rosicrucian digest, april 1943

8/12/2019 Rosicrucian Digest, April 1943

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UCIAN


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T H E M E N T A L A S S E M B L Y

N o one is ever alone who harbors the thoughts of others. W ith in the quiet realm of meditationin the priva cy

of ones sanct um there can be focalized thousands of personalities, like infinite myria ds of electrons clustered on

a pin point. T houghts w hich represent the noblest part of ourselves bridge the voids of time and space to put us

en rapport with minds every where that share the same lofty sentiments. T he meditations of the myst ic open the

door of his consciousness to inspired pers onalities w ho seek his mental companions hip.

(Courtesy of the Rosicrucian Digest.)


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lU e, Secr et o f

MENTAL CREATINGT F y ou just l ike to dream, read no further.

T here comes a time when your fancies must

b e broug ht into light and stand the test of

everyday, hard realities. A re y ou one of the

thousands perhaps millions whose thoughts

never get beyond the stage of wistful wishing?

Do you often come to from a daydream with

the sigh, If only I could bring it about make

it real?

A l l th in g s be g in w it h tho ug ht it is w ha t

follows that may take your life out of the class

of those who hope and dream. T houg ht energy ,

like any thing else, can be dissipated or it can

be made to produce actual effects. I f you know how to place your thoughts you can stimulate

the cre ative processes w ithin y our mind

through them you can assemble things and

conditions of your world into a happy l i fe of

accomplishment. M en ta l cr ea ting does not de

pend upon a mag ical process. It consists of

knowing how to marshal your thoughts into a

power that draws, compels and organizes your

experiences into a worth- while design of living.

A C C E P T T H I S FREE B O O K

Let the Rosicrucians tell you how you may accomplishthese things. T he Rosicrucians (not a religious org ani

za tion ), a world-w ide philosophical frater nity, havepreserved for centuries the ancients masterful knowledge of the functioning of the inner mind of man.T hey have taug ht men and w omen how to use thisknowledge to recreate their lives. T hey offer you afree copy of the fascinating book T he Mastery ofLife . It tells how you may receive this infor mationfor s tudy and use. Use coupon opposite.

Woe R o s i c r u c i a n s( A M O R C )

S A N J O S E C A L IF O R N IA


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ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTCOVERS THE WORLD

T H E O F F I C I A L I N T E R N A T I O N A L R O S I C R U C I A N M A G A -

Z I N E O F T H E W O R L D W I D E R O S I C R U C I A N O R D E R

APRIL, 1943

The Mental Assembly (Frontispiece)

Thought of the Month: Are Other Worlds Inhabited?Self Mastery and Education.................. ................ .......

Must W e Suffer to Grow?....................................

Intelligence vs. Understanding

Thoughts on the Spiral .................................................

The Conviction of God ................... ......................

Health and Thought

Past Cycles and Tomorrow ________ ____ _____

Cathedral Contacts: Intangible Assets..................

What Is Human Freedom............................................

Garment of God ..................................................

Sanctum Musings: Activ ity. ................. .....................

Human Radiation (Illustration).................

Subscription to the Rosicrucian Digest, Three Dollars per year. Singlecopies twentyfive cents.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jose, Cali-

fornia, under Section 1103 of the U .S . Postal A ct of O ct. 3, 1917.

Changes of address must reach us by the tenth of the month precedingdate of issue.

Statements made in this publication are not the official expressions ofthe organization or its officers unless stated to be official communications.

Published Monthly by the Supreme Council of

THE ROSICRUCIAN ORDERAMORC

ROSICRUC IAN PARK SAN JOSE , CAL I FOR NIA


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T H E

THOUGHT OF THE MONTHARE OTHER WORLDS INHABITED?

By THE IMPERATOR

M A G I N A T IO Nhas a l w a y s v i e d

w ith conser vatismfor the dominanceof man's intellectual life. T heir app e a l s a n d t h e i rm e r i t s h a v e a ne q u a l v a l u e . T oo n e w h o g a v eh i m s e l f o v e r t oi m a g i n a t i o n , a dventure w a s a l

w ay s the re war d.T o one who became a devotee of conservatism, greater security was prom

ised. Consequently some men foundw ithin narrow menta l confines, peacew hich compres sed them but ke pt outdisturbing influences unusual ideas.Still other men found happiness only ina boundless world of thought in whichthey could roam.

In number, the conservatives havealways been the majority, partly bychoice, but in the past mostly by thecompulsion of public opinion. Dur ingapproximately the Sixteenth Century, atremendous trans ition took place. T hegr eat impetus- give n rationalism by such

brilliant thinkers as the astronomers.Copernicus. Galileo, and Kepler, waslike a signal of freedom for many oppressed. imag inativ e minds. T he scientific discoveries disclosed that no longer

was the eart h the center of the univer se. . . a s ha d been t ho ug ht . N o long er , asKostcructan scholasticism and theology had declar-D i g est ecj was the ear th G o ds chosen domain.

A pr il For ex ample, it was now evident from

19 43 K eplers laws that all of the great mani

T he

festations of God were not alone related to earth, to serve mortals. Phe

nomena common to earth could andprobably did apply to all of the heavens.Men's minds beg an to soar Cosmic-

w ar d. T heir thoug hts wer e as ex pansiveas they now conceived the power ofG od to be. T he earth lost much of itsprominence, but instead the distant starsbecame more intimate to the average intelligent person.

T he new spirit which was ushered inis best expressed in the words of theDominican monk. Giordando Bruno,born in Naple s in 1548. T o him, the

w hole univer se now had a soul. Int e l

ligence was manifest every where. Eachthing had its purpose and was according to a plan. No thing is more or lessimportant in the universe, for: O nlyone bereft of his reason could believethat those infinite spaces, tenanted byvast and magnificent bodies, are designed only to give us light or to receivethe clear shining of the earth." "W ha t!is a feeble human creature the only ob

ject w or thy of the care of God? No.the ear th is but a planet; the rank sheholds among the stars is but a usurpation; it is time to dethrone her. "Fr om

this infinite A ll. full of beauty andsplendor, from the vast worlds whichcircle above us. to the sparkling dust ofstars beyond, the conclusion is drawnthat there are an infinity of creatures, avast multitude, which, each in its degree, mirrors forth the splendor, wisdom, and excellence of Divine beauty."

Bruno had captured the imaginationof thousands. He had dramatiz ed andromanticized the cold, new mathematical


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facts of astr onomy. Moreover , he madethe whole universe become a possibletheatre of human activity. He conferredupon every Cosmic body the possibilitythat it was tenanted with intelligent beings . T o him, every planet was ourneighbor, but in a far more intimate

sense than just physical nearness, for itmight be the abode of beings whohoped, created, and suffered to someex tent as do we. Fo r his labors, B runopaid w ith his life. T he Inquisition hadhim burned at the stake in Rome.

T he T errestrial Planets

Since the time of Bruno, with the development of astronomy, with telescopes of greater magnitude and withthe addition of such sciences as spectroscopy and photography, what confirmation is there today of the speculation

that life or intelligent beings exist elsewher e in our sola r sy stem. T he eig htplanets, not including Pluto, but including the Earth, fall into two divisions, forconvenience. T he first are the terrestrialplanets, so named because they are notvery different in size from the earth.Mercury is the smallest of these and theclosest to the sun, being 36 million milesdistant from that orb.

T he diameter of Mer cury , 3,009 miles,makes it less than half of the size of theearth. Its gr avity is about one- thirdthat of the earth. Its albedo, or reflected

light, is only 7 %. T his indicates thatthe suns rays beat down upon Mercuryw ith sev en times the intensity tha t they

do upon the earth. Since Merc ury alw ay s ke eps one side tur ned to w ard the

sun, that side is superheated, with atemperature of about 660 F . T he otherside would be perpetually frozen. Thesetwo conditions alone would not be conducive to any form of life, even simpleorganisms, of which we have knowledgeon earth. Further, if any liquids asoceans or lakes exist on the surface ofMercury, they must, it is theorized, consist of molten lead, sulphur, and Bismuth. T he atmosphere of Merc ury , ifit has any, would be composed of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, or otherheavy gases. Human or animal lifeas we know it, could not exist undersuch conditions. How ev er, since Me rcury is only 28 from the sun, it is verydifficult to observe its surface markings,

w ith any accuracy .

V enus seems a lit tle more promis ing ,therefore, arouses the imag ination. Itsdistance from the sun is about 67 million miles. Its diameter, 7,575 miles, isabout equal to that of the earth. Further, its surface gravity is about five-six ths of the earth. In other wor ds, an

object weighing 100 pounds on earth,w ould w eig h 80 pounds on V enus .More simply, a man who weighs 200pounds on earth would only weigh 160pounds on V enus.

T he albedo of V enus is very high,being 0.59. It is near the degre e of reflection of white paper or 0.70. Becauseof this intense reflection, V enus can beseen by unaided eye in full daylight.T he atmosphere of V enus is about equalto that of the earth. Spectroscopic ana l

y sis indicates that lit tle or no ox y gen ispresent on Ve nus. Since veg etation is

responsible for probably all oxygen onearth, if it is detected in the spectrumof a planet, it would indicate that vegetation exists there. T he atmosphere of

V enus contains the same gases as thatof the earth. W e are not certain in ourobservations whether V enus, like Me rcury, keeps one side continually towardthe sun. If she does, the dark side

w ould be cold, but in fac t it seems toradiate heat.

