Rosicrucian Digest, August 1957

8/12/2019 Rosicrucian Digest, August 1957

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O S I C R U C I A N

1957A U G U S T

30c per cop y

d Chemistry Health

f ind ings conce rn ingmn.

V A Vaining man Dignityt it constitutes.

V A V

mbrandt, theracter

trayersaw spirituality in

V A V

MysticismScienceThe Arts

V A V

t t T / f o n t ^ :

um an Per fec tio ninable?

V A V

u t i :

of the East

DIGEST


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AN EXQUISITE DESIGN

For Women1 0 - K a r a t G o l d C r o s sfo r women , inc lud inga l o n g - l a s t i n g g old-f i l led chain 18 inches

in length.

$ 5 . 8 5( I n f l u d e a F e d e r a l

Excise Tax)

orated their cha ract erist ics. I he cross became, then, thesymb ol of this formula. Ea ch ol its bars represented a different polarity ofthis universal duality, and the place ol their unity, where the manifestationoccurred, was usually indicated by a beautiful gem or. later, a red rose,lo wear such a significant symbol today is not only indicative of Rosi-

crucian membership, but reveals the wearers appreciation ol this inspiringmystical law,

\ \ e have designed a gr ac ef ul , ve ry s ma l l Ro sy Cr oss r ml i l em of 10 karatgold surmoun ted w ith a synth etic rub y w hich w ill be the pride of every'wearer. It is less than an rric/i in length. therefore not conspicuous. Manywill admire this beautiful piece ol jewelry. Even member should be aproud possessor ol this emblem. O rd er yours from:

R O S I C R U C I A N S U P P LY B U R E A US A N J O S E , C A L I F O R N I A , U . S. A .

(Each mouth this page is devoted to the exhibition ol student supplies.)


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IN M E D I T AT IO N

This statue in the solitude of its tiichr appears to be contemplating an era beyond its time.It is of the famous philosopher, statesm an, and Rosicrucian, S ir Francis Bacon. Th e statue is

in the quaint and historical Saint Michaels Church in the town of Saint Alhans, England.For some time, it was believed that a crypt in the Church actually contained the remains ofthe emin ent Sir Francis Bacon. Recent excavation of it. however, disclosed noth ing, leavinghis actual burial place a mystery-as was much of his life,

(Photo by AMORC)


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Do You Laugh YourGreatestPowers

Away?

THOSE STRANGE INNER URGES

You have heard the phrase, Laugh,clown, laugh." Well, that fits me perfectly.I'd fret, worry, and try to reason my wayout of difficulties all to no avail; then

I'd have a hunch, a something within thatwo uld tell me to do a certa in thing. I'dlaugh it off wit h a shrug. 1 knew toomuch, I thought, to heed these impressions.We ll, its different now I ve learned touse this inner power, and I no longer makethe mistakes I did, because I do the rightthing at the right time.

This Free Book Will Prove What

Your Mind Can Do !He re is how I got star ted right. I began

to think there must be some inner intelligence with which we were born In fact,I often heard it said there was; but howcould 1 use it, how could 1 make it workfor me daily? T h a t was my problem. Iwanted to learn to direct this inner voice,

master it if I could. Finally, I wrote to tRosicrucians, a world'wide fraternity

progress ive men and wom en , who offerto send me, without obligation, a free bnnentitled The Maste ry of Life.

That book opened a new world to mI advise you to write today and ask fyour copy. It will prove to you wyour mind can demonstrate. Don't through life laughing these mental poweof yours away.

U S E T H I S G I F T C O U P O N

S C R I B E : S . P C .T u t R o s i c r u c i a n s ( A M O R O )S a n J o s e , C a l i f o r n i a

Please send f ree copy ( i f T h e M di te ry


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ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTCOVERS THE WORLDT H E O F F I C I A L M A G A Z I N E O F T H E W O R L D - W I D E R O S I C R U C I A N O R D E R

Vol. X X X V A U G U S T , 1957 No. 7

In Meditation (Frontispiece).... 281Thought of the Month: Attaining HumanFood-Chemistry and Health

Dignity .......... 284288

W ha t Wou ld You Like To Be? 291

292

Time and Space in Hindu Philosophy 294295

Rembrandt, the Character Portrayer 296

Temple Echoes 300

The Dark Cloud 302

306

Behind the Iron Curtain 308

310

313

A Look at Memory ...................... 315317

The Sacred W a y (Illustration) .................. ...........318

Subscription to the Rosicrucian Digest, $3.00 (1 /2/- sterling) per year. Single copies30 cents (2/3 sterling).

Entered as Second-Class M atter a t the Post Office of San Jose, California , under Section1103 of the U . S. Postal A c t of Oc t. 3, 1917.

Changes of address must reach us by the first of the month preceding date of issue.

Statements made in this publication are not the official expression of the organization orits officers unless stated to be official communications.

Published Monthly by the Supreme Council of

Rosicrucian Park T HE R O S IC R U C I A N O R D E R A M O R C

EDITOR: Frances Vejtasa

San Jose, California

The Purpose of the Rosicrucian Order T h e R o s i c r u c i a n O r d e r, e x i s t i n g i n a l l c i v i l i z e d l a n d s , i s a n o n s e c t a r i a n f r a t e r n a l b o d y o f m e n

a n d w o m e n d e v o t e d t o t h e i n v e s t ig a t i o n , s t u d y, a n d p r a c t ic a l a p p l ic a t io n o f n a t u r a l a n d s p i r i tu a ll a w s . T h e p u r p o s e o f t h e o rg a n i z a t i o n i s t o e n a b l e a ll t o l iv e in h a r m o n y w i t h t h e c r e a t i v e , c o ns t r u c t i v e C o s m i c f o r c e s f o r t h e a t t a i n m e n t o f h e a l t h , h a p p i n e s s , a n d p e a c e. T h e O r d e r i s i n t e rn a t i o n a l l y k n o w n a s " A M O R C ( a n a b b r e v i a t i o n ) , a n d t h e A .M . O . R .C . i n A m e r i c a a n d a l l o t h e rl a n d s c o n s t i t u t e s t h e o n l y f o r m o f R o s i c r u c i a n a c t i v i t i e s u n i t e d i n o n e b o d y. T h e A . M . O .R . C . d o e sn o t s e l l i t s t e a c h i n g s . I t g i v e s t h e m f r e e l y t o a ff i l ia t e d m e m b e r s t o g e t h e r w i t h m a n y o t h e r b e n e f it s .F o r c o m p l e t e in f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e b e n e f it s a n d a d v a n t a g e s o f R o s i c r u c i a n a s s o c i a ti o n , w r i t e al e t t e r t o t h e a d d r e s s b e l o w, a n d a s k f o r t h e f r e e b o o k , The M a s t e r y o f I - if e . A d d r e s s S c r i b eS. P. C., Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, San Jose, Cal ifornia , U. S. A. (Cable Ad dress: AMORCO )

Copyrig ht, 1957, by the Supreme Grand Lo dge of AM O RC , In c. All rights reserved.


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T H E

THOUGHT OF THE MONTHATTAINING HUMAN DIGNITY

By THE 1MPERATOR

I

1c

T iiF.nn is considerable reference today to the ex pression sem antics. Theword refers to a uniquescience, which constitutesthe exploration for themeaning of words. Thereis a vast distinction between the or ig in of

words, their roots, and the meaningihey convey. M any of us began learning words during childhood for whichwe felt no intimacy. W e never really

per so na lly arr iv ed at th e ir mea ningthroug h our own thought. As a ma tter of custom, we were obliged to usewords that were handed down to usin connection with cer tain expressions.Actually it was not until much laterin life that the ideas about these wordstook form in our minds. It was thenthat they came to have a real significance. Th ere are m any words todaythat remain to us as empty expressions.The most we can say is that they helpround out a sentence or phrase because perhaps we know of nothingmore appropriate to put in their place.

Digni ty is an excellent example ofthe words whose meanings we have notfully realized. If we associate the ww d

poise with that of dignity, the latterthen becomes more comprehensible.We attribute poise to an individual

bo th in th e physica l and in the men ia lsense. Let us first consider poise fromthe physica l point of view'. W e say

T h e someone has physical poise. W hen Ros ic rucian ana lyze ihe idea or the impression

that gave nse to that remark, we find*est tha t w hat we m ean is tha t the indi-

A ugust vidual has a coordination of his nat-1957 ur al functions. Such a person controls

w ith ease his bodily movements. Forexample, lie does not stumble over hisfeet as he walks. W he n he moves hishands and arms, they are co-ordinatedwith some purpose in mind. The phy sical actions of the individual are directand without lost motion. In effect, then,there is a rhythmic movement to all hisac tions.

Pcise, in the physical sense, alsotakes into consideration the socially accepted standard s. W e have become accustomed to expect a certain behaviorfrom people under various conditions.A man who slouches when circumstances require him to stand erect lacks

poise. W hen one speaks boisterouslywhen he should be calm, again, it issaid, that he lacks poise.

In the mental realm, dignity or poise is also a m att er of co-ordinationof the men tal faculties. Th e mentallyor intellectually dignified person dis

plays sel f-control. There is a co ord in ation between his will and emotions.Such a person reveals mastery of hisemotions at almost all times. He will,of course, have the same emotional responses as everyone else, but he willnot sacrifice his reason and good judgment to them.

