An Elementary Treatise Upon Man's Past Evolution,Present Constitution And Future Development E-Book
Max Heindel
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This book is written by Max Heindel, the founder, and Messenger of The Rosicrucian Fellowship. This is a reference book of the Fellowship students and Probationers. This book is also referred as Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity. The founder of the Christian Religion stated an occult maxim when He said: "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein" (Mark 10:15). All occultists recognize the far-reaching importance of this teaching of Christ and endeavor to "live" it day by day. When a new philosophy is presented to the world it is met in different ways by different people. One person will grasp with avidity any new philosophical effort in an endeavor to ascertain how far it supports his own ideas. To such an one the philosophy itself is of minor importance. Its prime value will be its vindication of HIS ideas. If the work comes up to expectation in that respect, he will enthusiastically adopt it and cling to it with a most unreasoning partisanship; if not, he will probably lay the book down in disgust and disappointment, feeling as if the author had done him an injury. Another adopts an attitude of skepticism as soon as he discovers that it contains something which HE has not previously read, heard, or originated in his own thought. He would probably resent as extremely unjustified the accusation that his mental attitude is the acme of self- satisfaction and intolerance; such is nevertheless the case; and thus he shuts his mind to any truth which may possibly be hidden in that which he off-hand rejects. Both these classes stand in their own light. "Set" ideas render them impervious to rays of truth. "A little child" is the very opposite of its elders in that respect. It is not imbued with an overwhelming sense of superior knowledge, nor does it feel compelled to look wise or to hide its nescience of any subject by a smile or a sneer. It is frankly ignorant, unfettered by preconceived opinions and therefore eminently teachable. It takes everything with that beautiful attitude of trust which we have designated "child-like faith," wherein there is not the shadow of a doubt. There the child holds the teaching it receives until proven or disproven. In all occult schools the pupil is first taught to forget all else when a new teaching is being given, to allow neither preference nor prejudice to govern, but to keep the mind in a state of calm, dignified waiting. As skepticism will blind us to truth in the most effective manner, so this calm, trustful attitude of the mind will allow the intuition, or "teaching from within," to become aware of the truth contained in the proposition. That is the only way to cultivate an absolutely certain perception of truth. The pupil is not required to believe off-hand that a given object which he has observed to be white, is really black, when such a statement is made to him; but he must cultivate an attitude of mind which "believeth all things" as possible. That will allow him to put by for the time being even what are generally considered "established facts," and investigate if perchance there be another viewpoint hitherto unobserved by him whence the object referred to would appear black. Indeed, he would not allow himself to look upon anything as "an established fact," for he realizes thoroughly the importance of keeping his mind in the fluidal state of adaptability which characterizes the little child. He realizes in every fiber of his being that "now we see through a glass, darkly," and Ajax-like he is ever on the alert, yearning for "Light, more Light." The enormous advantage of such an attitude of mind when investigating any given subject, object or idea must be apparent.
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An Elementary Treatise Upon Man's Past Evolution,Present Constitution And Future Development
To Esoteric aspirantsBookRix GmbH & Co. KG80331 MunichA Word to the Wise..................................................................................
An Elementary Treatise
Upon
Man.s Past
Evolution,Present
Constitution And Future
Development
Creed or Christ
No man loves God who hates his kind;
Who tramples on his Brother's heart and soul.
Who seeks to shackle, cloud, or fog the mind
By fears of Hell has not perceived our goal.
God-sent are all religions blest;
And Christ; the Way, the Truth and Life
To give the heavy-laden rest
And peace from Sorrow, Sin, and Strife.
At His request the Universal Spirit came
To all the churches; not to one alone;
On Pentecostal morn a tongue of flame
Round each apostle as a halo shone.
Since then, as vultures ravenous with greed,
We oft have battled for an empty name
And sought by dogma, edict, creed,
To send each other to the flame.
Is Christ then divided? Was Cephas or Paul
Nailed to the deathly tree?
If not: Then why these divisions at all?
Christ's love doth enfold you and me.
His pure sweet love is not confined
By creeds which segregate and raise a wall.
His love enfolds, embraces Humankind;
No matter what ourselves or Him we call.
Then why not take Him at His word?
Why hold to creeds which tear apart?
But one thing matters be it heard
That brother-love fill every heart.
There is but one thing that the world has need to know; There is but one balm for all our human woe;
There is but one way that leads to heaven above;
That way is human sympathy and love. MAX HEINDEL
ROSICRUCIAN SYMBOLISM
“Divine symbols which have been given to mankind from time to time speak to that forum of truth which is within our hearts, and waken our consciousness to divine ideas entirely beyond words.”—Max Heindel.
The Emblem of the Western Mystery School of the Rosicrucians is one such symbol: in its entirety it represents God in manifestation. It expresses the key to man’s past evolution, his present constitution, his future development, and the method of attainment.
The blue background represents God the Father; the golden star symbolizes Christ born within the spiritual aspirant and radiating from the five points—the head and four limbs; the red roses indicate the purification of the human desire nature on the cross of matter—the blood of the aspirant cleansed from passion. The white rose symbolizes purity of heart and also the larynx with which, once purified, humanity will speak the Creative Word. The white cross represents the physical body. The golden star represents the “Golden Wedding Garment”—the etheric vehicle which the Spirit builds during lifetimes of purity and service.
Another reading shows that the cross also indicates plant, animal and human life-waves. The lower limb is the plant nourished through the roots with spiritual currents from the Earth; man, the upper limb, receives spiritual influences from the Sun through the head; animals are sustained by spiritual currents horizontally surrounding the Earth.
The lamp of wisdom and the heart show the two streams of evolving humanity: those following the path of intellect (occult) and those following the path of love (mystic). There can be no contradiction in Nature, therefore the heart and the mind must be capable of uniting.
Eventual union of head and heart will signify the Perfected Man.
At the foot of the page is the fleur-de-lis, the emblem of the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—but as only the Father and Holy Spirit were active at the time here represented, we find but two of the petals colored with red, thus showing energy.
The beings created we see as a stream flowing upwards, provided with two bodies, the dense and the vital, but after a time the desire body is added and is shown by the red appearing in the ascending stream.
