Rosicrucian Digest, January 1956

8/12/2019 Rosicrucian Digest, January 1956

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e Twelveciples

became of the

n?

V A V

ral Wisdomonsibility

hright.

V A V

ite MagicLourdesntriguing viewpoint.

V A V

tc c iitu p .:

M ysticism

Science

The Arts

V A V

xt

stering yourvironment

V A V

icnt Culture

O S I C R U C I A N

1956N U A R Y

c per copyDIGEST


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A T T H E C R O S S R O A D S

I his little Ara b village near the fro ntier of Iraq and Iran straddles an ancient caravanroute. Its peoples for centur ies have fel t the economic, political, and social impact of intercoursebetween th e civ ilizatio ns of East an d West. Tod ay thes e peoples ag ain ar e th e focal po intof influence of the powers of the East and W est. As such little villages and th eir states go, somay be determined the peace of the world.

(Photo by AMORC)


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TO D A Y is y e s t e r d a y s to m o r r o w . H a s i t a d d e d

a n y t h i n g t o y o u r l if e? H a v e y o u m o v e d f o r

w ard in tho ugh t as well as in t im e? Th ose who

wai t fo r todays even t s to g ive them the cue as

to what to do wi l l f ind themselves l agg ing be

h i n d . T h e pre sen t i s only a pedestal for progres

s iv e m e n a n d w o m e n t o s ta n d u p o n to see beyond ,

t o l o ok a h e a d t o t h e g r e a t t om o r r o w . A l l a b o u t

you a re the ev idences o f on ly w hat has been done.

T h e y a r e n o w h i s t o r y o f th e p a s t . Ca n y o u v i s

ual i ze the tomorrow, nex t week , o r a year f romnow? I f you canno t , you a re a s lave o f the

p re se n t, a n d m a rk e d fo r a li fe o f u n e v e n tf u l,

mono tonous rou t ine .

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t ive though t , and fa r - reach ing v i s ion tha t has

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a c te r s . T h o u s a n d s t o d a y , i n th e p r i v a c y o f t h e i r

h o m e s , u n k n o w n , u n h e r a l d e d , a r e u s i n g secret

prin c ip le s fo r s t imula t ing the c rea t ive , unused

facu l t i es o f mind .

This FREE Book Will Give You

A N e w V ie w o f Li fe

T h o u g h t s h a p e s t h e fu tu re o f th e b u tc h er, th e

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b a n k e r o r b ig executi ve . N o m a n o r w om an can

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the be t t e rm en t o f h is o r her l i fe , o r the ex pa nd

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m ent . Th erefo re , le t t he Ros ic ruc ians exp la in to

you how you may use a s imply unders tood , inte l l igen t , ye t eas i ly app l i ed method fo r f ind ing

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Scribe S. P. C.

'D L R O S I C R U C I A N SS a n J o se ( A M O R C ) Ca l i f o r n ia

(The Rosicrucians are N O T a religious organization.)

T o d a y s p r iva te T h i n k e r s

CAN BECOME

T o m o r r o w s p u b l i c L e a de r s


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3XISX3XSXSXS33:

ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTC O V E R S T H E W O R L D

T HE O F F I C I A L I N T E R N A T I O N A L R O S I C R U C I A N

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

Vol. X X X IV JA N U A R Y , 1956

A t the C rossroads (Frontispiece)

Thought of the Month: Educations Influence on

W hi te M agic a t Lourdes

L iv ing Here and Now

Gro up Powe r in Ac tion : O n Enthusiasm

The Tw elve Disciples ..... ..............

Questions .................. .................................................

Mora l Wisdom

Cathed ra l Co ntacts: Sol itude

Sanctum Musings

Monasteries in the Middle Ages

Path to Mastery

Can You Explain This?

Temple Echoes

W as Nikola Tesla a M yst ic?

W h er e T ime Stands Still (Illustration)

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Published Monthly by the Supreme Council ofT H E R O S IC R U C IA N O R D E R A M O R C

ROSICRU CIAN PARK SAN JOSE , CAL IFO RN IA

EDITOR: Frances Vejtasa

Cop yr ight, 1955, by the Supreme Gran d L odge of AM O RC , Inc. Al l r ights reserved.


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T h e

Rosicrucian

Dig es t

Janu ary

1 9 5 6

T H E

THOUGHT OF THE MONTHEducation's Influence on Rel

By T H E I M P E R A T O R

d u c a t i o n and particularlynaturalism or the scie nc e s ha ve c om pe l l e d

modification of the traditional position taken bysome of the religious sectswith respect to the interpretation of some of thei rdoctrines. Even the Ro

man Catholic Church has conceded thedoctrine of evolution as an empiricalfact-but excluding man. The hum an

being, one of their bishops recentlycontended, is a Divine exception to thedevelopment from lower organisms.The Roman Catholic Church, throughone of its prelates, has also admittedthat it could be possible, from a theological point of view, for living beingsto be existing elsewhere in the universe.However, he added that the salvationof such souls would have to be throughsuch doctrines as are taught by thechurch on earth.

Science has proved that many of thecosmological and ontological argumentsfor the creation of the earth and of

being, as expounded by religion, aregenera lly unsound. Geology and anthropology, for example, disprove (he

po pularly held conception th at theworld began approximately 4000 yearsB.C., a date thought to correspond tothe Book of Genesis. Th ey have shownthat the six days of creation cannot beconstrued as periods of twenty-fourhours each. Th ey are but allegoricalreferences to periods of time which maycorrespond to the eons of astronomyand geology.

One of the earliest of the still livingreligions, or Buddhism, in its doctrines,

has inveighed against the notion of anexternal heaven or hell. Buddha hasbeen declared by em inen t modern hi s

torians to be, in effect, the worldsfirst psych ologist The higher aspectsof Buddhism relegate to the humanconsciousness such states as heaven andhell: the ecstasy of heaven and thetorment of hell are wholly within the

bounds of the human mind. Modernpsychology has endeavored to provewhat certain philosophical schools havelong contendedthat many notionswith regard to supernaturalism are organic or functional in their origin.They have shown the nature of common dreams; they have affirmed the

precepts of mysticism th at the self isintegrated, that it functions on variouslevels of consciousness and is not singlein its nature. The y have also indicatedthat the moral sense or conscience isnot a substance implanted in man at

bi rth.There is. however, a radical tendency

on the part of the supporters of naturalism, the sciences, to strike at idealism. In certain branches of the sciences,there are adherents who deny thatthere is an absolute universal intelligence either existing in or lying behindna tura l phenomena. Consequently, this

disparages the basic precept of religionwhich is the recourse of the individualto a suprem e intelligence. The ind ividual is made in his entirety a productof unthinking, unconscious naturallaws. He is thought to have no moreunique relation to the fabric of realitythan does a tree or a rock. Self-consciousness is declared not to be anextension into man of a universal con-


7/45

sciousness by which he can gain anespecial power that transcends nature.

Laws or Miracles

Further, to many unthinking men,

religion is now being disqualified. Itis held to be a past phase of mans

psychological developm ent when a belief in supernaturalism was a substitutefor his lack of knowledge of natural

phenomena. Religion has a dependencyon belief and faith. Most of w hat it

purports canno t be substantiated in anempirical way. Its claim that what itteaches is of a realm or plane that exceeds the powers of human perceptionand reason is no longer convincing tom any persons today. The reason for

this is that education and the scienceshave transformed much of what wereonce thought phenomena confined entirely to the realm of the supernaturalto the working of na tura l law. To theman in the street, education has produced miracles nearly as great as thosereligion has attributed to the supernatural. Furthe r, science has manifestedthem in a way that any man can perform, when the technique has finally

been simplified. Religion, to these samemen in the street, however, is still

prom ising that its fu ndam enta l miracleswill come some day. Still disquietingto religion is the fact that science demonstrates rather commonly what have

been traditional miraclesor explainsthem on the grounds of natu ral law.

The average individual is far moreobjective than he is subjective and soidealism, meditation, abstraction, andcontemplation are functions beyond hiscapabilities or else he finds them irritating to him. He cannot grasp the

reality and the satisfaction of unitaryprinciples an d ideals about th e Absoluteas expounded by either philosophy orreligion. Existence for these persons,who constitute the multitudes, meansempirical experience, things directlyand immediately realized through thesenses. Happiness, for example, isthings. It is not a state of calm andcomposure to them. Success in life is tothis multitude not a harmonious ad

justment to lifes demands. Rather, itis conceived by them as a dynamic ag

gression which seeks to surmount theforces of nature and bend them tohuman desires.

Whenever applied science produces anew device which gratifies the desiresand appetites of man or provides longerlife with accompanying leisure and themeans of overcoming ennui, it is her

alded by the multitude as a triumph.It is proclaimed as a gift to mankindand enhances mans devotion to, andreverence for, science as against traditional and historical religion.

