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THE MYSTICAL LIFE OF JESUS
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The Hlystical Life of Jesus
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H. Se Lewis, E-R.G. Px.D.
Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order for North and South America, Fellow of the Essene Ashrama in India, and American Legate of the G. W. B. Monastery in Tibet
re Tey PS i és [of ROSICRUCIAN LIBRARY \ ¢3\ VOLUME III \
SUPREME GRAND LODGE OF AMORC Printing and Publishing Department San Jose, California
2 f B! wert 3 S 01 \ K aX ) uQ First Edition, 1929 Fifth Edition, 1939 1~ Second Edition, 1931 Sixth Edition, 1944 Third Edition, 1933 Seventh Edition, 1946 Fourth Edition, 1935 Eighth Edition, 1948
Ninth Edition, 1951
Copyright, 1929 by AMORC All Rights Reserved
(Rosicrucian Publications in all lands are restrained from
being translated without permission from the publishers.)
Printed and Bound in U. S, A. THE ROSICRUCIAN PRESS, LTD. San Jose, California
Ecc a
NQF RELIGION
DEDICATION V
To the Ehebvalters of the Militia
in the large party of men and women from all ‘parts of North America who ac- companied my family and myself in our long and tedious journey through Palestine, Egypt, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Switzer- land, France, Germany, and England, in search of Holy Shrines and the verifi- _ cation of the facts known to us through our years of joint study and research THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED as a Souvenir of our Holy Mission and our IIlumi- nation in the year 1929.
The Rosicrucian Library ime pecs
VOLUME I Rosicrucian Questions and Answers with Complete History of the Order.
II Rosicrucian Principles for the Home and Business. III The Mystical Life of Jesus. IV The Secret Doctrines of Jesus.
Vem Wntombhees i Grantee (Secret Teachings of Tibet.)
VI A Thousand Years of Yesterdays. (A Revelation of Reincarnation.)
VII Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life. (A Vocational Guide.)
VIII Rosicrucian Manual. IX Mystics at Prayer.
X Behold the Sign. (A Book of Ancient Symbolism.)
XI Mansions of the Soul. (The Cosmic Conception.)
XII Lemuria, The Lost Continent of the Pacific. XIII The Technique of the Master. XIV The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid. XV_ The Book of Jasher. XVI The Technique of the Disciple. XVII Mental Poisoning. XVII Glands—Our Invisible Guardians. XIX Along Civilization’s Trail XX The Word Went Forth. XXI What to Eat—And When. XXII The Sanctuary of Self. XXIII Sepher Yezirah
(Other volumes will be added from time to time. Write for complete catalogue.)
V Introduction CHAPTER I The Mystery of the Essenes II The Neighbors of Jesus III The Parents of Jesus IV The Immaculate Conception of Avatars V_ The Mystical Birth of Jesus VI The Birthplace and the Magi VII The Birth Date of the Holy Child VIII The Boyhood of Jesus IX Jesus Enters the Priesthood X Jesus Enters the Secret Priesthood XI Jesus Attains Mastership XII Jesus Attains Christhood XIII The Mystic Beginning of Christ’s Mission XIV His Real Doctrines and Miracles XV_ The Truth About the Crucifixion XVI The Secret Facts of the Resurrection XVII The Unknown Life of Jesus
CONTENTS
Appendix—Some Interesting Criticisms
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INTRODUCTION V
It is a fact that very often truth is far more in- teresting than fiction. It is particularly so in regard to the life of Jesus. Perhaps it is due to the Cosmic Cycle through which man is passing, or perhaps it is due solely to man’s intellectual development, but man has become more interested in the life of the Great Redeemer than he has been in any other period since the dawn of Christianity.
In my contact with seekers for spiritual truths, covering twenty-five years, I have found that in- evitably the student of mysticism, metaphysics, psychology, and occultism is drawn to a more minute and analytical study of the life and teach- ings of the Christ, Jesus. His whole career, His doctrines, parables, miracles, and illuminating in- ferences, gradually fascinate and attune the spirit- ual side of each mystical student, and he becomes restless until he fathoms the mysteries of His life.
Why there are any mysteries in the life of Jesus is revealed in chapters in this book. After many years of careful study and research, even to the extent of visiting the Holy and mystical places of Europe, Palestine, and Egypt, I am still unprepared to say whether the Holy Fathers who authorized
eye)
THE MYSTICAL LIFE OF JESUS
the incomplete, partly erroneous, and greatly veiled life of Jesus as it appears in the Christian Bible, were justified in their actions or not. Certain it is, not all are prepared even today to comprehend, nor apprehend, the mystical significance of most of the mysteries associated with pristine Christianity. That there are thousands, perhaps several millions, now ready for the truth is undeniable; but even so, they are but a small fraction of those who have ac- cepted and found Peace and Salvation through the offerings of the Christian church.
To those who in orthodox sincerity will reject much that is presented in this book, I can say only: “Hold fast to that which is good!” If your faith, your knowledge, and your conviction in regard to Christian matters serves you well, and there is no inner urge to look beyond the veil, then do not do so. Permit nothing to weaken or lessen your ado- ration and worship of Him who is your Saviour
and your Lord.
To those who believe that a more intimate knowledge of Jesus, the Son of God, the Master, the Avatar, and the Mystic, will endear Him to their hearts, and to those who feel that the inner self needs more light on the mysteries of His mis- sion, I present the Chapters of The Mystical Life
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of Jesus as a comprehensive survey of things long held in seclusion by a few, but now deserving of wider circulation.
The story of the life and mission of Jesus as pre- sented in this book makes no sectarian appeal. I know, as a fact, that the Jesus revealed herein is acceptable to as many Jews as Gentiles, to as many Roman Catholics as Protestants; and in these days of religious controversy and profound concern re- garding the growth of the numberless thousands who do not attend any Church and who seem to be losing their interest in religious matters, I am happy to say that I know that thousands will find in this book a key to their problem and an incen- tive to reread the Christian Bible and reconsider their rejection of the Church.
I said I know these things. Through my official capacity I am in daily contact with many thou- sands of such persons in North America, and thou- sands in other lands. In my public lectures through- out the United States for twelve years, in personal interviews with the spiritually restless among the populace, and in journeys to foreign lands, I have seen the effect of these truths. Parts of the chap- ters in this book have been used in public dis courses, some of the interesting facts have been used in private lessons, and others have been pre-
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sented in personal conversations. The result has always been an awakening of interest in the life and teachings of Jesus, and generally a happy reali- zation that Jesus and His Doctrines were wholly acceptable in the newer revelations.
In the past few years, certain pamphlets have appeared claiming to contain hidden facts regard- ing the life of Jesus. In most cases these stories contained such improbabilities or inconsistencies as to condemn them as fabrications. Several of the most popular of these have claimed that they were the result of a discovery of some rare manuscript or record hitherto hidden in a secluded monastery. The real origin of all that was dependable in such pamphlets was the uncovering of certain Holy books of the ancients which did contain casual ref- erences to incidents in the life of Jesus rejected by the Holy Fathers when the first versions of the Bible were authentically compiled.
The facts contained in this book are not drawn from any newly discovered manuscripts, writings, or records. In fact, it cannot be said that the facts contained herein are new to either the Holy Fathers of the early Christian church, to the most profound and analytical writers of spiritual sub- jects, or to the most advanced of mystics in many
lands. { 20 }
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The Rosicrucian archives in foreign lands, em- bracing the records of the Essenes, the Nazarenes, and the Nazarites, as well as the complete records of the Great White Brotherhood in Tibet, India, and Egypt, have always been sources of knowledge for the worthy inquirer into the history of all Avatars and especially into the history of Jesus. It is from this dependable source that all the facts contained in this book have been drawn—not at one time and not without years of labor and inde- fatigable study and service.
Wherever possible, verification or substantiation has been secured from the writings and records of the early Church Fathers, historians, or archivists. Extracts have also been taken from the writings of Jews, and even from the so-called heathens, when- ever possible. Such citations are plainly indicated.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who in past years have carefully examined portions of my writings on this subject and have called my attention to additional points which should be cov- ered. I wish also to thank those members in my tour to the Near East during the months of Janu- ary, February, and March of this year, who acted as my companions in my special researches, and aided my secretary and myself in securing the in-
formation needed to give a personal verification to {21}
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the important statements contained in this book. It was a glorious work and I hope that each of these many companions will find some reward for his efforts in the book which I have dedicated to them.
H. Spencer Lewis
Egyptian Temple, Rosicrucian Park, San Jose, California. April 15, 1929.
[ 22]
Cuapter |
THE MYSTERY OF THE ESSENES Vi
>| EFORE one can properly understand and }] appreciate the history and real story of the birth and life work of the Master Jesus, one must have an understanding of the ancient organizations and schools which contributed to the preparation for His coming.
Within the last hundred years, a great many notations in sacred literature have been discovered relating to the Essene Brotherhood and the activi- ties of this organization in Palestine just prior to and during the lifetime of the Master Jesus. Many of these notations have verified the references to the Essenes by such eminent historians as Philo and Josephus, and have explained many of the mysterious references found in the sacred writings of the Hebrews as translated in the Christian Bible.
The possible relationship of the Essene Brother- hood to the early Christian activities has not only aroused the interest of hundreds of eminent churchmen and Biblical authorities, but it has caused one question to be asked by thousands of
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students of mystical literature: “Why has the his- tory or story of the Essenes been withheld from general knowledge?”
The answer to this question is simply that there was a desire on the part of those who knew the story to keep the Essene Brotherhood shrouded in mystery for the purpose of protecting its work and teachings from being publicly discussed and even- tually criticized and scoffed at by those students or professors of orthodox Christianity who have labored so diligently in the past to make even a greater mystery of Christ and Christianity.
