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The Rosicrucian Order is an ancient Mystic Fraternity formed in the
year 1313 by a high spiritual teacher having the symbolical name "Christian
Rosenkreuz": Christian Rose Cross. It was his mission to prepare a new
phase of the Christian religion to be used during the coming age now at
hand, for as the world and man evolve so also must religion change. The system
of worship suited to the spiritual needs of our forebears is unsuited to our
altered intellectual condition. Therefore, the great spiritual entities in
charge of evolution, change the religions of the world in harmony with the
passage of the marching orbs in the heavens.
The Rosicrucian Philosophy is entirely Christian, striving to make
religion a living factor in the land -- and to lead to Christ those who cannot
find Him by faith alone.
The Sixth Sense
The particular function of this Philosophy is to enable people to accept
the Christian doctrines through the medium of esoteric knowledge, when they are
unable to do so through the medium of faith. It aims to supplement the work of
the churches, not to supplant them.
The Rosicrucian Philosophy teaches that man possesses a latent sixth sense
which has been developed in some and which eventually will be developed by all.
This sense enables its possessor to perceive and investigate the super-physical
realms, where the so-called dead live.
It also teaches that the Earth is a great school to which we return life
after life through rebirth, learning new lessons during each sojourn here, and
thus ever evolving toward greater perfection of character and the powers which
it confers. The grades attained by different individuals in this school account
for the differences in fortunes which we see on every side. Therefore we do not
despair of God's love when we see the inequalities of life, for we know that in
time all will be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.
Facing Death
Sooner or later there comes a time when the consciousness is forced to
recognize the fact that life, as we see it, is but fleeting, and that amid all
the uncertainties of our existence there is but one certainty -- Death!
When the mind has thus become aroused by thought of the leap in the dark
which at sometime must be taken by all, several questions inevitably present
themselves: Whence have we come? Why art We here? Whither are we going? These
are basic problems with which all must sooner or later grapple, and it is of the
greatest importance how we solve them for the view we take will color our whole
lives.
The Rosicrucian Teachings also take the sting of sorrow out of the
greatest of all trials, "the loss of loved ones," even if they have been what is
called wayward, or black sheep; for we know that it is an actual fact that in
God we live and move and have our being; hence, if one single Spirit were
lost, a part of God would be lost and such a proposition is absolutely
impossible. Under the immutable Law of Cause and Effect, we are bound to meet
these loved ones sometime in the future, under other circumstances, and there
the love that binds us together must continue until it has found its fullest
expression. The Laws of Nature would be violated if a stone thrown from the
Earth were to remain suspended in the atmosphere, and under the same immutable
Laws, those who pass into the higher sphere must return. Christ said, "Ye must
be born again;" and "If I go to my Father, I will return."
Adversity and Trouble
When the bark of our life sails lightly upon smooth summer seas, wafted
along by the fair winds of health and prosperity, when friends are present on
every hand, eager to help us plan pleasures which will increase our enjoyment of
this world's goods, when social favors or political powers come to us to gratify
our every wish in whatever sphere our inclinations seek expression, then indeed,
we may say, and seem justified in saying, with our whole heart and soul: "This
world is good enough for me." But when we come to the end of the smiling sea of
success; when the whirlwind of adversity has blown us upon the rocky shores of
disaster, and the sea of suffering threatens to engulf us; when friends have
failed and every human help is as far off as it is unavailing, then we must look
for guidance to the skies as does the mariner when he steers his ship over the
waste of waters.
Likewise one who is looking for a guide which he may trust in the days of
sorrow and trouble also should embrace a religion founded on eternal laws and
immutable principles, able to explain the mystery of life in a logical manner so
that his intellect is satisfied. At the same time, a system of devotion
satisfies the heart, so that these twin factors in life receive equal
satisfaction.
Divine Love
Only when man has a clear intellectual conception of the scheme of human
development is he in a position to range himself in line therewith. When it is
made clear to him that that scheme is beneficent and benevolent in the very
highest degree, that all is truly ruled by divine Love, then that understanding
will sooner or later call out in him a true devotion and heartfelt acquiescence
which will awaken in him a desire to become a co-worker with God in the world's
work.
