Rosicrucian Digest, December 1955

8/12/2019 Rosicrucian Digest, December 1955

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O S I C R U C I A N

1955ECEMBER

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DIGEST

umanvolution

way toghtenment.

V A V

lls asystic Musicoes from thenown.

V A V

e SplendorAtonfall of many gods.

V A V

e


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Made of sterling silver willibea ut if ul en am el fin ish andan embossed design consist-ing of the sphinx and ' pyra-

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111" E G E N D S say the ancient philosopher Diogenes used

Jill__i a lantern in his search lor an honest man. You can

employ a more simple and dignified means of attracting to

yourself those who think as you dothose whose ideals are

the same as your own. W ith ou t un due display, the simple

Rosicrucian fraternal insignia ring will announce to all who

may know its significance, that you are a Ftosicrucian and

that their acqu aint ance is welc ome. I his fraternal ring is

an Op en Ses ame in every city or land. It proclaims you

as one of worthy ideals and a Prater or a Soror in spirit,

regardless ol your creed or nationality. Like a magic wa nd itdissolves formalities and helps to establish warm friendships.

As a piece ol jewelry it is handsome, sturdy, and economical.

You will be proud to wear it, for it will symbolize your

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H A V A N A D I G N I T A R IE S R E C E IV E I M P E R A T O R Above, at left, is shown the Imperator, Ralph M. Lewis, being greeted by His Honor, the Mayor of Havana, Dr. Justo

Luis del Pozo. The reception took place in the chambers of Dr. del Pozo in the his toric City Hall. Dr. del Pozo is high lyesteemed by his fellow citizens for his exceptional services in behalf of the community. On this occasion a scroll, com-memo rating the event, was presented to the Imp erator by His Honor. Accompanying the Impera tor and his wife, are theA.M.O.R.C. officers and members of the Lago Moeris Lodge of Havana.


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In the tradition of Christmas is seen the reaffirm-

ing of those Divine principles of Love, Justice, and

Charity upon which a lasting foundation of peace

may be established.

That these may now transcend the seeming differ-

ences of race, of creed and country, is the desire of

the staff of the Rosicrucian Order in wishing you,

our members and subscribers, a

IW c m j

C h r i s t i n a s


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ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTC O V E R S T H E W O R L D

I NT E R NAT I O NAL R O S I CR UC I AN

W O R L D - W I D E R OS I CR UC I AN

DECEMBER, 1955Vol. XXXIII

Havana Dignitaries Receive Imperator (Frontispiece

Thought of the Month: World Problems and Peace...

Science in India_______..________.._________ ___________

The Splendor of A to n ............... ....... ......................

Bells as Mystic Music ______

Human Evolution ..............

Cathedral Contacts: The Shadow of Doubt..

If Thoughts were Bubbles................................

Early American Physician _________

Entropy and Evil____

Questions .............................................

On Conscious-Oneness ........ ...............

Temple Echoes......................................................

Index of 1955 Contents ...........

Rosicrucians Honor Patriot (Illustration)....

Subscription to the Rosicrucian Digest, $3.00 (1/1 /5 sterling] per year.

Single copies 30 cents (2/2 sterling).

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Changes of address must reach us by the first of the month preceding

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Statements made in this publication are not the official expression of

the organization or its officers unless stated to be official communications.

Published Monthly by the Supreme Council of

T H E R O S I C R U C I A N O R D E R A M O R C ROSICRUCIAN PARK SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

EDITOR: Frances Vejtasa

Copyrig ht, 1955, by the Supreme Grand Lodge of AM OR C, Inc. All rights reserved.


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TheRosicrucianDigestDecember1955

THE

THOUGHT OF THE MONTHWORLD PROBLEMS AND PEACE

By THE IMPERATOR

CIan some of the factors of

everyday experience beapplied to complex worldproblems? Are the re -

sponses of peoples, as na-tions, any different fromthose of lesser groups? Isit not possible that thebehaviorof the individual

is too often forgotten when the nationsare seeking political harmony?

Even the most casual observer ofhuman nature will admit the variationof character and personality. The causesof these differences are attributed prin-cipally to heredity and environment.Obviously, if people would think andact alike under every similar circum-

stance. the problem of world unitywould be simplified. Th e first notableresult would be the absence of diver-gent opinions and thoughts. Such unityof action and thought would pose stillother problems. Contrasts of behaviorand ideals would not exist. Consequent-ly, one thing or condition would notseem to be better or worse than another.There would be just the one way ofdoing anything: that would be the way(if necessitythe way all people wouldbe inheren tly inclined to do it. Such astate of human nature would negate

imagination. Man would not need toexercise the faculty of imagination be-cause he could not escape the groupimpulse of his own being. Life wouldmost certainly become monotonous ifwe were so constituted biologically andrationally that we thought and actedalike at all times. In all probabilityinharmony would become the ideal ifman could even conceive of such an op-

posite state, for it would seem to affordsome relief from the monotony.

l \ rH t i o n a l i n t e r e st *

Those who seek world peace, buthope to reduce or raise all mankind toa uniformity of thinking and living,are asking that humanity function as aflock of birds. The human mind mustbe conscious of an opposite state if itis to enjo}r peace. It must realize thatcontentment, understanding, and har-mony of thought and action have beenwon by a mastery of their contraries.We only can fully enjoy the light byever being aware that its absence willdeprive us of its advantages. The bondof a peaceful society, therefore, must

be something acceptable to all peopleregardless of their station and walk inlife, and yet one which will not denythe other diversified interests of thedifferent natures of the people. Nature,of course, has accomplished this in aphysical sense. Humans are bound toeach other by having like biologicalurges and dependencies. Each personcan understand the others interest infood, drink, and freedom fromprivations.

That a common interest would unifypersons, regardless of their otherwise

irreconcilable experiences, training, andopinions, is apparent in normal socialrelations. In the principal cities ofevery progressive nation are clubs andsocieties, founded for the pursuit of aspecific interest . Some of these have asthei r activi ty, photograph}", art , music,drama, aviation, or the collecting ofsun dry articles. It is to be noted thatsome of the members of such societies


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are prominent professional people intheir communities; others are wealthyand free from economic cares. Some,also, are of very humble station. Whatthe religious affiliation or the academictraining of these different people maybe is not of the slightest concern to theirfellow club members. Their mutual anddominant interest is the objective of theclub. This interest in such a gatheringis so paramount that all the other ac-tivities and pursuits of the individualare subordinated. Each member is notconcerned with the other pursuits ofhis fellows so long as they do not op-pose the common interest for whichthe club exists. Whethe r one is aRoman Catholic, a Jew, or a nonsec-tarian , is immaterial. For an example:

to a member of a photographic clubeach individual is only one thing, acamera enthusiast.

The dominant and common interestof persons immediately promotes mu-tual understanding and cooperation,even though the individuals may knownothing otherwise about each other per-sonally. Th eir support of, or allegianceto, a mutual interest causes a liberalacceptance of each other. Go into anyphotographic store, one that is desig-nated as catering to the advanced cam-era fan. Observe the camaraderie

that exists among the customers. Twomen, strangers to each other, will stepup to the counter. One will ask theclerk certain technical questions whichperhaps he may not be able to answersatisfactorily. The second customer willimmediately volunteer the informationif he has it. Appreciating each otherscommon interest, they converse affablyand cooperate fully. They will pa rt asnear being real friends as such a shortacquaintance could makepossible.

Should not nations be equally coop-

erative? The answer is Yes, but thefacts are that at their conference table,their statesmen seem to be more apt atmaking conspicuous the differences ex-isting between parties. These antipodalinterests cause clashes and invoke theinherent desire to make supreme onesown convictions at an y cost. The resultis suspicion, jealousy, and anger.

B a s i c H e ed s

What do all men want alike, regard-less of their religions, nationalism, and

political ideologies? Most wants arefirst dependent upon needs. Our needsmust take preference. People cannotpursue cultura l interests, formulateideologies, or proclaim philosophies un-til their basic requirements have beenmet. Most people cannot live in peacewith others, no matter how paralleltheir intellectual interests, if they arestarving and if their children are dyingof undernourishment and the conse-quences of disease. The wants of peoplewho are suffering privation will be justwhat thei r needs will be. Once they arefed, and the basic necessities are ob-tained, then their wants may be quitedifferent. You cant preach tolerance,humanitarianism and brotherly love topeople who are cold from lack of proper

clothing and housing, and whose bodiesare racked with the pangs of hunger.People will agree to anything to acquiresubsistence for their helpless children.A communist will support democracy ifhe thinks it will immediately alleviatethe tragic suffering of his family. Like-wise, the citizen of a democracy, undersi m ila r circumstances, may supportcommunism. When the physical ad-justmen t has been made at a la ter date,then the intellectual differences cometo the surface, causing conflict, and amomentary peace is shattered.

