rosicrucian digest, april 1950

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APRIL, 1950



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RENDEZVOUS WITH DEATHIndia n kingcobras sway in rhythm to the shrill notes of the musical pipes. Contra ry to popular notion, many of these exhibited reptiles still re tain the deadly efficacy of theirvenom. The men take pride in the ir profession and the awe which their courting of deathinspires. The reptiles begin an angry sp itting when the weird music ceases.

(Photo by AMORC Camera Expedition)



W he ther you are a butcher, a baker, or a candle-stick maker, your life isn’t going to be the same.

The most astounding t ransformations—unex-

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wanting a change—but few will be ready for it . Avoid the inevitable confusion, the disillusionment that w ill come.

Let the Rosicrucians show you how to develop

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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

Vol. XXVIII APRIL, 1950

Rendezvous with Death (Frontispiece)Thought o f the Month: Struggling Pakistan

The Bir th of the Moon .......... ................................

The Mosaic of Life

The Real Heaven and Hell ...............................................

Some Evident Dangers of Paternalism in Government

Sanctum Musings: Faith.........................................................

As Science Sees It ........................................................... ...

Cyclic Law in History

Temple Echoes........................ ....................................

Paracelsus, the Rosicrucian

Mechanism Versus Thought

Cathedral Contacts: The Cathedral of the Soul

Those Vague ExperiencesLet's Talk Ab out the Animals

Sacred Traditions in Guatemala ........................ ............

Mohenjo-Daro (Illustration).....................................................

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THE ROSICRUC IAN ORDER— AMORCROSICRUC IAN PARK SAN JOSE, CA LIFORN IA

EDITOR: Frances VejtasaCop yrigh t, 1950, by the Supreme Gran d Lo dge of AM O RC . All rights reserved.



This is the twelfth of a series of articles by the Iinperator about his observations on a journey which took him and his pa rty around the world and into remote mysticallands.— E d i t o r

T h e

Rosicrucian Digest A pril 1950

h is w a s Karachi—the cap-ital of Pakistan and thefocal point of the hatredof extreme Indian Na-tionalists. Even thoughwe had traveled severalhundred miles westward,the air was still warm.Since Karachi is situated

on a small bay of what was formerlythe West coast of India, a vitalizing salt

tang now permeated the air. This bayopens upon the Arabian Sea which,ironically enough, in the shimmeringsunlight looks as though covered withsnow.

We could not help making comparison with the great cities of Indiawhich we had so recently visited.Further, we rather anticipated an ex-ceedingly hostile populace because ofthe accounts which we had heard fromthe Hindus. Although one becomes ac-customed to discounting obviously prej-

udiced and passionate tales of one people about another, the statem ents doleave their impression upon the im-agination.

The first realistic impression wasthat of the relative cleanliness of thecity. Refuse had not accum ulated inthe streets. We were surprised, as well,at the spaciousness of the streets bothin the older and newer sections of thecity. The contributing factor to bothof these favorable conditions, we soonsurmised, was the lack of population con-gestion. Here were no teeming hundreds

of thousands of refugees seeking shelteron the sidewalks, in the shadows of

buildings, along the curbs, and in everyopen place. Here were no throngs of

beggars made destitute by a religiouswar in political guise, which in manyinstances had caused the sacrifice ofall possessions and the seeking of refugehundreds of miles from home. The in-flux of Mohammedans into Pakistanafter the partitioning of India had not

noticeably swelled the population of thecity.

These Pakistani are racially the same people as the Indians, but religiouslyhave adopted the Mohammedan faith.In this city, history was repeating it-self. There was revealed to us a seriesof circumstances which, in past centu-ries, had come to fashion the cultureof various civilizations. The impetusof religion goes far beyond the adoptionof dogmas and conformity to specificspiritual precepts by its followers. The

religious zealot, with the encourage-ment of his priests, seeks to put hiswhole life in the framework of his be-liefs. Being convinced that his religionis the most exalted by being the onlytrue one, he seeks to root in il all artsand sciences. I lis literature must be thatwhich is approved, or at least chosen, bythe founder of his faith. His sacredlanguage is that in which his spiritualteachers framed their utterances. Hismusic, painting, and architecture mustshow the influence of the doctrines ofhis faith.



In Karachi there was very much inevidence the practice, apparently approved by the Governm ent, of abandoning all styles and customs that were ofIndian origin. It m ust be realized th at

the Pakistani were reared as Indians inan A ryan cultural environment. Allabout them were developments in art,music, architecture, and language thatstemmed from the Ary an times. Thesewere as indigenous and as much a partof them as the soil upon which theystood and the air that they breathed.Their affinity to Mohammedanism andthe fervor incited by becoming an in-dependent Mohammedan state causedthem to renounce all their traditionalIndian culture.

As a consequence of these circum-stances, there was evidence of the cur-ren t importation of Islamic culture. New buildings reflected Islam ic de-signs; original native music was beingforsaken for often inferior Moslemimportations. All these were actuallyforeign adaptations for these people.However, in consciousness, in innersatisfaction, they had now becomecloser to these importations than to thetraditional customs of their forebears.It is just in this way that Christianityhad sought to stamp out, first, theculture of Egypt and Greece and, sub-sequently, that of Islam. Th ere is noimpulse so strong in its acceleration ofculture, and at times so great in itsdestruction of it, as religion.

E co n om i c Ge st u r e s

At the time—and even as yet—Paki-stan seemed a favorable economic plumto be plucked by opportunists. Herewas a new nation, cleft from another.It had as yet no trade covenants, pacts,or obligations. It was open market.Representatives of the industries ofvarious nations huddled about tables inthe dining room of the Palace Hotel inKarachi in animated conversation.There was a light of expectancy in theirfaces. Each anticipated an exclusiveagreement for his products or hisnation. Pakistan exhibited, it wouldseem, unusual sophistication in its re-lations, in seeking to exact the utmostin concessions for whatever trade fran-chises she chose to confer upon them.Pakistan was virtually destitute of in-

dustries. He r transportation equipment

was obsolete, having been used fordecades by India. She was in desperateneed of foreign capital and industry, ifshe were to exist as a nation.

Sheer delight was evidenced in the

Karachi press because of England’sgreat gestures of friendship towardPakistan. Th is welcome of Britain ’ssupport was for a twofold reason: first,England had displayed an unsympa-thetic attitude toward India in her parti-tioning problems—the Pakistani interpreted it as a political blow to th eirenemy; second, although England wasin a very unfavorable economic positionherself, she was an ally of the UnitedStates of America whicn might be wonover to assist Pakistan. Eng land sent

exofficio military delegates to advisePakistan on her army and air force.It was revealed that arrangements had been made to ex tend by legal and proper means, arms an d munitions tothe governm ent of Pakistan. All of thisinfuriated India and endeared Englandto the Pakistani.

Why was England manifesting thisappa rent preference? At the time thesituation was particularly critical in the

Near East between the Israeli an d theArabs. England was already in badgraces with the Israeli but extremelycooperative to the oil-rich Arab nations.Russia had been making overtures tothe Arabs and England was fearful ofthese gestures and sought every meansof placating the Arabs. Th e Arabnations, which are more united by re-ligious than political ties, welcomedPakistan, the new Mohammedan state,into the ir fold. As a consequence, itwas expedient, though blunt, states-manship for England to show partialityto Pakistan and receive the nod of ap-

proval from the oilrich Arab nations.

It is doubtful whether Pakistan fullyrealized the necessity behind England’sfriendship. England has long been aworld power. She still retains theknowledge of experience to take advan-tage of an opportunity, regardless ofwhat to others may seem an inconsist-ency in her policy. Events have shapedthemselves rapidly in the last year.Asia is being dominated by the Sovietideology. The Indian government might become sympathetic to the Soviet rath erthan toward the West. Consequently,

it was advisable to shift the aura of



friendliness back toward suspiciousIndia and away from Pakistan. A re-cent Far Eastern journal expresses thefact that Pakistan is aware of this re-versal of feeling and, in turn, makescounter threats to try a nd check it. The

journal quotes a correspondent, whomwe in turn quote in part: “The goodwill toward Britain created in Pakistan by pa rtition two years ago, has, in fact,almost disappeared and in its placethere is a bitterness. This bitternessalmost matches and is indeed connectedwith Pakistan’s distrust of India.”

Then the author of the article states:“F or years the name of Britain has beenheld in repute for fair dealing, without

prejud ice on account of race or creed.It is apparent, however, from reports

being received from Pak istan, th at thisreputation built up over the years is being lost over night. Unless action istaken soon to remedy Pakistan’s griev-ances, the repercussions are likely to bevery great indeed.”

Su r v i v a l o f t h e Fi t t e at

Karachi was but a base for our jour-ney inland. North and east of it liesthe Sind Desert through which theIndus River cuts a wide and long fur-

row. In summer, the Sind Desert hastemperatures ranging from 120° F., toquite cool at night. Our destinationwas MohenjoDaro, literally “Moundof the Dead”—a place of mystery andwonderment.

For three hundred miles, we traveledthrough the region of this desert. Itwas a land of strange contrasts. Every-where was emphasized the struggle

between life and death, a cruel andmerciless conflict. The demarcationof the desert is indicated by a luxuriant

jung le which is nourished by the IndusRiver. It would seem that almost sud-denly the moisture from the river,which extends outward, ceases, leavingthis tangle of green bordering the hotsands of the Sind Desert. An ingeniousnetwork of canals fed by the river hasconverted sections of the desert lands

T h e into fertile grain lands, a pleasant re

Ros icru cian t0 t ie eye* r ie area cou^ produceconsiderably more food, if the irrigationsystem were extended and modernmethods of reaping and harvesting were

employed.

Diges t

A pril

1950

The methods of harvesting the grainare antiquated, the work being donemostly by hand. The grain is threshed by oxen which are tied to a central post by ropes. The oxen revolve aboutthe post in a circle, treading the grain

free in their walking. The oxen areoften blindfolded to keep them from becoming dizzy. The rope is kept ta utso that, as they pull at a tangent to the

post, they , in fact, lead themselves ina circle. Th e loop on the rope end keepsit from winding about the post.

Except for camels the deterioratedrail line into the interior, by which wewere traveling, is the only mode oftransportation into this area. No es-tablished air line makes landings forthere are no air fields. Everyw here

camels are seen grazing. Caravans ofthese huge animals, thirty or forty innumber, were not unusual. The little

pat ient and pa thetic burro is an over-worked animal in Pakistan. The treat-ment of these animals is revolting andenough to infuriate any lover of ani-mals. Nowhere have we seen such ageneral disregard for the welfare ofanimals. Th ey are obviously underfed.Many have large gaping festering sorescut by the friction of the harness, loadstraps, and ropes. I have seen a burro

carrying a heavy pack with a largeconspicuous sore being constantlychafed by a load strap. The driver,walking beside, never once took anymeasure for helping the sufferinganimal.

Though there is much food in thisrural area, obtained merely by theeffort of labor, the dogs were half-starved and gaunt, and roamed in

packs. Droves of them , with glassyeyes, heads lowered, are constantlysearching the ground for morsels, even

filth, to eat. No attempt to curtailtheir breeding or relieve them of their plight is made. They are often kickedana stones thrown at them, if theyapproach humans . As a result, it waswith great difficulty that I induced oneto come close enough, with her starved puppy, to ea t some pieces of stale bread.

Scattered about the fertile area or onthe fringe of the desert are the littlevillages of Sind. The houses are mostlyof mud brick but apparently well con

continued on Page 98)



[Hfzz U3izt(i oj~ tfiz d \l\ oon

By M i k a e l , F. R. C., A.F.R.A.S.The author is a prominent astronomer and the director of one of the large astronomical

observatories in Europe. He is, as well, a Rosicrucian of long standing. The name here ingiven is his pen name.— E d i t o h .

MMEDIATELY p r i o r to 1945, H. Alfven,

the Swedish astrono-mer, publ ished theresults of his exhaus-tive researches intothe origins of planets,

Slanetoids, ana sateltes. His considera-

tions, embodying for-m u l a s o f c e l e s t i a lmechanics as well asthose of chemistry and physics, made

possible a clearer explanation of thestructure and mechanics of the solarsystem than any before given.

Briefly and untechnicallv, the storyof the origins begins more than two bil-lion years ago when the presun, muchlarger than our present body, moved

majestically in stellar space. For tenalactic years it shone in solitary splenor. Th en i t moved into a cloud of

gases and cosmic dust.Particles of dust were pulled toward

the sun by gravitation—but upon en-tering its electromagnetic field theywere respectively repelled by the pres-sure of light. Thus, the particles werestopped at a certain distance from thesim where gas began to accumulate.

The gas particles according to theirrelative weights were stopped at vary-ing distances from the sun where they began a series of collisions and motionsinduced by the forces of the sun andtheir own reactions to each other. Outof the central portion of this cloud wereformed Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, andJupiter. These have been called theFirst Planetary Family. The front partof the cloud which met the presun firstand was composed of cosmic dust wasresponsible for the formation of the twooldest planets, Mars and Luna. To-gether with the Earth, V enus, and M er-cury (formed of the back part of the

cloud of cosmic dust)and Mars and Lunaconstitute the SecondPlanetary Family.

These two familieswere distinguished bytheir different char-

acteristics. Those mak-ing up the First Fam-ily were gaseous whilethose of the Secondwere formed of cos-

mic dust. The density of the First isalso less tha n that of the Second. Inthe Second group, Lima having many properties in common with Venus andMars circles the sun between them.

At one point in this circling process,as yet not sufficiently explained, Luna

approached so near the earth that itwas attracted to it and formed with itwhat might almost be called a double planet. Luna (our moon) thus becamea satellite of the earth, although retain-ing certain peculiar traits, among themthat of having an orbit not convex tothe sun as any true satellite shouldhave. The numerous craters and oddsurface formations on the moon, H.Alfven considers reminiscent of the birth of the earth.

Difficu lt as the question of the ear th ’s

capture of Luna may be to answerfrom the standpoint of modern astron-omy, it is interesting to note how closethe ancients came to the answer. TheGreek myths state that Uranus (Heav-en) first rose out of chaos, that Kronos(Saturn) came from him, and that fromKronos was born Zeus (Jupiter). Thesequence corresponds to that of themembers of gaseous Family No. 1, bomout of Chaos.

Myths and legends, we are beginningto see, are not the outcome of phantasy;they are narrations of longpast real



events, reflected in the prisms of cen-turies until they are colored by unreal-istic light.