T here is a great possibility that theatmosphere of V enus is moist and

w ar m, but some w hat w ar mer than the

earth. Due to the little evidence ofox yg en, the surface of Ve nus is morebarren than the Sahara desert. It isgenerally estimated that the mean temperature is 122 F. Edw ar d Bernar d,astronomer, has seen white spots abovethe white clouds of V enus, w hich heconcludes mig ht be lof ty s now- cappedmountains. How ev er, he has been unable to observe V enus clearly for longperiods.

The Canals of Mars

Mars is the last of the group of so-called terr estrial planets. It is 141 million miles from the sun and has a dimension at its equator of 4,216 miles. Itssurface gravity is 0.38, which interpreted means that an object weighing100 pounds on earth, would only weigh38 pounds on Mar s . Conse quently, thephysical strength of a human being, ifhe resided on Mars, would be over twiceas effective. Since the planet Mar s is


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nearest the earth, it has been carefullystudied, especially its Southern hemisphere, which is closest.

T he atmosphere of Mar s appearsvery thin. In fact, less than half of thatof ear th. So ear th men could not endure

it w ithout artificial means. A commonphenomenon of Mars is its polar caps.Great white regions have been observedat the poles of the planet. W he n photographed, they look like pearl buttonson an orange. W he n it is the summerseason at the Southern hemisphere ofMars, the great polar cap, which maybe ice or frost, visibly s hrinks. T he seasons of Mars apparently correspond toour own. Due to the thin atmosphereof Mars, the mean temperature at theequator is possibly only 86 F., aboutlike a summer day on earth.

A sta rtl ing discover y in 1877, by theItalian astronomer, G. V . Schiaparelli,brought Mars into the focus of popularinterest. Sc hiaparelli announced that hehad seen a network of lines or tracingson the surface of Mar s. T hese he gavethe name canali, Italian for canals.Schiaparelli presumed these to be aseries of canals constructed by intelligent beings. A t first, the scientific w orld

was skeptical as to Schiaparell is observations. W ith the employing oflarger telescopes, it was found that thesurface of Mars did appear to be cov

ered with these incises or lines, formingarcs or geometrical patterns. A maz ingly enough, some of the lines parallelledeach other precisely for distances to3000 miles. M a ny interspersed eachother at right angles. O nly intelligentbeings, it was advanced, could undertake such an engineering feat as thegeometrical pattern suggested. T hequestion naturally arose as to the purpose of such canals, if that was in fact

w hat they were.

The Martian Controversy

During 1890. an individual whoseimagination was fired by Shiaparellisfindings, broke out of the class of conservatism, and with considerable wealthat his disposal, sought to investigatefurther. He was Percival Lowell, to

w hom as tr onomy is now inde bte d formany scientific contributions. He founded an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona,and he and his associates devoted themselves to the study of these canals.

He wrote numerous works on the subject, such as "M a r s and Its Cana ls .Lowell discovered more than 400 canalson the surface of Mar s. He also observed that where they intersected thereappeare d a dark area, or an oasis. Per

cival Lowell was convinced that theywer e the constr uct ion of inte ll ig ent beings, but that they were not canals, butrather great areas of irrigated lands.He contended that Mars is a dyingplanet and that its beings were undoubtedly pass ing from existence. T hey arenow forced, he concluded, to drawmoisture from the great polar caps oftheir planetwhich are commonly obser vedto sustain life. T he inundatedlands were, therefore, geometricallyplanned, accounting for their appearance as precise lines.

Other scientists contested this hypothesis. T o them, w hat appear ed ascontinuous lines to the eye, they declared were but in fact a concatenationof minute areas or particles. Theysought to explain that psychologicallythe human consciousness, due to fatiguefrom constant visual concentration,

w ould tend to integrate these separ atelittle dots, to cause them to appear asunited or unbroken lines. T hey attempted to support their postulation, in opposition to Lowell, by observing andphotographing Mars through largertelescopes. Photo g raphs taken throughthe larger telescopes are offered ascontra- evidence. In my personal opinion, they are not ver y convincing. It istrue that in the photographs takenthrough the larger telescopes, the tracings or geometrical lines ar coarser, butnevertheless, the lines persist and stillappear continuous. Consequently, nosatisfactory explanation is offered opposing the claim that the lines are theresult of construction by intelligent beings except the physical conditions ofMars itself.

The Major Planets

T he second divis ion of the planets isknown as the Major planets. J upiter isforemost in size of these, with a diameter of 88,700 miles. It is about tentimes the size of the earth. Its albedo,or brightness is exceeded only by

V enus . Its temperatur e is low , since itis five times as far from the sun as isthe earth, and has a very small amount


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of light and heat falling upon it. In f act,it has only about 1/1 Oth of the lig ht andheat of the earth. Pec uliar phenomenastill a mystery to man, are the parallelbands of color which seem to encirclethe surface and to be actually a part of

it. T hese are reddish and ye llow. It isspeculated that they are layers of cloudscaused by possible great internal heat.

A s a w hole. Jupiter seems not to bevery hospitable to the types of life of

w hic h ma n has know le dg e. In fa ct,however, our knowledge of the physicalconditions of Jupiter is very meager.

Saturn, at a distance of 886 millionmiles from the sun, has a surface gravity which is about equal to that of theearth. T here is no cert ainty as to itsatmospheric condition, but it is presumed to be a gaseous body. Per haps

it is mostly fluid, for it has a low densitylike that of water.T here is much difference of opinion

w ith re spect to the size of Uranus , butit is thought to have a diameter of30,900 miles, much like that of Jupiterand Saturn. A g ain, it could not sustainlife as we know it, for its is principallygaseous.

Neptune and Uranus are conceivedto have conditions which are quite similar. A n ex amination of the spectrum ofNeptune reveals it to have a gaseous atmosphere. A further discourag ing note,is that it receives but 1/000 the light

and heat which the earth receives.Percival Lowell and his assistants,

w hile s tudy ing the canal s of Ma rs ,mathematically predicted that anotherplanet, heretofore unknown, existed inour Solar system. T heir prognosticationresulted in the discovery in 1930 of aplanet where they had presumed it tobe, and which was subsequently namedPluto. Pluto is a stagger ing distancefrom the sun and, as to its physical conditions, still remains much of a mystery.

T he redness its lig ht gives off suggests thin atmosphere like that of Mars,

and it is possibly the size of that planet.It has 1600% less sunlight than theearth. In fact, to a human observe r onPluto, the sun would look like a star,but far more intensely brilliant than anystar we observe from earth. T he temperature of Pluto consequently reachesa point approx imately 380 F. belowzero! the surface being but a frozenmass. In fact, all ordinary gases of

earth would be frozen at that temperature.

W h a t Is L if e?

T houg h fr om all of the above observations and conjectures, man could not

exist on other worlds in our Solar system, it is a presumption to contend thatlife is limited alone to earth. If man

wer e pos itive as to the nat ure of lif eand that it depended upon conditionsindigenous to earth, then it could besafely declared that no life existed else

wher e. T he fa ct re mains that jus t w hatlife is, is still a mytsery. Whether something as an essence or an energy combines with inorganic matter to causelife, or whether inorganic matter undercertain conditions evolves into a livingsubstance is a question still unansweredby general science.

In the Seventeenth Century, the aphorism, Omne vivum ex vivo (all lifecomes from life) began. T his presumesa spontaneous creation, namely, thatlife was created alone by life and that itevolved from nothing else and solely isgenerated by it. W het her all of thecomplex forms of life came from oneprimordial protoplasmic substance isalso unknow n. T here is a possibilitythat the protoplasm in man is just as oldas the protoplasm in the simple amoeba.In fact, in their simplest form, animalsand plants are very much alike. It has

long been a scientific conjecture thatlife develops from some mysteriouschemical change that takes place withininanimate matter. A rtificial life, however, has never been produced even byusing the chemical properties of livingmatter, such as proteins, carbohydrates,fats of different kinds, salts, and water,

wher e tempera tur e and other condit ionshave not been conducive to life. Lif e ispossibly a ter tiary condition. In other

wor ds, the re sult of the combination, onthe one hand, of the electronic andatomic energies which give matter its

composition with, on the other hand,some influence which integrates and develops them according to the necessityof its nature.

Life on earth endures, as we all know,in great extremes of temperature andenvironment. Life on the planets wouldneed to endure far greater extremes.Life without intelligence, that is, a lifeincapable of creating a favorable en-


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vironment for itself, would not be ableto adapt itself suddenly to such conditions as we presume exist on these other

w or lds . I f adv ance d int el ligent li fe exists on any of the planets, even Mars

w ith its supposed ex tens ive veg etation,

the conditions would need to have beenfar more favorable originally. Other

wise, how co uld it hav e endur ed to attain the sufficient intelligence to adjustitself to the present apparently unfavorable conditions. T he only other theoryis that life on Mars is of an entirely different constituency than it is on earth.T houg h there is almost an infinite va riety of the manifestations of life onearth, the phenomenon of life, or ratherits dependency on certain conditions isnecessarily identical in all forms. Co nsequently, it is difficult to imagine life

on the planets, notwithstanding theforms it might assume perseveringagainst the hostile environment of those

w or lds .