We may use as an analogy a suddenfire in a public place. The intellectually poised person rises to the situationinstead of being swept away by it. Itwill be noted ihat he displays no panic.He does nut allow fear to submergehis judgmen t. He will try to think bisway out of emergency situations. Infact, the person of intellectual dignitymeets new situations in a rational way.He w ill never accept blind tradition, nomatter how hoary with age it may be


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r how many persons may suhscribe tohe tradition. The intellectu ally poisederson is never suspicious of anyth in gust because it is new. Furthe rmo re,e will not exhibit hostility toward

hings or conditions just because theyre unfamiliar to him.Dignity, however, goes beyond the

mere co-ordination of our limbs andaculties. Dig nity is far more thannes rising above phys ical or m ent alwkwardness. It includes our havinghe conception of certain relations beween ourselves and reality. Dign ityequires that we find the real relaonship which exists between ourelves, on the one hand, and the multiude of things we experience in life onhe other. To leave the experiences of

fe unexplained, without any attempto fit them into a satisfactory pattern, to be lacking in human dignity.fter all, as h um an beings, we attribu te

o ourselves a superiority extendingver all other manifestations of life.o a great extent, this superiorityhich we attribute to ourselves is jusfied. W e can accomplish w hat nother anim al can. W e have by the usef our minds overcome our generally

nferior periphe ral senses. T he fleetess of the lower animals, the exceponal keenness of their senses, are asought in comparison with the naturalowers which we, as hum ans, ca n com

mand at will.We acknowledge that our distinction

n the animal world is found in our reater intellect. In fact, most of usre not willing to be classified as anials with unique power. Rather, were fe r to be set apart , to be th ought ofs uniquely and specially created. For

man, then, to live like an animal isuly beneath hum an dignity. It deacts from that halo of importance,

hat superiority, which he attributes toimself. If dign ity is poise, the n toall short of a standard of esteem iso be off balance. It is a lack of cordination of our sense of values.

Generally, animals simply respondo their environm ent. Th ey are eitherepelled by the things of their immedite world or they are drawn to them.

Whatever of their surroundings isea su rable , an im als wil l re adil y ac

ept. T ha t which is pain ful they willeadily reject, retreat, or flee from.

An imals ev entua lly become conditionedto persisting similarities. In otherwords, the animal requires a kind of

behav io r response to his en vironm en t.This behavior, after many generations, becomes so well es tabl ished as to bewhat we call instinct. But. homo sapiens, man, has a creative potential. He has

been endo wed w ith and has developedthe faculty of creating a life within alife. H e can tak e his existence andmake something special of it. Consciousexistence has been given unto man torealize that he is and that his surround ings are. This conscious existence has n ot been one of m an s choosing. Th e realities, however, th at shalloccupy his consciousness, the kinds ofexperience that he will have, to a great

extent lie within the province of m an swill and mind. He ma y use his environment for an end that transcendsthe primitive urge to but merely live.

M e t a p h y a i e a

Metaphysics is an excellent exampleof this creating of a m ental life. It

prov ides th e opportunity fo r m an toattain the full stature of his highlydeveloped faculties. Th roug h m eta

ph ys ics, m an m ay re al ize th e dig nityof his self-consciousness. M etaphy sicshad its inception in the human notionof time. M an at first became consciousof a sequence of events. To the hu m anmind, occurrences and experiences arenot endless. Th ey seem to go throug ha transition or change. Each occurrence or experience is more or less selfcontained . Like a link in a chain, eachexperience seems to have a duration oran interval of its own.

W hat we call now in time are thoseexperiences in which the self seems to

part ic ip ate ac tively. Now is th e stateof consciousness which the realizationof self shares equally with all the other realities experienced. Ou r im pressions of other things become as vividas the knowledge that we exist.

W hat w e refer to as the past is actually a divided experience. T he memory impressions, the realities of whichwe were conscious, are less vivid thanany immediate objective experience. Inthat phase of consciousness called the

past, memory impressions are also lessvivid than the realization which wehave of ourselves. Th ese less forceful


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The Rosicrucian Digest August

1957

impressions give rise in consciousnessto the notion or concept of the past.

W hat we call the fu tu re is anotherstate of contrast. It is exceedingly negative in comparison to either the stateof the past or of the present. Th e future in consciousness stands as darknessdoes to the light. In oth er words, the

future is the absence of experience andof impressions. It, therefore, assumesa kind of negative reality to our minds,the future being an existence of whichas yet nothing is realized.

F i r a t Ct tumem

The flow of experiences our mindsinterp ret as being interrupte d. Thereappears to be a series of beginnings andendings of events and from these wederive the idea of causes and effectsThis idea of causation man has cometo apply universally. He ha s appliedthis notion of causes to realms that he

beyond his im media te life. W hen m andoes this in his thinking, he has entered the field of meta physics. Hismind is then carrying him into therealm of ontology, the nature of being,and a con sideration of first causes. Inmetaphysics, the individual expresseshimself in accordance with his experiences and his power of self-analysis.

The early stage of this thought aboutfirst causes, the French philosopher,Auguste Comte, referred to as theological. It began w ith m an s conceivingall things as being animated, alive.Then it advanced to fetishism, thethought that objects were infused withsupernatural power under certain circumstances. It further advanced to

polythe ism, th e be lie f tha t th ere are avariety of gods who prevail over nature. The highest point of this theological stage is the concept of a single

persona l deity as a sovereign ru le r.The next step beyond theology be

gan the true nature of metaphysics.It was the idea of universalism and all-

pervad in g mind. I t was th e be lief ina teleological cause, a rational causelying behind the whole Cosmic structure, giving it organization, movementand purpose. The succeeding step made by m an in his co ns iderat ion of firs tcauses is that rationalism which wecall science. Science concerns itself exclusively with phenom ena. It is devoted to an analysis and an observation of the phenomena of natu re. In

pr incip le , science disregards any speculation about the absolute and the essence of things. It conceives tha t kno wledge of the actual first causesif anyis beyond hum an perception. But, foall this avowed skepticism, science kep

proving th e unit y of al l tha t it had discovered. By its objective researches, i

kept revealing that a combining andself-adjusting force exists throughounature.

Science demonstrated that there is quality in all phenomena which it observed that amounts to a striving to beand a persistence. Th is persistence andcontinual adjustment suggests consciousness or a universal will prevailingthroughout, as Schopenhauer said. M atter and energy are constantly changing, the one into the other. Throughouthis eternal change, there is implied akind of inherent urge to manifest incertain ways, a consistency that cannot be denied. Th us science unw ittingly, in its research and revelationsconfirms the early postulations ometap hysics. Instea d of sciences tra nscending metaphysics today, it, in factis returning to it with this approachIt is demonstrating the metaphysicaconcept of first causes and unity,

I m b s o f St a t u r e

We see, therefore, that it is beneathhuman dignity for man not to givtho ug ht to his Cosmic relations. Theatheist, the irreligious individual, thopponents of metaphysics, have lostheir stature as hum an beings Theyhave become not unlike the lesser animals. They deny tha t faculty of m anwhich may inquire into the law odevelopment throughout the universeIt is not just a question of whether weshould believe in the reality of timeIt is not a question of whether we believe there is such a thing as a fixed

pas t, pre se nt , and fu tu re . Rather , iis a matter of having an open mindabout the dependence of all things uponone anoth er. No thing is cosmicallysuperior or ultimate; all things sharthe one consciousness of being.

Which of these conceptions of mansCosmic relation ship is right? Is thereunderlying all a personal god, an individual being? Or is the re a universaconsciousness which is con tinua lly striving and manifesting the all? Perhap


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either of these views, no matter howationally we can express them, contitutes absolute truth . As the philoso-iher Kant said, we are too conditioned

by th e lim its of th e hum an m in d tombrace the whole Cosmic by eitherhe means of reason or intuition. W e

may liken ourselves to the fable of thehree blind men coming across an elehant. One of th em feels th e elephant's

runk, another, its leg, and the third,ts ear. Each then describes the elehant diffe re nt ly , his descrip tion be ing

n accordance with that portion of itsnatom y which he has touched. So it is

w ith our concepts of first causes. Eachf us is satisfied within the limits ofis experience and growth of consciousess and comprehension. It is not whateality is that matters, hut that whichmo men tarily satisfies the hum an yearnng to be one with the whole Cosmic.

The human mind gives rise to anther notion in the realm of metahysics . I t is th e not ion of ends. Thiss technically called the doctrine ofschatology. Each appa ren t beginninguggests its opposite, that is, a terminaion or an end. In ex periencing eventsnd conditions, they seem to us to end

when certain changes in them occur.hilosophically, it can be argued thathere is neither beginning nor end toeality. However, the idea of ends perists with m an. It is common to theature of man's thought.

The transition of this life implies aefinite end to our mortal existence.

We cannot escape this notion. Associted with this idea of end or death,here arises another idea, that of anther beginning, a new life. The wordfe in reference to what follows deatheems to be a misnom er. It would apear pre fe ra ble to use th e word exist

nce, or the phrase continuation of eality; for life after death implies tooittle a change from this one to contitute a real beginning. Th e word life uggests that there will be a continution of all those attributes which weave come to associate with our earthy existence, a continuation of thehings we experience here. W e justify

m an s various notions of a first causepon the grounds of his gradually exandin g consciousness . In oth er words,

we say tiiere are truly no false gods,

or human understanding is not per

fect. Likewise, then th ere is no falseexistence af ter his life. All conceptsabout it also are relative.