The Rosicrucian records have always been re- plete with satisfactory and extensive details of the history and activities of the Essene Brotherhood, and no initiate of the Rosicrucian Order, or, in fact, no profound student of the ancient mysteries who became worthy of contact with the ancient records was ever left in ignorance regarding the Essenes. There is no reason why the veil should not be drawn aside, and some of the facts regard- ing the Essenes revealed to the world today be- cause of the advancement that has been made in the study of occult literature, and the broad- minded view that is taken by the average educated student of spiritual and mystical subjects. It is for this reason that I feel justified in giving the follow- ing facts in regard to the Essenes.
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In the first place, it probably will be sufficient in this brief outline of their organization to say that the Essenes were a branch of the illuminated broth- erhood or Great White Lodge, which had its birth in the country of Egypt during the years preced- ing Amenhotep the Fourth, Pharaoh of Egypt, and the great founder of the first monotheistic religion, who supported and encouraged the existence of a secret brotherhood to teach the mystic truths of life.
The several mystic schools of Egypt, which were united under one head constituting the Great White Brotherhood, assumed different names in different parts of the world, in accordance with the language of each country, and the peculiari- ties of the general religious or spiritual thought of the people. We find that at Alexandria, the mem- bers of the Brotherhood there assumed the name of Essenes. Scientists have speculated consider- ably in regard to the origin of this word and its real meaning. So many unsatisfactory speculations upon its root have been offered in the past that there is still considerable doubt, in the minds of most authorities, regarding it. The word truly comes from the Egyptian word Kashai, which means “‘secret.” And there is a Jewish word of similar sound, chsahi, meaning “‘secret”’ or “silent”; and this word would naturally be translated into
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essaios or ““Essene,” denoting “secret” or “mystic.” Even Josephus found that the Egyptian symbols of light and truth are represented by the word choshen, which transliterates into the Greek as “Essen.” Historical references have been found also wherein the priests of the ancient temples of Ephesus bore the name of Essene. A branch of the organization, established by the Greeks, translated the word Essene as being derived from the Syrian word dsaya meaning “physician,” into the Greek word therapeutes, having the same meaning.
The Rosicrucian records clearly state that the original word was meant to imply a secret brother- hood, and while most of the members became phy- sicians and healers, the organization was devoted to many other humanitarian practices besides the art of healing, and not all of its members were physicians in any sense.
The spread of the organization into the many lands near Egypt was slow and natural, in ac- cordance with the awakening consciousness of the people; and we find that the Essene Brotherhood became a very definite branch of the Great White Brotherhood representing the outer activities of the G. W. B., which was primarily a school of learning and instruction. Thus, for several centu- ries before the dawn of the Christian Era, the Essene Brotherhood, as an active band of workers,
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maintained two principal centers, one in Egypt on the banks of Lake Moeris, where the great Master Moria-El the Illustrious was born in his first known incarnation, educated, prepared for his great mission, and established the principle and law of baptism as a spiritual step in the process of initiation. The other principal center of the Essene Brotherhood was first established in Palestine, at Engaddi near the Dead Sea.
Going through the Rosicrucian records pertain- ing to the Essenes, I find thousands of notations regarding these two branches, and from them I have selected the following statements as being the most interesting and most definite in their connec- tion with the mystical life of Jesus.
The branch in Palestine had to contend with the despotism of the rulers of that country and the jealousy of the priesthood. These conditions forced the Essenes in Palestine to hold themselves in greater silence and solitude than they had been accustomed to in Egypt. Before they moved from their small buildings and sacred enclosure at En- gaddi, to the ancient buildings on Mount Carmel, their principal activity seemed to be the translation of ancient manuscripts and the preservation of such traditions and records as constituted the
foundation of their teachings. [ 27 }
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It is recorded that when the time came for them to move from Engaddi to Mount Carmel, their greatest problem was the secret movement of these manuscripts and records. Fortunately for us, they succeeded in preserving the rarest of the manu- scripts that came out of Egypt, and in other ways preserved the ancient, traditional stories and teach- ings. It is from these that we derive most of our knowledge regarding both the Essenes and the Great White Brotherhood. A picture of how they lived, and what they believed and taught, undoubt- edly constitutes a story of intense interest to all modern students of mysticism and sacred litera- ture.
Every member of the Essenes in Egypt or Pales- tine, or of the Therapeuti, as they were called in other lands, had to be a pure-blooded descendant of the Aryan race. This point is very important in connection with the facts that will be revealed regarding the birth and life of the Master Jesus. Likewise, they were students of the Avesta writ- ings, and adhered to the principles taught therein, which laid great stress upon a healthy body and a powerful mind. Before any qualified Aryan could become an Adept in the Essene Brotherhood, he had to be prepared in childhood under certain teachers and instructors, raised with a healthy body, and had to be able to exercise certain mental
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powers under test. Every adult applicant who was allowed to partake of the daily meal in the Broth- erhood building was assigned at the time of his initiation to a definite mission in life, and this mis- sion had to be adhered to regardless of all obstacles, and all temptations, even to the sacrifice of his life. Some chose to be physicians or healers, others arti- sans, teachers, missionaries, translators, scribes, and so forth. Whatever worldly things they pos- sessed at the time of their initiation had to be do- nated to the common fund, from which all drew only as was needed. The simple life they led, free from any indulgence in the pleasures common to the public, made it unnecessary for them to draw upon these funds except in rare instances.
Immediately upon initiation, each member adopted a robe of white composed of one piece of material, and he wore sandals only in such weather or at such times as was absolutely necessary. Their attire was so distinct or unique that among the populace they were known as the Brethren in White Clothing. The term Essene was not popu- larly known, and only the learned knew of it. This accounts for the lack of references to the Essenes in most of the popular histories or writings of the time.
They lived in well-kept buildings, usually within a sacred or well-protected enclosure, in community
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fashion. All of their affairs were regulated by a committee or council of judges or councilors, one hundred in number, who met once a week to regu- late the activities of the organization and to hear the reports of the workers in the field. All dis- agreements, all complaints, all tests and trials were heard by this council, and one of the regulations indicates that they were always cautious in ex- pressing opinions of one another, or of those out- side of the organization, and they were not critical of the lives or affairs of the people they were try- ing to reform or assist. They also adhered strictly to one of their laws: “Judge not—lest ye be judged also.”
It is possible to set forth here their definite ar- ticles of faith as recorded in ancient, secret writ- ings. While these articles of faith appear in slightly different words in the various branches of the Essene organization, they are undoubtedly based upon the articles of faith adopted by the Great White Brotherhood at the time of the establish- ment of the Essene organization.
Number One: God is principle; His attributes manifest only through matter to the outer man. God is not a person, nor does He appear to the outer man in any form of cloud or glory. (Note the similarity of this article to the statement of John IV:24: “God is a Spirit, and they who wor-
[ 30]
THE MYSTICAL LIFE OF JESUS ship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.”)
Number Two: The power and glory of God’s dominion neither increases nor diminishes by man’s belief or disbelief; and God does not set aside His laws to please mankind.
Number Three: The ego in man is of God, and at one with God, and is consequently immortal and everlasting.
Number Four: The forms of man and woman are manifestations of the truth of God, but God is not manifest in the form of man or woman as a being.
Number Five: Man’s body is the temple in which the soul resides, and from the windows of which we view God’s creations and evolutions.
Number Six: At the transition or separation of the soul and body, the soul enters that secret state where none of the conditions of the earth have any charms, but the soft breezes and great power of the Holy Ghost bring comfort and solace to the weary or the anxious who are awaiting future action. Those who fail, however, to exercise the blessings and gifts of God, and who follow the dictates of the tempter and of the false prophets and the en- snaring doctrines of the wicked, remain in the bosom of the earth until they are freed from the binding powers of materialism, purified, and as-
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signed to the secret kingdom. (This explains the ancient, mystical term of “‘earthbound,” referring to those who are still enslaved to material tempta- tions for a time after transition.)
Number Seven: To keep holy the one sacred day of the week that the soul may commune in spirit and ascend to contact with God, resting from all labors, and discriminating in all actions.
Number Eight: To keep silent in disputes, to close the eyes before evil, and to stop the ears be- fore blasphemers. (This is the original of the Ori- ental law, “to speak no evil, to see no evil, and to hear no evil.”’)
Number Nine: To preserve the sacred doc- trines from the profane, never to speak of them to those who are not ready or qualified to under- stand, and be prepared always to reveal to the world that knowledge which will enable man to rise to greater heights.
Number Ten: To remain steadfast in all friend- ships and all brotherly relations, even unto death; in all positions of trust never to abuse the power or privilege granted; and in all human relationships to be kind and forgiving, even to the enemies of the faith.
Every department of the organization was super- vised by stewards, who were in charge of the ma- terial things turned into the general fund by every
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member. This general fund was called the poor fund, and was used to relieve the sufferings of the poor in every land. This point reminds us of the statement in Matthew XIX:21: “Sell all thou hast, give it to the poor, . . . and follow Me.”
Hospices were established by the Essenes in vari- ous communities for the care of the sick and the poor, especially during epidemics of famine or dis- ease. These places were called Bethsaida. We find in this feature of their work the origin of the hos- pices and hospitals which became well known some centuries later. A special staff of workers were connected with these places and these were called Hospitalers. Herein we find the origin of another branch of the Brotherhood which later became a more or less separate organization. The Essenes also established rescue homes in various communi- ties and at the entrance to most cities had a place called a Gate, where strangers or those in need of something to eat or guidance would be cared for temporarily. Recent discoveries in Jerusalem have revealed the existence of a Gate known as the Essene Gate.
The Essenes disliked life in cities, and established themselves in communities of small villages outside of the walls or limits of practically every city where they existed. In such communities each member had his own little house and garden, and
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those who did not marry lived in a community house. Marriage was not forbidden among the Essenes, as is commonly believed, but their ideals regarding marriage were very high, and only those who were well mated and whose mating was ap- proved by the higher officials were permitted to marry.