Different Intelligences

O n the other hand, since we are notcertain of the nature of life, it mighthave a vicarious existence on the planets. If s uch life reached that complexity where it had intelligence equal tothat of man, it could possibly haveknowledge of our earth, and of theexistence of mortals here. Howev er, wehave no assurance that complex formsof life elsewhere have the same receptororgans, or even the same objective perceptions which we mortals have. Suchbeings, therefore, might resort to aunique means of communication, totransmit their intelligence, a nd we wouldbe unable to detect it. T ha t is quiteunderstandable, for right here on earth,

we ar e puzzled by the means by w hic hcertain lower forms of life have of communicating w ith each other. W e arenot, for example, positive of just howbirds become aware of the change ofthe seasons, and what directs them in

their migrations great distances, to thesame regions each year.

Our sun is but a star in a stellar system, composing several thousand millionother stars. Bey ond our Solar systemare swarms of other great systems.Some systems are so distant that oncethey were thought to be just nebulae.Each of these stellar systems has sunslike ours, millions of them, many far exceeding ours in size. Ea ch, in turn, undoubtedly has its planets and satellites.T he s pectroscope has rev ealed the a-mazing homogeneity of these systems.In fact, one of the modern cosmologicaltheories contends that the observableuniverse is isotropic, that is, it is of thesame nature in every direction, with thesame physical laws applying. T his being so, would it not seem very strange

and intransigent with all that we know,that our earth, our minute little speck ofstardust should alone be the repositoryof that phenomenon known as life?

Since many worlds in these othersystems and in our own are far olderthan ours, it is not improbable that inthe course of their development theymig ht once have sheltered life. Even ifno other life exists in our solar system,an infinite number of worlds in stellarsystems as distant as 500 million light

y ear s fr om earth, w hos e co ndit ions areunknown to us, may even now be densely populated. T he possibility far out

w eighs the impossibil ity . A f te r al l, it isonly comparatively a short time ago that

w e lear ned tha t our planet w as not thecenter of the univers e. A lso it is but atick of the clock of Cosmic time sinceman learned that his earth moves. C onsequently, there are eons of time for wehumans to learn of the existence, perhaps even the whereabouts, of brothersin space. W e may still be too rudimentary in our intelligence to perceivetheir persistent attempts to make ouracquaintance.

V V V

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BUY U. S. S A V I N G S B O N D S A N D S T A M PS


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Sel f M ast er y an d Edu ca t i on

By O r v a l G r a v e s , M. A., F. R. C.

Dean, Rose'Croix University

T he terms "Neophy te and "S tudent are used almost synonymouslyamong occult circles. T he term "S tudent implies one w ho studies. Ray-mund A ndrea , our own Rosicrucianadept, as well as other great occult leaders, has stressed the fact that, at first,

education must come by way of thehead. In other words, the average student of mysticism must interpret the experiences of others, study the writings,and examine the facts of science untilhe will have reached such a point thathe can boil down all of the many principles of the Doctrine of the Head intoa few universals. T hese universals maythen be used as gates leading into theteachings of the Doctrine of the Heart.

Genuine and true understanding andeducation of the Doctrine of the Heartis self mastery. No individual student,no group of neophytes, can be an exception to this rule except that they willhave followed it in another life.

Strangely enough, there are few, ifany, helps, outlines, or suggested curricula for the pursuing of the Doctrineof the Head to be used by the average occult student. Bes ant and Steiner

attempted such outlines for children.However, the only known work on thesubject of esoteric education, or the un-foldment through the study of the Doctrine of the Head ,is the rare work written by the European Rosicrucian, J. B.K erning. In this work K erning interpreting a technique of constantly joining mystical exercises with the experiences of everyday life, the teachings ofbooks, and other precepts of the Doctrine of the Head.

Such is the aim of the Rose- Croix

Univer sity here at headquarters . T herecan be found nowhere, despite variousattempts of some modern occult schools,such a condensing of the teachings ofthe Doctrine of the Head. Y et, at thesame time, it forms a bridge for speeding up the crossing of the study over tothe Heart Doctrine.

Sufficient material has already beenw ritte n in these pag es about the cur r iculum of the Rose- Croix Univer sity.

E L F m a s t e r y , o rthe unfoldment oft he my s t i c a l a nds p i r i t u a l l i f e o fevery student, is amatter of education. No w education is, at first, amatter of the s tudyof the "Doctrineo[ the Head" asone great occulti s t pu t s i t . T h ee x p e r i e n c e s o f

others, their books, and the findings ofscience in the laboratory, may all beclassified under the Doctrine of the

Head.


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T he Story of L earning, the University catalog, which all interested persons may have for the asking, containsa full and detailed description of thismost unique curriculum. In using thestudies of the Rose- Croix U nivers ity in

self mastery through education, onemust necessarily take the initiative andoverride the circumstances of his environment. T hat w hich is said in Dr. H.Spencer Lew is book Self Master y a ndFate with the Cycles of Life also canbe said about self mastery and education and their connection with the cyclesof life. Ho w many Rosicrucian members know that their fifth yearly cycleis the most excellent and propitious timefor engaging in philosophical, metaphys ical and mys tical studies? T he firstperiod of the yearly cycle is an excellent

time for the undertaking of any study.Period Number T w o is an excellent onefor those who wish to study science andchemistry . People whose Period Nu mber Four of their yearly cycle corresponds to the Rose- Croix Universitysession will find the subject of Rosicrucian healing an excellent and fitting

subject. Further study of individualcycles as they correspond to the time ofthe Rose- Croix Univers ity, which isfrom June 21st through to July 10th,

w il l reveal to the aler t and intelligentmembers who desire to take advantage

of all aids in self mastery, the best andprecise subject they should choose forthe Rose- Croix Univers ity.

A ll member s should get out theircopy of T he Story of Lear ning andchallenge themselves. T hey should examine themselves and see if they aremasters of themselves and their environment enough to take advantage of theunique teachings of the Doctrine of theHead and Heart as presented at theRose- Croix Univer sity . Such procedure

w il l not only help one to perceiv e hisown need, and the amount of will pow

er he possesses, but, also, to fully helphim to evaluate the rare and worth

w hile subjec ts ta ug ht at the Ros e- CroixUniversity.

A f te r all, H e r m e s T r is m e g is t us ,known as the universal instructor ofmankind, has written that appreciationis the beginning of wisdom.

T H E N E X T R O S E - C R O I X U N I V E R S I T Y T E R M

A ll A M O R C membe rs ar e in v it e d to pr ep ar e f or at te ndan ce a t the ne x t te rm of the

Rose- Croix Univer sity beginning on June 21 and continuing fo r the three weeks period

preceding the annual Rosicrucian convention. W rit e to day for y our copy of the latest

edition of "T he Story of Le arning " which describes in detail the courses to be offered

and the necessary steps to prepare you for attendance. Ce rtain preparatory steps must

be taken in advance of actual registration to the Univers ity term. D o not postpone mak

ing your inquir ies now . T he necessary preparation can be completed now w hich wil l

entit le y ou to attendance in either the coming term or the term next y ear. Address y our

request for information to the Regis trar of the Rose- Croix Univer sity, R osicrucian Park,

San Jose, California.

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H I E R A R C H Y M E D I T A T I O N P E R I O D

Members of the Esoteric Hierarchy are requested to participate in a special period of

meditation directed by the Imperator, the purposes of w hich are known to them. T he

date: T h ur sday , May 6th. T h e t im e: 8 : 00 P. M. , Paci f ic W ar T im e. Hier ar ch y m ember s

must take into consideration the difference in time between their location and California.

Reports from the participants are to be sent direct to the Imperator, A M O R C , Rosicrucian

Park, San Jose, California.


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M ust W e Su f f er T o Gr ow?

A DISCUSSION OF THE OLD MYSTIC PRINCIPLE

By Dr. H. S p e n c e r L e w i s , R. F. D.

(From the Rosicrucian Digest, March, 1930)

M a n y o f th e a r t ic l e s w r i t t e n b y o u r l a te I m p e r a t o r , D r . H . S p e n c e r L e w i s , a r e a s de a t h le s sa s t im e . T h a t i3 , t h e y a r e c o n c e r ne d w i t h t ho s e l a w s a n d p r i n c i p l e s o f li f e a n d l i v i n g w h i c ha r e e t e r n a l , a n d t h u s n e v e r l o s e t h e i r e f f ic a c y o r t h e i r i m p o r t , a n d a r e a s h e l p f u l a n d a s i n s p i ri n g w h e n r e a d t o d a y a s th e y w e r e w h e n t h e y w e r e w r i t t e n f iv e , t e n , f if t e e n , t w e n t y o r m o r e

y e a r s a g o , a n d li k e w is e w i ll c o n t in ue to be a s h e lp f u l a n d as in s t r u c t iv e i n t h e f u t u r e . F o r t h i sr e a s o n , a n d f o r t h e r e a s o n th a t t h o u s a n d s o f r e a d e r s o f t h e R o s l c r u c i a n D i g e s t h a v e n o t r e a dm a n y o f t h e e a r l ie r a r t i c le s o f o u r l a t e I m p e r a t o r , w e a r e g o i n g t o a do p t t h e e d it o r i a l p o li c y o fp u b l i s h i n g i n t he " R o s i c r u c i a n D i g e s t e a c h m o n t h o n e o f h is o u t s t a n d i n g a r t i c l e s s o t h a t h i st h o u g h t s w i l l c o n t in u e t o r e s i d e w i t h i n t h e p a g e s o f t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n .