Spiritual idealism

It must be apparent that without arevolutionary trend in religion, whichwill accept naturalism and also proveto men in some convincing manner theneed of a spiritual, unifying idealism,religion is doomed. The educated per

son, the intellectual, will drift from itin the decades to come. He will either

become a rank mater ia list or subscribeto a metaphysical system which doeswha t religion needs to do. The ignorant and superstitiousas well as thosewho have the vision to see behind religions restric ting dogmawill continueto support it, but in decreasing numbers.

Perhaps some will reply to this thatthere is no decrease in religion todayin the United States of America. Th at

is true. The larger of the religious sectsat the moment are booming. The y havelarger attendance and more churchesare being built. However, with the exception of the Roman Catholic Churchwhere political and other factors enterinto its membership-increase, this increase of attendance is of older personsfrom middle age onward. Th e greaternumber of these persons are not of thehigher educated classes.

At the moment in the United Statesof America a great division is under

way. On the one hand are those whoare more and more entering the technical fields and are influenced by thesciences, as well as those who areuniv ersity graduates. On the otherhand, we find those who have no such

background, who are mere ly consumersof what the technical era provides.The how and why of these technical

products and the natu ral laws underlying them rem ain mysteries. The y subconsciously feelif not consciouslyan insecurity and a fear of the new

knowledge and its power. They feelisolated m their personal lack of suchknowledge. They are conscious of an


8/45

T he

Rosicruc ian

Digest

Janua ry

1 9 5 6

T H E

THOUGHT OF THE MONTHEducation's Influence on Rel

k By THE IMPERATOR

d u c a t i o n and particularlynaturalism or the sci

ences have compe l ledmodification of the traditional position taken bysome of the religious sectswith respect to the interpretat ion of some of theirdoctrines. Even the Ro

man Catholic Church has conceded thedoctrine of evolution as an empiricalfacthut excluding man. The hum an

being, one of th eir bishops rece ntlycontended, is a Divine exception to thedevelopment from lower organisms.

The Roman Catholic Church, throughone of its prelates, has also admittedthat it could be possible, from a theological point of view, for living beingsto be existing elsewhere in the universe.However, he added that the salvationof such souls would have to be throughsuch doctrines as are taught by thechurch on earth.

Science has proved that many of thecosmological and ontological argumentsfor the creation of the earth and of

being, as expounded by religion, aregene rally unsound. Geology and an

thropology, for example, disprove thepop ularly held conception th at theworld began approximately 4000 yearsB.C., a date thought to correspond tothe Book of Genesis. Th ey have shownthat the six days of creation cannot beconstrued as periods of twenty-fourhours each. The y are but allegoricalreferences to periods of time w hich m aycorrespond to the eons of astronomyand geology.

One of the earliest of the still livingreligions, or Buddhism, in its doctrines,

has inveighed against the notion of anextern al heaven or hell. Buddha has

been declared by em inen t modern historians to be, in effect, the world'sfirst psychologist. Th e higher aspectsof Buddhism relegate to the humanconsciousness such states as heaven andhell; the ecstasy of heaven and thetorment of hell are wholly within the

bounds of the human mind. Modernpsychology has endeavored to provewhat certain philosophical schools havelong contendedthat many notionswith regard to supernaturalism are organic or functional in their origin.They have shown the nature of common dreams; they have affirmed theprecepts of mysticism th at the self isintegrated, that it functions on variouslevels of consciousness and is not singlein its nature. The y have also indicatedthat the moral sense or conscience isnot a substance implanted in man at

birth .There is, however, a radical tendency-

on the part of the supporters of naturalism, the sciences, to strike at idealism. In certain branches of the sciences,there are adherents who deny that

there is an absolute universal intelligence either existing in or lying behindna tural phenomena. Consequently, thisdisparages the basic precept of religionwhich is the recourse of the individualto a supreme intelligence. The individual is made in his entirety a productof unthinking, unconscious naturallaws. He is thought to have no moreunique relation to the fabric of realitythan does a tree or a rock. Self-consciousness is declared not to be anextension into man of a universal con-


9/45

T h e

Rosicru cian

D igest

January

1956

era which transcends them and theirlives. Th is induces emotionalism, akind of blind faith in a power thatthey do not feel compelled to understand from their point of view. Religionoffers them this emotional security. Tothem, in someway, God is greater thanall the astounding feats of science. Theyfeel a sense of protection in this thought.

These persons, though increasing thechurch attendance by their number atthe moment, ar e not necessarily religiousin the full sense of the word. Mystically,they cannot be said to be spirituallymotivated. The re is not inheren t within them the desire of a union withGod. The re is not necessarily withinthem the wish to establish a theocracyor a divinely inspired moral way oflife. Th ey do no t seek to translateintuitive concepts into a spiritual order

and society. Religion is to them but aharbor in a storm. Th eir prayers and

rites are the methods necessary to assure them the security that they emotionally crave. These persons are notthe ones who will ultimately advancereligion and secure its place in a futuresociety. T he ir greatest contribution toreligion is their political number andfinancial support.

We have, of course, spoken in general terms. The re are, in the minority,those who realize the need of spiritualidealism and who believe formal religion is the channel for it. Even theirnumber is growing less for they arereluctant to waste effort and years oftheir lives opposing an obsolescentmediaeval theology. The individualmystical approach makes an increasingappeal to them. The y find a greaterintimacy with the Cosmic, the divine,through the liberal play of their per

sonal consciousness within the boundsof their understanding.

V A V

WE THANK YOU

The thousands of Christmas and Holiday greetings which have arrived at Rosicrucian

Park by card, letter, cable, and other means, have brought joy to the officers and staffassistants of the Suprem e Gran d Lodge. W e w ish to thank the thousands of Rosicrucians

and the many Diges t readers for their kind seasonal remembrances.

Personal acknowledgments of the wonderful greetings sent to us would be a pleasure,

but natu ra ll y no t a possib ility . Thu s, we ta ke th is means of than ki ng each of you.

May you have a very happy and successful New Year!

THE ROSICRUCIAN STAFF

AMORC INITIATIONSCALIFORNIA, Hermes Lodge, 148 North Gramercy Place. Fifth Degree, Jan

Los Angeles: ua ry 21, 1956, at 8:00 p.m. (Please bring monog raph and card.)

San Francisco: Francis Bacon Lodge, 1957 Chestnut St. Seventh Degree, January8, at 1:00 p.m.

PENNSYLVANIA, Benjamin Franklin Lodge, 1303 W. Girard Ave. N in th Degre e,

Philadelphia: February 26, at 3:00 p.m.


10/45

^WfiLts,


11/45

T h e

Rosicruc ian

D igest

January

1956

and asked him for the whole story. Thistime I was ready with notebook and

pencil and a lot of questions. At firsthe hesitated. You wouldnt have to usemy real name, would you, if the thingever reached the printed page?

Not if you want it that way, I

assured him. It is the incident tha tcounts.

W ith th at Jack gave me a broad grinand began to tell his story, answeringall my questions and giving me longquotations. T he name Jackas you nowknow is fictitious.

During the First World War, I wasstationed in France with the A.E.F. asa member of the 63rd Coast ArtilleryCorps, Jack explained. At La Crotine,we were training artillery units in aSchool of Fire in mock warfare at whatwas know n as a datum point. My

position was at a telephone switchboardfrom which we sent instructions to threeBatteries of four guns each of 9-inchEnglish howitzers. Most im por tant inm y work was a sheet which showed ourown positions and the hypothetical positions of ene my installations. This sheethad been compiled by our observation

posts and Intelligence Departm en t. Inmock warfare we used hypotheticaldata.

At the time of my story, September,1918, I was to issue instructions forfiring in genuine warfare practice.

When I took the data sheet, a strange,disturbing feeling came over me thatsomething was wrong. I stared at thesheet of statistical matter, but whatcould I do? There were ma ny itemson it; they were as accurate as our ex

perts could make them , an d to recheckthem would require a long timeespecially on such a frail excuse as ame re hunch . So I shrugged off the disquieting feeling and turned to theswitchboard to carry out my duties.Upon this, a premonition of disastercame over me so strongly that I made

an emphatic protest.My commanding officer, Lieutenant........ , came over to see what was delaying the proceedings. W ha t is thematter, Jack? he asked.

Something is haywire here, Lieutenant, I answered, slapping the sheet.I dont know w hat it is. All I knowis that it gives me goose bumps and that

I have a terrific hunch that something is snarled up!

