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The
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception
or
Mystic
Christianity
An Elementary
Treatise Upon
Man's Past Evolution, Present Constitution
and Future Development
By
Max
Heindel
(1865-1919)
Revised
Version (2007)
Its
Message and Mission:
A Soft Heart
A Sound Body
The
Rosicrucian Fellowship
International Headquarters
Mt. Ecclesia
Oceanside, California, U.S.A.
Creed
or Christ
No
man loves God who hates his kind,
Who tramples on his brother's heart and soul;
Who seeks to shackle, cloud, or fog the mind
By fears of hell has not perceived our goal.
God-sent are all
religions blest;
And Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life,
To give the heavy laden rest
And peace from sorrow, sin, and strife.
Behold the
Universal Spirit came
To all the churches, not to one alone;
On Pentecostal morn a tongue of flame
Round each apostle as a halo shone.
Since then, as
vultures ravenous with greed,
We oft have battled for an empty name,
And sought by dogma, edict, cult, or creed,
To send each other to the quenchless flame.
Is Christ then
twain? Was Cephas, Paul,
To save the world, nailed to the tree?
Then why divisions here at all?
Christ's love enfolds both you and me.
His pure sweet love
is not confined
By creed which segregate and raise a wall.
His love enfolds, embraces human kind,
No matter what ourselves or Him we call.
Then why not take
Him at His word?
Why hold to creeds which tear apart?
But one thing matters, be it heard
That brother love fill every heart.
There's but one
thing the world has need to know.
There's but one balm for all our human woe:
There's but one way that leads to heaven above--
That way is human sympathy and love.
--Max Heindel.
A Word to the Wise
The founder of the Christian Religion stated an occult maxim when He said:
"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall
not enter therein" (Mark X:15). All occultists recognize the far-reaching
importance of this teaching of Christ, and endeavor to "live" it day
by day.
When a new philosophy is presented to the world it is met in
different ways by different people.
One person will grasp with avidity any new philosophical effort
in an endeavor to ascertain how far it supports his own ideas. To such a
one the philosophy itself is of minor importance. Its prime value will be its
vindication of his ideas. If the work comes up to expectation in that
respect, he will enthusiastically adopt it and cling to it with a most
unreasoning partisanship; if not, he will probably lay the book down in disgust
and disappointment, feeling as if the author had done him an injury.
Another adopts an attitude of skepticism as soon as he discovers
that it contains something which he has not previously read, heard, or
originated in his own thought. He would probably resent as extremely
unjustified the accusation that his mental attitude is the acme of
self-satisfaction and intolerance; such is nevertheless the case; and thus he
shuts his mind to any truth which may possibly be hidden in that which he
off-hand rejects.
Both these classes stand in their own light. "Set"
ideas render them impervious to rays of truth. "A little child" is
the very opposite of its elders in that respect. It is not imbued with an
overwhelming sense of superior knowledge, nor does it feel compelled to look
wise or to hide its nescience of any subject by a smile or a sneer. It is
frankly ignorant, unfettered by preconceived opinions and therefore eminently
teachable. It takes everything with that beautiful attitude of trust which
we have designated "child-like faith," wherein there is not the
shadow of a doubt. There the child holds the teaching it receives until proven
or disproven.
In all occult schools the pupil is first taught to forget all
else when a new teaching is being given, to allow neither preference nor
prejudice to govern, but to keep the mind in a state of calm, dignified
waiting. As skepticism will blind us to truth in the most effective manner, so
this calm, trustful attitude of the mind will allow the intuition, or "teaching
from within," to become aware of the truth contained in the proposition.
That is the only way to cultivate an absolutely certain perception of truth.
The pupil is not required to believe off-hand that a given object
which he has observed to be white, is really black, when such a statement is
made to him; but he must cultivate an attitude of mind which "believeth
all things" as possible. That will allow him to put by for the time
being even what are generally considered "established facts," and
investigate if perchance there be another viewpoint hitherto unobserved by him
whence the object referred to would appear black. Indeed, he would not allow
himself to look upon anything as "an established fact," for he
realizes thoroughly the importance of keeping his mind in the fluidal state of adaptability
which characterizes the little child. He realizes in every fibre of his being
that "now we see through a glass, darkly," and Ajax-like he is ever
on the alert, yearning for "Light, more Light."