Women were permitted to become associate members of the Brotherhood, and in only a few cases were they allowed to enter even the early grades of study of the work. This was not be- cause there was any belief among the Essenes that women were inferior to men in either spiritual or mental capacity, but because the Essene branch of the Great White Brotherhood was strictly an or- ganization of men, to carry on a man’s work throughout each community. But sisters, mothers, and daughters of the men in each Essene com- munity were permitted to be a part of the com- munity and become associate members. Those of the women who were not married, and who did not care to marry, often adopted orphan children as their own, and in this way carried on a form of humanitarian work for the organization.
In considering their more private affairs, we find that there were no servants, for servitude was con- sidered unlawful, and each household had to be cared for by the members of the household. Some
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of the rules and regulations recorded in the Rosi- crucian records would indicate that their ideas re- garding servants and servitude were quite fanatical according to our modern point of view. We must remember that in the days when these rules were adopted, most servants in every wealthy house- hold, or the servants of a king or potentate of any kind, were like slaves, and, of course, among the Essenes every man and woman was a free being, and slavery or serfdom of any kind was absolutely prohibited. In each community everyone took part in any work that pertained to the entire commun- ity, and all had a certain amount of menial work to do. The new initiates had to work in the fields, and at certain times serve at the community tables or in the kitchen and at the tables of the rescue houses.
As with many other branches of the Great White Brotherhood, the Essenes never entered into contracts or agreements which required oaths or any form of writing. It became well known about them that their word was equal to any agreement or contract in writing. They had a definite set of rules and regulations for their lives, which were well known by all those with whom they had any dealing, and the highest potentates of the land knew that the Essenes could not be bound by any oaths, but were highly responsible when they gave
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their word in any promise. Even Josephus, in writ- ing about the Essenes of 146 B.C., stated that the Essenes were exempted from the necessity of tak- ing the oath of allegiance to Herod. Most cer- tainly they would make no promise in the name of God, nor swear to anything in the name of God, for to them, as with the Jews who inherited the idea from them, the name of God was to be men- tioned only in a sacred manner in their temples, and at all other times the name of God was unpro- nounceable. In disagreements with strangers, the Essenes would pay any price demanded of them or make sacrifices as requested rather than to enter into arguments or have any strained relation- ships. It was for this reason that the Essenes were thought well of by the Pharisees, and other sects in Palestine, although these other sects severely criticized the religious practices of the Essenes.
Speaking of oaths, however, I am permitted to give herewith the official oath which was taken by the initiates, and which was the only oath they ever admitted. It was given upon their own honor, at the time of entering the final degree of initi- ation, or what we would call the fourth degree of their advancement into the organization. The oath is as follows:
“I promise herewith, in the presence of my elders, and the Brothers of the Order, ever to exercise true
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humbleness before God and manifest justice to- ward all men; to do no harm, either of my own volition or at the command of others, to any living creature; always to abhor wickedness, and assist in righteousness and justice; to show fidelity to all men, particularly to those who may be my superi- ors in counsel; and when placed in authority, I shall never abuse the privileges or power tempo- rarily given unto me, nor attempt to belittle others by a worldly display of my mental or physical prowess; truth shall ever have my adoration and I shall shun those who find pleasure in falsehood; I will keep my hands clean from theft, and keep my soul free from the contamination of worldly gain; my passions I will restrain, and never indulge in anger nor any outward display of unkind emo tions; I shall never reveal the secret doctrines of our Brotherhood, even at the hazard of life, except to those who are worthy of them; I shall never communicate the doctrines in any form, but the one form in which received; I shall not add to nor subtract from the teachings, but shall ever attempt to preserve them in their pristine purity, and will defend the integrity of the books and records of our Order, the names of the Masters, Legislators, and my elders.”
After the initiate had reached what we might call the fourth degree and had taken the foregoing
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obligation, he was admitted to the common table to partake of the one great symbolical meal of the day, at which time meditation and contemplation, as well as discussion of the problems of the work, formed part of the period.
It is interesting to note that all the food used by the Essenes was prepared according to the rules and regulations stated in the old documents, in a scientific but simple manner, and while vegetables and especially many forms of raw foods were used, it is not true that all flesh foods were forbidden. There was never any form of over-eating or ban- queting, and certainly the rules of moderation in all things pertained to eating and drinking as well; hence there was no gluttony nor intoxication.
The Essenes seldom took part in public discus- sions, and never participated in discussions of reli- gion or politics. They were most often silent when others spoke, and silence seemed to be their motto. They were well trained in the use of the voice and in making incantations, and knew the value of vowel sounds to such a degree that by training they became very soft spoken, even in ordinary conversation. Because of this they were often known as the soft-speaking men.
It is but natural that the Essenes would have developed not only magnetic personalities, accom- panied by clean bodies, clean raiment, and clean
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habits, but they developed such beautiful auras that on many occasions these auras became visible to the profane, and especially mystified the Jews who were unfamiliar with the development of a mystical nature, even though their own religion and traditions contained many wonderful mystical laws which they failed to put into practical appli- cation.
It was customary for all Essenes to wash their hands and feet upon entering their own homes or the home of anyone else, and to cleanse their hands and feet before any ceremony and before each daily prayer. In their individual homes the Essenes spent much time before the altar in their sanctums, or in the study of the rare manuscripts and books which were circulated among them according to their de- gree of advancement. They were particularly well versed in astrology, elementary astronomy, natural history, geometry, elementary chemistry, and alchemy, comparative religions, mysticism, and natural law.
Those who were the physicians in the organi zation were evidently a curiosity to the peoples of Palestine who were accustomed to the healing methods of that land, which included the exer- cising of charms, incantations in high-pitched voices, the reciting of weird formulas, the striking of crude musical instruments, and the use of strong
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drugs. The Essenes spoke softly to their patients, and used certain vowel sounds without any evi dence of a formula, and often performed the great- est cures by the simple laying on of hands or by instructing the patient to retire to the silence of his home and sleep while the cure was conducted in a psychic manner.
All Essene Brothers or associate women prom- ised to educate their children in the teachings and principles which constituted the foundation of the Essene belief, and to raise each child within the scope of the organization until the child’s twelfth year, when it was accepted on probation, which lasted until the twenty-first year, at which time the males were admitted to the first degree, and generally reached the fourth degree about the thir- tieth year. The females were admitted on their twenty-first birthday to associate membership, and remained in that the rest of their lives, if they proved worthy by the manner of their living.
Only an occasional Essene was permitted to preach to the public or perform public miracles, and then never as a matter of demonstration, but solely as a matter of service. Those in the Essene Brotherhood who had lived the greatest number of incarnations, and were therefore the most highly evolved, were selected as their leaders, and, from among these, one was selected during each cycle to
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go out into the world and organize the work in a new land.
The Essenes looked forward to the coming of a great Saviour who would be born within the fold of their organization, and who would be a rein- carnation of the greatest of their past leaders. Through their highly evolved knowledge and inti- mate psychic contact with the Cosmic, they were well informed of coming events, and the literature of the Essene Brotherhood and the literature of many countries contain references to the Prophets among the Essenes. Menahim was one of their Prophets who became famous through the proph- ecy that Herod would reign.
There seemed to be a regulation or an unwritten law among the Essenes that none of their members should be engaged in a daily task that was de- structive, but always constructive. Therefore we find that the list of prominent Essenes included weavers, carpenters, vine planters, gardeners, mer- chants, and those contributing to the good and welfare of the public. There never were any in the organization who were armorers, slaughterers of cattle, nor engaged in any practice or business that destroyed the least living thing.
It must be very apparent to my readers that the Essene Brotherhood would appear to have been one of the sects of Palestine and would have been,
Cail
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therefore, classified as such by the Jews and by the governmental authorities. For this reason we often read in newly discovered records a reference to the Essenes as one of the sects in Palestine. It would be natural for the Jews to consider the Essenes. as a religious organization, instead of a fraternal or mystical one, and certainly an organization op- posed to the Jewish doctrines and practices. Under these conditions it would be natural for the Es- senes to establish their homes in certain communi ties where others of the same organization lived, and where they could have that form of neigh- borly companionship which strengthened their in- terests.
These Essenes were not Jews by birth, by blood, or by religion, and were often referred to as Gen- tiles, and we find them classified as Gentiles in many of the sacred writings, even in the Christian Bible.
[ 42 }
Cuapter II THE NEIGHBORS OF JESUS V
[(—e—~| O FURTHER understand the greatness of the advent of the Master Jesus, one should know something of the people and the | conditions of the country in which He " was born, and with which He had to contend at the beginning of His Mission.
In the first place, Palestine was not one na- tion of one language, with interests that held one people in common bonds, but a land of many nations, of many languages, and many diverse interests. It was a country of mixed and hostile peoples, whose interests were not only diverse, but so divided and so opposed that peace and har- mony among them was impossible. Those of the Jewish faith were not all Hebrews, and those who were Hebrews were Hebrews through the begin- ning of a new race which had its origin at the time of the Exodus out of Egypt. Among these Hebrews were many in whose veins was Aryan blood by intermarriage; therefore, there were vari- ous castes. Hence among the Hebrews, as among those of the Jewish faith, there were those who would not recognize others in the same faith, and
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who believed that God had ordained the distinc tions which they established.
In the midst of these people there were the heathens, whose temples were rapidly rising, and whose rites and customs were becoming prevalent. To the northeast there were the Nomads, wild people living without restraint or regulation, but the vast majority of the people throughout the northeast were Syrians, Grecians, and heathens. To the east and to the west of Palestine, the Egyp- tian, Phoenician, and the Grecian rites contended for mastery, and in the very heart of Palestine it- self the Greek language was dominant and the Grecian rites prevailed.
In the northern section, known as Upper Gali- lee, lived people who were known as Gentiles. Tiberius itself was wholly non-Jewish. Gaza had its own deity. Joppa was influenced by a heathen religion, according to the Jews. Cesarea was es sentially a heathen city and, to the Jews, was the symbol of Rome—the Rome of Edom—and was therefore to be destroyed; for Cesarea and Jerusa- lem, from the viewpoint of the Jews, could never exist at the same time.
