AMORC Degree 11 (94-113).pdf

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N

This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

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Degree 11 Monograph

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The m atter contained herein is officially issued through the Su­ preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive Information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V *1 In this monograph we have considered many references occurring down through the ages to the efficacy of the spoken Word, its traditional relations to cosmology or the creation of the world. Below we \ quote from the Sepher Yezirah (the Book of Creation) of the Kabala, which again shows the belief in the relationship of the divine power to the spoken Word which objectifies it. The spirit of the living God, praised and glorified be the name of Him who lives to all eternity. The articulate word of creative power, the spirit and the word are what we call the holy spirit. -S E P H E R YEZIRAH

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Beloved Members, Greetings! In connection efficacy of speech physical nature of we give thought to

with our study of mantras and vowels and the and its effect upon the psychic, emotional, and man and his environment, it is appropriate that the very ancient tradition of the Lost Word.

The doctrine of the Lost Word exists as an arcanum in the lit­ urgies of many of our religions today and in the rites of a number of secret and philosophical societies which are still extant. Each has its respective theological or philosophical explanation of this persistent idea. On the other hand, they are all related to a fundamental concept rooted deeply in the earliest beliefs of man. A majority of these explanations of the Lost Word are based upon the Biblical phrase: "In the beginning was_£he Word, and the V^ord was with God, and the Wc5rd-^aS__Go?Trri [John lTl) . CosmoTogically, this means that the ^rS~d.LioiT~ fff the universe was accomp,l^shad_by a vocative idea— a~thought expres¥e3~~as a word^ IrT this manner, God ari3 the Word are made syrionymous^ God, or Mind, as creative reason, is made to manifest only with the issuance of a Word. Consequently, the creative power of God is given force only when it is spoken. The fCrce of God i"s~made his voice, or an intonatioru It iS'Tiot sufficient, according to this concept, that God should only exist for the universe and things to come forth from His nature, but it is also necessary that the active cause of His being, the law or decision of His Mind, be manifest as an utterance. THE WORD THE SYNTHESIS

It is a matter of observation among men that all natural things have a law unto themselves. That is, there is some particular cause upon which they depend, and such things and laws are myriad. Therefore, it is the presumption among men that the Word which was first uttered must have been the synthesis of all cosmic and natural laws. The Word in this sense did not fashion the elements of the universe out of other substances. It was not a divine agent or force which acted upon an indeterminate substance, as, for example, clay, but rather all things from planets to specks of sand were inchoate elements of the W o r d . The Word is thus conceived as a vibratory, undulating energy in which the basic essence of all things exist. For analogy, we may compare it to a single sound which could include all octaves and pitches simultaneously. Consequently, each individual sound which the ear might discern would depend for its exist­ ence upon the original cause, the single united sound. As each color is a component part of white light, so all creation is of the composite law embraced by the Word.

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Consequently, such a Word is endowed with the importance of being the key to the universe. He who could know and intone it would have mastery of all creation. In line with such reasoning is the connotation that the law of creation or Locfos, once made vocative as the Word, never ceased to exist, never died out or diminished. Upon its continuous trem­ ors or vibratory nature, all things have their causal dependence. Just as the light of an electric lamp is, in effect, dependent upon its constant cause, the flow of electricity to the heated filament within the lamp, so all manifestations are said to owe their exis­ tence to the continuous reverberations of the Word throughout the universe. The vibratory nature of each thing thus fits into a gigantic scale or keyboard. Each reality has some relationship to a note or a combination of them, which is an integral part of the Word. Thus, certain vowels could contain, within their combination, the creative. complete scale of cosmic energy, according to this concept. THE WORD W AS LOST

It is expounded by most of the philosophical and religious organizations which preserve the tradition of the Word that at one time man possessed, as a divine and rightful heritage, knowledge of it which gave him a true mastery of his domain, the Earth. How man became dispossessed of such a great treasure or lost the Word is a tradition for which different groups offer various and divergent explanations. Each, likewise, in its own way, believes man may redeem himself and recover the Lost Word, or at least certain efficacious syllables of it.

This, it is generally conceded, can be accomplished through a synthesis of exoteric and esoteric knowledge, namely, through the study of the basic sciences and the worship of God, or communion with the Absolute. In fact, there are perpetuated today, in rites and sacred ceremonies, certain syllables or vowels which are said to be of the Lost Word and, when intoned, do produce amazing crea­ tive and beneficial powers and manifestations. Other mystics declare that the complete Lost Word is ineffable by man, that he would never be able to utter it even if he came to know its con­ tent, but that he can pronounce certain of its syllables from which he may acquire tremendous personal power. We have said that this belief had its provenance in the early thought of man. It will contribute to our understanding of this mystery, which has become a respected doctrine, to review its history. According to ancient liturgical text, the Sumerian vocable for word is 'Inim,' pronounced "enem." From this word the Sumerians developed the concept of

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incantation. To the Sumerians, incantation was the formal words of the magician or priest. In fact, the Sumerian for incantation is "inim-inim-ma," which is a duplication of "Inim. To the Sumerian, Inim or word meant to "utter a decision." The ancient Semites regarded a formally spoken word contain­ ing the force of a command or a promise as a very definite or real thing, that is, an entity the same as a substance of some kind. Therefore, from the words of a deity, priest, or human under formal circumstances there issued a magical and terrible power. The formally spoken words of the great gods were apotheosized by the Sumerians; that is, they were regarded as a divine entity equivalent to the god. Because of its conformity to this concept, let us recall our previous Biblical quotation in part, " . . . and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Before 2900 B.C., we find the in­ scription, "Enem-Ma-Ni-Zid," Literally translated, "His word is true.” Likewise, in pre-Sargonic times, about 28 00 B.C., and on a temple record of Lugalanda is the phrase "Enem-Dug-Dug-Ga-Ni An-Dub," or: "The word which he spoke shakes the heavens. The word which beneath causes the earth to tremble." Here we see the first conception of the dynamic power of the Divine Word expressed nearly 5000 years ago. A further development of the Sumerians was the identifying of the Word of the god Enlil with his spirit. The Word of the god was made as an attribute of his all-embracing nature, moving forth from him into the chaotic world. For example, another Sumerian liturgy reads: "The utterance of thy mouth is a beneficent wind, the breath of life of the lands." Again, by this we are reminded of the Old Testament, for in the Book of Genesis 1:2, we find, "Aryi ;the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Following this we ~^re told~tKar~~Godr-spo^cgT >T ^ E ~ T h e r e ~ b e ~ H g h t ." To the Sumerians, the breath of God was a warm flood of light. The in­ fluence of the religions of the Sumerians and Babylonians upon their Hebrew captives is quite apparent in the books of the Old Testament. The Sumerians and Babylonians invariably regarded w ^ gr as the first principle, the primordial substance from which all things came. Water to them was not a creative force, but rather the first element out of which other substances developed or evolved. Since, therefore, all things came from water, it was deduced that reason or wisdom dwelt within it. The word which the Sumerians conferred upon this creative principle of water was Mummu. The Greek historian

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Damascius said this word meant "creative reason"— the wisdom which created all things. In the Book of Genesis we find another paral­ lel^ to _this. That— is ,_tiiajt vfater was the f irs~€ 'ITuErstance over which" . . ^ the Spirit o f .God^moved-.~~ r .w T h i s doctrine ~of- water asTihe first substance found its way into an early school of phi­ losophy of ancient Greece. Thales of Miletus apparently borrowed it from the Babylonians. Anaximander and Anaximenes apparently influenced by their con­ tact with the Hebrew scholars and their traditions, and so they resorted to syncretism as well. They declared that the cosmic substance was itself reasoruvyisdom,. harmony; or Nous. This, we see, corresponds to ^heBabylorTian Logos, 'or Mummu, the creative reason which is immanent in watejr. Heraclitus, of 500 B .t ~ , who expounded a doctrine of evolution and relativity, that of all mat­ ter "becoming" through a process of development from fire to air and return, held that the only reality was the law of becoming, a cosmic law— the Word. WORD R EP LA C ED BY LOGOS

A transition gradually occurred, in which the Word, as a divine utterance, was to be replaced by the Logos (law). This Logos was the will of God, expressed as an immutable and active law in the universe. The ancient Stoics held that the divine principle or first cause was pneuma, the breath of God which permeated all things. This breath manifested as a series of creative laws in matter. It became the physical laws which science knows and studies. In man, this breath or Logos became a lesser spirit and moved him as a soul. Philo, a Jewish eclectic philosopher, at the beginning of the Christian era, developed the Logos concept into a most important central doctrine of a philosophy which found its way into the theologocal dogmas of some of our present prominent religions. To Philo, the Logos was, on the one hand, the Divine Wisdom, the pro­ ducing rational power of the Supreme Being. In other words, the Logos was the Mind of God. On the other hand, the Logos was not the absolute nature of God— it was not the substance of the deity. It was rather an at­ tribute of His nature. It was reason coming forth from^im_as^ an emanation. It was held to be the "uttered reason." Thus, from EHTs- w e f i n d that again the Logos talcei on the significance of the Word, namely, the expressed will or "utterance" of God. The Logos or Word was held by Philo to dwell within the world. God was not immanent in the world. He transcended it, but the Logos, his Word, descended into the sentient world as a mediator between God and man.

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For a summation of this topic, we may say that most men have believed that a desire or wish has no efficacy unless it is made vocative. They conceive that a thought in itself is not sufficient unless it is accompanied by some active agent like the spoken word. Therefore, to the natural cosmic forces, the physical laws of the universe, he attributes a once-uttered Word as their source, which continues to reverberate throughout the universe and which he can no longer, at least in its entirety, apprehend. In our next monograph we will see how rituals transform words, phrases, sounds, music, and gestures so as to make a whole symbolic act. In fact, we will have a ritual for you to perform so as to illustrate these principles. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou reaoluest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

Still on the subject of words as symbols, the super word of all times seems to be the Lost Word, or the Creative Word that went forth at the beginning. Since words are symbols, then we can safely say that the Lost Word is also the super symbol of all times. Right off, then, we can stop trying to read any magical power into the symbol itself, but rather search for its form and meaning. Perhaps if we use the word creation as our word and symbol, rather than just saying the word, it will be easier to find form and meaning. Since there never has been a beginning either, we can dispense with that as a starting point. Creation is a vibrating-inass of some form of primary element, the prim a t m ateria of the alchemists. It is imbued with mjraLand force that m a b of it a I cSfisciousTvital entity. Its meaning is in its prime directive, to he. Thi« aimplp I 'statement o fc o s m o lo g jT w ill give you much food for thought as you contemplate / If'uT your quiet houri~frbm m)w tiHTh^ Tiext leigpn.

Summary of This Monograph V V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory.

5{ A majority of the explanations of the Lost Word are based on the Biblical phrase, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) U Cosmologically the above Biblical phrase means that the creation of the universe was accomplished by a vocative idea, a thought expressed as a Word. 5J Tradition held that the law of creation, or Logos, once made vocative as the Word, never ceased to exist, never died out or diminished. 51Tradition contends that at one time man possessed as a divine heritage knowledge of the full power of the Lost Word. 5| The ancient Sumerians identified the Word of the god Enlil with his spirit. The ancient Stoics held that the divine principle and first cause w aspneuma, the breath of God which permeated all things.

