 42] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE handiwork ever leave him entirely; as he walked about the town he might look upon this, that, or the other ornament, and pride himself upon the beauty thereof,; pride himself also in the knowledge of how he had won the respect and admiration of his fellow townsmen by his artistic and conscientious work. The joiner who made the framework of the chairs, also upholstered them and made those artistic designs which we are today seeking to follow. The shoemaker, the weaver, and all other craftsmen without exception pro- duced the finished article from the raw material, and each took pride in his handiwork. Also they toiled long hours, but there was no murmur or com- plaint, for each found a satisfaction in this exercise of his creative in- stinct. The song of the blacksmith to the accompaniment of the hammer on the anvil was a fact in every shop, and the journeymen and apprentices felt themselves not slaves but MASTERS IN THE MAKING. Then came the age of steam and machinery and with it a new system of la- bor. Instead of the production of the finished article from the raw mate- rial by one man, which gave satisfaction to his creative instinct, the new plan was to make men tenders of machines which produced only parts of the finished articles. These parts were then assembled by others. While this plan decreased the cost of production and increased the output, it left no scope for the creative instinct of a man. He became merely a cog in some [PAGE 43] THE SECRET OF SUCCESS great machine. In the medieval shop money was indeed a minor consideration; the joy of production was everything; time mattered not. But under the new system men commenced to work FOR MONEY AND AGAINST TIME, with the result that the souls of both master and men are now starved. They have lost the substance and retained only the shadow of all that makes life worth living, for they are laboring for something which they can neither use nor enjoy. This applies to both master and men. What would we say of a young man who should set himself the goal of ac- cumulating a million handkerchiefs which he could never by any possible change use? Surely we should call him a fool; and why should we not place the man who spends all his energy and foregoes all the comforts of life to become a millionaire, in the same category? This system cannot continue, for it is giving man a stone when he asks for bread, and there must be some other development in store for him. New standards must be in the process of development, new ideals must be looming up to give us a wider vision. For hints as to the trend of evolution we must look to those among us who are most gifted with inspiration, the poets and seers. James Russell Lowell sounds perhaps the clearest note in his VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL. A knight leaving his castle imbued with a desire to do great and valiant things for God, is going to join the Crusaders and seek the Holy Grail in far distant Palestine. He leaves his castle self-satisifed, proud, and arrogant, bent [PAGE 44] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE on his mission. At the castle gate he meets a poor beggar, a leper, who stretches out his hands asking for alms. Sir Launfal, however, has no com- passion, but in order to be rid of the loathsome thing, he throws him a golden coin and endeavors to forget him. "But the leper raised not the gold from the dust, 'Better to me the poor man's crust, Better the blessing of the poor, Though I turn empty for his door. That is not true alms which the hand can hold; He gives only the worthless gold Who gives from a sense of duty; But he who gives from a slender mite, And gives to that which is out of sight-- That thread of all-sustaining beauty Which runs through all and doth all unite-- The hand cannot clasp the whole of his aims, The heart outstretches its eager palms, For a god goes with it and makes it store To the soul that was starving in darkness before.'" But what of Sir Launfal? Could he be expected in such a frame of mind to attain success and find the Grail? Certainly not. So disappointment after disappointment meets him, and finally he returns to his castle, discouraged and humbled in heart. There he again meets the leper, and at the sight of him, [PAGE 45] THE SECRET OF SUCCESS "The heart within him was ashes and dust; He parted in twain his single crust, He broke the ice on the streamlet's brink, And gave the leper to eat and drink." Then, having fulfilled the task of mercy, the reward comes with it: "The leper no longer crouched by his side' But stood before him glorified, * * * * * * * And the Voice that was softer than silence said, 'Lo, it is I, be not afraid! In many lands, without avail, Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail; Behold, it is here--this cup which thou Didst fill at the streamlet for me but now! This crust is my body broken for thee, This water the blood I shed on the tree; The Holy Supper is kept, indeed, In whatso we share with another's need; Not what we give, but what we share-- For the gift without the giver is bare; Who gives HIMSELF with his aims feeds three: Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.'" In these words lies the secret of success, which consists in doing the little things, the perhaps seemingly disagreeable things which are close to our hands, instead of going afar and seeking for chimerical phantasms which [PAGE 46] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE never develop into anything definite or tangible. What will doing the former accomplish for us? may be pertinently in- quired. Again we may take the answer from a poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes, who tells us of the little chambered nautilus. It first builds a small cell only large enough to hold it. Then as it grows, it adds another chamber which is larger and which it them occupies for the next period of growth, and so on until it has made a spiral shell as large as it can, which it then leaves. This idea he puts into the following lines: "Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!" When we have come to this point, we have obtained success--all the suc- cess that we can get in our present world--and we are entering a new sphere of larger opportunities. [PAGE 47] THE DEATH OF THE SOUL CHAPTER VI THE DEATH OF THE SOUL From time to time, seemingly following a law of periodicity, the same difficulties crop up in the minds of students. At the same time a number of letters from different parts of the world ask for information on a subject, at another time on a different one, but after years the same subjects are revived. While help is given the individuals who ask, it may be that many more are interested in the same subject at the same time, hence this lesson on the death of the soul, which seems to exercise the mind perhaps because death of the body is so common and frequent. Some years ago we published a lesson on "The Unpardonable Sin and Lost Souls" in connection with the sacraments which we were them explaining. It was there stated that all the sacraments have to do with the transmission of the seed atoms, which form the nuclei of our various bodies. The germ for our earthly body must be properly placed in fruitful soil to grow a suitable dense vehicle, and for this reason, as stated in Genesis, 1:27, "Elohim cre- ated man male and female." The Hebrew words are SACR VA N'CABAH. These are [PAGE 48] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE names of the sex organs. Literally translated, SACR means the bearer of the germ; and thus MARRIAGE is a SACRament, for it opens the way for the trans- mission of the physical seed atom from the father to the mother and tends to preserve the race against the ravages of death. BAPTISM as a SACRament signifies the germinal urge of the soul for higher life, the planting of a spiritual seed. COMMUNION is the SACRament in which we partake of bread made from the seed of chaste plants, and in which the cup symbolizing the passionless seed pod points to the age to come, an age when marriage will be unnecessary to transmit the seed through a father and mother, but when we may feed directly upon cosmic life and thus conquer death. Finally, EXTREME UNCTION is the SACRament which marks the loosing of the silver cord and the extraction of the sacred germ, until it shall again be