E C E N T L Y , one ofour members called upon us at

headquarters, andw it h he a v y heartinquired w he the ri t w a s a la w o fthe spiritual worldt h a t w e s h o u l ds u f f e r i n o r d e rthat we may gr ow.T he Soror relatedher experiences ofthe past ten years

or more and found considerable help inthe explanations we had been able togive her. Later, in discussing these

points, the staff at Headquarters recalled how often the same problem arises inour correspondence.

W e cannot fo rg et the Es oter ic sy mbolism of the Rosy Cross. T his symbolexplains to us that the cross representsthe body of man with arms outstretchedand eyes upraised petitioning God andthe Heavenly Hosts to lessen the suffering, trials, and tribulations which

crucifies the body, purges it, and bringsabout regeneration. T he rose on thecross represents the soul of man in its

spiritual unfoldment becoming morebeautiful, more fragrant, and more inspiring through the sufferings and trialsof the body.

By this symbolism we are remindedof the fact that it is a fundamental lawof the spiritual world that through physical and mental suffering and throughthe tests and trials that come to theconsciousness of the Soul, man in hismortal, objective consciousness growsmore spiritual and more masterful.T rials and sufferings attune us with thesorrows of the world and make us moresympathetic, more tolerant, and morekindly in our attitude toward others.Our own personal experiences teach usthe great lessons of life and throughthese we evolve and unfold our characters and personalities like the petals ofthe rose unfold to give the rose its grandand beautiful form and the fulfillmentof the seed from which it came.


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T h e

Ros i c ruc ian

D iges t

A p r i l

1 9 4 3

Jesus more often wept than smiled.A nd the greatest of ear thl y masters preceding Him or trying to follow his footsteps have learned that to smile with thesunshine in human life and to grieve

w ith it in its suff er ing s, makes lif e a-bundant ly expressive. Until we cansense the heartaches of the millions whocompose our divine kith and kin onearth and until we can share wholeheartedly their sufferings, we cannot beone w ith them: and until we are one

w ith al l conscious nes s on the earth wecannot be one with the A bsolute a nd theDivine. T his is the true law and principle of A to ne me nt , which after all is

A T - O N E - M E N T .

T he problem w hich confr onted thissoror, however, was not that of sharingin the sufferings and tribulations of allmankind but voluntarily assuming alarge portion of the trials and tribulations of one whom she had selected tobe her partner in life. S hould she continue to hold back drinking her owncup of life to drink only of his cup withhim? O r s hould she allow the evolutionof her soul and the growth and development of her character and personalityto continue on its way unhampered bythe restrictions which the life of theother seemed to demand? Here is a

problem that is a serious one and onew hic h must be fa ced by ma ny , andproperly met.

A cc or din g to all of the s pir itual law sof the univese the Soul resident withineach one of us is a part of the universalSoul and its temporary residence in aphysical body here on the earth plane isfor a purpose. T hat purpose has beendivinely decreed and divinely authorized. It is not w ithin the power of man'sarbitrary decision nor within the jurisdiction of his voluntary judgment to direct the course of that soul in its growth

or development. Just as man is failingto fulfill his divine mission by refusingto permit the soul to ex pand bey ond itsphysical prison and physical limitations,so man is failing to obey the divine decree and is committing a sin against theSoul when he voluntarily checks or prevents the course of development whichthe Soul has started or which has beenthe joy and privilege of the Soul forsome time in the past. In the spir itual

w or ld ther e ar e no unions and no asso

ciations of Souls that require the annihilation or the suspension of personaldevelopment and personal attainment.In the material affairs of man such unions have become a custom and a law

of man. but like many other laws ofman. this particular one is inconsistent

w ith div ine law.It is true, just as pointed out in a

recent article in this magazine by one ofour good sorors, that the perfect marriage is one wherein two properly attuned Souls, each a complement of theother, unite in w hat is truly a n alchemical or spiritual marriage, the physicalmarriage being merely a legal ritualacknowledging the previous spiritualunion. W he n such marriages occur andsuch mating exists, there is no likelihood of a restricting influence uponeither person preventing the full andnatural growth and progress of the Soulof each. B ut such marriages are rareand most certainly do not exist in thecase where one partner, one person ofthe union not only is out of sympathy

w ith the idea ls and desire s of the Soulof the other, but attempts to restrainquestion as to whether a married personand discourage such spiritual progressas seems to be the desire of the other.

T he problem resolves itself into theowes a greater duty to the marriagepartner or to his Soul. Fr om the spiritual point of view, the first duty of everyhuman being is to obey the dictates anddesires of the divine consciousness w ithin, regardless of family ties or earthly,material obligations. If obedience tothis duty results in a separation ofearthly unions or a breaking of earthlyagreements, it is a regrettable thing, butnot in any sense the sin of the Karmictransgression that results from denyingones own Soul the experience, growth,and development which it requires.

Every attempt should be made to fulfill every earthly obligation and agreement that has been solemnly made, andnothing should be done that will bringunnecessary grief and sorrow, disappointment, or unhappiness into the lifeof another. Concessions should be madeto meet more than ha lf w ay the desiresof those dependent upon us and to fulfill our duties. But this attitude andpractice should not g o so far as to com-

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W I P t o S

I n t el l i gence vs. Un ders t an d i n gBy F r a t e r H. C. B l a c k w e l l , F. R. C.,

Grand Councillor, Great La\es District

O S T mental or int e l lec t ua l g i a nt shave left for post e r i t y t h e o n l ysystem of thoughtthat enables mank i nd to p r o p e r lyc o m p r e h e n d t heL aw that governsthe universe.

Knowledge without U n d e r s t a n ding i s v a l u e l e s s .

T his system is affected by G ood and E v i l influences.Knowledge and Understanding are oftenthought to be synonymous, but Knowledge is simply an accumulation of facts.M an y people become so stuffed withknowledge that they have little room forUnderstanding.

The Fruit of intellect is Understanding. Like all other fruit, Under sta ndinggoes to seed, and that seed becomesag ain the germ of intellect. Some w illindignantly deny that intelligence hasever gone to seed. B ut there are sufficient proofs, not only among the monumental and architectural remains of theEast, but in the relics and parchmentsof museums throughout the world.

T he science of U nders tanding teaches that there are ten unchangeable eternal principles which are ever coexistent

w ith intel le ctual lif e. T hese principles ,rightly used, will solve all mental problems. T hey are as indispensable and in

fallible in their action as are factors inmathematics, or the solving of a social,political or judicial problems in economics. T he Ger m of intellect in its gr owthacted upon by proper influences, eventually branches out into these ten principles: Power, Knowledge, Experience,Reason, Strength, Motion, Zea l, V irtue,Justice, and Mercy.

By the principles of P ower is meantforce, authority, doing, or influence.

Knowledge is the intellectual perception of facts.

Experience is instruction by practice.Reason is conclusions from facts, in

telligently harmonized.

Strength is intellectual force or vigor.Motion is the changing action of

thought.

Teal is ardor, earnestness, impulsiveness to do.

V ir tue is strength of moral goodness.Justice is due measure, value, or

w eig ht aw ar de d righte ous ly .Mercy is tenderness towards those

offending or in affliction.

These are the principles that neverchange. T hey are spoken of as the tengods in the Tetractys of Pythagoras;they are the ten categories of Aristotle.

No w let us pause to consider that,Earth, Air , Fire and W a te r are the influences which aid the germs of all vegetation to the fullness of their growth.If, in the process of growth, air be withdraw n, the plant stops grow ing. T here

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Though t s On Th e Sp i r a l

B y I n a M y r t l e S m i t h , F . R . G .

HE law of preservation centered

w it hi n the motionof the spiral sugg e s t s a v a r i e t yof fixed types innature.W ith in a perma

nent atom therew ould seem to bep o l a r i z e d i n l a wand nature a mot io n r e s u l t i n g inself - perpetuation.

This is primarily apart from the material phase of life; although expressive

in the world of three dimensions, itseems a direct manifestation of a natureconceived in a cosmic scale of progression.

T he spiral signifying unity in a multiform creation indicates a balance offorces united in harmonic proportionand expressive of a greater life and being in a cosmic scale of progression.T he oneness of lif e is thus ex emplifiedfrom the standpoint of perfect manifestation of creative force as embodied inthe law of the triangle.

W it h in the economy of na tur al la wthe motion of the spiral may be notedin the sea, as well as vegetable and insect life denoting a progression from

Y /ie the low er to the higher types of intui- . . tional consciousness.

osicructan the instructive life of the insect

Di ge s t w orld we detect an organized systemA p r il ex pressive of the species, and connected

1 9 4 3 w ith the rhy thmic law of the cosmic.

