CHAPTER XV.

CHRIST AND His MISSION.
The Evolution of Religion.

IN the foregoing part of this work we have become
familiar with the way in which our present outside
world came into existence, and how man evolved the
complicated organism with which he is related to outer
conditions. We have also, in a measure, studied the
Jewish Race-religion. We will next consider the last
and greatest of the divine measures put forth for the
uplifting of humanity, i. e., Christianity, which will be
the Universal Religion of the future.

It is a notable fact that man and his religions have
evolved side by side and in an equal degree. The earliest
religion of any Race is found to be as savage as the people
governed by it and as they become more civilized, their
religions become more and more humane and in harmony
with higher ideals.

From this fact materialists have drawn the inference
that no religion has a higher origin than man himself.
Their investigations into early history have resulted in a
conviction that, as man progressed, he civilized his God
and fashioned Him after his own pattern.

This reasoning is defective, because it fails to take into
account that man is not the body, but an indwelling spirit,
an Ego who uses the body with ever-increasing facility as
evolution progresses.

367

368 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

There is no doubt that the law for the body is "The
Survival of the Fittest." The law for the evolution of
the spirit demands "Sacrifice." As long as man believes
that "Might is Eight/' the Form prospers and waxes
strong, because all obstacles are swept out of the way re-
gardless of others. If the body were all, that manner of
life would be the only one possible for man. He would be
altogether incapable of any regard for others and would
forcibly resist any attempt to encroach upon what he con-
sidered his rights — the right of the stronger, which is the
sole standard of justice under the law of the Survival of
the Fittest. He would be quite regardless of his fellow-
beings; absolutely insensible to any force from without
that tended to make him act in any manner not conducive
to his own momentary pleasure.

It is manifest, then, that whatever urges man toward a
higher standard of conduct in his dealing with others must
come from within, and from a source which is not identical
with the body, otherwise it would not strive with the body
and often prevail against its most obvious interests. More-
over, it must be a stronger force than that of the body, or
it could not succeed in overcoming its desires and com-
pelling it to make sacrifices for those who are physically
weaker.

That such a force exists, surely no one will deny. We
have come to that stage in our advancement where, instead
of seeing in physical weakness an opp&rtunity for easy
prey, we recognize in the very frailty of another a valid
claim upon our protection. Selfishness is being slowly
but surely routed by Altruism.

Nature is sure to accomplish her purposes. Though
slow, her progress is orderly and certain. In the breast of
every man this force of Altruism works as a leaven. It is

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 369

transforming the savage into the civilized man, and will in
time transform the latter into a God.

Though nothing that is truly spiritual can be thoroughly
comprehended, yet it may at least be apprehended by means
of an illustration.

If one of two tuning-forks of exactly the same pitch is
struck, the sound will induce the same vibration in the
other, weak to begin with, but if the strokes are continued,
the second fork will give out a louder and louder tone
until it will emit a volume of sound equal to that of the
first. This will happen though the forks are several feet
apart, and even if one of them is encased in glass. The
sound from the smitten one will penetrate the glass and
the answering note be emitted by the enclosed instrument.

These invisible sound-vibrations have great power over
concrete matter. They can both build and destroy. If a
small quantity of very fine powder is placed upon a brass
or glass plate, and a violin bow drawn across the edge, the
vibrations will cause the powder to assume beautiful geo-
metrical figures. The human voice is also capable of pro-
ducing these figures; always the same figure for the same
tone.

If one note or chord after another be sounded upon a
musical instrument — a piano, or preferably a violin, for
from it more gradations of tone can be obtained — a tone
will finally be reached which will cause the hearer to feel
a distinct vibration in the back of the lower part of the
head. Each time that note is struck, the vibration will be
felt. That note is the "key-note" of the person whom it so
affects. If it is struck slowly and soothingly it will build
and rest the body, tone the nerves and restore health. If,
on the other hand, it be sounded in a dominant way, loud

370 BOSIORUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

and long enough, it will kill as surely as a bullet from a
pistol.

If we now apply what has been said about music or
sound to the problem of how this inner force is awakened
and strengthened, we may perhaps understand the matter
better.

In the first place, let us particularly note the fact that
the two tuning-forks were of the same pitch. Had this not
been the case, we might have sounded and sounded one of
them until the crack of doom, but the other one would
have remained mute. Let us understand this thoroughly:
Vibration can be induced in one tuning-fork by one of
like tone only. Any thing, or any being, can be affected as
above stated by no sound except its own key-note.