If they are sincere, the big powersmust meet on the platform of the com-mon good of humanity . The economictangle must be solved first. There mustbe a rational solution for the distribu-tion of essential goods and materialsand a guarantee of a necessary liveli-hood for all people. Everyone willtruly support an economic stabilizationplan th at is free of political implica-tions. When such needs have been met,then the wants can be analyzed in the

order of their relation to the greatestnum ber of people. This would involun-tarily revolve around the Freedoms.Over the international conferencetables,these freedoms are usually defined interms of their political significance. Un-fortunately, the word freedom has dif-ferent meanings to the socialist, to thecitizen of a democracy, and to the com-munist. Each wants freedom, but afreedom colored by the implications ofhis respective political philosophies.


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I n t e r n a t i o n a l i z ed D e f i n i t i o n s

The idea of freedom springs fromcertain psychological roots. Our urgefor freedom is qualified by the kind of

being we are. Usually we clothe thaturge in borrowed terms. It is objecti-fied by political ideals and platforms.Therefore, though two men may bothwant freedom, they cannot agree on itspolitical content and the result of thisdifference is dissension, which, in turn,may bring about international reper-cussions. If from childhood I have beentold that one color is blue, and you,living ten thousand miles distant, havebeen told that the same color is red, wecan never concur in what is the truenature of the color. If, on the otherhand, each of us, from childhood, has

been given the same meaning for thesame color sensation, we can never have

any disagreement on the color. Thenations must take the words whichrepresent the basic wants, and definethem in accordance with the funda-mentals of human nature.

Psychological understanding of thehuman mind and emotions must be

preached at the conference tables, aswell as political science. Let 'freedom,

power, liberty, equality and similarwords be given a universal definition.These definitions should be interna-tionalized, that is, taught alike in all

schools in every land. In the futurewhen nations meet to discuss thesefundamental wants, a true meeting ofthe minds will exist. The methods thateach of the nations advocates, throughwhich the determinative qualities orconditions are to be had, would be im-material as long as they are in accordon the ends to be attained. W hat mat-ters the political system if it recognizes,for example, a freedom accepted by allpeople alike? I care not how a manmay reach a common goal which wemay have, as long as he does nothingto destroy that goal for me. If we bothhave the same conception of the goal,neither will do anything to destroy it,for we would be defeating our own

purposes.

V A V

< = acEncE LtzjJnaiai l l i a m H a r v e y has been

honoured in the West fordiscovering the Circula-tion of Blood in 1628, butit is far from being true.H arve y s expe r im en t swere indeed wonderful.He should also be givencredit for elaborating and

explaining scientifically the theory ofthe circulation of blood. But the inspi-ration for his theory, he seems to havereceived from early medical works ofthe Greeks, the Egyptians, or the Arabs.Aryans knew this circulation of blood

in bloodvessels thousands of years ago.P u l s e

The Doctrine of the Pulse, as it iscurrent today in Europe, is traced bymedical scholars of the west to Galen,the celebrated physician of Rome, whoflourished in the second century of theChrist ian era. But Galen too had re-ceived his knowledge of the pulse from

the Hindus. His Pulsus Myums, Pulsus

Formicans, etc., are nothing but dif-ferent kinds of pulses which Aryansspeak of as going like the strutting of a

peacock, running of a partridge, creep-ing of a serpent or a leech, and so on.

M a ssa g e

Doctors have recently begun to rec-ommend massage for treatment of somediseases. Special massage institutionshave also been opened in some largecities of the West. But this art is notnew to India. A particular class of peo

f)le in our country, fourteen to fifteen

acs in number, has been doing massageservice in tending the sick for hundredsof years. They are Hindus of orthodoxtype, who by this kind of exercise takeaway the fatigue, the weakness, andsome diseases of those whom they serve.

Reprinted from AyurvedaThe Science ofLife" (The Indian Medical Science), by Rajvaidya J. K. Shastri. (In Letters on Ayurveda.Book II, September, 1953pp. 100 to 106)


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*Z7/2 cSjjfzndoz oj~ c^fton.By R o d m a n R . C l a y s o n , Grand M a st e r

H row manifold are

al l thy works!They are hidden frombefore us, 0 thou soleGod, whose powersno other possesseth.These are words of

b e au ty and signifi-cance, words which atone time or anothervou have undoubtedly

heard or read.We are inclined tothink of inspiring lit-erature as being of fairly recent origin,and to believe that there was little orno literature of beauty and meaning

before the compilation of the Bible.However, following the discovery andeventual translation of the RosettaStone, archaeologists were able to deter-mine the significance of hieroglyphiccharacters which are the words of a

prom inent Egyptian king, the signifi-cance of which they felt was worthy of

the finest literature.We refer to the hymns engraved onthe walls of stone tombchapels inEgypt, hymns that are of the 18th dy-nasty, the period of reign of the Phar-aoh who lived almost 3,400 years ago.The hymns, and there are two in num-ber, have to do with Aton, and werecomposed by the king either for per-sonal devotions or for his Templeservices, ceremonies which are knownto have taken place. The hym ns areknown generally as Praise of Aton byKing Akhnaton and Queen Nefertiti.

It has been noted that there is astriking similarity between the Egyp-tian hymns and the 104th Psalm ofthe Hebrews. The words of the hymnsare those of Akhnaton, the Egyptianking who reigned with his beautifulwife, Nefertiti, during the years 1360to 1350 B.C. (based on the currentcalendar).

Akhnatons name was originallyAmenhotep IV. During the reign ofhis father, Amenhotep III, the name of

Aton, referring to thesungod, came into

prom inent use. Up tothe time of AmenhotepIV, the state god atThebes was Amon. AtHeliopolis, Ra was thegod of all the empire.Each pharaoh in turnwas the son of Ra andthe heir to his king-

dom. According toEgyptian history, Ra,the sungod, was never

actually displaced by Amon. Under theguidance of the priests of the pharaohs,the people of Egypt worshipped a mul-tiplicity of gods.

Amenhotep IV was inspired, and nodoubt became imbued with the convic-tion that there could be only one godworthy of the veneration of his people.Amenhotep IV introduced the worshipof the Supreme God under the name ofAton, while Ra continued to indicate

the mater ial sun. Ra had been the mostimportant of all the gods, and that isthe reason the Egyptians became knownas sun worshipers.

When Amenhotep IV became king,he was very much concerned about themany gods, and particularly the sungod, Aton. Under his reign, Aton be-came the lord of the sun. The vitalhea t of the sun became deified. Atonwas said to be everywhere active bymeans of his rays, and his symbol wasthe disk in the heavens. From it thediverging rays extended earthward,

terminating in hands. Each handgrasped the symbol of life, which wasthe crux ansata. The re was tremendoussymbology in this, for it representedtne invisible power of the SupremeGod.

A N e w C o d

Contrary to his fathers belief, Amen-hotep IV held that there was one over-all Supreme God, and that his lord wasRa, the sun. The sun became the sym


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bol of the deity. It was not a god oran idol, but a physical symbol repre-senting Aton. In the age in which helived, Amenhotep could have had littleor no knowledge of the physical andchemical aspects of the sun.

The priesthood of Amon was jealousof the rays of the strange god in their

midst. For a time Amenhotep, whowas the son of a long line of strongand illustrious rulers, and possessedgreat personal strength of character,was able to set aside the influence ofthe powerful priesthood of his country.Amenhotep IV broke with the priest-hood and made Aton the sole god, notin thought or theory, but in very fact.He sought complete annihilation of theold gods. Amenhoteps name referred tothe old god, Amon, so it was necessarythat he assume a new name; he choseAkhnaton which means the Spirit ofAton.

Thebes became the City of theBrightness of Aton. Aton became notonly the supreme god, but the god ofthe empire. Th ree cities were foundedto represent the three divisions of theempire which were Egypt, Nubia, andAsia. Several hun dred miles belowThebes, Akhnaton built his new holycity to Aton. He called it Akhetatonmeaning The City of the horizon.

A D e ep O u t l o o k

So Amenhotep IV, now Akhnaton,endeavored to have his people accepthis doctrine or philosophy. One who

respected his teaching is quoted as hav-ing said, How prosperous is he whohears thy teaching of life. His subjectsfelt that they perceived a definite rela-tionship between Akhnaton and Aton,the supreme god.

From revelations, undoubtedly ex-perienced du ring his periods of medita -tion, Akhnaton composed the hymns toAton. In addition to the one that is re-ferred to in this article, there are un-doubtedly many beautiful hymns ofAkhnaton, which have been lost to us.In one or more of Akhnatons hymnswe find the words: O thou sole god,

j 'h g beside whom there is no other.Rosicrucian _ Akhnaton brought a new spiri t inton . Egypt. He endeavored to have his newDigest teaching overcome the old traditionalDecember ism Jt fs unquestionable that he was1955 capable of deep, serious, and most pro-

found thought. He grasped the idea ofthe Creator, the Creator of Nature; hesaw the beneficent purpose in all thathad been created; he had a clear reali-zation of the power and beneficence ofGod. Undoubtedly Akhnaton attributeda certain amount of righteousness tothe character of God, and he felt that

this should be reflected in the characterof men.The word truth appears many times

in Akhnatons hieroglyphic hymnswhich have been preserved. To hisname he attached the phrase Livingin Truth . There is no mistake aboutthe intent in this phrase by Akhnaton.He lived an open and unconcealed life,and truth to him was undoubtedly ap-

plied, at least in pa rt, in his acceptanceof the daily facts of living. His reign

brought new art into being. His courtartists, with brush and chisel, left forus the simple and beautiful realism

which they saw in animal life. Suchart depicted some of the truth lived byAkhnaton.