Tom orrow’s science will recreate, fixthe chronology, and explain the prob-lem of the PreSelenites—those wholived before the appearance of themoon. Greek writers, as well as P lu-tarch and St. Augustine, however, havealready written their accounts of them.In the traditions of the Hermeticists,too, the moon is declared to be olderthan the earth and genetically uncon-

nected with it. They state that as thelanet Luna it moved in an elliptic orit around the sun until it approached

so near the earth that it was captured by it. This marriag e of the ea rth andthe moon took place, they say, about

9,500 B. C., or at the time of the sub-mergence of Poseidonia.

Thus, it is seen that the mathematicsof modern science, exemplified in the

painstak ing research of H. Alfven, support in m any particu lars the views andtraditions of the ancient Hermeticists.

V A V

The M osaic of L i fe By V . M a y C o t t r e l l

(From the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly)

g e c o n s is t s no t so muchin mere length of daysas in the weak acceptanceof harmful and depletings u g g e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n gthe failure and futil i ty ofone’s life.

Here we have a feasi- ble explanation of the

puzzling fact th at some people, beforethey reach the age of forty, are oldand cynical and devoid of all enthusi-asm for living. These unfortunates arecompletely defeated by life—throughtheir own negative reactions to it.

Other folk, even in their eighties, arestill keenly interested in all manner ofthings. The former make terribly de-

pressing companions, while the la tterare helpful and inspiring to all theycome in contact with. This is due tothe healthful mental atmosphere of

goodwill and happiness which radiatesfrom their whole personality, whereverthey are. Such people appear to be bub- bling over with in terest in, and en-thusiasm for life; they are filled to the

br im with the sheer joy of living.

The choice is ours as to which ofthese widely differing types of indi-viduals we desire to emulate. But

Rosicruciatt there can be no question as to which D iges t April

1950

The

makes the best friend or neighbor, andthe most useful citizen. The latter typeowe their genuine success in living—whatever their social or economic posi-tion—to the fact that they have learntone vital lesson from life which theformer are as yet unable to compre-hend. It is this: the things which hap -

pen to us, as we journey through, are

not nearly so important in the shapingof our own destinies as are our own individual reactions to them.

If these mental and emotional reac-tions become uniformly negative incharacter, the result must necessarily

be a gradua l dw indling of our own per-sonality, power, and purposefulness.When we react to life’s varying ex-

periences in a positive, creative m an-ner, however, we gain something of realand lasting value, even from undesir-able and even tragic happenings.

Success, defeat, joy, sorrow, laughter,and tears are the mosaic of life. Whenthese are properly blended into oneharmonious whole, through courageousindividual effort, a rich and satisfyinglifepattem is formed—one which au-tomatically attracts the good of all de-scriptions, in ample measure, towardsits builder, and pours it out again toothers continually—freely and withoutstint.

REMEMBER THE CON VENTION— July 9 t o 14, 1950



T he Real H eav en and H el l By Dr. H. S p e n c e r L e w i s , F. R. C.

(From Rosicrucian Digest, May, 1932)

Since thousands of readers of the Rosicrucian Digest have not read many of theearlier articles of our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, we adopted the editorial policy of publishing each month one of his outstanding artic les, so that his thoughtswould continue to reside within the pages of this publication.

n t h e subject of the realHeaven and the realHell, we are dealing witha question that has inter-ested thinking minds form any ages. It is thissubject that is perhaps re -sponsible for more criti-

cisms and retractions ofchurch doctrines than are even thoseof the Immaculate Conception, theResurrection, and the Ascension.

It is commonly recognized by think-ing men and women that the Immac-ulate Conception and birth and theResurrection and Ascension are mys-tical experiences in the life of Jesusand that they can be interpreted andunderstood only from a mystical view- point. Therefore to deal with themfrom any other point of view is unfair

to the subjects.Many thinking persons refuse to

criticize or to analyze any of the presentday religions because of thei racceptance of the Virgin Birth, and theAscension, and the Resurrection. Th ey say that it is not for the average per-son to attempt to analyze those greatexperiences, but that it is proper toanalyze any doctrines or religiouscreeds that include the presentation ofa socalled definite Heaven and Hell.

It is our purpose to tell you some

things about this subject that are not

commonly known or understood so thatyou might have a different viewpointand come to some conclusion of yourown.

One of the outstanding mysteries towhich Jesus referred and with which Hedealt so freely was the mystery of theKingdom of Heaven. He astonished the

people of His period and made Himselfa modernist, an outstanding critic inall form of doctrines, by claiming thatthe Kingdom of Heaven was within.It is strange to note that while Jesussaid much about the Kingdom ofHeaven, He said very little about anyopposite kingdom that could be calledthe “Kingdom of Hell” ; neither did HisDisciples. As we start to study thismatter, we find that it is not until sev-eral centuries after Jesus had estab-lished His work, and after the Christian

church was well established, that anyattempt was made to indicate Hell asa place or even as a condition of after-life.

We find in the Old Testament manyreferences to various kinds of Hells, bu t it is a mooted question among thetheologians whether a very few of thereferences to Hell, in the Old Testa-ment, referred to any place or conditionas is done today in the Christian re-ligion. In other words, Hell had adifferent meaning to the Old Testa-

ment writers, and to all of the people



before the Christian period; and JesusHimself did not do or say much tochange that opinion.

Now, let me tell you what the Jews,and those in other parts of Palestineand its surroundings, thought or knewof Hell before the Christian era. TheJews had a different name for it. Therewas one place known as Gehenna.Here criminals were destroyed, the bodies bu rned and bur ied in fire. Thatwas the beginning of an early concep-tion of Hell. Later on, this place inPalestine in one of the very lowvalleys, unsuitable for agriculture orcivilization, where the bodies of crim-inals were burned, became a burial place for even those who were notcriminals.

Many times in the history precedingthe Christian era whenever famine, pestilence, or similar c a t a s t r o p h e s brough t death to a grea t m an y, therewas no time nor money nor facilitiesfor the regu lar burial. The persons whohad died of contagious diseases (andthey were many), or those suspected of prac tic ing witch craf t (and th ey re pre -sented another large proportion), andthose whose bodies could possibly con-taminate others were burned in this place th at might be called Hell, orGehenna, or some other name.

B u r n i n g t h e D e a d

In fact, we find from not onlyChristian literature, the Old Testament, but othe r writings kept by the Jewsand other people of the time, that thecentury just before the Christian era,this one particular place, the largest ofall in one of the valleys of Palestine,had so many burials and so many bodies to burn th at the deep pi t in the

valley had fires kept burning day andnight in order to consume the bodiesthat had been put into it. In Egyptthousands of years previous, a way wasfound of burying the bodies in thesand, covering them with lime, andthereby burning them. Along the Gan

§es River and other rivers throughoutle world, even today dead human

Rosicr uc ian bodies are burned openly in order toy get rid of them. However, this place inutgest Palestine became known by a word A pril that is translated as “Hell”—a burning

1950 place.

Now there were some outstanding points abou t the burn ing of bodiesthat made this method acceptable to the people. One po int was th at bodies ofthose who had died after some conta-gious, mysterious, or contaminating dis-

ease, if buried, helped to eliminate the possibility of continued pestilence. Inorder that such burning might be ac-ceptable, it was claimed that fire wasthe only thing that would purge the physical body of its evils, sins, andsickness. Now th at is no t a strangething to proclaim. Among the ancients,the mystical alchemists, and in themystery temples of Egypt, fire was con-sidered as the one great purger of evil.Water is looked upon as a great solventof washing and cleaning, but fire is the

destroyer or pu rge r of evil. It wouldturn gross matter into confined metals,as the later alchemists turn ed basermetals into gold. It is said that out offire and consuming flame came all thegoodness of life because fire could onlylive on that which was evil or bad.

Now with th is in your mind, if youread passages in the Old Testament, re-ferring to Hell and its fire, you willsee that all of those references did not pe rtain to any theologian Hell, but toan actual Hell there in Palestine. You

will notice in other places that thereferences are allegorical; that is, thatsome of the prophets and Wise Men inspeaking would use as an analogy, asa comparison, some of the things thatwere familiar to them. You find, there-fore, in the Old Testament that someof the Wise Men say, “Thy sins willhave to burn out in Hell before Thoucanst come before God.” This was ananalogy, and not a belief that there wasa Hell of reality in this afterlife. Otherreferences plainly show that they were

used as analogies; for instance, when itwas said that “Before your soul willcome before God, it will have to be purged ,” even as going through thefires of Hell would purge. This m eantnot a physical place, except the one inPalestine. I might go on and quotehundreds of passages in the Old Testa-ment, some of which are indefinite, buteven the presentday theologians a re notsure that the Old Testament positivelyhad any reference to an actual Hell orHell fire anywhere away from this

earth or in future life.



M en t a l T o r m e n t

Now, as Jesus came with His storythat the Kingdom of Heaven is within,that it is being bom within you andcan be bom through cleansing your-

self and redeeming yourself, Henaturally aroused in the minds of the people some though t about Hell andfire for the purg ing of m an’s body. YetJesus did not make references thatwould positively indicate that He be-lieved that there was a place, a definite,material place, in the hereafter, withreal fires such as have been referred toin later Christian doctrines.

Records do state that Jesus wentdown into Hell, but again that is ananalogy. In looking up this matter I

find in the life of Buddha that in tendays of wandering in the wildernesswhere all evil characters tempted him,he descended into Hell for three days.It is said that Krishna went into Hellfor three days, and Zoroaster wasclaimed to have gone to Hell for threedays, and, in fact, there are eighteenof the greatest Avatars whose bio-graphical sketches include the state-ments that they had descended intoHell. In every case the explanationthat follows shows it was not a material

place th at these men descended to, butwas a state of mental torment andanalysis and study where they purgedthemselves of contaminating influencesof evil that had surrounded them fora few days preceding.

So Jesus’ descending into Hell, asgiven in the Apostle’s Creed, is notnecessarily meant in a physical sense.If you study how the Apostle’s Creedwas composed, and how they debatedon its meaning before they included it,you will find that none of the Holy

Fathers, when they talked, included itin the Apostle’s Creed, and not one believed it mea nt th at Jesus ac tuallydescended into a material place where bodies are burned and purged.

Why our presentday Christian doc-trines have a different understandingof Hell, as well as of Heaven is an in-teresting point. Since these ancientwriters in both the Old Testament and

New Tes tament used the symbol of Hell,with which they were familiar, assomething that was analogous of what

must take place in man’s life before

he can become holy, we have before usthe picture of the ancient writers pre-senting in their syllogies, allegories,and metaphors, certain thoughts thatmeant something to the people of thetime and which, when translated later,

did not mean the same things.So when the Christian doctrines were

gradually put into concrete form, wefind tha t this doctrine of Hell presenteda very complicated situation. “It musteither be one thing or another,” saidSt. Jerome in one of the meetings ofthe Council in Rome. “Hell mu st bea place of fire and purging or some

place of conscious condem nation.”

It must be understood that theChristian doctrine was reaching a land

of people not familiar with Hell as itwas described. In fact, when theGreeks and Romans and others heardof this Hell of the future into whichman must go, it was a revolting, shock-ing thing—something they would notaccept for a long time. It seemed to

be inconsistent with the teachings ofa loving, merciful, and just God. Yetthe Disciples had made statementsabout Hell fires in their early writings,and these Fathers of the Churcn,centuries later, found these statementsand said, “They are the traditionalwritings of the Apostles; we cannot dootherwise, but assume that there is areal Hell with real fire for the future.”They knew better; they knew just aswe know today that the afterlife is not

pictured with any such situations asthe early Fathers of the Church gaveus in their descriptions of Heaven andHell. W hy, even the Sufi religion, tha twas in existence long before the Chris-tian era, contained a description aboutHeaven and Hell. W e have it in theone poem of Omar Khayyam in which

he said:

I sent my Soul through theInvisible,

Some letter of that Afterlife tospell;

And by and by my Soul returnedto me,

And answered, ‘I myself amHeaven and Hell.’

Th ink of it! Tha t was religion hu n-dreds of years before the Holy Fathersestablished this presentday doctrine of

Heaven and Hell; and so these people



in Persia, India, Greece, Rome, and theother lands where culture and educa-tion, and even morals, were highlydeveloped, were shocked at any suchidea of a loving and just God, a merci-ful God, a Father of all Beings, con-

demning any one of his children toany such purging because they werewith sin.

P u r g a t o r y I n v en t e d

Th en wha t do we find? We findthat several hundred years later a sec-ond form of Hell was invented. It wasnot a matter of trying to understandsomething already referred to as thefirst Hell; it was an inventing of some-thing entirely new. We find that theCouncil took up the great subject of

Purgatory, not mentioned anywhere inthe Bible, and something Jesus and HisDisciples never referred to. In readingabout it in some of the official writingsof the Rom an Catholic Encyclopedia ,we find nine pages describing how Pur-gatory became invented as a doctrine.They had passages in the Bible whichthey found might be used to substanti-ate the idea that there was a Purgatory.

Before giving you those two pas-sages, let me tell you what the earlyidea of Pu rgato ry was. It was sup- posed to be a onehalfway place between this life and Judgmen t Day.It had been commonly understood inthe Christian doctrine that at time oftransition or of passing into a state ofunconscious existence, it was necessaryto await a Judgment Day when thesouls of the dead would be judged, andthe sinful sent to Hell and the goodadmitted to Heaven. Th at JudgmentDay might be millions and trillions ofyears away. In the meantime, billionsand billions of human souls would beliving in an unconscious, spiritual state,

good and bad alike, all sleeping peace-fully awaiting Judgment Day.

But some said, “Is it not possiblethat these souls might be semiconsciousand that some of them might be un-easy over some minor sins, some littlesins that they forgot to confess before

T h e they passed on, tha t they forgot to tell Rosicru cian t^ie^r priest about, and forgot to ask j y redemption before th ei r transition, and /i are now worrying about it; and tha t

A pril there is some test, some little fire, some1950 little purg ing process tha t can be used

to cleanse them and let them wait in peace until Judgm en t Day instead ofin mental worry and torment?”