Man may believe that mortal life isfollowed by a higher existence or astate parallel to this one; or he may

pre fe r to be lieve th a t afte r death th e pers onali ty is disem bodied but continues to retain a memory of this life.Then, again, man may think of merelyself-consciousness a lone journeyingthrough eternity. M an may perhapsconceive that the self will realize itselfupon a plane of consciousness that will provide new and exa lte d experiencesafter death. To others, the future existence may be conceived as an im

persona l m erg in g of th e self in to Cosmic consciousness like a drop of waterentering the sea, the drop not actuallychanging its environment and its limited expression. It but returns to thesea, the greater, the universal, manifestation of which it is a part. Thedrop, in returning to the sea, has notlost itself. Rather, it has taken to itself the greater manifestation of itskind. For analogy, man is not lostwhen he becomes a part of society. Heis greater in the collective expressionthan he could ever be as an individual.

In conclusion it is necessary for each

of us, in the furtherance of our hum an dignity, to do the following: W eshould explore and exercise fully ourm ental faculties. It is necessary to ex

pand our aw aren ess of self. W e m us tnot think of self just as an entity tyingus fast to the Cosmic. M an m ust alsorealize self as a measuring rod of allthat existence of which he is capableof discerning. Self m ust be the smallend of the telescope through which weview that greater end, the Cosmic.

We must come to realize, as that

school of philosophy known as the Utilitarians declared, that all knowledgemust not be evaluated just in termsof individual advancem ent. Know ledge, whether derived through thechannels of philosophy or science, m ust be co nsidered in th e light of th e welfa re of all society. To do less is todeny the higher consciousness of our

beings. W e become less Go dlike an d,therefore, less hum an. W hat m en call

soul is of infinity, but the expression ofits Cosmic qualities is wholly the re

sponsibility and dignity of man.


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11/44

and teeth building, helps fight inflammation.

So, although the facts of body-chem-istry and its relation to food do notndicate that we should give up the

eating of citrus, it does perhaps sug

gest that we should apply the wisdomof moderation.An interesting example of how chem

stry can limit the nutritional value ofa food concerns spinach. It is knownhat this highly praised vegetable conains oxalic acid which combines with

calcium to form a salt that can beneither completely absorbed nor reained.

Still, it does not seem reasonable tocast this excellent source of vitaminsand m inerals comp letely aside. Prob

ably, though, it would be wise for persons who eat considerable spinach, orother foods containing oxalic acid, tosupplement their diets with additionalcalcium. Persons w ith know n calciumdeficiencies might do well to substituteo t h e r l e a f y g r e e n v e g e t a b l e s f o rspinach.

Another food that has often held thescientific limelight in regard to body-chem istry is fat. Doctors have longpoin ted an accu sing finger at it as th ecause of too much cholesterol in theblood. It is known th at, in m any cases,cholesterol blocks the blood passagesand therefore causes coronary thrombosis. Eate n in g re at am ounts in connection with an imbalanced diet, thiss undoubtedly true.

But the recent experiments of Dr.F. A. Kummerow of the University ofllinois, tend to prove that ample fat

may be eaten safely if it is combinedwith a sufficient ingestion of protein.According to the experiments, not themere intake of fat, but the presence oft in the body in the absence of ade

quate protein, is the true cholesterol-producing cond ition .A H arvard nutritionist, Dr. Frederick

Stare, says that fats must be presentn the body for perfect vitamin assimlation. Fats also provide quick sources

of energy and they provide importantatty acids. So, for these reasons, pe rons on reducing diets should not give

up fats altogether, nor should any peron for tha t matter. In view of modernoncepts of body-chemistry, the person

anxious to lose weight, is being advised

to eat moderately, but not to give upcompletely any particular food. Exercise is also advised, especially walking.Exercise is necessary to convert nutrien ts into muscle protein. Com pletely sedentary persons, for this reason,

never receive full nutritional valuefrom the food they eat.There also are chemicals that alone

and in small amounts are not considered to be especially harmful to man.Combined in his system, and actedupon by the internal chemists of the

bo dy , how ev er , th ey m ay produce disastrous effects. Poly ethylen e sorbitanmonlaurate is a chemical used in emulsifying and extending the shelf-life ofsome bread. Alone, outside the body,it is just another chemical preservative,

with divided opinions as to whether itis dangerous when used in limitedamo unts in hum an foods. But a teamof researchers at the University of Chicago are discovering w ha t happens afterit combines in a living system.

Experimenting on guinea pigs, theyobserved that the animals which received a 5 percent additive of thischemical in their food began absorbingfar more iron than a group which received none. Afte r twen ty-fou r hoursthe first group assimilated 60 percentof the radioactive iron. Th e secondgroup absorbed only 20 percent.

The scientists conducting the experiment logically have expressed concern.They wonder if this chemical preservative may not have similar effects onhumans. If it is accumulative in the

body, it could eventu ally cause direresults.

Absorption of too much iron in humans causes a disease named hemochromatosis. Th is disease is evidenced by th e sk in tu rn in g bro w n an d bydam age to the pancreas. It is also possible that it may contribute to diabetesand cirrhosis (hardening) of the liver.

Agreement is becoming more andmore general among nutritionists thatchemical preservatives are unhealthy.

Salt is another substance which is being stud ied by m en of science. It isknown today that salt is essential toalmost all body functions. However,Dr. George Meeneeley of Nashville,Tennessee, reported to the AmericanCollege of Biology that animal experiments showed that hypertension went


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T h e Rosicr uci an

Digest August

1957

up in relation to salt intake. Tw o otherdoctors, Lewis K. Dahl and R. A. Love,of Brookhaven National Laboratory,conducted an experiment which leadsthem to believe that a high salt diet, be gu n early in life and kep t up , m ay be one causa tiv e fa ctor of high blood pressure (h ypertensio n). In a su rveyof 1,346 persons placed on various saltdiets only one person out of the 135on low-salt diet developed symptomsof hypertension.

In view of this, and with knowledgeof combining factors such as discussedin this article, science is presently attempting to discover a chemical whichwill counteract the high-blood pressurefactor in salt. It is possible tha t potassium chloride will prove efficacious,researchers say.

Probably our attitude toward the eating of salt should be guided by the results of experiments conducted by Milo

Hastings, Physical Culture ResearchLaboratory, Broadway, New York. Hisexperiments with animals proved thattoo mu ch salt caused them to deteriorate

physica lly; a very small a m ount causedthem to thrive. M edical doctors accuseexcessive use of salt as the cause ofmany ailments from cancer to weakened kidneys. Conclusive expe rime ntalevidence is still forthcoming. Bu t theaccepted opinion is that, amo ng healthy

persons, a li tt le salt is benefic ial andth at too m uch is dangerous. This isanother illustration of the importanceof regulating the amounts of food weeat, as well as its type and quality.

It is important to remember thatfoods we eat may have some qualitiesthat affect us adversely and others thatrea ct favorably. Indiv idua ls differ inthis regard . For exam ple, an obese person who drinks whole milk would possibly be adversely affected by the highfat content, but favorably affected Bythe calcium and other minerals andvitamins. A solution here wo uld befor the overweight individual to drinkskim m ilt. In this way he would continue to ingest the health factors heneeded and would avoid those whichwere keeping him too heavy. His required fat could come from less concentrated sources.

In choosing our foods we must care

fully weigh and balance our own personal internal chemistry with the foodwe intend to combine in our system.Elements of nutrition are interdependent; they never work alone. And theyalways work in a manner peculiar toeach indiv idual body-laboratory. It isonly by proper food combinations, andharmonious internal response which perm its as simila tio n w ithout in ju ry ,that true nutrition comes about.

A V

tStzuncjiz H3oati in tfizroi

Th e b e are hundreds whohave testified to havingseen peculiar ly shaped boats w hich hav e flownout of this region [nearMt. Shasta] high in theair over the hills and valleys of California andhave been seen by others

to come on to the waters of the PacificOcean at the shore and then continueout on the seas as vessels. Sim ilar boatshave been seen by seamen on the highseas, and others have seen these boatsrise again in the air and go upon theland of some of the islands of the Pa

l 290]

cific. Others have seen these peculiarvessels as far north as the AleutianIslands.

Only recently [1931] a group of persons play in g golf on one of the golflinks of California near the foothills ofthe Sierra N evada rang e saw a peculiar,silverlike vessel rise in the air and floatover the mountaintops and disappear.It was unlike any airship that has ever been seen and th ere was ab so lu tely nonoise emanating from it to indicatethat it was moved by a motor of anykind.

from th e book Lemuria, the Lo st Con tinen t of the Pacific.


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^Wfiat Woufd L/ou J 2ihz, to $,?By L y n e t t e D u r a n d , age 16

E each have our momentw h e n t h e t h o u g h t o fwhat would you like to

be? pops up wit h su ddenness.

Its like a storm thatarrives without warning.Th e thoug ht even is spasmodicwithout reason.

or when truth hits the mind with theact that one must reach the future fullf some aim in life, it is then that theky seems to burst open with clouds ofarknessand fear appears.

There are many goals in life for oneo strive toward, but knowing what tohoose is knowledge.

Can a person become truly happy dong that which appears dull or unineresting? Can one do his or her besty ju st liv ing to exist?