Although each stream looks alike outwardly, they are vastly different. The one on the left is known in our literature as the Sons of Cain. They are full of positive energy and are the craftsmen of the world, the phree-messen, who carve their way through life, rather enjoying the
obstacles which they know strengthen the character; they work through the intellect, as is shown by the lamp from the flame of which proceed nine rays, showing the positive path chosen by the esoteric student.
The other stream develops the heart side of life, and the divine flame proceeding from it shows but eight rays, a negative path; those following it desiring that they should have a leader; someone to follow, someone to worship; they are the churchmen of the world who obey the teachings of their leaders.
Each stream of life flows onward side by side till a time comes when the wise and loving ones guiding the evolution decide that to hasten progress it is necessary that the two unite, and plan that this shall be accomplished by the building of a temple for the worshippers by the craftsmen and that both streams would unite in a Mystical Molten Sea.
We can see the wonderful impulse by the chalice raised from each and filled with the red wine of life. You will read the story of this in the building of Solomon’s Temple. This plan was frustrated by the treachery of the Sons of Seth—those on the right. And after this each swung further away from the other than before.
A serious condition now is shown in which some appear to fall away entirely through materialism. But still the race lives on, the churchman and the scientist, the mystic and the occultist, each pursuing their own path independent of the other, till a stage of such materialism is reached that the spiritual guiders see grave dangers ahead. To prevent the plan of evolution being defeated, a great destruction of the human bodies is permitted which for a time looks as if it would wipe humanity off the earth. See the break in each stream. But this calamity has the desired effect: we now see again great force and each stream turned directly toward the other, where they may shortly unite as one. At the foot of the page we find another symbol, so small that you may have overlooked it.
Here is a small black cross that represents the physical body. In the enlarged head of the cross is seen the heart. Heart and head have united and the result is shown in the spreading ray—the resultant soul body.
A WORD TO THE WISE
The founder of the Christian Religion stated an occult maxim when He said: “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein”
(Mark 10:15). All occultists recognize the far-reaching importance of this teaching of Christ, and endeavor to “live”
it day by day.
When a new philosophy is presented to the world it is met in different ways by different people.
One person will grasp with avidity any new
philosophical effort in an endeavor to ascertain how far itsupports his own ideas. To such an one the philosophy itself is of minor importance. Its prime value will be its vindication of HIS ideas. If the work comes up to expectation in that respect, he will enthusiastically adopt it and cling to it with a most unreasoning partisanship; if not, he will probably lay the book down in disgust and disappointment, feeling as if the author had done him an injury.
Another adopts an attitude of skepticism as soon as he discovers that it contains something which HE has not previously read, heard, or originated in his own thought. He would probably resent as extremely unjustified the accusation that his mental attitude is the acme of self-satisfaction and intolerance; such is nevertheless the case; and thus he shuts his mind to any truth which may possibly be hidden in that which he off-hand rejects.
Both these classes stand in their own light. “Set” ideas render them impervious to rays of truth. “A little child” is the very opposite of its elders in that respect. It is not imbued with an overwhelming sense of superior knowledge, nor does it feel compelled to look wise or to hide its 5
6
A WORD TO THE WISE
nescience of any subject by a smile or a sneer. It is frankly ignorant, unfettered by preconceived opinions and therefore eminently teachable. It takes everything with that beautiful attitude of trust which we have designated “child-like faith,”
wherein there is not the shadow of a doubt. There the child holds the teaching it receives until proven or disproven.
In all occult schools the pupil is first taught to forget all else when a new teaching is being given, to allow neither preference nor prejudice to govern, but to keep the mind in a state of calm, dignified waiting. As skepticism will blind us to truth in the most effective manner, so this calm, trustful attitude of the mind will allow the intuition, or “teaching from within,” to become aware of the truth contained in the proposition. That is the only way to cultivate an absolutely certain perception of truth.
The pupil is not required to believe off-hand that a given object which he has observed to be white, is really black, when such a statement is made to him; but he must cultivate an attitude of mind which “believeth all things” as possible.
That will allow him to put by for the time being even what are generally considered “established facts,” and investigate if perchance there be another viewpoint hitherto unobserved by him whence the object referred to would appear black.
Indeed, he would not allow himself to look upon anything as
“an established fact,” for he realizes thoroughly the importance of keeping his mind in the fluidal state of adaptability which characterizes the little child. He realizes in every fiber of his being that “now we see through a glass, darkly,” and Ajax-like he is ever on the alert, yearning for
“Light, more Light.”
The enormous advantage of such an attitude of mind when investigating any given subject, object or idea must be apparent. Statements which appear positively and
A WORD TO THE WISE
7
unequivocally contradictory, which have caused an immense amount of feeling among the advocates of opposite sides, may nevertheless be capable of perfect reconciliation, as shown in one such instance mentioned in the present work.
The bond of concord is only discovered by the open mind, however, and though the present work may be found to differ from others, the writer would bespeak an impartial hearing as the basis of subsequent judgment. If the book is
“weighed and found wanting,” the writer will have no complaint. He only fears a hasty judgment based upon lack of knowledge of the system he advocates—a hearing wherein the judgment is “wanting” in consequence of having been denied an impartial “weighing.” He would further submit, that the only opinion worthy of the one who expresses it must be based upon knowledge.
As a further reason for care in judgment we suggest that to many it is exceedingly difficult to retract a hastily expressed opinion. Therefore it is urged that the reader withhold all expressions of either praise or blame until study of the work has reasonably satisfied him of its merit or demerit.
The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is not dogmatic, neither does it appeal to any other authority than the reason of the student. It is not controversial, but is sent forth in the hope that it may help to clear some of the difficulties which have beset the minds of students of the deeper philosophies in the past. In order to avoid serious misunderstanding, it should be firmly impressed upon the mind of the student, however, that there is no infallible revelation of this complicated subject, which includes everything under the sun and above it also.
An infallible exposition would predicate omniscience upon the part of the writer, and even the Elder Brothers tell
8
A WORD TO THE WISE
us that they are sometimes at fault in their judgment, so a book which shall say the last word on the World-Mystery is out of the question, and the writer of the present work does not pretend to give aught but the most elementary teachings of the Rosicrucians.
