Filename: RC1016.TXT Source: +quot;Gleanings of a Mystic+quot; by Max Heindel [PAGE 465] A
Filename: RC1016.TXT
Source: "Gleanings of a Mystic" by Max Heindel
[PAGE 465]
A SERIES OF ESSAYS ON PRACTICAL MYSTICISM:
FOREWARD:
The contents of this book are among the last writings of Max Heindel, the
mystic. They contain some of his deepest thoughts, and are the result of
years of research and occult investigation. He, too, could say as did
Parsifal: "Through error and through suffering I came, through many failures
and through countless woes." At last he was given the living water with
which he was able to quench the spiritual thirst of many souls. He also de-
veloped to their depths pity and love, and could feel the heart throbs of
suffering humanity.
Strong souls are usually endowed with great energy and impulse, and
through these very forces, they forge to the front ranks though they often
suffer much. As a result they are filled with compassion for others. The
writer of these lessons sacrificed his physical body on the altar of ser-
vice.
In writing the books and monthly lessons of the Fellowship, in his lec-
tures and class work, and in the arduous pioneer work of establishing Head-
quarters within the short span of ten years, Max Heindel accomplished more
than many who are blessed with perfect health could have accomplished in a
lifetime. His first book, his masterpiece, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-
[PAGE 466]
Conception," was written under the direct guidance of the Elder Brothers of
the Rose Cross. It carries a vital message to the world. It satisfies not
alone the intellect, but also the heart. His "Freemasonry and Catholicism,"
has found its way into many Masonic libraries. The occultist has received
much from the book entitled, "The Web of Destiny," which is a mine of mysti-
cal knowledge and helpful occult truths. It is also a guide to the investi-
gator, establishing danger signals for the venturesome ones who wish to take
heaven by storm. To the science of astrology he has given more in a few
years than has previously been discovered for centuries. His two valuable
works, "Simplified Scientific Astrology" and "The Message of the Stars,"
deal largely with the spiritual and medical aspects of astrology. The lat-
ter gives methods of diagnosis and healing which form a valuable addition to
the works of other authors, both ancient and modern. These books may be
found in the libraries of many doctors of the old school.
In "Gleanings of a Mystic" are found twenty-four lessons which were for-
merly sent out to students. It is the wish of the writer of this introduc-
tion that these lessons may carry a message of love and cheer to the
soul-hungry reader and hope to the disconsolate one.
--Augusta Foss Heindel
[PAGE 467]
INITIATION: WHAT IT IS AND IS NOT:
It is no rare occurrence to receive questions relating to Initiation, and
we are also frequently asked to state whether this order or that society is
genuine, and whether the initiations they offer to all comers who have the
price are BONA FIDE. For that reason it seems necessary to write a treatise
on the subject so that students of the Rosicrucian Fellowship may have an
official statement for reference and guidance in the future.
In the first place let it be clearly understood that we consider it repre-
hensible to express condemnation of any society or order, no matter what it
practices. It may be perfectly sincere and honest ACCORDING TO ITS LIGHT.
We do not believe that we rise in the opinion of discriminating men and
women by speaking in disparaging terms of others; neither are we laboring
under the delusion that WE have all the truth and the other societies are
plunged in Egyptian darkness. We reiterate what we have often said before,
[PAGE 468]
that all religions have been given to mankind by the Recording Angels, who
know the spiritual requirements of each class, nation, and race, and have
the intelligence to give each a form of worship perfectly suited to its par-
ticular need; that thus Hinduism is suited to the Hindu, Mohammedanism to
the Arab, and the Christian religion to those born in the Western Hemi-
sphere.
The Mystery Schools of each religion furnish to the more advanced members
of the race or nation embracing its higher teaching, which IF LIVED, ad-
vances them into a higher sphere of spirituality than their brethren. But
as the religion of the backward races is of a lower order than the religion
of the pioneers, the Christian nations, so also the MYSTERY TEACHING OF THE
EAST IS MORE ELEMENTARY THAN THAT OF THE WEST, and the Hindu or Chinese Ini-
tiate is on a correspondingly lower rung of the ladder of attainment than
the Western Mystic. Please ponder this well so that you may not fall a vic-
tim to misguided people who try to persuade others that the Christian reli-
gion is crude compared with oriental cults. Ever westward in the wake of
the shining sun, the light of the world, has gone the star of empire, and is
it not reasonable to suppose that the spiritual light has kept pace with
civilization, or even preceded it as thought precedes action? We hold that
such is the case, that the Christian religion is the loftiest yet given to
man, and that to repudiate the Christian religion, esoteric or exoteric, for
any of the older systems is analogous to preferring the older textbooks of
[PAGE 469]
science to the newer ones which embrace discoveries to date.
Neither are the practices of Eastern aspirants to the higher life to be
imitated by Westerners; we refer particularly to the breathing exercises.
They are both beneficial and necessary to the unfoldment of the Hindu, but
it is otherwise with the Western aspirant. To him it is dangerous to prac-
tice breathing exercises for soul unfoldment; they will even prove subver-
sive of soul growth, and they are, moreover, absolutely unnecessary. The
reason is this:
During involution the threefold spirit has become gradually incrusted in
a threefold body. In the Atlantean Epoch man was at the nadir of material-
ity. We are just now rounding the lowest point on the arc of involution,
and starting upward on the arc of evolution. At this point, then, all man-
kind is immured in this earthly prison house to such a degree that spiritual
vibrations are almost killed. The atoms in the bodies of Eastern people
are vibrating at an exceedingly low rate, and when in the course of time one
of them develops to a point where it is possible to further him upon the
path of attainment, it is necessary to raise this vibratory pitch of the
atom so that the vital body, which is the medium of occult growth, may to
a certain extent be liberated from the deadening forces of the physical
atom. This result is attained by means of breathing exercises, which in
[PAGE 470]
time accelerate the vibration of the atom, and allow the spiritual growth
necessary to the individual to take place.
These exercises may also be used by a great number of people in the West-
ern world, particularly those who are not at all concerned about their
spiritual advancement. But even among those who desire soul growth there
are many who are not yet at the point where the atoms of their bodies have
evolved to such a pitch of vibration that acceleration beyond the usual mea-
sure would injure them. Here the breathing exercises would do no harm; but
if given to a person who is really at the point where he can enter the path
of advancement ordinarily mapped out for the Hindu's precocious brothers and
sisters in the West, in other words, when he is nearly ready for Initiation
and when he would be benefited BY SPIRITUAL EXERCISES, then the case is far
otherwise.