Having a good time dancing, goingeady, dating or just dreaming is allart of a teen-a gers life . But is this

he road leading to a career of selfupport? Sometimes I ask m yse lf thisuestion. I find tha t without a norm aleen-agers desires I am not a part ofhis time. Yet, will my f ut ur e De for

m ulating while I am doing these things?I am not a judge of todays youth,

or I am one. I wa nt to have fun ; Iwant to follow in the pattern of todays

outh, but will a foundation that Iwant so deeply be laid for the future?

To be a normal teen-ager one mustve a happy unworried age.I listen to the high school students

oicing an opinion on T.V. or on theadio, and I marvel at the answers anduestions given. I wond er if theseeen-agers devote time to theory daily.

wonder if they enjoy fun in theariety offered to them in todaysving.

I know what I would like to he, butm I strong enough to carry through

my desires?

So often we hear of the professionstoward which our parents would liketo have us strive. So often we silentlysay that our parents do not know ourinner hearts and do not understandour desires.

Are they wrong in all they believe?Is it the tee n-ag ers mistake? Could both wo rk ou t a plan?

I believe this to be so if lime allowsthe cost of spare moments.

W ha t would you really like to be?Is it fa m e that is coming from this

answ er? Is it mo ney? Social standing?What?

I ask m yself this honest question, bu tI doubt if I can give an honest answeroutw ardly. Can I give it to myself ?I believe I can. For I do w an t fame orI would not work such long hours toturn out a painting, nor would I singin a closed room as practice, in ordertha t I might be judged a singer. Do Iw an t money ? Of course, I do. I wan tthe better things life has to offer fromhaving money. W ha t about socialstanding? This is a mu st if youth is totake over a civilized country and helpkeep peace. All this I wa nt. Also, Iw ant an education. Can I have the realteen-agers life and be or become whatI want to be?

I

Much time is given to thought before the high school or the college student finds the satisfying answer. Youthtravels onward with determination asthe youth of yesterday has alreadyseen.


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1957

A scendi ng the M ount ai n By D r . H. S p e n c e r L e w i s , F.R.G.

(From Ros icrucian Digest , May 1933)

Since thousands of readers of the Rosicrucian Dige st have no t read many of the articles by our late Im perator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, we adopted the edi tor ial policy of publishingeach month one of his outstanding articles, so that his thoughts would continue to residewithin the pages of this publication.

d o n o t need to reminds tudents o f m ys t i c i smand esoteric philosophythat the greatest attainment and the highest illumination has alwayscome to the spirituallyminded when they havefound opportunity to as

cend the mountain of illumination anddwell in attunement with the Cosmic.

Reference to the mountain and theascension can be found in all the ancient scriptural writings, and it is onlythe untrained and unthinking mindthat interprets these references as pertaining to a physical mountain with a phy sica l as cent of th e phy sica l body.T he m o u n ta in of i lluminationof

peace, harm ony, love, an d unders ta ndingmay be found everywhere at anytime. But there a re occasions in ourlives when we need more than at anyother time the spiritual benefit andeven the physical benefit of ascendingthe mountain.

It appears to me from all of the signsin the heavens, and the signs of thetimes which are quite evident to theanalytical mind, that the world in general, and the people of the Westernworld especially, including the major part of Europ e, are re ady fo r an d inneed of a journey to the mountaintop.

Here in North America and in mo par ts of Europ e, gre at Cosmic lightare revealing paths that lead to mountaintops, and which afford us everurge and inspiration to rise to greaheights in meditation and analysisstudy, and preparation.

The world is fortunate in having athe present time certain great leaderwho are undoubtedly working undeCosmic direction even though they miinterpret or misunderstand some of thinspiring thoughts that come to themIn their attempt to interpret and worout that which seems the proper thinto do, they may be permitting thei

perso nal ego to hav e too much swayThey may be attempting to glorify thmaterial physical self because of itsuccess in accomplishing great thingsBut the truth is that these leadersthese channels and guides througwhich great changes are being madeare Cosmic workers. Th ey are carrying out to the best of their ability thimpulses of the universal mind, anthe urges of the Christ Consciousness.

It is a time when all nations cominto the beneficent aid of these greaworkers should rise in their spirituamoral, and ethical thinking and ascenthe mountaintop for illumination anunderstanding . W ha t we need is a diferent viewpoint of life, a broader an


15/44

more universal view of the distant horizon, and of the intervening hiUs andvalleys. "We need to rise above the commonplace things tha t surroun d us, pressin upon us, and limit us in so manyways. We need to be lifted up wherewe are above these obstacles, and canlook down and see them in their truerelationship to all other things of amaterial nature.

We in the Western world, and mostof the thinking people of the civilizednations, have been too oppressed by theself-instituted limitations of environment. We have made our individualdaily occupations, our own neighboring communities, our homes, cities, andtowns, our great world, instead of realizing that first and foremost we are

citizens of the universe, and, secondly,children of a universal family underthe fatherhood of God.

I m m e d i a t e N e e d

We must ascend the mountain andlift ourselves into the greater light of

broad er understan din g, an d at th e sam etime free ourselves from the immediatecontacts which ham per our comprehension of what is actually taking place.

We need a greater faith, or a greateramount of faith, and we need new

hope, and understanding. W e need es pecially to real ize that with God allthings are possible. Our comprehensionof the miracles of Divinity is limitedand colored by the facts and figures ofstatisticians, economists, political ex

perts , an d false prop he ts. W e are told by thes e th at it will ta ke a defini tenumber of years for certain economicalchanges to be made, and that not untilcertain other problems are slowlyworked out can we expect any of thegreat changes that we have hoped for.

We are impressed falsely with theideas that manmade institutions, sys

tems, and schemes are the only tilingswhich will bring about the greatchanges required, and that these willtake time, effort, and slow procedure.But now and then some sudden andinspired act on the part of a rulerworks a miracle in the solving of someof our problems, and we see that thestatements of the economists and prophets have not taken into considerationthe power of Cosmic inspiration.

We must discover through illumination, meditation, and Cosmic attune-ment that God can bring about revolutions as well as evolutions in the affairsof man without suffering and destruction, if man will lift himself up to at-tunement with the Cosmic plans, andco-operate with them. Th e world today is on the verge of many newcycles a nd m any new periods of m ightychanges. In bring ing these about, theCosmic forces must drag the heavy loadof ignorance, superstition, and doubt.In trying to lift mankind up to a greater height the Cosmic finds that menhave chained themselves fast to greatweights that are false, unreliable, untrue, and unnecessary. Until man freeshimself from these shackles, and shakeshimself loose from false beliefs, theCosmic has difficulty in lifting the individual to the heights that are possible.

Let us free ourselves, therefore, occasionally, and lift ourselves up to the topof the mountain for inspiration and a bet ter an d greate r viewpoin t of life. Indoing this we will be preparing ourselves for the mighty changes that aretaking place, we will help to bringthem about. Love, faith, hope, and tolerance toward all individuals, with adetermination to see the golden rule

pu t in to pract ice once ag ain, will bringabout the mighty improvements thatare easily foreseen at this time in theevolution of peoples and countries.

V L V

SHARE YOUR COPYAfter you have finished reading your copy of the Rosicrucian Digest, lend it to a

friend. Refer him to an article which is related to some subject of curre nt pop ularinterest. He will enjoy ano ther viewpoint or approach to the subject.


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1957

H Jems an d


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bodies having differe nt ra te s of movemen t. W e start in surprise on hearingthat two occurrences which are simultaneous for one witness will appear tohave a lapse of duration for another.For instance, when there occurs a flashof lightning and a sound, if anyonewere standing at the place of theclouds, the two events would appear tohave occurred simultaneously. However, for a man on the earth the flashof light would appear first and thesound would be heard later, becauselight travels faster than sound.

Time shortens during pleasant affairs and increases in the period ofpain fu l hours. There fo re , tim e is no ta fact but a relation. Throughout mental consciousness, we break up the

space-time product into space and time.Our thoughts have become space-timeboun d and ca n get no grip on conceptsoutside space and time.

When we are able to see or feel ourselves in the fourth dimension of ourworld, we see that the world of threedimensions does not really exist andhas never existed. Therefore, the Vedas say: Th e world is M ay a" an illusion.It is mind stuff created by the mind.

V i

In the Brahm ab indu Upanishad, Verse2, it is stated manah ava mamisyanam karanam bandhan moxyaho. Mindalone is the cause of our freedom andour servitude. Lord Krishna says in theGita: Hand over thine mind to me.Some wise poet has said, Colour is notin the rose but in our senses. Thewhiteness of a teacup in the sunlightis a property of the illumination rathertha n of the substance itself. Th e stuffof the world in ordinary mans life ismind -stuff. Its values are created bythe mind.

Relativity can be found in the Ralkand where Shree Ram appears to bedifferent to different observers at thetime of breaking the bow before m arriage.

In Shree Hhagvat, Shri Krishna ap pears to be diffe re nt to diffe rent observers at the time when he kills Kansa.In the Gita, this is found in Chap. II,Verse 69, and in Chap. Ill, Verse 17.In M andukya Upamshada there isfound the greatest force.

In the preparation of this article,the author is heavily indebted to theworks of Paul Hrunton and SwamiMadhav Tirthas.

dan bfou xjitain Ok a. L.A.S., a salesman,contributes the following

pe rsona l ex pe rien ce fo rwhich he vouches and iswilling to verify:

Some years ago, I wasin specialty sales work.In a certain Pennsylvania town, seventeen

amilies ordered merchandise to be de-ivered and paid for later. Du e to an

emergency, I was suddenly called awaywithout the opportunity either of delivering the merchandise or of notifying the families of my departure.