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T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D TH E R O S IC R U C I A N

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O o o

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N

This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

ir

Degree 11 Monograph

C>

Degree 11

Monograph

95

95

lOtfarSruri#

279

R EG ISTER ED IN U.S. P A T F N r O F F IC E r*LSO RCGfSTEREO THROUGHOUT THE IVOALQ) P«it»TCO (N U.S.*.

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su­ preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered In the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams. iUustraUona. and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and snail remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, the Statutes authorized of this Order. A. M. O.and R. C.is aisviolation the onlyoforganization to use the Reg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

Si

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V Cfl In this monograph there is a discussion of rituals and their significance. Many persons have a prejudice toward rituals only because they do not understand them. Yet, each day those persons per­ form some rituals without a realization that they are doing so. Below, as a concurrence to the subject of this monograph, we quote from a treatise by A. Z. Idelsohn, Professor of the Faculty of Hebrew Union College. Every religion has ceremonies. Indeed there can be no creed without its forms, because a faith manifests itself through prayer and action, both of which gradually crystalize into rites, genuinely expressive of a certain group’s thoughts, dreams, manner of life, and history. The time of worship and the place of worship become established. The manner of voicing and symbolizing ideas, takes definite shape. In the course of time, certain determining events in the life of the adherents of a religion, find permanent place in the religious calendar. Thus ceremonies deal at once with the profoundest ideals and the minutest habits of daily life. Only those people can appreciate them who understand the thought, the belief, the hope, or the incident for which they stand. They can be “lifeless” and “meaningless” only to those who see them with eyes but not with heart or head. - A . Z. ID E L SO H N , 1882 -1 9 3 8

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Beloved Members, Greetings! Mystical rituals combine symbolic acts, objects, words, sounds, and people in order that the initiate may have an emotional and psychic experience, to instruct him, and to assist him in real­ izing and expressing his inner self. There are many kinds of ritual. Meetings are opened with a ritual. Saluting the flag or saying grace are brief rituals. A mystical ritual differs from other kinds in that it is performed to assist the individual to achieve mystical development and union. ROSICRUCIAN RITUAL

When a ritual is performed in a Rosicrucian Tempie, Lodge, or home Sanctum, it is carried out in a sacred place. The first symbolic act then is to go from the mundane world into a symbolic cosmic world. The appointments such as the stations of the Temple, the Shekinah, or the altar in the Sanctum, the candles, cross, and the like are all symbolic and contribute to the meaning of the ritual. In the ritual of a Temple or Lodge, the ritual team is also symbolic. The Master, the Chaplain, the Matre, and the Colombe are all symbols and as such are an integral part of the ritual. The actions of the initiate as well as the ritual officers are part of the symbolism of the ritual. The Sign of the Cross, the symbolic Salutations to the East in the Convocation ritual, the perambulations in the initiations which you have performed in your Sanctum are part of the meaning conveyed by the ritual. Sounds such as gongs and music are symbolic also. The music serves to assist the members in a Convocation to become passive and achieve attunement. The gong lets them know when they should enter the Temple or when they should stand up. At the same time these sounds become symbolic of the Temple and its ritual and of Attune­ ment . It is the words, however, which set forth the meaning of the symbols and the ritual itself. The words of the Guardian, the Chaplain, and the Master, for instance, direct the thoughts of the members in the symbolic meaning of the Convocation. The Guardian not only lets the members know When they may enter the Temple, but he points out that it is a sacred Temple. The Chaplain's speech sets forth the metaphysical or philosophical basis of the ritual. The Master in his speech before the meditation period says that the Temple is sacred because of the thought and conduct of the members. The words of the ritual are symbolic, and they are, by their'nature and function', mantras. They act in the mind as mantras.

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A HIGH POINT OR CLIM AX

A mystical ritual, like the plot of a novel or drama, has a high point or climax. In the Con­ vocation this is the discourse delivered by the Master. In your Sanctum it is the monograph which is studied, some inspirational passage read, or it is simply a period of meditation, an exercise performed, or assistance given metaphysically. In the Convocation in the Temple or Lodge this is preceded by intonation of vowel sounds and a meditation period to prepare the members. The vowel sounds help in attuning the facets of the individual him­ self with the members in the Temple and with the Cosmic. The purposes of the ritual are four: 1) to achieve Attunement, 2) instruction or knowledge imparted to the initiate or member, 3) direction or influence of the attitudes, emotions, or inner self, 4) awareness or realization of this inner self and selfexpression. All of these are accomplished to some extent in mysti­ cal ritual; how much and how well depends on the ritual, on the quality of its performance, and on the individuals participating in it. Each initiation ritual, whether received in the monographs or performed in a Lodge or Temple, is designed to be a step in the student's progress. Each is, therefore, designed and carried out differently. Taken as a series or a unit, the rituals symbolize the steps in the student's development. A ritual is thus a unified series of acts using symbolic objects, gestures, words, people, etc., to accomplish attunement, instruction, direction or influence, and self-realization and ex­ pression. The initiate performs a series of acts, but they are a unified series. They may be very simple, but they must be care­ fully designed to lead the student naturally through the ritual and produce the psychological and psychic effects desired. The words of the ritual express the philosophy, attitudes, and instruction desired. They help bring about the attunement, instruc­ tion, etc. All language consists of signs and symbols, but the language of a mystical ritual has, by nature, a specialized meaning and function. Such a ritual is an outward representation of an inward process, and it helps that inner process to function. It is a projection or objectification of the inner psychic self and its development, and it directs that development. When a ritual becomes automatic or ceases to have meaning, then it is functioning as a system of signs rather than symbols. It has degenerated from symbol to sign. It may become static; that is, it no longer functions to develop the inner self. It may be only a signal for emotional reactions. Finally, it may become or be taken literally instead of symbolically. if saluting the Shekinah has become a signal for a pleasura­ ble reaction, then it has degenerated, and it must be

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meditated upon in order to make it once more a vital symbol. The words are the key or essence of the ritual, but they may become useless if performed improperly. Any of the rituals or initiations may be performed again with this analysis in mind, and they will be more meaningful to you now than before. The simple ritual below will also help you in under­ standing the nature and function of ritual and particularly of the mantras used in rituals. It is suggested that you read it over before carrying it out so that you will have prepared the items needed. FROM THE PRO FANE TO THE SA C R ED

Remember too that when you enter a Temple, a Lodge, or your Sanctum you are going from the outside, profane world into the inner, sacred or cosmic world. The Temple or Sanctum is a sacred micro­ cosm symbolic of the macrocosm. By simply stepping into it, you go from the profane to the sacred. But it is sacred, as the Convoca­ tion ritual says, because of your thought and conduct; it is only as sacred as you make it. RITUAL

First light two candles and, if you wish, some incense. Keep in mind as you do this the symbolic meaning of the lighted candles and the incense. Before you return to your seat make the Sign of the Cross and say Cromaat as you have been instructed. When you are seated and comfortable, intone three vowel sounds, doing each three times. These should be of your own choos­ ing and may be changed when you perform the ritual again to suit your own desires and the effects you want. Be passive and receptive for a short while, and then meditate on the words of this mantra: "I feel the Peace and Harmony of the Cosmic in my being." Then speak the mantra softly and slowly three times. Now listen to some beautiful music, perhaps play a Rosicrucian phonograph recording; next, read something enlightening, or medi­ tate on a work of art or a mystical symbol. If you feel so in­ clined, write, draw, or play some musical instrument yourself. You may study or review a monograph, if you wish. For a short time meditate on what you have just ex­ perienced.

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CONCLUSION Now extinguish the candles and repeat: "I will feel the Peace and Harmony of the Cosmic in the hours and days to come." Again make the sign of the Cross and close your Convocation.

V V V Most religious and traditional esoteric ceremonies have their foundation, in part at least, in the phenomena of nature. The basic element of religion is subjective. It is a gradually evolved idealism that stems from man's psychic nature. These psychic in­ clinations find their form of expression in the things of man's world. The human being seeks some object or condition that will symbolize or represent those innate feelings which he has. Since these subconscious impulses are vague— that is, not associated with any particular objective experience— man is inclined to think of them as being supernatural. This phenomenon will be pursued in our next monograph. Now let us analyze the ritual. We have used a Sanctum and its appointments including candles and incense. Perhaps you have on your Sanctum altar a symbolic cross. These symbolic objects are an integral part of the ritual, and their meaning emphasizes the mystical nature of the ritual. We have used a symbolic gesture, the Sign of the Cross. You as the member or initiate are symbolic, but you are also the sym­ bolic Master. You perform both roles in the ritual. Simple as the ritual is, it has a plot and a climax— the music, reading, or whatever you did for that part of the ritual. The steps before that point lead up to it, and those which come after it resolve the plot, so to speak. The words used in the ritual present the essential meaning and purposes of the whole. Note that these include not only the two sentences concerning peace and harmony, but the Cromaat and the vowel sounds. All of these parts of the ritual have both a practical func­ tion as well as a symbolic mystical meaning. They serve to bring the individual into the Sanctum and be seated, and also to close the period and leave the Sanctum. They impart instruction or are objective and subjective aids in attunement. The prac­ tical and symbolic are both necessary. It is important to understand too that the mantras are not just affirmations which will automatically attain

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They must be understood and meditated upon so the desired results, that they function as true symbols. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do. do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

The use of ritual is well-explained in this monograph. An interesting exercise for you is to prepare a ritual of your own. We all create little rituals from time to time, and it should not be too difficult for you to come up with one that can be directly applied to something you want accomplished. Follow the four purposes listed in the lesson, and try to have your ritual fulfill these points. Make the ritual fit your life, and in the end, make the affirmation that “it is done!” Instead of simply visualizing what you want accomplished, add a little ritual to it. Say, for example, that you have a lot of chores facing you on a weekend. You could just visualize yourself taking care of all of them, efficiently, and with the least amount of care, or you could prepare your weekend with little notes posted here and there, like STEP 1, STEP 2, and so on, and with the conclusion of each step, you could burn the note, and say “it is done!” It would make your chores more interesting, and also none would be missed or overlooked.

Summary of This Monograph V V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory.

51 Rituals combine symbolic acts, objects, words, sounds, and people in order that the initiate may have an emotional and psychic experience, to instruct him, and to realize and express his inner self. 51 There are many kinds of rituals as saluting the flag, saying grace, performing funeral and wedding ceremonies, etc. 51 In the ritual of a Temple or Lodge, the ritual team is also symbolic. 51 The sounds such as gongs and music are also symbolic. 51 It is the words which set forth the meaning of the symbols and ritual itself. 51 A mystical ritual, like the plot of a novel or drama, has a high point or climax. 11 The vowel sounds help in attuning the facets of the individual himself with the members in the Temple and with the Cosmic.