During the aeons which we have spent in evolution since the time when we
were in Hindu bodies, our atoms have accelerated their vibratory pitch enor-
mously, and as said in the case of one who is really nearly ready for Ini-
tiation, the pitch of vibration is higher than that of the average man or
woman. Therefore he does not need breathing exercises to ACCELERATE this
pitch, but certain spiritual exercises suited to him individually which will
advance him on the proper path. If such a person at this critical period
[PAGE 471]
meets some one who ignorantly or unscrupulously gives him breathing exer-
cises, and if he follows the instructions accurately in the hope of GETTING
QUICK RESULTS, he will get them quickly but in a manner he has not looked
for, since the vibratory rate of the atoms in his body will in a very short
time become accelerated to such a pitch that it will seem to him as if he
were walking on air; then also an improper cleavage of the vital body may
take place, and either consumption or insanity follows. Now please put this
down where it will burn itself into your consciousness in letters of fire:
INITIATION IS A SPIRITUAL PROCESS, AND SPIRITUAL PROGRESS CANNOT BE ACCOM-
PLISHED BY PHYSICAL MEANS, BUT ONLY BY SPIRITUAL EXERCISES.
There are many orders in the West which profess to INITIATE ANYONE WHO
HAS THE PRICE. Some of these orders have names closely resembling our own,
and we are constantly asked by students whether they are affiliated with us.
In order to settle this once and for all, please note that the Rosicrucian
Fellowship has constantly taught that NO SPIRITUAL GIFT MAY EVER BE TRADED
FOR MONEY. If you bear this in mind, you may know we have no connection
with any order which demands money for the transference of spiritual power.
He who has something to give of a truly spiritual nature will not barter it
for money. I received a particular injunction to this effect from the Elder
Brothers in the Rosicrucian Temple, when they told me to go to the English
speaking world as their messenger, a claim I do not expect you to believe
[PAGE 472]
SAVE AS YOU SEE IT JUSTIFIED BY FRUITS.
Now, however, about Initiation: What it is? Is it ceremony as claimed by
these other orders? If so, any order can certainly invent ceremonies of a
more or less elaborate kind. They may by flowing robes and clashing swords
appeal to the emotions; they may appeal to the sense of wonder and awe by
rattling chains and by deep sounding gongs, and thus produce in their mem-
bers an "OCCULT FEELING." Many revel in the adventures and experiences of
the hero in "The Brother of the Third Degree," thinking that this is surely
Initiation, but I tell you that it is very far from being the case. NO CE-
REMONY CAN EVER GIVE TO ANY ONE THAT INWARD EXPERIENCE which constitutes I-
nitiation, no matter how much is charged or how fearful the oaths, how awful
or beautiful the ceremony, or how gorgeous the robes, any more than passing
through a ceremony can convert a sinner and make him a saint, for conversion
is to the exoteric religionist exactly what Initiation is in the higher mys-
ticism. Please consider this point thoroughly, and you will have the key to
the problem.
Do you think that any one could go to a person of depraved character and
agree to convert him for a certain sum and carry out his part of the agree-
ment? Surely you know that no amount of money could bring about that change
in a man's character. Ask a true convert where he got his religion and how
he got it. One may tell you that he received it upon the road as he was
[PAGE 473]
walking along; another says that the light and the change came to him in the
solitude of his room; another that the LIGHT STRUCK him as it struck Paul
upon the road to Damascus, and forced him to change. Every one has a dif-
ferent experience, and the outward manifestation of that inward experience
is that IT CHANGES THE MAN'S WHOLE LIFE from the very least to the very
greatest aspect.
So it is with Initiation; it is an inward experience, entirely SEPARATE
AND APART FROM ANY CEREMONIAL WHATEVER, and therefore it is an absolute im-
possibility that any one could sell it to any one else. Initiation changes
a man's whole life. It gives him a confidence that he never possessed be-
fore. It clothes him with a mantle of authority that never can be taken
from him. No matter what the circumstances in life, it sheds a light upon
his whole being that is simply wonderful. Nor can any ceremony effect such
a change. We therefore hold that anyone who offers initiation into an oc-
cult order by ceremonials to everyone who has the price, brands himself as
an imposter. For the true teacher, if he were approached by an aspirant
with an offer of money for spiritual attainment, would answer indignantly in
the words used by Peter to Simon the sorcerer, who offered him money for
spiritual powers: "Thy silver perish with thee."
[PAGE 474]
To obtain a better understanding of what constitutes Initiation and what
the prerequisites are, let the student fix firmly in his mind the fact that
humanity as a whole is slowly progressing upon the path of evolution, thus
very slowly, almost inperceptibly, attaining higher and higher states of
consciousness. The path of evolution is a spiral when we regard it from the
physical side only, but a lemniscate when viewed in both its physical and
spiritual phases. (See the diagram of chemical caduceus in THE ROSICRUCIAN
COSMO-CONCEPTION, page 410.) In the lemniscate, or figure 8, there are two
circles which converge to a central point, which circles may be taken to
symbolize the immortal spirit, the evolving ego. One of the circles signi-
fies its life in the physical world from birth to death. During this span
of time it sows a seed by every act and should reap in return a certain
amount of experience. But as we may sow seed in the field and lose return
on that which falls on stony ground, among thorns, et cetera, so also may
the seed of opportunity be wasted because of neglect to till the soil and
[PAGE 475]
the life will then be barren of fruit. Conversely, as diligence and care
in cultivation increase the productive power of garden seed enormously, so
earnest application to the business of life--improvement of opportunities to
learn life's lessons and extract from our environment the experience it
holds--brings added opportunities; and at the end of the life-day the ego
finds itself at the door of death laden with the richest fruits of life.
The objective work of physical existence over, the race run, and the day
of action spent, the ego enters upon the subjective work of assimilation ac-
complished during its sojourn in the invisible worlds, which it traverses
during the period from death to birth, symbolized by the other ring of the
lemniscate. As the method of accomplishment this assimilation has been most
minutely described in various parts of our literature, it is needless to re-
peat it here. Suffice it to say that at the time when an ego arrives at
thecentral point in the lemniscate, which divides the physical from the psy-
chic worlds and which we call the gate of birth or death according to
whether the ego is entering or leaving the realm where we, ourselves, happen
to be at the time, it has with it an aggregate of faculties or talents ac-
quired in all its previous lives, which it may then put to usury or bury
during the coming life-day as it sees fit; but upon the use it makes of what
it has, depends the amount of soul growth it makes.
[PAGE 476]
If for many lives it caters mainly to the lower nature, which lives to
eat, drink and be merry, or if it dreams its life away in metaphysical
speculations upon nature and God, sedulously abstaining from all unnecessary
action, it is gradually passed and left behind by the more active and
progressive. Great companies of these idlers form what we know as "backward
races"; while the active, alert, and wide-awake who improve a larger per-
centage of their opportunities, are the pioneers. Contrary to the commonly
accepted idea, this applies also to those engaged in industrial work. Their
money-getting is only an incident, an incentive, and entirely apart from
this phase their work is as spiritual as or even more so than that of those
who spend their time in prayer to the prejudice of useful work.