I am not criticizing the RomanCatholic Church or these Fathers whodid this. M an ’s mind wanted creeds in

those days; it wanted them cut anddried and wanted religion handed outon slabs. For example, Moses knew ashe came down from the mountainthat God did not extend His hand outof Heaven an d carve those laws. W hatreally happened is that he was inspired.The people wanted some sign, some

proof, so he found it necessary to givethem an allegorical explanation. Th atis what was wanted in the days whenthe Roman Catholic Fathers were con-fronted with the theologian necessity ofhaving something definite and concrete,and they proclaimed by a holy syna-gogue, “The re is a Purg atory .” It wasa great relief to know that this sort ofthing would take place between nowand Judgment Day.

Now, what were the passages in theBible tha t warran t such an idea? Oneof the Apostles, it is told, prayed forthe departed souls, that they might getto Heaven. W hy p ray for a soul now,if it is not going to do it any gooduntil Judgm ent Day? W hy not waitun til Judgm ent Day? The only ideaof praying for the soul now is thatmaybe a temporary or intermediate judgment will be given; and there wasanother passage in the Bible that wassimilar; but you could plainly see thatsuch passages might be interpreted twoor three ways.

So it is with Hell in all of its features;it has been invented as we have it to-day. In reality, there passed only thefact that fire burns up all the grossmaterial in matter and washes it offin a pure state. Th e ancients knew

this, and so did the people of Palestine —th at fire was the symbol of purg ing—and yet they had this pit that wascalled Hell, or Gehenna. And that ishow the story of fire and brimstonecame into existence.

T o d a y ’ s P r o b l em

Today there are millions of menquestioning whether it is good anylonger to attempt to sway the minds of

people and affect thei r moral ethics and(Continued on Page 111)



Some Ev i dent D angers of Pat ernal i sm

I n Government

By H . J. B r e w s t e r

o u t h t o d a y presen ts achallenge. In the UnitedStates, the most vocifer-ous group is made up ofthose who have knownonly New Deal philos-ophy and abortive social-istic forms of governm entoperative today.

The cry of this group, which com- prises about fifty pe r cent of the popu-lation in our public high schools, issecurity. Since they wish to be safe,The Four Freedoms have tremendousappeal—especially the fourth, Freedomfrom W ant. And this group wants itfor Free. As poten tial voters of therichest country in the world (now thatUncle Sam is generously aiding finan-cially every foreign country whichasks help), their premise is that complete educationa l facilit ies should be provided an d th at the Governm entshould protect them economically from

their birth to the grave.Free schooling from kindergarten

through college, they feel, should bemade available to every one—even tothose who are neither mentally nortemperamentally adaptable to collegework, for college will open, socially,doors which would otherwise be closedto them. Tow ard their studies, most ofthese boys and girls have been indif-ferent.

Furthermore, many of them do not possess the in quiring mind which is the

prerequisi te of successful college work.On the other hand, many are skilful inmanual techniques, and some exhibitability to get along well with people.

Economically, while approving socialsecurity, they feel the system does notgo far enough. They see nothing detri-

mental in socialized medicine nor inany other method of governmentalcontrol which would free them of re-sponsibility. Th ey look forw ard to agenerous pension for their parents assoon as possible so that they would not

be bu rdened with family care whilethey are young. To the question ofhow much individual freedom they expect to lose in retu rn for this security,the answer is a shrug of the shoulders

or a cryptic negative.These young people are products of

environment. Th ey have grown upamong those upholding the theory thatthis country has the financial meansto support them and that they are goingto get all the y can. Also, they arefollowing the thought habits of theirelders that they can obtain all the goodthings of life by voting for them insteadof by working for them. Th ey have been reared in an atmosphere of class prejudice and race hatre d (theories

which have been the core of civil strifeand foreign w ar). Un fortunately, theisms look simple and inviting on thesurface, but, on closer scrutiny, theyare alien to the philosophy which gaveour nation birth.

The young must be instructed for thekind of world in which they will haveto carve their own destiny; they must be taught th at the most im portant object in life is not how much aPaternalistic State can give them at the price of th eir individual freedom, bu t

what they can do with the talents withwhich they have been endowed to maketheir country worthy and themselveshappy. Men and women of deepseatedfaith must strive to impress theseyoungsters with a sounder sense ofvalues and to leave them a betterheritage.

V A V

Five great enemies of peace inhabit with us—avarice, ambition, envy, anger,and pride; if these are to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.

— P e t r a r c h



F A I T H

By R o d m a n R . C l a y s o n , Grand Master

h e o c c a s i o n of the Easterseason makes the discus-sion of Faith quite ap-

propriate. Great stresswas put upon faith byJesus, and unquestion-ably it was one of themost important phases ofHis teachings. In reading

the New Testament, one is impressed

with the fact that over and over againin His healing work Jesus required oneessential condition—that of faith: faithin the healer, and faith of the distressed person that he would be healed. Faithin this sense is an emotional state ofthe mind. It is actually a power whichgives man an advantage over animallife, and is an attribute of mind whichis a necessary element for success inany field of endeavor.

Faith in the sense in which it is be-ing discussed here is not of a religiousnature. Perhaps m an’s greatest stum- bling block is lack of confidence in him-self and in his abilities, as well as thelack of faith in others. It should be

pointed ou t th at confidence is consid-erably more than faith, for confidenceis the result of experience—such ashas brought knowledge. Blind faith

T h e brings no appreciable results; on the Rntirm rittvt ot^er hand, implicit faith in another

. person or condition helps to establish Digest a re iationship which in a large meas April u r e tends to bring about the manifesta1950 tion of one’s desire.

As stated above, in contradistinctionto faith, confidence is a personal assur-ance. Confidence is derived from aknowledge of demands being made up-on us, and the extent of our personal

powers to meet them fully . Confidence,therefore, can grow only through experience, for it is on ly through experience th at we learn to develop our personal powers. Faith is the presum p-tion of the nature of a thing or condi-tion; it is the unquestioned acceptanceof appearances, whether they refer to

people, words, or objects. In real ity , wehave confidence only in ourselves. Faithis what we have in others. Therefore,it is when confidence is lacking in our-selves that our faith is concentratedelsewhere.

The term fa ith is often defined asactive belief or a belief which amountsto a basis for action upon accepted

premises. Th is is no t of sufficient ex-actness, however, for there is a distinc-

tion between the words fa ith, belie f ,and knowledge. Knowledge comes from personal experience. Knowledge helpsman to have faith in conditions exteriorto himself. Knowledge supplants be-lief. As we use the word belief today,the implication of doubt is involved.The Rosicrucian entertains no beliefs;he either knows or he does not know.Furthermore, he is capable of greatfaith in the existence of natural lawsand in the abilities of his fellow menwhen theseabilities are properly directed.

r w ]



For example, when we buy a newradio, we have faith that it will op-erate satisfactorily; we have faith inthe development of scientific research,and in the manufacturer who has pro-

duced the radio. W e have faith thathis knowledge in building radios willgive us satisfactory listening results.We see, then, that faith may be as-sumed and built up inthe human conscious-ness to the extent thatit surmounts possibledoubt and hesitancy.It may be said thatwe place faith in a

person or th ing be-cause of our insuffi-cient or lack of knowl-edge of the ability or possibility of th at per-son or thing. Oftenwhen we are in phys-ical distress, we sum-mon a doctor. How -ever, we should notcall for the doctor ifwe do not have faithin him and in whathe can do. In fact, itis unreasonable to expect th at we would get

well as a result of tneservices and medical prescriptions of thedoctor if we had nofaith in him and inhis prescriptions.

In Biblical days theword belief was appa r-e n t l y s y n o n y m o u swith fcdth. In fact, inthe words of Jesus, as quoted in Mat-thew, Mark, Luke, and John, fa ith andbelief are repeated over and over again

as representative of the desired neces-sary men tal attitude. Faith is more orless a historic attribute of the mind, forwe have always had faith in those con-ditions which we ourselves do not pos-sess. W e may even say tha t faith istrust, for we all know that we haveexacting trust in our friends and busi-ness associates. In fact, nowadays people are more prone to use the wordtrust than fa ith. To place faith in ex-terior conditions is natural, particularlywhen the individual does not have com-

plete confidence in him self. Faith in

forces outside of themselves has broughtabout seemingly miraculous attain-ments and developments for many men and women.

We all recognize the reality that

prayer and fa ith have a place in ourlives. It is foolish, however, to prayto God to cure a disease while we con-tinue to violate those things which con-

tribute to good health.Errors in our waysa n d t h i n k i n g m u s tfirst be corrected; thenwe are privileged to pray to God, and havefaith that if it is Hiswill He will permitHis laws and Natureto work through usand restore normalhealth. W e are privi-leged to have the faiththat His laws willmanifest for us.

W o r d s N o t E n o u gh

Mere words with blind belief are notsufficient. There must

be faith , fa ith in w hat-ever healing system is being used, fa ith inthe manifestation ofGod’s laws, faith inour worthiness to behealthy. In the in-stance of healing wetake the point of viewthat if our minds areimbued with doubt andfear, and we lack faithin the means which

are being used in our behalf to alleviatesickness and distress, no healing can

be expected. This was the message th at

Jesus endeavored to convey to Hisapostles. It must be admitted thatJesus had knowledge of the healing power, which is over and above fa ith;He had the faith that comes fromknowledge of the use of power.

It is not our purpose in this discus-sion to give consideration to the ques-tion as to whether Jesus was endowedwith supern atural power. Suffice itto say that He continually admonishedHis apostles, and the unfortunate whowere brought to Him, to have faith and

(Continued on Page 109)

By Les ter L . Libby , M. S. , F. B. C.Director, AMOBC Technical Dept.

• Cathode rays of 3,000.000 volt en-ergy level are capable of steri l-iz ing vaccines, serums, and phar-maceut ica ls in genera l a f ter theyhave been sealed in their glasscontaine rs. No adverse effect onthei r potency or other proper t iesis detectable.

• To account for recent ly observed p a r ti a l po la ri za ti o n of li g h t fr omsome stars , ast ronomers theor izetha t some regions of Interste l la rspace are occupied by clouds ofe longated dust par t ic les of s l ight-ly magnet ic mater ia l , the par-

t ic les spinning endoverend ina weak magnetic field in space.

• Stanford Universi ty i s const ruc t-ing an e lec t ron l inear accelera-tor for a tomsmashing work.The e lec t rons, r iding down a 160foot accelerator tube on thecrest of an electromagnetic wave,will reach a speed of 186,000miles a second, more than 99.9%of the speed of l ight , therebyacquiring a 2000fola increase inmass.



dyadic Jlcusj in

By P e r c y P i g o t t , F. R. C.

It w a s o n September16, 1793, that Napo-

leon joined the republi-can army of France. OnJune 29, 1815, he board-ed a British warship andoffered himself as aguest to the British peo-

ple. The fi rs t event ledto military fame which

has only been equalled by Caesar; the second ledto exile, chagrin, and hu-miliation. Why was this?

Readers who are fa-miliar with the book Self

Mas tery and Fate with the Cycles of Life / by Dr. H. SpencerLewis, know his system of dividing anyindividual’s year from one birthday tothe next into seven periods, or cycles,of fiftytwo days each. The first period,that is, the fi fty-tw o days following the

birthday, is a fortunate one. Indeed, ifone’s resolution is sincere and accom- panied by a grea t hope it will lead tosuccess—even fame. H o w ev er , theseventh or last period, that is, the fi ft y- two days preceding the next birthday of any individual. is unfortunate invarious of its prospects.

It is a period of devolution, disinte-gration, and destruction. W ithin itscycle, things that have caused anxietyare likely to culminate. Serious resolu-tions taken during those days may lead

to disaster and calamity. Napoleon was born on August 15.He therefore threw in his lot with therepublican arm y during his first period; bu t the second decision was taken dur-ing his unfortunate period.

It is the purpose of this article totest, by historical records, the working

T he of this cycle. Being British, I will deal Rosicrucian predom inantly with European subjects. Digest Consider Clemens L. W. Mettemich,

April 1 H. Spencer Lewis. Self Mastery and Fate with thei n r n Cycles of Life, Rosicrucian Supply Bureau, San Joae,

Calif. $2.50.

the great diplomatist whowas bom on M ay 15. Itwas on May 18 that hefirst became Au strian en -voy to France. His de-cisive i n t e r v i e w w i t h

Napoleon, who then fa il-ed to prevent Austriafrom joining his enemies,took place on June 26,

1813. This happenedtherefore during Napo-leon’s unfortuna te period,and led to Leipzig, Elba,Waterloo, and St. Hele-na. However, it was dur-ing Mettemich’s fortu-

nate period, for it placed him amongthe diplomatists of history like a sky-scraper among house property.

Marie Antoinette, perhaps the mostunhappy of Europe’s many unhappyqueens, on her way to the guillotine,

saw her own children among thecrowd. “Adieu, m y children,” shecried pathetically, “I go to join yourfath er.” This was on October 16. Shewas born on November 2. The fatherhimself had been imprisoned duringthe seventh period of his birthday cycle.

Charles I, England’s most unfortu-nate king, actually became heir to thethrone during his seventh period, forhis elder brother, Heniy, died Novem- be r 16 and Charles’ bir thday was No-vember 19. The Parliament which re-volted and overthrew him met on No-vember 3. His descendant, PrinceCharles Edward, vainly endeavoring torecover the throne of his fathers, ledan army south as far as Derby. Thenhe decided upon retreat. This againwas during his unfortunate period, be-ing on December 5, whereas his birth-day was December 31. Result: defeat,a fugitive existence among the wildsof Scotland, and lifelong exile.

Napoleon I l l ’s arriva l at Chislehurst,M arshall N ey ’s execution, General Gor-don’s betrayal, and Alfonso XIII’s exile



all occurred during this seventh periodof the annual cycle. Parnell, the greatIrish leader, was married during hisunfortunate period. Result: divorce,causing political downfall.

T r a i n s o f Ca u sa t i o n

Contrast these experiences with thosewho have in some way initiated a trainof causation during the fiftytwo daysfollowing their birthday, that is, withinthe fortunate cycle.

George Washing ton was elected Pre s-ident of the U.S.A., and Abraham Lin-coln was inaugurated to that office dur-ing this period. The late Frank lin D.Roosevelt was bom January 30, 1882.He first took office, that of assistant

to the Navy, on March 17. Lenin ar-rived in St. Petersburg, where he suc-cessfully effected the greatest revolu-tion in history, on April 16. He was

bom April 10, and died in January1924. Since Stalin’s birthday is Decem-

ber 21, Stalin came in to power duringhis first period. Therefore, Washing -ton, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Lenin, andStalin, all placed their feet on the firstrung of the ladder of fame during thefiftytwo days which followed their re-spective birthdays.