We know that this force of Altruism exists. We also
know that it is less pronounced among uncivilized people
than among people of higher social attainment, and among
the very lowest races it is almost entirely lacking. The
logical conclusion is that there was a time when it was
altogether absent. Consequent upon this conclusion fol-
lows the natural question: What induced it?

The material personality surely had nothing to do with
it ; in fact, that part of man's nature was much more com-
fortable without it than it has been at any time since.
Man must have had the force of Altruism latent within,
otherwise it could not have been awakened. Still further,
it must have been awakened by a force of the same kind —
a similar force that was already active — as the second
tuning-fork was started into vibration by the first after
it was struck.

We also saw that the vibrations in the second fork be-
came stronger and stronger under the continued impacts of
sound from the first, and that a glass case was no hindrance

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 371

to the induction of the sound. Under the continued im-
pacts of a force similar to that within him, the Love of
God to man has awakened this force of Altruism and is
constantly increasing its potency.

It is therefore reasonable and logical to conclude that,
at first, it was necessary to give man a religion commen-
surate with his ignorance. It would have been useless
to talk to him, at that stage, of a God Who was all tender-
ness and love. From his viewpoint, those attributes were
weaknesses and he could not have been expected to rever-
ence a God Who possessed what were to him despicable
qualities. The God to Whom he rendered obedience must
be a strong God, a God to be feared, a God Who could
hurl the thunderbolt and wield the flail of the lightning.

Thus, man was impelled first to fear God and was given
religions of a nature to further his spiritual well-being
under the lash of fear.

The next step was to induce in him a certain kind of
unselfishness, by causing him to give up part of his worldly
goods — to sacrifice. This was achieved by giving him the
Tribal or Race-God, Who is a jealous God, requiring of
him the strictest allegiance and the sacrifice of wealth,
which the growing man greatly prizes. But in return, this
Eace-God is a friend and mighty ally, fighting man's bat-
tles and giving him back many fold the sheep, bullocks
and grain which he sacrificed. He had not yet arrived at
the stage where it was possible for him to understand
that all creatures are akin, but the Tribal God taught
him that he must deal mercifully with his brother tribes-
man and gave laws which made for equity and fair dealing
between men of the same Race.

It must not be thought that these successive steps were
taken easily, nor without rebellion and lapses upon the

372 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

part of primitive man. Selfishness is ingrained in the
lower nature even unto this day, and there must have been
many lapses and much backsliding. We have in the Jew-
ish Bible good examples of how man forgot, and had to
be patiently and persistently "prodded" again and again by
the Tribal God. Only the visitations of a long-suffering
Race-spirit were potent, at times, in bringing him back to
the law — that law very few people have even yet learned
to obey.

There are always pioneers, however, who require some-
thing higher. When they become sufficiently numerous, a
new step in evolution is taken, so that several gradations
always exist. There came a time, nearly two thousand
years ago, when the most advanced of humanity were
ready to take another step forward, and learn the religion
of living a good life for the sake of future reward in a state
of existence in which they must have faith.

That was a long, hard step to take. It was compara-
tively easy to take a sheep or a bullock to the temple and
offer it as a sacrifice. If a man brought the first-fruits of
his granary, his vineyards, or his flocks and herds, he still
had more, and he knew that the Tribal God would refill
his stores and give abundantly in return. But in this
new departure, it was not a question of sacrificing his
goods. It was demanded that he sacrifice himself. It was
not even a sacrifice to be made by one supreme effort of
martyrdom ; that also would have been comparatively easy.
Instead, it was demanded that day by day, from morning
until night, he must act mercifully toward all. He must
forego selfishness, and love his neighbor, as he had been
used to loving himself. Moreover, he was not promised
any immediate and visible reward, but must have faith in
a future happiness.

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 373

Is it strange that people find it difficult to realize this
high ideal of continued well-doing, made doubly hard by
the fact that self-interest is entirely ignored? Sacrifice is
demanded with no positive assurance of any reward.
Surely it is much to the credit of humanity that so much
altruism is practiced and that it is constantly increasing.
The wise Leaders, knowing the frailness of the spirit to
cope with the selfish instincts of the body, and the dangers
of despondency in the face of such standards of conduct,
gave another uplifting impulse when they incorporated in
the new religion the doctrine of "vicarious Atonement."