From what has been said, it will be clear that the method of soul growth
as accomplished by the process of evolution requires ACTION in the physical
life, followed in the post-mortem state by a RUMINATING PROCESS, during
which the lessons of life are extracted and thoroughly incorporated into the
consciousness of the ego, though the experiences themselves are
forgotten--as we forget our labor in learning the multiplication table,
though the faculty of using it remains.
This exceedingly slow and tedious process is perfectly suited to the
needs of the masses; but there are some who habitually exhaust the experi-
ences commonly given, thus requiring and meriting a larger scope for their
[PAGE 477]
energies. Difference of temperament is responsible for their division into
two classes.
One class, led by their devotion to Christ, simply follow the dictates of
the heart in their work of live for their fellows--beautiful characters,
beacon lights of love in a suffering world, never actuated by selfish mo-
tives, always ready to forego personal comfort to aid others. Such were the
saints; they worked as they prayed; they never shirked in either direction.
Nor are they dead today. The earth would be a barren wilderness in spite of
all its civilization did not their beautiful feet circle it on errands of
mercy, were not the lives of sufferers made brighter by the light of hope
which radiates from their beautiful faces. Had they but the knowledge pos-
sessed by the other class they would indeed outdistance all in the race for
the Kingdom.
Mind is the predominating feature of the other class. In order to aid it
in its efforts toward attainment, mystery schools were early established
wherein the world drama was played to give the aspiring soul while he was
entranced, answers to the questions of the origin and destiny of humanity.
When awakened, he was instructed in the sacred science of how to climb
higher by following the method of nature--which is meditating upon the expe-
rience, and incorporating the essential moral to make thereby commensurate
soul growth; also with this important feature, that whereas in the ordinary
[PAGE 478]
course of things a whole life is devoted to sowing and a whole post-mortem
existence to ruminating and incorporating the soul substance, this cycle of
a thousand years, more or less, may be reduced to a day, as held by the mys-
tic maxim, "A day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
To be explicit, whatever work has been done during a single day, if rumi-
nated over at night before crossing the neutral point between waking and
sleeping, may thus be incorporated into the consciousness of the spirit as
usable soul power. When that exercise is faithfully performed, the sins of
each day thus reviewed are actually blotted out, and the man commences each
day as if it were a new life, with the added soul power gained in all the
preceding days of his probationary life.
But!--yes, there is a great big BUT; NATURE IS NOT TO BE CHEATED; God is
not to be mocked. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Let
no one think that the mere perfunctory review of the happenings of a day
with perhaps the light-hearted admission of, "I wish I had not done that,"
when reviewing a scene where he did something palpably wrong, will save him
from the wrath to come. When we pass out of the body into purgatory at
death and the panorama of our past life unfolds in reverse order to show us
first the effects and then the causes which produced them, we feel in inten-
sified measure the pain we gave others; and unless we perform our exercises
[PAGE 479]
in a similar manner SO THAT WE LIVE EACH EVENING OUR HELL as merited that
day, acutely sensible of every pang we have inflicted, it will avail noth-
ing. We must also endeavor to feel in the same intense manner, gratitude
for kindness received from others, and approbation on account of the good we
ourselves have done.
Only thus are we really living the post-mortem existence and advancing
scientifically towards the goal of Initiation. The greatest danger of the
aspirant upon this path is that he may become enmeshed in the snare of ego-
tism, and his only safeguard is to cultivate the faculties of faith, devo-
tion, and an all-embracing sympathy. It is difficult, but it can be done,
and when it has been accomplished the man or woman becomes a wonderful power
for good in the world.
Now, if the student has pondered the preceding argument well, he has
probably grasped the analogy between the LONG CYCLE of evolution and the
short CYCLES or steps used upon the path of preparation. It should be quite
clear that no one can do this post-mortem work for him and transmit to him
the resulting soul growth. You think it preposterous when a priesthood of-
fers to shorten the sojourn of a soul in purgatory. How, then, can you be-
lieve that anyone else can--no matter what the consideration--obviate the
necessity of a number of purgatorial existences for your benefit and trans-
mit to you at once the usable soul power you would have acquired had you
[PAGE 480]
pursued the ordinary course of life to the day you are ready for Initiation?
Yet this is what the offer to initiate a person not yet upon the threshold
means. You must have the soul power requisite for Initiation or no one can
initiate you. If you have it, you are upon the threshold by your own ef-
forts, beholden to no one, and may demand Initiation as a right which none
would dare dispute or withhold. If you have it not and could buy it, it
would be cheap at twenty-five million dollars, and the man who offers it for
twenty-five dollars is as ridiculous as his dupe. Please remember that if
anyone offers to initiate you into an occult order, no matter if he calls it
"Rosicrucian" or by any other name, his demand of an initiation fee at once
stamps him as an imposter; explanations ot the effect that the fee is used
to purchase regalia, et cetera, are only added evidence of the fraudulent
nature of the order for it is said, "Initiation is most emphatically not an
outward ceremony, but an inward experience." I may further add that the
Elder Brothers of the Rose Cross in the Mystic Temple where I received the
Light made it a condition that their SACRED SCIENCE MUST NEVER BE PUT IN THE
BALANCE AGAINST A COIN. Freely had I received, and freely was I required to
give. This injunction I have obeyed, both in spirit and to the letter, as
all know who have had dealings with the Rosicrucian Fellowship.
[PAGE 481]
THE SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION:
To obtain a thorough understanding of the deep and far-reaching sig-
nificance of the manner in which the Sacrament of Communion was instituted,
it is necessary to consider the evolution of our planet and of composite
man, also the chemistry of foods and their influence on humanity. For the
sake of lucidity we will briefly recapitulate the Rosicrucian teachings on
the various points involved. They have been given at length in "The
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception" and our other works.
The Virgin Spirits, which are now mankind, commenced their pilgrimage
through matter in the dawn of time, that by the friction of concrete exist-
ence their latent powers might be transmuted to kinetic energy as usable
soul power. Three successive veils of increasingly dense matter were ac-
quired by the involving spirits during the Saturn, Sun and Moon Periods.
Thus each spirit was separated from all other spirits, and the consciousness
which could not penetrate the prison wall of matter and communicate with
others was forced to turn inwards, and in so doing it discovered--ITSELF.
[PAGE 482]
Thus self-consciousness was attained.
A further crystallization of the before mentioned veils took place in the
Earth Period during the Polarian, Hyperborean, and Lemurain Epochs. In the
Atlantean Epoch, the mind was added as a focusing point between the spirit
and body, completing the constitution of composite man, who was then
equipped to conquer the world and generate soul power by endeavor and expe-
rience, each having free will and choice except as limited by the laws of
nature and his own previous acts.