Practically all of the more famousof Britain’s Prime Ministers startedeither their parliamentary or theirministerial careers during this period.Sir Robert Walpole was bom August26; it was on October 11 that he firsttook office. The birth day of the ElderPitt was November 15; he first becameSecretary of State on December 4. W il-liam Pitt, called “the Younger Pitt,”was bom on May 28; he first took of-fice ear ly in July . Sir Robert Peel’s

birth day was on Febru ary 5; he firs t

took office on March 18.Palmerston owes his fame primarilyto his being a great foreign minister;Disraeli owes his to being a great partyleader; and Gladstone to his skill as a

arliamentarian. Lord Palmerston’sirthday was October 28; he first took

charge of the foreign office on Novem- ber 22. There is a litt le uncertain ty asto when D israeli was first chosen leaderof the Conservative Party, but it wasearly in 1849. His birthday wasDecember 21. His great opponent, Glad-

stone, first entered the House of Com-mons during Janu ary 1833. His birth-

day was December 29. Each, therefore,started his very successful career dur-ing the fortunate fiftytwo days whichfollowed the birthday.

It is not only the politicians and

statesmen who would benefit immeas-urably if they would guide their activi-ties in accordance with this cycle, butsoldiers, sailors, religious leaders, andindustrialists are similarly affected.

The first Duke of Wellington is gen-erally regarded as England’s greatestsoldier. TThere is some doubt about the

precise date of his birth , bu t it was cer-tainly early in May. He won the bat-tle of Waterloo, upon which his famerests, on June 18. Nelson, Brita in’smost renowned sailor, was bom Sep-

tember 29, and Trafalgar was won onOctober 21. It cost him his life, butit brought him fame.

As for religious leaders, the White-chapel People’s Mission, which devel-oped into the great Salvation Army,was opened by William Booth on his birthday . Jo hn Wesley an d a groupof his followers formed themselves intoan association, which developed intothe Methodist Church, on July 23. JohnWesley was bom June 17. George Cad- bury set up his factory at Boumville in

October 1879. He was bom on Sep-tember 19. Today Cadbury’s is one ofthe most renowned of British manufac-turing firms.

Co l l ec t i v e Un i t s

This cycle, as students of Dr. Lewis’ book will know, applies to any groupof individuals, such as a committee, acorporation, or a cabinet, who can col-lectively form a resolution and act up-on it. Th e train of events initiatedwhen Britain declared war on Ger-

many, August 4, 1914, is most inter-esting. Asqu ith’s cabinet was then inits fifth period, which period is fortu-nate for taking risks. Th e war was

brough t to a victorious conclusion. How -ever, Asquith himself was in his un-fortunate period for he was bom Sep-tember 12. It cost him his son, theloss of the premiership and, what dis-turbed him perhaps more than any-thing else, the breakup of the LiberalParty. Ano ther mem ber of that cabi-net, Haldane, was also in his own un-

fortunate period. The w ar terminatedhis political career.



Consider the experience of NevilleChamberlain’s government at the out- break of the second world war. It wason May 28 that he became Prime Min-ister. The unfortu nate period for hiscabinet thus measures from April 6 to

M ay 28. On April 9 Germa ny invaded Norway . On the 26th the Allied illfatedexpedition was withdraw n. On M ay 6three destroyers were lost. On May10 Holland and Belgium were invaded.Chamberlain’s government was sub- jected to such hostile criticism th at hehad to resign.

The invasion of Norway was evenmore disastrous for Hitler. He lostthirty ships including five cruisers andsubsequently seven destroyers at Nar-vik. Some have estimated that these

Norweg ian losses am ounted to half theGerman navy. According to W instonChurchill it was on March 1 that H it-ler decided to invade Norway . Thiswas just within his unfortunate periodfor he was bom April 20.

Na t i o n s a s I n d i v i d u a l s

Na tions, it would seem, are subjectto the same cyclic law as are individ-uals and corporations. Italy was de-clared a nation during the month ofJuly, and Mussolini declared war on

both Britain and France on Ju ne 10.He himself was born July 29. It wastherefore his own disastrous period aswell as tha t of Italy. For both it proveddisastrous indeed.

On June 4, 1831, Prince Leopold ofSaxeCoburg accepted the crown of Bel-gium. Belgium was thus separated from Holland and became an inde-

pen den t kingdom. It was on M ay 28,1940, or within the nation’s seventh

period, th at Prince Leopold’s successorsurrendered to Hitler.The fall of the Bastille in France

marks a definite ending and beginning.This took place on July 14. The dis-astrous period thus measures from the previous M ay 23. Water loo and theconsequent fall of the first Empiretook place on Jun e 18. Th e third Re- public fell an d th e shortl ived Vichygovernment was formed on June 10.Therefore the Bourbons returned andthe Vichy government was formed dur-ing Fran ce’s un fortu na te seventh period,or cycle. Neith er can be considered tohave been a success.

Germany became an Empire on Jan-ua ry 1, 1871. It was on November 11,1918, just within the disastrous period,that she surrendered to her enemiesafter the first world war. Accordingto Schuman, in his work on Soviet Politics, Hitler’s decision to attack theUnited States was reached sometime between Novem ber 26 and December3. This resolution proved catastrophic;it was made during Germany’s unfor-

tunate period. But it was during Rus-sia’s fortunate period, for Kerensky’sgovernment was overthrown and Len-in’s replaced it on November 7.

Why was this?

V A V

STRUGGLING PAKISTAN(Continued from Page 86)

The

Rosicrucian

Digest

April

1950

structed. No attemp t is made to lend

them color. Th ey are a monotonousgray, perhaps the natural color of thesubstance used in making the brickwhen the moisture evaporates. Onestructure was particularly conspicuousand gave the appearance of having beenrecen tly erected. It was definitely Is-lamic in its architecture. The tops ofsome of the homes also suggested thisIslamic influence, having cornices sim-ulating minarets.

Each little village, as well, had its

mosque. These were the spiritual focusof each dustcoated village. Th ey were,as well, the cultural centers of thecomm unity. The mosques, thoughmodest in comparison with those of thelarge cities, were the most prominentedifices in each village. Usual ly theywere the only structures making anyconcession to art, and this consistedonly of a narrow frieze of colored tile.

(To be continued)



she addresseeChamber of

o t l o n g ago a senousminded woman living inMexico began searchingfor an organization thatcould give her esotericknowledge and an un der-

standing of occult sci-ence. Not finding it inher immediate locality,a letter to the Los AngelesCommerce inquiring if

they knew of some such sincere andreliable organization. W e were pleasedto learn from this woman that out ofthe dozens of organizations dealing withoccult studies, with which they must befamiliar, the Chamber of Commerceselected AMORC. She is now an in-terested and enthusiastic member.

* * * *

Progress seems sometimes difficultto measure. The reason is that itsstandard of measurement is an individ-ual one and all too often in judging it,we fail to make the necessary beforeandafter comparison. Six months ago ayoung man, in applying for member-ship, wrote “I am dissatisfied with theway of living. I see no good in life, andonly disappointment in people. I findit hard to get along with them. Yet Iam in urgent need of friends.”

Today this Department received fromthis young member a bit of writingwith the very significant title “TheBrotherhood of M an .” A few sentencesserve to indicate the progress made insix short months: “How m an y of usgive merely for the sake of giving, andhow many of us truly give of our-selves? How many of us give onlywhen asked and how many withoutwaiting to be asked? W hen we a re ableto look at our fellow man and seenought but the goodness of which heconsists, we are leading a life which

requires only the highest principles—since we are all created alike and

being alike are a part of each other andinseparable from God.

“Listening to the voice within, andfeeling the divine love and goodness

which exists in all, replaces with loveand goodness the thoughts of evil; andso giving to the world the best we have,the best will come back to us.”—M. M.

V A V During the month of February, Su-

prem e Secretary Poole was presen t atseveral rallies in the Midwest and East,visiting Toronto, Chicago, New York,Washington, Baltimore, Montreal, andBoston. Th e trip was a pleasant andan inspirational one.

V A V Many will be interested to know that

the Rosicrucian studies now availableto the blind, through monographs pre-

pared in Num be r 2 Braille, have beencompleted as far as the Fifth TempleDegree. Blind persons desirous of af-filiating with the Order should writefor further information to Departmentof Braille, The Rosicrucian Order,AMORC, San Jose, California.

V A V

The following books written by Dr.H. Spencer Lewis are available inBraille through the California StateLibrary, Sacramento, to blind persons

both in California an d elsewhere: M ansions of the Soul (1^2); Rosicrucian Principles for Home and Business (1 14 ); Rosicrucian Questions and A nswers (1J/2 ), and M ental Poisoning (2).

V A V In the exhibit of Serigraph paint-

ings held during January in the Rosi-crucian Museum, one called Dogwood attracted the Curator’s attention from

vtruruj



the moment of unpacking. It was as-signed a significant spot and drewenthusiastic comments from manyvisitors.

After the exhibit had closed, a lettercame from Soror Virginia Barnes, who

is assistant professor of art at AlabamaCollege, Birmingham, stating that shehad had notice of the Serigraph Ex-hibit and thought it might be of interestto the Museum to know that the exhibitcontained one of her paintings: Dogwood.

V A V

It is possible that many do not apreciate the double benefit to be gainedy witnessing a temple initiation a

second time. The first benefi t is to one-self, in calmly and quietly review-

ing an experience which excitement,elation, or even apprehension mighthave blurred somewhat when one wasa participating candidate. Th e second benefit is to others, those candidateswho might be encouraged and evenrichly blessed by the fact that you asan advanced member had given themsilent support at such a time.

In the Supreme Temple, monthlyinitiations are the rule, and two specialritualistic groups alternate in conferringthe initiations. A somewhat similar

schedule of initiations is likely to be thefact in your own locality. W hereveryou live, then, the opportunity to participate ei ther as candidate or aswitness is open to you. It is an opportunity th at should no t be overlooked.

V A V The dictionary says that curare is a

poison used by hunte rs to make th eirarrows effective. It is likely th at few Digest readers will have a practical in-terest in the matter, but if they do,Frater Algot Lange of New York is

the ir man. Some years ago while ex- ploring ce rtain par ts of the Upper

Amazon he had the opportunity ofwatching the Mangeromas on the Javari River concoct this poison for use ontheir blowgun arrows. According toFra ter Lange, only three Indians of thistribe knew how to mix the ingredients proper ly even though all knew the plants from which the poisonous juiceswere extracted. Th e vines were theStrophanthus sarmentos and the Strych- nos toxifera, to which at a certain stageseveral large black ants (Jucandeira)were crushed and added.

Fra ter Lange continues: “The threeIndians who understood the concoctionof this poison collected the plants oncea month. First they scraped the stro phanthus to a fine powder and mixedit in an earthen jar with the crushedroots of the strychnos which had been

standing in water for several days.After simmering for several hours, theants are added and the cooking con-tinues un til a thick pastelike consistencyhas been achieved. Th en the poison is put in to small earthen jars, coveredwith hide, and is ready to use.

“Hunters always carry a small rub- ber pouch containing a few dram s ofcurare poison, being extremely carefulin their handling of it, for the slightestscratch is fatal.”

Years after his encounter with theIndians of the Upper Amazon River,Frater Lange found the Dyaks of Bor-neo making use of what seemed to bethe same kmd of curare. He concludeshis letter by saying: “I have oftenwondered how two tribes on oppositesides of the globe could use the sametype blowgun and apparently the samekind of arrow poison.”

Frater Lange, by the way, has writ-ten two books on his adventures— both published by G. P. Putn am ’s (NewYork City) some years ago. Th eirtitles are: In the Amazo n Jung le andThe Lower Amazon.

The

Rosicrucian

Digest

April

1950

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND CHAPTERMembers in Rhode Island and neighboring states will be interested to know that

the organization of an AMORC chapter in Providence has been completed. Regularmeetings are now being held. Active AMORC members interested in affiliating withthis chapter, or in visiting its sessions, may obtain particulars concerning the time andday the meetings take place, by writing to the secretary of the chapter, Miss Grace E.Mason, 20 Hudson Street, Apt. 4, Providence 9, Rhode Island.



< L parLCLCiz[iiL*L, t(z& cif^oiLaxiiciarz By F r a n c i s K o r d a s , F . R. C., of Hungary

PART TWO

N T H E SC RIP TS ofParacelsus’ alchem

istic works we findthe greatest of theRosicrucian secrets butthey are not for thegeneral public, evenat present. The earlyinterest of the profaneworld was disarmed by Paracelsus’ peculiaralchemistic languageand style, which wasunderstood only by theinitiated.

Whereas chemistrydeals only with the

physical components of mat ter, a lchemydeals with the release and effect of theactive astral, or vibratory, elements.Similarly, astronomy sees only the ma-terial side of the stars and planets,whereas astrology penetrates into the

psychological influences. Chemistryand astronomy can be learned by any-one who has the necessary abilities.However, for the understanding ofastrology and alchemy, a peculiar spir-itual comprehension is necessary. Thelearning of alchemy requires the abilityto understand matter, the inner sub-stances, the essence of nature.

Alchemy has a threefold naturewhich includes: 1. the transformationof evil and sin into goodness and virtue.2. the knowledge of nature’s invisibleelements. 3. the transmutation of met-als, their elevation to a liigher degree.

It is an old Rosicrucian belief thateverything we see around us is onlythe half of the world; the other halfis invisible. So' we live simultaneouslyin two worlds: one a dense, visibleworld; and the other, a thin but ma-terially constructed, invisible one.These two worlds cannot be separated,for they belong together; that is, thesetwo form one world, but our limitedsenses do not comprehend this. God is

active in both worlds:from the finite small-est par t icle to thegreatest planet alike,and from the visibleelements of each tothe invisible. The invisible is the PrimaMateria, the life, as itmanifests itself in cre-ation. Th is bodiless,immortal, supernatu-ra l power whichchanges everything,renews and recreates,is named Arcanum . There are four Arca-

na: Prima Materia, Lapis Philosophor- um, Mercurius Vitae, and Tinctura.

According to Paracelsus, all matteris composed of three differently pro-

portioned substances: su lphu r, m ercury ,and salt, and these are set in motion bya fourth element, called life, or the vitallife force, which expression cannot beconsidered in the material sense of theword.