planted in another N'cabah, or mother. As the seed and ovum are the root and basis of racial development, it is easy to see that no sin can be more serious than that which abuses the cre- ative function, for by the SACRilege we stunt future generations and trans- gress against the Holy Spirit, Jehovah, who is the warden of the creative lunar force. His angels herald birth, as in the case of Isaac, John the Baptist, and Jesus. When He wanted to reward His most faithful follower, [PAGE 49] THE DEATH OF THE SOUL Abraham, He promised to make his seed as numerous as the sands on the sea- shore. He also meted out the most terrible punishment to the Sodomites, who committed sacrilege by misdirecting the seed; and the sin of Onan who wasted it is also a pointer in the same direction. We are told in the Bible that mankind were forbidden to eat of the Tree of Knowledge under pain of death. But instead of patiently waiting for the periods of propitious interplanetary conditions Adam KNEW Eve, and since then she has borne her children in pain and suffering subject to premature death. Therefore the abuse of this sacred function for gratification of the passional nature, and particularly perversion, is recognized by esotericists as the unpardonable sin. It is to this James refers when he says, "There is a sin unto death. I do not say that ye shall pray for that." But occult investigations have proved in this case, as with all other forms of hell preaching, that God and nature are much more lenient and mer- ciful to man than man is to his fellows. Though the retributive justice meted out to those who have lived lives of sin and vice was found in all cases to be severe, nothing nearly as serious as the "death of the soul" oc- curs. So far as we have been able to learn, ONLY THE BLACK MAGICIAN WHO CONSCIOUSLY MISUSES THE SEED FOR MALICIOUS PURPOSES faces anything so seri- ous as that implied in the phrase; and there would really be no need of go- ing into the subject at all except that it throws side lights upon other [PAGE 50] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE matters of value to the student. To understand this properly we must first call to the mind the sharp definitions of the terms spirit, soul and body as given in the "Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception." It is there stated that in the beginning of manifesta- tion the Virgin Spirit, a spark from the Divine, involved itself in a three- fold veil of spirit-matter and thus became the Ego. The threefold spirit cast a threefold shadow into the realm of matter, and thus the DENSE BODY was evolved as a counterpart of the Divine Spirit, the VITAL BODY as a replica of the Life Spirit, and the DESIRE BODY as the image of the Human Spirit. Finally, and most important of all, the link of MIND was formed between the threefold spirit and its threefold body. This was the beginning of individual consciousness, and marks the point where the involution spirit into matter is finished and the evolutionary process whereby the spirit is lifted out of matter begins. Involution involves the crystallization of spirit into bodies, but evolution depends upon the dis- solution of the bodies, the extraction of the soul-substance from them, and the alchemical amalgamation of this soul with the spirit. At the beginning of evolution man consisted only of spirit and body,--he was soulless; but since them each life lived on earth in the great school of experience had made him more and more soulful according to the use which he has made of his opportunities. This is shown in the different gradation be- tween the savage and the saint which we see all about us. It is the loss [PAGE 51] THE DEATH OF THE SOUL of the soul which is involved in the experience we describe as the death of the soul. The spirit itself can of course never die seeing that it is a spark from the Divine, without beginning and without end. How then can the death of the soul be brought about, and what is the real meaning of the phrase? This is a subject the writer does not like to dwell upon, but for the sake of the important side light it throws upon spiritual advancement, as already said, the facts will be given. In the foregoing we have seen that the threefold spirit has projected a threefold body and that the purpose of evolution is the extraction of the threefold soul from his threefold body and the amalgamation thereof with the threefold spirit. Now mark this point for this is the important crux of the whole matter, a very valuable and important piece of information which will help the student to a more definite understanding of the subject than has hitherto been given: Much is said in occult literature about "THE PATH"; but though to the initiated who already know, the statements of what it is and where it is are plentiful, this information has never before been given to the exoteric student. Paul tells us that to be carnally MINDED is death, but to be spiritual MINDED is life and peace. This is the exact truth, for the MIND, WHICH IS THE LINK BETWEEN THE SPIRIT AND THE BODY, IS THE PATH OR BRIDGE, THE ONLY MEANS OF TRANSMISSION OF SOUL TO SPIRIT. So long as man is [PAGE 52] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE carnally minded and turns his attention to worldly successes, cherishing as his motto proverb, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die," all his activities are centered in the lower part of his being, the person- ality, and he lives and dies like the animals, unconscious of the magnetic drawings of the spirit. But at length there comes a time when the yearnings of the spirit are felt, and the personality sees the light and sets out to seek its Higher Self across the bridge of mind. And as flesh and blood can- not inherit the Kingdom of God, the body is crucified that the soul may be liberated and joined to its Father in Heaven, the threefold spirit, the Higher Self. That at least is the general tendency, the higher elevates the lower. But unfortunately there are examples of the opposite where the lower person- ality becomes so strong in its materialism and where the mind becomes so firmly enmeshed with the lower vehicles that the personality refuses to sac- rifice itself for the spirit, with the result that THE BRIDGE OF MIND IS FI- NALLY BROKEN. The soulless personality may then continue to live for many years after this separation has taken place, and may perpetrate the most outrageous acts of cruelty and cunning until it succumbs. Black Magic which involves the perverted use of seed obtained from others is generally used by these soulless personalities for the purpose of satisfying their demoniac desires. Often they obtain power in a nation or a society, which they then [PAGE 53] THE DEATH OF THE SOUL delight in wrecking. Meanwhile the spirit stands naked; it has no seed atoms wherewith to cre- ate further bodies, and it therefore automatically gravitates to the planet Saturn and thence to Chaos, where it must retain until the dawn of a new creative day. It may seen unjust at first sight that the spirit should be thus made to suffer though it has committed no wickedness; but on further thought it will be understood that as the personality is the creature of the Higher Self, the responsibility exists and cannot be evaded. Fortunately, however, such cases grow increasingly rare as we advance upon the pathway of evolution. Nevertheless, it behooves all to set their faces earnestly to- wards the goal so that the light on the path that leads toward our spiritual ideal, the union with the Higher Self, may grow brighter day by day. [PAGE 54] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE CHAPTER VII THE NEW SENSE OF THE NEW AGE At the end of the Taurean age, about 4,000 years ago, "God's people" fled from the wrath to come when they left Egypt, the land where they worshiped the Bull. They were led in their flight to the promised land by Moses, whose head in ancient esoteric pictures is adorned with wreathed ram's horns, symbolical of the fact that he was herald of the Aryan age of 2100 years, during which each Easter morning the vernal sun colored the doorposts red as with the blood of the lamb, when it passed over the equator in the CONSTELLATION (not the SIGN) of the ram Aries. Similarly, when the sun by precession was approaching the watery constellation Pisces, the Fishes, John immersed the converts to the Messianic religion in