A year later while driving to NewYork City, I was forced to stop in thissame Pennsylvania town because of asevere snowstorm. It was noon an d Iwe nt to a cafe for lunch. As I sat inthe cafe, I reviewed in my mind eachof those seventeen families to whom I

n f L :

had sold merchandise a year before.When the storm abated, I continuedmy journey.

In a months time, I was back in thistown for the third time and decidedto look up those seventeen families. Atthe first home, I was met with thewords: You know, we were thinkingof you while we were eating the noonmeal. It was the day of the big snowstorm.

At the next home, the greeting wassimilar: We were talking about vouthe other day, wondering what hadever happened to you. W hen wastha t? I asked. Oh, at noon on theday of the big snowstorm. Ev ery family of the seventeen made a like report.They had the thought of me on adefinite day (the big snowstorm) andat a definite hour (noon). Can youexplain it?


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1957

Rem brand t , t he Char act er Port ray er B y B e n F i n g e r , J r .

t has always been theultimate ideal of greatart to reach beyond physical features, and to rev ea l c h a r a c t e r. R em brandt van Rijn, th egreat maste r of the D utchschool of painting, su perb ly re al ized th is ideal.

As Jacques Maritain remarks, Thismodem world of ours . . . is sick witha repressed, brutally frustrated longingfor unity, beauty, and poetry.* Wecan derive a needed therapy from theuniversal spiritual quality of the artof Rembrandt.

The artistic blossoming of 17th-century Holland was prepared for by that

countrys long, brave struggle for religious freedom. Ho lland, having es poused th e cause of th e religious Reformation, gained her independencefrom absolutist Spain, and swiftly recovered from the exhausting struggleto become one of the Great Powers oftha t centu ry. The re was vigorousDutch enterprise in various parts of theworld, and prosperity supplied the precondition for Hollands esthetic flowering. The well-to-do encouraged art by

purc hasin g it. Few co un trie s th e sizeof Holland have ever had so many

pain te rs of th e firs t orde r. T he Age ofRembrandt was the most brilliant period of Dutch art, and he surpassed allhis contemporaries.

The master of art was a middle-classDutchm an. His imm ediate ancestorswe re in the flour business, bu t his stock-in-trade consisted of a brush, a few pig

* Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry

me nts mix ed w ith oil, a she et of canvas,and that mysterious something whichwe call genius. He was not like other

people. A fr ie nd once foun d him dra wing pictures outdoors w hen his city wasunder heavy bombardment. Rembrandtdidnt know there was a war going on.At one period, the artist painted forweeks at a stretch, without removinghis clothes. Rembrandt was not achurchgoer, he spent money like water,and he offended the Calvinistic moralstandards of the society he lived in.He died bankrupt, deserted by hisfashionable contemporaries, but theyare remembered only because he pain te d them .

This inspired genius made his pic

tures live, refusing to slant them tothe conventional taste of his contem po ra ries . H e re alize d th a t it was moreimportant to satisfy his inner selfhoodthan to succeed by the worlds narrowstandards. Like all the great innov ators of history, he was misunderstood.But he created greatly, even when hedrew sketches on the backs of his un

paid bil ls.Today we recognize Rembrandt as a

true hero of art, the magician of lightand shade, whose creations convey them ystical au ra of value. Th e two mostsignificant features of a Rembrandt

port ra it are th e face an d ha nds of thesitter. These luminous phenomenaemerge out of a mass of shadow, andyet the artist retains a full sense ofexistence in shadow. H e expresses deepfeelings, and achieves the most meaningful spiritual expression, by the contrast of light and shade.


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Sorrow is a necessary element of life,contributing toward the perfection ofthe whole, like those dark places inRem brandts paintings which mak e possible the highlights. Th at liquid lum inosity whicn we call the Rembrandt

Light makes the figure stand out fromits background as though completelysurrounded by light. But it is morethan a technical formula. The bath ofgold which bathes the figure has asubtle interpretive quality, and assumes the character of an elusive spiritual radiance. As He ndrik van Loonnotes, Rembrandt knew that darknessis merely another form of light andthat every color is just as much subjectto the law of vibrations as the soundof a note played on a violin.

L i t e o l t h e G en i u s

Rembrandt van Rijn came of a business family, in quiet, provincial Leyden. Van Rijn signifies that the familymill stood on the banks of the oldRhine. Rembrandts brothers and sisters were just average youngsters, andhe alone liked to draw and paint. Practice had not yet given him the firmnessof line and mastery of color for whichhe is famous. His ma tter-of-fact fathersaw only that he had a smart son, sohe encouraged him to become a lawyer.Rembrandt dutifully went through theLatin School, and then enrolled as astudent at the University of Leyden.

But the call of art could not bedenied. Young Re m brandt could notderive from textbooks the kind of education he wanted. He served an eagerappren t icesh ip under the pa in te r sSw anenburch and Lastman . At first,he used color somewhat timidly, buthis work was good enough to win attention in prosperous Am sterdam. Hemoved there about 1631, and immediately ranked as the first portrait painter of the city. He created portra its, noteffigies. Big commissions came his way,and pupils flocked to him.

Rembrandt created masterpieces. TheLesson in A nato m y is a life-sized featof portraitureexpressive, and superbin composition. T he color is quiet, thebru sh -h andling precise. Here is a p recious example of three-dimensionalspace composition. Simeon in the Temple manifests a magical play of subtlecolor, and a rare exhibition of lumi

nous atmosphere. Th e background isveiled in mystery, while concentratedlight falls on the chief figures. Thetwo small pictures of The Philosopher are also ricn in mysterious effect. Theyare great in conception, and executed

with delicacy.In 1634, Rembrandt married pretty,fair-haired Saskia van Uijlenburgh.She belonged to a family of high social

position, w hic h had seen better days bu t stil l m ain ta in ed the pose of wea lth.Her brothers and cousins borrowedmoney from Rembrandt for hopelesscomm ercial ventures. Th e artist triedto keep up with a show-off family. Hereceived large sums for his pictures,

but he had to borrow more ana more.As if to emulate the prosperous mer

chants of the richest city in Europe,Rembrandt contracted a mortgage, andobtained a big, stately home in thecenter of the city, which he furnishedlike a palace. He freque nted publicsales, and collected paintings, etchings,

books, arm or, costume, Pers ia n rugs,and expensive chinaware. He dressedhis wife in jewels and silks.

The artist would never be able toafford such a pace, even though hecreated with the industry of a superma n. In his lifetime, he produced moretha n 900 works of art! But he did notsacrifice qu ality to qu antity . He didnot stylize his sitters according to fashionable ideals, but portrayed particular,unique individuals. He d area to revealthe dignity of character in a poor oldwoman. W hen he painted the rich andgreat, he preferred frankness to flattery. Fine garments did not blind himto charac ter defects. T ruth ful portraiture is good for the soul, but it is notthe surest way for an extravagant manto meet the bills.

Among the paintings in Rembrandtsfirst manner are the Marriage of Sam p

son , Fligh t of th e Ang el , Christ as the Gardener, and the Danad. Th ere is acertain lingering timidity and reserve,even a certain frigidity, except in thelast of these paintings. Th e Danae conveys the appearance of living beauty to a rare degree.

From 1640 to 1654, the middle-aged pain te r m an ifested his second m anner,characterized by more warmth and

power. Then he was proud, and a t thesum m it of his fame. He loaded his

[ 2 9 7 ]


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1957

bru sh w ith vivid re d and yellow . Heused colors the way Beethoven used his

iano. Occasionally, he played withre in his paintings, letting himself

go, and animating the canvas with violen t life. His was a dazz ling style, to mak e the viewer hold his breath. D ivinely discontented with the limita

tions of finitude, he expressed the Infinite by means of light]In 1640, Rembrandt did one of his

significant self-portraits. His self-portraitures were not photographic, butexpressive of various states of soul. Hewas sometimes festive and sometimessorrowful, but always self-reliant.

Two years later, the artist was commissioned to paint a group portrait ofthe officers of a militia com pany. He pa in ted th em as th ey le ft th e ir arm oryat noon. He depicted them in a richharmony of mysteriously glowing col

ors. Some subjects could he seen pla inly, while others were bathed in ashadow y light. Th e subjects who werenot prominently shown in the paintingrefused to pay. The masterpiece wastoo big for the hall where it was decided to place it, so part of it was cutoff and burned. This mu tilation threwthe remainder of the work out of gear.The picture was hung in a hall witha large open peat-fire which darkenedit with soot, and so it came to be calledthe N ight Watch .

Rembrandts middle-class subjects

wanted to be flattered as very important peopletheir faces and figures im prov ed upon , th eir ele gant ga rm entsrend ered with a tailo rs eye. Th eydidnt know they had souls. Th ey couldnot appreciate the honest revelation ofcharacter, the expression of psychological atmosphere, the poetry of meaningful composition. Th ey preferred thesmooth trivialities of mediocre painters,who made respectable pre-camera photographs of philistines, with a littlecomplimentary retouching for goodmeasure.

Van der Werff and the youngerMieris would go on making good money, because they appealed to the uncultured tastes of the prosperous mercantile society of Am sterdam. Rem

bra ndts in sp ired crea tive expressionwould soon lead him into the shadowsof poverty and misfortune.