He could have ordered me to a hospital for an exam ination for shell shockor insanity or had me court-martialedfor stalling the works, but he did neither. For one thing, a strong friend

ship had developed between myself,the Chaplain, and the Lieutenant, andthe y had considerable confidence in me.So, although it took valuable time, heordered a thorough investigation and,to our amazement, found that the sheetgiven to me was one intended for mockwarfare. Later, when we had moretime, we carried the investigation alittle further and found that had myintuition not been heeded, and had thefiring instructions been sent out, wewould have shelled an observation postnine miles distant where eighteen of

our men were on duty.This demonstration of my psychicabilities, which surprised me as muchas anyone, brought me an unexpected30 days leave-of-absence which was to

be taken af te r the war was over, and1,000 francs for spending money. Ichose the following March of 1919.Jack reflected a moment and thencontinued.

Th e big question aroseWh ere shouldI go? The Chaplain helped me decide.He had a catalogue of the show placesand landmarks of Southern France and

run nin g his finger down the list he gavethe points of interest. Th e Shrine ofLourdes, he read.

Lourdes! That rang a bell with me.I had read articles in the Sunday newspa per supplem ents of the mirac le curesat the Grotto of Lourdes written byskeptical writers for a sensation-seekingpublic. Not man y of the fellows in theservice would have chosen such a spotfor a holiday, but that was the placefor me. Read no more, I told theChaplain. I m going to Lourdes.

I had been limping around with a

barbed-w ire in ju ry to m y left Achillestendon at the ankle. The arm y doctors had advised that nothing but surgery would help it, but another premonition had warned me to keep awayfrom surgery, although for the life ofme, I could not give a legitimate reason.However, nothing was farther from mymind now than to try for a cure by


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going to the Grotto. It would be jus t alark, a delightful holiday, a chance toget away from camp and visit the quiet,mountain resort in the Pyrenees, andju st take a casual look at th e place ofsuch a colorful tradition.

Upon arrival at the peaceful littletown I left my bags at the depot anddecided to wander about a bit beforelooking for a hotel room. I strolleddown to the Grotto, with its rows ofchairs placed before the niche wherestood the statue of the Virgin Mary;around it candles burned continually.I saw the crosses which had been erectedat various points on the surroundinghillsides which turned the place into a

vast, simulated cathedral; and I watchedthe penitent pilgrims as they walkedon padded knees from one cross to another. A few feet aw ay stood thechurch. W ithin it hun g the crutches,canes, and braces of invalids and cripples who had been miracu lously cured.Each crutch or brace bore the name ofts owner, the natu re of his m alady and

length of time he had suffered, and thedate of his recovery. Th is statisticalmatter is required by the Governmentto discourage indiscriminate claims tomiracle healing. Although I am aCatholic, I wasnt much impressed withthe idea of the miracles, bu t was enjoying the peace and quiet of the placeand its religious atmosphere.

After resting awhile before the shrine,I went to the fountain which is so vitalto the whole tradition. Here again, thelong restraining hand of the Government is seen, for posted at the fountainwas a sign stating the chemical analysisof the water and indicating that it was

no different from any good, mountain,spring water. I took a long, cool drink.It was refreshing and even exhilarating.I began to feel something unusualabubbling elation. Now , w ait a minute!Was I letting the charm and magnetismof this place cast a spell over me, too?

Curiosity now drew me toward thehospital. Still I was not think ing of myinjuryI just wanted to look around.I walked up the ramp a nd soon was approaching the front entrance when the

door opened. A man was just comingout of the building. At first I waspleasantly surprised at th e impressionof the gentleness of the man and a sort

of radiance th at surrounded him. It wasonly after I had taken up metaphysicalstudies years later that I realized thesignificance of that first impression.W ha t had caught m y attention was themans other self, or the real self behindthe physical manifestation, and this Ihad seen with my own psychic sight.After this first impression faded out, Isaw objectively that the man was ofmedium height, had graying hair, andthat he bore himself with a quiet digni ty and poise tha t was elegant. Hiseyes held mine with a gaze that wasintent and magnetic. They looked atme and throughme at the same time.

He greeted me politely in broken

English as he observed that I was anAmerican soldier and that I limpedwh en walking. W e chatted a few moments and I was soon telling him of theincident at the communication centerwhich brought m e m y leave-of-absence.Upon this, he gave me a penetratinglook and said, You must come in, andwe will look into this matter. I am interested in y o u r

He took me to a little parlor or consultation room, and there followed an

hour of conversation that marked aturn ing point in m y life. As we satthere, he talkedwords of wisdom thatI can he ar to this day. It was as if hewas telling me things tha t I had alwaysknown yet never really thought of, likeseeds that may lay dormant for yearsand then come to life and begin togrow. Ev ery sentence of his expressedsome mystical truth which could haveserved as the topic of a whole lecture.God is in everything, in every creaturean d in every m an, he said. The Cre

ator of all things could no more alienate himself from, or deny, that whichhe has created than a father coulddeny o r repudiate his patern ity of a sonhe has fathered. W e must rememberthat we are all sons of one father

one God! And while, like theprodigal son, we m ay tu rn ou r facesaway from Him and forget Him, Henever ignores or forgets us. T ha t is theGreat Miracle.

As if he had given me enough food

for thought for the present, he pausedand examined m y injury. The n suddenly taking my affairs into his ownhands, he looked up and smiled. You


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T h e

Rosicruc ian

D i gest

January

1956

will get your luggage from the depotand stay here for treatments. Heshowed me to a tiny room containinga cot and a dresser. This will be yourroom while you are here in Lourdes.

Now tell me, why are you doing allthis for me? I asked. You hav enttold me who you are or why you shouldtake so much interest in . . .

I am here to help all who are willing to receive help, ne answered quietly, and to treat sick minds as well assick bodies. Th e doctors here can cutaway morbid tissue in the body, but Itry to reach the morbid areas in the

patien ts m ind by changing the thoughtpa tterns and directing them in to hopeful and constructive channels. As forme, I am just a humble worker in Godsvineyard. I am Director of this hospital

by an ap po intm en t of the Frenc h gov

ernment.Then tell me, I said when I had

recovered my wits, did Bernadettereally see a visionof the Virgin M ary?

She beheld an apparition, or experienced what is called a psychic ph enomenon.

Then I asked if he would explain theso-called miracle cures that had taken

place there. This was his explanation :When a number of people get togetherwith a lofty and worthy purpose and

become highly emotional, m an y unusu-al things can happen because there is a

vibrant energy developed that flowsthrough all the organs and cells of thebodies of those par ticipating in theecstatic experience. There is then established a harmony that transcends allthe ills of the body and the results arewh at we call miracles. But this hospitalis here with its staff of doctors andnurses, and I am here as Director, because the Government officials maintain that faith healing or miraclesshould not be allowed to take the place,completely, of good common sense andthe regular orthodox methods of heal

ing. The Government is also keepinga watchful eye over the opportunistsand promoters, the cultists ana religionists, who would like to put their ownlabel of ownership upon the whole

place with al l its possibilities an d itsappeals.

I settled myself in the little roomand the treatm ents started. The Director supervised them himself. First he

sent me out for a long tramp over thehills to stretch the tendons and exercisethe muscles of m y leg. T ha t was painful, and on my return I was instructedto plunge my foot and ankle into hotwater to relax the muscles and hastenthe healing process.

Perhaps your head hurts, too, hesuggested, seeing me pressing my handto m y head, as he began to massage andman ipulate the injured area. I admittedthat I had been bothered with headaches, especially after walking had aggravated the soreness in my ankle.T ha t is na tura l, he told me, since forevery lesion to nerve or muscle in thebody ther e is a corresponding area inthe b rain wh ich is affected also. W emu st treat y our head, too. Whereupon,he gave treatments to my head, spine,and neck. These treatments have since

become familiar to me through a courseof metaphysical studies.

Although I stayed at Lourdes for fivedays, the treatments were finished in three days and my ankle was healed.I was not charged a sou for the treatments, nor for my board and room atthe hospital. On returnin g to the UnitedStates after the war, the seeds of mystical truths which had been planted inmy mind at Lourdes were stirring anddemanding attention. For this reason Istarted searching for occult and mystical truths.

When I tell people this experience,the y always ask: W ha t is there aboutthe Grotto at Lourdes and the vicinityto account for the young girls psychicand spiritual attunement, and whatcauses all those who visit the Shrine tofeel such exalted moods and emotions?My answer is this: There have beenand are many places throughout theworld where people feel closer to God.These a re temples, ancient and modern,or shrines and cathedralsor maybe alittle isolated spot in a persons ownhome. Perhaps the Oracle of Delphi

belonged to such a place.The people throng to these holylaces in worshipful adoration and asumble seekers for assurance that God

has not forgotten them. It is m y firmconviction that in time long past, theGrotto at Lourdes was used as a placeof worship and retreat and for the enactment of sacred rites, and that thewhole area is charged with Cosmic


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energies of the highest potentiality.Bernadette, in her youth and innocenceand sensitivity, sensed these sublimeand psychic energies, which, in hermind, took the form of a supernatural

being which she called the beau tifullady . I believe th at there is a beautiful lady in the lives of all of us, butwe need the attunement of our psychicsensibilities to see her.