Eye has not seen nor ear heard the glories that are yet in store for us,
but Oliver Wendell Holmes has expressed a little of what we may look forward to
in the following lines:
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul.
As the swift seasons
roll!
Leave thy low vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the
last,
Shut thee from Heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art
free,
Leafing thine outgrown shell by life's unresting
sea!
Rosicrucian Fundamentals in Questions and
Answers
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Question: Who are the Rosicrucians and what does the
name signify?
Answer: The ancient Rosicrucian Brotherhood consisted of
high spiritual beings who had advanced far beyond ordinary man in purity and
spiritual wisdom. They were learned alchemists, doctors, and mathematicians --
twelve Supermen of the fourteenth century, who were guided by and who
worked with a thirteenth known by the name of Christian Rosenkreuz (Christian
Rose Cross). These thirteen august men worked secretly. They formed themselves
into a Brotherhood known as the Rosicrucian Order or Order of the Rose Cross.
The teachings of this Order were given only to a very few wise men; nothing was
printed until the year 1614 when a small pamphlet written in the German language
was circulated among those only who were ready to receive these teachings.
This secret brotherhood is still in existence, is still working with and
for the upliftment of humanity. Only those who are highly evolved spiritually
are admitted into this inner branch of the Rosicrucian movement, and these
physicians of the soul may be found among those who are at the helm of some
great movement or country and are directly concerned with the forward movement
of the world and its work. These Brothers never make themselves known and work
unselfishly for the good of mankind.
In 1908 Max Heindel, who was of Danish birth, was chosen as a messenger of
these Brothers to carry the Rosicrucian Teachings to the western world, and
after spending some time under their direct tutelage, was instructed to return
to America and give to the world publicly what previously had been held secret.
At this particular time in the world's work, mankind had reached the stage where
it could be given a more exalted phase of the Christian religion and when the
mysteries (which the Christ spoke of in Matthew 13:11, and Luke 8:10) should be
given to the many instead of the few.
After Max Heindel reached America he had these exalted teachings printed
in the textbook entitled The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, which has been
translated into various languages and continues to be shipped into all parts of
the world. He also established The Rosicrucian Fellowship as the Preparatory
School for the Rosicrucian Order, with International Headquarters at Mt.
Ecclesia, Oceanside, California. The Fellowship has no connection with any other
organization, even if the latter does use the word "Rosicrucian" as a part of
its title.
Question: Do the Rosicrucians teach that the Christ was a
divine Messenger -- the Savior of the world?
Answer: Yes, Christ Jesus was the greatest being that has
ever functioned in a physical body on our Earth. However, the Rosicrucian
Teachings explain that Jesus was a man, and that at the Baptism, he surrendered
his lower vehicles to the Christ Spirit to use in His ministry on the material
plane. At the Crucifixion the Christ was released from the bodies of Jesus and
entered into the Earth. This great Archangel is still the indwelling Spirit of
the Earth, is still the Savior of mankind. After a careful study of the
teachings as given out by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, the Christ becomes a
living factor in the lives of students, who not only recognize the divinity of
Christ but who make every effort to follow in His footsteps.
Question: Does the Rosicrucian student believe in a life
after death?
Answer: Yes, the Rosicrucian Teachings take the sting of
sorrow out of death because they prepare the aspirant for what he is to expect
in the life to come. A journey into foreign lands is made pleasant when we are
prepared and know of the country into which we are to travel; likewise it is a
great comfort to know of conditions existing in that land which has been made so
mysterious by the dark shadow of ignorance which has rested over man for so many
ages. Knowledge of the life beyond the grave is most comforting to the one who
has lost loved ones.
The Elder Brothers of the Rose Cross, with their superior knowledge of the
spiritual worlds bring to us the proof of an existence of these higher worlds;
also many advanced students have received positive proof of life after death: to
them it is no longer a theory but a Truth. It is possible, with the development
of a finer sense, to actually experience and see the conditions existing in this
invisible land of the so-called dead which is interpenetrating our dense
physical world, although unseen by those who have only the sense of physical
sight developed. As John McCreery says in his beautiful poem:
"They are not dead. They have but passed
Beyond the mists that blind
us here,
Into a new and larger life
Of that serener sphere."