In 1642, that year of Rembrandt's

intrepid art-creation and controversy,his wife Saskia died of tuberculosis,leaving him alone with his infant sonTitus. He saved himself from madnessonly by painting the Good Samaritanand other religious pictures, as well asseveral splendid landscapes.

The lonely artist eventually took in

to his home an attractive young servant and model Hendrickje Stoffels, of peasa nt stock. She be came his mistre ss,and bore him a daughter, Caroline. TheCalvinistic preachers of Amsterdamdenounced Rembrandt from their pul

pits. Not only were th e sm ug Am sterdam merc hants unab le to appreciate hisheterodox art, but now he had also unforgivably offended their moral code.They had been careless about payingfor his paintings; now they decided to

place th e ir orde rs elsewhere.Creditors, usurers, and mortgage-

holders brought down the mightygenius. In 1656, he was declared bankrupt. In the next year, his house, hisfurniture, and his collections were soldfor debt at public auction.

Rembrandt was homeless and penniless. For bare subsistence, he workedfor a firm of art dealers. W ith his faithful mistress, his son, and his illegitimate daughter, he moved to a ramshackle house in the poorest suburb ofAm sterdam. His son was slowly dyingof tuberculosis. For Rem brandt tnerewas little hope for a professional come

back, whate ver the artist might do, forHolland was then in the grip of aneconomic depression.

As though he did no t yet have enoughto fill his cup of sorrow, Rembrandt

became in cre asingly ne ar sighted . Hehad been the greatest etcher in the history of art, but now his etching technique suffered. Nevertheless, his pa intings rem ained second to none, and mostcritics agree that his last works of the

bru sh are th e best and th e most sp ir itual of his entire career. His style became more subdued, but surer andstronger. His awareness deepened inadversity.

Emil Ludwig has written, in Three Titans-. Rem brandt etched and paintedhimsell a dozen times. Never was therea man who could differ so much inlooks; often the pictures bear no resemblanc e at all to one another. Beforethe old glass he captured every passing


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moodin wrinkles, shadows, gestures,ttitude, expression. Now he looks fesive, now dignified; masterful andynical, grieving and darkly brooding

but never as if ac tin g, alw ays sincereas one susceptible of, submissive to,very agitation of the soul.

Let us examine the self-portraitwhich Rembrandt created in the hourof his darke st destiny. Th e glance ofhe eyes is significant and probing,ooking beyond us into infin ity. Hisigure melts into the mysterious back

ground behind him. He is now conent to paint in a monochrome of lowone. He has dropped from riches toags. But in his tragic old age, heS'elds neither to despair nor self-pity,

umbled and afflicted though he is, he

s not a failure. The re rema in to himonly the spiritual treasures within, buthe y suffice. Fa te cann ot destroy hiself-reliance.

F i n a l e

Rembrandts portrait of The Syndics was done five years before his deatht significantly depicts five honest

drap ers seated arou nd a table. Thiswork is particularly representative ofRembrandts third mannerthe sure,trong style, the broader touch, the

more solid impasto, and the deeper in

sight into hu m an character. Age yieldsa rounded life-wisdom, a sense of theimportance of every honest character,a respect for the dignity of every useful skill. It is unp leasan t to reme mb erthat The Syndics, for all its grandeur,was ill-received because it was not conventionally posed.

Re m brandt also painted a huge canvasrepresenting the Conspiracy of the

Batavians, for a wall of Amsterdamsnew C ity Hall. But it was returned tohim in 1662, and replaced by the workof a second-rate artist. No t only wasRembrandt thus humiliated by the authorities of the city, but his mistressdied, and later his only son.

The Jewish Br ide and the Family Group were the last of Rembrandts

paintin gs . Death came to th e Dutchmaster in 1669, a merciful release fromloneliness, poverty, and the worldsscorn.

Rembrandts masterpieces have livedon, winning more and more acclaimfor their telling revelation of characterand significance, But no painting canendure unchanged forever, howevercare ful the work of the restorers. Letus hope that the honest spirit of Rem brandt will be kept al ive in the cre ative expression of artists of the present

and those to come.V A V

O N W O R L D - W I D E P EA CEThe root cause of fear and suspicion is the mental disease of Aversion, which

s instrumental in causing 21 discomforts of the mind, as explained on page59 of the Dhamma-Sang an i, the first boot of the Abhidham ma Pitaka. Theaid discomforts of the mind are dislike, annoyance, hate, vexation, resent

men t, repugnance, irritation, fear, indignation, antipa thy, ill temper, detestaion, suspicion, anger, fuming, wrath, abhorrence, hostility, churlishness,

abruptness, and disgust.All these 21 displeasures of the mind are the bad effects caused by Aversion.

n order to be free from these bad results of the evil-mind, we must removehe cause by replacing it w ith its righ t antidote. If the cause is not removed,he effect will always act like the force of suction of a vacuum . . .

The Universal Love of the Buddha is the right antidote for overcoming Averion or Hatred . W he n it is replaced by U niver sal Love, all the 21 bad effects

of the mind, including fear and suspicion, are automatically destroyed and themind becomes filled with real happiness, . . .

There is no power on earth or in the sky above or in the entire materialworld that is equal to the MIND; and the moral and pur ified m in d is morepo werful th an th e Evil M ind. In th e prese nce of the pur if ied mind, the evilmind cannot stand; it disappears instantaneously . . .

From an address by Ariya Dhamma The ra of Burma, Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy andPsychology, presented before the United Nations on behalf of the Buddhists of the Unionof Burma.


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1957

h e lone radio tower whichfor so long has juttedr a t h e r i n c o n g r u o u s l yabove the buildings ofR o s i c ru c i a n P a r k h a s been removed. Its com panio n disap pea red somefew years earlier. For aquarter of a century,

these towers were landmarks in West-

side San Jose. W ith the remov al ofthis remaining one a whole phase ofAMORC activity passes without leaving a physical trace.

W hen the See of the O rder was inTampa. Florida, the Order operatedRadio Station WQBA, which made anam e for itself. Its final program was amemorable one, participated in by localofficials, neighboring radio stations, andan exceptional arra y of talent. (SeeThe Mystic Triangle, January, 1928.)

W ith the move to San Jose, a similarsetup was envisaged, the towers erected,and a license obtained. Plans werechanged, and short wave communication alone was carried on althoughradio programs were sponsored throughother California stations. Th e nam e ofth e official p ublication also was changed.The Mystic Triangle became the

Rosicrucian Digest, and the first issue October, 1929 displayed th e Administration Building and Radio Towers on its cover.

W ith the last tower gone, nothingremains in Rosicrucian Park to recallthose exciting early days except a clockdial in the Literary Research Department which reads AMORC RadioTime. Sic transit gloria mundi (so

passes aw ay th e glo ry of th e w orld).V A V

Art of rare excellence was availablefor Convention visitors this year in themodem Gallery of the RosicrucianEgyptian, Oriental Museum. Two dis

tinguished artists of very different periods, background, and technique established a harmony not often metwith when placed in juxtaposition.

Carolus Verhaeren, the younger ofthe two and no longer living, workedmainly with a palette knife therebyachieving a strength and emphasis. His

port ra it s, landscapes , still -li fes, are tr ueto life without being photographic.

They are real, but as he sees them.Serge Ivanoff, a native of Russia,complements Verhaerens work with amasterly refinement of Slavic exuberance. His technique is disarminglysmooth. His still lifes are distillationsand his portraits are deeply revealing.

These artists do not boast, argue, orflaunt themselves. Th ey are mastercraftsmen who have their say withquiet strength and dignity. Th ey docommunicate.

V A VFrater Harvey A. Miles, Grand Sec

retary, during the late Spring visitedlodges and chapters over a wide circuitthrough the South, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic States of the United States,crossing into Ontario, Canada, an d thenhome again. Among the reports comingin was that of the Spring Conferencein Baltimore, Maryland, which he attended. Th e Bulletin of George W ashington Carver Chapter for June-Julycontained a picture of Frater Milestaken with other Rosicrucian officers onth at occasion. In the group were SororLouise M arr, M aster of the host Lodge,the John O'Donnell Lodge of Baltimore; Robert W entw orth, Grand Councilor of the New England States; JohnBunting, Master of Benjamin FranklinLodge, Philadelphia; Willis 0. Pennington, Master, George WashingtonCarver Chapter; and Oliver G. Tom-kinson, Master of Thomas JeffersonChapter in Washington, D.C.


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In the same bulletin is a picture ofour charming young ladiestwo Co-mbes: Suzanne L. Loeffler of Baltiore, and Nancy Barron of San Jose;Colomhe Emeritus, Janet M. Craig

f Washington, D.C., and a prospecve Colombe-in-Waiting, Pat Babula,f Baltimore.According to Frater Hubert Potter,

ditor of the bulletin and Past Masterf George Washington Carver Chapter,

is a long-standing policy to publicizeolomhe activity. Inc ide nta lly, thisullet in regula rly carr ies pic tu re serhap s because its edito r is such annthusiastic photographer.

V A VSoror Beatrice M. Schafer asks a

ertinent Question regardin g th e Caedral of the Soul. W ha t does it mean us? she asks. H er own an sw er is:t is a Cosmic Rose, unfoldingpereating space with the divine fragrance its perfection. Its porta ls are always

pen, we have but to enter humbly,ith heart and mind receptive to thathich the Cosmic m ay reveal. Th eree become aware of the reality of therotherhood of Man, for the Cosmicoul includes ALL in one great unity.aving rested in its timeless consciousess, we return to earths problems reewed in body and mind, the Rose onur Cross nourished, and we experince peace profound.