During the time man-in-the-making was thus evolving, great creative Hier-
archies guided his every step. Absolutely nothing was left to chance. Even
the food he ate was chosen for him so that he might obtain the appropriate
material wherewith to build the various vehicles of consciousness necessary
to accomplish the process of soul growth. The Bible mentions the various
stages, though it misplaces Nimrod, making him to symbolize the Atlantean
kings who lived BEFORE the Flood.
In the Polarian Epoch pure mineral matter became a constituent part of
man; thus ADAM was made of earth, that is, so far as his dense body was
concerned.
In the Hyperborean Epoch the vital body was added, and thus his constitu-
tion became plantlike, and CAIN, the man of that time, lived on the fruits
[PAGE 483]
of the soil.
The Lemurian Epoch saw the evolution of a desire body, which made man
like the present animals. Then milk, the product of living animals, was
added to human diet. ABEL was a shepherd, but it is nowhere stated that he
killed an animal.
At that time mankind lived innocently and peacefully in the misty atmo-
sphere which enveloped the earth during the latter part of the Lemurian Ep-
och, as described in the chapter on "Baptism" Men were then like children
under the care of a common father, until the mind was given to all in the
beginning of Atlantis. Thought activity breaks down tissue which must be
replaced; the lower and more material the thought, the greater the havoc and
the more pressing the need for albumen wherewith to make quick repairs.
Hence necessity, the mother of invention, inaugurated the loathsome practice
of flesh eating, and so long as we continue to think along purely business
or material lines we shall have to go on using our stomachs as receptacles
for the decaying corpses of our murdered animal victims. Yet we shall see
later that flesh food has enabled us to make the wonderful material progress
achieved in the Western World, while the vegetarian Hindus and Chinese have
remained in a less advanced state. It seems sad to contemplate that they
will be forced to follow in our steps and shed the blood of our fellow crea-
tures when we shall have outgrown the barbarous practice as we have ceased
[PAGE 484]
cannibalism.
The more spiritual we grow, the more our thoughts will harmonize with the
rhythm of our body, and the less albumen will be needed to build tissue.
Consequently, a vegetable diet will suffice our needs. Pythagoras advised
abstinence from legumes to ADVANCED scholars because they are rich in albu-
men and apt to revive lower appetites. Let not every student who reads this
rashly conclude to eliminate legumes from his diet. Most of us are not yet
ready for such extremes; we would not even advise all students to abstain
entirely from meat. The change should come from within. It may be safely
stated, however, that most people eat entirely too much meat for their good;
but this is in a certain sense a digression, so we will revert to the fur-
ther evolution of humanity in so far as it has a bearing upon the Sacrament
of Communion.
In due time the dense mist which enveloped the earth cooled, condensed,
and flooded the various basins. The atmosphere cleared, and concurrently
with this atmospheric change a physiological adaptation in man took place.
The gill clefts which had enabled him to breathe in the dense water-laden
air (and which are seen in the human foetus to this day) gradually atro-
phied, and their function was taken over by the lungs, the pure air passing
to and from them through the larynx. This allowed the spirit, hitherto
[PAGE 485]
penned up within the veil of flesh, to express itself in word and act.
There in the middle of Atlantis the sun first shone upon MAN as we know
him; there he was FIRST BORN into the world. Until then he had been under
the absolute control of great spiritual Hierarchies, mute, without voice or
choice in matters pertaining to his education, as a child is now under the
control of its parents.
But one day when he finally emerged from the dense atmosphere of
Atlantis; when he first beheld the mountains silhouetted in clear, sharp
contours against the azure vault of heaven; when he first saw the beauties
of moor and meadow, the moving creatures, birds in the air, and his fellow
man; when his vision was undimmed by the partial obscuration of the mist
which had previously hampered perception; above all, when he perceived HIM-
SELF as SEPARATE and APART FROM ALL OTHERS, there burst from his lips the
glorious triumphant cry, "I AM."
At that point he had acquired faculties which equipped him to enter the
school of experience, the phenomenal world, as a free agent to learn the
lessons of life, untrammeled save by the LAWS OF NATURE, which are his safe-
guards, and the reaction of his own previous acts, which become DESTINY.
The diet containing an excess of albumen from the flesh wherewith he
gorged himself, taxed his liver beyond the capacity and clogged the system,
making him morose, sullen, and brutish. He was fast losing the spiritual
[PAGE 486]
sight which revealed to him the guardian angels whom he trusted, and he say
only the FORMS of animals and men. The spirits with whom he had lived in
love and brotherhood during early Atlantis were obscured by the veil of
flesh. It was all so strange, and he FEARED them.
Therefore it became necessary to give him a NEW FOOD that could aid his
spirit to overpower the highly individualized molecules of flesh (as ex-
plained in "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception", chapter on Assimilation, p.
457), brace it for battle with the world, and spur it on to self-assertion.
As our visible bodies composed of chemical compounds can thrive only upon
chemical aliment, so it requires spirit to act upon spirit to aid in break-
ing up the heavy proteid and in stimulating the drooping human spirit.
The emergence from flooded Atlantis, the liberation of humanity from the
absolute rulership of visible superhuman guardians, their placement under
THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE AND THE LAWS OF NATURE, and THE GIFT OF WINE are de-
scribed in the stories of Noah and Moses, which are different accounts of
the same event.
Both Noah and Moses led their followers through the water. Moses calls
heaven and earth to witness that he has placed before them the blessing and
the curse, exhorts them to choose the good or take the consequences of their
actions; then he leaves them.
[PAGE 487]
The phenomenon of the rainbow requires that the sun be near the horizon,
the nearer the better; also a clear atmosphere, and a dark rain cloud in the
opposite quarter of the heavens. When under such conditions an observer
stands with back to the sun, drops as a rainbow. In early Atlantean times
when a warm, moist fog through which the sun appeared as one of our arc
lamps on a foggy day, the phenomenon of the rainbow was an impossibility.
It could not have made its appearance until the mist had condensed to rain,
flooded the basins of the earth, and Noah, which thus points TO THE LAW OF
ALTERNATING CYCLES that brings day and night, summer and winter, in
unvarying sequence, and to which man is subject in the present age.
Noah cultivated the vine and provided a spirit to stimulate man. Thus,
equipped with a composite constitution, a composite diet appropriate
thereto, and divine laws to guide them, mankind were left to their own de-
vices in the battle of life.
[PAGE 488]
"The Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and
when he had given thanks, he brake it and said, Take, eat; This is MY body,
which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. After the same man-
ner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New
Testament in MY blood. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of
me. For as often as ye eat This bread, and drink This cup, ye do shew the
Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat This bread, and
drink This cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood
of the Lord . . . . For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself . . . . For this cause many are weak and
sickly among you, and many sleep."--I Cor 11:23-30.
