Chapter XVII The “Mysterium Magnum” of the Rose Cross

Occasionally we get letters from students voicing their regret that they are alone in the study of the Rosicrucian Philosophy, that their husbands, wives, children, or other relatives are unsympathetic or even antagonistic to the teachings, despite all efforts of the said students to interest favorably these friends and thus obtain companionship in their studies, or at least freedom to follow their bent. This friction causes them a certain amount of unhappiness according to their various temperaments, and we are asked by these students to advise them how to overcome the antagonism and convert their relatives. This we have done by personal letters and have been privileged to help change conditions in not a few homes when our advice has been followed; but we know that frequently those who suffer most acutely are silent, and we have therefore decided to devote a little time to a discussion of the subject.

It is truly said, very truly, that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” and this applies with the131 same force to the Rosicrucian teachings as to any other subject. Therefore, the very first step is to find out if you have enough knowledge to be on the safe side. So let me ask the question: What is the Rosicrucian teaching which you are so anxious to have others share and to which they object? Is it the twin laws of “Causation” and “Rebirth?” They are excellent for explaining a great many problems of life, and they are a great comfort when the grim reaper appears and robs our home of some one near and dear. But then you must remember that there are many who do not feel the need of any explanation whatever. They are constitutionally as unfit to apply it as a deaf mute is to use a telephone. It is true that we work to better advantage when conscious of the law and its purpose, but let us take comfort from the fact that these laws work for good to all whether they know it or not, and therefore this knowledge is not essential. They will suffer no great loss because they do not embrace this doctrine, and they may escape the danger incident to the possession of “a little knowledge.”

In India where these truths are known and believed by millions, people make little effort at material progress because they know that they have endless time, and what they do not accomplish in this life may wait till the next or a later life. Many Westerners who have embraced the doctrine of rebirth have ceased to be useful members of their community by adopt132ing a life of indolence, thereby bringing reproach on these so-called higher teachings. If your friends will have none of this teaching, leave them alone. Making converts is by no means the essential point of the Rosicrucian teaching. The Guardian of the Gate will not examine them as to knowledge, and he may admit some who are entirely ignorant of this matter and shut the door in the face of others who have devoted their lives to studying, lecturing on, and teaching these laws.

Then if the doctrines of “Causation” and “Rebirth” are unessential, what about the complex constitution of Man? Surely it is essential to know that we are not merely this visible body, but have a vital body to charge it with energy, a desire body to spend this force, a mind to guide our exertions in channels of reason, and that we are virgin spirits enmeshed in a threefold veil as egos. Is it not essential to know that the physical body is the material counterpart of the Divine Spirit, that the vital body is a replica of the Life Spirit, and that the desire body is the shadow of the Human Spirit, the mind forming the link between the threefold spirit and the threefold body?

No, it is not essential to know these things. Properly used, this knowledge is an advantage, but it may also be a very decided disadvantage in the case of those who have only “a little knowledge” in that direction. There are many such who are always meditating on “the higher self” while entirely forgetful of the133 many “lower selves” groaning in misery at their very doors. There are many who dream day and night of the time when they will take their daily soul flights as “invisible helpers” and ease the sufferings of the sick and sorrowful, yet would not spend a five cent car fare and an hour’s time to bring a poor, friendless soul in a city hospital a flower and a word of cheer. Again I say that the Guardian of the Gate is more likely to admit him who did what he could than him who dreamed much and did nothing to help his suffering fellow man.

If you could get people to study the Rosicrucian teachings about death and the life after, you would feel it important that they should also know about the silver cord remaining unbroken for a period approximating three and one-half days after the spirit has left the body, and that it must be left undisturbed while the panorama of its past life is being etched into the desire body to serve as arbiter of its life in the invisible world. You would like them to know all about the spirit’s life in purgatory—how the evil acts of its life react upon it as pain to create conscience and keep it from repeating in a later life the acts that caused the suffering. You would have them know how the good acts of life are transmuted into virtues usable in later lives as set forth in our philosophy.