The transfiguration of any matter is by the process of alchem y. The al-chemist begins where Nature ends, andthat is the reason why a good physicianmust be a good alchemist. In our bodythere is at work also an internal al-chemist, who is a true model of theoutward one, for he acts as does

N atu re ’s alchemist. The proper wayis always simple, but only a few areable to find it. The alchemist mustalways consider the position and theinfluence of the stars.

These secrets are not meant for the public, but on ly for serious occult explorers. To these explorers, Paracelsuscommunicates the characteristics of thePrima Materia, of the Arc an a, the Lapis Philosophorum, the Mercurius Vitae, the Elixi r Vitae, and Spiritus Vitae. Those who really wish to getacquainted with this knowledge more



closely will surely find a way, a leader,and inexhaustible sources.

Gold and silver can be produced byalchemy, but Paracelsus disapprovesof it, for a real Magus is not in needof this. It is the gold of our own

nature that we must purify. This isthe real purpose of alchemy and notthe transmu tation of metals. The a n-cient alchemists were able to revive plants and an im als, and th ey were alsocapable of lengthening human life withthe El ix ir Vitae.

The soul, w ith its attributes, includingimaginative power, creates materialsubstances from the invisible elements.As the soul creates changes in the

body and the personality, impressingupon them its own qualities, so the

celestial gold is capable of affecting notonly the material gold but even thecomponents of the physical man. There-fore, if we change the higher, etherealessence of gold, the earthly gold willalso change. Na ture, the Great Al-chemist, thus produces gold and allother metals, by the same process.

The Tinctura Physicorum, which isnecessary for transmutation, is pro-duced in an astral way, for each metalhas its own Astra: gold, Astra Solis;silver, Astra Lunae; copper, Astra

Veneris; iron, Astra Martis; tin, AstraJovis; lead, Astra Satumi; mercury,Astra M ercurii, and so on. If the al-chemist controls the Astra of metals,he is capable of changing any red met-al into gold by A strum Auri; with theAstra Argenti, each white metal intosilver; with the Astra Cupri, everymetal into copper. This process is de-scribed by Paracelsus in his book:Transmutationibus Metallorum.

Paracelsus describes in detail the pec uliar method of how the differen t

elements—not the ordinary but theidentical ethereals—can be mixed andwhat must be the proper position andtime of the stars in tne sky to bringabout that compound which he names Electrum . This consists not only ofthe solid but also of the vibrational

T h e qualities of the metal. “A great m any Rosicrucian miracles can be worked by this Electrumwy . . . as it has a strong creative power,”

*oes he says. From it, drugs can be formu April lated which would cure even incurable1950 diseases.

F in d i n g H i d d en P o w e r

Paracelsus distinguished six arts ofmagic.* The Insignis Magica dealswith supernatural, celestial signs, vi-sions, and prophetic apparitions. The

Magica Transfigurativa handles the

transform ation of objects. He namedwordmagic Characterialis; magic art,Gamaheos. The use and perfection ofimagination is called Altera in Al tera. Ars Cabalistica deals with Kabalisticmagic, or knowledge. An y m an experi-enced in the six arts mentioned is calleda Magus.

Magic is not only the most ancientscience; it is also the greatest humanart. Its secret tricks cannot be learnedfrom books, but by practice, by experi-ences, with the help of an initiated

leader, an adept. Magic power con-sists of the theoretic knowledge of thevisible and invisible powers which ruleman and the Cosmos, and also of theartistic usage of the secrets and hidden powers of the universe.

The first prerequisite of the studyof Magic is the knowledge of the high-est laws of Na ture. Not only the con-nection with the superficial outwardessentials, which can be easily distorted, but also the in ner wisdom is necessary,and this cannot be achieved except byintuition. Magic makes known the out-er and the inner selves as well as themanner in which they react upon oneanother. M an’s inn er self hides variouslatent and active abilities which expandhis being, his consciousness, beyond the physical. These make m an capable oftelepathy, prediction, the reading ofthe Akasha Chronicle, and of the ex-teriorization of the psychic body, forthe purpose of contacting the higherhierarc hy, and so on. Th e knowledgeof inner powers gives man control over

the outer forces. In order that ma n becapable of seeing the essential in every-thing, he must direct nature; but, inthe first place, he must direct himself.

For the magic of pe rformance astrong faith is necessary, with muchcreative imagination. This imagination

* Some of our modern uses of natural laws and variouslaboratory experiments to disintegrate or transmute ma-terials, or even our experiments in psychology and para

psychology, would have been classified in the time ofParacelsus as magic. Any misuse or perversion of these

processes would be blacft magic. A modern example ofParacelsus magic is our knowledge of, and speculationwith, atomic energy.



must not be an empty phrase; andfaith must not be a naive credulity,

bu t a creative power, based on know l-edge, closely connected with a firm wishand the intention for elevation of man.Imagination is the implement withwhich the soul works in the outer, visi- ble world.

The Magus performs magic withhis creative power. Under certain cir-cumstances this hidden power may bemisused. For this misuse, it revengesitself, being black magic, and the pow-ers raised fall back on the man whoinvoked them. This is the great lawof equalization. Rosicrucians of mod-ern times have an understanding of theevils of socalled black magic which

man of the Middle Ages did not have.Civilization has developed througheducation, and naive credulity hasdisappeared.

O r i g i n o f G oo d

It can be said of Paracelsus that hewas a man who reached Heaven bystorm. He by his own efforts built hisway leading to redemption, liberation,and the return to the Father. AlthoughParacelsus was a profound scientist, areformer in every domain of life, an

epochmaking philosopher, astrologer,alchemist, physician, theologian, stillhe was not an ascetic. He saw thatthe origin of all good is in God. Th ereis no evil in itself. But ma n has losthis ancient equilibrium through thefall, that is to say, through treadingupon N atu re’s laws. By reun ion withGod, man is capable of regaining hislost balance. This is the aim of everyreligion, although the believers seldomrealize it. Our life’s scope and ambi-tion is to regain our lost Cosmic citi-

zenship, to retrace our conscience to-ward the Universal mind, God, theCosmic Conscience.

Godly wisdom cannot be fully ac-complished until we are free from allevil; occult knowledge opens only tothe selfless and to the pure. Neverthe-less, without evil, the good would re-main unrecognized and unappreciated.

Paracelsus was more of a theist thana pantheist. Although he said that Godis in everything in an immanent way,

he also taught that everything orig-inates in God, who is Father of His

creations. Parace lsus was significant asa theologian, for he strained the rigiddogmas of the Church with the prin-ciples of Rosicrucian philosophy. Forthis, he was repeatedly attacked. Healso stressed the importance of faith.The Bible in several places states thateven Jesus was unable to do anythingfor men without faith.

“All the wonders of the Magic cometo existence through faith, imagina-tion, and will,” says Paracelsus. For-mulae, ceremonies, rites, worships,icons, and so on, are necessary, butthey are worthless without the spiritualcreative power. Th e Apostles workedtheir wonders through faith. “The forcewhich set the saints into motion to per-

form miracles is a living force evenat present, and is accessible to every-one. This is the pow er of the HolyGhost,” says Paracelsus. He knew thesecret sciences of India and Egypt, alsothe ancient Hermetic teachings, yet he belonged to Christ ianity . His whole philosophy was based upon the Bible,which he read with the eyes of aninitiated mystic and not as an averageChristian, and so he was capable ofexploring the second and third meaningof the Holy Writ, the Hermetic secret,

which was not even suspected by thetheologians.

“If we can conceive of the humansoul perfectly, nothing will be unat-tainable for us on earth. Every scepticcan execute this magic operation. Faithmakes imagination certain, for faithsteadies the will. . . . Through faith wedevelop . . . and attain certain forces,”he says. “Although man is an earthly being, the ce ntral ego is angelic; there-fore, men ought to live on earth asangels do in heaven. M an is nothingwithout his resembling God in truthand righteousness.”

Paracelsus fought for the truth inthe field of science as well as in faith.His mission was universal; he fulfilledit even in the midst of the greatesttrials. He writes: “God is the Fath er ofwisdom; all wisdom springs from Him.Man can increase in knowledge but hecannot exceed his given capacity, forin man is nothing else but what Godgave him.” He held that theological

practice does no t necessarily mea n par-ticipation in God’s wisdom.



In his De Fu ndam enta Sapientiae,he writes: “The knowledge which our priests own does no t originate fromthe Father; they learned it one fromthe other. They are not certain of thetruth they teach . . . therefore, they

make errors and in their conceit they proclaim th eir own opinions as God’swisdom. Hypocrisy is not sanctity, con-ceit not power, shrewdness not wisdom.The force that realizes and follows thetruth cannot be conferred like academi-cal degrees; this comes from God alone.The highest power of the Intellect, ifnot illumined with love, means only ahigh degree of animal intelligence. . . .When man’s imagination is lacking andhe cannot fully believe, his art is un-certain, although it might be perfect.”

K e y t o T r u t h

Paracelsus preferred, above all, tostudy N ature’s open book. “The Scrip-tures can be understood from the let-ters, but Nature only by travelling, forthe different countries and countrysidesare the leaves of Nature’s code. . . . Onlythe Book which has been written byGod can be real, whole, perfect, andfaultless.”

He fully recognized the greatness ofhis truth, and was often misunderstoodand even attacked for his boastingnature . But these accusations are basedupon a mistake. He was a very modest,selfsacrificing man, a true servant ofthe truth, who well knew that withoutthe guidance of the Holy Ghost, manis worthless.

The key to Paracelsus’ teachings can be found in the anc ient Hermetic for-mula: “As it is above, so it is here be-low.” This is the universa l law ofanalogy which extends every being.

“All is one, and its origin can be onlyin the eternal unison.”

Paracelsus had his own style, whichmust be studied if one wishes to com-

prehen d his works. The words streamedfrom him as from an ancient source.

He preferred writing in German, ratherthan in Latin, the scientific languageof his time. His disciples and followerstranslated his writings into Latin and propagated them . In his works he usedmany uncommon and unknown ex-

pressions. He explained that, “I t is notfor the sake of the language that Iwrite, but for the art of my experi-ences. . . . One cannot write forchildren . .

Pie scorned the vague scholastic style, pre fe rr ing to unfold the language of the

secret symbols of alchemy into scien-tific expressions, although the worldlyscientists did not understand even those.

Paracelsus remained materially poorall his life, although he had every opportunity to make a fortune. He be-lieved that fortune was a burden to aspiritual man . He wore his heav y crosswith dignity. His ambition was to begreat and deserve merits from God andnot from the world. He proclaimedthat even the simplest man owned thenucleus of Christ’s wa y of life. Paracel-

sus was able to interpret and practicereal Rosicrucianism.In full consideration of all these

facts, Paracelsus’ true Rosicrucian liv-ing appears before our eyes. He be-queathed a part of his mission to pos-terity. It is also our duty to find andto demonstrate this spiritual heritage.

NOTE: Current material on Paracelsus is issued inSwitzerland. The publishers are: Roscher Verlag, Zurich;Verlag Birkhauser, Basel; Benno Schwabe S’ Co., Vcrlag,Basel.

Parcelsus, by Dr. Basilio de Telepnef (in English) isavailable at the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau, $1.75.

LOAN YOUR DIGEST

The

Rosicrucian

Digest

April

1950

Does an article in the pages of this magazine in teres t you? Do you find in someissue a discourse that answers your questions, that clearly analyzes harassing problems?If the subject matter of the Rosicrucian Digest proves beneficial and enlightening toyou, it will to others as well. Think —have you a friend or acquaintance who migh tenjoy reading your present copy of the Digest?

Loan your Rosicrucian Digest —point out to others the articles which you think theywill find interesting. Already hundreds of nonmembers of AMORC are reading thismagazine. Perhaps those to whom you will loan it will ev entua lly wish to be includedin its large and growing family of subscribers. (Be certa in tha t your personal copy isreturned to you.)



<zJ\ !\ sdh. Q//£’vl u ± ^Uhoua(zt a n t i n i ' ( / £ t i u ± ___ n i o u c j ,

By C e c i l A. P o o l e , F. R. C., Supreme Secretary

Ageold endeavorsto relate science

and philosophy at tractthe a t tent ion of manyt h i n k i n g p e r s o n s .These attempts are re-flected in numerouscomments and inquir-ies from those whoseriously wish to con-

sider how they mayrelate an idealistic phi-losophy to the com-

plex s c i e n t i f i c an dmechanistic theoriesc u r r e n t i n m o d e r nthought. To generalizeanswers to these ques-tions is somewhat dif-ficult; in fact, it may be pert inent to askwhether or not the re-lationship of mind and

body ever will be explained in a form so ra tional th at itwould satisfy everyone.

Early in the history of Western phi-losophy, that period of philosophywhich had its beginning in ancientGreece, two schools of thought soon be-came evident. These two systems,idealism and materialism, have con-tinued side by side throughout man’shistory. The belief tha t the universehas a purpose and a set of values high-er than any objective worth, and, on

the other hand, the belief that the physical world was the ult im ate realityand man’s life was accidental andtransitory were expressed in these twoschools of ideas.

The problem concerned with me-chanical and philosophic relativity istherefore not new. The intense rapidi-ty with which m echanical achievementshave come forward in the past centuryand a half emphasizes tne problem,and thinkers continue to ask, as theyhave for more than a century, whether

or not man’s physical achievementsmay be advancing beyond his mental

and spiritual concepts.This point of view has

been applied, part icu-larly in the last fewyears, to the weaponsof war. By harnessingand preparing tremen -dous forces which havealmost inconceivable possibilities of destruc-

tion, has man createda monster? Has manthe mental and spir-itual insight to directhimself and society ina way that will makeit possible for thesemater ial instrumentsto be controlled?

Th e answ er to thesequestions lies in thefuture. W e know, forexample, that another

war on a worldwidescale would be more destructive thanany that have been carried on before.Many people doubt the ability of manto avoid such a conflict indefinitely;others hope—and it is usually morehope than conviction—that man willarrive at such a basis of negotiationand compromise as will allow human

beings to live together in the worldwithout physical clashing.

Those individuals who subscribe toan idealistic philosophy of life, who be-

lieve that ultimate values are morethan the parts of the material worldwhich they can perceive, have a press-ing obligation. It is the ir duty to try(in their own immediate environmentand in their everyday living) to directtheir thinking, and the thinking ofthose about them, to those higher valuesof life that will qualify man's basicemotions and desires so that his totalmental concept will rise above pettyconflicts with his fellow man.