Th e Grotto is a focal point (as are thetemples and cathedrals) of divine andspiritual essences because of the faithand hope which the people themselves

bring with them . W itn th eir own grati

tude and humility, such persons createthe exalted atmosphere which is a partof the place. Th en they find the enlightenment and strength they areseeking.

V A V

Jliu'uncj cJ-fzxz a n d


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T h e

Ros ic ruc ian

D i gest

January

1956

Group Power in Action

T he 1955 Creative W riting W orkshop of the Rose-Croix Univers ity concentrated in gene ralon the necessity for hum an understanding. Am ong others, they probed and analyzed qualitiessuch as love, enthusiasm, fun, b eauty. An overnig ht contem plation was assigned to each topic.Then, writing simultaneously and under deep concentration, the class of 25 conditioned to express as a single unit devoted 10 minu tes only to each subject. The instigator of his topicacting as a dynamic center and keeping the viewpoint of oneness then compiled a single paper

of expression from the 10-minute papers of the entire class, choosing words or statements whichappealed to him or her as highlights. Th e following is one of the 10-minute writings. Mo rewill appear.

ON ENTHUSIASM

Compiled byH e l e n E. H o o l

h a t d oes en t h u s i a s mmean? How is it acqui red? W ha t cause sfootball and baseball fansto scream with joy? Wh yare some people enthusiastic and others not?

Enthusiasm is the ca-___________ pacity to enjoy lifeto

be happy and thankfu l for it. I t ismore than mere joyit is an excitingof the whole person. Th e Greek wordenthusiasm means to be inspired orpossessed by the god. The birds haveit when they are building their nests,or a dog when you throw a stick forhim.

Where there is enthusiasm there isactivityneve r stagnation. It is a sortof living energy, indicating an attune-ment and understanding of life in its

m an y phases. It inspires one to givehis best efforts to any project.Perhaps enthusiasm has its very be

ginning in a need planted in good environ ment. Th e seed becomes softenedand its hard outer shell begins to disintegrate, gradually opening to consciousnessat first, perhaps, in protest.It is caught by the warmth it encoun

ters, and suddenly the little seed findsitself interestedeven enthusiastic. Enthusiasm comes from within and is nodoubt an attribute of all human beingsalthough it may be sleeping in thosewho do not express it. Perh aps it isthe awakening of God within.

Act ing under Div ine i nsp i r a t i on ,Wagnercomposer-musicianwas soenthusiastic about the composition ofhis drama-operas that his physician advised him to work on something lighterbecause he was deple ting his strength.But his Lohengr in was so urgently desirous of expression that he had to continue until it was complete.

A prayerful attitude toward life isone of the greatest aids in bringingabout an enthusiastic approach to endeavor. W ithout it, work or play is dulland uninspiring. All the great achieve

ments of mankind have come aboutthrough enthusiastic attitudes.As an aid to human understanding,

group-work will bring people from different stations of life into a commonactivity. Contacts na tura lly spread toother interests, and we learn to knowand understand people we would nototherwise meet. Enthusiasm for activi


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The

R.osicrucian

Digest

January

1956

The Twelve DisciplesB y L y m a n B. J a c k e s

rou, as a reader, would

ditions and mode of living of 2,000 years ago,there is readily availablea mass of information toform a background foraddit ional m at er ia l . Ihave in mind a great

mystery of the New Testament, as contained in the ordinary copy of the HolyBible, The question is, Wha t hap

pened to the eleven disciples after theresurrection of Jesus Christ?

The New T estament records that oneof them died, but it gives two, andgreatly varying , details of the death ofJudas Iscariot. Ma tt. 27:5 states tha tJudas hanged himself. Peter, in Th e

Acts 1:18 says, Now this man (JudasIscariot) purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong,he burst asunder in the miast, and allhis bowels gushed out. Ho w is one tocorrelate those two and greatly varyingaccounts of the only one of the twelvedisciples of which there is any mentionof his end? If it is assumed that Johnwrote the Book of Revelation, he did soas a very old man, spending his lastSPCdays on the Island of Patmos wherehe died of natural causes at a very ripeage.

It is therefore of little use to searchthrough the books that now make upthe New Testament for informationconcerning the other ten of the originaltwelve disciples. Buta nd this is avery important butthe very first,verse of The Acts gives a clue to thekey that may throw some light on thisgreat my stery. Luke, autho r of The

Acts, in this opening verse states: Theformer treatise have I made, O The-ophilus . . W ha t was this forme rtreatise? Was it the book now knownas the Gospel According to St. Luke orwas it some lost manuscript, one ofhundreds that were written during thefirst century and a half of this era,many of which still exist and are carefully tended in the great libraries ofEurope?

Most readers are aware that there isan Apocrypha of the Old Testament.Many of the older printings of the family Bible contain these writings. Theyare writings that are contemporarywith the accepted books of the OldTestament which are considered to benot quite canonical. But how m any

readers are aware that there is also anApocrypha of the New Testament?There is such a volume but you willhave to look far and wide for a copy.It is a very rare publication. Th e copyI have, which I acquired after years ofsearching, was published in London,England, more than a century ago. It isa translation of numerous writings thatwere made at about the same time asthe accepted books of our New Testam ent were being penned. These little-known writings not only throw muchlight on what happened to the remain

ing disciples but they also include illuminating information on travel andliving during the early decades of theprese nt era. As an example, Judas isgenerally referred to as Judas Iscariot.W ha t does the word Iscariot mean? Alittle study of these rare writings discloses that it is not one word but two.These two words from the ancient He


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brew are difficult to transla te in toGreek and for this reason a very crude

phonetic spelling of th e two words iscontinued in the New Testament.

The word scariot, from the old He

brew, suggests that Ju das came from afamily of leather workers. The i infront of scariot implies that Judas worea leather apron into which was seweda strong pocket for the carrying ofmoney. Th e New Testamen t gives ahint of that translation when it declares that Judas was the one of thetwelve who carried the money.

There was a command given to theeleven disciples after the resurrectionof Jesus Christ. This command is foundin Mark 16:14-15. Afterward he appeared unto th e eleven as th ey sa t atmeat, and upbraided them with theirunbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them whichhad seen him after he was risen. Andhe [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye intoall the world, and preach the gospel toevery creature.

The books of the Apocryphal NewTestament tell much not only of howthe eleven disciples carried out thatcommand but also they throw a great

deal of light on travel and living conditions of that period.There is one basic fact of which the

reader should be fully aware: that isthe tendency to look upon the disciplesas poor menalmost paupers, in fact.They were not paupers. Th ey all hadtrades and could support themselves.But what I desire to make very clearis that during the three years of theearthly ministry of Jesus Christ themovement had attracted the active attention of some very wealthy persons.

Two of these received more than passing notice in the New Testament.The first is Nicodemus, a ruler of the

Jews, who came to Jesus by night during the early days of the ministry.

Nicodemus also stood up in the templeenclosure (just before Judas enters thestory) and warned the Council thatthey had better leave things alone.Nicodemus was a very wealthy manand controlled large blocks of propertyin the business center of Jerusalem. A nother very wealthy man who became

attracted to the new movement wasJoseph of Arimathea. This Joseph wasa mining man. He had heavy interests

in th e tin m ines of Cornwall, in Britain.He had a fleet of ships, or cargo vessels,th at brought the tin to Palestine. Inextensive metallurgical plants wh ich heowned, he mixed and melted this tin

with copper and was the greatest producer of bronze at tha t time. The NewTestament gives two meager glimpsesof his wealth. It is stated tha t he hada rock-hewn tomb on the outskirts ofJerusalemand also that he walkedright into the private apartments ofPilate during the late afternoon of thefirst Good Friday . Pilate was verykeenly interested in anyone who hada large quantity of loose change onhand . In M att. 27:57-58, it is stated,When the even was come, there camea rich man of Ar-i-ma-theea, namedJoseph . . . He went to Pilate . .

Many years ago in England, a smallbook appeared th at attem pted to provea rath er s tartling assumption. This bookdeclared that this Joseph of Arimatheaand Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus,were first cousins. It also declared thatJoseph, before he married Mary, wasa widower and had six children of hisown. This is to some extent substantiated in the Apocryphal writings.

This English book stressed the fact thatthe Gospels give no information concerning Jesus between his stay-over inthe temple, at the age of twelve years,and his appearance at the weddingwhere he performed his first recordedmiracle at the age of thirty. Th e book

bo ldly asked th e question , W here wasJesus during those eighteen silentyears? It attem pted to prove that Jesushad gone with his fathers cousin,Joseph of Arimathea, to England; andit tried to build up this theory with the

backing of a tradit io n that a very ancient church in the southern part ofEngland was actually founded by JesusChrist himself.