Death to the Rosicrucian student is but a shifting of consciousness, a
casting away of a worn-out garment (the physical body) to take on that spiritual
body which Paul tells us about in the 15th Chapter of 1st. Corinthians.
Question: Do the Rosicrucians believe in Rebirth and the
law of consequence?
Answer: In the 17th chapter of Matthew verses 11, 12, 13,
Jesus gave his disciples a very wonderful demonstration of the philosophy of
rebirth. After his transfiguration he plainly said that Elias had come already
and the disciples understood he had reference to John the Baptist. The 8th
chapter of Job and the latter portion of the 19th chapter tells us of rebirth.
The Rosicrucians teach that all the causes set into action in one life
cannot ripen in one existence, and that all things must reach a stage of
fruition, that "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." This is one of
the biblical teachings, that man must reap his own harvests from the seeds he
has sown, be they good or evil; therefore each individual passes through a
number of earth lives during which he builds character. It is at this stage of
his living that he either enjoys the fruits of his past building, or is
suffering from the results of his evil deeds.
Each life is as a day in school, where the spirit learns its lessons. We
are told in Genesis that God made man in His own image; if man is divinely made
he must also become as wise as the Father Who made him. Naturally this cannot be
accomplished in one life, but a slow process of evolution is necessary to lift
man from that tiny spark of divinity to become as wise and all knowing as his
Father in heaven.
Question: Tell us something about the Rosicrucian method of
healing the sick.
Answer: In each of the four gospels we find that the Christ
preached the gospel of healing. He healed all who came to Him and He sent His
disciples out into the world with the two commands: Preach the Gospel and
Heal the Sick. These two commands are also given to the Rosicrucians, who
are physicians of the soul, for sickness is first manifested in the Vital Body,
which is the vehicle of the soul and healing can be best accomplished through
this invisible vehicle. During the time of sleep when man is free from his
physical body and functioning in the spiritual world, healing is more quickly
accomplished. The esoteric students are trained for this particular work.
Full details regarding healing may be secured by writing to The
Rosicrucian Fellowship, Oceanside, 92054, U.S.A.
Question: We understand that the Rosicrucians do not set a
price upon their lessons nor upon their healing ministrations. Is not the
workman "worthy of his hire?"
Answer: In the 10th chapter of Matthew, Christ tells His
disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel and to preach the gospel and heal
the sick. But he also tells them to provide neither gold, silver, brass, nor
scrip for their journey. In the 10th chapter of 1st Corinthians, Paul also holds
out this thought, to preach the gospel without charge. The Rosicrucians have
followed this practice from the very beginning and never set a price on their
teachings. No true believer of this exalted teaching will charge for lessons or
require a monthly membership fee. This at once brands him as an impostor. If we
have faith and work unselfishly, God will always take care of His own and the
Love offerings will be sufficient to keep the aspirant in his simple needs.
Question: But will this not encourage some to take all and
give nothing? Will it not develop selfishness in some? There is a law in nature
that we cannot obtain anything for nothing.
Answer: Yes, numbers are attending the churches, lectures
and classes, never dropping a penny into the collection baskets, feeling this
unnecessary unless they are approached and, naturally, they will take all and
give nothing. But they do not reason the matter from the standpoint of God's
laws which are silently operating through the laws of Cause and Effect;
sometime, somewhere, these debts will come to the Ego who thinks he is slipping
through life defrauding, taking all and giving nothing.
"Be not deceived, God is not mocked,
For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap."
How the Rosicrucians Heal the
Sick
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The Rosicrucian work of healing is carried on by the Elder Brothers
of The Rosicrucian Order through a band of Invisible Helpers whom they are
instructing.
The work is conducted according to the commands of Christ Jesus, namely,
"Preach the gospel and heal the sick."