T his evidence of a higher purpose in thew or k ing out of the lif e pr inc iple sug

gests a thread of immortality runningthroughout all creation, with a tendencyto higher and enlarged types of consciousness in a progressive scale.

W ith in the oct av e of the particularmanifestation of rhythmic beings a concentration of forces in polarized unitsgives the illusion of s eparate and distinctlife. T he mystic mind at all times discerns the unity of life and a system ofuniversal laws as the foundation of allexpression of created existence.

T he consciousness in its progre ssionthrough the expansive laws of its ownnature is immortal, and the manifestation of the various phases of its expression in the field of nature gives varietyof understanding to the progressivemind in man.

T he harmonies of the univers e, thusfinding expression in every field of conscious a nd unconscious action w ithin thematerial organism, results in an everbecoming sphere of action and interaction.

W it hin the human cons ciousnes sthere is a perceptive faculty unassoci

ated with the activity of the materialw or ld, and her ein is found a w ay of release from the illusionary confines oftime and space. A perception of the nature of things gives a foundation for ahigher type of reason and a comprehension of an immaterial purpose as manifest in cosmic law.

T he cosmic life in perfect rhythm ofexpression gives added power to the


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spirit of man and awakens the perception to higher laws and a plane of being wherein the inner self finds peace inharmonic relationship, and a fuller lifein contact with the segments of soulconsciousness.

Confined within the natural body withits five avenues of sense perception, distorted theories of proportion confusethe thinker, and the complete relianceupon the faulty evidence thus garneredresults in a separation from the intuitive

w is dom of the tr ue self w ithin. Na tur eherself usually takes toll in extremecases of this type of thinkers, and thecenters of the brain receptive to thehigher wisdom of the spheres and cosmic consciousness become atrophied,

w hile the ov er - st imulated and poor lyco- ordinated sections lacking bala nceresult in illusions of being and doingentirely outside of the cosmic court of

justice. A prepo nde rance of these ty pes

w ithin a race or nation of people re sultsin a disintegration of the edifice of civilized life, and the rebound of forces

w r on g ly use d des tr oy s the phy sical andmental organization.

T he lesson to be learned from the

spiral in nature is primarily that of ourabsolute dependence upon the one lifefor physical and mental health and coordinated action. T he knowledge of theability of the universal life to recreateitself throughout the ages of cosmicprogression becomes a factor in ourrecognition of and cooperation with theactive principle of reincarnation.

T hus the mortal becomes consciousof the immortal and the harmonious at-tunement of the outer with the innerself and gives a balanced personality.

A conta ct w ith the greater univer se enlarges his sphere of activity and adjustshim to the higher laws and principles ofthe cosmic world.

V V V

I NT ELLI GENC E v s . UNDERST ANDI NG

(Continued from Page 93)

w il l be the same res ult if mois tur e orheat or earth be w ithdraw n. T he sameanalog y is found in the germ mind. Ifthe influences which aid in its growthare absent or insufficient in quantity,

the mind will become necessarily stunted, dwarf ed, or undeveloped. For instance, a mind may be partially developed. It may be developed fully in theprinciples of knowledge previously enumerated, and still not be developed inthe principle of reason. A mind may becompletely developed in all of the principles with the exception of any one ofthem. Y et, that one link forms a breakin the chain of perfection.

A mind full y dev eloped in all the tenprinciples is in possession of the tenfactors in mental science which might

be likened to the ten figures or factorsin arithmetic, which in themselves, contain the solution of all mental or arithmetical problems.

Beneficial influences which act uponthe germ mind in developing the mental

principles are five:

A tt ent io n, which means careful observation;

Construction, which means making,framing, joining, or putting together;

W is do m, which is a proper administration of rules regulated by prudence;

Harmony, which is agreeing, or a

blending of parts symmetrical; and,Order, which is regular method ac

cording to rule.

No w the destruction influences are asfollows:

A ng er , which destroys pure thoughtby improper words;

Trouble, which is disturbance, affliction, and disorder;

Beauty, (material) which comprisesdelights, pleasing only to the sight.T rouble a nd beauty go hand in handtogether.

Divisions, which means separation, ordividing part by part, dissensions; and,Death, which is life separating from

matter.It must be borne in mind that all

things are governed by law. A nd thethree attributes called friendship, loveand truth are ever ready to aid eachor any of the principles in obtainingUnderstanding.


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T h e Conv i ct i on o f GodB y T h e S u p r e m e S e c r e t a r y

T h e

Ros i c ruc i an

D iges t

A p r i l

1 94 3

T IS a well- knownand accepted poli

cy of many f rate rna l o r g a n i z at io ns , i n c lu di n gt h e R o s i c r u c i a nO r d e r , t h a t t h eone p r e r e q u i s i t efor membership isa statement uponthe part of the applicant that he believe in a God ora Supreme Being.

T hese org anizations can be interpretedin no sense as religious or judged as

sectarian. T hey are not, in any way ,in competition with recognized religiousdenominations or gr oups. Nevert heless,in presenting their teachings to mankindthey must choose an accepted principleupon which to stand, and this is selectedin mans belief of there being a poweror a force which is the source of life andall that is manifest to man. It is not thepolicy of these constructive organizations to set up either creeds or doctrinesdefining and describing the nature ofGod or the personal emotional experiences that accompany ones belief inGod; neither do they, on the other hand,try to destroy any existing creed to

w hic h an indiv idua l has subscribed.It is definitely recognized that mans

association with man can be that ofvarious purposes, socially, culturally,economically and religiously. In a largecity, if we examine the affiliations of theaverage business man or woman or, asfar as that is concerned, almost every

individual, we will find that their affiliations are of differ ent categories. T here

are their religious, occupational, theirsocial groups, and it is possible thatthese groups may overlap, that isoneindividual may be a member of a number of groups without contacting others

w ho ar e w ith him in any other par ticular group.

T he basis upon w hich we establishour conception of God is, first of all,probably our childhood conceptions

w hic h ma y hav e bee n influence d by thereligious beliefs and practices of ourparents; but, regardless of w hat theseearly conceptions may be, they are

modified and, in fact, undergo constantchange as the result of experience.

Religious IsolationistsT he present crisis in the w orld is

bringing closer together groups of individuals who have established their associations with other men, and their belief in a Creator of Supreme Being uponan entirely differ ent foundation. W e ,of the United Nations, are associated

w ith Chris tians , B uddhis ts , Mos le ms ,and many other religions of the East,some of which have been known to usin name only. In fact, there has been a

tendency in the W este rn W or ld forChristianity actually to belittle the concepts and good found in other religiousthought. It is now time that we becameaware that, if nations of different religious beliefs and faiths can fight together for a cause which is fundamentally common to all of them, we willnecessarily have to begin to make plansto live together in peace, recognizing


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the convictions of these individuals withw hom we ar e f ig hting , and upon w homwe ar e depending to hel p us to carrythe load necessary to victory.

T here is little wonder that some suspicion may grow out of our close contact w ith these individuals. B ut morethan suspicion it is necessary that theregrow out of this world conflict the realization that all men are truly brothersunder God, regardless of some individual's interpretation of the nature of thatGod, and the way to better understanding of mans relationship to Him whiledivergent from our own or, at least,from the opinons of those who acceptone religious belief to the exclusion ofall others. W e must realize constantlythe fact that these individuals are personally experiencing their religion justas much as we are.

ProselytesA ncient and Modern

Militant policies of Christianity began with the Crusades in the early middle ages. W e cannot doubt the motivesof those who sought to release the HolyLand from the hold of those who, intheir minds, had no respect for themeaning of this territory to the Christian world. But, as in the case of manysystems of propaganda, it is possible forus to see, from the standpoint of history, that much was ex agg erated; thatthe Moslem religion, for example, is notone which is determined to do away

w ith mans belief s mer ely because the yare not wholly in accord w ith the Koran;

y et ther e is no de ny ing the fa ct that al lreligions, including Moslem and Christianity, and many others, have beenvery diligent both in propaganda andproselyting from other groups those whoaffiliated with their cause.

T he g eneral concept of Christianityfor the past thousand years or more hasbeen based upon the statement of Christ

Go ye into all the world and preachthe Gospel. T he literal interpretationof this command at times has causedChristianity to fight battles to deny thereligious rights of others that they mightperpetuate their interpretation of thenecessity for Christianity to become theone dominant religious belief. W he nother religions, in an equally narrowsense, have interpreted the words oftheir prophets then conflict has arisen

between those who have theoreticallybut one aimthat is, to serve their God.

It is not intended that these comments be a criticism of any existingsystem of religious thought because of

errors committed by any of its leaders in the past. T he open- minded willtolerate errors of past leaders whetherof countries or of organizations, and

w il l rea lize that er ror is a hum an tr ait ,and that we, as individuals, are not exempt from this possibility. B ut now isthe time when we have reached a place

wher e ma n and w om an ca n no longerlive in isolation, and in that isolationpractice their religious and social beliefsnot only to the exclusion of all others,but to the condemnation of any that isnot wholly in accord with their own.