The Rosicrucian Brotherhood has the most far-reaching, the most logical conception of the World-Mystery of which the writer has gained any knowledge during the many years he has devoted exclusively to the study of this subject. So far as he has been able to investigate, their teachings have been found in accordance with facts as he knows them. Yet he is convinced that The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is far from being the last word on the subject; that as we advance greater vistas of truth will open to us and make clear many things which we now “see through a glass, darkly.” At the same time he firmly believes that all other philosophies of the future will follow the same main lines, for they appear to be absolutely true.
In view of the foregoing it will be plain that this book is not considered by the writer as the Alpha and Omega, the ultimate of occult knowledge, and even though it is entitled The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, the writer desires to strongly emphasize that is not to be understood as a “faith once for all delivered” to the Rosicrucians by the founder of the Order or by any other individual. It is emphatically stated that this work embodies only the writer'sunderstanding of the Rosicrucian teachings concerning the World-Mystery, strengthened by his personal investigations of the inner Worlds, the antenatal and postmortem states of man, etc. The responsibility which devolves upon one who wittingly or unwittingly leads others astray is clearly realized by the writer, and he wishes to guard himself as far as possible against that contingency, and also to guard others
A WORD TO THE WISE
9
against the possibility of going wrong inadvertently.
What is said in this work is to be accepted or rejected by the reader according to his own discretion. All diligence has been used in trying to understand the teaching; great pains have been taken to put it into words that shall be easily understood. For that reason only one term has been used throughout the work to convey each idea. The same word will have the same meaning wherever used. When any word descriptive of an idea is first used, the clearest definition possible to the writer is given. None but English terms and the simplest language have been employed. The writer has constantly endeavored to give as exact and definite descriptions of the subject under consideration as possible; to eliminate all ambiguity and to make everything clear.
How far he has succeeded must be left to the student to judge; but having diligently used every possible endeavor to convey the teaching, he feels compelled to guard also against the possibility of this work being taken as an authoritative statement of the Rosicrucian teachings. Neglect of this precaution might give undue weight to this work in the minds of some students. That would not be fair to the Brotherhood nor to the reader. It would have a tendency to throw the responsibility upon the Brotherhood for the mistakes which must occur in this as in all other human works. Hence the above warning.
During the four years which have elapsed since the foregoing paragraphs were written, the writer has continued his investigations of the invisible worlds, and experienced the expansion of consciousness relative to these realms of nature which comes by practice of the precepts taught in the Western Mystery School. Others also who have followed the method of soul-unfoldment herein described as particularly suited to the Western peoples, have likewise been enabled to
10
A WORD TO THE WISE
verify for themselves many things here taught. Thus the writer's understanding of what was given by the Elder Brothers has received some corroboration and seems to have been substantially correct, therefore he feels it a duty to state this for the encouragement of those who are still unable to see for themselves.
If we had said that the vital body is built of prisms instead of points, it would have been better, for it is by refraction through these minute prisms that the colorless solar fluid changes to a rosy hue as observed by other writers beside the author.
Other new and important discoveries have also been made; for instance, we know now that the Silver Cord is grown anew in each life, that one part sprouts from the seed atom of the desire body in the great vortex of the liver, that the other part grows out of the seed atom of the dense body in the heart, that both parts meet in the seed atom of the vital body in the solar plexus, and that this union of the higher and lower vehicles causes the quickening. Further development of the cord between the heart and solar plexus during the first seven years has an important bearing on the mystery of childlife, likewise its fuller growth from the liver to the solar plexus, which takes place during the second septenary period, is a contributory cause of adolescence.
Completion of the Silver Cord marks the end of childlife, and from that time the solar energy which enters through the spleen and is tinted by refraction through the prismatic seed atom of the vital body located in the solar plexus, commences to give a distinctive and individual coloring to the aura which we observe in adults.
A WORD TO THE WISE
1
1
LIST OF CONTENTS
PART I
PART I
MAN ’S PRESENT CONSTITUTION AND METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT
A Word to the Wise.....................................................................................................
The Four Kingdoms, diagram ...................................................................................
Introduction...............................................................................................................
CHAPTER I. The Visible and Invisible Worlds .......................................................
Chemical Region of the Physical World ..........................................................
Etheric Region of the Physical World..............................................................
The Desire World.............................................................................................
The World of Thought .....................................................................................
Diagram 1. The Material World a Reverse Reflection
of the Spiritual Worlds............................................................................
Diagram 2. The Seven Worlds.........................................................................
CHAPTER II. The Four Kingdoms ..........................................................................
Diagram 3. The Vehicles of the Four Kingdoms .............................................
Diagram 4. The Consciousness of the Four Kingdoms....................................
CHAPTER III. Man and the Method of Evolution.
Activities of Life; Memory and Soul Growth ..................................................
The Constitution of the Seven-fold Man.............................................................
Diagram 5. The Threefold Spirit, the Threefold Body
and the Threefold Soul............................................................................
Death and Purgatory ........................................................................................
Diagram 5 1/2. The Silver Cord.......................................................................
The Borderland ..............................................................................................
The First Heaven............................................................................................
The Second Heaven .......................................................................................
The Third Heaven ..........................................................................................
Preparations for Rebirth.................................................................................
Birth of the Dense Body.................................................................................
Birth of the Vital Body and Growth...............................................................
Birth of the Desire Body and Puberty ............................................................
Birth of the Mind and Majority......................................................................
The Blood; the Vehicle of the Ego.................................................................
A Life Cycle (diagram) ..................................................................................
CHAPTER IV. Rebirth and the Law of Consequence ............................................
Wine as a Factor in Evolution........................................................................
A Remarkable Story.......................................................................................
11
PART II
COSMOGENESIS AND ANTHROPOGENESIS.
CHAPTER V. The Relation of Man to God ...........................................................
Diagram 6. The Supreme Being, the Cosmic Planes and God.......................
CHAPTER VI. The Scheme of Evolution.
The Beginning................................................................................................
The Seven Worlds..........................................................................................
The Seven Periods..........................................................................................
Diagram 7. The Saturn Period........................................................................
CHAPTER VII. The Path of Evolution...................................................................
Revolutions and Cosmic Nights.....................................................................
Diagram 8. The Seven Worlds, Seven Globes and Seven Periods.................
CHAPTER VIII. The Work of Evolution.
Ariadne’s Thread ...........................................................................................