In his A History of Egypt, JamesHenry Breasted wrote: He based theuniversal sway of God upon his father-ly care of all men alike, irrespective ofrace or nationality; and to the proudand exclusive Egyptian he pointed tothe allembracing bounty of the com-mon father of humanity. . . . It is thisaspect of Akhnatons mind which isespecially remarkable; he is the first

prophet of history. He sought to re -turn to Nature; he sought to recognize

the goodness and beauty to be foundin it. He sought to solve the mysteryof it which, as Breasted said, adds justthe fitting element of mysticism in sucha faith.

In reference to the religious philos-ophy of Akhnaton, Sir Flinders Petrie,in his History of Egypt, said that thiscould not be logically improved uponat the present day. To the priesthood,Akhnaton was known as a fanatic; hewas even called the criminal ofAkhetaton.

T h e O l d Religion

With the passing of Akhnaton, theold priesthood of Amon regained con-trol. The old religion was reestablished,the religion of innumerable gods. ButAkhnatons evolution and his recogni-tion of truth, as he saw it, of a supreme


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god, as he understood it, had made itsindelible mark in the history of theworld. It was enlightenment broughtto mankind 3,400 years ago. His ap-pearance on the horizon of his time

left a mark never to be erased.Breasted, who was one of the worldsforemost Egyptologists, wrote thatAkhnaton, undaunted, faced tradition,that he might disseminate ideas farbeyond and above the capacity of hisage to understand. . . . The modemworld has yet adequately to value oreven acquaint itself with this man who,in an age so remote and under condi-tions so adverse, became the worldsfirst idealist, the worlds first individual.

E t e r n a l L i f e

It is interesting that today the atten-tion of the public is being directed to-ward Akhnaton and the period of hisreign. A recent motion picture, en-titled The Egyptian, taken from thebook by the same name, is an exampleof this. Probably one of the finest con-temporary books to be written in ourtime on the life of Aklmaton is Son ofthe Sun, by Savitri Devi. The prefaceto this excellent book is written byRalph M. Lewis, F.R.C., Imperator ofthe Rosicrucian Order, AMORC.

As we have said, Akhnatons hymnshave become beautiful literature; theyare perhaps monumental in their mag-nificence, and will continue to live, justas have the stone walls in Egypt onwhich his hymns were carved. In theopinion of the writer, some of the mostsignificant and beautiful lines in his

hymns (hymns which were divided intostrophes or stanzas, and began withThe Splendor of Aton) are:

Thy dawning is beautiful in the horizon ofheaven,

O, living Aton, Beginning of life!When thou risest in the eastern horizon ofheaven,

Thou fillest every land with thy beauty;For thou art beautiful , great . . .Thy rays, they encompass the lands,

Even all thou hast made.Thou art Ra . . .Thou bindest them by thy love.Though thou art afar, thy rays are on earth...

Bright is the earth,When thou risest in the horizon.When thou shinest as Aton by day.The darkness is banished,When thou sendest forth thy rays . . .

They live when thou hast shown upon them.

How excellent are th y designs, O lord ofeternity! . . .

Thus thy rays nourish every garden,When thou risest they live, and grow by thee.Thou makest the seasons, in order to create

all thy works; . . .In order to behold all that thou didst make . . .

Thou art in m y heart,There is no other that knoweth thee, . . .Thou hast made him wise in thy designs

And in thy might.The world is in thy hand,

Even as thou hast made them . . .For thou art duration . . .By thee men liveth,

And their eyes look upon thy beauty . . .Living and flourishing forever and ever.

How manifold are all th y works!They are hidden from before us,O thou sole god,Whose powers no other possesseth.

(Quotations by lames Henry Breastedfrom hisbo ok A Histo ry ol Eg yp t, pu bl is he d by Cha rlesScribner's Sons, New York.)

V A V

As the Holy Ghost goeth forth from the Father and the Son, and formeth,imageth, figure th or frameth, and loveth all; even so the Holy Ghost goeth forthin the angel, into his fellow brethren, and loveth them, and rejoiceth with them.

For there is no difference between the spirits of God and the angels, butonly this, that the angels are creatures, and their corporeal being hath a begin-ning; but their power,out of which they are created, is God himself, and is frometernity, and abideth in eternity.

J a c o b B o e h m e , 15751624


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J B J L a U L C

By A n n S y l t e


A n c i e n t G r e e c e./devolved the ideathat the starstudded,jeweled machinery ofthe universe moved ina rhythmic, orderlymanner to the accom-paniment of music andcolor. This music andcolor could not be per-ceived by mortals, butonly by the gods who

inhab i t t he h ighe rrhythms of the uni-verse, so we are toldin the Music of theSpheres. Is it not pos-sible that the lost word,could we become awareof it as sound, would

be a note of heavenlyexaltation such as thetone of a celestial bell,filled with infinite love? Ea rth ly bellsspeak of Gods love in the metallic

voice that our human senses can under-stand: the voice of the metals of theearth.

What is the origin of bells and howdid thev become significant in religion?Why clo chimes express our deepestreverence of things of the spirit? W hydoes the tone of a bell raise our con-sciousness to awareness of the Divine?Why are legends and superstitions con-nected with bells? W ha t is a carillon?

Encyclopedias agree that the originof bells is lost in the secrets of antiquity .However, it is possible to conceive of

one of our primitive ancestors strikinga bright piece of metal or stone on theground, thereby calling forth a ringingnote, a sound of mystery heard onearth for the first time. Such a magicvoice could be used to frighten awayevil spirits. Or could this music of theearth perhaps be the voice of the GreatUnknown Himself?

The earliest recorded mention ofbells is in Exodus 28:3335. Here wefind that golden bells were sewed upon

the hem of the robesof Aaron, the high

p r ie s t, so th a t hissound shall be heardwhen he goeth in untothe holy place beforethe LORD, and whenhe cometh out, that hedie not. These bellsmust have been likethe tiny round bellsnow associated with

Christmas and sleighbells, lit tle more thana p l easan t t i nk l ingsound. A draw ingfrom a 14th centurymanusc r ip t dep i c t sKing David playing aset of five miniaturechimes hung beforehim.

Grovess Dictionary of Music and Musicians states that theoldest bells yet discovered in Europe

are not castings, but plates of metalbent into shape and riveted togetherwhere the edges meet. Bronze bellshave been found in Assyria, but his-torians agree that ancient China wasthe first to cast bells, this art havingbeen practiced by them for more than4,000 years. Their oldest bells haveunusual and interesting shapes, oftenwith a wealth of inscription and decora-tion of a religious fervor.

In early history, bells everywhereare associated with worship. The feasts of Osiris and Isis in ancient Egypt were

announced by the sound of the sistra,whereas in Athens the priests of Cybeleused bells in the ir offerings. Bells wereused in camps and garrisons duringwars. The Romans announced the hourof the baths, and public assemblies, bythe aes thermarum,or a tintinnabulum ,and Caesar had a bell suspended beforethe temple of Jupiter.

Church bells did not ring during theearly centuries of Christianity, for per-secution and death was the penalty for

The Bok Tower


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following this new faith. Meetings wereheld secretly in catacombs and in tun-nels under the cities until the 4th cen-tury A.D., at which time the RomanEmperor Constantine became a Chris-tian, and the need for secrecy was past.The Roman Catholic Church graduallybecame a powerful influence, and bellscame into wide use in cathedrals andlater in churches. Can anyone ques-tion the fact that many of the presentday religious customs and rituals mayhave descended from the ancientHebrews?

The first cast bells were made bymonks in monasteries, or by ecclesias-tics. By the end of the 14th century,however, the demand for larger andstill larger bells created a new field of

art, and the casting of bells fell intothe hands of the laymen. Travelingbellmakers set up foundries near thechurch where the bells were to be hung,and proceeded to ply their craft on thespot. Concentric molds were made fromsoft clay; the shape of the bell was leftempty between the molds, which werethen dried out by a fire beneath them.When the molds were thoroughly diy,the hot metal was poured into theempty space between them. A bell re-quired anywhere from a day to a week

or more to cool, depending on its size.The villagers were always deeplyinterested in the casting of a new bell,and the pouring was watched by aneager throng. Enthusiasm ra n to suchgreat lengths that sometimes wealthypeople threw their gold and silver plate,or precious jewels, into the moltenmetal to give the bell a good tone. Ac-tually, such sacrifice was ineffectual,for the most resonant mixture wasfound to be copper and tin, roughlyin the proportion of 4 to 1. Gold andsilver did not give a pleasing sound.Zinc and lead were used for the smallerbells. The thickness of a bells edgewas found to be best about a twelfth toa fifteenth of its diameter, and the bestheight was twelve times its thickness.