This idea is scouted by some very advanced philosophers,
and the law of "Consequence" made paramount. If it so
happens that the reader agrees with these philosophers,
we request that he await the explanation herein set forth,
showing how both are part of the scheme of upliftment.
Suffice it to say, for the present, that this doctrine of
atonement gives many an earnest soul the strength to
strive and, in spite of repeated failures, to bring the lower
nature under subjection. Let it be remembered that, for
reasons given when the laws of Eebirth and Consequence
were discussed, western humanity knew practically noth-
ing of these laws. With such a great ideal before them
as the Christ, and believing they had but a few short years
in which to attain to such a high degree of development as
this, would it not have been the greatest imaginable cruelty
to leave them without help ? Therefore, the GREAT SAC-
RIFICE on Calvary — while it also served other purposes,
as will be shown — became rightfully the Beacon of Hope
for every earnest soul who is striving to achieve the impos-
sible; to attain, in one short life, to the perfection
demanded by the Christian religion.

374 BOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

JESUS AND CHRIST-JESUS.

To gain some slight insight into the Great Mystery of
Golgotha, and to understand the Mission of Christ as the
Founder of the Universal Religion of the future, it is
necessary that we first become familiar with His exact
nature and incidentally, with that of Jehovah, Who is the
head of such Race-religions as Taoism, Buddhism, Hindu-
ism, Judaism, etc. ; also with the identity of "The Father,"
to Whom Christ is to give up the Kingdom, in due time.

In the Christian creed occurs this sentence: "Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son of God." This is generally
understood to mean that a certain person Who appeared
in Palestine about 2,000 years ago, Who is spoken of as
Jesus Christ — one separate individual — was the only be-
gotten Son of God.

This is a great mistake. There are three distinct and
widely different Beings characterized in this sentence. It
is of the greatest importance that the student should clearly
understand the exact nature of these Three Great and
Exalted Beings — differing vastly in glory, yet each entitled
to our deepest and most devout adoration.

The student is requested to turn to diagram 6 and note
that "The only begotten" ("The Word," of Whom John
speaks) is the second aspect of the Supreme Being.

This "Word," and It alone, is "begotten of His Father
[the first aspect] before all Worlds." "Without Him was
not anything made that was made," not even the third
aspect of the Supreme Being, which proceeds from the
two previous aspects. Therefore the "only begotten" is
the exalted Being which ranks above all else in the Uni-
verse, save only the Power-aspect which created It.

The first aspect of the Supreme Being "thinks out," or
imagines, the Universe before the beginning of active

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 375

manifestation, everything, including the millions of Solar
Systems and the great creative Hierarchies which inhabit
the Cosmic Planes of existence above the seventh, which is
the field of our evolution (See diagram 6). This is also
the Force which dissolves everything that has crystallized
beyond the possibility of further growth and at last, when
the end of active manifestation has come, reabsorbs within
Itself all that is, until the dawn of another Period of
Manifestation.

The second aspect of the Supreme Being is that which
manifests in matter as the forces of attraction and cohe-
sion, thus giving it the capability of combining into Forms
of various kinds. This is "The Word," the "creative
Fiat," which molds the primordial Cosmic Root-substance
in a manner similar to the formation of figures by musical
vibrations, as previously mentioned, the same tone always
producing the same figure. So this great primordial
"WORD" brought, or "spoke," into being, in finest matter,
all the different Worlds, with all their myriads of Forms,
which have since been copied and worked out in detail by
the innumerable creative Hierarchies.

"The Word" could not have done this, however, until
the third aspect of the Supreme Being had first prepared
the Cosmic Boot-substance ; had awakened it from its nor-
mal state of inertia and set the countless inseparate atoms
spinning upon their axes, placing those axes at various
angles with respect to each other, giving to each kind a cer-
tain "measure of vibration."

These varying angles of inclination of the axes and the
measures of vibration made the Cosmic Root-substance
capable of forming different combinations, which are the
bases of the seven great Cosmic Planes. There is, in each
of these Planes, a different declination of the axes, and

376 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

also a different measure of vibration, consequently the con-
ditions and combinations in each one are different from
those in any of the others, due to the activity of "The
Only Begotten."

Diagram 14 shows us that:

"The Father" is the highest Initiate among the humanity

of the Saturn Period. The ordinary humanity of

that Period are now the Lords of Mind.

"The Son" (Christ) is the highest Initiate of the Sun

- Period. The ordinary humanity of that Period are

now the Archangels.

"The Holy Spirit" (Jehovah) is the highest Initiate of
the Moon Period. The ordinary humanity of that
Period are now the Angels.