But putting aside fantasy, there canbe li ttle doubt concerning the possibilities that the eleven disciples, after theascension of Jesus, went to Jerusalemand had a serious talk with these moneyed men concerning ways and meansof carrying out the command to go intoall the world. Joseph offered all possible means of transportation on his

cargo ships. Others who had businessconnections with countries east of theRed Sea also offered the fullest co-op


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T h e

Rosicruc ian

D igest

January

1956

eration with their business setup. Ifthis sounds a bit far-fetched, the readershould realize that much of the goldthat went into the decoration of Solomons magnificent temple at Jerusalemcame from w hat is now Rhodesia in thesoutheastern par t of Africa. Also, the

precious wood used fo r the in te rior em be llishmen t came fro m Ceylon. Hiram ,king of Tyre, had fleets on the Red Seathat made journeys over the IndianOcean. Tha t was some twelve centuriesbefore the events th at are being considered in this story.

The early portion of The Acts discloses that the eleven were together ata meeting called for the purpose of appointing someone to take the place leftvacant by Judas. Th ere is no mentionof the ir being togethe r again. Some ofthem, in small groups, started out ontheir distant journey. A few w ent westward directly to Rome and anothergroup went eastward. Thomas was inthis latter group, and there is considerable evidence to support the suggestion that he got as far as Madras,India.

The Acts described minutely thejourney of Paul to Rome when he wasa prisoner and had appealed to Caesar.This account goes into details of theshipwreck on the southern shores ofMalta. This trip of Paul probably tookplace ab out 40 A.D. W hen Paul arrived in Rome he was taken before thelocal judicial authorities, and because

none of his accusers had appeared tosupport the charges against him, hewas released on bail. Pau l now hadthe freedom to move about the city.What did he find there?a large andinfluential group of early Christians.Paul himself states that they includedeven members of Caesars household.Among this group were persons ofwealth and station. The y establishedPaul in one of the finest houses in thebest residential section of Rome a t thatperiod. The re nt th at th is group paidfor this accommodation would be equivalent to $4,000 a mon th today. Th eyprovided Paul with scribes, householdservants, and messengers. It was bymeans of this service that Paul dictatedmany of the letters or epistles that areincluded in the New Testament oftoday.

One of the disciples who made a(Continued on Next Page)

2 .ue 4i


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visit to Rome prior to Paul was Jamesdescribed as James th e Lesser. Therewere two men named James amongthe original twelve disciples. One wasa brother of John, the son of Zebedee,

and a full first cousin to Jesus Christ.This was not James the Lesser. Jamesthe Lesser, after a stay of a few yearsin Rome, went westward as far asSpain. He was aw ay from Palestinefor some fourteen years. Upon his return, he was ordered before the courtof Herod Agrippa. He told, to this be-sotten ruler, such an extraordinary account of his travels, that Herod decidedhe was a mad man and ordered thathis head be cut off. It is stated that

after the execution his body was takenback to Spain. There is a mon um entamid the ruins of a former coastaltown that supposedly marks the burialplace of James.

It is claimed that Bartholomew wenteastward with one of the first knowncopies of the Gospel of Matthew inthe Hebrew tongue. Mo st of the othercopies were written in Greek. He wasin Mesopotamia (Iraq), Persia, andIndia. These ancient writings in the

New Testament Apocrypha declarethat he was flayed alive in India.This claim is somewhat supportedfrom the fact that Michelangelo por-

V A

trays Bartholomew as holding his ownskin in his hands.

Philip went southward into Egypt.The priests at Hierapolis ordered hisexecution. James, the brothe r of John,

visited Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia, andPersia. Du ring his retu rn from thisjourn ey he was killed, in a mob violence, in Syria. An drew we nt to Greeceand, after a period of preaching, soexcited the animosity of the local dignitaries that he was crucified at Patras.John and Peter went to Samaria wherethe local authorities decided to showthem what they thought of their newdoctrine. John was immersed in boiling whale oil but survived that torture.

He escaped by ship to the Island ofPatmos, one of the small islands off thecoast of the Greek mainland. He diedthere from natural causes at the oldage of about ninety-five.

From Madras on the east coast ofIndia to the Atlantic shores of Spainwas a fair piece of territory for thesem en to cover in a few years. For themost part they were repaid with violence and brutality for their efforts.Two thousand years later, the worldsaw the leaders of todays four great

nations journey to Geneva, Switzerland,to see if it might be possible to putinto practice those same principles thatthe early travelers preached about.

V

ATTENTION, HIERARCHY MEMBERS

Those who have attained to the Hierarchy and understand the purpose and importance

of these special Contact Periods are invited to participate in, and report on, the following

occasions.

First, mark the dates given below on your calendar. Arran ge in advance for a few

uninterrupted m inutes at the given hour. W hile benefiting yourself, you m ay also aid

the Hierarchy. In repor ting to the Imperator, please indicate your key num ber and the

last monograph received, as well as your Degree. Th e Im perator appreciates your

thoughtfulness in not including other subject matter as a part of your Hierarchy report.

Thursday, February 23, 1956

8:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time

Thursday, May 17, 19568:00 p.m., Pacific Daylight Saving Time


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independence of competing attractions.When a growing p*een shoot is ex

posed to ligh t coming from differentdirections, it bends toward a point intermediate to the two sources instead

of turning straight toward the strongerlight. If organized like a physical system or even like a plant, Balaams assin the philosophical riddle would indeed starve to death if placed exactlymidway between two equally temptingbundles of hay; yet, no one who knowsdonkeys has any doubt what the outcome of such an experiment would be.

In all probability, then, our volitionsare in typical cases causally determined, not by the kind of causationthat prevails in physical systems, but

by a unique form of causal sequencethat gives us a control over our destinysuch as no inanimate body enjoys.This is true even if we accept thecontention that mind or consciousnessis only an attribute of a complex material system. If, as seems probable,mind is not merely a manifestationof matter, its thoughts may still bestrictly determinate, although obedientto causal rules distinct from those whichreign in the realm of m atter. Althoughin either case mental causation is dif

ferent from physical causation, on thesecond view it is even more radicallydistinct. I see no reason for anyonesrejecting the conclusion that our volitions follow some form of causalitymerely because this seems incompatiblewith his notions of human dignity orhis aspiration for freedom. Could webe free unless our ev ery volition werestrictly determined by what we essentially are?

Philosophers and scientists through theages have considered from many viewpointsthe problem of free will, and the exercise offreedom and choice by individuals. Articleson this subject have appeared before in theRosicruc ian Digest; and, of course, studiesof it have been made in other Rosicrucianliterature.

Here, we have a presentation whichshould be of much interest to every thinkingindividual. Th e auth or is a recognizedscientist in a specialized field of biology. Inthis writing, he has applied his scientificknowledge, as well as his own philosophy,to this subject. Each age in hist ory createsits peculiar problems, and man should constantly analyze his own position of responsibility in dealing with the world of whichhe is a part.

As stated earlier, when facing achoice scarcely anyone doubts his perfect freedom to elect the course whichappears best to him; and it is onlywhen viewing in retrospect a decision

which has been irrevocably made thatwe sometimes doubt whether our choicewas as free as it appeared to be. Sinceour solution of the problem of freedomhardly exerts an appreciable effect upon our actual choices, the active manmight look upon the question as of noimportance to himself, but merely oneof those puzzles which fill the leisureof arm chair philosophers. But freedomof choice cannot be so lightly brushedaside even by men of action; for twomom entous questions of practical impor

tance are indissolubly bound up withitpersonal responsibility and retributive punishmen t. The problem of moralfreedom is implicit in every sentencehanded down in a criminal court.

Conduct and Responsibility

If adamantine causal sequences ruleour thoughts and govern our volitionsno less than the courses of the planetsand the reactions in a test tube, howcan anyone be held responsible for hisdeeds? No one doubts th at ones con

duct is in large measure determinedby his heredity, the influences of hishome, his education, and the prevailingsocial atmosphere. Th e only questionis whether it is completely determinedby these preced en t an d external influences. If ones conduct is wh olly sodetermined, how can the murderer beheld responsible for his murder and therobber for his theft? Would it no t bemost unjust to punish him for what hecould not avoid doing?

As a practical measure, whatever

view it takes of the problem of moralfreedom, society m ust for its own safetytreat its members as though they werewholly responsible for all they do. Th eman may indeed be merely a focus ofevents which flowed into him from themost distant past and from all sidesa mere puppet in the hands of fate.But it is impossible to trace back allthese contributory causes and deal witheach one separately, dividing a murderers punishment between his drunken father and his profligate mother,

his incompetent teachers, all those whoset him a vicious example in his im


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T h e

Ros ic ruc ian

D igest

January

1956

pressionable childhood, and the commu nity a t large for permitting so man yunwholesome situations in its midst.

