PART I

Man's Present Constitution and
Method of Development

INTRODUCTION.

THE Western world is undoubtedly the vanguard of
the human race, and, for reasons given in the fol-
lowing pages, it is held by the Rosicrucian that
neither Judaism nor "popular Christianity," but true
Esoteric Christianity is to be its world-religion.

Buddha, great, grand and sublime, may be the "Light
of Asia," but Christ will yet be acknowledged the "Light
of the World." As the sun outshines the brightest star
in the heavens, dispels every vestige of darkness and gives
life and light to all beings, so, in a not too distant future,
will the true religion of Christ supersede and obliterate all
other religions, to the eternal benefit of mankind.

In our civilization the chasm that stretches between
mind and heart yawns deep and wide and, as the mind flies
on from discovery to discovery in the realms of science,
the gulf becomes ever deeper and wider and the heart is
left further and further behind. The mind loudly demands
and will be satisfied with nothing less than a materially
demonstrable explanation of man and his fellow-creatures
that make up the phenomenal world. The heart feels in-
stinctively that there is something greater, and it yearns
for that which it feels is a higher truth than can be
grasped by the mind alone. The human soul would fain
soar upon ethereal pinions of intuition ; would fain lave in
the eternal fount of spiritual light and love; but modern
scientific views have shorn its wings and it sits fettered

17

18 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

and mute, unsatisfied longings gnawing at its tendrils as
the vulture at Prometheus' liver.

Is this necessary? Is there no common ground upon
which head and heart may meet, each assisting the other,
each by the help of the other becoming more effective in
the search for universal truth, and each receiving equal
satisfaction ?

As surely as the pre-existing light created the eye whereby
the light is seen; as surely as the primordial desire for
growth created the digestive and assimilative system for
the attainment of that end; as surely as thought existed
before the brain and built and still is building the brain
for its expression; as surely as the mind is now forging
ahead and wringing her secrets from nature by the very
force of its audacity, just so surely will the heart find a
way to burst its bonds and gratify its longings. At present
it is shackled by the dominant brain. Some day it will
gather strength to burst its prison bars and become a power
greater than the mind.

It is equally certain that there can be no contradiction
in nature, therefore the heart and the mind must be capa-
ble of uniting. To indicate this common ground is pre-
cisely the purpose of this book. To show where and how
the mind, helped by the intuition of the heart, can probe
more deeply into the mysteries of being than either could
do alone ; where the heart, by union with the mind, can be
kept from going astray; where each can have full scope
for action, neither doing violence to the other and where
both mind and heart can be satisfied.

Only when that co-operation is attained and perfected
will man attain the higher, truer understanding of himself
and of the world of which he is a part; only that can give
him a broad mind and a great heart.

INTKODUCTION 19

At every birth what appears to be a new life comes
among us. We see the little form as it lives and grows,
becoming a factor in our lives for days, months, or years.
At last there comes a day when the form dies and goes to
decay. The life that came, whence we know not, has
passed to the invisible beyond, and in sorrow we ask our-
selves, Whence came it? Why was it here? and Whither
has it gone?

Across every threshold the skeleton form of Death
throws his fearsome shadow. Old or young, well or ill,
rich or poor, all, all alike must pass out into that shadow
and throughout the ages has sounded the piteous cry for
a solution of the riddle of life — the riddle of death.

So far as the vast majority of people are concerned the
three great questions, Whence have we come? Why are we
here? Whither are we going? remain unanswered to this
day. It has unfortunately come to be the popularly ac-
cepted opinion that nothing can be definitely known about
these matters of deepest interest to humanity. Nothing
could be more erroneous than such an idea. Each and
every one, without exception, may become capable of obtain-
ing first-hand, definite information upon this subject ; may
personally investigate the state of the human spirit, both
before birth and after death. There is no favoritism, nor
are special gifts required. Each of us has inherently the
faculty for knowing all of these matters ; but ! — Yes, there
is a "but," and a "BUT" that must be written large. These
faculties are present in all, though latent in most people.
It requires persistent effort to awaken them and that seems
to be a powerful deterrent. If these faculties, "awake and
aware," could be had for a monetary consideration, even if
the price were high, many people would pay it to gain such
immense advantage over their fellow-men, but few indeed

20 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

are those willing to live the life that is required to awaken
them. That awakening comes only by patient, persistent
effort. It cannot be bought ; there is no royal road to it.

It is conceded that practice is necessary to learn to play
the piano, and that it is useless to think of being a watch-
maker without being willing to serve an apprenticeship.
Yet when the matter of the soul, of death and the beyond,
of the great causes of being, are the questions at issue,
many think they know as much as anyone and have an
equal right to express an opinion, though they may never
have given the subject an hour's study.