The educated classes throughout Palestine spoke Greek. The language of the tribes of Israel had undergone a great change, and the ancient Hebrew language, as it was called, had given place to the
[4931
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Aramaean dialect, except in the academies and theological schools.
The rabbis of the Jewish religion considered that the only real and true land of Israel was that portion immediately south of Antioch. Yet, strange to say, it was here that the first Gentile church was organized and that we find the first Christian disciples.
Palestine, and especially Jerusalem, was most certainly a heathen district just before the coming of the Master Jesus. While it is true that the Jewish religion was well established, it most cer- tainly did not include the multitudes, and it did not include all of the highest rank and power.
Judaism itself was quite a problem at this time. The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two other largest sects, if we may be permitted to consider the Essenes as a sect from the Jewish point of view; but the former two held opposite principles and hated each other, while the Essenes, of course, could not be a part of either of them.
There was one common emotion which bound all these people of Palestine in one universal feel- ing. The high and the low, the learned and the unlearned, the rich and the poor, the heathen, the Jew, the common person or the ruling ones, united in their intense dislike for the Gentiles.
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In the financial world the Hebrews represented the wealth and influence of the nations; for all money transactions and great trade dealings were in their hands. Merchandise from the Far East came through Palestine by means of Arab cara- vans and through the Pheenician ports, where fleets of ships owned by the Jews and operated by Gen- tile sailors were ever ready to convey the wares to other parts of the world. The Jews as traders and bankers were keenly alive to the value of this situ- ation; and through their financial influence had a considerable power in the political world also. They were able to obtain secrets of state, and to secure such positions in the civil and military serv- ice of the other Gentile nations as permitted them to manipulate the intricacies of diplomacy so as to further the interests of the Hebrews.
It must be remembered that the orthodox Jews or Hebrews were intensely Hebraic. To their own they were very hospitable, a trait which they con- sidered a great virtue, and to strangers, especially to the Gentiles, they manifested the very opposite in all actions.
The people living in Jerusalem, which was the most advanced habitation in Palestine, had special agents in, and corresponded with, the important parts of the world; and letters were carried from Jerusalem to many other cities by messengers and
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by peddlers. The wealthy Jews gave great for- tunes for the support and defense of the Jewish faith, and such donations were always looked upon as investments which would bring great returns. The Hebrews had their own rulers in most cities, and were allowed to have the same status as the Romans, or the rights of Asiatic citizens, and the special privileges which they demanded because of having been instructed by their God to enjoy such privileges as God's chosen people. Having the status of Romans entitled them to a civil govern- ment of their own, independent of the rule of the tribunals in the cities in which they lived. They enjoyed such unlimited religious liberties and ex- acted such religious privileges as they denied to natives in their own lands who were not of their faith.
The ruling class of the Hebrews made them- selves obnoxious to the other citizens in each sec- tion of the land by closing their stores on the Sabbath and going about idly in gorgeous attire, with a marked display of contempt and abhor- rence of everything around them. It was their desire secretly to convert to Judaism the wives and female relatives of all men of power, influence, and wealth, because through such converts they would influence the men in regard to the interests of
Israel, and it was freely predicted that the ultimate [ 47 ]
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aim of the proselyting was to wipe the Gentiles out of Palestine.
In the Synagogues, which represented the meet- ing places of the ruling class of the Hebrews, the separation of the classes was strictly observed, and the women were considered as unprepared for a position in the church. We see the attitude to ward women in many passages of the Jewish litur- gy used in the Synagogues, where thanksgiving is expressed in the following words: “Blessed art thou, Lord and God, that thou hast not made me a woman.” Women were considered as having no souls, and no degree of spirituality that could be developed, and therefore incapable of ever becom- ing angelic. It is always interesting to those of the Western world today in traveling through the Oriental countries to find that all the statues of angels are of the masculine sex. This idea of a soulless woman is retained in all Latin languages; for we find that the word “angel” is always of the masculine sex. No rabbi would permit himself to be closeted with a woman in religious discussion, nor to deal with a woman in regard to spiritual matters.
Secretly, or silently, the Jews or the orthodox of Israel resented the fact that the scepter of power had been taken away from Judea, and the chosen people of God subjected to the government of
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Rome. This was a humiliation which the Jews hoped to see undone. Israel hoped that the day would come when her people would rise in power, and when their “King of Glory” would appear and re-establish the power and kingdom of Israel again.
And thus Israel waited. In silence and with suppressed emotion, the faithful anticipated the coming of the great day.
In my recent journey through Egypt, I felt the same suppressed emotion on the part of the Egyp- tians. As they moved about in silence with cold, emotionless expressions on their faces, and re- frained from speaking of the days that were, and the days that would come, one could sense that inwardly there was a great fire burning which wanted only the signal to burst into a conflagra- tion that would sweep throughout the whole coun- try. The Egyptians, too, are waiting now for the day to come when the great power and illumina- tion that resides within their traditions and their secret archives will make them the potent rulers of their land. Just as one could easily sense the possibility of a great conflagration in that land, so one may understand and appreciate the condition that existed in Palestine at the time of the birth of the Master Jesus. Uneasiness had seized the people; for they had felt the yoke upon their necks
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and they realized that they were being held in bondage and could stand it but a short time longer.
In a social way, vice and degrading practices had become popular with the masses, and the moral standard was like unto licentiousness. Intrigue and crime were found even in the courts of law. The governing power was divided between the two classes, the nobility and the priesthood. The no- bility sought only gratification of the baser senses, trying to keep within the law only as far as it per- mitted them to gain their selfish ends. Most of them professed to be of the sect of Sadducees. On the other hand, the priestly element, or the Phari- sees, known as the “pure, separate ones,” were constantly warring in their determined effort to secure power and force strict adherence to the letter of their laws. The Sadducees were their enemies, especially when the latter were favored in any way with rank or position.
The masses were downtrodden, and held in ig- norance of the true conditions; but they believed that there was a possibility of rising above their environment through the coming of a great leader. It is no wonder that these persons, mostly un- learned and inexperienced in the things of life, united with any movement which promised them freedom from their bondage or an opportunity to rise to heights which they sensed in their dream
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world. Thus, in many ways these uncultured and uneducated ones followed leaders and principles which left them in serious situations and sorely disappointed. It was the great hope that the com- ing of the expected Messiah would change all of the sorrowful conditions, and bring about a solidi- fication and unification of the people of Israel. How this was to come about, no one knew; and only the pretenders who headed the false move- ments attempted to explain.
The House of David, out of which the true leader of the people of Israel should come, had long since passed into the hands of strangers. The high priesthood, out of which a great Messiah might come, was Jewish only by profession, being politically Roman and Greek in culture, and by birth anything but of the great House of David. Therefore, the great Deliverer who would lead them out of bondage as Moses had done, could not come through the lineage of those who were at present at the head of the nation, nor could He come through those who were of the priesthood.
One phrase remained in the consciousness of the people: ‘From among thy brethren I shall raise one who shall guide my people!”
{st}
Cuapter III THE PPARENTS- OF [ESUS
V
RTs] O PROPER consideration can be given to
WKN] the birth and childhood of Jesus without et)| first becoming acquainted with the par- \29)| ents of Jesus, and their relationship to the " mystical facts involved. Therefore, let me state the first important facts, as proved by our records, and then submit the evidence pertaining thereto.
Jesus was born of Gentile parents through whose veins flowed Aryan blood, and in whose hearts and minds had been implanted the teachings of the Essene Brotherhood, as well as the more secret teachings of the Great White Brotherhood. This is the simple, definite statement found throughout the Rosicrucian records.
In the Christian Bible, in the Talmud, and in many reliable works, we find verification of these statements. The parents of Jesus lived in Galilee. There is no possible dispute on this point, and they were therefore Galileans in the full meaning of the term. So our first consideration should be of
Galilee and the Galileans. [S30]
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In St. Matthew IV:15, we read: “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Strange as it may seem, the average Bible student gives little thought to this expression, and loses sight of its very important significance. Jesus Himself was called the Galilean. For this reason, we must look upon Jesus as having been classified by His own people, or by the people of Palestine at least, as one who was different from them. This warrants us in investigating the real situation, and discovering why the Galileans were Gentiles, and why Gentiles lived in Galilee.
In I Maccabees 5:15, we read that messengers from Galilee, with torn clothing and in great an- guish, came to Judas Maccabeus and reported that “they of Ptolemais, and of Tyrus, and Sidon, and all Galilee of the Gentiles, were assembled together against them to consume us.” And Judas told Simon, his brother, to choose certain men to go to Galilee and rescue the Jews who were in Galilee, that they might not be persecuted by the Gentiles. Simon took three thousand men into Galilee, where he fought many battles with the “heathens,” and the Jews living in Galilee with their wives and children were brought safely into Judea.
Here we see at once an intimation of the con- ditions that existed in part of Palestine, and how the orthodox Jews looked upon the Galileans as being not only Gentiles, and of a different religion
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and race, but as enemies to their best interests.
The transfer of the Jews living in Galilee referred to above was made in 164 B.C. At about the same time, Judas Maccabeus rescued his brothers who lived among the “heathens” in the north of the country (and east of the Jordan) and brought them all to Jerusalem.
According to this account, and many others, there were Jews in Galilee long after the year 164. B.C. Therefore, Galilee continued as a nation of Gentiles or “heathens” until the year 103 B.C., when Aristobulus, grandson of Simon, and first king of the Jews {Maccabees}, forced all those living in Galilee to adopt circumcision and the Mosaic law.