The Saturn Period ..........................................................................................
Recapitulation ................................................................................................
The Sun Period...............................................................................................
The Moon Period ...........................................................................................
Diagram 9. The Twelve Creative Hierarchies................................................
CHAPTER IX. Stragglers and Newcomers ............................................................
Classes of Beings at the Beginning of the Moon Period................................
Diagram 10. Classes at the Beginning of the Earth Period ............................
CHAPTER X. The Earth Period .............................................................................
Saturn Revolution of the Earth Period ...........................................................
Sun Revolution of the Earth Period ...............................................................
Moon Revolution of the Earth Period ............................................................
Rest Periods Between Revolutions ................................................................
The Fourth Revolution of the Earth Period....................................................
CHAPTER XI. Genesis and Evolution of Our Solar System.
Chaos .............................................................................................................
Diagram 11. The 1.3.7. & 10 Aspects of God & Man ...................................
The Birth of the Planets .................................................................................
Diagram. Vibrations.......................................................................................
Diagram 12. Man ’s Past, Present and Future Form.......................................
CHAPTER XII. Evolution on the Earth.
The Polarian Epoch........................................................................................
The Hyperborean Epoch ................................................................................
The Moon; the Eighth Sphere ........................................................................
The Lemurian Epoch......................................................................................
Birth of the Individual....................................................................................
Separation of the Sexes..................................................................................
CONTENTS
Influence of Mars...........................................................................................
The Races and Their L A W
eader ORD TO THE WISE
1
..........................................................................
Influence of Mercury
3
.....................................................................................
The Lemurian Race........................................................................................
The Fall of Man .............................................................................................
The Lucifer Spirits .........................................................................................
The Atlantean Epoch......................................................................................
The Aryan Epoch ...........................................................................................
The Sixteen Paths to Destruction ...................................................................
CHAPTER XIII. Back to the Bible.........................................................................
CHAPTER XIV. Occult Analysis of Genesis.
Limitations of the Bible .................................................................................
In the Beginning.............................................................................................
The Nebular Theory .......................................................................................
The Creative Hierarchies ...............................................................................
The Saturn Period ..........................................................................................
The Sun Period, the Moon Period..................................................................
The Earth Period ............................................................................................
Jehovah and His Mission ...............................................................................
Involution, Evolution and Epigenesis ............................................................
A Living Soul?...............................................................................................
Adam ’s Rib ...................................................................................................
Guardian Angels ............................................................................................
Mixing Blood in Marriage .............................................................................
The Fall of Man .............................................................................................
Diagram 13. The Beginning and End of Sex .................................................
PART III
MAN’S FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND INITIATION.
Diagram. The Seven Days of Creation...........................................................
CHAPTER XV. Christ and His Mission.
The Evolution of Religion..............................................................................
Jesus and Christ-Jesus....................................................................................
Diagram 14. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit....................................
Not Peace but a Sword ...................................................................................
The Star of Bethlehem ...................................................................................
The Heart an Anomaly...................................................................................
The Mystery of Golgotha...............................................................................
The Cleansing Blood......................................................................................
Diagram. “As Above, so Below” ...................................................................
CHAPTER XVI. Future Development and Initiation.
The Seven Days of Creation ..........................................................................
Diagram 15. The Symbolism of the Caduceus...............................................
Radiates, Mollusks, Articulates and Vertebrates ...........................................
Spirals within Spirals .....................................................................................
Alchemy and Soul Growth.............................................................................
The Creative Word.........................................................................................
CHAPTER XVII. The Method of Acquiring Firsthand Knowledge.
The First Steps ...............................................................................................
Western Methods for Western People............................................................
The Science of Nutrition ................................................................................
Table of Food-Values ....................................................................................
The Law of Assimilation ...............................................................................
Live and Let Live...........................................................................................
The Lord’s Prayer ..........................................................................................
Diagram 16. The Lord’s Prayer .....................................................................
The Vow of Celibacy .....................................................................................
The Pituitary Body and the Pineal Gland.......................................................
Diagram 17. Path of the Unused Sex Currents...............................................
Esoteric Training............................................................................................
How the Inner Vehicle is Built ......................................................................
Concentration.................................................................................................
Meditation......................................................................................................
Observation....................................................................................................
Discrimination ...............................................................................................
Contemplation................................................................................................
Adoration .......................................................................................................
CHAPTER XVIII. The Constitution of the Earth and Volcanic Eruptions. ...........
The Number of the Beast ...............................................................................
Diagram 18. The Constitution of the Earth ....................................................
CHAPTER XIX. Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order of Rosicrucians. ................
Ancient Truths in Modern Dress....................................................................
Initiation.........................................................................................................
The Rosicrucian Fellowship ..........................................................................
Correspondence Courses................................................................................
Symbolism of Rose Cross..............................................................................
MORNING AND EVENING EXERCISES.......................................................................................
WHAT IS TRUTH? ....................................................................................................
Addendum B ...........................................................................................................
Addendum C ...........................................................................................................
Addendum D...........................................................................................................
Introduction
The Western world is undoubtedly the vanguard of the human race, and, for reasons given in the following pages, it is held by the Rosicrucian that neither Judaism nor “popular Christianity,” but true Esoteric Christianity is to be its world-religion.
Buddha, great, grand and sublime, may be the “light of Asia,” but Christ will yet be acknowledged the “Light of the World.” As the sun outshines the brightest star in the heavens, dispels every vestige of darkness and gives life and light to all beings, so, in a not too distant future, will the true religion of Christ supersede and obliterate all other religions, to the eternal benefit of mankind.
In our civilization the chasm that stretches between mind and heart yawns deep and wide and, as the mind flies on from discovery to discovery in the realms of science, the gulf becomes ever deeper and wider and the heart is left further and further behind. The mind loudly demands and will be satisfied with nothing less than a materially demonstrable explanation of man and his fellow-creatures that make up the phenomenal world. The heart feels instinctively that there is something greater, and it yearns for that which it feels is a higher truth than can be grasped by the mind alone. The human soul would fain soar upon ethereal pinions of intuition; would fain lave in the eternal fount of spiritual light and love; but modern scientific views have shorn its wings and it sits fettered and mute, unsatisfied longings gnawing at its tendrils as the vulture of Prometheus' liver.