As long as greed, selfishness, envy,

and hate are dominant motives inmen’s dealings with one another, the



acts and events which result from suchunderlying emotions will eventually

prove to be disastrous to those whooriginally held such thoughts. If builtupon a foundation which eliminatesthe true desire to extend the brother-

hood of man, the very aims of peaceand tolerance which man claims to bewishing to achieve will result in failure,even in cases wherein the inevitableoutcome of plans and activities mayseem to have the highest motives. Witha clearer perspective at some future period, the aims and purposes of mod-em man can possibly be better judged.

Related to these more or less generalideals is a problem seldom thought of by the average individual. W hat will be the effect of mechanization upon

future creative thinking? It might beto the advantage of mankind, individ-ually and collectively, if some higheror stronger power than man himselfwould force nim into a position wherehis material achievements would beheld in check while he caught up withhimself mentally and spiritually. Somemight even agree with the idea thatif all mechanical achievements wouldstop for a period of ten, twentyfive, orfifty years—and if man would thendevote himself to the development ofa philosophy of life that would fit intohis environment and to which he wouldcontribute by his own creative abilities —th at man might be able to learn totruly understand the potentialities ofthe physical achievements that are nowaccomplished facts.

Such an idea is, of course, out ofreason. Ne ither life nor creation canadvance in such artificial steps. Pa rtof the purpose of life must be for hu-manity to cope with immediate situa-tions as the y come into existence. Inth e' proper coordinating of the two

phases of m an’s existence, the physicaland the psychic, failure as well as suc-cess contributes to the allover develop-ment of his true personality.

Our place in the modem world may be pu rposefully more complex th an itwas when we were incarnated in pre

T h e ceding periods of history . Those who Rosicrucian ^ ve today have probably passed through p. . numerous incarnations and now exist in

such complexities as are evidenced in A pril phases of our life and environment.1950 Th e complexities, possibilities, and un -

sol vable conditions are a pa rt of theexperience that we could not gain werewe in an environment which alreadyhad once been in the realm of our experience. In other words, it is logical to believe (if we accept as a prem ise the

doctrines of reincarnation and karma)that the complex social structures andthe problems relating to science and

philosophy which now confront manare an indication that modem man ex-ists in this complexity in order to chal-lenge it. Some problems are possibly beyond th e ability of man to solve inthe span of one physical existence butare nevertheless to be challenged byhim at this particular point of advance-ment and development.

A r r e s t o f C r e a t i v e T h o u g h t

If man is to meet the challenge ofsuch complications as exist in the mod-em world, he must realize that thecreative abilities and potentialities,which made it possible for him to bringinto existence the mechanical achieve-ments of today, must continue to besharpened and enlarged upon, and thathe must not accept the mechanicalfindings of other men as an excuse tostop doing his own thinking.

As we become more and more ac-customed to the mechanical advance-ments of today’s world, as we cease togive consideration to their effect uponmankind and human thought in gen-eral, and accept these things in the formof luxuries and then as necessities, weare turning over our own opportunitiesof creative thought to those who strivemerely to provide laborsaving devicesor instruments to help us do things.Every mechanical advantage, if ac-cepted at face value, causes the manwho uses such a contrivance to give upor sacrifice a degree of his own free-

dom. This can be illustrated in variousways. For example, we expect illumi-nation for a room, a desk, or a work- bench by merely pressing a but ton ormoving a switch.

There was a time when the provid-ing of light for work or recreation wasquite a problem in itself; now it is no

problem. W e have a tend enc y to ac-cept the existence of the mechanicalachievements which make the electriclight possible. Yet artificial illumina-tion at its best is far from perfect. Pos



sibly it may be man’s challenge to con-tinue to improve artificial illumina-tion, but he must also be willing to de-vote himself to other problems by usingthe time, effort, and energy previously

devoted only to the process of securingsome form of illumination.

Let us say, for example, that a manworking at a desk about 500 years agowas required to spend a fifth of histime and energy providing illumina-tion so that his work could get done.He may have had to secure oil, wicks,and ignitable material in order to pro-vide the light. All this time, energy ,and work had to be taken from the project or en terprise to which he de-voted himself when the light was avail-

able. In o ther words, if he had tenhours to give to a worthwhile project,two of those ten hours would have to

be given to secure prop er illuminationand only eight to the work itself. Nowthat man, in most civilized parts ofthe world, is free to devote the entireten hours to worthy projects, plans, oractivities, there is a tendency to cutdown on the number of hours and, inspite of good illumination, immediatelyavailable, to give no more time to thetrue purpose of his work than he did

when time was necessary to preparefor the work.

Some mechanical things which weuse in our everyday life have a tend-ency to tie us to them; there is greatdanger in becoming a slave to a me-chanical thing. Tliis process arrestscreative thought and the developmentof judgment and foresight, and is adamper upon ambition. Furthermore,oddly enough, many mechanical gadg-ets restric t us. Possibly no one whohas driven a modern automobile withan automatic choke has not had theexperience, in starting his car on a coldmorning, of wishing that a handleverwas still on the instrument board ofthe car, with which he could choke themotor manually. Instead, the modernautomobile is so automatic that manhas to wait for the mechanical chainof events to take place rather than in-terfere with them. He cannot evenmanually shift gears on a modem car;he must also surrender that process toa complex series of mechanical actions

which take place within the automatictransmission.

It is not the purpose of any of thesecomments to infer that modem auto-mobiles should not have automatictransmissions or other automatic de-vices. Neither is it inferred that house-

wives should do unnecessary toil by be-ing denied automatic washing machinesor any other mechanical devices whichlighten thei r work. The important con-clusion to be made from these consid-erations is that man should pause tothink and realize that the time andenergy saved by these mechanical aidsshould be utilized. The freedom fromroutine activities made possible bymechanical devices should give manmore time than in any former periodof history, in which to contemplate his

place in life and the use of his crea-tive thought; in other words, manshould not permit these luxuries, whichhave the tendency to rapidly becomenecessities, to dominate him.

Modem man must realize that theseinnovations so readily accessible maynot only contribute to his physical wel-fare and add conveniences to daily life, bu t th at th ey may also provide himwith the time and incentive to devisea philosophy by which he can adjusthis thinking in such manner as to real-

ize that more fundamental values thanmaterial achievements exist in his en-vironment.

The inner or spiritual values whichare the basis for the creation of peace,good will, tolerance, justice, and all thehighest virtues will never be achieved

by merely wishing for them. M an’sobligation to work toward the achieve-ment of these virtues by being freedfrom routine toil and effort has be-come far greater than ever before. If

man uses mechanical inventions notonly to free himself from routine toil, bu t also to free himself from the re-sponsibility of thought, then he hasmisinterpreted the entire purpose oflife. He has laid the foundation forchaos and eventual destruction of him-self and of the inventions which he hascreated. Creative and constructivethought will lead toward the comple-tion of each great invention. Thesesame powers of mind are the ones thatwill also enable man to live harmoni-

ously with himself and with his fellowman, in a world of his inventions.



The “Cathedral of the Soul” is a Cosmic meeting place for all minds of themost highly developed and spiritually advanced members and workers of theRosicrucian fratern ity. It is the focal point of Cosmic radiations and thoughtwaves from which radiate vibrations of health, peace, happiness, and innerawakening. Various periods of the day are set aside when m any thousandsof minds are attuned with the Cathedral of the Soul, and others attuning withthe Cathedral a t the time will receive the benefit of the vibrations. Those whoare not members of the organization may share in the unusual benefits as wellas those who are members. The book called Lib er 777 describes the periodsfor various contacts with the Cathedral. Copies will be sent to persons whoare not members if they address their requests for this book to Friar S. P. C.,care of AMORC Temple, San Jose, California, enclosing three cents in postagestamps. (Please state whether member or not—this is important.)

THE CATHEDRAL OF THE SOUL

The

Rosicrucian

Digest

April

1950

0|v er t w e n t y years ago,

this title was given to a booklet prepared by aformer Grand Master ofthe Rosicrucian Order.This discourse set forththe ideals and principles

of the Cathedral of theSoul as it had been es-tablished anclate Dr. H. perator of th is jurisdiction of theRosicrucian Order.

This booklet in twenty years has passed through seventeen editions. Th isfact alone indicates the value of the principles incorporated in the thesis aswell as the demand on the part of in-dividuals who have come in contactwith the purposes of the Cathedral of

put in to operation by theSpencer Lewis, first Im

the Soul through a booklet of a ratherlimited distribution. Little has been doneamong those who are not members ofthe Rosicrucian Order to attract theirattention to the work of this ideal, otherthan the dedication of this departmentof the Rosicrucian Digest to the prin-

ciples outlined in the Cathedral of theSoul. On the other hand, much has been done in the lives of those indivi-duals who have investigated this con-cept or ideal and utilized it in theirdaily lives.

After twenty years of service anduse of an ideal practically applied tothousands of lives, it is worth while toat this time consider a restatement ofthe purpose and object of this uniqueinstitution. The title, Cathedral of theSoul, indicates to a degree its whole



purpose. It is no t a physical bu ild ing,or institution, but a channel establishedin the mind of the individual by whichhe can utilize his own power of mentalcreation to find a medium or place of

contact with the creative forces of theuniverse. The reby he can relate him-self more closely to his own funda-mental ideals and gain direction andsatisfaction from such a relationship.

To go into detail as to the objects, purposes, an d functions of the Cathe-dral of the Soul would be merely torepeat the contents of the booklet

Liber 777. This booklet is available to

all who have ever hoped to achieve be tter things, hoped to find a degreeof lasting contentment and happiness,or those who seek peace of mind . Thereis no cost or obligation on the part of

anyone who requests a copy of this booklet. Let the tw enty years use ofthis ideal in the lives of many people

be a motivating force to cause you toexamine the possibilities of this uniqueinstitution or, if you are generallyfamiliar with its purposes ana details,to reexamine the potentialities it mayhave in helping you to help yourselfwith any problems that may come intoyour life.

V A V

FAITH(Continued from Page 95)

belief. In Jesus’ statem ent: “If ye ha vefaith as a grain of mustard seed, yeshall say unto this mountain, Removehence to yonder place, and it shall re-move; and nothing shall be impossibleun to you.” He stresses the importanceof faith and gives an implication ofthe power of the mind over things of

a physical nature. It must not be con-strued that Jesus inferred that wewould be able to move mountains.

There is no question but that Jesusrequired faith of those whom He wasto heal. Such faith is the premise ofevery known method of healing today. Now here in the Bible do we find th atJesus professed the ability to heal with-out the condition of faith. It is truethat there are cases in His minister-ing to the needs of others where faithis not mentioned; however, the words

which He used certainly indicate thatfaith and belief were required. Thisis borne out by His question in thetwentyeighth verse of the ninth chap-ter of Matthew: “And when he wascome into the house, the blind mencame to him: and Jesus saith untothem, Believe ye that I am able to dothis? Th ey said unto him, Yea, Lord.”

There is also every reason to believethat another Divine law was utilized inJesus’ healing method. The law im-

plied th at the needy or unfo rtunate

ask Jesus for the exercise of His healing power in th eir behalf. In some Biblical

instances an intermediary brought theneeds of distressed persons to the at-tention of Jesus. Even though this wasan indirect request, it was in accord-ance with the law. Tha t this law wasestablished in the teachings of Jesus isrevealed in the seventh and eighthverses of the seventh chapter of Mat-thew: “Ask, and it shall be given you;seek, and ye shall find; knock, and itshall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he thatseeketh findeth; and to him thatknocketh it shall be opened.”

Cou n c i l o f S o l a e e

In the splendid healing work car-ried on by the Council of Solace (oneof the subordinate activities of the Rosi-crucian Order, AMORC), this law isfully adhered to. After a person has

done everything he possibly can to helphimself, and then finds that he is stillexperiencing unfortunate distress, he is

pe rsona lly privileged to express hisneeds to the Council of Solace. Imme-diate attention is given by the Councilto such requests. Seemingly miraculousresults have been manifested in thou-sands of cases simply because so manywho have appealed for aid have placedimplicit faith in the healing methodemployed by the Council. Such heal-ing would not have been possible with-

out their sincere deeplyfelt faith inthe efforts of the Council of Solace



which operates in accordance with Di-vine Laws.

That Jesus employed these laws tothe fullest possible extent, we wellknow; and it is very likely that Hecould not have manifested His wonder-

ful healing without the cooperation ofthose who received His attention. Thiscooperation was in the nature of faith.The importance of faith cannot be over-looked, for in the many exhortations ofJesus the one outstanding essential con-dition was faith or belief. It is inte r-esting to note Jesus’ statement, uponthe healing of the centurion’s servant,when He said, . . I have not foundso great faith, no, not in Israel.”

Probably no other man has ever beenso completely endowed with Divinewisdom and knowledge as was Jesus.At no time did He indicate that heal-ing could be accomplished withoutfaith, or that He was superior to thelaw that faith represents. The impor-

tance of faith in the healing work ofJesus is told in the following examplesof His statements:

“Thy faith hath made thee whole ...According to your faith, be it untoyou. . . . If thou canst believe, all

things are possible to him that believeth.”The orthodox recognition of Easter

commemorates the resurrection ofJesus. The work and min istry of Hislifetime have been living monumentsto all Christian men and women. It isfitting, then, on the occasion of Easterwhen thought is given to the work ofthe Master Jesus, that much considera-tion be given to faith; for faith, when prop erly placed, is in accordance withDivine Law. From faith is bom theinspiration to undergo necessary ex- pe rience which is reflected in knowl-edge. W ith knowledge and understand-ing we can do for ourselves that which pe rhaps previously we could no t havedone without the necessary faith.

V A V

No man is bom into the world whose work is no t bom with him. There isalways work, and tools to work with, for those who will, and blessed are the homyhands of toil. The busy world shoves ang rily aside the man who stands witharms akimbo until occasion tells him what to do; and he who waits to have histask marked out shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled.

— J a m e s R u s s e l l L o w e l l

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April

1950

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For example, suppose you recall a certain article on reincarnation, or on psychic

development, that you would like to review but do not remember its title nor justwhen it appeared. In less than a minute, you can locate the issue. On the other hand,you may have a favorite author whose works you may want to study; or you mayremember some article by the author’s name alone. By referring to the section onauthors, you can quickly locate the issues you want.