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A

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V This monograph refers to the Orient (the East) and the part it and the Sun have played in cere­ monies and temple arrangements since ancient times. Below we quote from the Upanishads, ancient Vedic literature, showing the veneration of the Sun, and its powers centuries ago. This translation is by the eminent philologist, F. Max Muller. The sun is indeed the honey of the Deuas. The heaven is the crossbeam (from which) the sky (hangs as) a hive, and the bright vapours are the eggs of the bees. The eastern rays of the sun are the honey-cells in front. The Rik verses are the bees, the Rig-veda (sacrifice) is the flower, the water (of the sacrificial libations) is the nectar (of the flower). Those very Rik verses then (as bees) brooded over the Rig-veda sacrifice (the flower); and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, and health. That (essence) flowed forth and went towards the sun. And that forms what we call the red (rohita) light of the rising sun. -U P A N IS H A D S

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Beloved Members, Greetings! To the primitive mind there is much in nature which, because it seems inexplicable, appears to be of supernatural origin. Con­ sequently, it seems appropriate to this mind to relate such phenom­ ena to one's emotional and psychic nature. The natural elements, the seasons, the Sun, the Moon, the stars and the heavens, even the Earth itself, become symbolic of the religious concepts. They pro­ vide a means of dramatizing, that is, teaching a graphic lesson, by which to explain the subconscious experiences underlying man's moral self. With man's increased intelligence and philosophical insight, the elements and forces of nature were not always considered as directly related to his subconscious impressions. They were, how­ ever, conceived as an esoteric language, as a kind of symbolism by which the immanent impulses and spiritual life were to be ex­ plained. The most impressive of all natural phenomena has been the sunrise. With the coming of the Sun, the darkness of night which holds terrors to the primitive mind was dispelled. Man's vision was returned to him. The world and its beauty took form in the rays of the Sun. In the temperate zone the chill of the night air gave way to the caressing warmth of the Sun. The golden majesty of the orb, as it seemed to slowly float across the heavens, tran­ scended man's power. In no way could he affect its course. All of these things deeply impressed him. Notwithstanding the omnipotence of the Sun, it was realized by almost all people of every age as a beneficent power. Its efficacy in sustaining life was soon discovered by the primitive minds which lived so inti­ mately with nature. As a consequence, the Sun was apotheosized and venerated as a god. It is not difficult to understand why the heavens were quartered into the cardinal points of east, west, north, and south. These quarters have relation to the rising and setting of the Sun and to the seasons of the year. The word east is of Aryan root and, significantly enough means "shine or burn." West is also of Aryan origin, being the Aryan word for "dwell." This was very likely associated with the abiding place of the Sun at night. Etymologically, the word south means "sunned." This meaning is perhaps based on the Sun's greater potency when it follows the southern course in the Northern hemi­ sphere. The origin of the word north is, however, not known with certainty.

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ATTRACTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

An example of early primitive orientation of structures to the Sun is Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain of England. It consists of huge monoliths erected in a vast circle with one row on an eastwest axis. It has been surmised that the early people who erected this structure used it for religious ceremonies. At certain times of the year, the position of the Sun on the horizon at sunrise is in the center of the east end of what was the great row of mono­ liths. Thus priests, candidates, or supplicants could stand at the west end of the row and make a salutation to the Sun as it rose above the horizon. In the earliest burials in Egypt, the body is said to have been laid on the left side, lying north and south, with the face turned toward the east, according to Maspero, noted French Egyptologist. Most of these burials were, of course, of protoEgyptians, that is, prehistoric, and before embalming was in gen­ eral use. Budge, however, says that prehistoric Egyptian bodies of the deceased were laid on the left side, limbs bent and with the face generally toward the south. These observations indicate that early burials did take into consideration orientation according to the points of the compass. The pyramids of Egypt generally have one side facing to the north, relates Petrie. One side of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh is 4' west of north. This difference, it has been surmised, is pro­ bably due to the movement of the pole rather than any error in cal­ culation on the part of the builders. The six remaining pyramids in the vicinity of Gizeh have a north entrance passage. This entrance leads to an inclined passageway down the center. This is no mere coincidence. Such a northern passageway, with an opening at the apex of the pyramid, would have given the Egyptians an ex­ cellent view of what was then the polestar. As one archeologist admits, it is "a circumstance which can hardly be supposed to have been unintentional."

It is of more than passing interest to note that the pyramids stood on the west of any temple that was adjacent to them. This orientation is perhaps due to the significance attached to the west by the Egyptian— "the blessed West, the Land of the Souls." The ireligious significance of the cardinal points of the compass perlikaps also influenced the orientation of the Great Sphinx. The llkncient Egyptians called the Sphinx Hor-em-Kher which means "Horps on the Horizon," or, in other words, the Sun in the act of ri^Tncr. Horus had many virtues, but he was primarily the god~~oT^sunris^V^ Therefore, the Sphinx was erected so that it "gazed eastward— not, however, to just look across desert wastes or irrigated lands, but to peer into an ethereal world of sublime sacredotal import to the ancient Egyptians.

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Every temple in Egypt is directed toward the point on the horizon where the Sun or the particular star to which the temple is consecrated will rise or set. This rising or setting is related to a "particular ceremonial day." A particular star was first observed, then the temple was constructed according to such orien­ tation. If the entrance of the temple faces due east or west— that is, on an east-west axis— it is called a Sun temple. It derives its name from the fact that at some time during the year it faced directly either the sunrise or sunset. The temple Sebak-Ra, at Ombos, points toward the setting of Arcturus which the Egyptians symbolized as the crocodile. That this orientation of temples was very important to these ancients is indicated by the bas-relief in the Temple of Dendera which depicts the king stretching a cord for foundations and with eyes set upon what appears to be the Great Bear. It has been pointed out that this exact orientation of the ancient Egyptian temples with the stars would provide us today with a kind of telescope. It would tell us of the heliacal rising (on the horizon at sunrise) of stars in that remote time. The natural shifting of the Earth's pole, in relation to the celestial one, would cause such stars not to be seen in the same position at pre­ sent. The halls of the great temples, during the period of their use, were dark, especially at the end opposite the entrance. Each of the dividing or transverse halls had a central doorway directly on the axis of the main hall. Thus "a priest standing in the dark at the farthest end, looking through the long series of doorways, would have a good view of a star at heliacal rising, that is, rising a little before sunrise." Such an occurrence would have been perhaps interpreted as a propitious one for sacrifice or other important sacredotal events. LIGHT AND LIFE

The Egyptians, during the height of the priesthood at Heliopolis and subsequently during the 18th Dynasty, had the Sun, whom they called Ra, occupy a most pro­ minent place in their religion. Ra rose in the east. The East was the place of glory or rebirth of light other than physical light. Ra was thought to pass into the world of death and darkness in the west, thence to travel through that realm to be reborn in the east at sunrise. That which portrayed death was related to the west and that representing life, the soul and divinity, was always directed to the east. The private tombs in Egypt generally have their entrance to the east, directed to Ra— never in the west. This orientation according to the quarters of the heavens is not confined to Egypt. Some African tribes

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have their homes face the east. Sometimes their explanation is that they face east so as not to offend a deity whose spirit is associated with the east and the rising Sun. Many American Indians place their encampment so that its entrance is toward the east. The Omaha tribe is especially particular about this arrangement of its encampment during its ceremonies. The mystical meaning the American Indians have conferred upon the phenomena of nature is most illuminating and is an extensive study in itself. In the state of Manipur, India, the tribe known as the Naga have, as a rule, their houses facing the west. They state that the west is the direction taken by the spirits of the dead, which was also believed by the ancient Egyptians. In fact, the great Egyptian funeral processions were from east to west. The large mortuary temples are almost all to be found on the west side of the Nile. The so-called Valley of the Kings and Queens and the tombs of the nobles are west of the Nile across from Thebes, ancient capital of Egypt. The Babylonian temples had their corners oriented accordina to the points of the compass. However, they almost all had en­ trances on each side. In India, also, the Buddhists orient their temples so that they face east with the entrance in that point also. With the Greeks there appears to be a syncretic influence in the orientation of their temples. In other words, the impact of the Egyptian custom made itself strongly felt upon the Greeks. The Greek cella, the enclosed area of the temple, had a door in the east side. The cella or inner sanctuary contained the image of the deity. The image always faced east. In these temples of the gods, the image was so oriented that "it would catch the first rays of the morning Sun." This would, of course, not occur each day but on those ceremonial days for which the temple had originally been oriented to the exact position of the Sun on the horizon. In tem­ ples consecrated to heroes, the reverse practice was followed. The temples were erected to face the west. It is odd to note that the Romans gave no evidence of this symbolic orientation. At least the direction of their temples is not sufficiently consistant to draw any such conclusion from them. It appears that the early Christian church took cognizance of the age-old orientation of sacred edifices. There is an interest­ ing comment to the effect that Pope Leo of the 5th century com­ plained that the people turned to salute the rising Sun as it shone through the east door of St. Peter's. It is stated that this is the cause of one of the reversals of the churches to the present aspect, with the door to the

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west so that the worshippers face the east end of the edifice in­ stead. Many Christian churches are constructed on the east-west axis today if circumstances permit. In our next monograph we shall consider further a most inter­ esting element of Temple arrangement— the East, or Orient, as it has long been called. This subject has a fascinating arcanum dat­ ing back into remote antiquity which we shall summarize. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou reaolvest to do, do it quickiy. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

A discussion of the Earth’s cardinal directions, and m an’s adaptation to them, brings us back to the possible effect of alignments with these directions in our daily lives. In earlier monographs, you were asked to change your sleeping direction occasionally to see if one direction was more conducive to sleep than another. If you have not done this for a while, you might try it again. There is no given direction that is best for everyone alike. It depends on your personal bodily chemistry. A north-south alignment, for example, has the lines of magnetic force from the poles running the length of your body. On an east-west alignment, they would cross your body at right angles. Somewhere in between might even be best for you, since either extreme may cause some discomfort. It is an interesting experiment, and if you have difficulty sleeping, one well worth trying.

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory.

11 The Sun to peoples of almost every period of history was apotheosized and venerated as a god. 1! The word east is of Aryan root and significantly enough means shine or burn. H In the earliest burials in Egypt, the body of the deceased was laid on the left side, lying north and south, with the face turned toward the east. 11 The Great Sphinx of Egypt was erected so that it gazed eastward to peer through an ethereal world of sublime sacerdotal import to the ancient Egyptians. 11 The private tombs of ancient Egypt generally have their entrance to the east directed to RA (the Sun)—never to the west.

T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D T H E R O S IC R U C I A N

O R G A N IZ A T IO N

Son Jo se, C a lifo rn ia, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Park

"C o n se cra te d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" T his m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sole or p u rch ase b y an yo n e . pu rc h a se

m ay

m ake the seller a n d

p u rc h a se r subje ct to civil

A sale or liability.