Is this necessary? Is there no common ground upon
17
18
ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION
which head and heart may meet, each assisting the other, each by the help of the other becoming more effective in the search for universal truth, and each receiving equal satisfaction?
As surely as the pre-existing light created the eye whereby the light is seen; as surely as the primordial desire for growth created the digestive and assimilative system for the attainment of that end; as surely as thought existed before the brain and built and still is building the brain for its expression; as surely as the mind is now forging ahead and wringing her secrets from nature by the very force of its audacity, just so surely will the heart find a way to burst its bonds and gratify its longings. At present it is shackled by the dominant brain. Some day it will gather strength to burst its prison bars and become a power greater than the mind.
It is equally certain that there can be no contradiction in nature, therefore the heart and the mind must be capable of uniting. To indicate this common ground is precisely the purpose of this book. To show where and how the mind, helped by the intuition of the heart, can probe more deeply into the mysteries of being than either could do alone; where the heart, by union with the mind, can be kept from going astray; where each can have full scope for action, neither doing violence to the other and where both mind and heart can be satisfied.
Only when that co-operation is attained and perfected will man attain the higher, truer understanding of himself and of the world of which he is a part; only that can give him a broad mind and a great heart.
At every birth what appears to be a new life comes among us. We see the little form as it lives and grows, becoming a factor in our lives for days, months, or years. At
INTRODUCTION
19
last there comes a day when the form dies and goes to decay.
The life that came, whence we know not, has passed to the invisible beyond, and in sorrow we ask ourselves, Whence came it? Why was it here? and Whither has it gone?
Across every threshold the skeleton form of Death throws his fearsome shadow. Old or young, well or ill, rich or poor, all, all alike must pass out into that shadow and throughout the ages has sounded the piteous cry for a solution of the riddle of life—the riddle of death.
So far as the vast majority of people are concerned the three great questions, Whence have we come? Why are we here? Whither are we going? remain unanswered to this day.
It has unfortunately come to be the popularly accepted opinion that nothing can be definitely known about these matters of deepest interest to humanity. Nothing could be more erroneous than such an idea. Each and every one, without exception, may become capable of obtaining firsthand, definite information upon this subject; may personally investigate the state of the human spirit, both before birth and after death. There is no favoritism, nor are special gifts required. Each of us has inherently the faculty for knowing all of these matters; but!—Yes, there is a “but,”
and a “BUT” that must be written large. These faculties are present in all, though latent in most people. It requires persistent effort to awaken them and that seems to be a powerful deterrent. If these faculties, “awake and aware,”
could be had for a monetary consideration, even if the price were high, many people would pay it to gain such immense advantage over their fellow-men, but few indeed are those willing to live the life that is required to awaken them. That awakening comes only by patient, persistent effort. It cannot be bought; there is no royal road to it.
20
ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION
It is conceded that practice is necessary to learn to play the piano, and that it is useless to think of being a watchmaker without being willing to serve an
apprenticeship. Yet when the matter of the soul, of death and the beyond, of the great causes of being, are the questions at issue, many think they know as much as anyone and have an equal right to express an opinion, though they may never have given the subject an hour's study.
As a matter of fact, no one unless qualified by study of the subject should expect serious consideration for an opinion. In legal cases, where experts are called to testify, they are first examined as to their competency. The weight of their testimony will be nil, unless they are found to be thoroughly proficient in the branch of knowledge regarding which their testimony is sought.
If, however, they are found to be qualified—by study and practice—to express an expert opinion, it is received with the utmost respect and deference; and if the testimony of one expert is corroborated by others equally proficient, the testimony of each additional man adds immensely to the weight of the previous evidence.
The irrefutable testimony of one such man easily counterbalances that of one or a dozen or a million men who know nothing of that whereof they speak, for nothing, even though multiplied by a million, will still remain nothing.
This is as true of any other subject as of mathematics.
As previously said, we recognize these facts readily enough in material affairs, but when things beyond the world of sense, when the super-physical world is under discussion; when the relations of God to man, the inner-most mysteries of the immortal spark of divinity, loosely termed the soul, are to be probed, then each clamors for as serious
INTRODUCTION
21
consideration of his opinions and ideas regarding spiritual matters as is given to the sage, who by a life of patient and toilsome research has acquired wisdom in these higher things.
Nay, more; many will not even content themselves with claiming equal consideration for their opinions, but will even jeer and scoff at the words of the sage, seek to impugn his testimony as fraud, and, with the supreme confidence of deepest ignorance, asseverate that as they know nothing of such matters, it is absolutely impossible that anyone else can.
The man who realizes his ignorance has taken the first step toward knowledge.
The path to firsthand knowledge is not easy. Nothing worth having ever comes without persistent effort. It cannot be too often repeated that there are no such things as special gifts of “luck.” All that anyone is or has, is the result of effort. What one lacks in comparison with another is latent in himself and capable of development by proper methods.
If the reader, having grasped this idea thoroughly, should ask, what he must do to obtain this firsthand knowledge, the following story may serve to impress the
idea, which is the central one in occultism:
A young man came to a sage one day and asked, “Sire, what must I do to become wise?” The sage vouchsafed no answer. The youth after repeating his question a number of times, with a like result, at last left him, to return the next day with the same question. Again no answer was given and the youth returned on the third day, still repeating his question, “Sire what must I do to become wise?”
Finally the sage turned and went down to a near-by river. He entered the water, bidding the youth follow him.
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Upon arriving at a sufficient depth the sage took the young man by the shoulders and held him under the water, despite his struggles to free himself. At last, however, he released him and when the youth had regained his breath the sage questioned him:
“Son, when you were under the water what did you most desire?”
The youth answered without hesitation, “Air, air! I wanted air!”
“Would you not rather have had riches, pleasure, power or love, my son? Did you not think of any of these?” queried the sage.
“No, sire! I wanted air and thought only of air,” came the instant response.
“Then,” said the sage, “To become wise you must desire wisdom with as great intensity as you just now desired air.
You must struggle for it, to the exclusion of every other aim in life. It must be your one and only aspiration, by day and by night. If you seek wisdom with that fervor, my son, you will surely become wise.”