Society must, so to speak, gather upall these contributing strands wherethey are entangled in a tight knot inthe culprit himself, and deal with the

knot rather than with the convergingfilaments. It is not a question of justice so mu ch as of necessity. Andeven if it decides to make the murderers punishment vindictive ratherthan merely corrective and preventive,pe rhaps this procedure is not so unreasonable as it is often alleged to be.We cannot separate a man from hisdeeds merely by claiming that theyare the result of an ineluctable necessity. Th e man himself is a product ofthe same necessity; he and his actsare inseparably interwoven of the samecausal strands. If the w hole course of

cosmic events has resulted in a noisome concrescence at that particularlocus in time and space which we callJohn Brown, it does not seem unfairthat other men, who have been outraged by his flagrant misdeeds, shouldretaliate upon him.

Although the uncertainty as to thenature of moral freedom must alwaysbe allowed to cast a doubt upon thefairness of vindictive punishment, thequestion is of mere academic interest,because th ere are other an d be tter reasons for avoiding it. Even if it werenot considered unreasonable to inflictretributive pains upon a miscreant whois in the grip of iron necessity, themoment punishment ceases to be corrective or preventive it breeds resentment and further crime, and one whopunishes in an angry and vengefulmood departs from the highest moralpr inciples an d harms his ow n spiri t.These are the reasons for our scrupulously shunning retaliatory punishment.

When arraigned before the court, thecriminal or his counsel urges every extenuating circumstance and uses everyart to make it appear that he is not

responsible for his crime. And in asmaller way, we all tend to do thesame tiling before the tribunal of ourconscience or the judgment of our intimates. W e excuse our shortcomings,weaknesses, and surrenders to passion

by reca lling ou r perhaps unfo rtunateheredity, the errors in our early train

ing, the evils of contemporary society,and a thousand other contributory factors over which we had no control. Inview of the obscurity enveloping the

problem of moral freedom an d th e deterministic explanations of human conduct in which modern psychology

abounds, we have every right to takethis course. The re can be no doubtthat ancestors, early environment, education, and the contemporary atmosphe re ex er t a powerful influence up onevery mans conduct; yet, we did notselect our parents, could do scarcelyanything to improve the conditions inwhich we passed our earliest years,were rarely allowed to choose ourteachers, and have a negligible influence upon the society into whose midstwe were cast as helpless infants. W henwe throw the blame for our aberrations and failures upon causes beyond

our control, we do nothing wicked orabsurd, and no one can prove that weare wrong.

Yet if it is permissible to take thisattitude toward ourselves, it is morallyfatal to do so. Such a willful surren derof ones autonomy is the annihilationof his ethical personality. W e view ourselves as a mere focus of causal sequences, as little able to alter theircourse as the point in empty spaceupon which rays of light converge canchange their direction. W e divest ourselves of radical responsibility at thepr ice of ou r human dign ity .

W ha t alternative course is open tous? We can voluntarily assume theresponsibility for all those causal sequences, stretching as far back into theremote past as we care to project ourthought, which have made us what weare. Our parents, who were not of ourchoosing, have transmitted to us weaknesses and faults of character whichhave been a constant tribulation to usand perhaps also physical defects thathandicap us.

In the impressionable years of ourchildhood we were exposed to unwhole

some influences which have left indelible scars up on ou r sp irit; our presentcircumstances are not as we strove tomak e them. Very well, we voluntarilyaccept all this sad legacy of the yearsand make it our own. The burden wasthrust upon us by alien powers; butwe bear it bravely, without remon


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strance or complaint. W e do no t pauseto discuss baffling metaphysical questions of causation and responsibility;by a voluntary ac t we make ourselvesaccountable for all that we do, and bythis free acceptance of our own person

ality demonstrate our autonomy. Thebehavior ist may , if it amuses him , explain all ou r attitudes , words, an d deedsas the necessary outcome of circumstances beyond our control; but wemake every choice as though the fullweigh t of it rested upon ourselves alone.

Only by such full and uncompromising acceptance of everything w hich theunalterable past has poured into thatwhich I call myself can I constitutemyself an ethical person. I do not waituntil society for its own ends fixes

responsibility upon me, for such imputed responsibi lity is a fiction. I an ticipate society, claiming responsibilityas my birthright, and thereby assertmy freedom.

This voluntary acceptance of responsibility is no idle boast, no childishgesture of defiance to an inexorablefate. The ch ain of causation m ay pass

unbroken, within the mind as in theexternal world, with all the iron rigorwhich nineteenth century materialismascribed to it. Yet we are as certainas we can be of anything that inchoices of the sort which we call vol

untary, the causal sequence follows aunique route which sets it sharplyapart from the causal nexus we observe in purely physical systems. Suchchoices are made with a view to thefuture, and in reaching them we cangive our ideals and aspirations a voicein shaping the course of coming events.Necessity m ay ru le in th e will no lessthan in the falling stone, but it is nowan enlightened not a blind necessity.Causal sequences which, for all weknow, have since the beginning of time

coursed through the world without adefinite end are by the moral will atlast given a purpose and redirected tow ard a n ideal goal. By the free acceptance of responsibility we begin tomake ourselves what we aspire to be,autonomous units dedicated to the sacred task of increasing harmony everywhere and in all its forms.

V A V

TRUTH CLOSE AT HAND

B e l o w are the comments of Benjamin Franklin, famous American statesman,

on the tolerance of Michael Wo hlforth. The latter was associated with a sect atEph rata, Pennsylvan ia. Th is sect was composed of mystics who perpetuated

many Rosicrucian doctrines, rites, and symbols brought with them from Europe.

This modesty in a sect is perhaps a singular instance in the history of mankind. Every

other sect supposes itself in possession of full truth and that those who differ are so far in

the wrong; like a man traveling in foggy weather, those at some distance before him on the

road he sees wrap ped up in a fog, as we ll as those behind him, and also the people in the

fields on each side, but near him all appears clear, though in truth he is as much in the

fog as any of them. B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n

V A V

Reckon the days in which you have not been angry . I used to be angry every

day; now every other day, then every third and fourth day; and if you miss itso long as thirty days, offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

E p i c t e t u s


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T h e

Rosicruc ian

D igest

January

1956

The Cathedral of the Soul is a Cosmic meeting place for all minds of the

most highly developed and spiritually advanced members and workers of theRosicrucian fraternity. 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 C athedral at 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. Th e book called Libe r 777 describes the periodsfor various contacts with the Ca thedral. Copies will be sent to persons whoare not members if they address their requests for this book to Scribe S. P. C.,care of AMORC Temple, San Jose, California, enclosing three cents in postagestamps. (Please state whether m ember or not this is important.)

S O L I T U D EBy C e c i l A. P o o l e , Supreme Secretary

t was once believed thatsolitude was essential tomans spiritual growth.A few hund red years ago,there developed the fanatical idea that thosewho were par t i cu l a r lyadvanced spiritually, whoattained great power of

mind and were to be looked upon asexamples, were those who isolated them

selves and lived alone. Hermits wereregarded as holy men, and at one timethe monastic life was considered to beideal only if it were a life of absolutesolitude and denial of all physical pleasures and conveniences. These ideaswere carried to such extremes that someindividuals lived on top of columnsaway from any physical contact with

anyone else, some went to the mountains and lived in caves, or otherwiseisolated themselves from their fellowmen.* The erroneous concept developed that isolation in itself became akey to mental, and even spiritualgrowth.

The idea is, of course, based upon awrong premise. Na ture did not intendthat man should isolate himself fromthe existence of other men, or rather

it was not intended that God would lookwith favor only upon those who refused to associate with the ir fellow men.Consequently, the idea of solitude as ameans of growth became less and lessacceptable, until in more recent yearsthe individual who isolates himselfcompletely from society is consideredto be unique and even erratic, rather


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than one to be pointed out as a personwho has achieved more than those whochoose to relate themselves in the normal way with other hu m an beings.

The way in which man lives today,

except for those who are isolated dueto some physical barrier or condition,has brought about less of the conceptof solitude than has existed at any othertime. M an need not be alone today.Cities and suburban areas tend to create social groups. If an ind ividu al doeslive a few miles away from someoneelse, he still can, by means of telephone,radio, and television, be in contact withother hum an beings. If that contactdoes not in the physical sense enableone to touch other individuals who com

pose society abo ut him , a t least one canparticipate in the same recreation , thesame events. We can be up to date withthe news and be, through the mediumof communication as it now exists, inactual contact with any individual thatwe may choose. To day we can pick upa telephone and talk to almost anyonein the civilized world. It has becomecommon to talk long distances withinour own immediate area, as well asthroughout the world. In o ther words,solitude is no longer a physical necessity. It is a rare condition th at maybe brought abo ut by unusual circum stances or by our voluntary isolationfrom fellow individuals.