the waters of Jordan, and Jesus called his disciples "fishers" of men. As the "lamb" was slain at the passover while the sun went through the constellation Aries, the Ram, so the faithful have in obedience to the command of their church fed on fishes dur- ing Lent in the present cycle of Pisces, the Fishes. [PAGE 55] THE NEW SENSE OF THE NEW AGE At the time when the sun by precession left the constellation Taurus, the Bull, the people who worshiped that animal were pronounced heathen and idolators. A new symbol of the Savior, or Messias, was found in the lamb, which correspond to the constellation Aries; but when the sun by precession left that sign, Judaism became a religion of the past, and thenceforth the bishops of the new Christian religion wore a mitre shaped like a fish's head to designate their standing as ministers of the church during the Piscean Age, which is now drawing to a close. By viewing the future through the perspective of the past, it is evident that a new age is to be ushered in when the sun enters the constellation Aquarius, the Water-bearer, a few hundred years hence. Judging by the events of the past it is reasonable to expect that a new phase of religion will supersede our present system, revealing higher and nobler ideals than our present conception of the Christian religion. It is therefore certain that if in that day we would not be classed among the idolators and heathen, we must prepare to align ourselves with these new ideals. John the Baptist, preached the gospel of preparedness in no uncertain words, warning people that the ax had been laid at the root of the tree. He cautioned them also to flee from the wrath to come, when the Son (Sun) of God should come, fan in hand, to separate the wheat from the chaff and burn it up. Christ likened the gospel to a little leaven which leavened a [PAGE 56] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE measure of flour. At first sight the method of John seems to be most drastic, laying the ax at the root of the whole social structure, while the leavening process men- tioned by Christ appears to be more gentle; but in reality it is even more thoroughgoing and drastic, as will be evident if we consider carefully what takes place when we make a loaf. It is a chemical revolution, a miniature war, involving an entire transformation of every atom of flour in the ves- sel; none can escape the action of the leaven, and there is a sound as of continual cannonading, explosion of bombs and shells, until the force of the leaven is spent and the dough transformed to a light sponge. But this war of the atoms, this chemical revolution, is absolutely indispensable in the process of bread making, for if the leavening process were omitted, the re- sult would be a heavy, unpalatable, indigestible loaf. It is the transmuta- tion wrought by the leaven which makes the loaf wholesome and nutritious. The process of preparation for the Aquarian Age has already commenced, and as Aquarius is an airy, scientific, and intellectual sign, it is a fore- gone conclusion that the new faith must be rooted in reason and able to solve the riddle of life and death in a manner that will satisfy both the mind and the religious instinct. [PAGE 57] THE NEW SENSE OF THE NEW AGE Such is the Western Wisdom Religion promulgated by the Rosicrucian Fel- lowship; like the leaven in the loaf, it is breaking down the fear of death engendered by the uncertainty surrounding the post-mortem existence. It is showing that life and consciousness continue under the laws as immutable as God, which tends to raise man to increasingly higher, nobler, and loftier states of spirituality. It kindles the beacon light of hope in the human heart by the assertion that as we have in the past evolved the five senses by which we contact the present visible world, so shall we in the not dis- tant future evolve another sense which will enable us to see the denizens of the etheric region, as well as those of our dear ones who have left the physical body and inhabit the ether and lower desire world during the first stage of their career in the spiritual realms. The mission of Aquarius is aptly represented by the symbol of man emptying the water urn. Aquarius is an airy sign having special rule over the ether. The Flood partly dried the air by depositing most of the moisture it held in the sea. But when the sun enters Aquarius by precession, the rest of the moisture will be eliminated and visual vibrations, which are most easily transmitted by a dry etheric atmosphere, will become more intense; thus conditions will be particularly conducive to production of the slight extension of our present sight necessary to open our eyes to the etheric region. California's production of physics is an instance of this effect of a dry, [PAGE 58] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE electric atmosphere, though, of course, it is not nearly so dry as the air of the Aquarian Age will be. Thus faith will be swallowed up in knowledge and we shall all be able to utter the triumphant cry, "O death, where is thy sting; O grave, where is thy victory?" But it is well to realize that by aspiration and meditation to those who are longingly looking for that day are taking time by the fore- lock and may quite easily outstrip their fellows who are unaware of what is in store. The latter, on the other hand, may delay the development of ex- tended vision by the belief that they are suffering from hallucinations when they begin to get their first glimpses of the etheric entities, and the fear that if they tell others what they see, they will be adjudged insane. Therefore the Rosicrucian Fellowship has been charged by the Elder Broth- ers with the mission of promulgating the gospel of the Aquarian Age, and of conducting a campaign of education and enlightenment, so that the world may be prepared for what is in store. The world must be leavened with those ideas: (1) Conditions in the land of the living dead are not shrouded in mys- tery, but knowledge regarding them is as available as knowledge concerning foreign countries from the tales of travelers. (2) We now stand close to the threshold where we shall all know these truths. (3) And, most important of all, we shall hasten the day in our own case [PAGE 59] THE NEW SENSE OF THE NEW AGE by acquiring knowledge of the facts concerning the post-mortem existence and the things we may expect to see, for then we shall know what to look for, and neither be frightened, astonished nor incredulous when we commence to obtain glimpses of these things. Students should also realize that a serious responsibility goes with the possession of knowledge: "to who much is given, of him much shall be re- quired." If we hide or bury our "talent," may we not expect a merited con- demnation? The Rosicrucian Fellowship can only fulfill its mission in so far as each member does his duty in spreading the teachings, and therefore it is to be hoped that this may serve to call the attention of the student to the fact of his individual duty. The etheric sight is similar to the X-ray in that it enables its pos- sessor to see right through all objects, but it is much more powerful and renders everything as transparent as glass. Therefore in the Aquarian Age many things will be different from now, for instance, it will be extremely easy to study anatomy and to detect a morbid growth, a dislocation, or a pathological condition of the body. At present medical men of the highest standing admit regretfully that their diagnosis are only too frequently er- roneous as shown by post-mortem observation; but when we have evolved the etheric sight, they will be able to study both anatomical structures and [PAGE 60] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE physiological processes without hindrance. The etheric vision will not enable us to see one another's thoughts, for they are formed in still finer stuff, but it will make it largely impossible for us to live double lives and to act differently in our homes than we do in public. If we were aware that invisible entities now throng our houses, we should often feel ashamed of the things we do; but in the Aquarian Age there will be no privacy which may not be broken into by anyone who desires to see us. It will avail nothing that we send the office boy or maid out to tell an unwelcome visitor that we are "not in." This means that in the new age