The Elder Brothers
These are high spiritual Beings through whom the Christ Spirit is working
for the benefit of humanity.
The Invisible Helpers are those who live a worthy life of helpfulness
during the daytime while in their physical bodies, and whose evolutionary
development is such as to earn the privilege of being helpful through the
instrumentality of the Elder Brothers at night while functioning in the etheric
bodies. This is indicated in the words of the Rosicrucian Fellowship Evening
Service: "Tonight while our physical bodies are peacefully resting in sleep, may
we as Invisible Helpers be found faithfully working in the vineyard of Christ."
These Invisible Helpers are gathered together in bands according to their
temperaments and their abilities. They are instructed by other Helpers who are
physicians, and all of them work under the guidance of the Elder Brothers, who
naturally are the moving Spirits of the whole work.
Not infrequently, patients are aware of the presence of the Invisible
Helpers.
Right Living Necessary for a Cure
The Invisible Helpers never refuse to answer an appeal for help, but in
order to respond to the divine Healing Force, patients must adopt the gospel of
right living. They should observe a pure diet--meatless, insofar as it is
possible. Meat should be left off gradually, however, in order that the body may
adjust itself to the change. Patients must fill their living and sleeping rooms
with pure air, their minds with pure thoughts, and their daily lives with pure
actions. The divine Healing Force is pure. If someone asks for it in order to be
relieved of ailments, he or she must be willing to conform to the natural laws
of purity: pure air, pure food, pure thinking, and pure living! If the patient
ignores these great health-giving factors, he may have called in vain upon the
divine Healing Force.
Healing Force
All Healing Force comes from God, our heavenly Father, the Great Physician
of the Universe; it is latent everywhere; by prayer and concentration it is
liberated and directed to the sufferer; it manifested through the Master, Christ
Jesus; it goes forth from the daily and weekly healing meetings held at the
Rosicrucian Fellowship Headquarters (Oceanside, California). Through the
workings of this supreme Force, the Invisible Helpers raise the vibrations of
the patient to a higher rate, thus enabling him, first, to eliminate the disease
poison from the system, and second, to rebuild every blood corpuscle, fiber,
tissue, and organ until the whole body is made new. This is done, not in a
miraculous manner, but in accordance with Nature's Laws. If the patient
continues to break these laws and, by a wrong mode of living, to accumulate
poisonous substances in the system, he frustrates the healing Work.
Cause of Disease
The wonderful organism called the human body is governed by immutable
natural Laws. All disease results from willful or ignorant violation of Nature's
Laws. People are ill because, in this Earth life or in a previous one, they have
disregarded the fundamental principles on which the health of the body depends.
If they wish to regain and retain their health, they must learn to understand
these principles and to regulate their daily habits in conformity with them.
This is what the Master Healer, Christ Jesus, meant when He said to the
man who was a cripple: "Thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee." (John 5:14) Even the Christ could not give lasting health
unless the recipient of the Healing Force refrained from indulging wrong habits
which cause disease. The recipient had to live in obedience to the god-given
laws that rule man's body and his relations with his fellow creatures.
The Right to Health
Some people "demand" perfect health and claim they have a right to it.
They forget that, either in this or a former life, some have forfeited their
God-given right through disobedience to Nature's Laws which are God's Laws.
Through suffering, they have to learn obedience. When they have mastered their
lessons and are willing to "sin no more," their right to health will be restored
to them.
Violations of the Laws of Health
The divine Healing Force is constructive; wrong methods of living which
disregard the Laws of Nature are destructive.
The omissions and transgressions responsible for wrong living and,
consequently, for disease are many. The following are the principal ones:
unnatural food; too much food; ill-proportioned food; lack of fresh air and
sunshine; lack of cleanliness; lack of self-control; sleeping in unventilated
rooms; harboring thoughts of anger, hatred, and resentment; yielding to a hasty
temper; gratifying low desires; harming fellow creatures, whether human or
animal; abusing the sacred generative function. Since all organs and functions
of the body are interdependent, the abuse and consequent affliction of one part
hurts all the others, furthers the accumulation of disease poison throughout the
system, and lowers the vitality of the whole. Local symptoms are actually
evidence that the whole body is at fault. All true healing, therefore, in order
to achieve lasting results, is directed, not to the suppression of symptoms, but
to the removal of the cause that made the symptoms appear.