In the foregoing passages there is a deeply hidden esoteric meaning which
is particularly obscured in the English translation, but in the German,
Latin and Greek, the student still has a hint as to what was really intended
[PAGE 489]
by that last parting injunction of the Savior to His disciples. Before ex-
amining This phase of the subject, let us first consider the words, "in re-
membrance of me." We shall then perhaps be in better condition to under-
stand what is meant by the "cup" and the "bread."
Suppose a man from a distant country comes into our midst and travels
about from place to place. Everywhere he will see small communities gather-
ing around the Table of the Lord to celebrate This most sacred of all Chris-
tian rites, and should he ask why, he would be told that they do This in re-
membrance of One who lived a life nobler than any other has lived upon This
earth; One who was kindness and love personified; One who was the servant of
all, regardless of gain or loss to self. Should This stranger then compare
the attitude of these religious communities on Sunday at the celebration of
This rite, with their civic lives during the remainder of the week, what
would he see?
Every one among us goes out into the world to fight the battle of exist-
ence. Under the law of necessity we forget the love which should be the
ruling factor in Christian lives. Every man's hand is against his brother.
Every one strives for position, wealth, and power that goes with these at-
tributes. We forget on Monday what we reverently remembered on Sunday, and
all the world is poor in consequence. We also make a distinction between
[PAGE 490]
the bread and wine which we drink at the so-called "Lord's Table," and the
food of which we partake during the intervals between attendance at
Communion. But there is no warrant in the Scriptures for any such distinc-
tion, as anyone may see, even in the English version, by leaving out the
words printed in italics which have been inserted by the translators to give
what they thought was the sense of a passage. On the contrary, we are told
that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, all should be done to the
glory of God. Our every act should be a prayer. The perfunctory "grace" at
meals is in reality a blasphemy, and the silent thought of gratitude to the
Giver of daily bread is far to be preferred. When we remember at each meal
that it has been drawn from the substance of the earth, which is the body of
the indwelling Christ Spirit, we can properly understand how that body is
being broken for us daily, and we can appreciate the loving kindness which
prompted Him thus to give Himself for us; for let us also remember that
there is not a moment, day or night, that He is not suffering because bound
to earth. When we thus eat and thus realize the true situation, we are in-
deed declaring to ourselves the death of the Lord, whose spirit is groaning
and travailing, waiting for the day of liberation when there shall be no
need of such a dense environment as we now require.
But there is another, a greater and more wonderful mystery hidden in
[PAGE 491]
these words of the Christ. Richard Wagner, with the rare intuition of the
master musician, sensed This idea when he sat in meditation by the Zurich
Sea on a Good Friday, and there flashed into his mind the thought, "What
connection is there between the death of the Savior and the millions of
seeds sprouting forth from the earth at this time of the year?" If we
meditate upon that life which is annually poured out in the spring, we wee
it as something gigantic and awe-inspiring; a flood of life which transforms
the glove from one of frozen death to rejuvenated life in a short space of
time; and the life which thus diffuses itself in the budding of millions and
millions of plants is the life of the Earth Spirit.
From that come both the wheat and the grape. They are the body and blood
of the imprisoned Earth Spirit, given to sustain mankind during the present
phase of its evolution. We repudiate the contention of people who claim
that the world owes them a living, regardless of their own efforts and with-
out MATERIAL responsibility on their part, but we nevertheless insist that
there is a SPIRITUAL responsibility connected with the bread and wine given
at the Lord's Supper; IT MUST BE EATEN WORTHILY, OTHERWISE, UNDER PAIN OF
ILL HEALTH AND EVEN DEATH. This from the ordinary manner of reading would
seem far-fetched, but when we bring the light of esotericism to bear, exam-
ine other translations of the Bible, and look at conditions in the world as
[PAGE 492]
we find them today, we shall see that it is not so far-fetched after all.
To begin with, we must go back to the time when man lived under the
guardianship of the angels, unconsciously building the body which he now
uses. That was in ancient Lemuria. A brain was needed for the evolution of
thought, and a larynx for verbal expression of the same. Therefore, half of
the creative force was turned upwards and used by man to form these organs.
Thus mankind became single-sexed and was forced to seek a complement when it
was necessary to create a new body to serve as an instrument in a higher
phase of evolution.
While the act of love was consummated under the wise guardianship of the
angels, man's existence was free from sorrow, pain and death. But when, un-
der the tutelage of the Lucifer Spirits, he ate of the Tree of Knowledge and
perpetuated the race without regard for interplanetary lines of force, he
transgressed the law, and the bodies thus formed crystallized unduly, and
became subject to death in a much more perceptible manner than had hitherto
been the case. Thus he was forced to create new bodies more frequently as
the span of life in them shortened. Celestial warders of the creative force
drove him from the garden of LOVE into the wilderness of the world, and he
was made responsible for his actions under the cosmic LAW which governs the
universe. Thus for ages he struggled on, seeking to work out his own salva-
tion, and the earth in consequence crystallized more and more.
[PAGE 493]
Divine hierarchies, the Christ Spirit included, worked upon the earth
from without as the group spirit guides the animals under tis protectorate;
but as Paul truly says, none could be justified under the law, for under the
law all sinned, and all must die. There is in the old covenant no hope be-
yond the present, save a foreshadowing of ONE WHO IS TO COME and restore
righteousness. Thus John tells us that the LAW was given by Moses, and GRACE
came by the Lord Jesus Christ. But WHAT IS GRACE? Can grace work contrary
to the law and abrogate it entirely? Certainly not. The laws of God are
steadfast and sure, or the universe would become chaos. The law of gravity
keeps our houses in position relative to other houses, so that when we leave
them we may know of a surety that we shall find them in the same place upon
returning. Likewise all other departments in the universe are subject to
immutable laws.
As LAW, APART FROM LOVE, GAVE BIRTH TO SIN, SO THE CHILD OF LAW, TEMPERED
WITH LOVE, IS GRACE. Take an example from our concrete social conditions:
We have laws which decree a certain penalty for a specified offense, and
when the law is carried out, we call it JUSTICE. But long experience is be-
ginning to teach us that justice, pure and simple, is like the Colchian
dragon's teeth, and breeds strife and struggle in increasing measure. The
criminal, so-called, remains criminal and becomes more and more hardened
[PAGE 494]
under the ministrations of law; but when the milder regime of the present
day allows one who has transgressed to go under suspended sentence, then HE
IS UNDER GRACE and not under law. Thus, also the Christian, who aims to
follow in the Master's steps, is emancipated from the law of sin by grace,
provided he foresake the path of sin.