I

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V V V *1 Upon the influx of Cosmic Consciousness, Jacob Boehme, a humble cobbler, received such divine knowledge that he was visited from afar by noblemen and scholars, who took seriously his opinions and visions. He was invited even to courts and universities. This source of knowledge he thus explains:

I was not versed in literature, nor in the arts that belong to this world, nor have I desired to learn the sciences. But from boyhood I have striven for salvation of my soul, taking thought how I might come into the kingdom of heaven. Even within myself I found powerful opposition to this intent, in the desires of the flesh, and I had to undertake a mighty battle against my own corrupted nature and the serpent’s seed in me. I resolved with God’s aid to overcome and destroy that evil, and to enter into the love of God__ I resolved, moreover, to regard my inherited form as dead in me, so that the Spirit of God would make a new form within me, to the end that I might conduct my life through Him and in Him. I said to myself that I would will nothing except that which I knew to be His will. He would thus be both my will and my doing. This I could not wholly accomplish, but I persevered and fought a fierce battle against m yself. . . . Finally the portals of the deep broke open, I attained to the very centre of being, and a wonderful light arose within my soul. It was a light wholly foreign to the man I had been. Therein I first apprehended the true nature of God and of man, and of the relationship existing between them, a thing which I had never before understood. -J A C O B BOEHM E, 1575-1624

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Beloved Members, Greetings! The term The East has inherent within it a wealth of mystical meaning associated with the eastern point of the compass. It gen­ erally portrays, in occultism and mysticism, the point whence illumination or divine wisdom emanates. It represents, as well, the traditional, oriental source of wisdom and the beginning of the search by man in the Orient for truth and for personal evolvement. It further represents a fixed point in a lodge or temple for ado­ ration or worship, indicative of the point where the consciousness of God descends to contact that of man. The Brahman today still turns east for prayer at sunrise. The supplicant in the ancient mystery schools usually faced the Sun or the east when taking solemn oaths and in offering prayers. In the interrogation in the Third Degree of Freemasonry, there is the expression of "coming from the east," and "going to the west." These have a mystical meaning. Mirandola, in his Kabbalistic Conclusions, said: "Every good soul is a new soul from the east." Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes) defined "the east" as being Chokmah, that is, wisdom, the second Sephira which the Kabbalists style the supernatural east. According to the Didascalia, the Greek Apostolic Constitutions, prayer is offered with the face turned to the east "because God ascended to the heaven of heavens to the east and because paradise is situated in the east." (Apost. Const, ii.57) C. R. C. (Christian Rosenkreuz), often referred to as the traditional founder of the Rosicrucian Order, but actually the sym­ bolic title of a Rosicrucian Master, was said to have brought the wisdom "from the east" and then to have "come to the west." In almost all the mystery schools— as in Rosicrucian Temples and Lodges today— the candidate, during some part of his initiation ceremony, was obliged to perambulate about the Temple. This con­ sisted of a progression from one point of the Temple to another. Each point or station in the Temple corresponded to a cardinal point of the compass. These stations had an allegorical relation­ ship to the quarters of the heavens. Thus the Temple became in fact a small world or Earth itself and the journey symbolic of the journey through life. In the Rosicrucian Manual, we find the following: "Our Lodges also represent the surface of the Earth, with four cardinal points or horizons— East, South, West, and North, with earth, fire, and water beneath our feet, and air and 'Nous' overhead, beyond which are the 'stars and sky'— the immaterial world." The Manual, referring to the symbolic East of the Rosicrucian Lodge, says: "In the East is the new life

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begun. From the East comes forth the Glory of God, 'which is of God.1 Therefore, in our Lodges, the East is the point in which all Fratres and Sorores seek that Dawn of Illumination and Divine Resurrection, from the 'dismal darkness of the North,' that will make them free from superstitions of darkness (ignorance), and the fears of night (evil)." THE SEAR CH FOR WISDOM

How much alike or different from that of other men were the lives of the great mystics? Da Vinci, the great artist, was looked upon by many as a great authority on Rosicrucian subjects during the years that he was active with the organization and was carrying on his labratory ex­ periments and writing his manuscripts. Despite the fact that Da Vinci was unusually developed as an artist and was a great mas­ ter in depicting the spiritual side of any subject or person he painted, his laboratory experiments were almost wholly of a mate­ rialistic or scientific nature, so that he was an authority in a different direction than was the mystic Von Eckartshausen. It is strange to think that a man like Da Vinci who could paint such a subtle, spiritual, mystical expression as that shown in Mona Lisa, and who could paint the world's greatest interpretation of the in­ cident of the Lord *s Last Supper, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces in the world, could turn in the opposite direction and so precisely and enthusiastically delve into the materialistic sciences and achieve success and fame. Even today, science recognizes Da Vinci as being a very care­ ful and exact investigator in the scientific field. His contribu­ tions to aviation, for instance, in his study of the flight of birds and the outline of how man might build something to imitate the flight of birds, is recognized as the first great step taken toward the building of the modern airplane. In hundreds of other ways Da Vinci proved that he had a dual consciousness or dual abil­ ity that manifested in many directions. Von Eckartshausen, on the other hand, was greatly interested in scientific matters but achieved his greatest fame in the spiritual field. When we analyze this dual nature of these two persons and sup­ plement it with a similar analysis of many hundreds of other mys­ tics, we are forced to recognize the strange operations of Cosmic Consciousness in these individuals. Even if we were able to trace Da Vinci's life backward to his youth and find that as a young man he was both spiritually artistic and materialistically scientific in his nature, we would still say that this combination was due to Cosmic Illumination and if the illumination did not come to him in his youth it came to him in a previous incarnation. Cosmic Consciousness or Cosmic Illumination, as it also is called, is that rare and unusual development in

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human beings that comes to them as a result of their inner, as well as outer, development of all the faculties that God has given to mankind. A great many persons think that Cosmic Consciousness or Illumination leads directly and almost exclusively to manifesta­ tions of a deep spiritual nature. If this were so it would not have resulted in the great benefits to mankind that we can note all through the advancement of civilization. While we may properly concede the fact that spiritual illumination and the living of a life of spiritual exaltation would contribute very greatly to the advancement of civilization, we must also admit that, if we elimi­ nate from our program of life the progress of scientific knowledge and achievement, civilization would advance very slowly. We can understand that in the spiritual realm, or in the life after tran­ sition, the cosmic development requires very little assistance, if any at all, from the scientific realm, but we recognize that while we are still living here on the earth plane our spiritual develop­ ment is greatly assisted, and the progress of civilization in all other ways is also greatly promoted by scientific investigation and mastership. We, as Rosicrucians and mystics, should be the last to draw any line between scientific knowledge and spiritual knowledge. A great distinction between science and religion was attempted some years ago when the orthodox of the various religions believed that the rapid development of scientific knowledge threatened the integ­ rity of religious postulations. But the public soon learned what the mystic and the Rosicrucian always knew: namely, that whenever any religious or theological postulation was upset by or disturbed by a scientific discovery, the religious or theological postula­ tion was probably at fault. We know that truth is truth, and fact is fact, and all truths and all facts are related. There cannot be such a thing as a religious truth or spiritual truth being the opposite in fact to a scientific truth. Since the scientific truth is usually demonstrable and is generally impressive through its inherent evidence, it is only natural that the thinking mind of the average person would accept the scientific truth in preference to a theological statement, since both theological and religious state­ ments of the past have been based upon theory, belief, and faith. Science as a materialistic study has done much to contribute evi­ dence of a substantial nature in support of most of the spiritual and religious truths, and we, as Rosicrucians, can say with safety that science and religion are one, and joined, and should support one another without any trouble on the part of any thinking person. If Cosmic Illumination or the influx of Cosmic Consciouness into the highly developed being of a person brings great wisdom, great knowledge, and the influx of divine revela­ tion, it should bring to the consciousness of the person not only truths of a spiritual nature but truths of a

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scientific nature, and such a person should find himself inclined to study and investigate the truths of both the spiritual and the material worlds. It is not to be wondered a t , therefore, that in every instance in history where we find a great person divinely illuminated by the incoming of Cosmic Consciousness we find him capable and efficient in both the spiritual and the scientific worlds. Even when we take the lives of such persons and study their writings and lessons and discourses and thinking, we find that the spiritual side of themselves is easily subdivided. Not only does the spiritual development and awakening in them bring to light great truths regarding the spiritual world and the spiritual laws, but the related laws of harmony, music, art, color, form, and pro­ portion, and the principles of the fine arts generally are awakened and developed at a rapid pace, so that these persons are broadly spiritual, with their understanding not limited exclusively to religious or theological thoughts, but including what we call the fine arts or spiritual arts of men. Likewise, we find that the materialistic tendencies of such persons in their investigation of material laws are broad enough to include a great many of the sciences. In other words, the Cosmic Consciousness does not seem to limit itself to certain channels and make of these persons just good chemists, or good engineers, or good musicians, or good sculp­ tors, but it takes in all of the great arts, such as writing, sculpting, and painting. There are also other methods for expres­ sing the human emotions, such as the casting of metals and the use of steel tools in engraving. We should not be surprised that Cosmic Illumination should be broad and very useful and complete. We should not be surprised that a person so illuminated should be able to write a beautiful manuscript expounding great spiritual truths, and at the same time invent ways and means of studying the divine laws that manifest themselves in the formation of snow crystals into exquisite patterns; nor should we be surprised to find a man like Da Vinci writing fluently on spiritual subjects, painting beautiful pictures which reveal divine principles, and at the same time analyzing and describing the scientific laws used by birds in their flight. So we are now going to deal with the subject of Cosmic Con­ sciousness and try to quicken this great blessing in the life of each one who has reached this point in this Degree. Beginning with the next lesson— I am going to tell you more about how to place yourself in attunement with the heavens above at the regular hours of the Celestial Sanctum periods and at other times. The object of these lessons now will be to utilize all of the exercises and all of the development and the degrees of regeneration that have come to you in the past months, to

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bring into manifestation whatever personal qualifications you have to prepare you for Cosmic Illumination. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph

V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete monograph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. ^ The Brahman of India still turns east for prayer at sunrise. H The Rosicrucian Manual states, “From the East comes forth the glory of God, ‘which is of God.’ ” 51 Cosmic Consciousness, or Illumination, is that unusual development that results from the development of all the inner as well as outer faculties of man, and it is not exclusively spiritual. 1} The influx of Cosmic Consciousness is not limited to certain channels. It brings great wisdom not only of a spiritual nature but scientific as well. This is illustrated in the life and works of such great men as Da Vinci and Von Eckhartshausen. U It is not possible for spiritual truth to be the opposite in fact to scientific truth. 11 Although scientific discoveries at times have not been in accord with certain theological postulations, invariably the latter have been proved to be in error, for science and religion are one.

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resolvest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning m ay accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT

The Rosicrucians always make a big point of equalizing materialism with spirituality. Both are part of the Cosmic, and both play a part in our overall development. The reason that materialism has often been played down by spiritual leaders of the past was that man was so immersed in it that he neglected his spiritual side. This is still true in many instances today. However, it is just as important not to neglect the material side. We should strive for a balance in our attention to these qualities. Look at your own life and see if you are dividing your attention more or less equally between material and spiritual affairs. By spiritual here, we are not referring to a religious practice of any kind, but rather to your behavior, feelings, care for the life around you, in addition to any direct cosmic contacts through meditation or prayer. If you tend to give more attention to one than the other, try to approach more of a balance by purposefully diverting part of your attention to the side of you that has been neglected in some respect.

T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D T H E R O S IC R U C I A N

O R G A N I Z A T IO N

San Jose, California, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Park

"C o n se crate d to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" This m o n o g ra p h it not subject to tale or p urchase by a n yon e . pu rc h ase

m ay

m ake

the seller a n d

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A tale or liability.