This diagram also shows what are the vehicles of these
different orders of Beings, and upon comparison with
diagram 8, it will be seen that their bodies or vehicles
(indicated by squares on diagram 14) correspond to the
Globes of the Period in which they were human. This is
always the case so far as the ordinary humanities are
concerned, for at the end of the Period during which any
life wave becomes individualized as human beings, those
beings retain bodies corresponding to the Globes on which
they have functioned.

On the other hand, the Initiates have progressed and
evolved for themselves higher vehicles, discontinuing the
ordinary use of the lowest vehicle when the ability to use a
new and higher one has been attained. Ordinarily, the
lowest vehicle of an Archangel is the desire body, but
Christ, Who is the highest Initiate of the Sun Period,
ordinarily uses the life spirit as lowest vehicle, functioning
as consciously in the World of Life Spirit as we do in the
Physical World. The student is requested to note this

378 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

point particularly, as the World of Life Spirit is the first
universal World, as explained in the chapter on Worlds. It
is the World in which differentiation ceases and unity
begins to be realized, so far as our solar system is
concerned.

Christ has power to build and function in a vehicle as
low as the desire body, such as is used by the Archangels,
but He can descend no further. The significance of this
will be seen presently.

Jesus belongs to our humanity. When the man, Jesus,
is studied through the memory of nature, he can be traced
back life by life, where he lived in different circumstances,
under various names, in different incarnations, the same,
in that respect, as any other human being. This cannot be
done with the Being, Christ. In His case can be found but
one incarnation.

It must not be supposed, however, that Jesus was an
ordinary individual. He was of a singularly pure type of
mind, vastly superior to the great majority of our present
humanity. Through many lives had he trod the Path of
Holiness and thus fitted himself for the greatest honor
ever bestowed upon a human being.

His mother, the Virgin Mary, was also a type of the
highest human purity and because of that was selected to
become the mother of Jesus. His father was a high Ini-
tiate, virgin, and capable of performing the act of fecunda-
tion as a sacrament, without personal desire or passion.

Thus the beautiful, pure and lovely spirit whom we
know as Jesus of Nazareth was born into a pure and pas-
sionless body. This body was the best that could be pro-
duced on Earth and the task of Jesus, in that incarnation,
was to care for it and evolve it to the highest possible

CHBIST AND HIS MISSION 379

degree of efficiency, in preparation for the great purpose it
was to serve.

Jesus of Nazareth was born at about the time stated in
the historic records, and not 105 B. C., as stated in some
occult works. The name Jesus is common in the East,
and an Initiate named Jesus did live 105 B. C., but he
took the Egyptian Initiation, and was not Jesus of Naza-
reth, with whom we are concerned.

The Individual who later incarnated under the name
of Christian Rosenkreuz was already in a high incarnation
when Jesus of Nazareth was born, and is incarnate today.
His testimony, as well as the results of first-hand investi-
gation by later Rosicrucians, all agree in placing the birth
of Jesus of Nazareth at the beginning of the Christian Era,
on about the date usually ascribed to that event.

Jesus was educated by the Essenes and reached a very
high state of spiritual development during the thirty years
in which he used his body.

It may here be said, parenthetically, that the Essenes
were a third sect which existed in Palestine, besides the
two mentioned in the New Testament — the Pharisees arid
the Sadducees. The Essenes were an exceedingly devout
order, widely different from the materialistic Sadducees
and entirely opposite to the hypocritical, publicity seeking
Pharisees. They shunned all mention of themselves and
their methods of study and worship. To the latter pecu-
liarity is due the fact that almost nothing is known of
them, and that they are not mentioned in the New
Testament.

It is a law of the Cosmos that no Being, however high,
can function in any world without a vehicle built of the
material of that world (See diagrams 8 and 14). There-
fore the desire body was the lowest vehicle of the group of

080 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

spirits who had reached the human stage in the Sun
Period.

Christ was one of those spirits and was consequently un-
able to build for Himself a vital body and a dense physical
vehicle. He could have worked upon humanity in a desire
body, as did His younger brothers, the Archangels, as
Race-spirits. Jehovah had opened an avenue for them to
enter the dense body of man by means of the air he in-
haled. All Eace-religions were religions of law, and cre-
ators of sin through disobedience of that law. They were
under the direction of Jehovah, Whose lowest vehicle is the
human spirit, correlating Him to the World of Abstract
Thought, where everything is separative and therefore
leads to self-seeking.