A bell must be in tune with itself.It has five distinct notes, the three im-portan t ones being the Fundam ental,the Nominal (which is the octaveabove), and the Hum note (the octavebelow). These three notes must be true,and the bell can be tuned by thinningthe metal around the edge, filing and

grinding until the proper relationshipof diameter, thickness, and weight pro-duces the right tone. The depth of abells tone increases with its size.

R e v e r e n c e a n d S t r a n g e C ut om

Bells in the Middle Ages were chris-tened with much religious festivity, andblessed that they might have poweragainst storm, evil spirits, and fire. Aname was suggested by a godfatheror godmother. The Catholic Encyclo-pediadescribes the now current customof christening in detail, although ituses the word blessing instead. Whileincense burns, the bell is consecratedthe ritual includes water, salt, and holyoils. The bell is washed with water,

dried inside and out, and covered witha white garment or chrisom, like an in-fant. After the ceremonies, the bell isrung, and a new voice is heard for thefirst time on earth.

Inscriptions and dates appeared onbells about the 12th century. Fire bellswere inscribed with a petition to quenchthe flames, while church bells had thename of saints inscribed on them, some-times with the name of the maker andthe date, as well as a prayer. Such bellsare now very rare, due to the wars ofthe Reformation during the reign ofHenry VIII, and later the Napoleonicwars. At such times, the hells of acaptured town were regarded as somuch metal, and were melted for can-nons. When the town became peacefulagain, the cannons were melted to re-cast bells, but the dates and inscriptionswere gone forever.

Bell lore is rich in superstition, rev-erence, and strange customs. It receivedextraordinary veneration in the Celticlands (Scotland, Wales, and Ireland).During the 12th century it was the cus-

tom to make a solemn oath on a bell;this oath was even more binding thanif given on the Bible. One of the oldestbells in Great Britain is the Bell ofSt. Patricks Will at Belfast, which ismentioned in records as early as 552.It is now enshrined in a costly case ofgoldandsilver filagree made for itabout the 11 th century.

Satis N. Coleman, in her Book ofBells, tells us that in the 10th century,a prosperous Saxon peasant with 500acres of his own could become a noble


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The

RosicrucianDigestDecember1955

by building on his land a church witha bell and tower. Bells were also usedas a reward or a gift from a king tothe subjects of one of his good towns.

William the Conqueror, in England,introduced the custom of ringing a bellabout 8:00 in the evening to announceit was time to cover the fire and goto bed. The French used the termcouvre feu (cover fire) from which ourcurfew has descended.

In Britain, also, small bells, crotals,were carried into battle, and later buriedwith the dead, suspended on a spear.Bells were rung at funerals, in ancienttimes to dispel evil spirits, which cus-tom in time became the passing bellof the Catholic Church during the Mid-dle Ages, which tolled while a soul was

passing into the beyond. About the18th century, this custom changed intothe slow knelling after death, and the

people were reminded that Of these,one (death knell) will be thine.

In ancient China, small prayer bellswere used to attract the attention ofthe gods, and from the Golden Boughwe learn of bells miraculous powerto quench fires, dispel storms, cure sick-ness and insure good crops. Even today,in some places in Africa, bells are thesymbol of royalty; only the king ormedicine man may carry them to dis{>el evil spirits or sickness. Japaneseegends mention a bell which was a

woman hater. The Holy Ghost bellat Strassburg is rung only when twofires are seen in the town at one time!

The World Book Encyclopedia statesthat cows or buffalo are sacred in India.The royal queen cow inherits her di-vinity and wears a bell for three days,after which it is returned to the temple.Krishna was a legendary cowherd, asour Christian Jesus was a symbolicalshepherd. It must be quite apparentthat the holy lamb is closely related tothe sacred cow or buffalo.

In the 7th to 10th centuries, accord-ing to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, amethod of excommunication was em-

ployed in the Roman Catholic Church.After the sentence was read, the bookwas closed, and priests brought forthtwelve lighted candles to throw on thegrounda bell tolled as for the dead.This symbolical religious death wascalled Bell, Book, and Candle.

i n s p i r a t i o n

Ever, through the ages, men haverisen to the heights of genius throughthe mystic music of bells. Chamberss

Encyclopedia records that Mohammedof the 6th century A.D. was inspired bya voice which had the sound qualityof a deep bell, while the words of theKoran were laid deep in his heart.Potters Story of Religion also mentionsthis sound of bells during Mohammedsperiods of rapport. The New Interna-tional Encyclopedia describes it asStrange sounds as of the ringing ofgreat bells.

In 1859, the Gabriel bell which rungthe Angelus three times daily for pray-er, provided the inspiration for thefamous painting of that name by JeanFrancois Millet. We are also indebtedto the Angelus bells for songs, poetry,and musical settings of great composers,among them the classic Ave Maria, theBells of St. Mary's , and many others.

Longfellow describes the baptism ofbells in the prologue of the GoldenLegend. Schillers famous Song of theBell and Poes The Bells are in-spirations which will live forever.Hendrik Willem Van Loon, in his fore-word to The Story of Mankind, givescredit for his larger conception of lifeto a visit he made as a child to the belltower in Rotterdam, where high abovethe city, among the bells, he visualizeda great history of evolution.

As bells became larger during the11th century, the structure of churchesand cathedrals changed to accommodatethe high towers and belfries, so that thehuge bells could be heard for great dis-tances. In ancient times, towers hadbeen used for defense, bu t now theypartook of the nature of beauty. TheGothic period also made great changesin church construction and design. InItaly, many of the towers stood farapart from the churches, as much asseveral hundred feetfamous examplesare the Giotto Tower and the Campanileof St. Mark. Probab ly the most famoustower of all must be the Leaning Towerof Pisa, which took 185 years to build,and was finished in 1359.

About 1600, the peals of bells,which had formerly consisted of threebells, increased to as many as eight (afull octave plus the note above). Up


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until this time, roundringing hadbeen the only way to ring bells, thesame three notes, onetwothree, overand over again. With a full octave tochoose changes from, changering-ing in the 17th century became a

fashionable sport for the nobles and thewealthy, par t icular ly in England.Change Ringing clubs were formed,

books were writ ten about the pastime,and it became a keenly competitivesport of endurance and rivalry. Citiesand kingdoms became famous for theirbells; England became the RingingIsle.

How are bells of today rung? TheBritish Isles love swinging bells, butthe larger bells must necessarily be sta-tionary; they are struck by a hammer,

either inside or out. Some bells arerung mechanically, by winding like aclock.

The history of bells in America iseven more interesting. In early days,bells warned of Indian attacks. PaulRevere, after his historical ride, becamefamous for the bells he cast; many ofthese are still to be found in the NewEngland states.

The Encyclopedia Am ericana has aninteresting story about the most famous

bell in America: the Liberty Bell. It

was cracked, not once, but five times.Originally ordered for the new StateHouse in Philadelphia, in 1751, itcracked while its tone was being tested.It was recast, but proved defective thistime also. The tnird casting seemedsatisfactory and it was hung in 1753.The inscription on it read, Proclaimliberty throughout all the land unto allthe inhabitants thereof. To prevent itscapture by the British in 1777, it wasfalsely reported sunken in the DelawareRiver, but actually it was hidden inAllentown, Penn. When danger was

past it was replaced in IndependenceHall. In 1835 it cracked again as itwas tolling the death of Chief JusticeMarshall. Repaired again, it crackedwhile ringing for Washingtons birth-day anniversary in 1846, and this timethe damage was beyond repair. It nowhangs, forever silent, in the vestibule atIndependence Hall.

The Metropolitan Life Insurancebuilding in New York City houses a setof famous bells. The tower is 650 feet

above the street, and the chimes hangtwice as high as any other peal in theworld. The four bells weigh a total of7 tons, and automatic clappers strikethe quarterhour.

Other famous bells are to be foundin the Missions which Catholic priestsbu ilt from Texas and New Mexico upthrough the California coast. MarieT. Walsh tells their interesting historyin her Mission Bells of California.TheseMissions were built in the pioneer daysof the West to introduce civilized livingas well as Christianity to the AmericanIndians. Most of the Mission bells weremade in Spain, although some camefrom New England by way of Cape ofGood Hope, and some from Mexico,where excellent bells had been cast as

early as the 16th century. Many color-ful tales are told of the Indian and theMexican bellringers of these early M is-sions. At the Glenwood Mission Inn,at Riverside, California, is the largestcollection of bells in the world. Fas-cinating tales of history and religioncan be traced from this collection.

There are so many interesting bellsin the world that it is only possibleto give the barest hint of them here.The largest bell on earth is the TsarKolokol (the Monarch or Tsar bell)atMoscow, but it is doomed to remain

forever silent. Cast in 1733, it wascracked during the Moscow fire of thatdate which destroyed a large portionof the city. It was never hung. Ttsweight is estimated at 200tons. In 1836,it was raised on a granite base, and thebell now serves as a tiny chapel, hold-ing forty people. The broken piecewhich weighs 11 tons is the entrance.