That is the first and central requisite the aspirant to occult knowledge must possess—an unswerving desire, a burning thirst for knowledge; a zeal that allows no obstacle to conquer it; but the supreme motive for seeking this occult knowledge must be an ardent desire to benefit humanity, entirely disregarding self in order to work for others. Unless prompted by that motive, occult knowledge is dangerous.
Without possessing these qualifications—especially the latter—in some measure, any attempt to tread the arduous path of occultism would be a hazardous undertaking.
Another prerequisite to this firsthand knowledge, however, is the study of occultism at second-hand. Certain occult
INTRODUCTION
23
powers are necessary for the firsthand investigation of matters connected with the prenatal and postmortem states of man, but no one need despair of acquiring information about this conditions because of undeveloped occult powers.
As a man may know about Africa either by going there personally or by reading descriptions written by travelers who have been there, so may he visit the superphysical realms if he will but qualify himself therefor, or he may learn what others who have so qualified themselves report as a result of their investigations.
Christ said, “The Truth shall make you free,” but Truth is not found once and forever. Truth is eternal, and the quest for Truth must also be eternal. Occultism knows of no “faith once for all delivered.” There are certain basic truths which remain, but which may be looked at from many sides, each giving a different view, which complements the previous ones; therefore, so far as we can see at present, there is no such achievement possible as arriving at the ultimate truth.
Wherein this work differs from some philosophical works the variations are caused by difference of viewpoint, and all respect is paid to the conclusions reached and the ideas set forth by other investigators. It is the earnest hope of the writer that the study of the following pages may help to make the student's ideas fuller and more rounded than they were before.
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CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE
WORLDS
THE first step in Occultism is the study of the
invisible Worlds. These Worlds are invisible to
the majority of people because of the dormancy
of the finer and higher senses whereby they may be perceived, in the same way that the Physical World about us is perceived through the physical senses. The majority of people are on a similar footing in regard to the superphysical Worlds as the man who is born blind is to our world of sense; although light and color are all about him, he is unable to see them. To him they are non-existent and incomprehensible, simply because he lacks the sense of sight wherewith to perceive them. Objects he can feel; they seem real; but light and color are beyond his ken.
So with the greater part of humanity. They feel, and see objects and hear sounds in the Physical World, but the other realms, which the clairvoyant calls the higher Worlds, are as incomprehensible to them as light and color are to the blind man. Because the blind man cannot see color and light, however, is no argument against their existence and reality.
Neither is it an argument, that because most people cannot see the super-physical Worlds no one can do so. If the blind man obtains his sight, he will see light and color. If the higher senses of those blind to the super-physical Worlds are awakened by proper methods, they also will be able to behold the Worlds which are now hidden from them.
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THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS
25
While many people make the mistake of being
incredulous concerning the existence or reality of the supersensuous Worlds, there are also many who go to the other extreme, and, having become convinced of the verity of invisible Worlds, think that when a person is clairvoyant all truth is at once open to him; that when one can “see,” he at once “knows all about” these higher Worlds.
This is a great mistake. We readily recognize the fallacy of such a contention in matters of everyday life. We do not think that a man who was born blind, but has obtained his sight, at once “knows all about” the Physical World. Nay, more; we know that even those of us who have been able to see the things about us all our lives are far from having a universal knowledge of them. We know that it requires arduous study and years of application to know about even that infinitesimal part of things that we handle in our daily lives, and reversing the Hermetic aphorism, “as above, so below,” we gather at once that it must be the same in the other Worlds. At the same time it is also true that there are much greater facilities for acquiring knowledge in the superphysical Worlds than in our present dense physical condition, but not so great as to eliminate the necessity for close study and the possibility of making a mistake in observation. In fact, all the testimony of reliable and qualified observers prove that much more care in observation is needed there than here.
Clairvoyants must first be trained before their observations are of any real value, and the more proficient they become the more modest they are about telling of what they see; the more they defer to the versions of others, knowing how much there is to learn and realizing how little the single investigator can grasp of all the detail incident to
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ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION
his investigations.
This also accounts for the varied versions, which superficial people think are an argument against the existence of the higher Worlds. They contend that if these Worlds exist, investigators must necessarily bring back identical descriptions. If we take an illustration from everyday life, the fallacy of this becomes apparent.
Suppose a newspaper sends twenty reporters to a city with orders to “write it up.” Reporters are, or ought to be, trained observers. It is their business to see everything and they should be able to give as good descriptions as can be expected from any source. Yet it is certain that of the twenty reports, no two would be exactly alike. It is much more likely that they would be totally different. Although some of them might contain leading features in common, others might be unique in quality and quantity of description.
Is it an argument against the existence of the city that these reports differ? Certainly not! It is easily accounted for by the fact that each saw the city from his own particular point of view and instead of these varying reports being confusing and detrimental, it is safe to say that a perusal of them all would give a fuller, better understanding and description of the city than if only one were read and the others were thrown in the wastebasket. Each report would round out and complement the others.
The same is true regarding accounts made by
investigators of the higher Worlds. Each has his own peculiar way of looking at things and can describe only what he sees from his particular point of view. The account he gives may differ from those of others, yet all be equally truthful from each individual observer's viewpoint.
It is sometimes asked, Why investigate these Worlds?
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27
Why is it not best to take one World at a time; to be content for the present with the lessons to be learned in the Physical World, and, if there are invisible Worlds why not wait until we reach them before investigating? “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof!” Why borrow more?
If we knew without doubt that at some time, sooner or later, each one of us must be transported to a far country where, under new and strange conditions, we must live for many years, is it not reasonable to believe that if we had an opportunity to learn of that country in advance of our removal to it we would gladly do so? Knowledge would render it much easier for us to accommodate ourselves to new conditions.
There is only one certainty in life and that is—Death! As we pass into the beyond and are confronted by new conditions, knowledge of them is sure to be of the greatest help.
But that is not all. To understand the Physical World, which is the world of effects, it is necessary to understand the super-physical World, which is the world of causes. We see street cars in motion and we hear the clicking of telegraph instruments, but the mysterious force which causes phenomena remains invisible to us. We say it is electricity, but the name gives us no explanation. We learn nothing of the force itself; we see and hear only its effects.