It was the sin of our progenitors in ancient Lemuria that THEY SCATTERED
THEIR SEED regardless of law and without love. But it is the privilege of
the Christian to redeem himself by purity of life in remembrance of the
Lord. John says, "His seed remaineth in him," and This is the hidden mean-
ing of the bread and wine. In the English version we read simply: "This is
the CUP of the New Testament," but in the German the word for cup is
"Kelch," and in the Latin, "Calix," both meaning the outer covering of the
seed pod of the flower. In the Greek we have a still more subtle meaning,
not conveyed in other languages, in the word "poterion," a meaning which
will be evident when we consider the etymology of the word "pot." This at
once gives us the same idea as the chalice or calix--a receptacle; and the
Latin "POTARE" (to drink) also shows that the "cup" is a receptacle capable
of holding a fluid. Our English words "potent" and "impotent" meaning to
possess or to lack virile strength, further show the meaning of this Greek
[PAGE 495]
word, which foreshadows the evolution from man to superman.
We have already lived through a mineral, plant and an animal-like exist-
ence before becoming human as we are today, and beyond us lie still further
evolutions where we shall approach the Divine more and more. It will be
readily conceded that it is our animal passions which restrain us upon the
path if attainment; the lower nature is constantly warring against the
higher self. At least in those who have experienced a spiritual awakening,
a war is being fought silently within, and is all the more bitter for being
suppressed. Goethe with masterly art voiced that sentiment in the words of
Faust, the aspiring soul, speaking to his more materialistic friend, Wagner:
"Thou by one sole impulse art possessed,
Unconscious of the other still remain.
Two souls, alas, are housed within my breast,
And struggle there for undivided reign.
One, to the earth with passionate desire,
And closely clinging organs still adheres;
Above the mists the other doth aspire
With sacred ardor unto purer spheres."
It was the knowledge of this absolute necessity of chastity (save when
procreation is the object) upon the part of those who have had a spiritual
awakening which dictated the words of Christ, and the Apostle Paul stated
[PAGE 496]
an esoteric truth when he said that THOSE WHO PARTOOK OF THE COMMUNION WITH-
OUT LIVING THE LIFE WERE IN DANGER OF SICKNESS AND DEATH. For just as under
a spiritual tutelage, purity of life may elevate the disciple wonderfully,
so also unchastity has a much stronger effect upon his more sensitized bod-
ies than upon those who are yet under the law, and have not become partakers
of grace by the cup of the New Covenant.
[PAGE 497]
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM:
Having studied the esoteric significance of our Christian festivals, such
as Christmas and Easter, and having also studied the doctrine of the Im-
maculate Conception, it may be well now to devote attention to the inner
meaning of the sacraments of the church which are administered to the indi-
vidual in all Christian lands from the cradle to the grave, and are with him
at all important points in his life journey.
As soon as he has entered upon the journey of life, the church admits him
into its fold by the rite of BAPTISM which is conferred upon him at a time
when he himself is irresponsible; later, when his mentality has been some-
what developed, he ratifies that contract and is admitted to COMMUNION,
where BREAD is broken and WINE is sipped in memory of the Founder of our
faith. Still further upon life's journey comes the sacrament of MARRIAGE;
and at last when the race has been run and the spirit again withdraws to God
who gave it, the earth body is consigned to the dust, whence it was derived,
[PAGE 498]
accompanied by the blessings of the church.
In our Protestant times the spirit of protest is rampant in the extreme,
and dissenters everywhere raise their voices in rebellion against the fan-
cied arrogance of the priesthood and deprecate the sacraments as mere mum-
mery. On account of that attitude of mind these functions have become of
little or no effect in the life of the community; dissensions have arisen
even among churchmen themselves, and sect after sect has divorced itself
from the original apostolic congregation.
Despite all protests the various doctrines and sacraments of the church
are, nevertheless, the very keystones in the arch of evolution, for they in-
culcate morals of the loftiest nature; and even materialistic scientist,
such as Huxley, have admitted that while self-protection brings about "the
survival of the fittest" in the animal kingdom and is therefore the basis of
animal evolution, self-sacrifice is the fostering principle of human ad-
vancement. When that is the case among mere mortals, we may well believe
that it must be so to a still greater extent in the Divine Author of our be-
ing.
Among animals might is right, but we recognize that the weak have a claim
to the protection of the strong. The butterfly lays its eggs on the under-
side of a green leaf and goes off without another care for their well-being.
In mammals the MOTHER instinct is strongly developed, and we see the
[PAGE 499]
the lioness caring for her cubs and ready to defend them with her life; but
not until the kingdom is reached does the FATHER commence to share fully in
the responsibility as a parent. Among savages the care of the young practi-
cally ends with the higher we ascend in civilization the longer the young
receive care from their parents, and the more stress is laid upon mental
rather than from the physical point of vantage; for the further we proceed
along the path of development the more we shall experience the power of mind
over matter. By the more and more prolonged self-sacrifice of parents, the
race is becoming more delicate, but what we lose in material ruggedness we
gain in spiritual perceptibility.
As this faculty grows stronger and more developed, the craving of the
spirit immured in This earthly body voices itself more loudly in a demand
for understanding of the spiritual side of development. Wallace and Darwin,
Haxley and Spencer, pointed out how evolution of FORM is accomplished in na-
ture; Earnest Haeckel attempted to solve the riddle of the universe, but no
one of them could satisfactorily explain away the DIVINE AUTHOR of what we
see. The great goddess, NATURAL SELECTION, is being forsaken by one after
another of her devotees as the years go by. Even Haeckel, the arch materi-
alist, in his last years showed an almost hysterical anxiety to make a place
[PAGE 500]
for God in his system, and the day will come in a not far distant future
when science will have become as thoroughly religious as religion itself.
The church, on the other hand, though still extremely conservative is never-
theless slowly abandoning its autocratic dogmatism and becoming more scien-
tific in its explanations. Thus in time we shall see the union of science
and religion as it existed in the ancient mystery temples, and when that
point has been reached, THE DOCTRINES AND SACRAMENTS of the church will be
found to REST UPON IMMUTABLE COSMIC LAWS OF NO LESS IMPORTANCE THAN THE LAW
OF GRAVITY which maintains the marching orbs in their paths around the sun.
As the points of the equinoxes and solstices are turning points in the cy-
clic path of a planet, marked by festivals such Christmas and Easter, so
birth into the physical world, admission to the church, to the state of mat-
rimony, and finally the exit from physical life, are points in the cyclic
path of the human spirit around its central source--God, which are marked by
the sacraments of BAPTISM, COMMUNION, MARRIAGE, and THE LAST BLESSING.
We will now consider the rite of baptism. Much has been said by dissent-
ers, against the practice of taking an INFANT INTO CHURCH AND PROMISING FOR
IT A RELIGIOUS LIFE. Heated arguments concerning SPRINKLING VERSUS PLUNGING
have resulted in division of churches. If we wish to obtain the true idea
of baptism, we must revert to the early history of the human race as re-
corded in the Memory of Nature. All that has ever happened is indelibly
[PAGE 501]
pictured in the ether as a moving picture is imprinted upon a sensitized
film, which picture can be reproduced upon a screen at any moment. The
picutes in the Memory of Nature may be viewed by the trained seer, even
though millions of years have elapsed since the scenes there portrayed were
enacted in life.