We will see by this that the Gentiles living in Galilee, which included the parents of Jesus, were Aryans by blood, Gentiles by natural religious classification, mystics by philosophical thought, and Jews by forced adoption. In other words, the Gentiles of Galilee after 103 B.C. were forced to adopt circumcision and respect the Mosaic law, and in accordance with this law all children at a certain age had to accept the Jewish faith in a for- mal way by appearing at the Synagogue for pro- bationary admission to the church. If this combi- nation of circumstances and conditions will be kept in mind by my reader, it will enable him to under-
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stand the many strange statements that appear in sacred literature.
In the cuneiform inscriptions of ‘Tiglathpileser, there is reference to the conquest of Galilee, but it is generally misunderstood, as are many of the other statements regarding Galilee, because few know that Galilee is also referred to as the land of Hamath.
The same name, Hamath, is used in the Old Testament, but it seems that modern students of the ancient writings did not recognize in this word Hamath the name of the ancient capital of Galilee. However, let it be known now that Hamath is the famous hot springs, half an hour south of Tiberius, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Often in the Old Testament one may read of the “entrance to Hamath” and it always refers to parts of the northern boundary of Palestine. It is the Wady Alhammans, near Magdala, three miles northwest of Tiberius, where Mary Magdalene was born. In other parts of the Bible we read that the king of Hamath, who sent his son to salute David, was a Galilean; Solomon’s storehouse or granaries which he built in Hamath were situated near the Sea of Galilee.
The true spelling of the name is Hammoth, or Hammath, the Assyrian form being Hammati, which means “hot springs.” Many other quota-
[ 56]
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tions could be used to show that Hamath was in Galilee. And we will find by other references that a great many Assyrians were sent to Hamath as colonists, and further reference reveals that the Assyrians were all Aryans. Even Sargon II tells how he deported the Median chief with kinsmen to Hamath.
It was because of this settlement of Aryans in the vicinity of Galilee, and the resulting race of Aryans in that community, that the Aryans of Egypt who were members of the Great White Brotherhood and of the Essene organization, di rected their people to go to northern Palestine, and live on the shores of Galilee and associate with people of their own race. There are also many historical notations in Egyptian records, and espe- cially in the ancient records of the Great White Brotherhood, to show that there was close com- munion and intercourse between the Aryans of Galilee and the Aryans of Egypt.
Our records also show that at the time of the birth of Jesus, the Galileans spoke a language which was not Hebrew. The fact has been known among students of sacred literature for several cen- turies that the Master Jesus spoke another lan- guage besides Hebrew, and there are indications that He spoke several tongues. These indications have greatly puzzled the students of sacred litera-
[57]
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ture, and much speculation has existed among authorities in regard to this matter. The common agreement among these authorities is that Jesus presented most of His parables and teachings to the populace in the Aramaic language, and they also believe that He used some other language that was not Hebrew. Our records clearly show that He used Greek and Aramaic in His general dis- courses and conversations, and used Hebrew only when He was speaking to those who did not un- derstand the other languages. Most of His beau- tifully poetic parables and discourses were in either the Aramaic or the Greek language. We will dis cuss, later, the manner in which Jesus became edu- cated in the Greek language. We will find the use of these foreign phrases in the words of Jesus, in such verses of the Bible as Mark V:41, Mark VII:34, Mark XIV:36, and in many other places.
The Galilean dialect was a constant source of jest for the Jews. Peter was also of Galilee and of the Gentile race, and we find in Matthew XXVI:73, that some said to Peter: “Surely thou also art one of them; thy speech betrayeth thee.” There are many historical notes that show that the Jews recognized the Galileans by the fact that these Gentiles could not distinguish the various Semitic gutturals.
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The foregoing are but a few of the hundreds of facts which might be submitted to show that the parents of Jesus were Gentiles, and of a different tongue than the Jews. This makes us question at once the genealogy which is so exhaustively pre- sented in the Bible in an attempt to show that Jesus was a descendant of the House of David. This. genealogy in the Bible is presented in two places by two different authors, and the genera- tions in each table do not agree. But aside from this discrepancy, the genealogy is only an attempt on the part of later admirers and followers of Jesus to make it appear that He was of the House of David, as hoped and prayed for by the Jews. It must be borne in mind that at no time during His lifetime, did Jesus Himself refer to His ancestors or forebears, or intimate to the Jews that He was the Messiah of the House of David whom they had anticipated. And we find nothing in any historical records of a contemporary nature, or among the authentic Jewish records, to show that during the lifetime of Jesus, or even during the first hundred or more years after His time, that the Jews or any- one else believed that He was of the House of David. Just when the genealogy attempting to show such a connection was prepared and intro-
duced in the sacred writings is not known, but it [ 59 ]
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is most certainly a very late addition to the writ- ings.
Now we must deal with another phase of the history of the parents, and of Jesus Himself. In much of the Christian literature, Jesus is referred to as the Nazarene, and it is commonly believed that this means to indicate that Jesus was born, or spent most of His lifetime, in Nazareth. It is strange how students of Biblical literature, and especially those who have written so exhaustively on the life of Jesus, and who have presented in their teachings and preachments the picturesque details of His life, have never given proper thought to the title Nazarene, or investigated its real mean- ing. It is assumed by all of these authorities, writ- ers, and teachers, that if Jesus was a Nazarene, He must have been of the city called Nazareth, and since He and His parents lived in Galilee, the city of Nazareth must have been in that locality. On the basis of such reasoning, it is generally pro- claimed that Nazareth was the home town of the parents of Jesus, and that Nazareth in Galilee was the place where Jesus spent His childhood.
I have been just recently in Nazareth and made exhaustive inquiries, for the purpose of verifying the statements contained in the Rosicrucian rec- ords, and probably most of my readers will be sur- prised to learn that at the time Jesus was born,
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there was no city or town in the whole of Galilee known as Nazareth, and that the city in Galilee which now bears that name is not only a city of more recent years, but was named and came into existence because of the demand on the part of in- vestigators to find some place that would answer to the name of Nazareth in Galilee.
First of all, we must make plain that the title Nazarene did not imply that the person who bore that title was of a city called Nazareth. The title Nazarene was given by the Jews to those strange people outside of their own religion who seemed to belong to some secret sect or cult that had ex- isted in Northern Palestine for many centuries, and we find in the Christian Bible that even John the Baptist was called the Nazarene. We also find many other references to persons who were known as Nazarenes. In Acts XXIV:5, we find some man being condemned as a mover of sedition among the Jews throughout the world, and called a “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.”” When- ever the Jews came in contact with one in their country who had a different religion, and espe- cially a mystical understanding of the things of life, and who was living in accordance with some code of philosophical or moral ethics that was dif- ferent from those of the Jews, he was called a
Nazarene for the want of a better name. [ 61]
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There was a definite sect called the Nazarenes, and we find them referred to in the Jewish records as a sect of Primitive Christians, or in other words, those who were essentially prepared for and ready to accept the Christian doctrines. In fact, the Jewish encyclopedias and authorities seem to agree that the term Nazarene embraced all those Chris- tians who had originally been born Jews, and who neither would nor could give up their original mode of life, but who attempted to adjust the new doctrines with the old. The Jewish encyclopedias also state that it is quite evident that the Naza- renes and the Essenes had many characteristics in common, and were therefore of a mystical tenden- cy. In fact, the Essenes and the Nazarenes were called heretics by the learned Jews, but there is this difference or distinction in the use of the two terms: The Essenes were not as well known to the populace of Palestine as were the Nazarenes, and seldom was a man called an Essene unless the per- son was well informed and knew the difference between the Essenes and the Nazarenes; whereas many Essenes and even those of other sects who lived a peculiar life or who did not accept the Jewish religion were called Nazarenes.
Jerome, the famous Biblical authority, refers to the fact that in his day there still existed among
the Jews, in all the synagogues of the East, a [ 62 }
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heresy condemned by the Pharisees, and the fol- lowers of it were called Nazarenes. He said that they believed that Christ, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, and they held Christ to be the one who suffered under Pontius Pilate and ascended to Heaven. “But,” said Jerome, ‘‘while they pretended to be both Jews and Christians, they were neither.”
Turning to the highest Roman Catholic authori- ties, we find that the title Nazarene, as applied to Christ, occurs only once in the Douai version of the Bible, and this authority states that the term ‘Jesus Nazarenus” is uniformly translated “Jesus of Nazareth,” but this is a mistake in translation, for it should read, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find the word Naza- reth as referring to a city existing anywhere in Palestine, but we do find in the New Testament references to Jesus returning to a city called Naza- reth. These references are a result of translating the phrase, “Jesus returning to the Nazarenes” to read, “Jesus returning to Nazareth.” The inter- esting point here is emphasized by the Roman Catholic authorities, for they show that whereas Jesus was commonly referred to as the Nazarene, He was not of that sect at all.
Taking the Jewish and Roman Catholic records together, and comparing them with the informa-
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tion contained in our own records, we find that the Nazarenes constituted a sect of Jews who, while attempting to adhere to the ancient Jewish teach- ings, did believe in the coming of a Messiah who would be born in an unusual manner, and who would become a Saviour of their race. After the ministry of Jesus began, these Nazarenes accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and even accepted the doc- trines He taught while still trying to adhere to many of the fundamentals of their Jewish religion. The Jewish records state that the Nazarenes re- jected Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, and that some of the Nazarenes exalted Jesus only as a just man.
There was another term for such heretics among the Jews, and this was ““Nazarite.” According to the Jewish authorities, the term Nazarite was ap- plied to those who lived apart or separate from the Jewish race, because of some distinctive religious, moral, or ethical belief. The Jewish records state that such persons were often those who would not take wine or drink anything made from grapes, or those who would not cut a hair of their heads, or who would not touch the dead during any funeral ceremony. These same records state that the his- tory or origin of Nazariteship in ancient Israel is obscure. They state that Samson was a Nazarite, as was his mother, and that Samuel’s mother prom-
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ised to dedicate him to the sect of Nazarites. The Jewish records state also that it was common for parents to dedicate their minor children to the Nazarite sect, and they distinctly say that there are references to the fact that Jesus was said to have been dedicated to the Nazarites while still in the womb. The Jewish records say that St. Luke I:15, refers to this dedication. Helena, the Queen, and Miryam of Palmyra, are mentioned as Naza- rites in the Jewish records, and many other persons famous in sacred literature were known to be Nazarites.