That is precisely the reason why the intervention of
Christ became necessary. Under the regime of Jehovah
unity is impossible. Therefore the Christ, Who possesses
as a lowest vehicle the unifying life spirit, must enter
into the dense human body. He must appear as a man
among men and dwell in this body, because only from
within is it possible to conquer the Race-religion, which
influences man from without.

Christ could not be lorn in a dense body, because He
had never passed through an evolution such as the
Earth Period, therefore He would first have had
to acquire the ability to build a dense body such as
ours. But even had He possessed that ability, it would
have been inexpedient for such an exalted Being to ex-
pend for that purpose the energy necessary for body-
building through ante-natal life, childhood and youth, to
bring it to sufficient maturity for use. He had ceased
to use, ordinarily, vehicles such as would correspond to our
human spirit, mind and desire body, although He had
learned to build them in the Sun Period, and retained the

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 381

ability to build and function in them whenever desired
or required. He used all his own vehicles, taking only
the vital and dense bodies from Jesus. When the latter
was 30 years of age Christ entered these bodies and used
them until the climax of His Mission on Golgotha. After
the destruction of the dense body, Christ appeared among
His disciples in the vital body, in which He functioned for
some time. The vital body is the vehicle which He will
use when He appears again, for He will never take another
dense body.

It is encroaching upon a subject to be dealt with later
to remark that the object of all esoteric training is to so
work on the vital body that the life spirit is built up and
quickened. When we come to deal with Initiation it may
be possible to give more detailed explanations, but no more
can be said on the subject just now. In chronicling the
events incident to post mortem existence, this subject has
been partially dealt with and the student is here asked to
note that a man is supposed to have conquered his desire
Iwdy to a considerable extent before attempting esoteri-
cism. His esoteric training and the earlier Initiations are
devoted to work on the vital body and result in the build-
ing of the life spirit. At the time Christ entered the body
of Jesus, the latter was a disciple of high degree, conse-
quently his life spirit was well organized. Therefore, the
lowest vehicle in which Christ functioned, and the best
organized of the higher vehicles of Jesus, were identical;
and Christ, when He took the vital body and the dense
body of Jesus, was thus furnished with a complete chain
of vehicles bridging the gap between the World of Life
Spirit and the dense Physical World.

The significance of the fact that Jesus had passed sev-
eral initiations lies in the effect that has on the vital body.

382 BOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

Jesus' vital body was already attuned to the high vibrations
of the life spirit. An ordinary man's vital body would
have instantly collapsed under the terrific vibrations of
the Great Spirit who entered Jesus' body. Even that
body, pure and high-strung as it was, could not withstand
those tremendous impacts for many years, and when we
read of certain times when Christ withdrew temporarily
from his disciples, as when he later walked on the sea to
meet them, the esotericist knows that he drew out of
Jesus' vehicles to give them a rest under the care of the
Essene Brothers, who knew more of how to treat such
vehicles than Christ did.

This change was consummated with the full and free
consent of Jesus, who knew during this entire incarnation
that he was preparing a vehicle for Christ. He submitted
gladly, that his brother humanity might receive the gigan-
tic impetus which was given to its development by the
mysterious sacrifice on Golgotha.

Thus (as shown in diagram 14) Christ Jesus possessed
the twelve vehicles, which formed an unbroken chain from
the Physical World to the very Throne of God. There-
fore He is the only Being in the Universe in touch with
both God and man and capable of mediating between them,
because He has, personally and individually, experienced
all conditions and knows every limitation incidental to
physical existence.

Christ is unique among all Beings in all the seven
Worlds. He alone possesses the twelve vehicles. None
save He is able to feel such compassion, nor so fully under-
stand the position and needs of humanity; none save He
is qualified to bring the relief that shall fully meet our
needs.

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 383

Thus do we know the nature of Christ. He is the high-
est Initiate of the Sun Period and He took the dense and
vital bodies of Jesus that He might function directly in
the Physical World and appear as a man among men.
Had He appeared in a manifestly miraculous manner, it
would have been contrary to the scheme of evolution, be-
cause at the end of the Atlantean Epoch humanity had
been given freedom to do right or wrong. That they might
learn to become self-governing, no coercion whatever could
be used. They must know good and evil through experi-
ence. Before that time they had been led willy-nilly, but
at that time they were given freedom under the different
Race-religions, each religion adapted to the needs of ita
particular Tribe or Nation.