Spiritual Healing
Spiritual healing operates on the higher planes of being but is effected
in strict adherence to Natural Laws which prevail below as above. Consequently,
all natural therapeutics applied on the physical plane are in harmony with the
work of the Invisible Helpers on the higher planes.
Right Food is Natural Medicine
Since the body is built up of the physical substances introduced into the
blood by the daily food, right food is the natural medicine which the patient
must take in order to cooperate with the Invisible Helpers in their task of
reconstructing his system.
Effluvia Transmitted in Weekly Report
Before the Invisible Helpers can work with the patient they must have
effluvia from his vital body. This is the etheric counterpart of the physical
body and the operating sphere of the vital forces. The effluvia are obtained by
having the patient write a weekly letter consisting of a few words or a few
lines with pen and ink. This is important, as a pen charged with fluid is a
greater conductor of magnetism than a dry pencil. The ether which thus
impregnates the paper upon which the patient writes week by week gives an
indication of his condition at the time of writing, and furnishes an entrance
key to his system. It is something which he has given voluntarily and for the
express purpose of furnishing access to the Invisible Helpers. Unless the
patient does his part in this respect, the Invisible Helpers are unable to do
anything for him, so it may be seen that it is of the utmost importance to keep
up the weekly letters to Headquarters.
Time Required for Cure
Instantaneous cures are frequent when the Invisible Helpers are called
upon to assist in cases of acute disease. In the case of a chronic ailment which
is of long standing and has taken years to develop, a certain amount of relief
may be experienced immediately; complete recovery, however, which is equivalent
to a renewal of the whole system, usually can be achieved only in gradual
stages. As said before, the healing work of the Invisible Helpers is not
suppression of symptoms but reconstruction of the whole system. This
reconstruction requires time as well as the patient's faithful and constant
cooperation along the lines indicated.
Healing Meetings at Headquarters
Healing meetings are held at Rosicrucian Headquarters on nights when the
Moon is in Cardinal Signs of the Zodiac (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn).
The hour of this service is 6:30 pm (7:30 pm during Daylight Savings Time). The
virtue of the Cardinal Signs is the dynamic energy which they infuse into every
enterprise started under their influence. Therefore, the healing thoughts of
helpers all over the world are endowed with added power when launched upon their
errands of mercy under this cardinal influence.
If you would like to join in this work, sit down quietly when the clock in
your place of residence points to the given hour, 6:30 pm (7:30 pm during
Daylight Savings Time), meditate on health and divine love, and pray to the
Great Physician, our Father in Heaven, for the restoration to health of all who
suffer, particularly those who have applied to Headquarters.
For more information, please contact the Healing
Department at Mt. Ecclesia:
Rosicrucian Fellowship - Purposes, Aims,
and Activities
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The Rosicrucian Fellowship is a Christian organization composed of men and
women who are students of the Rosicrucian Philosophy
as presented in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.
This philosophy is known as the Western Wisdom
Teaching and establishes a meeting-ground for science and religion. Its
students are located throughout the world; but their International Headquarters
is located at Oceanside, California, USA.
The Rosicrucian Fellowship has no connection with any other organization. It
was launched during the late summer and autumn of 1909, after a course of
lectures in Seattle by Mr. Max Heindel. A study center was formed and the
Headquarters were temporarily located in that city. Arrangements were also made
for publishing The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. With the issue of this
work by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, the Association was definitely
started.
The General Work of
The Rosicrucian Fellowship
The work of the Fellowship is to preach the gospel (of the coming Aquarian
Age) and heal the sick. This is achieved by making the Western Wisdom Teaching available to all who are ready to
receive it and by conducting a Healing Department which emphasizes spiritual
healing along with principles of right living. The work of the Fellowship is
done through the efforts of its entire membership assisted by Headquarters. Many
friends in the world work through Centers which hold classes in the Philosophy
and in spiritual astrology, the study and teaching of which is an integral part
of the work of the Fellowship.