This index will serve as a key to a wealth of knowledge, dealing with mysticism,occultism, psychology, metaphysics, philosophy, music, art, science, and other topics.

Issues 19231943 inclusive........... Price, $1.25 postpaid Issues 19441947 inclusive............Price, $1.00 postpaid

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THE REAL HEAVEN AND HELL(Continued from Page 92)

standards of living by telling them al-legories instead of telling them the

truth; and it is this questioning bymen and women that forms a problemfor the Churches.

The ancient Rosicrucians knew thatthe only laws that man ever brokewere the laws man made. The only doctrine or creed that men can patchup and take off some of the shine ortarnish is one that they made them-selves. If God made it, man cannottouch it.

The story of being washed in holywater means nothing to the thinking

mind. How is the average person whowants to be redeemed going to washhimself in the blood of the lamb andholy water? God says it can be done.But God has never said it can be doneonly through going to church or duringritua l or preaching. God said if youask and pray for forgiveness it can beand will be given.

Man has come to the realization that just as he stops in the middle of thestreet and says, “I am on my way toa place of gambling, or a saloon, or

a bootlegging place, or a house ofquestionable character,” so can hechange his mind; so he believes hecould stop transgressing in his life anymoment ne pleases and direct himselfrightly from that hour on. It is right;that is what God and Jesus taught.

Nothing was said in any of the fu nda-mental principles that Jesus taughttha t redemption would come only whenin service, or high mass, or any ofthese. Jesus showed tha t it was pos-sible to turn the blackest bodies and

the most sinful personalities into the purest white in the tw inkling of aneye. He stood before the accusedwoman who admitted her sin, andwhat did he say? “Go and sin nomore.” It was all over. No blood ofthe lamb nor ritual was necessary,neither did her body have to be burnedin any sense except by her conscience.

There is no need of waiting for somespecial day or special purpose. Heavenis within you and when Heaven is notmanifesting, it is Hell. W hen there is

no daylight you have night; and whenyou have night, the sun is not shining.

The opposites manifest all throughlife. Evil is the absence of good. Sor-

row is the absence of joy. Misery isthe absence of peace. They are neg-ative things. Disease and illhealth arenegative. Th e one grand, glorious,

positive side of life is he alth , peace,mercy, happiness—all of these things.The moment you proclaim to yourself“I am holy; t am clean” and start tolive that thought with the positiveelement in you, you begin to journeythrough Hell and Purgatory and youend it when you find it has consumedall the evil in you.

The Rosicrucians have been teaching,for many centuries, truths about man’sunfoldment, and that man inherits nooriginal sin, pain, or suffering. Thesethings he has created just as mancreated Purgatory; in fact, time hasadded to the conception until it is the

blackest liv ing th in g like the Fra nken-stein creature. M any people today areliving in fear of an artificial, negativesomething they have built up in theirown lives. It m ay be fear of death, of

passing over th e borderline from this

life of experience into a life of beauty, peace, harm ony, of great lessons, experiences, an d unfoldment; an d ye tthey live in fear of that hour.

Do you go to bed at night fearingyour eyes may close and your con-sciousness leave you for several hoursin an unkn own state? No, you havelearned to trust sleep. You havelearned from the first experience thatit is painless, beautiful, and that it con-tributes to health. You have learnedthat after sleeping you come back to

consciousness again and know whatsleep is; so you should look upon“death,” as they call it—that transitionfrom this state into another—yet mil-lions and billions live in fear of it.

Churches tell you about living in thefear of God. Did Jesus say that? Livein the love of God. W alk with God;talk with God; make a friend of God;tell your best story to Him. A storyyou can tell to God is clean and youcan tell it to anyone. Tell Him your problems, your in terest ing incidents.

When you sit down along the country-side and see a beautiful sunset or



scenery, say: “God, you know this isa lovely day, a beautiful scene. Your sunis magnificent. I am glad I am livingtoday. God, I wish you would tell mehow you made those things. I amgoing to listen,” and sit quietly and see

if God will inspire you with an idea.If you are going some place, say, “God,come along with me. God, I am goingto listen to some good music; maybeyou can nudge me in the side whenthere is some particular divinely in-spired harm ony.” Make a companionof God; do not fear Him.

T ha t is wh at the mystics do. The ylive in a world of reality—a real King-dom of Heaven. Tha t is wh at the Rosi-crucians teach—that health is easy tomaintain, that disease can be enminated here and now by living in har-mony with positive laws.

Not m any years ago it was con-sidered that persons who joined certainsects or movements that were instruc-tive and helpful came into lucky spells because it was found th at the averageone of those persons was more fortun-ate. If we were to judge the RosicrucianOrder by that, we would think thatstudents car ry a mystical key on the irwatch chains, but it is not that. These

students have the power of understand-ing.

The problems of yesterday seemedinsurmountable, but they are simpletoday when we understand them. Jesusstarted to teach that the Kingdom of

Heaven is within. W hen the timecomes for you to face your judgment,the judgment is going to be merciful.If you have sinned, you are going tohave another opportunity of livingagain. You will not be condemned tolive in etern al ignorance. God is notso unjust. The whole system is not sounfair that each individual is given ju st one lifetim e or one period of ex-istence. Suppose you were sent out intothis world of ignorance, unguided—tostumble, fall, and learn bitter lessons,

and when on the last day at the endof the path you would stumble, youwould have to go into eternal Hell.Your brother who escaped would beete rna lly blessed. Is that fair? Doesthat sound like the loving, mercifulFather of all creatures? Is you r con-ception of God like that? If so, you rconception of God is wrong; so I tellyou, as a concluding thought, that thereal Heaven and Hell are within you, ju st as is God.

o ± e O / a q U E E x j i E ’i L z n c z s .

R a l p h M. L e w i s , F. R . C.

t is regrettable that many persons th ink it an act

of disloyalty to mysticaland psychic phenomenato question the origin ofvague experiences. If suchoriginate wholly fromwithin, some persons im-mediately attribute the

T h e experiences to the psychic instead of n . • „ • „ perhaps to the mechanism of their own

_ . subjective minds. Remem ber th at the Dig est irrationalminded person inflicts great A pril hardsh ip upon the serious students of 1950 mysticism by his unfounded specula-

tions. His ridiculous claims, the ab-surdities he often entertains and ex-

pounds, cause more damage to the prestige of the profound teachings ofmysticism than anything else. Hypno-tism and telepathy would have been in-vestigated and recognized by mundanescience long before the present if it hadnot been for the acts of overzealousdilettanti of such subjects. Th eir fan-tastic claims exposed the whole field ofinvestigation to derision. It has takenyears of serious effort to replace thatdamage.



Jlzk i ^U a[(z cz^ fl j out ^UfvL cz/f-nima[± By J o e l D i s h e r , F. R. C.

No t h i n g i s p e r h a p smore interesting or in-

structive than to considerthe matter of conscious-ness as i t manifeststhroughout creation. Inman, its various levelshave been noted and thecharacteristics of each setforth. That consciousness

is capable of being evolved,unfolded, or extended iseverywhere accepted so far as manhimself is concerned.

Not so much is know n about con-sciousness on the an imal level. Norhave many questions in considerationof it been satisfactorily answered: Are animals, for instance, aware as a hu-man is aware? Does their conscious-ness show itself in ways inferior orsuperior to man? Do they reason?Have they a language? These sugges-

tions are highly provocative, and itmay very well be that the progressof man would be accelerated couldthese questions be answered. Eventhoughtful and considered opinionswould be helpful. For tha t reason, thefollowing statements are presented as astimulus to further inquiry into thisfield.

A r e An im a l s Fel l owc C r e a t u r e s ?

We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of

animals. Remote from universal natu re,and living by complicated artifice, manin civilization surveys the creaturethrough the glass of his knowledge andsees thereby a feather magnified andthe whole image in distortion. We p at-ronize them for their incompleteness,for their tragic fate of having takenform so far below ourselves. Andtherein we err, and greatly err. Forthe animal shall not be measured byman. In a world older and more complete th an ours they move fin ished

and complete, gifted with extensionsof the senses we have lost or never at-

tained, living by voices weshall never hear. Theyare not brethren, they arenot underlings; they areother nations, caught withourselves in the net ofl i fe and t ime, fe l low

prisoners of the splendorand travail of the earth.—Henry Bes ton , in The

Outermost House.

Do A n i m a l s R e a so n ?

As to whether animals possess thefaculty of reasoning, my opinion is thatthey do not reason objectively, but thatthey are guided by the Cosmic. Seem-ingly objective reasoning may be mani-fested under pressure, such as immi-nent danger to the animal itself, itsyoung, or to some one closely associatedwith it.

Early this summer I was confronted

by a vicious figh t between a fullgrownrat and a pair of brown thrushes. Th erat had evidently approached too neartheir nest and the older birds were ex-

pressing disapproval. They were notguided by objective reasoning but byinstinct. It was a m atter of survivaland Nature was prompting them.

Likewise, association of events may bring ou t manifestations of ap parentobjective reasoning in animals. This isthe result of training. A shepherd dogwas accustomed to going to the pasture

for the cows when he heard the milk pails ra tt le at milk ing time. One da y amilk pail was being used for another

purpose several hours before the reg-ular milking time, but the dog hearingthe sound ran quickly out to the pas-ture and brought up the cows. Thisobviously was not the result of objectivereasoning.

Most humans have had the experi-ence of finding a solution to their prob-lems, or means of accomplishing some-thing by a flash in their minds, ap-

pare ntly from an unkno wn source orunaided by reflection or reason.



Animals may often perform, throughimpulse, acts which appear to be theresult of reasoning. Because their mindsare free from reflection or reasoning,they are attuned to the Universal M indmore of the time than are humans.

The re are no objective thoughts to drawtheir attention.Stories in which dogs and other an-

imals are made to possess the facultyof reflection, mav be explained as: 1.

being fantas tic, 2. ca lling th at reasonwhich is really a matter of impulsecarried out as a result of instinctive ac-tion, or 3. mistaking extensive trainingfor evidence of reason.—E. A. Garleb,D.V.M., F.R.C.

Do T h e y R e g i st e r Em o t i o n »?

Animals show signs of complete un-

happiness and even try suicide for anumber of reasons, including unhappymating.

—Dr. Edwin J. Frick,Kansas veterinarian and zoo superintendent,as quoted in Quick, July 25, 1949.

W h at Abo u t i i o r »e«f

Whether we call it language or some-thing else, there is attunement andcommunication between man and thoseanimals with which he is in constantassociation. So pow erful is this bondand yet so subtle that words are less

po tent th an thought. W ith horses Ihave proved it true many times.A horse is always the reflection of

his owner. He partakes of the char-acter and temperament of that person.If a horse has passed through manyhands, he is a combination of the char-acters and temperaments of all whoowned him; nor will he be just whatyou want him to be until with fearless-ness, kindness, and understanding youcommunicate yourself to him. If you

do not understand him, how can heunderstand you?

Before one can properly control ahorse, he must have learned selfcontrol. If a horse is frighten ed of you, itis because you are afraid of him. You

may not realize you are afraid, but badtem per is anothe r nam e for fear. Anda badtempered rider makes for a badtempered horse. It is fatal to be fear-ful, therefore, for the horse senses it

before you do.The perfect horsemaster is one with

his horse; the ir movements harmonize—even their thoughts. If the rider for-gets this and allows indecision or alaissezfaire attitude to enter into histhinking, the horse takes over and herides you! You are no longer the mas-ter of the situation, but he is.

In every situation let your concern be what you are going to do no t howyo ur horse is going to react. Forget thehorse and fix your mind on what youwant to do and the horse will respond.When you keep your thoughts on thehorse and his possible reactions to traf-fic or some particular hazard, you onlyconfuse him an d make him afraid. Thething to do is to throw your thoughts

beyond the haza rd. In th is way , youmight be said to create a field of mag-netic force in which the horse is literal-

ly drawn forward.I have thought often of this psy-chological horsemanship in connectionwith the larger questions of the intelli-gence and awareness of horses and an-imals generally. I am convinced tha tit is man who is the slow one. In m anyrespects animals are far ahead of him—in the refinements of communication atlegist

—Alfred W. Webb,A Rosicrucian, and a trainer of horses.

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Rosicrucian

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Apri l

1950

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By H a r r i e t B u r n s , F. R . C.

h e Guatemalan Indiansworship when they cometo market, and that may

be only two or th reetimes a year. On thisSaturday afternoon thelittle town of Chichicas

tenango was vacant and ___________ dull. It was still lonelywhen we visited the square again bymoonlight, although the sky and starswere brilliant, as always at highaltitudes.

During the night we could hear the people coming in for the Sunday m ar-ket. Wood creaked, pigs squealed, andchickens fluttered. By morning therewere several thousand people in thelarge square between the Catholic SanTomas and the Indian church on the

opposite side. Th e costumes of the na-tives are handwoven and complicatedin design, wi th bril lian t colors. Ac-cording to an artist who has madestudies of them in color, each villagehas its distinctive costume. There arethirtysix different ones.

When people are worshipping, it isan intrusion for visitors to be wander-ing around, but we seemed to be ac-cepted everywhere we went by thetiny people, most of them not over fivefeet in height.

Con t r a st i n A c t i v i t i es

There was a funeral just before wecame to the church. The coffin wasumshaped in a long oval—very beau-tiful and shiny black. Carried on theshoulders, it was brought to the footof the steps at San Tomas and placedwith the head North, then East, South,and West—and then taken away. Thereis great respect shown to a funeral.Even in the busses, when passing a fu-neral, men remove their hats. Unfin-ished coffins are for sale in the mar-ket, and sometimes an Indian is seen

going home with one strapped on his back.

We wormed our way over to SanTomas. The bells had been ringingintermittently. The steps of the church,instead of rising in one straight flight,come up from three sides and end in

a platfo rm before the main door. Onthe various steps the Indians set theirloads and burn the copal incense. Thisis the same kind of incense as was

bu rned by the Mayans in ages pastand found in the “Well of Sacrifice,”at Chichenitza. The incense is inheartshaped molds, stamped with asort of grill, or the image of one ofthe gods, as Manuel Sansores relatesin his guidebook of that area.

At the foot of the steps in front,and about waist high, a flat platform

has been built into the steps for themedicine man or Maya priest to bumincense and say prayers all day.