NOT PEACE BUT A SWORD.

All Race-religions are of the Holy Spirit. They are in-
sufficient, because they are based on law, which makes for
sin and brings death, pain and sorrow.

All Race-spirits know this, and realize that their reli-
gions are merely steps to something better. This is shown
by the fact that all Race-religions, without exception, point
to One Who is to come. The religion of the Persians
pointed to Mithras; of the Chaldeans to Tammuz. The
old Norse Gods foresaw the approach of "The Twilight
of the Gods," when Sutr, the bright Sun-spirit, shall super-
sede them and a new and fairer order be established on
"Gimle," the regenerated earth. The Egyptians waited
for Horus, the new-born Sun. Mithras and Tammuz are
also symbolized as Solar orbs and all the principal Temples
were built facing the East, that the rays of the rising
Sun might shine directly through the open doors; even
Saint Peter's at Rome is so placed. All these facts show

384 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

that it was generally known that the One Who was to
come was a Sun-spirit and was to save humanity from
the separative influences necessarily contained in all Race-
religions.

These religions were steps which it was necessary for
mankind to take to prepare for the advent of Christ. Man
must first cultivate a "self" before he can become really
wnselfish and understand the higher phase of Universal
Brotherhood — unity of purpose and interest — for which
Christ laid the foundation at His first coming, and which
He will make living realities when He returns.

As the fundamental principle of a Eace-religion is sep-
aration, inculcating self-seeking at the expense of other
men and nations, it is evident that if the principle is car-
ried to its ultimate conclusion it must necessarily have
an increasingly destructive tendency and finally frustrate
evolution, unless succeeded by a more constructive religion.

Therefore the separative religions of the Holy Spirit
must give place to the unifying religion of the Son, which
is the Christian religion.

Law must give place to Love, and the separate Races and
Nations be united in one Universal Brotherhood, with
Christ as the Eldest Brother.

The Christian religion has not yet had time to accom-
plish this great object. Man is still in the toils of the
dominant Race-spirit and the ideals of Christianity are
yet too high for him. The intellect can see some of the
beauties, and readily admits that we should love our ene-
mies, but the passions of the desire body are still too
strong. The law of the Race-spirit being "An eye for an
eye," the Feeling is "I'll get even !" The heart prays for
Love; the desire body hopes for Revenge. The intellect
sees, in the abstract, the beauty of loving one's enemies,

CHEIST AND HIS MISSION 385

but in concrete cases it allies itself with the vengeful feel-
ing of the desire body, pleading, as an excuse for "getting
even," that "the social organism must be protected."

It is a matter for congratulation, however, that society
feels compelled to apologize for the retaliative methods
used. Corrective methods and mercy are becoming more
and more prominent in the administration of the laws, as
is shown by the favorable reception which has been accorded
that very modern institution, the Juvenile Court. Fur-
ther manifestation of this same tendency may be noted in
the increasing frequency with which convicted prisoners
are released on probation, under suspended sentence; also
in the greater humanity with which prisoners of war are
treated of late years. These are the vanguards of the sen-
timent of Universal Brotherhood, which is slowly but
surely making its influence felt.

Yet, though the world is advancing and though, for in-
stance, it has been comparatively easy for the writer to
secure a hearing for his views in the different cities where
he has lectured, the daily papers sometimes devoting to
his utterances whole pages (and front pages at that) so
long as he confined himself to speaking of the higher
worlds and the post mortem states, it has been very notice-
able that as soon as the theme was Universal Brotherhood
his articles have always been consigned to the waste-basket.

The world in general is very unwilling to consider any-
thing that is, as it thinks, "too" unselfish. There must be
"something in it." Nothing is regarded as an entirely
natural line of conduct if it offers no opportunity for
"getting the best of" one's fellowmen. Commercial under-
takings are planned and conducted on that principle and,
before the minds of those who are enslaved by the desire
to accumulate useless wealth, the idea of Universal Brother-

386 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

hood conjures up frightful visions of the abolition of cap-
italism and its inevitable concomitant, the exploitation of
others, with the wreck of "business interests" implied
thereby. The word "enslaved" exactly describes this con-
dition. According to the Bible, man was to have dominion
over the world, but in the vast majority of cases the reverse
is true — it is the world which has dominion over man.
Every msm who has property interests will, in his saner
moments, admit that they are a never-failing source of
worry to him; that he is constantly scheming to hold his
possessions, or at least to keep from being deprived of them
by "sharp practice," knowing that others are as constantly
scheming to accomplish that, to them, desirable end. The
man is the slave of what, with unconscious irony, he calls
"my possessions," when in reality they possess him. Well
did the Sage of Concord say, "Things are in the saddle and
ride mankind !"