The largest ringing bell on earth isalso in Moscow. It weighs 128 tons. Itsvoice is said to make the earth tremble.The second largest is the Great Bell of

Koyote in a Buddhist temple in Japan,weighing 150 tons.The Great Bell of China at Peking,

weighs 53 tons. Everyone has hea rd thelegend of the bellmakers lovely 16yearold daughter who threw herselfinto the molten metal so that the toneof her fa ther s bell wTould be perfect.The bell is said to have a sweet buttragic tone.

In the great Pagoda at Rangoon, inUpper Burma, is an ancient bell weigh-


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ing about 80 tons and measuring 16feet in diameter. It has been lovinglynamed the Great, Sweet Voice.

England affectionately calls her bellsGreat Peter, Great Paul, Great Tom,and so on. Big Ben's deep voice hasbeen broadcast to America many times.

In modern days, the carillon has be-come the highest perfection of the artof bells. The golden tones of joyouschimes peal forth in perfect harmonyfrom a tower liigh above the surround-ing countryside. Belgium is the orig-inal home of the carillon.

A carillon consists of at least 23 bells(two full octaves, including the sharpsand flats). It can be played mechanical-ly, like a giant music box, or by hand;the carillonneur manipulates a largekeyboard with wooden Keys, and at thesame time he strikes pedals with hisfeet. The first city in the United Statesto have a carillon was Gloucester, Mas-sachusetts, in 1922. The largest carillonin the world is at Riverside Church inNew York, with 72 bells (five fulloctaves including the sharps and flats).The most famous, perhaps, is the BirdSanctuary and Singing Tower at LakeWales, Florida, built in 1929 by Ed-ward Bok as a gift to the Americanpeople. This tower has a lake surrou nd-

ing the base, over which cross twomarble bridges decorated with irongrillwork. Huge goldfish swim aroundthe foot of the tower in the tiny lake,and palms and tropical foliage groweverywhere in orderly profusion. Abrass door is set in the base of the

tower, which is 205 feet high. Thiscarillon consists of 61 bells; theirweights vary from 16 pounds to 11 tons.There is no more joyous sound in theworld than that of these lovely bellspouring out thei r music from the mountaintop, overlooking the placid blue lakefar below.

This, then, is the evolution of bells,from the first note of mystery heardthousands of years ago, to a marble tow-er containing tons of melodious, quiver-ing metal, die highest visualization ofbells by intelligent civilized man. Suchmusic is the rhythm and joy of a holypoem, the worshipful song of a mightybird, the mystic voice of Mother Natureherself. Sound becomes an experienceof beauty when mind is stripped ofsophisticated, worldly thinking, and al-lows itself to become simple and believ-ing, like a childs. Th en it is possibleto know, like primitive man, that thisindeed is the voice of the Great Un-known.

V

dan ^Ljou sZxjitain DUl :9

n the northernmost partof Honshu I s land, inAomori Prefecture, aboutan hour ' s dr ive f romMisawa, there are twograves highly veneratedby the Japanese farmersof the little community.One grave, they main-

tain. is that of Jesus; the other, that of

Ishikiri, his legendary brother.According to news reports, thesefanners believe themselves to be theblood descendants of Jesus. The y re-port th at Hachinohe Taro Tengu (thetall man from the mountain)theirname for Jesuscame to Japan fromhis Palestine birthplace when he was21. Here he became a student of the

Shinto religion under the tutelage ofthe Empero rs son. When he was 33,they further state, he returned to hisown country at the Emperors directionthat he might evangelize the Jews.

During a part of his bitter experiencein Gethsemane and after, Jesus wasgreatly helped, these believers attest, byIshikir i who suffered for him. His re-mark I go to my father is interpretedto have indicated his return to Japan,where it is said he settled under an-other name, married and fathered threedaughters. His age at transition is givenas 118.

In this way these simple Japanesefarmers account for the kinship withJesus. How would you explain it?


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Son of the SunThe Inspiring Life of Amenhotep IV By Savitri DeviThe stirring, human story of the worlds first individual. It

was Amenhotep IV who brought about the worlds first spiritualrevolution. He was the first one to declare that the re was a soleGod, and to reveal tha t Cosmic powers pervade all men. Herewas a belief 3,300 years ago that anticipated the search of modem science for the under-lying substance of allmatter, energy, and life force.

This book, containing several hundred pages, will be shipped to you direct fromLondon, England. Those in North America may expect receipt of their copy within30 days time af ter order is placed. In keeping with A M O R C policy concerning itspublications, the price of this book is also low so as to make it available to everyone.The Son of the Sun sells for only $2.75 (19 /8 sterl ing). We are proud to offer thisgenuine classic to our many members and readers of the Rosicrucian Digest. Dont failto add this to your bookshelf of mystical literature. Send order and remittance to:

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The extensive preparations for an archaeological expedition; the setting up of campat the site of digging; the careful mapping of each days work; the social life andrepartee of the party ; the meticulous care with which new finds are uncovered, pre-

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With Mary Chubbs delightful narrative style, you can relive with her the thrill ofexploration in this 3,300yearold culture. As secretary to the field director of an ex-

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H um an Evo lu t i onBy D r . H. Sp e n c e r L e w i s , F. R. C.

(From Rosicrucian Digest , June 1932)

Since thousands of readers of the Rosicrucian Digest have not read many of the earlierarticles of our late Imperator, Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, we adopted the editorial policy of

pub lishing each month one of his outstanding artic les, so that his thoughts would continueto reside within the pages of this publication.

d s t certainly there is noth-ing that counts so greatlyin the mastership of lifeas the elements of humanevolution. W e m ay speakof culture, refinement,art, and all the otherniceties of life and char-acter that go to make up

polished man or woman,but, af ter all, it is the evolution of thehigher instincts in man or in the animalthat makes it rise toward that degreeof perfection intended by God and

nature.As one travels around the world andnotes the manner in which some groupsor races of people live he can see howin one city, let alone one country, therecan be those of the same race and racialancestry and of the same historical

background who live like the lowest ofanimal creatures, while nearby arethose who live like highly evolved hu-man beings.

We find men, women, and childrenindifferent to all of the improvementsthat have been made in sanitation, hy-giene, and personal and communitycleanliness. We find them indifferentto the opportunities for educationandto any and all moral codes, ethicalcodes, and even legal codes. They aresatisfied to live in dark, damp, unclean,

unwholesome huts, while around themon all sides is the bright sunshine andthe clear air. They are contented withunclean food, unclean water, and un-clean surroundings, even though theycould have for the mere effort of mov-ing themselves and their few personalbelongings to another location, at nogreater cost to themselves, clean andbeneficial conditions.

There are men and women with noambition, going through life with no

prospect of change for the better andno desire to rise above the conditions

which surround them. We find themeating and sleeping along the highways,or in hovels. We find them out of em-

ployment and out of money even whilework may be secured just around thecorner and money received in exchangefor service of all kinds.

On the other hand, there are menand women in every country who haverisen from poverty and from limitedand restricted environment to greatheights. We have wealthy men andwomen who have attained their presentposition of affluence solely through theexertion of their own efforts and the

development of their own special abili-ties. We have young men and old menwhose parents were grossly ignorantbu t who themselves are learned andoccupy high places of wisdom.

the socalled


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We certainly do become what wehave been taught to think and believe.Our education, thinking, and under-standing create new cells of characterin every part of our being and awaken

the dormant instincts and qualities thatmake man a superanimal and a crea-ture far above all other members of theanimal kingdom.

By studying the life of domestic ani-mals we may easily see the result ofthis cultural influence. We see thewelltrained cat or dog refusing to al-low his own body or sleeping place tobecome soiled or contaminated. We findsuch animals more select and morecritical about their personal existencethan many of the human beings wemeet in various lands.

D o r m a n t I n s t i n c t *

Only recently this story of evolutionand of cultural development was im-pressed upon me in a very personalway. One of my younger children hadadopted and brought into the basementof the house a typical alley cat. Weknew nothing of the ancestry of thecat, of course, but its appearance as ayoung kitten was certainly against anybelief that it had been properly caredfor by either its own mother or any-

one else. Tenderness, affection, food,and some very positive training devel-oped the cat into a likeable little crea-ture except that it manifested its pref-erence for the dark parts of its abodeand did not mind eating its food in un-clean places to which it would dragwhatever was given to it. Afte r monthspassed by, the children looked forwardto the birth of a litter of kittens and wewondered what kind of mother thisstrange cat would prove to be. Thosewho told us they knew all about catsand dogs reminded us that instinctive-ly she was a mother and that the alleycat would prove to know as much aboutmotherhood as any cat that had beentrained or any being that had beeneducated. Every opportunity wras af-forded to make the expectant mothercat contented and to provide everyproper convenience.

At last the litter of five kittens wasborn. One of them was smothered life-less within a few hours after birth andthereafter we noticed that this cat hadabout as much interest in her kittens as

a wagon wheel has in the driver of thewagon. She would allow the kittens tonurse, of course, but it was unquestion-ably the attitude of a trial rather thanof love and affection. She made no at-

tempt to clean the kittens nor to liftthem out of the corner of the box inwhich they were born, nor to uncoverthem when they would tangle them-selves in the loose cloth that was pro-vided for them to sleep on. She wouldget up and leave them for long stretchesat a time and then go back and throwherself upon them without any concernas to the ir comfort. Every few daysone of the little kittens passed to theBeyond, and before any one of themreached the ninth day and had its eyesopen they were all gone to the little

Heaven for kittens. The mother thenstretched herself and discovering thebox was em pty and the lit tle lifelessbodies had been removed, let out a wailor two. She made a pretense of huntingaround for them for a few minutes, anathen continued her interrupted socialengagements around the back yards andthe streets.