When we consult that unimpeachable record it appears that there was a
time when that which is now our earth came out of chaos, dark and unformed,
as the Bible states. The currents developed in This misty mass by spiritual
agencies, generated HEAT, and the mass ignited at the time when we are told
that God said, "Let there be light." The heat of the fiery mass and the
cold space surrounding it generated MOISTURE; the fire mist became sur-
rounded by water which boiled, and steam was projected into the atmosphere;
thus "God divided the waters . . . . from the waters . . . . "--the dense
water which was nearest the fire mist from the steam (which is water in sus-
pension), as stated in the Bible.
When water contained sediment is boiled over and over it deposits scale,
and similarly the water surrounding our planet finally formed a crust around
the fiery core. The Bible further informs us that a MIST went up from the
ground, AND WE MAY WELL CONCEIVE how the moisture was gradually evaporated
from our planet in those early days.
[PAGE 502]
Ancient myths are usually regarded as superstitions nowadays, but in re-
ality each of them contains a great spiritual truth in pictorial symbols.
These fantastic stories were given to infant humanity to teach them moral
lessons which their newborn intellects were note yet fitted to receive.
They were taught by myths--much as we teach our children by picture books
and fables--lessons beyond their intellectual comprehension.
One of the greatest of these folk stories is "THE RING OF THE NIEBELUNG,"
which tells of a wonderful treasure hidden under the waters of the Rhine.
It was a lump of gold in its natural state. Placed upon a high rock, it il-
luminated the entire submarine scenery where water nymphs sported about in-
nocently in gladsome frolic. But one of the Neibelungs, imbued with greed,
stole the treasure, carried it out of the water, and fled. It was impos-
sible for him, however, to shape it until he had forsworn love. Then he
fashioned it into a ring which gave him power over all the treasures of
earth, but at the same time it inaugurated dissension and strife. For its
sake, friend betrayed friend, brother slew brother, and everywhere it caused
oppression, sorrow, sin and death, until it was at last restored to the wa-
tery element and the earth was consumed in flames. But later there arose,
like the new phoenix from the ashes of the old bird, a new heaven and a new
earth where righteousness were re-established.
[PAGE 503]
That old folk story gives a wonderful picture of human evolution. The
name NIEBELUNGEN is derived from the German words, NIEBEL (which means
mist), and UNGEN (which means children). Thus the word NIEBELUNGEN means
CHILDREN OF THE MIST, and it refers back to the time when humanity lived in
the foggy atmosphere surrounding our earth at the stage n its development
previously mentioned. There infant humanity lived in one vast brotherhood,
innocent of all evil as the babe of today, and illuminated by the Universal
Spirit symbolized as the Rhinegold which shed its light upon the water
nymphs of our story. But in time the earth cooled more and more; the fog
condensed and flooded depressions upon the surface of the earth with water;
the atmosphere cleared; the eyes of man were opened and he perceived himself
as a separate ego. Then the Universal Spirit of LOVE and SOLIDARITY was su-
perseded by egotism and self-seeking.
That was the rape of the Rhinegold, and sorrow, sin, strife, treachery,
and murder have taken the place of the childlike love which existed among
humanity in that primal state when they dwelt in the watery atmosphere of
long ago. Gradually This tendency is becoming more and more marked, and the
curse of selfishness grows more and more apparent. "Man's inhumanity to
man" hangs like a funeral pall over the earth, and must inevitably bring
about destruction of existing conditions. The whole creation is groaning
[PAGE 504]
and travailing, waiting for the day of redemption, and the Western Religion
strikes the keynote of the way to attainment when it exhorts us to love our
neighbor as we love ourselves; for then egotism will be abrogated for uni-
versal brotherhood and love.
Therefore, when a person is admitted to the church, which is a SPIRITUAL
institution where love and brotherhood are the mainsprings of action, it is
appropriate to carry him UNDER THE WATERS of baptism in symbol of the beau-
tiful condition of childlike innocence and love which prevailed when mankind
dwelt UNDER THE MIST in that bygone period. At that time the eyes of infant
man had not yet been opened to the MATERIAL advantages of This world. The
little child which is brought into the church has not yet become aware of
the allurements of life either, and others obligate themselves to guide it
to lead a holy life according to the best of their ability, because experi-
ence gained since the Flood has taught us that the broad way of the world is
strewn with pain, sorrow, and disappointment; that only by following the
straight and narrow way can we escape death and enter into life everlasting.
Thus we see that there is a wonderfully deep, mystic significance behind
the sacrament of baptism; that it is to remind us of the blessings attendant
upon those who are members of a BROTHERHOOD where self-seeking is put into
the background and where SERVICE to others is the keynote and mainspring of
[PAGE 505]
action. While we are in the world, he is the greatest who can most success-
fully dominate others. In the church we have Christ's definition, "HE WHO
WOULD BE THE GREATEST AMONG YOU, LET HIM BE THE SERVANT OF ALL."
THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE:
When stripped of nonessentials the argument of the orthodox Christian re-
ligion may be said to be as follows:
First, that tempted by the devil, our first parents sinned and were ex-
iled form their previous state of celestial bliss, placed under the law,
made subject to death, and became incapable of escaping by their own ef-
forts.
Second, that God so loved the world that He gave Christ, His only begot-
ten Son, for its redemption and to establish the kingdom of heaven. Thus
death will finally be swallowed up in immortality.
This simple creed has provoked the smiles of atheists, and of the purely
intellectual who have studied transcendental philosophies with their nice-
ties of logic and argument; and even of some among those who study the West-
ern Mystery Teaching.
Such an attitude of mind is entirely gratuitous. We might know that the
divine leaders of mankind would not allow millions to continue in error for
millennia. When the Western Mystery Teaching is stripped of its exceedingly
[PAGE 506]
illuminating explanations and detailed descriptions, when its basic teach-
ings are stated, they are found to be in exact agreement with the orthodox
Christian teachings.
There was a time when mankind lived in a sinless state; when sorrow,
pain, and death were unknown. Neither is the PERSONAL TEMPTER of Christian-
ity a myth, for the Lucifer Spirits may very well be said to be fallen an-
gels, and their temptation of man resulted in focusing his consciousness
upon the material phase of existence where he is under the law of de-
crepitude and death. Also it is truly the mission of Christ to aid mankind
by elevating them to a more ethereal state where dissolution will no longer
be necessary to free them from vehicles that have grown too hard and set for
further use. For This is indeed a "body of death," where only the smallest
quantity of material is really alive, as part of its bulk is nutrient matter
that has not yet been assimilated, another large part is already on its way
to elimination, and only between these two poles may be found the material
which is thoroughly quickened by the spirit.