If a dish of cold water be placed in an atmosphere of a sufficiently low temperature ice crystals immediately begin to form and we can see the process of their formation. The lines along which the water crystallizes were in it all the time as lines of force but they were invisible until the water congealed. The beautiful “frost flowers” on a windowpane are visible manifestations of currents of the higher Worlds
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which operate upon us all the time, unrecognized by most of us, but none the less potent.
The higher Worlds are thus the worlds of causes, of forces; and we cannot really understand this lower World unless we know the others and realize the forces and causes of which all material things are but the effects.
As to the reality of these higher Worlds compared with that of the Physical World, strange as it may seem, these higher Worlds, which to the majority appear as mirages, or even less substantial, are, in truth, much more real and the objects in them more lasting and indestructible than the objects in the Physical World. If we take an example we shall readily see this. An architect does not start to build a house by procuring the material and setting the workmen to laying stone upon stone in a haphazard way, without thought or plan. He “thinks the house out.” Gradually it takes form in his mind and finally there stands a clear idea of the house that is to be—a thought-form of a house.
This house is yet invisible to all but the architect. He makes it objective on paper. He draws the plans and from this objective image of the thought-form the workmen construct the house of wood, iron, or stone, accurately corresponding to the thought-form originated by the architect.
Thus the thought-form becomes a material reality. The materialist would assert that it is much more real, lasting and substantial than the image in the architect's mind. But let us see. The house could not have been constructed without the thought-form. The material object can be destroyed by dynamite, earthquake, fire, or decay, but the thought-form will remain. It will exist as long as the architect lives and from it any number of houses similar to the one destroyed
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29
may be constructed. Not even the architect himself can destroy it. Even after his death this thought-form can be recovered by those who are qualified to read the memory of nature, which will be dealt with later.
Having thus seen the reasonableness of such Worlds existing around and about us, and having satisfied ourselves of their reality, their permanency, and of the utility of a knowledge concerning them, we shall now examine them severally and singly, commencing with the Physical World.
CHEMICAL REGION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD
In the Rosicrucian teaching the universe is divided into seven different Worlds, or states of matter, as follows: 1.World of God.
2.World of Virgin Spirits.
3—World of Divine Spirit.
4—World of Life Spirit.
5—World of Thought.
6—Desire World.
7—Physical World.
The division is not arbitrary but necessary, because the substance of each of these Worlds is amenable to laws which are practically inoperative in others. For instance, in the Physical World, matter is subject to gravity, contraction and expansion. In the Desire World there is neither heat nor cold, and forms levitate as easily as they gravitate. Distance and time are also governing factors of existence in the Physical World, but are almost non-existent in the Desire World.
The matter of these worlds also varies in density, the Physical World being the densest of the seven.
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Each World is subdivided into seven Regions or subdivisions of matter. In the Physical World, the solids, liquids and gases form the three denser subdivisions, the remaining four being ethers of varying densities. In the other Worlds similar subdivisions are necessary, because the matter of which they are composed is not of uniform density.
There are still two further distinctions to be made. The three dense subdivisions of the Physical World—the solids, liquids and gases—constitute what is termed the Chemical Region. The substance in this Region is the basis of all dense Form.
The Ether is also physical matter. It is not homogeneous, as material science alleges, but exists in four different states.
It is the medium of ingress for the quickening spirit which imparts vitality to the Forms in the Chemical Region. The four finer or etheric subdivisions of the Physical World constitute what is known as the Etheric Region.
In the World of Thought the three higher subdivisions are the basis of abstract thought, hence they, collectively, are called the Region of Abstract Thought. The four denser subdivisions supply the mind-stuff in which we embody and concrete our ideas and are therefore termed the Region of Concrete Thought.
The careful consideration given by the occultist to the characteristics of the Physical World might seem superfluous were it not that he regards all things from a viewpoint differing widely from that of the materialist. The latter recognizes three states of matter—solids, liquids, and gases. These are all chemical, because derived from the chemical constituents of Earth. From this chemical matter all the forms of mineral, plant, animal, and man have been built,
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31
hence they are as truly chemical as the substances which are commonly so termed. Thus whether we consider the mountain or the cloud that envelops its top, the juice of the plant or the blood of the animal, the spider's thread, the wing of the butterfly or the bones of the elephant, the air we breathe or the water we drink—all are composed of the same chemical substance.
What is it then which determines the conformation of this basic substance into the multiplex variety of Forms which we see about us? It is the One Universal Spirit, expressing Itself in the visible world as four great streams of Life, at varying stages of development. This fourfold spiritual impulse molds the chemical matter of the Earth into variegated forms of the four Kingdoms—mineral, plant, animal, and man. When a form has served its purpose as a vehicle of expression for the three higher streams of life, the chemical forces disintegrate that form so that the matter may be returned to its primordial state, and thus made available for the building of new forms. The spirit or life which molds the form into an expression of itself is, therefore, as extraneous to the matter it uses as a carpenter is apart from and personally independent of the house he builds for his own occupancy.
As all the forms of mineral, plant, animal, and man are chemical, they must logically be as dead and devoid of feeling as chemical matter in its primitive state, and the Rosicrucian asserts that they are.
Some scientists contend that there is feeling in all tissue, living or dead, to whatever kingdom it belongs. They include even the substances ordinarily classed as mineral in their category of objects having feeling, and to prove their contentions they submit diagrams with curves of energy
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ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION
obtained from tests. Another class of investigators teach that there is no feeling even in the human body, except in the brain, which is the seat of feeling. They say it is the brain and not the finger which feels the pain when the latter is injured. Thus is the house of Science divided against itself on this as on most other points. The position taken by each is partly right. It depends upon what we mean by “feeling.” If we mean simply response to impacts, such as the rebound of a rubber ball that is dropped to the ground, of course it is correct to attribute feeling to mineral, plant, and animal tissue; but if we mean pleasure and pain, love and hate, joy and sorrow, it would be absurd to attribute them to the lower forms of life, to detached tissue, to minerals in their native state, or even to the brain, because such feelings are expressions of the self-conscious immortal spirit, and the brain is only the keyboard of the wonderful instrument upon which the human spirit plays its symphony of life, just as the musician expresses himself upon his violin.