honesty and straightforwardness will be the only policies worth while, for we cannot then do wrong and hope to escape detection. There will be people whose base characters will lead them into ways of wickedness then as now, but they will at least be marked so that they may be avoided. The student can easily conjecture a number of other conditions that will result from the extension of sight which will come with the Aquarian Age, and by living as near to that state as possible, he will be placing himself in a position to become one of the pioneers of that age when "there shall be no night," and when the "tree of life" shall bloom unceasingly by the trans- parent etheric "sea of glass" which permeates all things. [PAGE 61] GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE CHAPTER VIII GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE When we read the history of the Hebrews as recorded in the Bible and chronicled in medieval and modern records of the various peoples inhabiting the Western world, one unescapable fact stands out with startling clearness, to wit, that they have been led into exile and slavery, hated in every coun- try where they have been scattered, and persecuted wherever the temperament of the nations among whom the Jews dwelt would allow them to resort to such measures. According to the Bible, esteemed the "Word of God" by the Western peoples, the Jews are "God's chosen people" in a peculiar sense, yet among these very nations the Jews are despised and discredited. When we investi- gate the reason of this tragedy, two salient facts present themselves: (1) Everywhere the Jews have proclaimed themselves God's chosen people, destined by divine favor in time to become masters of the world, to whom all nations will eventually have to pay homage and tribute. [PAGE 62] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE (2) Their dealings with the gentiles have almost invariably been marked by such sharp practices that in public mind Shakespeare's Shylock, exacting his "pound of flesh," agrees with the general conception of their nature. Thus, unconsciously, there has grown up in the mind of the other nations a resentment toward the Jews' claim to be divinely favored children of God, while they class all others as stepchildren, heathen, and gentiles reserved for the day of wrath when Israel shall triumphantly rule them with a rod of iron. This resentment is accentuated by contemplation of the present day practices of the Jews. If the Jews had backed up their claim of being divine favorites by lives of noble and lofty conduct, they would probably have inspired the admiration of many of the people among whom they have dwelt. They would have stirred some to emulation; even those who were envious of their preferment would probably have respected them. But because their high professions and their practices are so widely divergent, it is sad but not to be wondered at that they are hated and persecuted on every hand. The student is warned not to view the foregoing merely as a criticism of the Jews,; it is wrong to expose the faults of others and to criticise them unless we have a constructive end in view. It is always so easy to see the mote in our brother's eye, but far easier to overlook the beam in our own. [PAGE 63] GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE The reason for bringing up the subject of the Jews with their high profes- sions and divergent practices is but to inquire if, by turning the search- light upon the mote in their eye, we shall not find a large beam in our own. If so, we shall have accomplished something worth while and put ourselves in line to remove the beam. So long as we live at the level of the world, doing the things others do, good, bad and indifferent, no one takes particular notice of us; but the mo- ment we, like the Jews, make professions to be something different, the searchlight of society at once singles us out as objects of observation to determine what ratio of agreement there is between our professions and our practices. We are watched wherever we go and whatever we do; hence a great responsibility rests upon us to acquit ourselves well in order that we may do credit to the teachings of our Elder Brothers and stimulate in others a desire to embrace these teachings. Therefore let us pause and take stock of our actions and accomplishments in the past year; then let us make such resolutions as we feel will make the future more profitable from the standpoint of the soul. In the first place let us acknowledge that we have been especially fa- vored, far beyond our merit, by receiving the Rosicrucian teachings from our Elder Brothers. Let us hope that we have expressed our gratitude to them through all the past year, and let us at this time send them special thoughts of love and gratitude. Needless to say they do not crave our [PAGE 64] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE gratitude, they are beyond that; but we may make more soul growth by being grateful. Then let us consider how we have used these precious teachings during the past year: have we dealt justly with our fellows, have we been lenient in our judgments and criticisms of others, have we striven to curb our temper, cultivate equipoise, and overcome whatever may be our particular besetting sin? What measure of success have we had? Let us hope our accomplishments have been at least moderate, for as the sincerity of the Jews' high profes- sions have been judged by their performance, so, right or wrong, the teach- ings of the Elder Brothers will be rated in the community by the actions of those who profess to be their followers. But is is a foregone conclusion that we shall have to admit at the end of our retrospection that we have fallen far short of the lofty ideals placed before us. This is always a critical point where our spiritual career is in danger of shipwreck upon the rock of faintheartedness, that is, if we are of the temperament that broods over or magnifies failure. Such an attitude of mind precipitates disaster by robbing us of the will to win; it makes us be- lieve that there is not use in struggling, that the odds against us are too great. Excuses are found in the antagonism of friends and family to our be- lief, duties that take our time, etc. But, as a matter of fact, the trouble is within ourselves, and if we yield, we shall find that our friends will [PAGE 65] GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE despise us in their hearts even if they do not show it openly as in the case of the Jews. Instead, so far from causing us to forsake the path of progress, our failures should act as a spur to greater efforts, and we should make our resolution with greater determination so that during the coming year we may be invincible with respect to the matter covered by it. We all know our own particular shortcomings, "the sin which doth so eas- ily beset us," and each will naturally have to formulate the proper resolu- tions for himself. But in carrying these resolutions into effect so that they may be productive of soul growth and help to weave the glorious GOLDEN WEDDING GARMENT, it will undoubtedly help us immensely to fasten our eyes and thoughts upon one who possessed the virtue we are seeking to cultivate. Such a great example we have in Christ, who "was tempted in all things like ourselves, yet without sin." Let us therefore keep Him closely before our mind's eye during the coming year, and we shall surely make great soul growth. This is also the best propaganda we can make for the Rosicrucian teachings, for by living close to them we shall surely evoke in others a de- sire to share in their blessings. [PAGE 66] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE CHAPTER IX MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR PART I.