V A VLodge and Chapter bulletins con

nue to note constructive activity in allarts of the ju risd iction.

In Adelaide, Australia, the newly-tablished Sunshine Circle is holdinggular monthly meetings on the firston day of the mon th. Its meetingace is now perm anent New Thoughtoom, Eagle Chambers.

* * *

Lago Moeris Lodge of Havanaommemorated the revival of the Or

r, in 1915, with a photo of Dr. H.pencer Lewis in his sanctum.

* * *

Alden Lodge of Caracas now hastablished a sanctum within theirmple for the use of those who are

ithout adequate facilities for study

d meditation at home.

Also a course for the study of English is underway, directed by FraterElialbis Quast with the assistance ofnumerous other members.

* * *

Brighton Pronaos of Brighton, England, in June changed its meeting placeto the Norfolk Hotel. In Jun e, too, thePronaos mem bers honored Robert Fludd,first visiting Bearsted, Kent, and thenon to Penshurst for tea at the GateHouse.

* * *

On a Sunday evening in June somefifty-five members and friends of Johannes Kelpius Lodge of Boston, Massachusetts, enjoyed a program of lightclassical and popular music in Sym

phony Hall . The fa ct of th eir be ingther e was noted on the program . Thissummertime musical pastime, knownlocally as the Boston Pops Concerts, istime-honored in Boston and annual attendance by members of JohannesKelpius is becoming traditional.

V A VIn March, Soror Elise Argletia Rey

nolds was honored by being namedOregon Mo ther of the Ye ar. She alsohad the distinction of being the first

Neg ro woman to be so nam ed . Activein lodge, church, and civic circles, SororReynolds at 62, in addition to her fulltime job, finds time to collect cut glassand silver; to bowl, golf, do needlepoint,and make doll clothes. She has fou rchildren and eleven grand children. Butnothing, everybody says, comes morenatura lly tha n just mothering!

* *

And that reminds us of a MothersDay experience which Frater ClarenceT ur ne r reported. His seven-year-oldson, David, made his mother a veryspecial card at school. W hen F ath erheard about it, he remembered that hehad done nothing himself about theoccasion. H e quickly han ded moth erfifty dollars to even things up.

T he n he saw Da vids card. On theinside were the figures 5 and 0 enclosed in a circle. M other offeredDavids explanation: David said itmeant good luck and that I would getsomething.

Do you wonder w hat David predicted

for Fathe r's Day ? So do we.


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*ZJ(i *j2)azk d to u d By R o d m a n R . C l a y s o n , G ra nd Master


1957

NFORTUNATELY now as inthe past a dark cloudseems to ha ng over m any peop lea cloud of ap preh en sion . I f p e o p lecould think of then: fearsas they would of a darkshadow, they would cometo realize that there is

ittl


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ual rewards and a peaceful mind.But, worthy as it is, it is not sufficient.One must have faith in himself; onemust have courage.

Fear is also related to self-preservaon; it is concerned with the unknowns well as with people and thingsnown. But the em otion of fear can heontrolled, and fear inhibitions can beessened. We must be careful of ourmm ediate reactions. Sometimes what

we see, but do not understand, causesnhibitions which arise to thwart ourhinking and cause loss of self-condence. W he the r we adm it it or not,

he happiness we want is often opposedy wrong belief, rega rd less of wheth eronsciously or unconsciously acquired.or the most part fear is associated

with that which is unknown and inact with that which does not evenxist. Fea r, like fire, mu st be conolled; for it is a dangerous thing. Fear

or the continuance of our well-beingnd health, fear that we may lose ourob or home, our ca r or a loved one,r fear that we might not pass an exm ination, can prove to be ou r undoing.

The late Franklin D. Roosevelt madehe following statement, which mostertainly is a restatement of an eternalruth: The only thing we have to fear

s fear itself. Th is is rem inisce nt ofhe line from Shakespeares H am le t :There is nothing either good or bad,ut th in kin g makes it so. M an haseen given the pow er to th in k, .theow er to dominate and co ntro l his enironment, W ith prop erly directedhought and purpose of action, man hassen from his primitive environment.

He succeeds in life because he adjustsimself to his environment and theonditions of the times. As he grows

mentally he grows mystically and spirually and becomes physically wellnd strong. Th ere is then n o weaknessf character.

When we begin to fear something,we are giving it power to manifest. Ifwe fear evil, we are creating evil from

ur fear. This condition canno t grownless it is fed and nourished by the

mind it inhibits. Fe ar blinds us toruth, and is the destroyer of progressnd happiness. It brings into m an s lifenwholesome things which he wouldot otherwise have known or experinced. If the cause of our fea r could

be seen in its tr ue ligh t, th ere would beno ground for its support. It is obvious,then, that we must not harbor fear. Wemust have a greater understanding ofourselves and our neighbor, of ouruniverse and scientific developments,and of course of the reality of things.

When an individual permits fear toupset his emotions, his body is not inharmony and is susceptible to disease.W hen the body suffers from inha rmony, ones thinking and actions areaffected. T he bra in registers the im

pulse s which are sent to it from w ithinthe body. Th e thoughts which prevailin the consciousness are those whichhave been recorded as the result of theinfluence of bodily conditions. Greed,selfishness, and malice are often the

result of unbalanced bodily functions,and the emotional and mental statesare affected. Th us we see how im po rtant it is to maintain good health.Good health is important; it contributesto a healthy mind and creative, constructive thought. If our minds areinhibited by fear, we express fear inwhat we say and do.

A Pre cau ti on

Oftentimes fear is related to caution.When something appears that arouses

fear, we should determine, if possible,whether the fear is a direct cause ofwhat we perceive or the consequenceof a suggestion enlarged to a reality inour imagination. At such a time, W illshould be exerted through training tosupply the reason. W e should analyzeand decide whether the object is whatwe think it is or merely a randomassociation of ideas caused by the emotional influence of imagination. If reason and analysis determine that our ex-

f )erience justifies cause for alarm, oret us say caution as to possible harmtherein, then the fear has served a real

purpose. W e hav e prof ite d by it.Every day our mind receives im

pu lses of a cautionary natu re . Thisoccurs when we walk across a busystreet or as we are driving our car intraffic. Psycholog ists tell us tha t insetting up a resistance to danger we excite the adrenal glands, the muscles

become ta ut, we acqui re added s trength ,and the secretion of certain endocrineglands makes us less conscious of painin such an ordeal. W e seem to have


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1 he Rosicrucian Digest August

1957

the necessary strength to meet successfully an obstacle or dangerous condition.

C o n t r o l l i n g Cam aea

Psychologists tell us something aboutfear which is rath er interesting. Sup

pose you are af ra id of dogs an d, while

walking down a side street on a darknight, you notice a dog in the yard ofa home you are passing. You are immediately imbued with fear. Youfreeze, as it is sometimes described. Inother words, you are powerless to walkahead, as you should, without furtherconcern about the dog. U nde r such tremendous emotional stress of fear, thesecretion manufactured by the endocrine glands under those conditionscauses the physical body to give off anodor which is perceptible only to loweranimals, such as dogs whose sense ofsmell is much more acute than ours.This odor which the body gives off isextremely obnoxious to lower animals;and, if the dog is not fenced in, he ma ycharge you.

If the emotion of fear under theseconditions does this to the physical

body, th in k w hat it m ust do to themind. U nder such conditions, we m ustimmediately control our emotions, control our actions and thoughts intelligently, and not become panic stricken.In the same way we must learn to discipline the emotion of fear in all waysand under all conditions.

One who has a fear complex should bring an adju stm ent in to his th inkin g.He should try to find the cause of hisanx iety and uproot it. In dismissingfear from the mind, face the facts, attain the truth, and realize that fear isa nonentity. Remove fear from thethinking and implant in your mindconstructive thoughts gained from theknowledge of practical experience.

All through life we are subject tosuggestion. Fear -ridd en thoug hts, likethoughts that are positive and constructive, are contagious. W e are continually accepting or rejecting each ex

per ience tha t comes to us. If we acceptit, the mind acts upon it for good or ill,depending upon the nature and character of the experience. W hat you doand what you say and how you ex

press your per so nal ity in th e presenceof others may have a suggestive effect

upon other persons, and they in turnhave a suggestive effect upon you. Takegreat care about what you are enticedto believe in. Be sure that you areunprejudiced and in truthful possession of un alter ed facts. If not, withhold judgment; and do not permit yourreason to be swept aside by convincing-

sounding emotional appeals.You have heard it said many timesthat it is impossible to have more thanone thou ght in mind at one time. Thisis very true. A t an y given moment,you can be conscious of bu t one thought.It is your choice as to whether it will

be pos itive an d cons tructive or neg ative and full of fear and anxiety. Ourmaintaining a depressed mental attitude, and what we accomplish in life,is a personal m atter. In this regardShak espeares statem ent, which follows,stands like a towering monument of

admonishment to each and every one:The fault, dear Brutus, is not in thestars but in ourselves.

W ha t ma n has done once, he can doagain because he is a creature of habit.

Neg ative thoug hts of fe ar ar e ea sily re pea ted, fo r in our m en ta l dispositionslike attracts like. If we erroneouslydirect attention to the things whichcontribute to our fears, we are misdirecting our energy. W e m ust combatthat which contributes to an undesirable m ental state. W e must be matureand adult in all of our thinking anddoing, and harness our creative energyso that it will be directed to our chosengoals. Th e thoughtful mind examinesan anxiety for what it is by bringingit into the open for examination. Thethoughtful mind analyzes the fear anddetermines its true cause. Flight fromit only makes the condition worse.