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THE CONCURRENCE This Week’ s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V

•J Truth cannot be sold, nor can it be given away. It comes only from within, and is expressed in terms of in' dividual experience. Many years ago, this was stated somewhat similarly by William Law in his Liberal and Mystical 'Writing.

t It is therefore a vain and fruitless inquiry to be asking beforehand for the knowledge of any unpossessed matters; for knowledge can only be yours as sickness and health is yours, not conveyed into you by a hearsay notion, but by the fruit of your oum perception and sensibility of that which you are, and that which you have in yourself.

—WILLIAM LAW, 16864761

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Beloved Members, Greetings! We now discontinue our analysis of the nature of Cosmic Con­ sciousness by Dr. Lewis and our present Imperator. But we shall summarize some important points related to what we have recently studied. First, we shall refer to what has been called the Sacred Casket in the ancient Rosicrucian writings. It is intimated that this was found in the tomb along with the "body" of Christian Rosenkreuz. Whether we look upon that casket as mythical or mystical, actual or theoretical, the fact remains that within this ethereal thing was contained the great secret of the Rosicrucians. I often wonder how many of our members have discerned what the great secret of the Rosicrucians really is. I know it took me a long time to find the secret; it took many years before I become convinced that there was any secret even to hunt for. Naturally there is no defi­ nite reference to it in any of the Rosicrucian teachings or, in other words, no description of it and no explanation. A secret would no longer remain a mystery or a secret if it were once explained. It is, however, very definite and is like the pure gold that the prospector seeks in the mountainside or in the soil that is washing along the banks of a river. It is so inter­ mingled with other minerals, so to speak, or other elements and jewels of value, that it has to be carefully sought for and care­ fully separated from all that hides it. Do not be discouraged if you have not anticipated it or even suspected that it exists, let alone- f 1 nd ing it, for if you do not make the discovery of Eh is cfreat secret m this incarnation, you will" in another. TTPie* great and important fact is that each~Hour~you Tiave iived,' ancl each 1es'Scmr^oTi^ra^e~ studleHy has brought you closer ^ a M cleser to the secrfet. ft is something"that"will not ~be~revealed t6~yott~uhti1 the Cosmic intends it to be revealed and no one else can reveal it to~~— It must be yoir;-- It^is-like— a gr'6at",— fundamental divine truth. born in you and created in you as something new. --------We often hear it said that the Rosicrucians are "selling truths," and therefore they are commercializing great spiritual wisdom. Truth can no more be sold or given to anyone else than can life itself. A divine truth, a real truth, is something that grows from a little mental thought-seed; it is inspired by intuition or by something you read or study, and finds fertile soil in your own being and grows there. Each such truth is a new thing to you and grows anew in your being or in your consciousness. After it has matured sufficiently to reveal itself to you and to receive your recognition to such an extent

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that you can sense it and call it a truth, it is then your truth of universal origin and divine decree and it belongs to you and you cannot pass it on to another, and most certainly you cannot buy it or pay for it. Any attempt on your part to reveal that great truth, or any group of truths, to another person would result in nothing more than a wordy explanation you might pass on to someone that would start him thinking, and thereby prepare the soil in his consciousness for the divine seed of truth that the Cosmic will plant there. All that we have hoped to do with any and all of our lessons from the earliest Degrees to the highest is to prepare the soil of your consciousness for the planting of the seeds. Any truths that you may be able to recognize now after your years of study with us are truths that have been born in your own consciousness and not given to you by us or sold by us. A truth revealed to you by some­ one else is merely a statement, merely a dogmatic or a pragmatic idea. Until you take that idea and nurse it, and until it grows into a blossoming and fruitful thing that is an entity by itself in your consciousness, it is not a truth. So you see that there is no such thing as the possibility of an individual or an organization either giving away or selling sacred truths. The lessons that you have just finished regarding the subject of Cosmic Consciousness have been filled with thoughts that may easily grow into truths. We have been scattering seeds of divine wisdom into your consciousness through these recent monographs and only through your meditation, concentration, contemplation, and analytical thinking can they become to you what they are to others. I hope that each of you has discerned through these recent studies that the coming of Cosmic Consciousness is like the change that takes place in young men and young women at, let us say, the tenth to the thirteenth years of their life. Aside from the sex changes that occur then, there are other psychological and mental changes that take place accompanied by certain spiritual changes. But these changes are so gradual that it is difficult to tell when they begin and when they end. We know that they have occurred by the results which they produce. We know when young men and women have passed through this period of change by the outer and inner manifestations, especially by the effects that the change leaves in the mental and spiritual attitude of the person. An attempt to say, however, that Cosmic Consciousness will come only at a certain period in each person's life— as we say of puberty, or other changes of a physical nature— is incor­ rect. Cosmic Consciousness may come to a person less than twenty years of age, or it may come, as it does to a great many, after eighty years of age. It is not uncommon for

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it to come to persons who are between fifty and sixty-fivg_.._ Not only must the body be more or lesg healthy before Cosmic Conscious.riess will develop but there must be a certain_number of years spent in-preparation of thought, meditation, and worthiness before the development of Cosmic Consciousness even begins. The preparation need not always be through an organization such as ours, but there most certainly must be a definite prepara­ tion. It cannot be slipshod and indifferent, achieved merely by reading books or taking a short course of personal instruction under some self-appointed teacher. That it can come without any connection with an organization such as ours is proved, but never­ theless there is systematic preparation, and that systematic prepa­ ration can be secured anywhere— out on the hilltop, or in temples and synagogues, schools, churches, or the private Sanctum of one's home. Whether we take the life of John the Baptist, of St. Paul or St. Jo^in7or others, we fTn~d these^ great men spent much time. in prayefT meditation, and contemplation, and weTjEXnd that their 1 ives were"systematizecT. No doubt t^eiY“Tiburs and periods of reading, ” study, and contemplation were disciplined over a definite~length of time'before Cosmic Consciousness came to them. We know that it was so with Boehme, the old cobbler, and_with many others. It is notable that all of the men whose lives are mentioned in the history of mysticism, and who were undoubtedly illuminated and benefited by Cosmic Consciousness, were anything but weaklings in a physical sense. Some of them who lived in our own lifetime we knew to be strong, hale, healthy, happy, cheerful being totally unlike anything in the way of spiritual ascetics. This will give you another illustration of how the Rosicrucian Order with its international and worldwide accumulation of valued teachings can adjust and segregate, separate, and classify, the laws and principles and then reissue them so that in the light of united understanding, and in the light of localized conditions, each student will benefit by those principles which are the most KSlptui to him. JTOU nan imagine n'ow far the Rosicrucian teachings wo\IXd_“satisfy the people of the world today if our Order were to adhere to the extremist ideas that are so prevalent in some areas. We have taken the best of the teachings in each of the countries_in €fie~"years that Tiave passed . and after testing and proving their wbrthTnesg We~1niow bring forth from the ~archives of t)ie Order a properly' balanc~ed system of instruction that Is free from superstition ^ m d “false ideas and~^so~Tunaamentally true that people throughout the WOTTcTcarT apply it and use it with benefit. As to the great secret contained in the Rosicrucian I work, this is something that will come with the gradual 1 awakening consciousness of each member who is worthy.

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to my mind, nearly all of those who are in this higher Degree of study are properly prepared, and there must be some degree of Cbsiriic Consciousness already developing within each one. That means that some part of the great secret is about ready to reveal itself- and-I shalT^not be Surprised to hear within the coming months that "each of you is beginning to sense some great InySterious power and force which is a manifestation of the secret.

I may say in passing that the great secret of the Rosicrucia includes-atfeunement with a forcev or power that~ acts' lir many miracujious ways,.__ It_s_eems £6-he_a protecting influence that keeps perIsons^ from_becoming injnrp.d ly or otherwise and helps to keep them well_and_healthy up to the time when the ultimate break­ down o f the body is necessary; and it seems'to come to their service to prevent meddlesome friends and malicious enemies from accomplishing their desires. It also seem s to carry with it the ability to protect- ancTT5rihg about the fulfillment of plans and to create things and have- them occur^when and where- desired. I can­ not be jnore definit e~~than this, beeause I may not be, but I am sure that’ you wilT all sense s omethin gof what I mean very soon. In our next monograph we will enter into a very extensive and interesting, as well as practical analysis of the effect of Cosmic Consciousness and Cosmic Illumination so that each of us may ana­ lyze his own present state of development and see how far he has been benefited by the early stages of Cosmic Consciousness, and then watch for the development of further stages. The lessons recently sent you, analyzing the mental and spir­ itual effects of Cosmic Consciousness, have only touched upon one phase of the results that come from Cosmic Illumination and Cosmic contact. If the effects of such Cosmic development within us were only to inspire us and to urge us to write and express idealistic thoughts and live a more idealistic life in a spiritual or ethical, as well as moral sense, it might be said that Cosmic Consciousness was something that was of value only to the ascetic, the monk, the clergyman, or the person who could devote all of his life to spir­ itual work. The truth, however, is that this is not the case. Therefore, I shall take the time to go into each and every point of the subject in a manner in which it has probably never been dealt with before. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono­ graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. Truth cannot be sold. It is planted as a mental thought-seed, is inspired by intuition, and finds fertile soil in your own being and grows there. The coming of Cosmic Consciousness might be compared to the physical changes at adolescence. The change manifests outwardly and inwardly. The health is better; the energy is greater. CJ There is required a certain period of systematic preparation of thought, meditation and worthiness before Cosmic Consciousness begins. The age of the manifestation of Cosmic Consciousness varies greatly. CJ The great secret of the Rosicrucians includes attunement with a force that works in miraculous way*.

The Weekly Application

Whatsoever thou reaoluest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish.—UNTO THEE I GRANT

It has been apparent over the years that Rosicrucians have been blessed with the manifestation of a force outside themselves. Their attunement with cosmic principles has enabled them to see ahead, to plan, to tap energies beyond their>gwn all to the emTthat-ihay avoHfrrnanynoftKe mishaps and traps that others 1511Into. You •can flKd hi youi own lile that much ot your freedom from worry or concern is due to the tact that you have taken steps to prevent things that would have brought such misery about. You are allowing cosmic forces to flow through you, to help guide you along paths that are harmonious and worry-free. Perhaps it is notjiiways easy to recolteet how this has occurred over th«Tpaat~8everST~ysars,"bul if your fife is on an even keel, and if you are enjoying the fiiltftess of life, then you can be certffin that the force was working through you; protecting, advising, guiding', and building for an even greater tomorrow. In your meditations this week, think of the force acting through ygO~and~try'to~be aware of itapresencerespecaairy in those momenta ?arh day when you are conscious of theHbeneficence of life in your personaTorbuBinesa affairs.

This m o n o g ra p h is not subject to sale or p urchase by an yo ne . purc h ase

m ay

m ake the seller a n d

A sale or

pu rc h ase r subject to civil liability.