A f te r this conflic t w e ar e g oin g tofind it necessary to construct the futureof our civilization by solving our problems together with representatives of allthe lands now engaged in this commoncause. A re we going to be in a positionto establish a suitable peace if we willnot recognize that the religious beliefsof the people of China, India andNorthern A fr ica and Europe itself area part of their thinking and a contributing factor to the culture of their people?It is necessary that Christian nationslearn to not underestimate those con

tributions of other countries. T he religion of Buddha has inspired men to

w or k unw aiv er ing ly for the ver y causesthat we hold are our most precious possessions today. Because we may misunderstand their way of life and theirmethods is no reflection against thepeace and harmony that has existed inthe lives of the followers of the qreatBuddha.

Tolerance a Necessity

W e mus t not fo rget that dur ing thetime of the so- called Dar k A ges cultureunder the Moslem religion thrived andmuch of what we use now as fundamentals of our physical sciences is a heritage from this religion with whichChristianity frequently has come in contact. It is well that w e see the otherside; that we unders tand the minds ofthe leaders, and further understand thatthe actions of all individuals in any religion are not always the policy of the


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T h e

Ros i c ruc i an

D iges t

A p r i l

1 9 4 3

religious principles by which they shouldbe guided. T here are hypocrites in allgroups. T hey ex ist whenever manbands together. If y ou are a Chris tiando you wish to be judged by one whocalls himself a Christian yet, in business

affairs, denies the well- being of othersby taking unfair advantage of them inbusiness transactions? W ou ld y ou w antthis individual to be held up as a representative Christian to those of other religious faiths?yet we have acceptedthe actions of some Moslem warriors in

w ar as the ex emplif ica tion of the ir religious conviction. T o somewhat presenta different picture of this particular pointI quote from a Moslem publication inthis country. "W he n A bubeker Aw akel,successor to Prophet Muhammed sent

Y e zid bin S of ia n to cle ar S y r ia n tr ade

routes against Chaldean marauders, hesaid to him Be valiant if you must battle. Ha r m not old men, wome n or children. Destr oy not w antonly crops norherds which are presents of God to man.If you meet Christian hermits in solitudes, serving God and laboring withtheir hands, do them no harm. A s to theGreek priests who, without setting people against people, sincerely honor God

w ith fa ith in Jesus, the son of v ir tuousMary, we used to be to them a protecting shield because, without regarding Jesus as God, we venerate him as a

great, wise and saintly prophet in Islam.It is never the people, only the pernicious doctrines that certain priests have

V

drawn from the otherwise so pure message of the son of V irtuous Ma ry , that

we abhor .' Here we see true tolerance exempli

fied and particularly in favor of Christianity. A g ain I say that our position

today is not only a matter of joiningw ith al l other people s w ho lov e fr eedomand hate tyranny in order to accomplishthe establishment of freedom and lackof tyranny in the world, but to pave the

w ay in such a ma nne r tha t w hen theseaims are accomplished we will see that,in the accomplishment of these ideals inthe process of fighting itself, we havelaid aside our differences, and continueto respect the differences of others in apeaceful world.

T here is no creed or dog ma outsideof himself that can satisfy the craving

of man for guidance. Ev en the most devout and orthodox of any religiousgroup do not wholly subscribe in theirown hearts to the exact creed and beliefof another follower of the same group.

W h e n we anal y ze our ow n think ing weaccept, with certain reservation, the religious beliefs which we find most suitable to our wa y of t hinking; but uponthe basis and beliefs of the particularcreed of our choice we build our personal convictions, we make our own religion. T he conviction of a G od, is apersonal experience within ourselves.

W h il e re lig ion has its obje ctiv e pr actices, its true meaning is subjective, it isa part of what we really are.

V VW H A T IS T H E A Q U A R IA N C YC LE?

T he sun moves through the twelve signs of the Z odiac in reverse order every26,000 years . It takes the sun 2,100 yea rs to pass thro ugh each one of these signs.T hese facts are based on astronomy and astrolog y. T he sun today is changingfrom the sig n of Pisces into the sig n of A quarius ; or, fr om the Piscean to the

A quar ia n age.It is conceded by all critical students that the sun entered the Zodiacal sign

T aurus in the days of our historic A dam ; that A bra ham lived not far from the beginning of the A ria n age, w hen the sun entered the sign Ar ies. A bout the time of

the rise of the Roman Empire, the sun entered the sign Pisces and the Piscean Ag ebegan. Ea rly in the Piscean (Fis hes) A g e Jesus of Nazareth lived.

T he ex act time of the beginning of each ag e is not agreed upon by all as tronomers. The A quar ian A g e is generally conceded to start somewhere aro und 1950-75 and will last 2,100 years. A quarius is an air sign and as the New A g e is approaching, the world is already being given remarkable inventions for the use ofair, electricity, magnetism, etc. T he A quar ian A g e is pre- eminently a spiritual age,and the spiritual side will be emphasized for the great multitude of humanity. During the A quarian A g e there w ill be many advanced stages of spiritualconsciousness. Scribe.


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H ea l t h a nd Though t B yF r a t e r O . J . R a n k i n

N Y T H I N G con-

At r a r y o r i n h a r

m o n i o u s t o t h ew or k ing of div ineor natural laws isbad and incurs itsown consequence.H a bi t u a l intolerance and prolonged antagonism to

w ar ds these lawsculminates in disease and death.

Christ eradicateddisease and restored natural harmony innumerous cases where bad thinking hadreacted in sickness and suffering. Hispurpose was three fold: to relieve thesuffering by transmuting destructivethought and belief in sickness into constructive thought and belief in health;to emphasize the essential conditionunder which the approaching death-challenge could be met and overcome;to leave to posterity a number of outstanding and convincing examples ofthe unlimited possibilities in faith healing, better understood today as mentaltherapy.

These examples are called miraclesbecause the mystery of their working isbeyond the five- sense unders tanding ofthe average person, and because chemists have never been able to put faith ormind into test- tubes for analy sis . Butthere never was such a thing as a miracle. Fa ith healing or mind healing is aperfectly natural phenomenon: it is thepurely material phase of healing that isun- natural, or man- made.

Plato said: If the head and the bodyare to be well, you must begin by curing

the soul. T his is the Chr ist principle,and wherever this principle inspiredfaith, Christ, who had thoroughly mastered the laws of mental and spiritualtherapeutics, proved conclusively thatthe principle wor ked. He said: He

w ho bel iev eth on me (he w ho has fa ithin divine laws), the works that I do shallhe do also; and greater works than theseshall he do . . A f ew have endeavoured to carry on where he left off.Most, however, now ignore his principle, assuming the greater works to liein the purely material field.

It is of interest to note that in spiteof the great progress made in modernmedicine, susceptibility to disease isstill much the same. Man is forevercatching something or other. If hesits in a dra ug ht he catches a cold; ifhe sits in a stuffy tramcar he catchesanother, w hich is often worse. No w adays a man is quite well, thanks withanything from a cold to a cancer.

T he Master Metaphys ician abovementioned, through his perfectly developed faculty of intuition, first perceived the cause of any sickness he wascalled upon to heal. T hen he appliedhis perfect knowledge of divine andnatural laws and removed the cause,leav ing Nat ure to do the - rest, alway sproviding he had the mental cooperationof the sick person. W it ho ut such cooperation he could do nothing, and hefrankly said so: According to thy faithshall it be giv en thee. In some places


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he abandoned the work of healing because of the unbelief of the people.He knew better than anyone that w ithout the essential faith on the part of thesick person he was merely wasting histime. I am straitened, not by the evil

spirits power, but by your unbelief.T he same condition prev ails today.

Failures in faith healing are not due toa faulty principle but rather to lack offaith in the principle. Christ left nodoubt in the minds of those he healed: T h y faith has made thee w hole. A ndproviding they held that faith there wasno return of the disease. T oda y thereexists exactly the same amount of faith

on the w rong side, for peo ple hav emore faith in sickness and patent medicines than in healt h; thus the powe ravailable to make them whole is mis

used to produce the contrary effect ofmaking them un- whole. T he pow er tocreate good, clean, constructive thoughtis misused to create fear, mans greatest enemy.

Harmonious thought cannot exist between one who has faith and one whohas not. T he f aith- holder, or healer,may be in perfect harmony with divinemind, but this is only two points on atriangle, w hich is completed by thethird point only when harmony, ormutual faith, is as great between healerand patient as between healer and divine mind. T hen, and not until thenmay the Christ principle be successfullyapplied.

Metaphysical healing is the materialresult of the mental and spiritual effortto destroy sin (inharmony) throughright thinking, faith and expectant desire. T he forg iveness of sin (i. e. thedestruction, or transmutation of sin) isthe forgiveness (destruction, or transmutation) o f sickness. Chr ist said ineffect: It matters not w hether I sayT hy sins are for giv en thee or Arise,

take up t hy bed and w alk the twosayings are one.Physical sickness is either proof of

mental and spiritual deficiency or proofof ignorant and erroneous living, the

T h e latter being naug ht but the material aspect of the former. It is a disgr ace toK os tcr uctan ^ ^ {qt lack of heglth advertises lack

Diges t harmony caused by lack of righteous-A p r i l n ess (r ight- living ), w hich is responsible1 9 4 3 for the ignorance and error.