The enormous advantage of such an attitude of mind when
investigating any given subject, object or idea must be apparent. Statements
which appear positively and unequivocally contradictory, which have caused an
immense amount of feeling among the advocates of opposite sides, may
nevertheless be capable of perfect reconciliation, as shown in one such
instance mentioned in the present work. The bond of concord is only
discovered by the open mind, however, and though the present work may be
found to differ from others, the writer would bespeak an impartial hearing as
the basis of subsequent judgment. If the book is "weighed and found
wanting," the writer will have no complaint. He only fears a hasty
judgment based upon lack of knowledge of the system he advocates--a hearing
wherein the judgment is "wanting" in consequence of having been
denied an impartial "weighing." He would further submit, that the
only opinion worthy of the one who expresses it must be based upon knowledge.
As a further reason for care in judgment we suggest that to many
it is exceedingly difficult to retract a hastily expressed opinion. Therefore
it is urged that the reader withhold all expressions of either praise or blame
until study of the work has reasonably satisfied him of its merit or demerit.
The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is not dogmatic, neither
does it appeal to any other authority than the reason of the student. It is not
controversial, but is sent forth in the hope that is may help to clear some of
the difficulties which have beset the minds of students of the deeper
philosophies in the past. In order to avoid serious misunderstanding, it should
be firmly impressed upon the mind of the student, however, that there is no
infallible revelation of this complicated subject, which includes everything
under the sun and above it also.
An infallible exposition would predicate omniscience upon the
part of the writer, and even the Elder Brothers tell us that they are sometimes
at fault in their judgment, so a book which shall say the last word on the
World-Mystery is out of the question, and the writer of the present work does
not pretend to give aught but the most elementary teachings of the
Rosicrucians.
The Rosicrucian Brotherhood has the most far-reaching, the most
logical conception of the World-Mystery of which the writer has gained any
knowledge during the many years he has devoted exclusively to the study of this
subject. So far as he has been able to investigate, their teachings have been
found in accordance with facts as he knows them. Yet he is convinced that The
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception is far from being the last word on the
subject; that as we advance greater vistas of truth will open to us and make
clear many things which we now "see through a glass, darkly." At the
same time he firmly believes that all other philosophies of the future will
follow the same main lines, for they appear to be absolutely true.
In view of the foregoing it will be plain that this book is not
considered by the writer as the Alpha and Omega, the ultimate of occult
knowledge, and even though is entitled "The Rosicrucian
Cosmo-Conception," the writer desires to strongly emphasize that is
not to be understood as a "faith once for all delivered" to the
Rosicrucians by a founder of the Order or by any other individual. It is
emphatically stated that this work embodies only the writer's understanding
of the Rosicrucian teachings concerning the World-Mystery, strengthened by
his personal investigations of the inner Worlds, the ante-natal and post-mortem
states of man, etc. The responsibility upon one who wittingly or unwittingly
leads others astray is clearly realized by the writer, and he wishes to guard
as far as possible against that contingency, and also to guard others against
going wrong inadvertently.
What is said in this work is to be accepted or rejected by the
reader according to his own discretion. All care has been used in trying to
make plain the teaching; great pains have been taken to put it into words that
shall be easily understood. For that reason only one term has been used
throughout to convey each idea. The same word will have the same meaning
wherever used. When any word descriptive of an idea is first used, the clearest
definition possible to the writer is given. None but English terms and the
simplest language have been used. The writer has tried to give as exact and
definite descriptions of the subject under consideration as possible; to
eliminate all ambiguity and to make everything clear. How far he has succeeded
must be left to the student to judge; but having used every possible means to
convey the teaching, he feels obliged to guard also against the possibility of
this work being taken as a verbatim statement of the Rosicrucian teachings.
Neglect of this precaution might give undue weight to this work in the minds of
some students. That would not be fair to the Brotherhood nor to the reader. It
would tend to throw the responsibility upon the Brotherhood for the mistakes
which must occur in this as in all other human works. Hence the above warning.