This cat had probably inherited justsuch instincts as she manifested. Therewere undoubtedly higher instincts lyingdormant in the cat but they had not

been awakened. From the few hoursof moaning and wailing that we heard,this mother might actually have missedthe kittens when it was too late, and Ibelieve she learned her first Karmiclesson. The chances are that if she everhas any other kittens she will give themjust a little bit more atten tion than shegave these first ones.

But the whole incident illustrates tome just what I have seen among humanbeings in many lands and, I am sorryto say, right here in our own glorious,progressive, high ly civilized, culturedmodern country. My younger childrenfelt bad about the incident. The great-est shock to them was the shock to theirfaith in animal instincts. W hat theteachers at school had told them andwhat they had learned about the kind-ness of dumb animals toward their ownoffspring, and upon which they built afaith in the manifestation of Gods lovethrough all living things, was badlyshattered.

I know of many human beings whoare living much like that cat lives. She


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is well fed when she cannot find foodfor herself, and she always knowswhere there is a place to sleep. If shewants her back scratched she needsonly to come near one of the childrenand hump her back and cry a momentto get all the attention she wants; sowhy should she bother with the devel-

opment of any instincts or the perfec-tion of any superqualities, traits, orabilities th at m ay lie within?

But a time is coming when that cat,like millions of human beings, willwant the personal power to do for her-self what she finds others will not dofor her. There is coming a time whena very nice little woolly dog or somefluffy kitten will take the place of thatcat in our house. The n this poor un -wise creature will find that sne mustgo out and hunt for food and hunt foraffection and for warm and safe placesto sleep, and she will meet with per-

sonal inabilities to do the things sheshould be able to do.I do not know whether a cat can

soliloquize or not, and I do not supposeit would begin its little personal discus-sion with the famous words To be ornot to be, but this cat will probablyperch herself on the top of some fencesome night when it is cold and drearyand when the moon is clouded out andshe will say to herself something likethis:

What a nice failure I have made ofmy life! I had no good trainin g athome when I was with my parents andwhen I was taken to a better home 1thought all I had to do was simply totake all that was given to me and makeno effort to improve myself. And whenthe time came for me to demonstrate

the great miracle of life and be a motherI still failed to do the things I shoulddo, and here I am now an outcast whenI might have been the proud mother ofan admiring little bunch of kittens andall of us playing around the fireside inthat home over there.

If we, as human beings, dependedupon our divine instincts and the Godlyconsciousness in us to arouse and forceus to live the life we should live, wewould turn out to be nothing morethan this alley cat. It is through ourown efforts, through a willful, deter-mined, systematic effort to develop un

derstandingly the dormant instinctswithin us, the unawakened conscious-ness within us, that we are enabled toevolve and become living images ofGod. W e mu st develop the psychicemotions, the psychic discriminations,the psychic tests and preferments andknow all of the spiritual evaluationsof life, if we want to become perfect,more masterful, happier, and more con-tented in life.

V A V

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

In every age there are definite signs or indications which 1reflect the thoughts and progress of the people. In these days,when people are turning more and more to new avenues ofthought, the name and symbol of AMORC appearing in publicplaces is trul y a sign of the times. It is indica tive of a new way /of life, a new era of tolerance and investigation of universal

phenomena. And the small red AMORC seals appearing onthousands of pieces of mail day after day, in every part of theworld, are making the public more and more conscious of thisnew era of thought. ,

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11 .................................................. . . . . . . . . P !

s

The Cathedral of the Soul is a Cosmic meeting place for all minds of themost highly developed and spiritually advanced members and workers of theRosicrucian frate rnity. It is the focal point of Cosmic radiations and thoughtwaves from which radiate vibrations of health, peace, happiness, and innerawakening. Various periods of the day are set aside when many thousandsof minds are attuned with the Cathedral of the Soul, and others attuning withthe Cathedral at the time will receive the benefit of the vibrations. Those whoare not members of the organization may share in the unusual benefits as wellas those who are members. The book called Liber 777 describes the periodsfor various contacts with the Cathedral. Copies will be sent to persons whoare not members if they address their requests for this book to Scribe S. P. C.,care of AMORC Temple, San Jose, California, enclosing three cents in postagestamps. (Please state whether member or notthis is important )

:

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St

v*

S

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THE SHADOW OF DOUBT By C e c i l A . P o o l e , Supreme Secretary

h i s is the season of theyear when we believeand practice the spirit of

peace and good will. Thedepth of these ideas maybe judged by the effec-tiveness of the concept of

peace and good w il lthroughout the entireyear. To the average individual it wouldseem that the concept of peace andgood will is something that is put intowords only during the holiday seasonbecause during the rest of the year,there is considerable lack of peaceamong men and lack of good will to-ward others. It is comparatively simplefor even the most dour individual towish happiness to another at the timeof year when everyone else is doing the

same thing, but it is questionable as towhether his wishes are deeper than amere statement of words.

In examining the thinking and the be-havior of human beings throughout theworld, it would appear that doubt andfear are more firmly grounded in the

minds and daily behavior of individualsthan is the concept of peace and goodwill among men. To state tha t peaceand good will are not firmly groundedis not saying that the world is on thebrink of another catastrophe. Duringthe past ten years, too much of thisconcept has been promoted. In mostcountries people have lived under theconstant threat that another devastatingwar may begin at any time. Whetheror not war actually comes about is aquestion that only the future can an-


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swer. In the meantime, doubt and fearexist in the minds of people, not solelyupon the basis of a war but in connec-tion with their more personal relation-ship.

There are other evidences of uneasi-ness and unrest in human behavior.The problems of crime and of lawenforcement occupy the time and at-tention of many individuals. Lack ofconsideration in the dealings of one in-dividualwith another is evident in dailyexperience. There is the necessity foremphasis upon the part of more andmore people to practice common decen-cy, courtesy, and humane understand

oubt casts an actual shadow overthe lives of many individuals. Theyare constantly questioning the validity

of what they do, and are asking wheth-er their efforts are worth while. Wher-ever there is doubt, there is also fear,because anything that is not completelyunderstood, the unknown, naturallymakes one fearful. W hat we under-stand as belonging to our environmentwe accept. Such conditions we do notfear to the extent we fear those thingsthat are completely unknown and un-explainable to us.

It is very easy to say that the doubtand fear that overshadow the mind ofthe people of todaj' is based upon the

uncertainties and complications m mod-ern civilization. This concept is an at-tempt to excuse the situation, ratherthan to try to explain or solve it. Allcivilizations have had their periods ofuncertainty . Men have never lived fora very long period of time in any erawhere circumstances were conducive tocomplete peace and assurance of securi-ty, either in the physical or in thespiritual phases of the ir existence. Ifindividuals doubt what is best for them,if they question the steps that theyshould take, if they do not know what

may be their lot in life, or its purnose,that is due to their complete lacK of

adjustment to the circumstances whichconstitute life. Th ey have an impropersense of values, a lack of adjustment tothe demands and purposes of life.

The message of this season shouldcontinue to be that of peace and good

will, but it should also bring the conceptof peace to mens mindthe realiza-tion that the full attainment of peacelies within self. To the mind of peoplewho live constantly in fear of the cir-cumstances about them, and in doubtas to their purpose and eventual valuein life, it is necessary to convey anassurance that there are values in theuniverse that may have been overlookedin the human tendency to rush fromone set of circumstances to another. If,at this season, it is possible for us inany way to help to establish an un

shakeable belief in the eternal s tandardsof truth in those who live in doubt, abelief which will remain unchangednext Christmas, or even one hundredyears from next Christmas, then weshall have given, at this season of theyear, that which brings peace to themind of mankind. To do tha t we willhave created a hope where now existsa void. We will have replaced doubtwith assurance, and a sense of valueswhere fear now exists.

The values that in mans mind cancause him to look to a permanency of

existence, rather than to the transientdemands of his daily existence, willbring about a transformation in his lifewith the assurance that truth is an eter-nal condition that was ordained by theCreator. If man aspires toward therealization of truth, he. at the sametime, aspires toward the understandingof his life. He aspires to the attainm entof a relationship with the force that isconducive to the maintenance of peaceand good will among men at all timesregardless of their status, or regardless

of how they may be judged by theirfellow men.

V A V

TheRosicrucian m .Digest Iron rusts frorn d151156*stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold weather beDcccmber comes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.7 9 5 5 L e o n a r d o d a V i n c i


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I f Thou ght s were Bubbles

By E l o is e F r a n c o , F .R . C .

other day while leaflthrough a small mailler catalogue I cameon a gadget that reallyade me pause andink. It was a toy forchild to wear that madeappear as though he

ere producing bubblesout of the top of his head.Cute, I thoughtapparently blowing

bubbles out of the top of ones head.Then came the startling idea: What ifour thoughts were as visible as bubbles!