Where there is knowledge and understanding, positive and constructivethought, there can never be real fear

because ac tu ally most of ou r worriesare the re sult of ignorance. F ear of direcircumstances in the future must beremoved from the consciousness. Withthe proper mental attitude and timelyaction, some of the very things we fearthe most will never be manifested. Thefact must be recognized that in everyman's life there are certain necessarytrials and tribulations, from which ex

pe rien ce is ga ined , which strength enthe individual. H e profits by expe ri


27/44

nce so that he need not again be facedwith a similar trial.

E x p e r i e n c e ! 2 Ve e d e d

Welcome every experience. Theight kind of understanding and knowl

dge will help you bring about a newrra ng em ent in life. Life is a sequencef events. Always new and un pre

meditated happenings are taking place,or which we should be thankful, forhey enable us as individuals to workut our problems and make necessaryhanges in life's pa ttern . Have faithn yourself and in the future. Makefe me aning ful. It is inconceivable

hat the veiy infinite condition thatro ught your be ing into ex istence

would have no reason and purpose for

our life on earth.Undoubtedly we must face the facthat we will always be confronted with

m any adverse conditions. One m ustot become discouraged over the unfulllment of ambitions. M an s asp iraons are in accord with his mentalevelopment. Frustration of natural ex-

Eectation m ust no t produce fear. Asfe expresses itself, it reveals a connuous flow of the Law of action and

eaction, of cause and effect. Dismissear from the mind; it is of the past.o not live in the past; for it is today

ha t is all im po rtant. One should gloryn his work. He should emerge fromhe bondage of fear, selfishness, andessimism . He m ust libera te him se lfom this bondage, that he may enjoy

is deepest aspirations.Every individual should feel that it

his responsibility to bring happinesso the world, and his pride should bereat enough to offset the inevitable butomentary disappointments and hard

ships. If one wants to master fear andworry, he must be willing not onlyto accept help from others, but also tolearn to accept himself for what he is,including his capabilities as well as hislimitations. In accepting himself, he

must realize how variable and howflexible his life can be. It sho uld be a joy to look upon life as a m ea ns forvaried experience and self-expression.W e need the pioneering spirit. W emust not be afraid of new scenes andcircumstances, of new friends and environment; and we m ust not avoid newadjustments. W ith courage, order can be bro ught out of th e confusion an ddisorder which may surround us.

A thinking person becomes cognizantof the fact that much that seems to

offer resistance to life's happiness istemp orary in nature. W hen one liveswith true understanding, unnecessaryconcern is dispelled and the darknessof misery is turned into a brilliantfight of achievement and happiness.One gains a new sense of values, for byovercoming fear one brings about achange in the values of the conditionsof everyday life.

Everyone needs to think and reasonfor himself. People should not allowthemselves to be subject to mass hys

teria. W hen fortified with knowledge,they are often able to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Fear islike a creeping shadow and may becompared to a dark cloud that hangsover us. Th e dark cloud m ay shu t outthe light of the truth about the realityof things. Un derstanding, like thefight of each new day, will dispel alldarkness, particularly the dark cloudof fear. It will provide instead courage,strength, and happiness.

V A V

GAINING MERITThe aim of life is an ethica l one. T he end of life is vision of God. This

appiness, like all happiness, can only be gotten by meriting it: for even Godsre only happ y because they h ave m erited it. It is necessary therefore to haven opportunity of gaining merit, to let our reason decide of its own willh ether it will identify itself with its lower or higher faculties. The reforeis necessary for souls to be in the world tha t they m ay lea m to seek the

ood steadfastly, and work off all lower attractions. Plotinus


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1957

Sel f -K now l edge and Sel f- Consci ousness By M r s . W i l l i a m V . W h i t t in g t o n , F .R . C.

o c r a t e s is reported tohave held the convictionthat self-knowledge, thefulfillment of the requirem ent of the DelphicApollo Know Thyse lf is the condition of practical excellence. C haracter, Socrates declared,

is a matter of growth and all I hopeto do is to make you think for yourselves.

Socrates lived from 469 399 B.C.Delphi, the seat of the most famousoracle of ancient Greece, was established over 100 years before the birthof Socrates. To tha t place the command of Apollo K n o w T h y s e l f

brought pi lgrimages of in quir ers fo radvice and counsel. Priests of the tem

ple fo rm ulate d th e proc lamat ions ofthe priestess, Pythia (through whosemouth Apollo spoke), and deliveredthem in writing to the inquirers.

The ancient mystery schools ofEgypt, nearly a thousand years beforethe oracle at Delphi, advocated selfknowledge. M any of the early Egyptian temples bore inscriptions translatable as Know Thys el f. The ancientwording is said to have been Know

Thyself By Thyself which has the virtue of suggesting how one is to acquireself-knowledge. It is not definitelyknown when the admonition was ab

brevia te d to th e tw o words.These words Kno w Thyself di rect

us to do precisely what we seek to attain through membership in the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. Indeed, we

are challenged to discover our truselves, to develop progressively all othe powers of our personalities, and texpand our horizons through attunement with the Cosmic Consciousnesin order that our consciousness maembrace all of the realities which maklife worth living.

The dedicated student of mysticismwho faithfully follows instructions suchas the AMORC studies can hardly faito atta in those objectives. AMORCstudents can also contribute and receive much by joining with other mem

bers in convocations an d su pplemen taactivities of lodges and chapters. Onof the supplemental activities found t

be especial ly in te re st in g an d he lp fu l tmembers is the forum discussion iwhich all have an opportunity for selfexpression.

Forum discussion can be an effectivmethod, not only for the exchange oideas, but also for the discovery of latent powers of the mind, for acquirinself-confidence and poise through selfexpression, for developing tolerance anda sense of humor in dealing with others, and in promoting skill in the arof persuasion.

Benjamin Franklin, one of Americas most fam ou s m en -some t im ecalled The First Americanattributed much of his success to a discussion club, The Junto, which he himself founded in 1727 at the age of 21With respect to the junto-type of foru mdiscussion, popularized by Franklin, hdeclared the object to be one of mutuaimprovement. Our debates were, h


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wrote in his autobiography, to be conducted in the sincere spirit of inquiry

fter truth, without fondness for dispute , or de sire of vic to ry ; an d, to prevent warmth, all expressions of posiiveness in opinions, or direct contra

dictions, were after some time madeontraband . .

Franklin adopted for his Junto whate referred to as the motto of Socrates

Know Thys el f an d ad opted theSoc -atic method of question and answer inhe discussions. A uniqu e fea ture, as

developed in the Junto, was the anwering of questions by responsiveuestions. Fra nk lin's mo tivation in de

veloping this method is understandablewhen we bear in mind, as pointed outn the article Franklin As World

enior by Frances Vejtasa in theanuary 1957 issue of the Digest, thatWhen a Quaker friend informed himFranklin] that he was frequentlyverbearing he immediately decided toure this vice . . . he changed his too-osit ive arg um ents in to in quir ies, fo lowing th e question and answer methodf Socrates. AMORC lodges and chapers would do well, in their forum sesions, to try this method and demontrate its effectiveness in breaking downne of the principal barriers to self

xpression, so-called self-consciousness.Believing that the method of forumiscussion for which Franklin inauguated his Junto should be perpetuated,lbert Hubbard, the sage of East

Aurora, famed for his Lit tl e Journeys nd other writings, established The

Roycroft Junto. Afte r his transition, aasualty in the Lusitania disaster, hison, Elbert Hubbard II, became naonal chairman and established severalundred Junto chapters throughout theountry. In one of the publications of

he Roycroft Junto it is stated:Failure to express the truest Bndighest self is often the stumbling blocko people who should be successful inverything they undertake. Self-conciousness gets in the ir way. Fe ar ofdicule stalls them. . .The expression self-consciousness

s used in that quotation in one of itsmore popular connotations. W ha t iseally meant is a consciousness of indequacy or a lack of self-confidence.ndeed, what is meant, from the deeper

h ilo sophical view po int, is not tr ia t

Self-consciousness gets in their way but ra th er th e opposite : Lack of selfconsciousness gets in their way.

This may require for some personsa bit of reorientation in thinking. Inany discussion of abstract ideas it iswell to have a definition of terms.There are many words which meandifferent things to different people, de

pendin g on th e context in which th eyare used, the level of knowledge andunderstanding of the individual, andother factors. For example, considerone of the most-used words in the language Love for which th ere are po pular usages ranging, in the emotionalgamut, from the ecstatic to the vulgar.The term is, however, used to denotesomething which transcends the mundanesomething superlatively spiritualas, for example, in this line fromthe Bible: God so loved the w orld tha tHe gave His only begotten Son . . .

Let us, therefore, consider the deeperm ean ing of self-consciousness. W ha tcan it mean but consciousness of Self?And w hat do we mean by Self? Ph ilosophers and mystics have tried to define it. Some have called it the ego orthe pe rson al ity . Thus, self-consciousness would be understood as the conscious recognition that one is an ego or

personality , an id enti ty , an in div id ualap art from other individuals. This,however, is not enough from the view

poin t of th e Rosicrucian stud en

Rosicrucian Digest, August 1957

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