O o o

A M

R C

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N

This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

Degree



11

Degree 11

Monograph

Monograph

108

108

io0arf>ruri£ TGI

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su­ preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the • printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies o f officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts” as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso lacto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. 0. R. C. is the only organization authorized to use the Reg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

I

THE CONCURRENCE This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V 51 There are tw o form s of consciousness in the body. Concerning the difference between corporeal and incorporeal things, Porphyry, the N eoplatonist of the third century, says:

The Incorporeal governs the Corporeal, and is, therefore, pres­ ent everywhere, although not as space, but in power. The corporeal existence of things cannyt hinder the Incorporeal from being pres­ ent to such things as it desires to enter into relation with. The Soul has therefore the power to extend her activity to any locality she may desire. She is a power which has no limits, and each part of her, being independent o f special conditions, can be present every­ where, provided she is pure and unadulterated with matter. Things do not act upon each other merely by the contact of their corporeal forms, but also at a distance, provided they have a soul, because the higher elements o f the soul are everywhere, and cannot be enclosed in a body, like an animal in a cage, or a liquid in a bottle. The universal soul, being essentially one and identical with the infinite supreme Spirit, may, by the infinite power o f the latter, discover or produce everything, and an individual soul may do the same thing if she is purified and free from the body. -M ALCHUS PORPHYRY, 233-304(?)

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Beloved Members, Greetings 1 On the question of Cosmic Consciousness, we must have one fun­ damental understanding about its meaning. Here we are, face to face once more with the problem of terminology. What words are there in the English language that can describe most of the things we deal with in these higher lessons? In fact, what words are there in the English language that can describe any of the great principles that the highly advanced or advancing student of the Path deals with in his work of attaining mastership and perfection of life? Either we have to use commonplace words and give them a special meaning, or we have to borrow foreign words that have some special meaning. Very often the words we use have two or three meanings and the tendency on the part of the student is to give such words the commonplace meaning and to overlook the really high meaning that is intended. Now, when we speak of Cosmic Consciousness we do not mean con­ sciousness in the ordinary sense and we do not mean Cosmic in the ordinary sense. We have said in the earlier lessons that there are two forms of consciousness in the human body. One is the con­ sciousness of the objective mind, which is really more or less intellectual rather than anything else. We speak of this outer, objective consciousness as something that comes and goes about in our bodies like the blood or is as vague and indefinite at times as so-called memory. We say that when a person faints he loses con­ sciousness and, of course, we mean the purely objective mind's consciousness. We say that a person is conscious of music that is being played or unconscious of a noise on the street and we really mean that he is aware or unaware of certain sounds or conditions. And this awareness is not really consciousness but a matter of recognition or intellection. On the other hand, we speak of the other form of consciousness that is divine and is in every part of the human body, and which does not leave the body when we faint or are under the influence of ether or drugs or liquor. We distinctly state in the lower mono­ graphs that if a person is injured by a blow on the head he becomes objectively unconscious but his subconscious or Divine Conscious­ ness remains intact and carries on the work of the various organs of the body just as though nothing had happened, except that this subconscious consciousness immediately begins to work a little harder to try to establish a normal condition in the body and over­ come the effects of the accident. We further state in the mono­ graphs that this Divine Consciousness is a part of the creative forces and powers of the universe resident in every cell \ 7 t^ie body* We saY that there is some of this higher Vyr/ consciousness in each cell of the blood, each cell of the \ / tissue, each cell of the bone and even in each little cell V that composes the roots of the hair.

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We have also pointed out that these cells, of which there are hundreds of kinds in the body, come under a number of distinct classifications; and that each class of cells is like a distinct race of man or species of animal life or vegetable life. Each of these different cells will reproduce and attract only cells of its own kind. We have called attention, in one of our monographs, to the remarkable manifestation of the laws of cell life in what is known as a cyst. This is an abnormal or strange growth that starts somewhere in the body by a few misplaced cells getting in between some tissues and forming a little habitation or lodging place of a permanent nature. These few cells, like all the cells in the body, try to build up a community composed of all the classifications of cells so that they will be a combination forming a unit. So the few cells that start a cyst will first attract a few more cells of their own kind and then begin to attract other cells that are nec­ essary to build a perfect unit. Therefore, they will attract some cells of bone life, some cells of hair, some cells of teeth, some cells of tissue, muscle, blood, etc. These different cells begin to multiply in their own image and soon we have a large growth which, when eventually taken out of the body, contains living hair, pieces of living bone, a perfect tooth or part of a tooth and other distinct parts of the human body. A tooth cell will always produce a tooth cell whether the cell is functioning in between the tissues of the abdomen or up in the gums where it belongs. Hair cells will produce hairs whether they are lodged in the abdomen or in the sides of the body or in the scalp or in the surface of the skin, and so it is with each of them. The reason for this is that each cell has in it not only the creative power of the great Cosmic Consciousness but it has a part of the intelligence or wisdom that is necessary for it to carry on its distinct and independent functioning. If it were not for the fact that blood cells would always remain blood cells and would never change to bone cells or hair cells, we would not have the wonderful circulating energy that keeps our bodies alive. Blood cells have to contact hair cells and bone cells every hour of the day in order to nourish these other cells, but if the blood cells were of a nature that is changeable they might come in contact with bone cells and become bone cells and no longer function as blood cells. Each cell knows only its own particular work and is like a one-track human— such as we often meet— who sticks steadfastly to one thing, right or wrong, whether the outcome will be good or bad, successful or not Now this Divine Consciousness (psychic consciousness or Cosmic Consciousness) that is in all of these cells is a part of the so-called Universal Consciousness of God. It is the divine part of us regulating and controlling and

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creating the care and upbuilding of the body. It is also due to this consciousness distributed throughout the body in the cells that we are able to function so uniformly, so consistently, and with such united harmony while we are asleep or unconscious objec­ tively. The development of Cosmic Consciousness or the coming of Cosmic Consciousness therefore means an awakening, a quickening, and a strengthening of this Divine Consciousness in all of the cells of the body. Now it must be understood that not all of these cells of the body are devoted merely to the manufacture and crea­ tion of the material parts of the body. There are cells that must create and build nerve energy. There are cells that must create and build the thinking power of the human body. There are cells that must create and maintain the energy which is used not only in thinking but in radiating thoughts, or in transmitting thoughts, or in having our thoughts extend beyond ourselves. There are other cells that are devoted to the maintenance of the aura that radiates from the human body, and there are other cells that produce vibra­ tory energy which is used when we give treatments and which radi­ ates from the fingertips or palms of the hands. In building up and developing Cosmic Consciousness, we in­ crease the influx of universal, creative Cosmic power in all of these divine or divinely-conscious cells of the human body. The result, therefore, of this increased Cosmic Consciousness is three­ fold: First it has its effect upon the material part of the body, and second it has its effect upon the so-called psychic or divine­ ly-conscious part of the body. This means that the development of such higher consciousness within us will affect us in a material physical sense and in a mental and psychic sense. There is one other effect that is the one which is generally referred to in all Oriental literature and which seems to be the only effect to which most mystics and most Oriental writers have given any considera­ tion. The third effect is that by the development of more of the divine Cosmic Consciousness within us we become more perfectly at­ tuned with the Cosmic Consciousness or Universal Consciousness and our lives become, in a spiritual sense, more harmonious with the higher laws and higher consciousness of the universe. Now you will understand why some mystical societies devoted so much time and thought to forms of concentration and forms of physi­ cal sacrifice and punishment in the belief that by developing Cosmic Consciousness and the increasing harmony with the universe they would become more spiritual. They quite evidently did notice that as their spirituality developed their physical bodies improved and they became stronger and healthier. But for some strange superstitious belief or reason they felt that the development of the physical body, or the strengthening of the physical body, was attracting too much of the Cosmic

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power and not letting all of it go into spiritual development. It was the spiritual development that they wanted and which they believed was the only thing to have in order to live properly. In order to overcome the effects of the physical development and improved health they purposely and wilfully tortured their physical bodies and refrained from eating, walking, exercising, or doing anything that would help improve the physical body. They purposely starved themselves till they were as thin as skeletons. They pur­ posely put themselves into horrible positions and tied themselves fast in these positions for years so that their physical bodies would become not only emaciated from lack of exercise but horribly distorted in form. This same idea is still prevalent among a few sects in various parts of the world. If it had been true that Cosmic Consciousness and the develop­ ment of it in the human body nourished and strengthened and de­ veloped only the spiritual part of man there would have been no need for these systems of physical torture and physical restraint. On the other hand, it was, and still is, absolutely ridiculous to think that the development of a healthy physical body is a detri­ ment to spiritual development. We cannot find in any of the sane and rational writings of the Great Masters— and certainly not in the life of Jesus who is acknowledged to have been at least one of the world's Great Masters— an indication that their spiritual de­ velopment was accompanied by any lack in physical development or in physical health. Whether or not Jesus worked much as a carpenter, the fact remains that in his spare time he did manual labor, for there are too many references to this, even by those who persecuted him as a religious fanatic, for us to believe that he sat around all day in his spare time and did nothing of a physical nature. The great amount of walking he did during his missionary life, and his well-formed body, and the fact that he was able to carry the material, wooden cross for any distance at all while on the way to crucifixion, indicate that he was not of the weak, emaciated, phys­ ical type that is exhibited by fakirs today. So we find from our more modern experiences, and by a review of the ancient experiences of dependable, logical, reasonable, thinking men and women, that with the coming of Cosmic Conscious­ ness there is a coming also of both spiritual and physical develop­ ment. The physical development can be divided into several forms as we will analyze them in the next few monographs, and the spirit­ ual development likewise is divided into a number of forms and classes of manifestation, as we shall see. We are going to take these different forms of manifestation of the development and analyze them carefully to see what effects they produce and how we are progressing in accordance with them. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V

V V

Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono­ graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. 51 There are two forms of consciousness in the human body: (1) the consciousness of the objective mind; and, (2) the divine consciousness which is in every cell of the body. 5j Each cell has the creative power of the Cosmic Consciousness, and the intelligence necessary to carry on its independent functioning. 5J The divine consciousness, or Cosmic Consciousness, in every cell is a part of the so-called universal consciousness of God. 5| The development of the Cosmic Consciousness means the awakening of this divine con­ sciousness in all cells of the body. 51 The result of increased Cosmic Consciousness is threefold: (1) It is beneficial to the material body. (2) Affects the divinely conscious part of the body. (3) It brings a greater degree of attunement with the higher consciousness of the universe.

The Weekly Application Whatsoever thou resoluest to do, do it quickly. Defer not till the evening what the morning may accomplish .—UNTO THEE I GRANT

You will note that we are again emphasizing the importance of the body in out overall development. It is one thing to watch diet and exercise, and perhaps exercise restraint on physical indulgences, but it is quite another thing to deny the body reasonable sustenance and care. When the body is properly cared for, as the monograph implies, it will be an aid to attaining Cosmic Consciousness. Imagine how much energy is taken from your efforts to attain Cosmic Consciousness if your body is demanding it for its welfare. A body that is not properly fed, or that is made to hurt and suffer, will draw from your total energy reserve in order to find balance. It inhibits the flow of force, and your ability to attune to it, whereas the healthy body will lend of its reserves to your efforts to attain Cosmic Consciousness. The next time you have an ache or pain, see how it distracts from your concentration, how it cries oat for your attention. Then notice the difference when your body is in balance, and there are no aches or pains to distract. You will see that the state of the body is very important to the state of the imind, and, of course, this is true the other way around too.

[h it m o n o g ra p h it not subject to tale or p u rc h a te b y an yone . p u rc h a te

m ay

m ake the

seller a n d

p u rc h a se r su bje ct to

A tale or

civil liability.