But how close to the truth! There isno denying that thinking does resultin the giving off of an actual energy.Scientists have proved it through allkinds of tests. With an encephalograph,they have found tha t tnere ex is tdefinite rhy thm s for sleeping and wak-

ing. They have observed dreams form -ing little spindles and problemsolvingchanging the rhythm pattern in ac-cordance with concentration. Anotherinstrument, the encephalophonewhichindicates the pattern through sound in-stead of by pentraced linesshows thatenergy given off by the normal healthy

brain produces a pleasant musical tri ilwhereas that from one abnormal pro-duces a sinister moaning like the windsoughing through a forest of pines.

Then, too, this same energy isactual-ly visible to those gifted with the pow-ers of clairvoyance because there existsaround usas around every materialobjectan electromagnetic field or aurawhich is actually composed of energiesgiven off by our body. Also metaphysi-cal students have tried many mechan-ical experiments, including the use ofcolored and/or polarized light, to makethe aura visible. Some have been high-ly successful.

But what would the effect upon usbe if we knew our everyday thoughtswere going to be as normally visibleto othersin terms of colorsas thebubbles spilling out of this childs toy?We might think twice about losing ourtemper if we knew our tantrum wouldresult in a veritable fountain of bright

red bubbles pouring forth from the topof our head and accompanying us forhours, since the energies produced bythought are not dissipated as quicklyand easily as bubbles formed from soapand water.

We might try to control our thoughtsof hate or envy if we knew they wouldbe advertised to the world in a multi-tude of ugly darkgreen bubbles. Wemight soon make an attempt to changeour negative selfish ways if we sawourselves perpetually surrounded by

telltale bubbles of dull brownishgray.How valuable such a phenomenonwould be, encouraging us to watch ourthoughts and deliberately seek to sendout bubbles of a pleasing color thatwould indicate a better nature. For in-stance we should then try to exchangethe darkred of passion and earthlyambitions for the delicate pink of purefriendship and love together with the

beautiful green of spiritual unfoldment.We should want to turn the dark redbrown of disagreeableness into the lightblue of sweet reasonableness or at bestthe bluish pink of an evenly balancedpersonality.

Then if we could accomplish thisrightaboutface in our habits of think-ing, our mental attitudes, what a pleas-anter place this world would appear toour clairvoyant friendsand what astep forward we would be taking to-ward demonstrating that Thought isthe Creative Power.

V A V


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{ Z a i t i j c ^ 'f m s L i i c a .n f iij L a L a n

ByH a r o ld P r e e c e

He w a s o n e o fAmericas earliestscientists and its firstrecognized pa in te r .

When doc tors werefew in our countryand m edical schoolsnonexistent, he trainedothers to heal the sick.A simple Practitionerof Physick, he de-scribed himself in thequaint language of the

18th century . Yet hisl o n g m o r t a l s p a nmight have been sym-bolized by the MysticTriangle of accom-plishm ent whose meanings he knew sowell.

For he was the connecting link be-tween three Rosicrucian Grand Lodgesof his day. He served both the Britishand the German supreme bodies asoverseas Legate. Upon his arrival inAmerica, he served as Precentor in thenascent American Grand Lodge which

the two European bodies had jointlyplanted on the soil of colonial Penn-sylvania.

Christopher W itt he is listed in theoriginal archives of the Order whichJulius Friedrich Sachse assembled inthe present Epoch of Rebirth, from thePennsylvania Rosicrucian descendants.Perhaps his surname was properly DeWitt which often became contracted in-to its shorter form. Details of his ma-turing years are disappointingly toovague because he spoke or wrote solittle about himself. But tradition re -

lates that he was bom in the Englishcounty of Wiltshire at some time during1675.

Within that county lies the massiveand ancient shrine of Stonehenge whichBritish mystics continued to use as agathering place long after its earliestknown Magi, the Druidic priesthood,had ceased their visible work. Witt, theAdept in embryo, grew up within the

shadow of this majes-tic sanctuary whichmay have been to theWestern world whatthe Great Pyramid ofGizeh was to the East.

As a boy, youngChristopher must haveoften roamed aroundthe imposing altars ofStonehenge. Sensitiveand precoc ious , hep ro ba b ly w ondered

what forgotten mys-teries of elder daysstill proclaimed them-selves from the Circlesand the Trilithons of

the venerable Temple. From old peopleof the county, he may have picked upfragments of esoteric knowledge still

preserved in folklore.Undoubtedly his seeking mind led

him to the august and highlydevelopedBritish Rosicrucian Order whose mem-bers often made pilgrimages of venera-tion to Stonehenge. Into what local

lodge he was eventually initiated we donot know. M any gaps exist in the his-tory of the British section because itsrecords were appropriated during a

eriod of dormance of the true Ordery the promoters of an irregular and

unauthorized organization calling itselfRosicrucian.

But certain circumstances suggestthat Witt was instructed by the illus-trious English Magus, Elias Ashmole,who traced the native British occulttradition to the Druidic rites once cele-brated at Stonehenge. Ashmole was not

only a member of the British GrandLodge called Solomons Temple but alsoa leading figure in the scientific groupsof the kingdom. Like Witt, he was alsointerested in botany, music, alchemy,and mechanics.

As Ashmole in his youth had beendrawn to the celebrated Adept, RobertFludd, so Witt may, in turn, have beenattracted by Flud ds chosen disciple and


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successor. Some of the eminent physi-cians belonging to the British grandlodge may have influenced the youngInitiate to choose medicine as his career.With his scientific studies, so thePennsylvania physicianhistorian, Dr.

I. Pearson Willits, points out, there con-tinued to develop a taste for the occultand the mystic.

We can safely assume that brilliantyoung Dr. Witt prospered in his pro-fession, for he was no penniless pauperwhen he migrated to America in 1704;nor must we imagine that blind chanceinfluenced him to forsake his comfort-able life in England and come adven-turing to the colonies.

He came here a man with a purpose.That purpose was to establish more

firmly the first foundations of the RosyCross in the New World.Christopher Witt had probably la-

bored with Ashmole and other BritishMagi to settle the original group offorty refugee German Rosicrucians onthe Wissahickon River near Philadel-phia in 1694. During the decade thathad passed, the sponsoring grand lodgesof Britain and Germany had watchedanxiously the progress of the new sec-tion across the Atlantic. With transpo r-tation and communication so slow in

those days, it became impossible to givethe immigrant fratres proper supportand guidance unless a Legate was sta-tioned among them.

From what we can deduce the manchosen was Christopher Witt. He camefirst to the Philadelphia suburb of Ger-mantown, the trading center for theRosicrucian community on the Wissa-hickon. On hand to welcome him wasa Germantown tailor and Initiate,Christian W arnersometimes miscalledWarmerwho presented him with ahat to replace one that he had lost onshipboard.

Several historians have naively con-cluded that Witt first became interestedin mysticism when a mystic gave himthe hatas if Rosicrucians recruitedmembers by passing out presents. Butthe subsequent activities of the newlyarrived British frater prove that he wasalready regarded as an exalted Masterby the founding Brethren in America.

C om p a ssi o n a n d Se r v i c e

He spent little time in Germantownbut hu rried to the Wissahickon site ofthe Chapter of Perfection as this pio-neer Grand Lodge of the Americas hadbeen named. There he began resolvingthe confusion resulting from the longand severe illness of the saintly youngMagister, Johannes Kelpius. Becausehe knew the language and customs ofAmerica, he could give his German-speaking confreres the sympathetic helpand counsel they so badly needed dur-ing the grim crisis.

Christopher Witt was the only nonGerman ever to sit in the Councils ofthat first American supreme body. Dur-ing the uncertain months that followedhis arrival, the migrant English frater

also became the closest friend and con-fidant of the ailing Kelpius.He acted as Kelpius nurse, as secre-

tary, and medical advisor. To his devo-tion, we owe the translation of thelearned Magisters hymns into English.Because of Dr. Witt, we know too whatKelpius looked like. Wishing to pre-serve the features of his friend for

posterity, the youthful physician pro-ceeded to paint a picture of him.

The picturebelieved to be the firstoil portrait ever done in Americais

still to be seen in the library of theHistorical Society of Pennsylvania,along with Witts manuscript versionsof the Kelpius hymns. W itts medicalskill probably prolonged the Germanborn Masters life for many months tillhis transition from tuberculosis at theuntimely age of thirtyfive.

Soon the doctor who had tended onepatien t was called upon to provide formany. Germantown had been withouta resident physician since its establish-ment as a community of German Mennonites by Franz Daniel Pastorius in1683. Pastorius had been deeply in-fluenced by Rosicrucians whom he hadmet in the Pietist movement of Ger-many . In America, he had become theintimate friend and staunch admirer ofDr. Witt. Probably, with the consentof the Brotherhood, the Doctor beganpracticing in the settlement which hadhitherto relied on crude folk remediesfor the relief of the sick.