As a matter of fact, no one unless qualified by study
of the subject should expect serious consideration for an
opinion. In legal cases, where experts are called to testify,
they are first examined as to their competency. The weight
of their testimony will be nil, unless they are found to be
thoroughly proficient in the branch of knowledge regarding
which their testimony is sought.

If, however, they are found to be qualified — by study
and practice — to express an expert opinion, it is received
with the utmost respect and deference; and if the testi-
mony of one expert is corroborated by others equally pro-
ficient, the testimony of each additional man adds im-
mensely to the weight of the previous evidence.

The irrefutable testimony of one such man easily coun-
terbalances that of one or a dozen or a million men who
know nothing of that whereof they speak, for nothing,
even though multiplied by a million, will still remain
nothing. This is as true of any other subject as of mathe-
matics.

As previously said, we recognize these facts readily
enough in material affairs, but when things beyond the
world of sense, when the super-physical world is under

INTRODUCTION 21

discussion; when the relations of God to man, the inner-
most mysteries of the immortal spark of divinity, loosely
termed the soul, are to be probed, then each clamors for
as serious consideration of his opinions and ideas regard-
ing spiritual matters as is given to the sage, who by a life
of patient and toilsome research has acquired wisdom in
these higher things.

Nay, more; many will not even content themselves with
claiming equal consideration for their opinions, but will
even jeer and scoff at the words of the sage, seek to impugn
his testimony as fraud, and, with the supreme confidence
of deepest ignorance, asseverate that as they know nothing
of such matters, it is absolutely impossible that anyone
else can.

The man who realizes his ignorance has taken the first
step toward knowledge.

The path to first-hand knowledge is not easy. Nothing
worth having ever comes without persistent effort. It can-
not be too often repeated that there are no such things as
special gifts or "luck." All that anyone is or has, is the
result of effort. What one lacks in comparison with an-
other is latent in himself and capable of development by
proper methods.

If the reader, having grasped this idea thoroughly,
should ask, what he must do to obtain this first-hand
knowledge, the following story may serve to impress the
idea, which is the central one in occultism :

A young man came to a sage one day and asked, "Sire,
what must I do to become wise?" The sage vouchsafed
no answer. The youth after repeating his question a num-
ber of times, with a like result, at last left him, to return
the next day with the same question. Again no answer was
given and the youth returned on the third day, still repeat-

22 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

ing his question, "Sire, what must I do to become wise?"

Finally the 'sage turned and went down to a near-by
river. He entered the water, bidding the youth follow him.
Upon arriving at a sufficient depth the sage took the young
man by the shoulders and held him under the water, despite
his struggles to free himself. At last, however, he released
him and when the youth had regained his breath the sage
questioned him:

"Son, when you were under the water what did you
most desire?"

"The youth answered without hesitation, "Air, air!
I wanted air!"

"Would you not rather have had riches, pleasure, power
or love, my son? Did you not think of any of these?"
queried the sage.

"No, sire! I wanted air and thought only of air," came
the instant response.

"Then," said the sage, "to become wise you must desire
wisdom with as great intensity as you just now desired air.
You must struggle for it, to the exclusion of every other
aim in life. It must be your one and only aspiration, by
day and by night. If you seek wisdom with that fervor,
my son, you will surely beeome wise."

That is the first and central requisite the aspirant to
occult knowledge must possess — an unswerving desire, a
burning thirst for knowledge ; a zeal that allows no obstacle
to conquer it; but the supreme motive for seeking this
occult knowledge must be an ardent desire to benefit hu-
manity, entirely disregarding self in order to work for
others. Unless prompted by that motive, occult knowledge
is dangerous.

Without possessing these qualifications — especially the
latter—in some measure, any attempt to tread the arduous

INTRODUCTION 23

path of occultism would be a hazardous undertaking. An-
other prerequisite to this first-hand knowledge, however, is
the study of occultism at second-hand. Certain occult pow-
ers are necessary for the first-hand investigation of matters
connected with the pre-natal and post-mortem states of
man, but no one need despair of acquiring information
about these conditions because of undeveloped occult pow-
ers. As a man may know about Africa either by going
there personally or by reading descriptions written by trav-
elers who have been there, so may he visit the super-
physical realms if he will but qualify himself therefor, or
he may learn what others who have so qualified themselves
repojt as a result of their investigations.

Christ said, "The Truth shall make you free,* but Truth
is not found once and forever. Truth is eternal, and the
quest for Truth must also be eternal. Occultism knows
of no "faith once for all delivered." There are certain
basic truths which remain, but which may be looked at
from many sides, each giving a different view, which com-
plements the previous ones; therefore, so far as we can
see at present, there is no such achievement possible as
arriving at the ultimate truth.

Wherein this work differs from some philosophical works
the variations are caused by difference of viewpoint, and
all respect is paid to the conclusions reached and the ideas
set forth by other investigators. It is the earnest hope of
the writer that the study of the following pages may help
to make the student's ideas fuller and more rounded than
they were before.