--SECRET SPRINGS It is well known to students of the Rosicrucian teachings that we as spirits are immortal, without beginning and without end; that we have gone to the great school of experience many life-days in the past each time clad in a new child's body of finer texture, in which we lived for a time varying from a few hours to a lifetime, and when a day at life's school had been completed, we shuffled off this mortal coil, worn out and decrepit, to re- turn to our heavenly home for rest and assimilation during the night of death of the lessons learned; later to be reborn and take up our lessons where we left them when we were called home from the previous session of the school of life. During each day at life's school we met other spirits and formed ties of love and hate. In later lives we met again so that the debts of destiny thus incurred might be liquidated. And so our friends of today are those we [PAGE 67] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR befriended yester-life, and our enemies are those with whom we were at vari- ance in the forgotten past. Thus we are continually weaving the web of des- tiny on the loom of time, and creating for ourselves a garment of glory or gloom according to whether we have worked well or ill. But we do not work out our INDIVIDUAL destiny only, for as the proverb says, "No man liveth unto himself." We are grouped in families, tribes, races, and nations, and in addition to our individual destiny we are tied by the family and national destinies because we are under the guardianship of the angels and archangels who act as family and race spirits respectively. It is these great spirits who imprint on our seed atoms the racial form and features of the physical body. They also implant the national loves and hates on the seed atoms of our finer vehicles, because the race spirit broods like a cloud over the land inhabited by its wards, and the latter draw all the materials for their finer bodies from this atmosphere. In this race spirit, as a matter of actual fact, they live and move and have their being. From it their vehicles are formed. Yea, with every breath in this race spirit, so that it is absolutely true that it is nearer than hands and feet. It is this race spirit which imbues them with love or hate for other nations, thus determining between certain nations and the trust and confi- dence which exists between others. [PAGE 68] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE According to the teachings of the Rosicrucians, every spirit is reborn twice during the time it takes the sun by precession to go through a sign of the zodiac, once as man and once as woman. This is done in order that it may gain the experiences to be had in that sign from the viewpoint of both sexes. There are many modifications to this rule according to the necessi- ties of individual spirits, for the law is not blind but it is under the ad- ministration of great beings called the Recording Angels in the Christian terminology. It is their duty to watch the Clock of Destiny and see when the time is ripe to reap the harvest of the past, and this applies both to individuals and to nations. Therefore if we study the characteristics of the nations recently locked in a titanic struggle, together with the aims for which they were fighting, and look back over the pages of history, it needs no seership, scarcely even intuition, to place them and thus see how the springs of the recent war were generated in the distant past. It has, in fact, been suggested by historians that the sons of Albion are a reembodiment of the ancient Romans. In the light of occult investigations this is not quite true, for there are a number of alien strains present. But they have been so fused in the dominant race that it may be said to be practically a fact. Let us recall the history of Rome and remember that the democratic spirit, after the first seven kings had reigned, manifested itself in the formation of a republic, which then began a war of aggression to obtain the [PAGE 69] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR mastery of the world, and in the course of this campaign it became engaged with Carthage in a mighty struggle for the mastery of the Mediterranean Sea. To gain expansion westward the Romans endeavored to expel the Carthaginians from Sicily. Carthage at that time was a great sea power, but she was de- feated by the Romans in 260 B.C. on her own element. Following up this ad- vantage Rome transferred the war to Africa and was at first successful, but Regulus, the consoul whom she left behind, was finally worsted and made prisoner. A series of naval disasters to Rome ensued, and Carthage was about to regain more than she had lost of Sicily when Tetulus, the Roman Consul, gained another decisive victory over the Carthaginians in 241 B.C., who there upon undertook to evacuate Sicily and the adjacent islands. This ended in the first Punic War, which was twenty-two years in duration. But Carthage was not to be so easily conquered. Finding Rome her match at sea, she resumed hostilities by acquiring a foothold in Spain, and the great Carthaginian general, Hannibal, who heartily hated Rome, attempted the conquest of that city during the second Punic War, which was declared in 218 B.C. His plans, nurtured in secret, were carried on with unexampled celer- ity. He crossed the Pyrenees from Spain to France, fought his way over the Alps against every obstacle, and descended upon Cisalpine Gaul with but [PAGE 70] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE twenty-six thousand survivors of his army of fifty-nine thousand men. After several defeats of the Romans came the great battle of Cannae in 216 B.C., where Hannibal's victory was complete. Macedonia and Sicily declared for the conquerors, and Hannibal marched even to the Colline gate of Rome. But finding this city too strong for him, he withdrew to southern Italy, where he was finally defeated and Carthage forced to sue for peace. Thus Rome be- came the mistress of the Mediterranean. But the hate of Hannibal was unabated, and when he and his compatriots, the Carthaginians, were reborn in landlocked Prussia, while the ancient Ro- mans occupied the British Islands as mistresses of the seas, it was in- evitable that in time a great conflict must take place. As the ancient Pu- nic Wars generated the recent conflict, so will this war in due time bring its renewal of the struggle unless we shown a spirit of kindness in dealing with the vanquished foe, instead of dealing with them as Rome did in that ancient past, without mercy and without consideration. The power to harm others must be taken from the militarist of the Central Empires. It is ab- solutely imperative that the world should be made safe from a repetition of this catastrophe, BUT THE MEASURES TAKEN TO SECURE THIS DESIRABLE END SHOULD BE SUCH THAT NOT ONLY DO THEY ENSURE PEACE FOR THE PRESENT LIFE, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE FUTURE LIFE-DAYS WHEN WE SHALL MEET IN ANOTHER GUISE THOSE WITH WHOM WE WERE RECENTLY AT WAR. [PAGE 71] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR Justice ought to be done, but it should be tempered with mercy in order to avoid perpetuating hate, and therefore such harsh measures as, for in- stance, the industrial boycott are wrong. It should be sufficient to see that the Central Empires get no more than a fair share of the world's trade. The new American nation, which is not yet under the domination of any race spirits, sees more impartially and therefore more clearly than any other what is right. Therefore it is to be hoped that the American ideas of jus- tice will prevail. Let us remember that one wrong never can and never will right another, and that we must live and let live. --- END OF FILE --- [PAGE 72] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE CHAPTER X MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR PART II -- ITS PROMOTION OF SPIRITUAL SIGHT. Strange as the statement may seem, it is nevertheless true that the great majority of mankind are partially asleep most of the time, notwithstanding the fact that their physical bodies may seem to be intensely occupied in ac- tive work. Under ordinary conditions the desire body in the case of the great majority is the most awake part of composite man, who lives almost en- tirely in his feelings and emotions, but scarcely ever thinks of the problem of existence beyond what is necessary to keep body and soul together. Most of this class have probably never given the great questions of life, Whence have we come, why are we here, and whither are we going? any serious consid- eration. Their vital bodies are kept active repairing the ravages of the desire body upon the physical vehicle, and purveying the vitality which is later dissipated in gratifying the desires and emotions. [PAGE 73] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR It is this hard-fought battle between the vital and desire bodies which generates consciousness in the