Witts first home in the devout com-munity was with Daniel Gessler, a local


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householder and Rosicrucian. Nearbylived his equally good friend, ChristianWarner. The three comprised a Triu neof Adepts in the Philadelphia Lodgewhich later received such distinguishedInitiates as Benjamin Franklin, ThomasJefferson, and Thomas Paine. The at-

tachment of the Doctor and his twolearned colleagues continued throughtheir lifetimes.

For twenty years, Dr. Witt dwelt inthe home of Frate r Gessler. Patientsthronged his waiting rooms and his

practice was profitable. Dr. Willits de-clares that in professional knowledge,he was probably the peer of Philadel-ph ias three bestknown physiciansWynne, Goodron or Graeme.

During those two busy decades ofwork and research, Dr. Witt kept inconstant touch with the Wissahickon

brethren who were often seen walkingthrough Germantown dressed in longgrey robes and Biblicaltype sandals.He made extensive purchases of proper-ty in the settlement and often acted asa friendly agent in real estate transac-tions for Gessler or Warner. His inter-national list of correspondents includednot only the British and the GermanMasters, under whose authority heacted, but also many of the leadingscientists and philosophers of Europeand America.

As Legate he welcomed the secondgroup of Rosicrucian colonists whichsailed from Germany to Pennsylvaniain 1720. He helped prepare for theleadership of the American Order theultimate successor of Kelpius, ConradBeissel, who came that year to German-town as an apprentice baker and asteadily advancing Initiate.

The transplanted Mystic Rose con-tinued to unfold and spread its radi-ance in America. New chapters andstudy circlesits strong young tendrils

developed in a number of communi-ties. Englishspeaking Neophytes foundit more convenient to receive instruc-tion from Christopher Witt than fromthe venerable Masters who spoke Ger-man. In turn , W itts evermcreasingresponsibilities to the Order necessitatedhis seeking larger quarters than thosehe had occupied so long with DanielGessler.

His inherent love of nature required

that he find a place where he mightdemonstrate the lifeforce of the Cosmosthrough its varied and colorful flora.From a Germantown citizen namedJohn Doeden, Dr. Witt purchased, in1726, the most beautiful small estatein the community.

N a t u r e Pi n g i n v en t i o n

He planted its three acres of groundwith as many varieties of native flowersand trees as he could find space for.Avenues of hedges and evergreens madethe tract a place of delicate beauty evenduring the cold Pennsylvania winters.Similarly his dwelling expressed visiblythat invisible yet profoundly real sys-tem of Contemplation and Activitywhich governs the noblest Adepts.

Roomy and comfortable, it gave himthe background for a new epoch ofKarmic fulfillment. He remodeled itto include his own private scientific lab-oratory where he conducted experi-ments of which, unfortunately, he leftno record. One portion of the threestory stone building was converted intoa workshop. There Christopher Witt,in his spare moments, concerned him-self with the fundam ental Cosmic meas-urements of time, making clocks andwatches.

His versatile hands also constructedan organ where he played for his

friends the fugues of Bach and thehymns of Kelpius. His music room alsocontained several virginalsthose ex-quisite little forerunners of our modernpianos. On their keyboards, he in light-er moods, performed popular Englishballads.

Astronomy had always been one ofhis main interests and he had perfectedhis knowledge of this science during hissojourn with the Wissahickon brethren.With his telescope, later to be used byGeorge Washington during the Revolu-tionary War, Dr. Witt studied themovements of the celestial bodies aslearned Adepts before him had done inthe Rosicrucian temples of Egypt cen-turies before.

When the great Klingenberg Comet(also recorded as Grischows comet) of1743 appeared, it was Witt who chartedfor the Order its position and frighten-ing course. His reports on the cometare to be found in the early American


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Rosicrucian records which Sachse, thehistorian, so providentially salvagedfrom oblivion.

D en o u n c em en t s a n d A p p r e c i a t i o n

A few fanatical clergymen and theirfollowers, caught in pitiful snares ofhellfire and bigotry, began denouncingWitt as a sorcerer practicing dubiousmagic in a Godfearing municipality.Much the same charges had been lev-eled by the same element against RogerBacon in England and the cruellyslandered Dr. Johann Faust in Ger-many.

But to the intelligentsia of colonialAmerica, the scholarly, greying physi-cian was an honored figure from whomthey might learn. To intellectuals out-side the Threshold of initiation, theestablishment of Christopher Witt wasthe place where they might come andclarify ideas revolving as vague nebulaein their minds before talking with him.To those under the Rosy Cross, thepleasant residence was literally theHouse of the Master.

They beat a path to his doorboththose who interpreted truth through theacademic and those who tested itthrough the veiled principles of the ar-cane. Dr. Benjamin Franklin also camecalling. Perhaps those visits may havefirst influenced Franklin, already ahighranking member of the MasonicOrder, to become a Rosicrucian.

Other distinguished visitors were con-stantly knocking at the door of thegenial and hospitable Magus. Amongthem was John Bartram who had startedAmericas first botanical garden andnow came seeking the man who had

planted the next one.One of those immortal friendships

between men developed as the fatherof American botany and one of theworlds foremost occult scientists ex-changed visits and specimens of plants.Bartrams published writings testify elo-quently to the impression made uponhim by Rosicrucian tenets, of whichhe first heard from Christopher Witt.

He mentions one memorable sessionwhere he and the kindly Magistertalked botany in the gardensPhi-losophy, Magic, and Mystic Divinityin the house. It is unlikely that Bar-tram ever became an initiate of the

Order as a result of his long associationwith W itt But it seems that the greatscientist learned what he comprehendedof metaphysics from the philosopher ofGermantown. Through Witt, in theearly decades of the 18th century, hebecame acquainted with the principlesof mental telepathy and precognitionwhich in the 20th century are beingproved by the celebrated experimentsof Dr. Rhine and others.

For evidence, we have a letter thatBartram wrote to the famous Englishnaturalist, Peter Collinson, in 1745.Collinson meanwhile had become acorrespondent of Witt after their mu-tual acquaintance, Bartram, had intro-duced them by mail.

For though the oracles be ceased,Bartram declared, and thee hath notthe spirit of divination, yet accordingto our friend, Dr. Witt, we friends thatlove one another sincerely may by anextraordinary spirit of sympathy, notonly know each others desires but mayhave a spiritual conversation at greatdistances one from another.

Still other guests came to remain un-der Magister W itts roof as disciples ofthe arcane, as students of medicine orboth. Circumstances suggest th at themost promising Neophytes of the Amer-ican Rosicrucian Order were sent to theHouse of the Rosicrucian Master forfurther instruction and development.

Witts occult students probably in-cluded Christian Lehman, the promi-nent colonial surveyor who also initi-ated all of his nine children into themysteries of the Rosy Cross. Anotherpupil was Christopher Sauer, one ofthe great figures in American printing,and to Sauer, the Magister also taughtthe art of clockmaking. Franklin, as wehave seen, probably came to him forinstruction as did undoubtedly Pastoriuswho produced the first scientific treatiseever written in what is now the UnitedStates.

Another student who shed brilliantluster on his master was Jacob Phila-delphia, who later migrated to Europe,visited the ancient Rosicrucian lodges ofIndia, and delivered scientific and meta-

physical lectures in many countries ofthe world. Jacobs first scholarly con-tacts abroad were Rosicrucians whowere friends and correspondents of

[45 ]


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Christopher Witt, the Legate andTeacher.

Those who studied medicine underWitt were also required to master thearcane in order that they might dem-onstrate mystical principles of healthto their patients. Two members of theWarner family whom he trained asphysicians were also esteemed Adeptsof the Philadelphia lodge. How manydoctors learned to heal sick bodies andtroubled personalities from him wehave no way of knowing. Yet, in anage when not one American medicalschool had been established, not oneAmerican medical textbook written, aRosicrucian Master and physician glad-ly instructed those whose mission wasto heal.

In 1738, Dr. Witt inscribed what exGovemor Samuel W. Pennypacker de-

clared to have been the first medicaldiploma ever issued in America. Thecertificate given to John Kaigline ofHaddonfield, New Jersey, declared thatthe fledgling doctor has lived with mea considerable time to learn the artsand mysteries of Chemistry, Physick,and the Astral Sciences whereby tomake a more perfect discovery of thehidden causes of occult and uncommondiseasesin all of which he has beenvery diligent and studious, as well asin the administration of medicines and

in the various causes wherein judgmentmay be solely dependent upon so faras he follows my instructions . . .

The words that I have italicized showthat Magister Witt would countenanceno vagrant deviations from authenticRosicrucian teachings. Truth he knewto have its relativities. But equally ithad its absolutes by which its principleswere transmitted from generation togeneration. This concept he demon-strated to protect the American Orderafter the establishment of its second

center at Ephrata, Pennsylvania, in1730.Some years after the founding of

the community, two Neophytes surnamed Eckerlin, having learned a little,felt called upon to teach a lot. Defyingthe authority of the Ephrata Master,they attempted to transform the Orderinto a replica of a l

Documents

Rosicrucian Digest, December 1955