A s lo ng as the av er ag e doctor treatseffects instead of causes there will al

w ay s be diseases. Dr ug s and mine ra lpoisons lower human vibrations just ata time when they should be raised.Drugs stimulate temporarily, and often

remove a disease from one part of thebody to another. T his difference in expression is considered as a cure becausethe pain disappears from its usual placeof manifestation. Cre dit and faith arethen given to both doctor and drug. O fcourse , doctors are useful; in fact, indispensable, inasmuch as their help, likethat of the mechanic, is very welcome

w hen the machine goes w rong and requires repairing in some particular part.But healing, as understood in the fullestsense, i. e. of psyche as well as body,should not be expected of them.

From the metaphysical standpointthere is only one disease; inharmony, orinterference. Man interferes with thenormal working of his anatomical machinery by introducing therein unnatural elements, hoping by so doing tocure some slow ly dev eloping mind-caused malady, then runs to the doctorfor more unnatural mixtures to counteract the effect of the former and thus expects to be restored to his natural condition. T his he can never ex perience,for he has gone so far with this habitthat he no longer has a standard whereby he is able to judge whether he is

w ell or il l. He mak es no ef fort to discover the cause of the trouble and everytime the still small voice tells him

wher e to look for it he fe ig ns spir itualdeafness.

M an y metaphy sicians declare perfecthealth to be impossible these days.T hey s ay our vital organs are degenerated by wrong thinking to such an extent that their normal function is anutter impossibility. W e are all victimsof our own poisonous vibrations. Eve ry

time we think badly of another thethought comes back, hits hard, andleaves another dose of acid in the blood.

It is true that one never feels fineunless and until he has purified hismental as well as his physical systemfrom all elements of a deteriorative andobstructive nature. No amount of physical purification will bring health if themental part is neglected. One must firstbecome fine to feel fine.


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Past Cycles a n d T om o r r ow B yJ a y R . M c C u l l o u g h , B. S., M . A .

Cu r a to r o f Ro s i cr u ci a n Egy pt i an , O r i e n ta l M u s e u m

H IS is an ag e inw h ic h we e it he rhave learned, ora r e le a r n i n g , toconsider social de-v e l o p m e n t s a n dg r o u p i n g s f r o mthe b r o a d v i e wpo in t o f a w o r lds o c i e t y . N o o n eu n i t , co n s i de r e deither as an indi

vidual, family, nation, or race, exists of and by itself. Each is an integrated and interdependent part of the

w hole , and prosper s in dir ect relat ionship to the service it contributes to that

whole .

T his universal social str ucture, comprising a practicable cultural, economic,and political brotherhood of mankind,may be likened to a social body, thecells of which are the various men and

women co mpos ing it. Such a body , lik eevery phenomenon, must be dual incharacter and exhibit that behavior ofconstant flux and juxtaposition whichthe two forces comprising its being evidence in their varying relations towardeach other.

From the beginning of our k nowledgeof man as a social animal, we witnessthe constant struggle for balance between the limited and unlimited, changeand permanence, becoming and being,and matter and mind. M a n has con

stantly tried, and is still trying, to adjus t, ma nipula te and coor dina te matte rand its concomitant problems into a condition more benefiting his current andgrowing concept of the greatest good.

A ll rat iona l human ac tiv ity is for thepurpose of changing something from itsprevious condition to that which willsupposedly yield a more satisfactoryresult.

T hus, upw ard and around the ascending pathway of growth, evolution, and

development, the social body is traveling, passing through cycles of experience and attainment, and ever strivingto achieve and hold that balanced condition of progressive harmonium withinitself, which is so necessary if it remainin a state of health. Har monium is thenatural and satisfying condition of thesocial body, a condition wherein it canbest manifest its true function and purpose, and it is toward such an evolvingbalance that it tends to develop in all ofits varied movements and ferments.

T his str uggle f or harmonium has been

expressed with more or less satisfyingresults, from the dawn of history to thepresent. Culture s, civilizations, politicaland religious institutions have beenevolved to better express man's desireto correlate himself with his environment in order to achieve and maintaina condition which he deemed the better.Inventions and the evolving techniquesof manipulating material force have beenbut another expression of the age old


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attempt toward harmonious adjustment.In the same manner, man has ever w idened the circle of his social consciousness to embrace not only the family, butthe clan, tribe, city, city- state, nation,and in some measure, humanity. He has

built political and cultural structure andpatterns which have served him duringthe particular cycle of experience anddevelopment through which he was progressing. A nd those structures and patterns, though never exactly alike, showdistinct and characteristic family resemblances which are instructive andhelpful in the study of man.

W itho ut the aid of his tory , in itsbroadest sense, as a heritage from thepast, we would be as a newborn childleft on a desent island without memoryor an inherited accumulation of experi

ence to help light the pathway of newexperiences through which it must past.W e can bet te r unde rsta nd our ow n

social problems and their probable solution by looking at the foundation upon

w hich ou r ow n social structure is based.

A nc ie nt S oc ial Str uctures

During the progressive march towarddevelopment there was one small segment of time- space which wil l perhapsbe of interest to us in retrospect, particularly during such a time of world- widesocial adjustment and stress which isnow our experience. Five or six thousand years ago, as time is reckoned,there began one of the earliest developments of a widely dispersed and, for theperiod, unified social and cultural expressions know n to wr itten history. InMesopotamia, the Land Between theRivers ," where the Tig ris and E uphrates formed one of the most fertile areasin the ancient world, there was enactedone scene, or cycle in the drama depicting the experiences of the evolvingsocial body. In this land is found oneof the first historical attempts to organize the social unit in all of its phases

onto a more comprehensive scale, andto integrate the social structure alonglines leading toward a more universalaspect. Dur ing its culmination it encompassed many distinct ethnic strainsmolded together, even as in the Americaof today, into a common cultural unitand with common cultural and socialtendencies. Ex panding fr om the idealof a City- State to that of an Empire, it

deve loped pre- eminence in commercial,legal, and pol it ico- administra tive a-chievements. T hese ancie nt peoples f aced many of the same problems, or thoseof a similar nature, to those we face today, and their methods of adjustment

also show similarities as well as differences, serving us as convenient measuring sticks to mark our progress andpoint our way toward the future.

Our Sumerian Inheritance

From the Sumerians, the earliest inhabitants of the Mesopotamian region,

w e hav e rece ived ma ny g if ts da tingback to the time when the CommercialT heocracy, w hich they developed as atool for the realizaion of their social desires, w as established. T he first astronomical observations, our year of twelve

months, the twenty- four hour day, thesix ty- minute hour, the circle with threehundred and sixty degrees, in fact, allmeasurements based upon the sexagesimal. or sixty unit system of measurement, came from their manipulation ofphenomena to their needs. T hey alsohad a strong sense of private property

w hic h dev eloped into intricate an d involved legal regulation of commerce,trade, and banking.

The Babylonian Business Man

T he later B abylonians built upon thefoundat ion laid by their predecessors

and, in a somewhat harmonious fusionof many cultures, stressed the peacefulpursuits of handicrafts and commerce.Such a society was based upon a frame

wor k of la w ; la w w hich formed thebackground for the regulation of allsocial and business intercourse, and

w hich w as abs olute an d unsw er ving forall peoples under its juridiction. Unde rthe Code of Hammurabi (1948- 1905B. C.), a king who lived about the timeof A braham, extensive commercial reg ulation was stressed and conflicting locallaws were brought into uniformity and

accord. T he form and importance ofwritt en contracts, deeds , settleme nt ofw ill s , par tne rship ag reements, relat ionship of principle and agent, forms ofhouse leases, promissory notes, andlegal interest rates, all became a part ofthe rules regulating the lives of theseearly peoples.

T he Baby lonian businessman was agreat trader and merchant, and traveled


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extensively through all the lands of theancient world. Cla y seals from his balesof merchandise (they would be calledstock- tags today ) littered the gr oundnear the stopping places of his caravans.T he cr aftsman also occupied a place of

importance, and handicrafts early reached a state of high attainment. A verymodern note regarding the organizationof these craftsmen is revealed from records of the Ba bylonian T almud showingthat they were organized into craftguilds or unions which were closed corporations and had the right to forbidnewcomers entrance into the craft or

w or k at the ir tr ade in the loc al ity . Suchguilds were in operation for merchants,bakers, barbers, boatmen, weavers, goldsmiths, carpenters, and other specialized

wor ke rs . E ach group liv ed tog ether in

a certain section of town and had itsown officers (today we would term themPresident and Secretary). T hese officers were focal points for the collectionof taxes from their members and wereresponsible to the government for suchtaxes. T hey also served as local draftboards for recruiting personnel for thearmy and for defending those who hadbeen illegally drafted.

Into the midst of these early Babylonians and their peaceful pursuits camea conquering, warlike tribe from thenorthern city of A shur. A people exist

ing for and bending all their energies tothe militaristic central authority. T othem, in common with many ancientpeoples, war was the normal state ofaffairs; just as today, through ex perience, we have developed to the extentthat we believe peace to be the condition under which mankind realizes hisgreatest potentials.