Why I Am a Rosicrucian
Student
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Who is a Rosicrucian?
Not infrequently, we find that someone takes the platform to explain why
he is a Baptist, Methodist, or Christian Scientist, and what his particular
faith may be. We often have been asked by our students for something which would
help make plain to their associates why they had embraced the teachings of the
Elder Brothers given through The Rosicrucian Fellowship. We, therefore, will
endeavor to give a succinct résumé of reasons which appeal to us as sufficient,
but students will doubtless find many other reasons equally good or better,
which they may add verbally to what is said here.
It should be made clear in the very beginning that students in the
Rosicrucian Fellowship do not call themselves Rosicrucians. That title applies
only to the Elder Brothers, who are the hierophants of the Western Wisdom
Teachings. They are as far beyond the greatest living saint in spiritual
development as that saint is above the lowest fetish worshiper.
Satisfying Head and Heart
When the bark of our life sails lightly upon smooth summer seas, wafted
along by the fair winds of health and prosperity, when friends are present on
every hand, eager to help us plan pleasures which will increase our enjoyment of
this world's goods, when social favors or political power come to us to gratify
our every wish in whatever sphere our inclinations seek expression, then,
indeed, we may say and seem justified in saying with our whole heart and soul,
"This world is good enough for me." But when we come to the end of the smiling
sea of success, when the whirlwind of adversity has blown us upon the rocky
shores of disaster and a wave of suffering threatens to engulf us, when friends
have failed and every human help is as far off as it is unavailing, then we must
look for guidance to the skies as does the mariner when he steers his ship over
the waste of waters.
When the skipper scans the sky in search of a star whereby to steer the
ship safely, he finds that the whole heavens are in motion. Therefore, to follow
almost any one of the myriad of wandering stars visible to the eye would be
disastrous. To meet the requirements, the guiding star must be perfectly
steadfast and immovable, and there is only one such, namely, the North
Star. By its guiding light the mariner may steer in full confidence and
bring his ship to the haven of rest and safety. Similarly, one who is looking
for a guide which he may trust in days of sorrow and trouble should embrace a
religion founded on eternal laws and immutable principles, a religion able to
explain the mystery of life in a logical manner to satisfy the intellect. At the
same time, a system of devotion should be included that may satisfy the heart.
Thus these twin factors in life will receive equal satisfaction. Only when man
has a clear intellectual conception of the scheme of human development is he in
a position to range himself in the therewith. When it is made clear to him that
this scheme is beneficent and benevolent in the very highest degree, that all is
truly ruled by divine love, this understanding will sooner or later call out a
true devotion and heartfelt acquiescence which will awaken a desire to become a
co-worker with God the world's work.
When seeking Spirits come to the door of the church to seek surcease from
sorrow, they cannot be satisfied with platitudes that it is the will of God that
sorrow and suffering have come to them, that in His divine will He has seen fit
to scourge them, and that they must take it as an indication that He regards
them as His beloved children and be satisfied no matter what happens. They
cannot see that Deity does justice when He makes some rich and many poor, a few
healthy and many sickly; it is evident only too often that iniquity is
prosperous while rectitude is in rags.
The Rosicrucian Teaching gives clear and logical information concerning
the world and man; it invites questions instead of discouraging them, so that
the seeker after spiritual truth may receive full satisfaction intellectually;
its explanations are as strictly scientific as they are reverently religious. It
refers us for information regarding life's problems to laws that are as
unchangeable and immutable in their realms of action as the North Star is in the
heavens.
Law of Cause and Effect
Though the world whirls upon its axis at the rate of 1,000 miles per hour,
we stand safely anywhere upon its surface because the principle of gravity
prevents us from being hurled into space by the terrific speed. We know that the
Law of Gravity is eternal; it will not act today and suspend action tomorrow.
When we enter a hydraulic elevator we rest safely upon a column of water because
that fluid is more incompressible than most solids, and this property is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. Were its action suspended for even a few
moments, thousands of people would fall to their deaths.