List of Contents
Part
I
Man's
Present Constitution and Method of Development
·
Chapter
I. The Visible and Invisible Worlds
o Chemical Region of the
Physical World
o Etheric Region of the
Physical World
o Diagram 1. The Material World
a Reverse Reflection of the Spiritual Worlds
·
Chapter
II. The Four Kingdoms
o Diagram 3. The Vehicles of the
Four Kingdoms
o Diagram 4. The Consciousness
of the Four Kingdoms
·
Chapter
III. Man and the Method of Evolution.
o Activities of Life;
Memory and Soul-growth
o The Constitution of the
Seven-fold Man
o Diagram 5. The Three-fold
Spirit, the Three-fold Body and the Three-fold Soul
o Diagram 5 1/2. The Silver Cord
o Birth of the Vital Body
and Growth
o Birth of the Desire
Body and Puberty
o Birth of the Mind and
Majority
o The Blood; the Vehicle
of the Ego
·
Chapter
IV. Rebirth and the Law of Consequence
o Wine as a Factor in
Evolution
Part
II.
Cosmogenesis
and Anthropogenesis.
·
Chapter
VI. The Scheme of Evolution.
o Diagram 7. The Saturn Period
·
Chapter
VII. The Path of Evolution
o Revolutions and Cosmic
Nights
o Diagram 8. The Seven
Worlds, Seven Globes and Seven Periods
·
Chapter
VIII. The Work of Evolution.
o Diagram 9. The Twelve Creative
Hierarchies
·
Chapter
IX. Stragglers and Newcomers
o Classes of Beings at the
Beginning of the Moon Period
o Saturn Revolution of the
Earth Period
o Sun Revolution of the
Earth Period
o Moon Revolution of the
Earth Period
o Rest Periods Between
Revolutions
o The Fourth Revolution of
the Earth Period
·
Chapter
XI. Genesis and Evolution of Our Solar System.
o Chaos
o Diagram 11. Aspects of God and
Man
o Diagram 12. A Man's Past,
Present and Future Form
·
Chapter
XII. Evolution on the Earth.
o The Sixteen Paths to
Destruction
·
Chapter
XIII. Back to the Bible
·
Chapter
XIV. Occult Analysis of Genesis.
o Involution, Evolution
and Epigenesis
o Diagram 13. The Beginning and
End of Sex
Part
III
Man's
Future Development and Initiation
·
Chapter
XVI. Future Development and Initiation.
o Diagram 15. The Symbolism of
the Caduceus
o Radiates, Mollusks,
Articulates and Vertebrates
·
Chapter
XVII. The Method of Acquiring First-Hand Knowledge.
o Western Methods for
Western People
o Table of Food Values, Part I
o Table of Food Values, Part II
o Diagram 16. The Lord's Prayer
o The Pituitary Body and
the Pineal Gland
o Diagram 17. Path of the Unused
Sex Currents
o How the Inner Vehicle
is Built
·
Chapter
XVIII. The Constitution of the Earth and Volcanic Eruptions
o Diagram 18. The Constitution
of the Earth
·
Chapter
XIX. Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order of Rosicrucians
o Ancient Truths in Modern
Dress
·
Addendum
Part
I
Man's
Present Constitution and Method of Development
Introduction
The
Western world is undoubtedly the vanguard of the human race, and, for reasons
given in the following pages, it is held by the Rosicrucian that neither
Judaism nor "popular Christianity," but true Esoteric Christianity is
to be its world-religion.
Buddha, great, grand and sublime, may be the "light of
Asia," but Christ will yet be acknowledged the "Light of the
World." As the sun outshines the brightest star in the heavens, dispels
every vestige of darkness and gives life and light to all beings, so, in a not
too distant future, will the true religion of Christ supersede and obliterate
all other religions, to the eternal benefit of mankind.