As there are people who are quite unable to understand that there must be and are higher Worlds, so there are some who, having become slightly acquainted with the higher realms, acquire the habit of undervaluing this Physical World. Such an attitude is as incorrect as that of the materialist. The great and wise Beings who carry out the will and design of God placed us in this physical environment to learn great and important lessons which could not be learned under other conditions, and it is our duty to use our knowledge of the higher Worlds in learning to the best of our ability the lessons which this material world has to teach us.
In one sense the Physical World is a sort of model
school or experiment station to teach us to work correctly in
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33
the others. It does this whether or not we know of the existence of those other worlds, thereby proving the great wisdom of the originators of the plan. If we had knowledge of none but the higher Worlds, we would make many mistakes which would become apparent only when physical conditions are brought to bear as a criterion. To illustrate: Let us imagine the case of an inventor working out his idea of a machine. First he builds the machine in thought, and in his mind he sees it complete and in operation, performing most beautifully the work it is designed to do. He next makes a drawing of the design, and in doing so perhaps finds that modifications in his first conception are necessary.
When, from the drawings, he has become satisfied that the plan is feasible, he proceeds to build the actual machine from suitable material.
Now it is almost certain that still further modifications will be found necessary before the machine will work as intended. It may be found that it must be entirely remodeled, or even that it is altogether useless in its present form, must be discarded and a new plan evolved. But mark this, for here is the point: the new idea or plan will be formulated for the purpose of eliminating the defects in the useless machine.
Had there been no material machine constructed, thereby making evident the faults of the first idea, a second and correct idea would not have been formed.
This applies equally to all conditions of life—social, mercantile, and philanthropic. Many plans appear excellent to those conceiving them, and may even look well on paper, but when brought down to the actual test of utility they often fail. That however, should not discourage us. It is true that
“we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes,”
and the proper light in which to regard this Physical World
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ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION
is as a school of valuable experience, in which we learn lessons of the utmost importance.
THE ETHERIC REGION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD.
As soon as we enter this realm of nature we are in the invisible, intangible World, where our ordinary senses fail us, hence this part of the Physical World is practically unexplored by material science.
Air is invisible, yet modern science knows that it exists.
By means of instruments its velocity as wind can be measured; by compression it can be made visible as liquid air. With ether, however, that is not so easy. Material science finds that it is necessary to account in some way for the transmission of electricity, with or without wires. It is forced to postulate some substance of a finer kind that it knows, and it calls that substance “ether.” It does not really know that ether exists, as the ingenuity of the scientist has not, as yet, been able to devise a vessel in which it is possible to confine this substance, which is altogether too elusive for the comfort of the “wizard of the laboratory.” He cannot measure, weigh, nor analyze it by any apparatus now at his disposal.
Truly, the achievements of modern science are
marvelous. The best way to learn the secrets of nature, however, is not by inventing instruments, but by improving the investigator himself. Man has within himself faculties which eliminate distance and compensate for lack of size to a degree as much greater than the power of telescope and microscope as theirs exceeds that of the naked eye. These senses or faculties are the means of investigation used by occultists. They are their “open sesame” in searching for truth.
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35
To the trained clairvoyant ether is as tangible as are the solids, liquids, and gases of the Chemical Region to ordinary beings. He sees that the vital forces which give life to the mineral forms of plant, animal and man flow into these forms, by means of the four states of ether. The names and specific functions of these four ethers are as follows.
(1) Chemical Ether—This ether is both positive and negative in its manifestation. The forces which cause assimilation and excretion work through it. Assimilation is the process whereby the different nutritive elements of food are incorporated into the body of plant, animal and man.
This is carried on by forces with which we shall become acquainted later. They work along the positive pole of the chemical ether and attract the needed elements, building them into the forms concerned. These forces do not act blindly nor mechanically, but in a selective way (well-known to scientists by its effects) thereby accomplishing their purpose, which is the growth and maintenance of the body.
Excretion is carried on by forces of the same kind, but working along the negative pole of the chemical ether. By means of this pole they expel from the body the materials in the food which are unfit for use, or those which have outlived their usefulness in the body and should be expurgated from the system. This, like all other processes independent of man's volition, is also wise, selective, and not merely mechanical in its operation, as seen, for instance, in the case of the action of the kidneys, where only the urine is filtered through when the organs are in health; but it is known that when the organs are not in health, the valuable albumen is allowed to escape with the urine, the proper selection not being made because of an abnormal condition.
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(2) Life Ether—As the chemical ether is the avenue for the operation of the forces the object of which is the maintenance of the individual form, so the life ether is the avenue for the operation of the forces which have for their object the maintenance of the species—the forces of propagation.
Like the chemical ether, the life ether also has its positive and negative pole. The forces which work along the positive pole are those which work in the female during gestation. They enable her to do the positive, active work of bringing forth a new being. On the other hand the forces which work along the negative pole of the life ether enable the male to produce semen.
In the work on the impregnated ovum of the animal and man, or upon the seed of the plant, the forces working along the positive pole of the life ether produce male plants, animals and men; while the forces which express themselves through the negative pole generate females.
(3) Light Ether—This ether is both positive and negative, and the forces which play along its positive pole are the forces which generate the blood heat in the higher species of animal and in man, which makes them individual sources of heat. The forces which work along the negative pole of the light ether are those which operate through the senses, manifesting as the passive functions of sight, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling. They also build and nourish the eye.
In the cold-blooded animals the positive pole of the light ether is the avenue of the forces which circulate the blood, and the negative forces have the same functions in regard to the eye as in the case of the higher animals and man. Where eyes are lacking, the forces working in the negative pole of
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37
the light ether are perhaps building or nourishing other sense organs, as they do in all that have sense organs.
In plants the forces which work along the positive pole of the light ether cause the circulation of the juices of the plant. Thus in winter, when the light ether is not charged with sunlight as in summer, the sap ceases to flow until the summer sun again invests the light ether with its force. The forces which work along the negative pole of the light ether deposit the chlorophyll, the green substance of the plant and also color the flowers. In fact, all color, in all the kingdoms is deposited by means of the negative pole of the light ether.
Therefore animals have the deepest color on the back and flowers are deepest colored on the side turned towards the light. In the polar regions of the earth, where the rays of the sun are weak, all color is lighter and in some cases is so sparingly deposited that in winter it is withdrawn altogether and the animals become white.