In a long oval space which thewatchers formed were ten or twelvedancers—all men. Th ey wore gailycolored masks, one of which had awoman’s face. They hopped around,and at times two of them seemed toclaim the woman and enact a sham battle for her. There seemed to be noregular dance routine but that of keep-ing in motion. One dancer had a live

snake coiled around his neck. Severalof them kissed it on the head at times.The snake too would seem to indicatea survival of the very ancient Mayareligion which was based on fertilityrites, according to Dr. Sylvanus Gris-wold Morley in his book on The Ancient Maya}

One of the guides thought that these par ticula r dancers were hired, sincethey danced only six hours. In therites before Christmas, whoever startsin the dance must dance twelve days.

Fasting, continence, and dancing are1 Stanford University Press (1946), Palo Alto, Calif.

( 6 ) y-u-u-u-j



believed to have been very im po rtantin the most ancient rites. The signifi-cance appeared to be religious ratherthan social.

P i ct u r e sq u e P r a y i n g

We went into the church from a sideentrance and sat on benches. The in -terior, a very high and oblong room,is black from the candles and copalincense. Every yea r it is painted white but soon is as black as before. At theend of the room, opposite the door, isthe altar and a few benches, but mostof the Indians kneel on the cementfloor.

Near the en trance some of the wor-shipers followed the old custom of mak-ing squares of different colored flower petals, setting candles among them.The colors indicate different things:

prayers for good crops; for children;someone who has died; the success ofa new marriage , and so on. Far the r back, all down the center of the churchare boards with candleholders, and thecolored petals are strewn along thesides.

The man who is head of the houserecites the prayers while his familykneel nearby. He begins by holding inhis left hand four candles, which areevidently blessed or consecrated. All

prayers are in the In dian dialect andvery long. Then the candles are setdown in a square formation.

This immediately calls to mind thefour gods who hold up the four comersof the earth. Th ey are the Redman,god of the East; the White man, godof the North; the Black man, god ofthe West; the Yellow man, god of theSouth. All were at the same time theRain God, according to Dr. Morley inhis chapter on religion.

While the Indian is very earnest and

devout, his prayers are not the humbletype. His attitude seems very “m an toman,” and he asks in no uncertainterms for what he wants and needs.The moun tain Indian is proud. The yall are very well aware of their dis-tinguished ancestry. Women are not

T h e allowed to pra y unless they have no7? ‘ rian male relative to do it for them.

osicru i There were two smaller Catholicshrines where a few worshipers were

pray ing, bu t at least nin ety per centof the Indians were with their candles

Diges t

Apri l

1950

on the floor. The p riest came down thelines and silently made the sign of blessing over them .

In one comer of the church a doubleline of women waited with their babiesfor baptism. Few of the babies were

very small. Perhaps the y lived milesaway. Our guide stated that they had

probably been baptized (or its equiv-alent) by some Maya rite long before.A priest and his assistant passed downthe line with the traditional salt andholy water.

One is impressed with the thoughtthat these people have gone back, ornever have left, the oldest Maya re-ligion, which was a nature religion ofrain and wind, of the com which isolder than rice or wheat. To quote

Dr. Morley, “Certainly today’s Mayafolklore is the result of now uncon-scious fusion of the two groups ofideas; the Maya’s aboriginal animals,spirits, and even gods, now live infriendly and natural relations with theanimals, spirits, and saints of his con-querors; the latter have indeed, becomethe blood brothers of the former.”

Also, one recalls the early myths ofAdonis as described in The Golden

Bough2 by Frazer . Seven centuries be-fore Christ, Adonis was worshiped inSyria and in Egypt as a young and

beautiful com god. Therefore, the comgod is carved in stone in the oldestMaya ruins.

V i o l en c e a n d H a r m o n y

Earthquakes are better omitted inthis account. The kind tha t they haveexperienced induce terror. We sawabout fortythree churches with wallsthree to six feet literally shaken to

pieces. Most of the fron t fagades arestanding, and an entire block in areaseems to have been the usual space al-

lotted. Underneath one cathedral wereunderground cells for nuns, with a cen-tral patio. Remains of tile pipes, cement baths, and so forth, are evidence ofsome kind of plumbing system fourhundred years ago.

With all the ruins, however, thetown is not at all depressing. Th e peo-

ple are so lively and sweet, and Natu reso kind that one gets an impression of

peace and norm alcy no t too commonin the world today.

1 The Macmillan Company, New York



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Roc hosier :Roc hester Chapter. Motel Seneca. Dorothy M.Decker, Master; William Rabjohns. Sec. Sessions1st We d., 3rd Sun.. S p. m.

OHIOC i n c i n n a t i :Cincinnati Chapter. 204 Hazen Bid#.. 9th andMain St. Gustav F. P. Thumann, Master:Christine Heis, Sec. Sessions every Wed. andF ri ., 7:3(1 p. m.D a y t o n :Elbert I lubbard Chapter. 56 East 4th St. MaryC. Hig h, M aste r: M arv Tur ne r. Sec.. 436 HoltSt. Sessions 2nd and 4th Th urs. , 8 p. m.T o l e d o :

Michael Faraday Chapter, Roi Davis Bldg.. 3rdFI., 905 Jefferson Ave. Dorothy Van Doren,M aster: H azel Schram m. Sec., 1514 Fre em an St.Sessions eve ry T hurs. . 8:30 p. m.

OKLAHOMAO k lah o m a C i ty :Amenhotep Chapter. Rm. 318. YWCA Bldg.Ferd inand W. Arnold. M aster; Mrs. W alterArnold. Sec.. 1509 N. W. 42nd St. Sessions 2ndand 4th Su n., 7:30 p. m.

(HI EGONP o r t l a n d :*Portland Rose Lodsre, 2712 S. E. Salmon. FloydK. Rilev. Ma ster: W alte r G. Allen. Sec. Sessionseve ry W ed.. 8 p. in. and Sun ., 7 p. m.

P E N N S Y L V A N I APhilad elphia :*Benjamin Franklin Lodge. 1303 Girard Ave.Dr. S. Milton Zimmerman, M aste r: Fred A.Thomas. Sec.. 2706 W. Allegheny Ave. Sessions

every S un., 7:30 p. in. Tem ple and li bra ry openTu es., T hu rs., 710 p. m.Pittsburgh :*The First Pennsylvania Lodge. 615 W. DiamondSt. . North Side. David Stein. Master; Lydia F.W ilkes, Sec. Sess ions Wed. an d S un., 8 p. m.

TEXASEl Paso :El Amarna Chapter, 519 N. Santa Fe. Ernest G.Bourjaily, Master, 523 N. Campbell St.: Mrs.Rosa M. Licona, Sec. Sessions 1st and 3rd Sun.,2 p. m.Houston:Houston Chapter, 1320 Rusk Ave. Robert E.M artin, M aste r: Alyce M. La Rue, Sec., 3105

Chenevert. Sessions eve ry F ri. , 8 p. m.I 'TAHSalt Lake City:Salt Lake City Chapter, 211 Hopper Bldg.. 23E. 1st South. Clarence R. Parry, Master: Clara.J. Pa rk er . Sec., 243 S. 71 h Ea st. Ses sion s eve ryT hu rs., 8:15 p. in.

WASHINGTON Sea ttle :*Michael M aier Lodge, W inton ia Hotel. 1431Minor. Maurice V. Boldrin. Master, Tel. De. 5324;Ethel Jefferson, Sec.. Tel. Ra. 5059. Sessionsevery F ri. . 8 p. m. Lib rary open Tues. , T hurs. ,14 p. m .; M on., W ed., 79 p. m .; S at., 13 p. in.

WISCONSINMilwaukee:K a r n a k Chapter. Republican Hotel. 907 N. 3rd St.George W. Wood. Master. 3934 N. 2nd St.; BessieF. S m ith. Seer. Sessio ns e ver y M on., 8:15 p. m.

Principal Canadian Branches and Foreign JurisdictionsThe addresses of o ther foreign Grand Lodges , o r the names and addresses of their representat ives , wil l be gi ve n up on re qu est .AUSTRALIA

Sydney, N.S.W.:Sydney Chapter. I.O.O.F. Bldg., 100 Clarence St.F. R. Goodman. Master, 2 “G irvan" 129 K urra baRd.. Neutral Bay; Victor Bell. Sec., 60 DennisonSt., Bondi Junction. Sessions 1st. 3rd and 5thSaturday af ternoons.Melbourne, Victoria:Melbourne Chapter. 25 Russell St. KathleenDodds. M aster: Fred W hitew ay. Sec.. 37 BlackSt., Middle Brighton S. 5.

BltAZIL

Sao Paulo:Sao Paulo Chapter, Rua Tabatinguera 165. SylvioE. Pnlati. Master; George Craig Smith. Sec.,Caixa Postal 4633. Sessions 2nd and 4th Sat.,8:30 p. m.

CANADAMontreal, P. ft.:Mount Royal Chapter. The Lodge Room. VictoriaHall, W estm ount. Mrs. A. Engleliard. M aster;Jean Pierre Trickey. Sec., Ml Sherbrooke St. . E.Session s 1st and 3rd T hu rs., 8 p. in.Toronto, Ontario:Toronto Chapter. 12 Queen St.. East. Oron C.Dakin. Master: Joan Lavis. Sec.. 848 OssingtonAve. Sessions every 2nd and 4th Thurs., 8:15 p.m.Vancouver, B.C.:*Vancouver Lodge. 878 Hornby St. Dorothv L.Bolsover. M aster, T at low 2003; L ettie C. F leet.Sec.. 1142 Harwood St.. MA3208. Sessions everyMon. through Fri. Lodge open 7:30 p. m.Victoria, B.C.:*Victoria Lodge. 725 Courtney St. Miss E. M.Burrows. Master: Dorothy G. Johnston, Sec..821 Burdett Ave.Windsor, Out.:Windsor Chapter, 808 Marion Ave. Mrs. Stella

Ku cy. M as ter ; G eorge H. Brook , Sec.. 21)89Argyle Ct. Sessio ns eve ry We d., 8:15 p. rn.Winnipeg:, Man.:Charles Dana Dean Chapter. I .O.O.F. Temple.293 Ke nned y St. A. G. W irdnam , M aster; S.Eth elyn Wa llace, Sec., 851 W est m inst er Ave.Session s 1st an d 3rd Th urs .. 7:45 p. in.

DENMARK AND NORWAY Copenha gen :*The AMORC Grand Lodge of Denmark and Nor-way. Arthur Sundstruo, Gr. Master. Vester Voldsade 104: Ka.j FalckRasmussen. Gr. Sec.. A. F.Beyersvej 15 A. Copenhagen F., Denmark.

EGYPT Cairo:Amenhotep Grand Lodge. Salim C. Saad. GrandMas ter , 1 K as r E l N il St .

"( In i t ia t ions are per formed.)

ENGLANDThe AMORC Grand Lodge of Great Britain.Raymund Andrea, Gr. Master, 34 BayswaterAve.. W estbu ry Park . B ristol 6.London:London Chapter. Richard Lake. Master. 38 Cran

br ook Ris e, Il fo rd , E sse x; L aw re nce Ew el s, Sec..86 Datchet Rd., Catford, London, S. E. 6.

FRANCEMile. Jeanne Guesdon, Sec.. 56 Rue Gambetta,Villeneuve Saint." Georges (Seine & Oise).

GERMANYAMORC, MuenchenPasing. Postlagernd. Bav-aria (U.S. Zone).

HOLLAND

Amsterdam :*De Rozekruisers Orde. GrootLoge der Nederlaiiden. J. Coops, Gr. Master. Hunzestraat 141.

ITALY l iome:I talian Grand Lodge of AMORC. Orlando Tim

p an aro P e r ro tt a . Sec.. Via G. Bag livi . 5D. 1.Quar t iere I ta l ia .

MEXICOMe xico , I>.F. :*Ouetzaleoatl Lodge. Calle de Colombia 24. Sr.Ruperto Betancourt. Master; Sr. Benitu deK oster, Sec.. Eure ka No. 15, Col. In du strial.

INDONESIA

Bandoeng, Java:*Mrs. M. C. Zeyde l, Gr. M ast erG ene ral, I. Milltatuli Blvd.

NEW ZEALAND Auckland:

Auckland Chapter. Victoria Arcade, Room 317.Mrs. E. M. Wood. Master, 2nd FI.. GiffordsBldg.. Vulcan Lane. C I: John O. Andersen. Sec.Sess ions e very Mon.. 8 p. m.

PUERTO RICO San J nan:San Juan Chapter, 1655 Progreso St.. Stop 23.Santurce. J. L. Casanova. Master; Jesus Rod-rigu ez. Sec. Se ssion s ev ery Sat.., 8 p. m.

SWEDEN Mai in o :*Grand Lodge •Rosenk orset." Albin Roimer, Or.Master, Box 30, Skalderviken, Sweden.

VENEZUELACaracas:Alden Chapter. Velazquez a Miseria, 19. Sra. F.Briceno de Perez, Master: Sra. Carmen S. Sala-zar, Sec.. Calle Cuarta 2, Bellavista. Sessions1st and 3rd F ri.. 6 p. m.

LatinAmerican DivisionArma ndo F ont De La Jara , I-’. R. C., Deputy Grand MasterDirect inquiries regarding this division to the LatinAmerican Division, Rosicrucian Park, San Jose,

California. IT. S. A.



' ■

T H E T D E Y E

‘T fC au ’ P t o f c& i c St y & t ?

ARE THE TALES abou t a th i rd eye t rue? Did

ancient man, like the legendary Cyclops, have an-other eye in the center of h is forehead? Is the p in eal gla nd a rem nant of th is organ? A re m an’ssensitivity and inner perception dependent uponthe development of this third eye?

N ow , in c le ar la nguage, su ch oth erw is e fabulo usstories about the allseeing eye. extrasensory per-ceptions, and the eye of the mind are brought intothe focus of every man’s understanding. Learnabout mental vision and socalled Xray eyes froma lucid portrayal of this phenomenon.

F R E E 'D ia c o u 'iA e

Your mind is a mirror of the Cosmic—by meansof a minute gland in the center of the head you

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into dynamic ideas—so declared Descartes andother philosophers. A fr ee discou rse, entitled“Supersight or the Third Eye,” explaining theabove fa scin ating subjects, may be yours. It will

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THE TECHNIQUE OF THE DISCIPLE By Raym und An dre a. K. R. C.The path th at the masters trod! A modern description of the ancient esoteric

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rosicrucian digest, april 1950

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