This state of affairs is the result of Race-religions, with
their system of law; therefore do they all look for "One
Who is to come." The Christian religion ALONE is not
looking for One Who is to come, but for One Who is to
come again. The time of this second coming depends
upon when the Church can free itself from the State. The
Church, especially in Europe, is bound to tfie Chariot of
State. The ministers are fettered by economic considera-
tions and dare not proclaim the truths that their studies
have revealed to them.

A visitor to Copenhagen, Denmark, recently witnessed a
church confirmation service. The Church there is under
State control and all ministers are appointed by the tem-
poral power. The parishioners have nothing whatever to
say in the matter. They may attend church or not, as

CUK18T AND HIS MISSION 337

they please, but they are compelled to pay the taxes which
support the institution.

In addition to holding office by the bounty of the State,
the pastor of the particular church visited was decorated
with several Orders conferred by the king, the glittering
badges bearing silent but eloquent testimony as to the
extent of his subserviency to the State. During the cere-
mony, he prayed for the king and the legislators, that
they might rule the country wisely. As long as kings and
legislators exist, this prayer might be very appropriate, but
it was a considerable shock to hear him add : " .
and, Almighty God, protect and strengthen our army and
navy !"

Such a prayer as this shows plainly that the God wor-
shiped is the Tribal or National God — the Race-spirit, for
the last act of the gentle Christ Jesus was to stay the sword
of the friend who would have protected Him therewith.
Although He said He had not come to send peace, but a
sword, it was because He foresaw the oceans of blood that
would be spilled by the militant "Christian" nations in
their mistaken understanding of His teachings and because
high ideals cannot be immediately attained by humanity.
The wholesale murder of war and like atrocities are harsh,
but they are potent illustrations of what Love would
abolish.

There is, apparently, a flat contradiction between the
words of Christ Jesus, "I came not to send peace, but a
sword," and the words of the celestial song which heralded
the birth of Jesus, "On earth Peace, Goodwill toward men."
This contradiction, however, is apparent only.

There is as great an apparent contradiction between a
woman's words and her actions when she says, "I am
going to clean house and tidy up," and then proceeds to

388 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

take up carpets and pile chairs one upon another, produc-
ing general confusion in a previously orderly house. One
observing only this aspect of the matter, would be justified
in saying, "She is making matters worse instead of better,"
but when the purpose of her work is understood, the ex-
pediency of the temporary disorder is realized and in the
end her house will be the better for the passing disturbance.
Similarly, we must bear in mind that the time which
has elapsed since the coming of Christ Jesus is but little
more than a moment in comparison with the duration of
even one Day of Manifestation. We must learn, as did
Whitman, to "know the amplitude of time," and look be-
yond the past and present cruelties and jealousies of the
warring sects to the shining age of Universal Brotherhood,
which will mark the next great step of man's progress on
his long and wondrous journey from the clod to the God,
from protoplasm to conscious unity with the Father, that

. . . one far-off, divine event
To which the whole creation moves.

It may be added that the above mentioned pastor, dur-
ing the ceremony of receiving his pupils into the Church,
taught them that Jesus Christ was a composite individual ;
that Jesus was the mortal, human part, while Christ was
the divine, immortal Spirit. Presumably, if the matter
had been discussed with him, he would not have supported
that statement, nevertheless in making it he stated an
occult fact.

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.

The unifying influence of the Christ has been symbolized
in the beautiful legend of the worship of the three magi,
or "wise men of the East," so skilfully woven by General
Lew Wallace into his charming story, "Ben Hur;" , '.;

CHRIST AXD HIS MISSION 389

The three wise men — Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar —
are the representatives of the white, yellow and black Races
and symbolize the people of Europe, Asia and Africa, who
are all led by The Star to the World-Savior, to Whom
eventually "every knee shall bow," and Whom "every (
tongue shall confess"; Who shall unite all the scattered
nations under the Banner of Peace and Goodwill; Who
shall cause men to "beat their words into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks."

The Star of Bethlehem is said to have appeared at the
time of the birth of Jesus, and to have guided the three
wise men to the Savior.