We have in other chapters considered the sacraments of baptism and com-
munion, sacraments that have to do particularly with the spirit. We will
now seek to understand the deeper side of the sacrament of marriage, which
has to do particularly with the body. Like the other sacraments the insti-
tution of marriage had its beginning and will also have its end. The com-
mencement was described by the Christ when He said, "Have ye not read that
[PAGE 507]
He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said:
For This cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his
wife; and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain,
but one flesh." Matt. 19:4-6. He also indicated the end of marriage when
he said: "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God in heaven." Matt. 22:30
In This light the logic of the teaching is apparent, for MARRIAGE became
necessary in order that BIRTH might provide new instruments to take the
place of those which had been ruptured by DEATH; and when death has once
been swallowed up in immortality and there is no need of providing new in-
struments, marriage also will be unnecessary.
Science with admirable audacity has sought to solve the mystery of fecun-
dation, and has told us how invagination takes place in the walls of the
ovary; how the little ovum is formed in the seclusion of its dark cavity;
how it emerges therefrom and enters the Fallopian tube; is pierced by the
spermatozoon of the male, and the nucleus of a human body is complete. We
are thus supposed to be "at the fount and origin of life!" But life has
neither beginning nor end, and what science mistakenly considers the foun-
tain of life is really the source of death, as all that comes from the womb
[PAGE 508]
is destined sooner or later to reach the tomb. The MARRIAGE feast which
prepares for BIRTH, at the same time provides food for the insatiable jaws
of DEATH, and so long as marriage is necessary to generation and birth, dis-
integration and death must inevitably result. Therefore, it is of prime im-
portance to know the history of marriage, the laws and agencies involved,
the duration of This institution, and how it may be transcended.
When we obtained our vital bodies in Hyperborea, the sun, moon and earth
were still united, and the solar-lunar forces permeated each being in even
measure so that all were able to perpetuate their kind by buds and spores as
do certain plants of today. The efforts of the vital body to soften the
dense vehicle and keep it alive were not then interfered with, and was these
primal, plantlike bodies lived for ages. But man was then unconscious and
stationary like a plant; he made no effort or exertion. The addition of a
desire body furnished incentive and desire, and consciousness resulted from
the war between the vital body, which builds, and the desire body, which de-
stroys the dense body.
Thus dissolution became only a question of time, particularly as the con-
structive energy of the vital body was also necessarily divided, one part or
pole being used in the vital functions of the body, the other to replace a
vehicle lost by death. But as the two poles of a magnet or dynamo are re-
[PAGE 509]
quisite to manifestation, so also two single-sexed beings became necessary
for generation; thus marriage and birth were necessarily inaugurated to off-
set the effect of death. DEATH, THEN, IS THE PRICE WE PAY FOR CONSCIOUSNESS
IN THE PRESENT WORLD; marriage and repeated births are our weapons against
the king of terrors until our constitution shall change and we become as
angels.
Please mark that it is not stated that we are to become angels, but that
we are to become AS ANGELS. For the angels are the humanity of the Moon Pe-
riod; they belong to an entirely different stream of evolution, as different
as are human spirits from those of our present animals. Paul states in his
letter to the Hebrews that man was made FOR A LITTLE WHILE inferior to the
angels; he descended lower into the scale of materiality during the Earth
Period, while the angels have never inhabited a globe denser than ether.
This substance is the direct avenue of all life forces, and when man has
once become as the angels and has learned to build his body of ether,
naturally there will be no death and no need of marriage to bring about
birth.
But looking at marriage from another point of view, looking upon it as a
union of souls rather than as a union of the sexes, we contact the wonderful
mystery of Love. Union of the sexes might serve to perpetuate the race, of
course, but the true marriage is a companionship of souls also, which
[PAGE 510]
altogether transcends sex. Yet those really able to meet upon that lofty
plane of spiritual intimacy gladly offer their bodies as living sacrifices
upon the altar of LOVE OF THE UNBORN, to woo a waiting spirit into an im-
maculately conceived body. Thus humanity may be saved from the reign of
death.
This is readily apparent as soon as we consider the gentle action of the
vital body and contrast it with that of the desire body in a fit of temper,
where it is said that a man has "lost control" of himself. Under such con-
ditions the muscles become tense, and nervous energy is expended at a sui-
cidal rate, so that after such an outbreak the body may sometimes be pros-
trated for weeks. The hardest labor brings no such fatigue as a fit of
temper; likewise a child conceived in passion under the crystallizing ten-
dencies of the desire nature is naturally short-lived, and it si a regret-
table fact that LENGTH OF LIFE is nowadays almost a misnomer; in view of the
appalling infant mortality it ought to be called BREVITY OF EXISTENCE.
The building tendencies of the vital body, which is the vehicle of love,
are not so easily watched, but observation proves that contentment lengthens
life of any one who cultivates this quality, and we may safely reason that a
child conceived under conditions of harmony and love stands a better chance
of life than one conceived under conditions of anger, inebriety, and pas-
sion.
[PAGE 511]
According to Genesis it was said to the woman, "In sorrow shalt thou bear
children," and it has always been a sore puzzle to Bible commentators what
logical connection there may be between eating of fruit and the pains of
parturition. But when we understand the chaste references of the Bible to
the act of generation, the connection is readily perceived.
The contributory reasons are various: In the first place, while we are
exceedingly careful in selecting our horses and cattle for breeding, while
we insist upon pedigree for the animals in order that we may bring out the
very best strain of stock upon our farms, we exercise no such care with re-
spect to the selection of a father and mother for our children. We mate
upon impulse and regret it at our leisure, aided by laws which make it all
to easy to enter or leave the sacred bonds of matrimony. The words pro-
nounced by minister or judge are taken to be a license for unlimited indul-
gence, as if any man-made law could license the contravention of the law of
[PAGE 512]
God. While animals mate only at a certain time of the year and the mother
is undisturbed during the period of pregnancy, this is not true of the human
race.
In view of these facts is it to be wondered at that we find such a dread
of maternity, and is it not time that we seek to remedy the matter by a more
sane relation between marriage partners? Astrology will reveal the temper
and tendencies of each human being; it will enable two people to blend their
characters in such a manner that a love live may be lived, and it will indi-
cate the periods when interplanetary lines of force are most nearly condu-
cive to painless parturition. Thus it will enable us to draw from the bosom
of nature, children of love, capable of living long lives in good health.
Finally the day will come when these bodies will have been made so perfect
in their ethereal purity that they may last throughout the coming Age, and
thus make marriage superfluous.
But if we can love now when we see one another "through a glass darkly,"
through the mask of personality and the veil of misunderstanding , we may be
sure that the love of soul for soul, purged of passion in the furnace of
sorrow, will be our brightest gem in heaven as its shadow is on earth.
Continued with "RC1017.TXT"
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E-Mail Fredric L. Rice / The Skeptic Tank