physical world and makes men and women so in- tensely alert that, viewed from the standpoint of the physical world, it seems to give the lie to our assertion that they are partially asleep. Nev- ertheless, upon examination of all the facts it will be found that this is the case, and we may also say that this state of affairs has come about by the design of the great Hierarchs who have our evolution in charge. We know that there was a time when man was much more awake in the spiritual worlds than in the physical. In fact there was a time when, al- though he had a physical body, he could not sense it at all. In order that he might learn how to use this physical instrument properly, conquer the physical world, and learn to think accurately, it was necessary that he should for a time forget all about the spiritual worlds, and devote all his energies to physical affairs. How this was brought about by the introduc- tion of alcohol as a food and by other means has been explained in the "COSMO" and need not be reiterated. But we are now face to face with the fact that mankind has become so completely immersed in materiality that, so far as the great majority are concerned, the invisible vehicles are thor- oughly focused upon physical activities and asleep to the spiritual verities, which are even derided as the imagination of diseased brains; also those who are beginning to awake from the sleep of materialism are scorned [PAGE 74] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE as fanatics, fit only for the madhouse. If this attitude of mind were consistently followed, the spirit would eventually become crystallized in the body. The heaven life in which we build our future vehicles and environments would become increasingly barren; for when we persistently hold the thought that there is nothing but what we contact through our senses (see, hear, feel, smell, touch, and analyze), this mental attitude cultivated in the earth life persists in the Second Heaven with the result that we may there neglect the preparation that would give us a field of endeavor and instruments wherewith to work in it, and as a result evolution would soon cease. According to the Rosicrucian teachings, the soul is the extract of the various bodies; it is garnered by experience that involves the destruction of the particular bodies from which this living bread is derived and which is to be used as a pabulum for the spirit. In the ordinary course of evolu- tion the perfection of the various vehicles is gradual, and the soul sub- stance is then garnered and assimilated by the spirit between earth lives. But at a certain period in the larger life when we are entering upon a new spiral, a different phase of evolution, it is usually necessary to employ drastic measures to turn the spirit out of the beaten pathway into a new and unknown direction. Formerly when we possessed less individuality and were incapable of taking the initiative ourselves these changes were accomplished [PAGE 75] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR by what may be called great cataclysms of nature, but which were in fact planned by the divine Hierarchies who guide evolution, with a view to destroying multitudes of bodies that had served the purpose of human development in a given direction, changing the environment of those who had learned the possibilities of a new road, and starting these pioneer people upon a fresh career. Such wholesale destruction was naturally much more frequent in the earlier epochs than in later times. Lemuria had all the requisite conditions for numerous attempts at making a fresh start with one group when another had failed and had been destroyed. As a matter of fact, there was not merely one flood in Atlantis but three, and a period of about three-quarters of a million years elapsed between the first and the last. We may not expect that the method of wholesale destruction and a new start can be abrogated until we as a whole awaken to the necessity of taking a new road when we have come to the end of the old, but a new method is be- ing used by the Invisible Directors of evolution. They are not now making use of cataclysms of nature to change the old order for something new and better, but THEY ARE MAKING USE OF THE MISDIRECTED ENERGIES OF HUMANITY IT- SELF TO FURTHER THE ENDS THEY HAVE IN VIEW. This was the genesis of the great war which recently raged among us. Its purpose was to turn our ener- gies from seeking the bread whereof men die and to create in us the soul hunger that would cause us to turn from material things to spiritual. We [PAGE 76] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE are, as a matter of act, commencing to work out our own salvation. We are beginning to do things for ourselves instead of having them done for us, and though unaware of the fact, WE ARE LEARNING HOW TO TURN EVIL TO GOOD. Some may think this war affected only those few million men actually en- gaged in it, but a little thought upon the matter will soon convince anyone that the welfare of the whole world was involved to a greater or lesser de- gree so far as economic conditions were concerned. There is no race nor country that escaped entirely, nor can any go on in the same tranquil manner as before the war broke out. Kinship and friendship were ties which reached from the trenches of Europe to every part of the globe. Many of us were re- lated to individuals in one and perhaps both groups engaged in the strife, and we followed their fortunes with an interest commensurate with the strength of our feeling for them. But in the nighttime when our physical bodies were asleep and we entered the desire world, we could not escape liv- ing and feeling th whole tragedy with all the intensity whereof we were ca- pable, for the desire currents swept the whole world. In the desire world there is neither time nor distance. The trenches of Europe were brought to our door no matter where we lived, and we could not escape the subconscious effect of the spectacle which we there saw. Furthermore this titanic struggle produced effects which could never be equaled by a natural [PAGE 77] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR cataclysm, which is so much quicker in its action and so much shorter in its duration, besides being localized and incapable of generating the same feel- ings of love and hate which were such important factors in the World War. During the previous career of man it has been the object of the divine Hierarchs to teach him how to accomplish physical results by physical means. He has forgotten how to utilize the finer forces in nature such as, for in- stance, the energy liberated when grain is sprouting, which was used for purposes of propulsion and levitation in the Atlantean airships. He is un- aware of the sanctity of fire and how to use it spiritually, therefore only about fifteen per cent of its power is utilized in the best steam engines. It is well of course that man is thus limited, for were he able to use the power at the command of one whose spiritual faculties are awakened, he could annihilate our world and all upon it. But while he is doing his best or his worst with the faculties at his command today, he is learning the lesson of how to hold his feelings in leash to fit himself for the use of the finer forces necessary for development in the Aquarian Age, and pulling the scales from his eyes so that he may commence to see the new world which he is des- tined to conquer. Two separate and distinct processes are made use of to accomplish this result. One is the visit of death to millions of homes, tearing away from [PAGE 78] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE the family group the husband, father, or brother, and leaving the survivors to face a grey existence of economic privation. The sun existed previous to the eye and built that organ for its perception. The desire to see was naturally unconscious on the part of the individual who did not know and had no concept of the meaning or use of sight; but in the world soul, which cre- ated the sun, rested the knowledge and requisite desire that worked the miracle. Similarly in the case of death: when our consciousness had first become focused in the physical vehicles and the fact of death stared us in the face, there was no hope within; but in time religion supplied the knowl- edge of an invisible world whence the spirit had come to take