That the terms Nazarite and Nazarene had naught to do with a city or town called Nazareth is plainly indicated by many historical records. We have said that the present town of Nazareth in Galilee received its name because a place had to be found that would fit the common understanding in regard to the village in which the parents of Jesus lived, and where He spent His boyhood. During the first few centuries after Christ, when the Christian doctrines were in the making and the Holy Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church and religious students in general were searching for every historical site connected with the life of Jesus, each spot, place, and incident in the career of this great man was eagerly tabulated and glori- fied. My recent visit through Palestine made plain
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to me that this desire to find historical, sacred sites and glorify them has not ended, and will probably continue for hundreds of years. The absurdity of most of this becomes apparent when even the casual tourist discovers that three, four, and five different places are pointed out to him as being the same spot where some particular incident in the life of Jesus occurred.
In searching for a place that would answer to the name of Nazareth in Galilee, great difficulty was experienced, since no such city was mentioned in the Old Testament, and none of the ancient maps of the time of Christ revealed such a site. A very small settlement, however, called “*en-Nasi- ra,” was found far from the Sea of Galilee, and this was immediately renamed “Nazareth” and associated with the early life of the boy Jesus. This discovery of the town of en-Nasira was made in the third century after Christ, and since then has been known as the town of Nazareth, but even today it is lacking in any of the evidences which would warrant the use of that name. In Mark VI:1, 2, the statements are made that Jesus went back to His own country and His disciples fol- lowed Him, and when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the Synagogue. In the fourth verse of that chapter, Jesus referred to the fact that He was a prophet in His own country, among His
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own kin, and in His own house. These statements have been taken to refer to Nazareth, the town in which many Biblical students believe Jesus was born and in which He spent His boyhood. Now, if Jesus did return to His home town, and did preach in a Synagogue to great multitudes, it could not have been at en-Nasira, or the so-called town of Nazareth; for even in the second and third cen- turies after the birth of Jesus, en-Nasira or Naza- reth had no Synagogue and was not large enough to have any building in which multitudes could have listened to Jesus, nor were there multitudes in that vicinity to hear Him. So the references in Mark to His home town could not refer to en- Nasira. En-Nasira was only a settlement around a spring which was at that time called the “spring of the guard house,” but I find that now in recent years it has been changed and is called “St. Mary’s Well.” This change of name and the giving of a religious significance to some unimportant site in Palestine, is typical of the changes that are being rapidly made in that country for the benefit of tourists.
Turning to the old Jewish records, we find these state that only in the books of the New Testament, written long after the lifetime of Jesus, is the town of Nazareth mentioned as a village in Galilee, and that such a place is not mentioned in the Old
for]
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Testament, in the historical writings of Josephus, nor in the Talmud. During the lifetime of Jesus, the town of Joppa was the important city in the locality of Galilee, and was the one which at- tracted all tourists and is referred to most often in historical writings.
In the Roman Catholic records, and in their en- cyclopedias, we find that the town of en-Nasira was known as a strictly Jewish village up to the time of Constantine, and is referred to as one being inhabited wholly by Jews. Therefore, this little village surrounding a well could not have been the center of the Gentile population of Galilee. At the present time, there is a small church or chapel in Nazareth which I visited, and which is supposed to stand above the grotto in which Mary and Joseph lived at the time that the archangel an- nounced to Mary the forthcoming birth of the incarnation of the Logos.
All of the foregoing facts point out very clearly that Mary and Joseph and the child born to them were considered, along with many others in their locality, as Nazarenes, Nazarites, or people of a non-Jewish sect. And the many other references to this sect clearly show that it was one which held such religious and mystical views as permitted the acceptance of the fundamentals of the Christian doctrine. Taking this into consideration, we have
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at once an interesting picture of the conditions existing in and around Palestine just prior to the Christian era. We have, first of all, a large num- ber of men and women, even children, who were either Jewish by birth, Gentile by birth, or of various races and bloods, but who had refused to adopt wholly or completely the Mosaic law, and were Jewish only because the laws of the land forced them to adopt circumcision, to appear in the Synagogue when twelve years of age, and to be enrolled as Jews. Yet these persons were mysti- cally inclined in their beliefs, and followed the Jewish teachings only so far as they revealed God and God's laws and served them in their study of Divine principles. They were prepared by some school or some system which made them ready to accept the higher mystical teachings as they were revealed from time to time by the progressive minds or by the teachings of Avatars.
On the other hand, there was the one definite organization of mystics known as the Essenes, which conducted many forms of humanitarian activities, including hospices, rescue homes, and places for the care of the poor and needy. The Essenes had their northern center in Galilee, among the Aryans, because they had been directed to this locality by the center of their organization in Egypt, known as the Great White Brotherhood.
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The Essenes were not popularly known, were quiet and unostentatious in their activities, and were distinguished by the populace only by their white raiment. The Nazarites, the Nazarenes, and the Essenes mingled freely and undoubtedly sought to carry on their independent activities without in- terference one with the other, and they unques- tionably had many ideals and purposes in common. But the Nazarites and Nazarenes were popularly recognized and known to the populace, and for this reason all who did not accept the Jewish faith, or who were heretical in their Jewish beliefs, were classified as Nazarenes and Nazarites, not as Es senes.
In and around the shores of the Sea of Gali- lee, lived these people—mostly Gentiles of Aryan blood of the several sects, Nazarenes, Nazarites, and Essenes. They, too, were looking for the coming of the great Master, the great Avatar, the great Messiah, who would not only redeem Pales- tine but the whole of the world, and bring con- tentment to Israel and all peoples. These mystics contemplated, with true understanding, the rein- carnation of one of their own great Masters. We must bear in mind that the belief in reincarnation was not only an established belief among these mystics, who were classified as heretics and as
Gentiles, but also among the most orthodox of the [ 70 }
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Jewish people at that time. This accounts for the many references in sacred literature, and even in the Christian Bible, to a great man, a great teacher, as having been someone else at some other time; for they believed that the greatest among them were great because of previous preparation, pre- vious existence, and previous attainments. Natu- rally they looked for the new great Master, the new redeemer of the world, to come out of the past in a new body and as a well-prepared indi- vidual of high attainments.
The Rosicrucian records show that not only did each of the homes of these Essenes and Nazarenes and Nazarites have a sanctum, in which daily prayers and solemn meditations were held, but many hours of each day and evening were given to mystical practices and the development of a spiritual power within their beings, which made possible the many miracles they performed and the great work which they did among the poor and needy.
They were well advanced in the understanding of most of the mystical laws which the Rosicru- cians and other mystics of the world today study and practice, and they knew the potentialities of certain spiritual laws when applied specifically for any definite purpose. To them, such miracles as In- carnations of a highly Divine nature, and the com-
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ing of a great leader into their midst, through un- contaminated material laws, were not impossible, nor improbable, and they lived a life typical of that which the mystics of today believe is lived by the Masters in Tibet and in parts of India and Egypt.
Joseph was not only a devout Essene, and a car- penter by trade, in keeping with the rules of the organization, but Mary, his wife, was an associate member of the organization. Yet both of them had been forced to accept the Jewish church and had identified themselves in a purely formal way with the faith in accordance with the law of the land.
With these facts in mind, let us now approach the interesting subject of the birth of Jesus.
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CuaptTer [IV
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF AVATARS V
(=e HIS incident in the life of Avatars is one ray that is very difficult to approach and more | Cred difficult to present to those who have not
d#es| attained that high degree of mystical un- " derstanding and awakening which natu- rally would bring to the student a spiritual under- standing of the conception and birth of Avatars.
I realize fully that the standard Christian story of the Immaculate Conception of Jesus is one that is not accepted by those who reject any of the Christian doctrines. In fact, the authorized Chris- tian version of the Immaculate Conception is a very difficult one for the uninitiated and undevel, oped mystic to comprehend, and certainly appears to be an impossible story to those who are of an analytical mind, and who do not comprehend any of the mystical laws and principles as taught by the ancient Masters.
Perhaps I will do better than others who have attempted, in the past, to reduce the mystical phase of the birth of Jesus to a semi-mystical presenta- tion, and perhaps I may fail altogether. I am not
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limited by any creeds or dogmas which require that I shall adhere to a standardized version; and if I fail to make my reader comprehend, or perhaps apprehend, the real mystery of the Immaculate Conception, it will be because I have been limited solely by an inadequate vocabulary to express in general terms that which every mystic understands inwardly, and because of the inability of some of my readers to read between the lines of my state- ments and realize what I cannot reduce to such crude things as printed words.