''"I!!!!!”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

/litM iilM M M SSM M M SM iSiiiiiiiliiliiiiSiiiiiiiSiiiiiiiiiiciSS

n o o O o 3S

The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N

This monograph always remains the property of the Supreme Grand Lodge of A. M. O. R. C. It is not purchased by, but loaned to, the receiving member.

D egree

11

Degree

Monograph

Monograph

11

109

109

lotfarfiruri# R E G I S T E R E D IN U . S . P A T E N T O F F IC E I A L SO R E G IS T E R E D TH RO U GH O U T TH E W O RLD I P R IN T E D IN U . S . A .

The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Su­ preme Council of the A. M. O. R. C. under the emblem above, which was registered in the United States Patent Office for the purpose of protecting all the "printed, engraved, typewritten, and photographic copies of officially prescribed and copyrighted monographs, dis­ sertations. scientific postulations, philosophical discourses, academic studies, diagrams, illustrations, and charts" as authorized by the Imperator of A. M. O. R. C. (The above emblem and name of the Order are also registered in countries throughout the world.) All m atters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving, and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of. the legal title, and the right of possession to this monograph is and shall remain In the Supreme Grand L>odge of A. M. O. R. C. and it shall be returned to it upon its request. The contents herein are loaned to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use does, ipso facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of tne Statutes of this Order. A. M. O. R. C. Is the only organization authorized to use the Reg­ istered name and symbols, and the Imperator has sole right to grant the use of them to other allied organizations or movements.

THE CONCURRENCE This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion

V V V •J That universal consciousness which permeates each cell of the body making for greater physical and spiritual harmony is spoken of in the following excerpt from the Kashf AbMahjub, the Sufi work written by Ali A1 Hujwiri, mystic of the eleventh century.

God divided the one substance of His love and bestows a particle thereof, as a peculiar gift, upon efvery one of His friends in proportion to their enravishment with Him: then He lets down upon that particle the shrouds of humanity and nature and temperament and spirit, in order that by its powerful wording it may transmute to its own quality all the particles that are attached to it, until the lover’s clay is wholly converted into love, and all his actions and loo\s become so many indispensable conditiom of love. This state is named ‘union ali\e by those who regard the inward meaning and those who regard the outward expression.

—ALI AL HU JW IRI, d. 1063

AMOR C

Temple SectionELEVENTH DEGREE

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings! In my last talk with you I described the nature and effect of the Cosmic Consciousness in the various cells that compose the human body. It might be interesting to know just how many cells could be found in the average human body and what their particular purpose is, and what they produce, but I am not going to take your time with any such long list of facts. Those of you who may be interested in this matter will hunt up the subject in some encyclopedia and fathom it to its very depths, but I imagine that most of you will not bother doing this for after it is all done it proves not to be the most interesting of sub­ jects. I doubt also whether anyone has ever compiled a complete list of such cells for no two human beings would be exactly alike in this regard. Nor do we have the same number of cells all the time. A great many cells in the human body are there for the purpose of destroying destructive or contagious or infectious germs. The more nearly perfect our health the more of these fighting warriors in the cell life will be found in our bodies; and the more sickly we are or the weaker we are at any time in our lives, the more numerous will be the contagious and destructive cells and the less numerous the fighters, because unless the fighters had been overcome and reduced in number there could not be any contagious cells or germs actively working in our bodies. Take the tonsils, for instance. Their purpose is to exude a very delicate liquid into the throat and this liquid is full of fighting cells of various kinds whose purpose it is to cleanse or change or destroy the infectious germs that come down into the throat and are on their way to enter the body. I do not know how many cells would be in a perfectly normal pair of tonsils, but there must be a great many and science has not investigated this mat­ ter as completely as it might have done and no two persons are identi­ cal in this regard. You must remember that in the water we drink and in the food we eat, and the air we breathe, all of which passes down part way into the throat, there are thousands of germs or cells of life that might become infectious or dangerous to our health, and nature tries to pre­ vent their destructive activities by robbing them of their power right in the throat before they enter the system. Incidentally, this will indicate to you how ridiculous it is to say that the tonsils can be removed from the throat of a child or adult "without in any way im­ pairing or injuring the health and normal standard of the person." You cannot remove any part of the physical body without lowering the body’s high standard of normality. All of the many cells in the human body have distinctive functions, as I said in the last little talk. They are like the employees in a great factory. There are some whose work is more or less monotonous. They do the same thing over hour

Temple SectionELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

-The Rosicrucian Order PAGE TW O

after hour and day after day with very little thinking, because the functioning is purely automatic. Just as two employees here in our business sit at a large desk and do nothing all day long but pick up letter after letter or post card after post card from a basket and copy the names on them onto index cards to be placed in our files, so certain cells in the body do certain things all day long. No matter what letters, or how many, or from whom, are placed in the basket on the desk of these two girls, all they know they are to do is to take each letter in turn, find the name and address at the bottom, and write it on a card and send those cards to the Index Department. It makes no difference to them whether the name is that of a wealthy person or a poor person, a politician, the President of the United States, a famous person, or an unknown person. They never question whether the person is black or white, young or old, a Christian, a Jew, a Moslem, or a Buddhist. It is not their business to ask about the natures of the persons who wrote the letters nor do any investi­ gating or anything of the kind. Each of the letters in their basket has been read and examined by somebody and passed on to them, and their business is simply to copy the names for the files for future reference so that the large and cumbersome letters can be burned in the incinerator. In this same way most cells in the human body function. Not one of these cells is given any arbitrary, personal, discretionary power. The consciousness in it is of one definite nature, knowing just one functioning at any time and in all circumstances. That consciousness in each cell constitutes its intelligence. That intelligence can be in­ creased where it will work more rapidly, and therefore, more effi­ ciently and more in harmony with the other cells, but it cannot change its fundamental nature. The intelligence in a hair cell, by which it produces the root of a hair, can never be so modified or changed that it will produce the elements of a fingernail or of a bone, or of tis­ sue, or of the outer cuticle of the skin, or of blood, or lymph, or pancreas, or of any of the other scores of distinct cells. Cells can become sluggish in their action just as human beings who are well trained in certain functions can become sluggish. The other night I was watching some motion pictures of welltrained racing dogs that from birth have been trained to chase a me­ chanical rabbit on a racing field. Those dogs were born with the in­ stinct, or with the consciousness, of chasing and racing. This funda­ mental instinct of chasing a rabbit and not allowing any other dog to beat it in the race is so deeply instilled in the consciousness that it is said that twenty or more of these racing dogs will get along together in a kennel or anywhere else so long as they are not racing after a rabbit, or any other small animal; but the moment they begin racing they become enemies to each otheV and any one of them will attack and kill another dog that is beating him in the race, and they have to be carefully guarded to see that their jealousy does not turn into maliciousness and violent hatred.

Temple SectionELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORCNUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE THREE

Furthermore, these dogs have only to be released from the leashes for them to instantly start running. They know nothing else in life but to chase and to race, but unless they are kept in practice and well trained they become sluggish. The great trainers of these dogs don't attempt to add anything more to the intelligence and conscious­ ness of these dogs. They do not attempt to train them to do many things or different things but they train them to do the one thing well. In other words, since these dogs were born as potential racers that instinct is carefully and gradually developed to a high degree, so that the instinct is more efficient and the results much higher and better. The same is true in regard to the cells of our body. Each may carry on its functioning true to form, and each may produce and do nothing more than it was intended to do, but it may do this work sluggishly, slowly, and more or less imperfectly. This condition is due to objective conditions in the body concerning which I will speak later. I merely wish to say here that although each cell has the divine consciousness and intelligence in it to do its work, and under normal conditions would do its work efficiently and without any special training, the fact remains that each cell has to contend with the physical body around it, and with the objective intelligence in the human body which often interferes with the cells doing their work perfectly. There is another analogy that I think will help you to understand the situation. Anyone who has seen a classroom of pupils, or an in­ stitution of employees, knows that no matter how well you may train half of them and have these properly experienced and ready to do their work efficiently, if the other half of the pupils or employees are sluggish or slow in their actions, the entire class or group of pupils and employees cannot work together harmoniously. Every schoolteacher knows that the high morale and the high degree of responsiveness of a class is often held back, or lowered in percentage by the actions of a half-dozen sluggish members. In business institutions this element of sluggishness stands out even more seriously and definitely than in the classroom. In any large business institution, as our own, for instance, every department and each employee depends upon the work of the others around him for cooperation. The Correspondence Department, which answers all the mail, is highly trained, efficient and large enough to take care of each day's mail as it comes in. It sees that it is answered each day. But this cannot be done efficiently unless the departments that first receive the mail keep up with their work of opening and distributing it to the Correspondence Department. If the department which receives the mail, and sorts it into classifications, gets several days behind, then

Temple SectionELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORCNUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FOUR

the Correspondence Department will be late in its replies and the Ad­ justment Department will be late in answering complaints, making ad­ justments and mailing out special matters requested by the members. The Recording Department will be several days late in recording the members* dues, and everything will be thrown out of its schedule and routine operation because of a few who are sluggish somewhere along the line. So we see that when we are dealing with the multiple number of cells in the human body we are dealing with a multiple number of enti­ ties and we have two important things to keep in mind: first, the in­ dividual activities and efficiency; and second, the collective effi­ ciency and combined cooperation. When we speak of the development of Cosmic Consciousness we are speaking of a dual condition in the human body. We are speaking first of the quickening and awakening of the individual consciousness in each cell so that each cell will be work­ ing at 100 per cent efficiency in its definite functioning; and second, we are speaking of collective cooperation and united functioning on the part of all the cells, thus producing a high degree of combined Cosmic Consciousness in the human body. Now such development is bound to produce results in many direc­ tions. Perhaps the very first indication of such harmonious, cooper­ ative, efficient functioning of the divine consciousness in our bodies is an improvement in health. Hardly any of us dare say what constitutes perfect, normal health for mankind, and it is even harder to attempt to say what constitutes perfect, normal health for any individual. We cannot say that the absence of any sensation of pain, or the absence of any indication of disease, or the absence of any outer abnormality would constitute per­ fect health. There are many hundreds of people in the United States, for instance, who suddenly pass through transition each year without any apparent reason for doing so. Many of these persons have been considered perfectly healthy and the average physician would have found nothing wrong with them in a general examination. A great many of these persons have their lives ended suddenly through so-called heart disease. There can be conditions about the heart that are difficult to diagnose or sense until the crucial moment is reached. The heart particularly is an organ that does not necessarily have pains in it to indicate when it is abnormal. There are many very serious conditions that can exist in the heart without ever causing the slightest pain or inconvenience until the fatal moment comes. The lungs, on the other hand, constitute a pair of organs that are the most flexible of any in the human body for they can be very far below par, very weakened, and in fact, greatly dis­ eased without greatly affecting the general health and without causing any outer signs or inconveniences. It is wonderful to

Temple Section ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMOR C NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