In our civilization the chasm that stretches between mind and
heart yawns deep and wide and, as the mind flies on from discovery to discovery
in the realms of science, the gulf becomes ever deeper and wider and the heart
is left further and further behind. The mind loudly demands and will be
satisfied with nothing less than a materially demonstrable explanation of man
and his fellow-creatures that make up the phenomenal world. The heart feels
instinctively that there is something greater, and it yearns for that which it
feels is a higher truth than can be grasped by the mind alone. The human soul would
fain soar upon ethereal pinions of intuition; would fain lave in the eternal
fount of spiritual light and love; but modern scientific views have shorn its
wings and it sits fettered and mute, unsatisfied longings gnawing at its
tendrils as the vulture of Prometheus' liver.
Is this necessary? Is there no common ground upon which head and
heart may meet, each assisting the other, each by the help of the other
becoming more effective in the search for universal truth, and each receiving
equal satisfaction?
As surely as the pre-existing light created the eye whereby the
light is seen; as surely as the primordial desire for growth created the
digestive and assimilative system for the attainment of that end; as surely as
thought existed before the brain and built and still is building the brain for
its expression; as surely as the mind is now forging ahead and wringing her
secrets from nature by the very force of its audacity, just so surely will the
heart find a way to burst its bonds and gratify its longings. At present it is
shackled by the dominant brain. Some day it will gather strength to burst its
prison bars and become a power greater than the mind.
It is equally certain that there can be no contradiction in
nature, therefore the heart and the mind must be capable of uniting. To
indicate this common ground is precisely the purpose of this book. To show
where and how the mind, helped by the intuition of the heart, can probe more
deeply into the mysteries of being than either could do alone; where the heart,
by union with the mind, can be kept from going astray; where each can have full
scope for action, neither doing violence to the other and where both mind and
heart can be satisfied.
Only when that co-operation is attained and perfected will man
attain the higher, truer understanding of himself and of the world of which he
is a part; only that can give him a broad mind and a great heart.
At every birth what appears to be a new life comes among us. We
see the little form as it lives and grows, becoming a factor in our lives for
days, months or years. At last there comes a day when the form dies and goes to
decay. The life that came, whence we know not, has passed to the invisible
beyond, and in sorrow we ask ourselves, Whence came it? What was it here? and
Whither has it gone?
Across every threshold the skeleton form of Death throws his
fearsome shadow. Old or young, well or ill, rich or poor, all, all alike must
pass out into that shadow and throughout the ages has sounded the piteous cry
for a solution of the riddle of life--the riddle of death.
So far as the vast majority of people are concerned the three
great questions, Whence have we come? Why are we here? Whither are we going?
remain unanswered to this day. It has unfortunately come to be the popularly
accepted opinion that nothing can be definitely known about these matters of
deepest interest to humanity. Nothing could be more erroneous than such an
idea. Each and every one, without exception, may become capable of obtaining first-hand,
definite information upon this subject; may personally investigate the state of
the human spirit, both before birth and after death. There is no favoritism,
nor are special gifts required. Each of us has inherently the faculty for
knowing all of these matters; but! -- Yes, there is a "but," and a "but"
that must be written large. These faculties are present in all, though latent
in most people. It requires persistent effort to awaken them and that seems to
be a powerful deterrent. If these faculties, "awake and aware," could
be had for a monetary consideration, even if the price were high, many people
would pay it to gain such immense advantage over their fellow-men, but few
indeed are those willing to live the life that is required to awaken them. That
awakening comes only by patient, persistent effort. It cannot be bought; there
is no royal road to it.
It is conceded that practice is necessary to learn to play the
piano, and that it is useless to think of being a watchmaker without being willing
to serve an apprenticeship. Yet when the matter of the soul, of death and the
beyond, of the great causes of being, are the questions at issue, many think
they know as much as anyone and have an equal right to express an opinion,
though they may never have given the subject an hour's study.
As a matter of fact, no one unless qualified by study of the
subject should expect serious consideration for an opinion. In legal cases,
where experts are called to testify, they are first examined as to their competency.
The weight of their testimony will be nil, unless they are found to be
thoroughly proficient in the branch of knowledge regarding which their
testimony is sought.
If, however, they are found to be qualified--by study and
practice-- to express an expert opinion, it is received with the utmost respect
and deference; and if the testimony of one expert is corroborated by others
equally proficient, the testimony of each additional man adds immensely to the
weight of the previous evidence.