You have no doubt been surprised at the assertion that a knowledge of the great twin laws is unessential. Probably the next assertion that it is immaterial134 whether others learn about the constitution of man as we know it may have scandalized you; and you will undoubtedly feel shocked to have it stated that the Rosicrucian teachings concerning death and the passing of the spirit into the unseen worlds are also comparatively unnecessary to the purpose we aim to accomplish. It really does not matter whether your relatives understand or believe in these teachings. So far as your own passing is concerned, an earnest request that they leave your body quiet and undisturbed for the proper period will probably be carried out to the letter, for people have an almost superstitious regard for such “last requests”; and if any of your friends pass over, you are there with your knowledge and can do the right thing for them. So never mind if they refuse to take up that part of the Rosicrucian teaching.

But the student may say, “If a knowledge of the before mentioned subjects which seems of such practical value is immaterial to advancement, then it follows that study of the Periods, Revolutions, World Globes, etc., is entirely so. That disposes of everything taught in the ”Cosmo,“ and there is nothing left of the Rosicrucian teaching which we have embraced and to which we have pinned our faith!”

Is nothing left? Yes, indeed, ALL IS LEFT, for those things mentioned are only the husks which you must remove to get at the meat in the nut, the kernel of it all. You have read the “Cosmo” many times perhaps.135 Maybe you have studied it and feel proud of your knowledge of the world mystery, but have you ever read the mystery hidden in every line? That is the great and essential teaching, the one teaching to which your friends will respond, if you can find it and give it to them. The “Cosmo” preaches on every page THE GOSPEL OF SERVICE.

For our sakes Deity manifested the universe. The great creative Hierarchies have all been and some of them still are our servants. The luminous star angels, whose fiery bodies we see whirling through space, have worked with us for ages, and in due time Christ came to bring us the spiritual impetus needed at that time. It is also significant in the extreme that in the parable of the last judgment Christ does not say, “Well done, thou great and erudite philosopher, who knoweth the Bible, the Kabala, the ‘Cosmo,’ and all the other mysterious literature which reveals the intricate workings of nature”; but He says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: * * * enter thou into the joy of thy lord. * * * * For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; * * *.” Not one single word about knowledge; the whole emphasis was laid upon faithfulness and service.

There is a deep occult reason for this: service builds the soul body, the glorious wedding garment without which no man can enter into the kingdom of the heavens, occultly termed “The New Galilee,” and it136 does not matter whether we are aware of what is going on, so long as we accomplish the work. Moreover, as the luminous soul body grows in and around a person, this light will teach him or her about the Mysteries without the need of books, and one who is thus God-taught knows more than all the books in the world contain. In due time the inner vision will be opened and the way to the Temple shown. If you want to teach your friends, no matter how skeptical they may be, they will believe you if you preach the gospel of service.

But you must preach by practice. You must become a servant of men yourself if you would have them believe in you. If you want them to follow, you must lead, or they will have the right to question your sincerity. Remember, “ye are a city upon a hill,” and when you make professions they have a right to judge you by your fruits; therefore say little, serve much.

There are many who love to discuss the harmless, peaceful life at dinner, oblivious of the fact that the red roast on the table and the cigar in the mouth dull the effect. There are others who make a god of the stomach and would rather study dietetics than the Bible; they are always ready to buttonhole their friends and discourse upon the latest food fad. I knew one man who was at the head of an esoteric group. His wife was antagonistic to occultism and the meatless diet. He forced her to cook his vegetables at137 home, and told her that if she ever dared to bring meat into his kitchen or contaminate his dishes with it, he would pitch her and the dishes into the street, adding that if she must make a pig of herself she could go and get flesh food in a restaurant.

Is it to be wondered at that she judged the religion by the man and would have none of it? Surely he was to blame, being “his brother’s keeper,” and though this is an extreme case, it makes the lesson more obvious. It is to the everlasting praise of Mahomet that his wife became his first disciple, and it speaks volumes for his kindness and consideration in the home. His is an example we should all do well to follow if we would win our friends to the higher life, for though all religious systems differ outwardly the kernel of all is LOVE.