Like many other things, the beliefin the advantages of solitude was at onetime exaggerated. I t has been gradually determined that there were manymen of saintly character who did notfollow any unusual behavior or patterns. In o ther words, living alone ina cave does not make a man a saint

any more than living in the most congested area of a large cityneithercould contribute to nor detract fromthe saintly attribute of any individual.Man has learned that he is responsibleto a certain extent to other individuals,and that they, too, are responsible to

* Du ring a certain period in the e arly historyof the Christian church, to retire to caves andmountains became an obsession with thosewho wished to practice extreme forms ofmonasticism. In parts of wha t is now the

territory of the Eastern church, hermits saton columns exposed to the elements, andthere performed their monastic practiceswhere all could see.

him , and tha t this is due to the complexinterrelationships of society as it nowexists. W e need the services of otherindividuals in order to live with a reasonable degree of convenience.

The fact that those who isolatedthemselves completely from humansociety were not found to be the onlyones that grew in stature and development is not conclusive proof that solitude does not have some advantages.The injunctionman know thyselfisa recommendation for man to stop occasionally in the process of daily living,and realize that certain potentialitiesfor growth and for happiness lie withinhimself. If m an is going to realize andcome to understand these possibilities

or potentialities, he must at some timein life have the time and opportunityto associate exclusively with himself.

Actually, the other extreme fromthe practice of the hermits of the pastm ay exist in some people today. Some

people are afraid of themselves. Theydo not risk any possibility of solitude.They seem to crave a life in whichthere is a continual attempt to avoidsolitude. No m oment is left alone orunplanned. Outside of the working

period of th e day, some people must beconstantly with a groupeither at a

party or partic ip ating in some entertainment or activity that will completely occupy the ir objective mind.

Solitude, on the other hand, is a diversion for the inner self, or for thesubjective mind. Solitude gives us theopportunity to use reason, to turn overin our consciousness the concepts thathave entered our mind, those thingswhich we have perceived and whichare ours to consider. It is only in soli

tude that we are able to look clearlywithin our own consciousness and tobring ou t of it those aspects which areexclusively ours to consider. W heth eror not we have abilities to meet withthe complications and demands of ourlives is little known to many people. Itwould be advisable if every individualwould take some time alone, whetherit be a short walk in the morning orthe evening, or merely a relaxationfrom the demands of the day to contemplate the circumstances of his life

and environment. Solitude will openthe ability of the mind to perceive themore subtle impressions which reach


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us, and it will cause us to relate theseimpressions to the circumstances aboutus.

We live in an age when, accordingto the things which we are taught, weare the recipients of more advantagesthan has ever before been the privilege

of man. But wha t good will these ad-vantages do unless we make ourselvesaware of them, unless within our ownconsciousness the advantages whichseem to be ours can be consolidated,can be made to register in the consciousness of our objective being? W e need

a few minutes a day in complete solitude, or isolation to the extent that thehermit isolated himself; that is, weneed moments when we can close thedoor of our room or go for a walk whereno one will see or bother us. Merelythinking, permitting every memory,

every impression to register itself uponthe consciousness, and directing our attention to those thoughts that inspire usor seem to hold a possibility of a solution to some problem, may prove to bethe k ey th at we need to unlock the doorto the mastery of life.

V A V

Sanctum Musings

By L. H. E w e l s , F.R.C., of Londons u b j e c t conducive t omeditation often leads toa new light on an oldenigma. A mem ory stirsand, then, with intelligent direction, restores toconscious life a lost segment of the Cosmic pattern buried deep in the

luman heart.A perennial topic among mystical

students is the origin of man. Even inwritten records much remains hidden.Beyond the golden age of Egyptstretches the far vista of Atlanteancivilizationsand, farther still, those ofLem uria. Did a yet more ancient continent provide a home for a humanityso remote that even science fictionhas not found a theme for it? In Greekmythology the sun-god Apollo retreatedto a hyperborean land which hasbeen described by Helena P. Blavatskyas the continent of the second root-race.

Postulating the existence of a farnorthern continent, where may we expect to find some remains? Around the

North Pole there exists main ly frozenocean. A change in the geographicalposition of the axis of th e earth is qu itea fair explanation for the absence of apresen t-d ay hyperboreos, but is it theonly one? How about Antarctica? Morethan one thinker has inclined to theview that the sun rose in the West longago. Such a theory finds suppo rt in

reversed drawings of the Zodiac discovered in some parts of the world. Thechange to an eastern rising may havecome about through a not-too-violentinversion of the Ea rths axis. Fromthese possibilities we may well look tothe Antarctic Continent as once hyperbo rean . Does the fu tu re hold ou t anyhope of clearing up the mystery? Ithink it does. Discouraging obstacles asthe ice-covered mountains of the SouthPole may be, the mind of man (nowdeep in the processes of redirecting the

spirit-energy of the atom into channelsof unlimited power) is fast approachingthe age when it will uncover landswhich have been uninhabited for eonsof time. Beneath the preserving cold ofAntarctica there may yet be found avery exciting ancestry.

Sons of the Sun

Moving forward to the era of writing on stone, clay, and papyrus, thesearching mind focuses upon some intriguing names in religious history.Abraham, the name of the Patriarch of

Shinar living about 1750 B.C., has acognomen which, according to some authorities, signifies No-Brahman, theA- being a negative prefix as inSanskrit and Greek. Did this courageousman lead a branch of an ancient racewhich had divided against Brahmanism? If so, what of his son Ismael andhis grandson Israel? Here are two


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terms with a suspiciously Egypto-He-braic influence. It is tr ue th at whentransliterating from one alphabet toanother there is a risk of losing thevalue of some letters, but can we fairlyignore the syllables MA, RA, EL? EL

is Hebrew for God; RA is Egyptian forthe God of the Sun, while MA maywell be part of the word MAA T, m eaning Truth in the Egyptian language. Ifour inference is correct, Is-MA-El stoodfor people of the T ru e God and providedthe grand tradition for Islam; whileIs-Ra-El, the name acquired by Jacobnot long prior to his leaving with hisfamily for Egypt, suggests a mutualrecognition of one Supreme God forboth Hebrews and Egyptians .

Around 2250 B.C., a great Babylonian king promulgated a Code oflaws which evidently influenced Mosessome centuries later. His nam e wasHammurabi which could be writtenHam -Araby. Did the true Arabian peoples arise from Ham , th e second sonof Noah? This is an interes ting question which may never be fully answered, but certainly offers a line ofresearch.

Before leaving archaic names, wemight be reminded that the word al

chemy came from the ancient name ofEgyptthe land of KEMthrough theArabic A l Qemi.

Point within the Circle

Yesterday, as it were, modern manlearned to travel through the soundbarr ier, where, but for radio, the senseof hearing would be of no more use tohim. The greatest velocity in Natureis attained by light and similar electromagne tic waves. Supposing m an eventua lly develops a space-ship to approach

this critical speed relative to, say theEarth? W hat then if he accelerates(again relatively) through the speed oflight? W ill he penetrate a time barrier? Will he see his own or Earthshistory in reverse? The m ind of man iscausative. W ho dare place a limit toits future? Th e notion of time-travelhas, apart from fiction, been the prerogative of the mystic who can projecthis consciousness psychically into thepast, or, where karm a has foreordainedit, into the future. Our own century

has, however, seen experimental science

delving into an expanding-Universe concept. Dis tant galaxies of suns haveemitted light rays whose colours appeartoo low in rate of vibration to be accepted as coming from stationarysources.

The reason for this intriguing ideaarises as follows: Let us suppose yourdaily busses pass your local stop regula rly every five minutes. W e wouldfigure this frequen cy, as twelve bussesper hour. Now suppose th at one morning you are up early enough to walkto work.

Each five-minute bus must now takea little extra time in overtaking you,say one minu te. If you are observinghow frequent the busses now are, you

will find them passing you every sixminutes, that is to say, at the rate often busses per hour. Conversely, a

edestrian going towards the sameusses would be able to coimt more

tha n twelve an hour. W ithout discussing which frequency is the correct one,we can begin to appreciate the argument for the theory that the shift inthe light frequencies for remote nebulaein space implies movement away fromus at phenomenal speeds of thousandsof miles pe r second, increasing with dis

tance. So the U niverse is said to beexpanding, or, as the Hindus wouldhave it, Brahma is breathing out.