birth and whither it returns after death. The hope of immortality gradually evolved in humanity the feeling that death is only a transition, but modern science has done its best to rob men of this consolation. Nevertheless, at every death the tears that are shed serve to dissolve the veil that hides the invisible world from our longing gaze. The deep-felt yearning and the sorrow at the parting of loved and loving ones on both sides of the veil are tearing this apart, and at some not far distant day the accumulated effect of all this will reveal the fact that there is no death, but that those who have passed beyond are as much alive as we. The potency of these tears, this sorrow, this yearning is not equal in all cases, however, and the effects differ wisely according to whether the vital [PAGE 79] MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR body has been awakened in any given person by acts of unselfishness and ser- vice, according to the occult maxim that all development along spiritual lines begins with the vital body. his is the basis, and no superstructure can be built until this foundation has been laid. With regard to the second process of soul unfoldment which is carried on among those actually engaged in warfare, there are probably but few who have had as unique an opportunity to study actual conditions on the whole of the extended line of battle as th writer. Notwithstanding all the brutality and hellishness of the whole thing he feels confident that this was the greatest school of soul unfoldment that has ever existed, for nowhere have there been so numerous opportunities for selfless service as on the battle fields of France, and nowhere have men been so ready to grasp the change of doing for some one else. Thus the vital bodies of a host of people have received a quickening such as they would probably not have otherwise attained for a number of lives, and these people have therefore become correspondingly sen- sitive to spiritual vibrations, and susceptible in a higher degree to the benefit which may be derived from the first process previously mentioned. As a result we shall in due time see an army of sensitives among us who will be in such close touch with the invisible world that their concerted testi- mony cannot be crushed by the materialistic school. They will prove a great [PAGE 80] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE factor in helping us to prepare for the higher conditions of the Aquarian Age. "But," some may ask, "will they not forget when the stress and strain of war are over? Will not a large percentage of these people go back into the same rut where they were before?" To this we may answer that we feel confi- dent it can never come to pass, for while the invisible vehicles, especially the vital body, are asleep, man may pursue a materialistic career; but once this vehicle has been awakened and has tasted the bread of life, it is like the physical body, subject to hunger--soul hunger,--and its cravings will not be denied save after an exceedingly hard struggle. In the latter case, of course, the words of Peter are applicable: "The last state of that man is worse than the first." However, it is good to feel that out of all the indescribable sorrow and trouble of the war good is being wrought in the crucible of the gods, and it will be a lasting good. May we all align our forces and help extract the good, so that we may be shining examples to help lead humanity to the New Age. [PAGE 81] PEACE ON EARTH CHAPTER XI MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR PART III -- PEACE ON EARTH A war-weary world, red with the blood of millions, the hope of its fu- ture, the flower of its young manhood, is groaning in agony, praying for peace, not an armistice, a temporary cessation of hostilities, but EVERLAST- ING PEACE, and it is striving to solve the problem of how to accomplish this much desired end. But it is striking at effects because ignorant of or blind to the one great underlying cause of the ferocity of the people, which was but barely hidden under a thin veneer of civilization before it burst into the volcano of destruction which we have recently witnessed and are now lamenting. Until the connection between the food of man and his nature is understood and the knowledge applied to tame the passions and eradicate ferocity, there can be no lasting peace. In the dim dawn of being when man-in-the-making wrought under the direct guidance of the divine Hierarchs who led him along the path of evolution, food was given him of a nature that would develop [PAGE 82] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE various vehicles in an orderly, systematic manner, so that in time these different bodies would grow into a composite instrument usable as the temple of an indwelling spirit which might then enter and learn life's lessons by a series of embodiments in earthly bodies of an increasingly fine texture. Five great stages or epochs are observable in the evolutionary journey of man upon earth. In the first, or Polarian Epoch, what is now man had only a dense body as the minerals have now, hence he was mineral-like, and it is said in the Bible that "ADAM was formed of the earth." In the second, or Hyperborean Epoch, a vital body made of ether was added, and man-in-the-making had then a body constituted as are those of the present plants; he was not a plant but was plantlike. CAIN, the man of that time, is described as an agriculturist; his food was derived solely from vegetation, for plants contain more ether than any other structure. In the third, or Lemurian Epoch, man cultivated a desire body, a vehicle of passions and emotions, and was then constituted as the animal. Then milk, a product of living animals, was added to his diet, for this substance is most easily worked upon by the emotions. ABEL, the man of that time, is described as a shepherd. It is nowhere stated that he killed an animal for food. In the fourth, or Atlantean Epoch, mind was unfolded, and the composite [PAGE 83] PEACE ON EARTH body became the temple of an indwelling spirit, a thinking being. But thought breaks down nerve cells; it kills, destroys, and causes decay, therefore the new food of the Atlantean was dead carcasses. He killed to eat, and so the Bible describes the man of that time as NIMROD, a mighty hunter. By partaking of these various foods man descended deeper and deeper into matter; his erstwhile ethereal body formed a skeleton within and became solid. At the same time he gradually lost his spiritual perception, but the memory of heaven was always with him, and he knew himself to be an exile from his true home, the heaven world. In order to enable him to forget this fact and apply himself with undivided attention to conquering the material world, a new article of diet, namely, wine, was added in the fifth or Aryan Epoch. Because of indulgence in this counterfeit spirit of alcohol during the millenniums which have passed since man came up out of Atlantis, the most advanced races of humanity are also the most atheistic and materialis- tic. THEY ARE ALL DRUNK for even though a person may say, and say quite truthfully, that he has never touched liquor in his life, it is nevertheless a fact that body in which he is functioning has descended from ancestors who for millenniums have indulged in alcoholic beverages in unstinted measure. Therefore the atoms composing all present day Western bodies are unable to [PAGE 84] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE vibrate to the measure necessary for the cognition of the invisible worlds as they were before wine was added to the diet of humanity. Similarly, though a child may be brought up today on a fleshless diet, it still par- takes of the ferocious nature of its flesh-eating ancestors of a million years, though in a less degree than those who still continue to feast on flesh. Thus the effect of the flesh food provided for man-in-the-making is deep-seated and deep-rooted even in those who do not now indulge in it. What wonder then that those who still partake of flesh and wine return at times to godless savagery and exhibit a ferocity unrestrained by any of the finer feelings supposed to have been fostered by centuries of so-called civilization! So long as men continue to quench the immortal spirit within themselves by partaking of flesh and the counterfeit alcoholic spirit, there can never be lasting