First of all, it should be understood by those who approach this great mystery with an open and unbiased mind, that Jesus was not the first great Master, Avatar, or Son of God, to be “born of a virgin.” The authorized Christian version of the Immaculate Conception and birth of Jesus pre- sents the story as though it were unique and ex- clusively a Christian manifestation. If nowhere else in the history of God’s messengers on earth, or the working out of God’s plans for the redemp- tion of man in all ages and cycles, there had ever been a similar incident or a similar manifestation of the great mystic powers of the universe, oper- ating as an unusual manifestation of God’s omni- potent ways, then the mystery of the conception and birth of this great man would be more difficult to explain and more difficult to comprehend.
rat
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To the mystics of the Orient in all lands and of all ages, the great mystery of the Immaculate Con- ception and spiritual birth of a Son of God is ac cepted not only as a possibility but as a fact natural to the life of every great Avatar. Christians or students of Christian literature in America who are accustomed to hear the mystery of the Immacu- late Conception referred to as one of the problems of faith, and one of the doctrinal points upon which the faith of thousands of Christians is broken, are surprised when they tour through for- eign lands to find that even those who are not Christians and who are of the Mohammedan, Hindu, Buddhistic, or heathen faiths, find no diffi- culty in accepting the story of an Immaculate, spir- itual conception and birth, and believe that this one feature of the life of the Master Jesus is the only one which is consistent with the claim that Jesus was the great Redeemer and Saviour of the world. In fact, during my recent trip through lands which brought me in contact with persons of Oriental faiths, I found most of them who were not Christians expressing themselves on this sub- ject in this wise: “If you Christians believe that Jesus was a Son of God, or the Divinely Appointed Messenger to redeem any part of the world through the message He had to give, then you must believe that He was divinely conceived and
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born, for there can be no question of such distinc- tive birth if He was a Divine Messenger.” When I explained to some of them that there were so- called Christians or students of the Christian doc- trine who could not accept the idea of Divine Con- ception and birth, but who still believed that Jesus was a great Master, a Divinely Appointed Mes- senger, a true Son of God, and an Avatar of un- usual authority from on high, these Orientals merely smiled and said that such a viewpoint was an absurdity, for—according to their viewpoint— no man humanly conceived and born, could attain any degree of Divine Authority which would make him the Christ of his time.
Thus we see that the great problem resolves it- self into a problem not of the fact of the Immacu- late Conception or the Divine Sonship of Jesus, but a problem of human comprehension on the part of the consciousness in the Occidental world as compared with the consciousness we find in the Oriental world. In other words, we are face to face with the fact that not the validity of the claim of Immaculate Conception and birth of Jesus should be given serious thought by students of spiritual mysticism in the Western world, but the lack of understanding and comprehension on the part of those millions who have not yet attained the proper degree of spiritual understanding re-
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garding the spiritual laws operating in such im- portant events.
The Oriental of any of the various faiths points out to us of the Occidental world the fact that we are attempting to struggle with a principle in the spiritual world with which we are least acquainted, and for a comprehension of which we are least prepared. The mystics of all lands agree that until man is prepared, through spiritual development and comprehension of the higher laws, to under- stand easily and in its sublime fullness, the actu- ality of spiritual conception and Divine Birth, he is not ready in any sense to understand the teach- ings and the true message brought to this world by any of the great Avatars, especially that of the last and greatest of them all, Jesus the Christ.
This does not mean that it is impossible for the sincere student of Christian doctrines to compre- hend at least the mystical laws involved in the pos- sibility of an Immaculate Conception and Divine Birth, but it does mean that such a student must try to see and comprehend the mysticism that is fundamental in all of the Christian doctrines. The Rosicrucians hold the same viewpoint that the Orientals hold in this regard; namely, that the orthodox Christianity in the Western world today too greatly slights the mysticism and mystical prin- ciples which are fundamental to Christianity and
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which constituted the pristine Christianity of an- cient times. In other words, too much thought is given to the literal meaning of words, and the material interpretation of all of the principles in- volved in Christianity, which leaves almost a total neglect of the pure mysticism that makes possible a real understanding or spiritual comprehension of Christianity in its original form.
Added to this is the reluctance on the part of the Occidental world to accept as facts and actual possibilities the so-called miracles of the Bible. I do not agree with such authorities as the late Wil- liam Jennings Bryan and others who have claimed that the scientific trend of our thinking and our highly scientific education in the Occidental world has tended to blind us'to the spiritual truths in the Bible or in all sacred literature. I do not believe that materialistic science is in any way responsible for the Occidental’s inability to understand the higher spiritual statements found in the sacred writings of the Bible, or the other books of other creeds. I believe that this inability on the part of the minds of the Western world is due to the un- awakened status of the spiritual side of our natures and the absence, except in the various occult and metaphysical schools of the Western world, of such general teachings along spiritual lines as would properly prepare us for an understanding
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of that which is accepted readily and understood thoroughly by the Oriental mind.
I have said that we should bear in mind that Jesus was not the first of the great teachers, who came as messengers of God, to be born of a virgin, or to have been conceived by Divine Principle. A few references to similar incidents in the past may help my readers to understand what is meant by this statement.
It is a fact that Divine Births and Divine Con- ceptions were so currently accepted among the an- cients that whenever they heard of one who had greatly distinguished himself in the affairs of men, they immediately classified such a person as having been born of supernatural lineage. Even in the heathen religions, various gods were declared to have descended from Heaven and been made in- carnate in man. The learned Thomas Maurice, in his unusual book called Indian Antiquities, goes so far as to state that “in every age and in almost every religion of the Asiatic world, there seems uniformly to have flourished an immemorial tradi- tion that one god had, from all eternity, begotten another god.”
I may add that our own records of ancient tra- ditions and sacred writings contain many refer-
ences to religious movements in antiquity, in which koe
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the great leader was claimed to be “God's Begotten Son.”
India had a number of Avatars or Divine Messengers who were Incarnated through Divine Conception, and two of them bore the name of ‘“Chrishna,” or ‘Chrishna the Saviour.” Now Chrishna was born of a chaste virgin called Deva- ki, who, on account of her purity, was selected to become the mother of God. In this instance, we find a very ancient story of a virgin giving birth to an immaculately conceived messenger of God.
Buddha was considered and believed by all his followers to have been begotten of God and born of a virgin whose name was Maya or Mary. In the ancient stories of the birth of Buddha, as understood by all the Orientals and found in their sacred writings long before the Christian Era, we read how the Divine power, called the Holy Ghost, descended upon the virgin Maya. In the ancient Chinese version of the story, the Holy Ghost is called Shing-Shin.
The Siamese, likewise, had a god and saviour who was virgin-born, and whom they called Co- dom. In this ancient story, the beautiful young virgin had been informed in advance that she was to become the mother of a great messenger of God, and one day while in her usual period of medita- tion and prayer, she was impregnated by Divine
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sunbeams. When the boy was born, he grew up in a remarkable manner, became a protégé of wis- dom, and performed miracles.
When the first Europeans visited Cape Como rin, the most southerly extremity of the peninsula of Hindustan, they were surprised to find the natives, who had never before made contact with the white races of Europe, worshipping a Lord and Saviour who had been Divinely Conceived and born of a virgin.
When the first Jesuit missionaries visited China, they wrote in their reports that they were appalled at finding in the heathen religion of that country a story of a redeeming master who had been born of a virgin and Divinely Conceived. This god was said to have been born 3468 years B.C. Lao-Tsze, the famous Chinese god, was claimed to have been born of a virgin, black in complexion, and described as marvelous and as beautiful as Jasper.
In Egypt, long before the dawn of Christianity, and long before any of the writers of the present Christian Bible were born, or any of its doctrines conceived of as Christian, the Egyptian people had several messengers of God who were born of vir- gins through Divine Conception. Horus was known to all the ancient Egyptians as having been born of the virgin Isis, and his Conception and birth was considered one of the three great mys
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ily,
cbs 48 A
The serpent was used as a mystical symbol in the early sacred writings of various schools of religion, and very often used as an emblem of the “Word” or “Logos.” In this sense it became the symbol of the tempter in the fall of man. The serpent was also the emblem of the Holy Ghost or the Power that impregnated the life in the virgin. In this sense it was the incarnation of the “Logos.” The emblem shown above represents the serpent as found engraved or carved on many ancient monuments to repre- sent the “Logos.” The Ophites also venerated this same symbol as an emblem of Jesus the Christ.
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teries or mystical doctrines of the Egyptian reli- gion. To them, every incident in connection with the Conception and birth of Horus was pictured, sculptured, adored and worshipped as are the inci- dents of the Conception and birth of Jesus among the Christians today. Another Egyptian god called Ra was born of a virgin. I have seen on one of the ancient walls of a temple along the Nile, a beauti- fully carved picture representing the god Thoth— the messenger of God—telling the maiden, Queen Mautmes, that she is to give birth to a Divine Son of God, who will be the king and Redeemer of her people.
Turning to Persia, we find that Zoroaster was the first of the world redeemers acclaimed to have been born in innocence through the Immaculate Conception of a virgin. Ancient carvings and pic- tures of this great messenger show him surrounded by an aura of light that filled the humble place of his birth. Cyrus, king of Persia, was also believed to have been of Divine origin, and in the records of his time, he was referred to as the Christ or the anointed Son of God, and was considered as God's messenger.
Even Plato, who was born in Athens, 429 B.C., was believed by the populace to have been a Divine Son of God by a pure virgin called Perictione. It is recorded in the ancient records that the father of
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Plato, who was known as Aris, had been admon- ished in a spiritual dream to hold pure and sacred the person of his wife, until after the Divine Con- ception and birth of the child that was to come, and that this child’s conception would be by Divine means.
Apollonius, who was still living and performing great miracles and teaching in various lands during the early part of the life of Jesus, was also born of a virgin mother, according to the stories that were recorded of him during and shortly after his time. According to these stories, the mother of Apol- lonius in 41 B.C. was informed by a god in a dream that she would give birth to a great mes- senger of God who would be known as Apollonius.
Speaking of famous miracle workers and teach- ers who left behind them unquestioned records of great work in behalf of mankind, we find that Pythagoras, who was born about 570 B.C., had Divine honors paid to him through and after his lifetime. According to the sacred writings about him, his mother conceived him through a spectre, or the Holy Ghost, which appeared to her. His father, or foster father, was also informed through a vision that his wife was to bring forth a son through Divine Conception, and that the son would become a benefactor to mankind.