•The Rosicrucian Order PAGE FIVE

think how life can be maintained in the human body even when only a part of each of the lungs can still function. Persons who have suf­ fered from tuberculosis in one lung and have had that one lung so near­ ly destroyed that it could not function at all, have continued to live apparently in normal health and carry on good work without any pain or inconvenience with the use of only one lung. There are perhaps very few human beings in the world today whose kidneys and bladder are in absolutely perfect health or a perfectly normal condition. There are very few whose spleens are perfectly nor­ mal— and goodness knows there are very few whose various glands are up to normal. Yet such persons may never have had a day of illness in bed and never had to have a physician examine them, nor have they found it necessary to take a spoonful of medicine or a single pill or tablet. It must be apparent to you, then, that if ill-health is so vague a thing that it is hard to determine, so perfect health must be more or less indefinite and hard to determine. It is very much like the matter of insanity. The greatest experts in the world have not been able to determine where sanity leaves off and insanity begins, and no scientist would attempt to say that any human being is one hundred per cent sane— and certainly no one could say that any person is one hun­ dred per. cent insane. If therefore we are in some degree of ill-health and do not know it and have no manifestation from it, and we feel as though we were in perfect health, how then can we tell when this ill-health is improved and corrected? In other words, if there is a possibility of each one of us having a certain percentage of abnormality in our human bodies or a certain percentage of weakness or ill-health without being aware of it, how are we going to tell when such abnormalities or weaknesses are overcome and improved? If you or I feel today that we are in per­ fect health and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with us and that we feel as well as we ever could feel, how then would we know if some great change actually took place within us and remedied something that had been wrong for a long time? We couldn't feel better than in perfect health; we couldn't sense an improvement if we already felt we were in excellent condition; and we couldn't have more peace than we have when we feel in perfect con­ dition. This explains why a great many who begin to have the benefits of Cosmic development within them sense so little change in their health. The average person who reaches the point on the Path where Cosmic Consciousness begins to function in him is a person who is more or less in good physical condition. Such persons usually are seventy-five per cent well or else they would not continue with the studies. A person who is half well and half sickly all the time or only fifty per cent well, will have so many

Temple SectionELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC-

■The Rosicrucian Order

NUMBER ONE HUNDRED NINE

PAGE SIX

bad days, or despondent days, or discouraged days, from slight illhealth that he will not stick to his studies or give sufficient time to them. When you find a student who is studying steadfastly on the Path and making advancement in the studies year after year, you usually find a person who is actually and seemingly in pretty good health. As Cos­ mic Consciousness develops in him there will be a great change taking place, but he will not know of this because he has not been sufficient­ ly ill to realize that there were any weaknesses to correct or any con­ ditions to overcome. This is why so many new students or old students on the Path will become discouraged in time because they have no one as a companion or friend who can help them to analyze themselves and see if any great change or progress has been made. This is all of the subject for this week, for I think I have given you a great deal to think about. By reading this lecture carefully a second time, and thinking about your own condition and progress you will find much to meditate upon and much to discover, and next week we will take up another phase of this Cosmic Consciousness. Fraternally, YOUR CLASS MASTER

Summary of This Monograph V V V Below is a summary of the important principles of this monograph. It contains the essential statements which you should not forget. After you have carefully read the complete mono­ graph, try to recall as many as you can of the important points you read. Then read this summary and see if you have forgotten any. Also refer to this summary during the ensuing week to refresh your memory. All the cells in our bodies have distinctive functioning. The consciousness in each cell constitutes its intelligence. This intelligence can be increased to where it will work more efficiently and more in harmony with the other cells. Q Although each cell has divine consciousness functioning within, it must contend with the physical body around it and the objective intelligence in the human body which often interferes with the cells doing their work perfectly. In considering the multiple number of cells in the human body, we must keep in mind: first, the individual activities and efficiency; and second, the combined efficiency and cooperation. The first indication of harmonious functioning of the divine consciousness in our bodies is in an improvement in health.

T H E IN S T IT U T IO N B E H IN D T H E R O S IC R U C I A N O R G A N IZ A T I O N San Jose, C alifornia, U. S. A. Rosicrucian Parle

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The Rosicrucian Order

MASTER MONOGRAPH IL L U M IN A T I S E C T IO N

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Monograph 110

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X

THE CONCURRENCE

This Week’s Consideration of a Famous Opinion V

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•I As our inner consciousness becomes more closely attuned with the higher consciousness of universal life, our thoughts are lifted up, our desires become less material, and our powers become infinitely increased. This universal knowledge is expressed by the great philosopher of the fourth century, Iamblichus: If the soul rises up to the gods, she becomes god-like and able to know the above and the below; she then obtains the power to heal diseases, to make useful inventions, to institute wise laws. Man has no intuitive power of his own; his intuition is the result of the connection existing between his soul and the Divine Spirit; the stronger this union grows, the greater will be his intuition or spiritual knowledge. Not all the perceptions of the soul are of a divine character; there are also many images which are the products of the lower activity of the soul in her mixture with material elements. Divine Nature, being the eternal fountain of Life, produces no deceptive images; but if her activity is perverted, such deceptive images may appear. If the mind of man is illumined by the Divine Light, the ethereal vehicle of his soul becomes filled with light and shining. -IA M B L IC H U S , A .D . 283(?)-333(?)

Temple Section ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC N U M B E R 110

The Rosicrucian Order PAGE ONE

Beloved Members, Greetings! Continuing on with our discussion of health standards, the lungs constitute a pair of organs that are the most flexible of any in the human body for they can be very far below par, very weakened, and in fact, greatly diseased without greatly affecting the general health and without causing any outer signs or inconven­ iences. It is wonderful to think how life can be maintained in the human body even when only a part of each of the lungs can still function. Persons who have suffered from tuberculosis in one lung and have had that one lung so nearly destroyed that it could not function at all, have continued to live apparently in normal health and carry on good work without any pain or inconvenience with the use of only one lung. There are perhaps very few human beings in the world today whose kidneys and bladder are in absolutely perfect health or a perfectly normal condition. There are very few whose spleens are perfectly normal--and goodness knows there are very few whose various glands are up to normal. Yet such persons may never have had a day of illness in bed and never had to have a physician examine them, nor have they found it necessary to take a spoonful of medicine or a single pill or tablet. It must be apparent to you, then, that if ill-health is so vague a thing that it is hard to determine, so perfect health must be more or less indefinite and hard to determine. It is very much like the matter of insanity. The greatest experts in the world have not been able to determine where sanity leaves off and insan­ ity begins, and no scientist would attempt to say that any human being is one hundred percent sane— and certainly no one could say that any person is one hundred percent insane. If therefore we are in some degree of ill-health and do not know it and have no manifestation from it, and we feel as though we were in perfect health, how then can we tell when this ill-health is improved and corrected? In other words, if there is a possibil­ ity of each one of us having a certain percentage of abnormality in our human bodies or a certain percentage of weakness or ill-health without being aware of it, how are we going to tell when such abnormalities or weaknesses are overcome and improved? If you or I feel today that we are in perfect health and that there is abso­ lutely nothing wrong with us and that we feel as well as we ever could feel, how then would we know if some great change actually took place within us and remedied something that had been wrong for a long time? We couldn't feel better than in perfect health; we couldn't sense an improvement if we already felt we were in excellent condition; and we couldn't have more peace

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

A M0 RC

NUMBER 110

The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE TWO

than we have when we feel in perfect condition. This explains why a great many who begin to have the benefits of cosmic development within them sense so little change in their health. The average person who reaches the point on the Path where Cosmic Consciousness begins to function in him is a person who is more or less in good physical condition. Such persons usually are seventy-five percent well or else they would not continue with the studies. A person who is half well and half sickly all the time or only fifty pecent well, will have so many bad days, or despondent days, or discour­ aged days, from slight ill-health that he will not stick to his studies or give sufficient time to them. When you find a student who is studying steadfastly on the Path and making advancement in the studies year after year, you usually find a person who is actually and seemingly in pretty good health. As Cosmic Consciousness develops in him there will be a great change taking place, but he will not know of this because he has not been sufficiently ill to realize that there were any weak­ nesses to correct or any conditions to overcome. This is why so many new students or old students on the Path will become discour­ aged in time because they have no one as a companion or friend who can help them to analyze themselves and see if any great change or progress has been made. The next phase of our development through Cosmic Attunement is the result of the cumulative effect upon the cell consciousness of the entire body. As we develop inwardly in consciousness and become more closely attuned with the higher consciousness of uni­ versal life our thoughts are literally and figuratively lifted upward. When one has traveled around the world, and has noted the various ways in which groups of humanity live, one cannot help feeling that these various good, bad, and indifferent conditions of life are, after all, only a reflection of the consciousness within the people. Those who are quite satisfied to live in sordid environments in the midst of filth, sickness, poverty, and unat­ tractiveness have most certainly little or no development of Cosmic Consciousness within them. We see what has happened with the mystic in every land, and with the adept who has started upon the Path toward Cosmic Attunement. That path is just as definitely cut out in the road maps of the world as is an automobile highway that has been carefully engineered and planned and constructed under government supervision. The path of development, like the auto­ mobile highway, leads to the shortest, and nearest, and the safest goal of our desires. The adept who has felt the urge to step upon the path of development soon finds that he has unconsciously been moving in a direction that is entirely different from the path being taken by those around him. He finds his foot­ steps leading him away from the things that were

Temple Section

ELEVENTH DEGREE

AMORC

NUMBER 110

The Rosicrucian Order

PAGE THREE

satisfying in life, and the things which seemed to be perfectly natural. He seeks first of all separation, isolation, and silence. He wants to be apart with himself, and away from the multitude. He wants to be, at times, where he can feel that he is alone, except with the ever-consciousness of a Divine Presence. He wants to get away from the noise, hustle, and bustle of the routine things of life. It is not that he wants to shirk his duties or his obliga­ tions, or to ignore the work he has at hand, but because he feels that he can better accomplish his mission in life if he is inde­ pendent, and free, and above the limitations that have previously enslaved him. In all lands and in all times the student on the Path has sought the solitude of the mountains or the valleys, the seashore, or the woods. In selecting a place that is appropriate for his periods of meditation and silent contemplation he has unconsciously sought a cleaner, a more wholesome, a more ennobling and inspiring environment. Before he started upon the Path it may well be that the average adept has believed that an improvement in his earthly environment would consist only of an improvement in a material sense. He may have felt that a more magnificent home, more magnif­ icent gardens, more luxurious comforts and conveniences would con­ stitute a real improvement in his earthly situation. After he has placed his foot on the real path of cosmic devel­ opment he finds that his steps are leading him not to greater and more costly material things and conveniences, but really away from them into the more primitive, more natural, less costly and more wholesome places. He finds that the trees and shrubbery of an isolated mountainside become the most beautiful gardens and groves of any admired palace that he has ever seen. He finds that the hard rock on a mountainside overlooking a large valley is superior to any throne in any palace raised high upon an impressive dais. He finds that the most simple garment is more beautiful upon him and more satisfying to his personal vibrations than the most elab­ orate gown or costume of any court. In this way, therefore, he seeks the more simple and yet the more beautiful things of life. When he is forced to return at periods to the former sordid envi­ ronment and unwholesome conditions in which he lived he seeks to change them. That which he failed to observe in the past and which contributed to the sordidness now stands out as a dominant factor in his restlessness, and so he seeks means to overcome the undesir­ able things around him. A reflection of all this soon manifests in the desire to keep the body washed and clean by frequent ablutions. He seeks to ----- n clothe himself not with more costly, but with more simple an