peace on earth, for the innate ferocity fostered by these articles will break through at intervals and sweep even the most al- truistic conceptions and ideals into a maelstrom of savagery, a carnival of ruthless slaughter, which will grow correspondingly greater as the intellect of man evolves and enables him to conceive with his master mind methods of destruction more diabolical than any we have yet witnessed. It needs no argument to prove that the recent war was much more destruc- tive than any of the previous conflicts recorded in history, because it was fought by men of BRAIN rather than by men of BRAWN. The ingenuity which in [PAGE 85] PEACE ON EARTH times of peace has been turned to such good account in constructive enter- prises was enlisted in the service of destruction, and it is safe to say that if another war is fought fifty or a hundred years hence, it may perhaps all but depopulate the earth. Therefore a lasting peace is an absolute necessity from the standpoint of self-preservation and no thinking man or woman can afford to brush aside without investigation any theory which is advanced as tending to make war impossible, even if they have been accus- tomed to regard it as a foolish fad. There is plenty of proof that a carnivorous diet fosters ferocity, but lack of space prevents a thorough discussion of this phase of the subject. We may, however, mention the well known fierceness of beasts of prey and the cruelty of the meat-eating American Indian as fair examples. On the other hand, the prodigious strength and the docile nature of the ox, the elephant, and the horse show the effects of the herb diet on animals, while the veg- etarian and peaceable nations of the Orient are a proof of the correctness of the argument against a flesh diet which cannot be successfully gainsaid. Flesh food has fostered human ingenuity of a low order in the past; it has served a purpose in our evolution; but we are now standing on the threshold of a new age when self-sacrifice and service will bring spiritual growth to humanity. The evolution of the mind will bring a wisdom profound beyond our [PAGE 86] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE greatest conception, but before it will be safe to entrust us with that wis- dom, we must become HARMLESS as doves, for otherwise we should be apt to turn it to such selfish and destructive purposes that it would be an incon- ceivable menace to our fellow men. To avoid this the vegetarian diet must be adopted. But there are vegetarians and vegetarians: In Europe conditions cause people now to abstain from flesh eating to a very large extent. They are not true vegetarians for they are lusting for flesh every moment of their lives, and they feel the want of it as a great hardship and sacrifice. In time they would of course grow used to is, and in many generations it would make them gentle and docile, but obviously that is not the kind of vegetari- anism we need now. There are others who abstain from flesh foods for the sake of health; their motive is selfish, and many among them probably also lust after the "flesh pots of Egypt." Their attitude of mind is not such either that it would abolish ferocity very quickly. But there is a third class which realizes that all life is God's life and that to cause suffering to any sentient being is wrong, so out of pure com- passion they abstain from the use of flesh foods. They are the true veg- etarians, and IT IS OBVIOUS THAT A WORLD WAR COULD NEVER BE FOUGHT BY PEOPLE OF THIS TURN OF MIND. All true Christians will also be abstainers from flesh foods for similar motives. Then peace on earth and good will among men will be an assured fact; the nations will beat their swords into plow- [PAGE 87] PEACE ON EARTH shares and their spears into pruning hooks that they may cease to deal death, sorrow, and suffering, and become instruments to foster life, love, and happiness. Our own safety, the safety of our children, the safety of the human race even, demands that we listen to the inspired voice of the poetess, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, who wrote the following soul stirring appeal in behalf of our dumb fellow creatures: "I am the voice of the voiceless, Through me the dumb shall speak, Till a deaf world's ear Shall be made to hear The wrongs of the wordless weak. "The same force formed the sparrow, That fashioned man the king; The God of the Whole Gave a spark of soul, To furred and feathered thing. "And I am my brother's keeper, And I will fight his fight, And speak the word For beast and bird Till the world shall set things right." [PAGE 88] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE CHAPTER XII MYSTIC LIGHT ON THE WORLD WAR PART IV -- THE GOSPEL OF GLADNESS The recent titanic struggle among the nations in Europe upset the equi- librium of the whole world to such an extent that the emotions of the people who liven in even the most remote regions of the earth were stirred as they had never been stirred before, the people expressing anger, hate, hysteria, or gloom according to their nature and temperament. It is evident to those who have studied the deeper mysteries of life and who understand the op- eration of natural law in the spiritual worlds that the inhabitants of the invisible realms were affected in perhaps a greater degree than those who lived in physical bodies, which by their very density make it impossible for us to feel the full force of the emotions. After the outbreak of the war the tide of emotions ran high and fast, be- cause there were no adequate means of checking it; but by dint of hard work and organization the Elder Brothers of humanity succeeded after the first year in creating an army of Invisible Helpers who, having passed through the [PAGE 89] THE GOSPEL OF GLADNESS gate of death and having felt the sorrow and suffering incident to an un- timely transition, were filled with compassion for the others who were con- stantly pouring in, and became qualified to soothe and help them until they also had found their balance. Later, however, the emotions of hate and mal- ice engendered by the people in the physical world became so strong that there was danger they might gain the ascendancy; therefore new measures had to be taken to counteract these feelings, and everywhere all the good forces were marshaled into line to help restore the balance and keep the baser emotions down. One of the ways in which most people contributed to the trouble and helped to prolong the war which they were praying might end, was by dwelling on the AWFUL side of it and forgetting to look at the bright side. "The bright side of that cruel war?" is probably the question which arises in the mind of the reader. "Why, what can you mean?" To some it may perhaps even seem sacrilegious to speak of a bright side in connection with such a calamity, as they would put it. But let us see if there is not a silver lining to even this blackest of clouds, and if there is not a method by which the silver lining could be made wider and wider so that the cloud would become altogether luminous. Some time ago our attention was called to a book entitled "Pollyanna." Pollyanna was the little daughter of a missionary, whose salary was so [PAGE 90] TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATE meager that he could scarcely obtain the bare necessities of life. From time to time barrels filled with old clothes and odds and ends arrived at the mission for distribution. Pollyanna hoped that some day a barrel might come containing a little doll. Her father had even written to ask if the next barrel might not contain a discarded doll for his child. The barrel came, but instead of the doll it contained a pair of small crutches. Notic- ing the child's disappointment her father said: "There is one thing we can be glad of and grateful for, that we have no need of the crutches." It was then they began "playing the game," as they called it, of looking for and finding something for which to be glad and thankful, no matter what hap- pened, and they always found it. For example, when they were forced to eat a very scant meal at a restaurant, not being able to afford the dainties on the menu, they would say: "Well, we are glad we like beans," even though their eyes would rest on the roast turkey and its prohibitive price. Then they started to teach the game to others, making many a life the happier for learning it,