W ha t about the time dimension in allthis? Some of the light reaching usfrom far-off galaxies (groupings of starslike our Milky Way, but looking morelike small patches of light) shows uswhat existed many hundreds of millions of years ago! W ha t has occurredduring that interval we cannot know.That ancient history is distant futureto us! May not the so-called evidence

for a fantastic expanding-Universe beju st another represen tation of remoteness in time? To put it another way,does the Universe (me aning One Word)appear to expand or breathe outwardsbecause of our m en ta l conception ofTim es arrow? As our particular mindsexpand in their turn towards CosmicConsciousness, their focus on Past, Present, Far and Near, will unite in thePoint which St. Augustine said waseverywhere, bounded by the circlewhich was nowherebut in Eternal

Now.


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th z


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It was permissible to drink approximately one third of a liter of wine atmeals, yet complete abstinence was re-

farded as more agreeable to God. Aenedictine precept likewise says:Whomever God endows with the power to abstain completely from wine, lethim know that he will receive a specialreward.

These strict nutritional regulationswere sometimes mitigated by gifts offood from pious laymen. Then againthe increasing secularization and growing wealth of some monasteries gradually transformed the originally scantydietary into sumptuous repasts, wherethere was no dearth of meats, rich pastries, and strong wines.

Monastic dress was originally assimple as the diet had been. The Cistercians, the gray monks, wore a kindof linen or woolen tunic, and over it acape. A long, cowled habit of somecoarse material was a protection againstboth cold and heat. Most of the regulations dealing with the clothing of themonks recommended that it be in keeping with the geographical situation ofthe individual monastery and the climate of the locality. Judging from someinventories, shirts, stockings, leggings,

garters, slippers, and in particularlycold regions, muffs, and sheepskins wereowned by the monks.

The manner in which the monkscared for th eir own sick became a modelfor the laity. The m onasteries had aninfirmitorium, where the sick weretaken for treatment, a well-equippedpharmacy, and frequently also a gardenwith medicinal plants. Th ere is hard lya single order, whose rule does not contain detailed instructions concerningthe care of the sick, as well as hygienicadvice for those who have recovered,dealing with their bathing and thecleaning of the ir utensils. Th e beginnings of a system of social hygiene,such as was late r adopted and developed

by the cities, m ay be discerned in themonastic regulation to care for bothrich and poor alike. The Franciscanand Augustine friars were especially

prominent in this respect.

The monastic hospitals were a product of attempts to fulfill the Christian

commandment of brotherly love, andowed their origin almost exclusively to

religious and ecclesiastical considerations. A t first nursing facilities were

provided for the sick members of them on as ti c community. The fam ou sBenedictine Rule devotes a specialchapterDe infirmis fratribustothe ca re of the sick monks. Each sick

bro ther should have his o w t i cell, andbe attended by a servitor. In additionto caring for sick monks, the monasteries also opened their doors to travellers and pilgrims. Th e beginnings ofthis practice are unknown, but it isquite certain that they go back to theearly Middle Ages. A t any rate, themonasteries gradually began to receivesick pilgrims and travellers seekingshelter, and to minister to their wants.As a result of their efforts to m eet thesedemands the monasteries brought into

be ing the first hospitals in WesternEurope. To be sure, these monastichospitals had little in common with themodern institutions known by the samename. Frequ ently, they were nothingmore than small houses where somesort of nursingcare w as provided.

Owing to the dual nature of theirorigin and function, it is difficult toestablish to what extent the monastichospitals were actually employed for

the care of the sick. It is probable tha tall degrees of variation, ranging frominfirmaries, devoted almost exclusivelyto the nursing of the sick, to simplelodging houses, existed in the Europeanmonasteries. Th e cha racter of individual hospitals was frequently determinedby local and personal factors. On thewhole, it may be said that from aboutthe 9th to the 12th centuries the monastic hospital was almost the only institution in Europe whose chief functionwas to care for the sick.

The monastic hospital was generallydirected by an official known as an hos-pitalarius. It is likely tha t his dutieswere not immediately concerned withmedical activities of the institution, butwere rather of an executive and supervisory nature. Th e actual care of thesick was entrusted to an infirmarius,who had some knowledge of medicinehimself or was supervised by a medically trained monk.

In accordance with ancien t traditions,

the chief hygienic measure employed tokeep the monks in good health was


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bleeding and purging. Piepeated bloodlettings probably appeared to them tobe adequate means of lighten ing theasceticism of monastic life. Th e ceremonies connected with the rather frequent blood-lettings and the so-calledbleeding-houses, e.g., at the mon astery

of St. Gall, are evidence of the importance of this measure in the life of themonks.

Th e mode of life of the great medievalmonastic orders differed considerablyfrom that of mendicant orders of theascetic reform movement within thechurch. Th e home of the latter wasnot the monastery, for they were constantly wandering from one city to thenext. As a result of their peregrinationsthey came into much closer contactwith all classes of people than did thecloistered monks. Th ey could easilyhave spread hygienic as well as moral

V

teachings. Yet, since they had deprivedthemselves of all the comforts of life,since they wore neither shirts nor shoes,and begged for their food, their influence on religion was far grea ter than onsocial hygiene. In the latter field theinfluence of the lay hospital orders,

whose sacrificial nursing activities benefited particularly the cities of medievalSwitzerland and southern Germany,was much more significant. Th e various knightly orders, the Lazarists, theTeutonic Knights, and the Hospitalers,were very active in the construction ofhospitals especially during the 13thcentury. It is worthy of note tha t thestatutes of these orders exerted a favorable influence on the treatment andcare of the sick in hospitals. Of equalimportance with the knightly orderswere the afore-mentioned lay orders ofthe medieval cities.

A V

ROSE-CROIX CURRICULUM CHANGES

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL MEMBERS WHO ANTICIPATE

ATT END ING TH E 1956 SUMM ER TERM OF ROSE-CROIX UNIVERSITY: The

course, M in d, M ag ic , and M ys ticism will no t be offered this year. A ll students who

have registered, or who intend to register for this course, please make a second choice.

ALSO: A new course, Food and Nutrition, is being offered for the first time this

year. In the curricu lum, it is designated as Course D und er the College of Munda ne

and A rcane Science. It covers the field of foods and diets, the effect of food on bodily

and mental health, the mystical properties of certain foods, and the physiology of the

body with re sp ec t to food assimila tio n an d el im in at io n. Aluxnni part ic u la rl y w ill we l

come this new course.

If you have not yet applied for entrance into the next three weeks term of ROSE-

CROIX UNIVERSITY, write at once to: The Registrar, ROSE-CROIX UNIVERSITY,

San Jose, California, for full particulars. Ask for Th e Story of Learning, which describes

the objectives and requirements of attendance.

PROVERBS

If everyone swept in front of his house, the whole town would be clean. P o l i s h

Only the evening will show wh at the day has been. R u s s i a n

God gave us teeth ; He will also give us bread. C z e c h


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Path to MasteryB y D r . H . S p e n c e r L e w is , F. R. C.

(From M an Triumphant and The Mastery of Fate 1921 Edi tion )

Since thousands of readers of the Rosicrucian Diges t have not read many of the earlierarticles of our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, we adopted the editorial policy of

pu blis hing each m ont h on e of his outstanding ar tic les, so th a t ni s th ou ghts wou ld co nt inueto reside within the pages of this publication.

h e r e is but one road, one way, by which Masteryof Self and Mastery ofFate is attained . It isthrough the proper andsystematic study of natures law s, th e lawswhich govern the universe, govern man and

relation to all that exists.

To know mans true relation to theuniverse and to other men, to knowmans unlimited powers, latent possibilities and unused fo rt itude of mindand soul, is to make each man a powerfor greater constructive, creative good;a success in the world, a credit to theworld, a real part of the world.

Mastery of ones own powers, abili

ties, and potent forces, working inharmony with all of natures rules, attuning with the divine mind, maintaining a poise of peace and radiant love,is mastering of FATE and the conquering of the contesting forces which comefrom darkness and ignorance.

More important than seeing with themortal eye is seeing with the eye ofintuition. Greater tha n hea ring withthe mortal ear is hearing the voice ofthe inner self and the voice of thecountless master minds which speak

without tongue. In the world of crea

tion an d accomplishment far m ore commanding than the learned lips anddictatorial voice is the silent influenceof a dominating will.

Intellectual mastery of the materialknowledge of the world suffices only in

the mastery of the material problems,and leaves every m an to battle with hiswats to hold and maintain that whichhe has bu t lately won. N ature knowsnaught of the material warfare, andmajestically stoops to help those whounderstand her ways and cooperatewith her in universal construction, benevolent creation and human progression.

Man has ordained for himself andfor his children, schools of illusions andeffects. He revels in his education of

phenomena, and is delig htfully ignorant of the fundamental causesevenof his own existence and the meaningof life.

Schools and branches of science viewith one another in the propounding oftheories, the explaining of observations,and the promulgating of illusive hypotheses. Books are w ri tten as authorities for every phase of naturesmanifestation only to become obso

Documents

Rosicrucian Digest, January 1956