The irrefutable testimony of one such man easily counterbalances
that of one or a dozen or a million men who know nothing of that whereof they
speak, for nothing, even though multiplied by a million, will still remain
nothing. This is as true of any other subject as of mathematics.
As previously said, we recognize these facts readily enough in
material affairs, but when things beyond the world of sense, when the
super-physical world is under discussion; when the relations of God to man, the
inner-most mysteries of the immortal spark of divinity, loosely termed the
soul, are to be probed, then each clamors for as serious consideration of his
opinions and ideas regarding spiritual matters as is given to the sage, who by
a life of patient and toilsome research has acquired wisdom in these higher
things.
Nay, more; many will not even content themselves with claiming equal
consideration for their opinions, but will even jeer and scoff at the words of
the sage, seek to impugn his testimony as fraud, and, with the supreme
confidence of deepest ignorance, asseverate that as they know nothing of
such matters, it is absolutely impossible that anyone else can.
The man who realizes his ignorance has taken the first step
toward knowledge.
The path to first-hand knowledge is not easy. Nothing worth
having ever comes without persistent effort. It cannot be too often repeated
that there are no such things as special gifts of "luck." All that
anyone is or has, is the result of effort. What one lacks in comparison with
another is latent in himself and capable of development by proper methods.
If the reader, having grasped this idea thoroughly, should ask,
what he must do to obtain this first-hand knowledge, the following story may
serve to impress the idea, which is the central one in occultism:
A young man came to a sage one day and asked, "Sire, what
must I do to become wise?" The sage vouchsafed no answer. The youth after
repeating his question a number of times, with a like result, at last left him,
to return the next day with the same question. Again no answer was given and
the youth returned on the third day, still repeating his question, "Sire
what must I do to become wise?"
Finally the sage turned and went down to a nearby river. He
entered the water, bidding the youth follow him. Upon arriving at a sufficient
depth the sage took the young man by the shoulders and held him under the
water, despite his struggles to free himself. At last, however, he released him
and when the youth had regained his breath the sage questioned him:
"Son, when you were under the water what did you most
desire?"
The youth answered without hesitation, "Air, air! I wanted
air!"
"Would you not rather have had riches, pleasure, power or love,
my son? Did you not think of any of these?" queried the sage.
"No, sire! I wanted air and thought only of air," came
the instant response.
"Then," said the sage, "To become wise you must
desire wisdom with as great intensity as you just now desired air. You must
struggle for it, to the exclusion of every other aim in life. It must be your
one and only aspiration, by day and by night. If you seek wisdom with that
fervor, my son, you will surely become wise."
That is the first and central requisite the aspirant to occult
knowledge must possess--an unswerving desire, a burning thirst for knowledge; a
zeal that allows no obstacle to conquer it; but the supreme motive for seeking
this occult knowledge must be an ardent desire to benefit humanity, entirely
disregarding self in order to work for others. Unless prompted by the motive,
occult knowledge is dangerous.
Without possessing these qualifications--especially the
latter--in some measure, any attempt to tread the arduous path of occultism would
be a hazardous undertaking. Another prerequisite to this first-hand knowledge,
however, is the study of occultism at second-hand. Certain occult powers are
necessary for the first-hand investigation of matters connected with the
pre-natal and post-mortem states of man, but no one need despair of acquiring
information about this conditions because of undeveloped occult powers. As a
man may know about Africa either by going there personally or by reading
descriptions written by travelers who have been there, so may he visit the
superphysical realms if he will but qualify himself therefor, or he may learn
what others who have so qualified themselves report as a result of their
investigations.
Christ said, "The Truth shall make you free," but
Truth is not found once and forever. Truth is eternal, and the quest for Truth
must also be eternal. Occultism knows of no "faith once for all
delivered." There are certain basic truths which remain, but which may be
looked at from many sides, each giving a different view, which complements the
previous ones; therefore, so far as we can see at present, there is no such
achievement possible as arriving at the ultimate truth.
Wherein this work differs from some philosophical works the
variations are caused by difference of viewpoint, and all respect is paid to
the conclusions reached and the ideas set forth by other investigators. It is
the earnest hope of the writer that the study of the following pages may help
to make the student's ideas fuller and more rounded than they were before.
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