The Law of Cause and Effect also is immutable; if we throw a stone into
the air, the act is not complete until by gravitation it has returned to Earth.
"Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap," is the way this law is
expressed in the realm of morals. "The mills of the Gods grind slowly, but they
grind exceeding small." Once an act has been done, the reaction will come
sometime, somewhere, as surely as the stone that was thrown into the air will
return to the Earth.
The School of Life
It is manifest that all the causes we set going in life do not ripen in
the present existence, and it follows that they must find their fruition
somewhere else at some other time, or the law would be invalidated. The
cancellation of this law would be as absolutely impossible as the suspension of
the Law of Gravitation, for cancellation of either would make chaos out of
Cosmos. The Rosicrucian Teachings; explain this by a statement that man is a
Spirit attending the school of life for the purpose of unfolding latent
spiritual power, and that for this purpose he lives many lives in earthly bodies
of increasingly fine texture which enable him to express himself better and
better. In the lower grades of this school of evolution, man has few faculties.
Each life-day he comes to school in the morning of childhood, and is given
lessons to learn, and at night, when old and gray, the nursemaid of nature,
Death, puts him to sleep, that he may rest from his labors until the dawn of
another life-day when he is given a new child body and new lessons. Each day
"Experience," the teacher of the school, helps him to learn some of the lessons
of life, and gradually he becomes more and more proficient. Someday he will have
learned the entire curriculum of the school, which includes building bodies as
well as using them. Thus when we see one who has few faculties, we know that he
is a young Spirit who has not learned life's lessons; when we find a beautiful
character, we recognize an old Spirit who has spent much time in mastering its
lessons. Therefore we do not despair of God's love when we see the inequalities
of life, for we know that in time all will be perfect, as our Father in Heaven
is perfect.
Meeting Loved Ones
The Rosicrucian Teachings also take the sting of sorrow out of the
greatest of all trials, the loss of loved ones, even if they have been what is
called wayward or black sheep. We know that it is an actual fact that in God
we live and move and have our being; hence, if one single Spirit were lost,
a part of God would be lost, and such a proposition is absolutely impossible.
Under the immutable Law of Cause and Effect, we are bound to meet these loved
ones sometime in the future under other circumstances, and there the love that
binds us together must continue until it has found its fullest expression. The
laws of Nature would be violated if a stone thrown from the Earth were to remain
suspended in the atmosphere, and under the same immutable laws those who pass
into the higher spheres must return. Christ said, "If I go to my Father, I
will return."
Firsthand Knowledge
Although our reason may reach into the mysteries of life, there is still a
higher stage: actual firsthand knowledge. As a matter of fact, the
foregoing propositions are capable of verification. We all have a sixth
sense latent in our being, which will sometime enable us to view the
spiritual worlds with the same distinctness as that with which we see the
temporal. This sixth sense will be developed by all in the course of evolution,
and there are certain means whereby it may be developed now by all who care to
take the necessary time and trouble to do so. Some have done this and have told
of their travels in the land of the Spirit. We believe their testimony
concerning that place just as we believe people who have traveled in Africa or
Australia who tell us of those countries. Just as we say that we know the
Earth rotates upon its axis and revolves in its orbit around the Sun because we
have been thus informed by scientists who have made the investigations and
calculations that establish these facts, so also we say that we know that
the dead live. We know that whether dead or alive, in the body or out of it, we
all are enfolded in the love of our Father in Heaven, without Whose Will not the
smallest sparrow fails to the ground. We know that He cares for all and orders
our steps in harmony with His plans to develop our powers to the highest
possible degree.
Eye has not seen or ear heard the glories that are yet in store for us,
but Oliver Wendell Holmes has expressed a little of what we may expect in the
following lines:
Build thee more stately mansions O my soul!
As the swift seasons
roll,
Leave thy low vaulted past,
Let each new temple, nobler than the
last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art
free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea.
We follow the Rosicrucian Teaching in preference to other systems, because
of the logical soul-satisfying philosophy of life given by it, and invite others
who wish to share the blessings thereof to investigate.
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