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The story of Aesculapius is very interesting. He became a great performer of miracles, a messenger with a Divine message for all mankind, and was considered a true Son of God. When the Messeni- ans sought to learn of the birth of Aesculapius, they consulted the oracle of Delphi, and were in- formed that an invisible God or Holy Ghost of the Divine Kingdom was his father, that Coronis was his earthly mother, and that he was born at Epi- daurus. According to the story, when Coronis ex- perienced the sacred event of Divine Conception, she sought to conceal her pregnancy from her father because she did not believe that she could make worldly men understand the strange occur- rence. So she went in hiding at Epidaurus, where the child was delivered months later in a lowly and humble goat stable, on a mountainside. A herder of goats, by name Aristhenes, going in search of a goat and a dog missing from his fold, discovered the young child in the stable and would have carried him home, had he not seen, when approaching the child, that its head was encircled with fiery rays which told him that the child was a Divine Being. His report of the finding of the child spread throughout the land, and the people from all quarters flocked to the stable to pay homage to the Son of God, and brought valuable presents which they laid at the feet. of the infant.
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The child was honored as a god not only in Phe- nicia and Egypt, but the worship of him passed into Greece and Rome.
Even on this side of the great ocean, the tribes of North and South America had gods that were supposed to have been Divinely born. Long be- fore the landing of Columbus, the inhabitants of ancient Mexico worshipped a saviour and world redeemer whom they called Quetzalcoatl, who was born of a pure virgin according to the tra- ditions which the holy fathers, who came with Columbus, discovered in the ancient writings carved on the walls of the temples. According to the story, then long established, a messenger from Heaven had announced to his mother that she would bear a son by Divine Conception, and that he would be the saviour of the world. There was an established Mexican hieroglyphic which con- veyed the story of the Divine Conception and birth of this Mexican god.
The Mayas of Yucatan also had a virgin-born god, corresponding to Quetzalcoatl, whose name was Zama; and he was termed “the only begotten son of the Supreme God.”
In Nicaragua, Peru, Guatemala, and other coun- tries, there were other Divinely Conceived and uniquely born gods.
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I think I have shown, in just these few out of the many hundreds of well-recorded instances, that among the Orientals, and especially among those peoples whose religions had a well-developed mystical basis, the idea of Immaculate Conception or Divine Birth was not an improbability, but a well-accepted possibility.
It has been said by many of the critics of the story of the Immaculate Conception of Jesus, that if Jesus had been conceived and born as stated in the Christian records, it is strange that none of the contemporary writers, none of His disciples, not even Jesus Himself, ever referred to this fact dur- ing His lifetime, and that only many years after His passing did the story of His Immaculate Con- ception and birth become established. This sort of argument would be sound and reasonable only if the Immaculate Conception and birth was unique with Jesus, or in other words, if He had been the first and only great messenger of God to have been considered of Divine origin and birth. But if we consider that it was common belief among the peoples of the Oriental lands, and of Egypt and Palestine, that every great messenger, every Ava- tar, every Son of God ordained by Divine decree to raise the status of the peoples of his time was born of Divine Conception, then we can under-
stand why in the case of Jesus, neither His disciples [ 87 ]
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nor the writers of history considered the event of such outstanding importance as to write about it, be enthusiastic over it, or make of it the unusual miracle that the Christian church makes of it today.
In tracing back the very complete records of the ancient pre-Christian Avatars and Sons of God that greatly influenced the development of civili- zation, we find in the Rosicrucian records and in some other writings that are fragmentary, that the disciples and followers of each of these Avatars or messengers devoted more time and thought to the recording of the sayings, teachings, and demonstra- tions of the Avatars than to the recording of the events connected with their births and transitions. Even in the score or more cases where the Immacu- late Conceptions and Divine Births of these pre- Christian Avatars in various lands are recorded, the statements are. brief, concise, and very often merely incidental to the story being told. The facts of the Immaculate Conception and births are dis- posed of hurriedly as though they were of second- ary importance, and to be taken for granted by the reader of the life of each of these Avatars. In no case do we find that the disciples and followers of the Avatars considered the Immaculate Conception and birth as a feature for adoration and worship, as we find in the case of the Christian teachings today. Very often the statements in regard to these
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miraculous births were made as briefly as we, at the present time, refer to the fact that some great man was born on such and such a date, with the as- sumption that every person is born, and must be born at some place in a manner in keeping with his race and the conditions of the country in which the event occurred.
I am sure that when these facts are taken into consideration, those who have heretofore been puz- zled because so few historical references can be found in ancient writings regarding the Divine Conception and birth of Jesus, will realize that they have been seeking for something that, from the Oriental point of view, was not the outstand- ing or important event of His life. It is a fact that among the Orientals the lives and teachings and practical demonstrations of the teachings on the part of these Avatars were considered all that was important about them, and the incidents of birth and location of birth, and of their ultimate passing, were points to be considered only by those inti mately associated with the Avatars, and were re- corded merely for the purpose of completing the record.
The next important point to have in mind is the fact that the reason for the general acceptance by mystics of the fact of Divine Conception lies in
the common belief among the mystics and Oriental [ 89 ]
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philosophers that the power of thought or the power of a mental or audible word is capable of impregnating matter and bringing lifeless matter into consciousness. If we try to assume that the impregnation of matter in a mystical manner like this is an unusual miracle of doubtful nature, never having been proved, and not acceptable except on the basis of unfounded faith, then we must also assume that all the fundamental teachings of the mystics of the Orient, and all of the claims made in occult and mystical literature by competent teachers and by men whose fame and integrity have been well established, are false, unfounded, unreliable, and unworthy of our consideration. And if we assume this, then there is little hope for us in the teachings that come from the Orient, and little reason for us to believe in the superior power and hidden, secret principles of Divine energy. The mystics of all ages have claimed, and through the so-called miracles have proved to themselves, that certain latent, potent principles can be invoked by man and are applied by God in the creative proc- esses of the universe. The very creation of the world itself is considered by all the mystics of the Orient as the first great demonstration of the po- tency of the Logos, or the power of the Word breathed into space where no life existed, resulting in immediate impregnation and the manifestation [ 90 }
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of living matter. The mystics of the Orient right- fully contend that in the beginning all nonliving matter was impregnated with life by a Divine process, without the application of material laws. No other conception is possible to their under- standing or acceptable to them. And if the first great impregnation of life in this manner is ac cepted, why should there be any question of lesser demonstrations in the case of an individual being, or the impregnation of a single cell of life? Mystics of all times have demonstrated that even the spoken word, composed of a properly intoned vowel uttered by man, has the power to disturb the status of matter, and to set it into vi- bration or to change its elementary nature or its chemical composition. In demonstration of this mystics of the Orient—and some highly evolved ones of the Occident—have learned how to utter a sound, or to produce a sound upon a violin string or other musical instrument, which would cause a manifestation in matter. It is common with the Rosicrucians and with mystics of other schools who have learned how, and who have developed to the proper degree of perfection in these things, to utter vowel sounds or, by mental concentration, direct invisible, potent energies to such focal points as would cause a manifestation in nonliving and living matter. It is the aim and ambition of mil- ee ee
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lions of students of mystical law to attain that degree of perfection where they can perform seem- ing miracles of this kind. To these mystics and to the rational mind comprehending the laws in- volved, it would seem that if man is capable of applying these mystical principles in such a manner as this, it certainly would not be improbable, let alone impossible, for the Mind of God to have directed certain powers to impregnate matter and bring about not only the Immaculate Conception with which we are dealing in this chapter of the book, but many similar manifestations of an un- usual nature.
Therefore, the Rosicrucian of evolved under- standing, or the mystic of spiritual attainment, readily and understandingly accepts the _Immacu- late Conception of Jesus, and sees in it no violation of natural or spiritual law, nor any exception to truly scientific principles.
Those who cannot accept the Immaculate Con- ception and Divine Birth of the Master Jesus are probably laboring under the limiting comprehen- sion of materialistic consideration, and have not attained a spiritual development in their evolution which makes possible the comprehension and ap- prehension of the higher laws.
There is but one point upon which the Rosicru- cians and the mystics of the Orient disagree with
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the Fundamentalist or strictly orthodox of the Christian church, and this is in the uniqueness of the Conception and birth of the Master Jesus. The Christian doctrines teach that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, and the only instance where the Word was made flesh, and where God sent upon the earth a Divine Son to redeem the world. The Rosicrucians understand that Jesus was not the first and only, but the last and greatest of all the messengers of God conceived in this man- ner and born on earth.
This brings us to another point of consideration before presenting the ancient, mystical story of the birth of Jesus. In a previous chapter, I stated that the Essenes, the Nazarenes, and the mystics of Palestine, anticipated the coming of a great Master who would be the incarnation of one of the former great leaders. I also stated that it was the common belief among the Jews that the Messiah which they expected would likewise be the incarnation of one of their former deliverers. In these statements you will note the belief on the part of the people of the Orient in the fact of reincarnation, which was an established belief throughout the entire Oriental world and which is today a positive principle in the religious and philosophical thought of more than three quarters of the earth’s population, ques tioned only by part of the people in the Western
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world. The Orientals also knew, through previous experiences, that the great Avatars and messengers of God who came to them from time to time as the evolution of the races required, were the rein- carnation of the previous great souls on earth, who had attained in each incarnation a higher and still higher degree of spiritual expression and master- ship. Just when each one of these messengers would appear in his last and final incarnation it was impossible for them to tell, but since all in- carnations were progressive, and since each mes- senger was greater and more advanced than the preceding one, the Essenes, the Nazarenes and even the Jews of Palestine, anticipated that the messenger who would come to them would be greater than any who had preceded him, and would probably be the reincarnation of one of the greatest of those who had served them in the past. It was natural for the Jews to feel that such a messenger or Messiah would be the reincarnation of one of their previous deliverers, perhaps Moses, and most certainly of the House of David. On the other hand, the Essenes and those of the Aryan race believed (and based their belief upon a better understanding of the mystical laws than the Jews possessed) that the new great Master and re- deemer for the world would be of the Aryan race, in the form of a reincarnation of one of the great [94]
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Masters who had served the world in other lands and who would not be limited to the tribes of Israel.
For this reason, the Essenes in Palestine and in Egypt and other locations fully anticipated that from their own race and from among the members of their own organization would come the next great Master, because the Essenes represented at this time the group of most highly evolved and spiritually trained beings on earth.
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