A ss y r ia n "B lit z T echnique

By 700 B. C. the Assyrian Empire included all of the Fertile Crescent, thatarea of land arching northward from

Palestine through Mesopotamia to thehead of the Persian G ulf. In form, the

A ss y r ia n state was to ta lita r ia n, efficient,stable, and powerf ul, and w ith little internal trouble. A ll ex isted for the state,and the state was a la w unto itself. Itcomprised a highly coordinated militarysociety and was built around the army,

w hich w as the bes t o r g a n iz e d andequipped fighting force in existence upto that time. In the funct ioning of that

army, we find the strikingly modernnote of the b litz technique. Pr ior tocontact w ith the enemy by the infantry ,a lightning- like charge of heavy, ar mored chariots was thrust into the ranksof the opposing enemy, bearing a full

crew of archers who, with almost machine- gun- like rapidity, shot volley aftervolley into their usually aw e- struck opponents. T he Ass yr ians were also thefirst to use protective ironclad armor;in helmets, on shields, and siege machines. T hese last mentioned machines,like ancient tanks, were huge, wheeled battering- rams f ully ar mored, andsupported a fighting turret or towerfrom which many, soldiers could engagein combat, while those in the body ofthe machine worked the mechanism forbatter ing dow n the mud- brick w alls of

the beseiged cities. T he W a r ofNerves was also understood by the

A ss y ria ns . T he y dev eloped the technique of ferocity to such an extent thatthe very mention of their name spelledhorror and helplessness to their victims.

A tr oc it ies wer e the ir stock - in- tr ade,born both from an unnatural lust forblood and an understanding of theirpsychological value. T he entire population of conquered cities was annihilatedamidst scenes of torture, flayings, rapine, dismemberment, and general savager y. Othe r cities suffered the fate of

having all of their inhabitants removedfrom the homeland and placed intobondage. Crops and trees were destroyed, wells poisoned and polluted,cities leveled to the ground, plowedunder with oxen, and salt placed on thesoil to prevent any sign of life appearing again. Fr om conquered nationsfood, animals, slaves, and wealth flowedin a steady stre am to Nineve h, the capi-tol of the Empire. Na tiona l annihilation

was the fa te o f the conquer ed, of te ntimes leaving no trace of the people ortheir language except those bits of fossilized history which they left engravedupon rocks or clay bricks.

Undoubtedly the Assyrian Empireserved as a unifying agent in creating alarger and more integrated basis forpolitical life. W it h all of its so- calledfaults, it marked a long step forward inthe gradual growth of the idea of anall- inclusive wor ld power fr om whichstems those concepts of political unityfrom the Roman Empire to the modern


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ideal of a W or ld Confederacy. Culturally, there was an assimilation andrestatement of artistic and literary values which have an important place inany survey of cultural development.T he superb bas- reliefs of the palaces

and temples, the lapidary seals cut inprecious stones, and the Great Libraryof A shur- bani- pal at Nineve h, a collection of over twenty- two thousand claytablets containing the choice literarymasterpieces pillaged from conquerednations, all spoke of the genuine contribution made by the Assyrians in thefield of the arts.

Deterioration of a Great State

A cy cle is but a mea sureme nt of arise and decline, an ebb an d a flow. Incommon with all material, changingmanifestations, this great Empire, built

as a primitive vehicle to carry man's expanding social consciousness but a short

w ay along the far rea ching path of deve lopment, came to an end. In a w or ldof change, growth, and evolution, everymanifestation bears within itself theseeds of its own destruction as well asits salvation. T he totalitarian A ssy rianEmpire w as over - militarized, basing itsnorma l existence upon non- productiveand destructive endeavors, and centralizing, more and more, its functions andpurposes within itself. Peasants wereremoved from the land to enter the ever

expanding army and no one took theirplace. Peace- time industr ies wer e practically non- ex istent and all but forgotten, and Assyria learned the lessonthat something does not come fromnothing."

T he vast ex pansion and conquestover subject lands greatly exceeded thepower of the army to defend the conquered territory. T o meet the demandfor more men to defend the areas conquered by a still increasing army , A ssyria had to use the subjects of conquered peoples in her armed forces.

Such a practice greatly weakened themilitary strength of the Empire andhastened her defeat. Such an annihilation came, as it was sure to come, bear

ing the concentrated effects of total warupon Nineveh until, only three hundred

yea rs afte r the fal l of that city , Xeno-phone passed over its ruins never knowing they wer e there. T hus was f ulfilledthe prophecy of Nahum.

A g a in it is neces sar y to have an understanding of the historical truth that

w hen a state of harmonium does notexist, and when the material vehicle forthe natural social progression and evolution becomes unable to help carry for

w ar d that pro gre ssi on, such a vehiclew il l be dis carded, v ol unt ar ily or inv ol

untarily, in the evolving process. W he nthe usefulness of a certain condition,state of affairs, or material expression isended, it is no longer necessary for theexistence of a developing social body.

W hi the r T oday ?T oday w e are in the midst of an evo

lutionary process which also bears within itself the seeds of its own destructionor salv ation. It is our choice, as members of society, to add to the forcesmaking for individuality, selfishness,and discord, or aid in those natural, unifying, and cooperative measures which

w il l make for great er har mony , understanding, and w orld w ide social integr ation and solidarity. In the post war

w or ld, fol lo w ing the peace to come, w illbe fought the real battle between the

partisans of narr ow, s elf- sufficient nationalism and those who have learnedthat there can be no completely dependent and absolutely sovereign socialbodies, but that we are interdependentparts and segments of the one socialconsciousness t hat unite us all. T he finalbasis and authority which binds ourfuture will not be settled around theconference table of professional politicians and diplomats. T he future andthe harmonious balance of our socialbody rests, in the long run, in the heartsand minds of the millions of little peo

ple, the cells which make up this body,and, in the words of Guatama, it is ourduty and privilege to work out oursalvation with diligence.

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V V V

On the road to success there is no metiphysical substitute for hard work.

G . N. Holloway, Jr .


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T he "Cathe dral of the S oul" is a Cosmic meeting place for a l l minds of themost highly developed and spir itual ly advanced members and workers of theRosicrucian Fraternity . It is a focal point of Cosmic radiations and thought

w av es f r om w hich r ad ia te v ib r ati ons o f he al th , peac e, hap pin es s , a nd inn eraw ake ning. V ario us periods of the day are set aside when many thousandsof minds are attuned with the Cathedral of the Soul, and others attuning withthe Cathedral at the time w il l receive the benefit of the vibrations. T hose w hoare not members of the organization may share in the unusual benefits as wellas those who are members. T he book called "Libe r 777 describes the periodsfor various contacts w ith the Cathedral. Copies wil l be sent to persons w hoare not members if they address their requests fo r this book to F riar S. P. C.,care of A M O R C T emple, San Jose, California, enclosing three cents in postagestamps. (Please state whether member or notthis is important.)

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

V E N the mos t materialistic businessma n , wh o o th e r

w is e m ig h t no ta c k n o w l e d g e r eco gn i t i o n o f th ed u a l n a t u r e o fhis ex iste nce orth e la w o f dua l

i t y f u n c t i o n i n gt h r o u g h o u t t h euniverse, does recognize a phase oft h is l a w i n t he

placing upon his records certain intangible assets. T hese are recog nized by theaccepted systems of business administration and accounting. Usually, thelargest factor of this nature carried onthe books of a business concern as

good w ill a nd in any estimate of thew or th of the busines s or in the tr ans fe r

of its total value from one to anotherthis intangible asset is considered as important and in some cases more important than the actual physical property onhand. Under ordinar y conditions thoseassets which make up the physical inventory of a concern can be replaced,

but if good will, that is, the faith andintegrity of the individual or concern isgone, it is difficult to replace and, infact, it may cost the entire physical

w or th of an ins ti tut ion to br ing aboutagain a semblance of good will.

T his is equally t rue in the life of anindividual. Characte r is fre quently ofmore importance to an individual beginning an enterprize than the actualmaterial property which he possesses.


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In dealing with our fellow men we areanxious that these assets of ours, whichcannot be converted into dollars andcents value, be outstanding and apparent to those with whom we would dealin both our business and social activi

ties. I hav e refer red to the fact that thelaw of duality is the basic underliningfactor in the recognition of these intangibles. It is because we are never atloss, in attempting to be aware of thefact, that there are both material andnon- material conditions in the univers e.

Life itself, upon which we probablyplace more value than any other thing,is one of these non- material posses sions

w hich we pres er ve even at the cost ofany material thing. T his is most commonly expressed, insofar as the philosophical and religious viewpoint is con

cerned, in body and soul. Fre quentlythere have been controveries to attemptto ascertain which of these two is themost important, but those who will reason and give unbiased judgment on thequestion will inevitably arrive at theconclusion that while we live here underthe conditions and in the environmentof this wor ld, both must exist. On e is,in a sense, an attribute of the other.

W hile almost any one w il l recog nizein general the facts stated, nevertheless

we giv e our primar y at te ntion to thosethings which bring an immediate re

sponse to our physical senses and, consequently, we adjust our living in sucha manner that we are actually ninetyper cent or more objective and ten percent or less subjective. It is most interesting, when we stop to analyze the apparent facts, that while we give thislarge part of our time and effort towardthe obtaining and retaining of thosethings which satisfy our objective desires, the fact is that

rosicrucian digest, april 1943

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