Much speculation has been indulged in as to the nature
of this Star. Most material scientists have declared it a
myth, while others have said if it were anything more
than a myth, it might have been a "coincidence" — two
dead Suns might have collided and caused a conflagration.
Every mystic, however, knows the "Star" — yea, and the
"Cross" also — not only as symbols connected with the life
of Jesus and Christ Jesus, but in his own personal experi-
ence. Paul says: "Until Christ be formed in you"; and
the mystic, Angelus Silesius, echoes :

Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born
And not within thyself, thy soul will be forlorn.
The Cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain
Unless within thyself it be set up again.

Richard Wagner shows the intuitional knowledge of
the artist when, to the question of Parsifal, "Who is The
Grail?" Gurnemanz answers:

That tell we not;

But if thou hast by Him been bidden,

From thee the truth will not stay hidden.

. . . The land to Him no path leads through,

And search but severs from Hjm wider

When He Himself is not the Guider.

390 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-COXCEPTION

Under the "old dispensation" the path to Initiation was
not open. It was for only the chosen few. Some might
seek the path, but only those who were guided to the Tem-
ples by the Hierophants found entrance. Previous to the
advent of Christ, there was no such sweeping invitation as
"Whosoever will may come."

At the moment the blood flowed on Golgotha, however,
"the veil of the Temple was rent" (for reasons presently to
be explained), and ever since that time, whosoever will
seek admittance will surely find it.

In the Temples of Mystery the Hierophant taught his
pupils that there is in the Sun a spiritual, as well as a
physical force. The latter force in the rays of the Sun
is the fecundating principle in nature. It causes the
growth of the plant world and thereby sustains the animal
and human kingdoms. It is the upbuilding energy which
is the source of all physical force.

This physical, solar energy reaches its highest expres-
sion in midsummer, when the days are longest and the
nights are shortest, because the rays of the Sun then fall
directly on the northern hemisphere. At that time the
spiritual forces are the most inactive.

On the other hand, in December, during the long win-
ter nights, the physical force of the solar orb is dormant
and the spiritual forces reach their maximum degree of
activity.

The night between the 24th and the 25th of December
is The Holy Night, par excellence, of the entire year. The
Zodiacal sign of the immaculate celestial Virgin stands
upon the eastern horizon near midnight, the Sun of the
New Year is then born and starts upon his journey from
the southernmost point. toward the northern hemisphere,
to save that part of humanity (physically) from the dark-

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 391

ness and famine which would inevitably result if he were
to remain permanently south of the equator.

To the people of the northern hemisphere, where all
our present-day religions originated, the Sun is directly
below the Earth; and the spiritual influences are strong-
est, in the north, at midnight of the 24th of December.

That being the case, it follows as a matter of course that
it would then be easiest for those who wished to take a
definite step toward Initiation to get in conscious touch
with the spiritual Sun especially for the first time.

Therefore the pupils who were ready for Initiation were
taken in hand by the Hierophants of the Mysteries, and
by means of ceremonies performed in the Temple, were
raised to a state of exaltation wherein they transcended
physical conditions. To their spiritual vision, the solid
Earth became transparent and they saw the Sun at mid-
night— "The Star!" It was not the physical Sun they
saw with spiritual eyes, however, but the Spirit in the Sun
— The Christ — their Spiritual Savior, as the physical Sun
was their physical Savior.

This is the Star that shone on that Holy Night and
that still shines for the mystic in the darkness of night.
When the noise and confusion of physical activity are
quieted, he enters into his closet and seeks the way to the
King of Peace. The Blazing Star is ever there to guide
him and his soul hears the prophetic song, "On earth
Peace, Goodwill toward men."

Peace and goodwill to all, without exception; no room
for one single enemy or outcast! Is it any wonder that
it is hard to educate humanity to such a high standard?
Is there any better way to show the beauty of, and the
necessity for peace, goodwill and love than by contrasting
them with the present state of war, selfishness and hate?

392 ROSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it casts.
The higher our ideals, the more plainly can we see our
shortcomings.

Unfortunately, at the present stage of development, hu-
manity is willing to learn only by the hardest experience.
As a Eace, it must become absolutely selfish to feel the
bitter pangs caused by the selfishness of others, as one
must know much sickness to be thoroughly thankful for
health.

The religion miscalled Christianity has therefore been
the bloodiest religion known, not excepting Mohammedan-
ism, which in this respect is somewhat akin to our mal-
practiced Christianity. On the battle-field and in the
Inquisition innumerable and unspeakable atrocities have
been committed in the name of the gentle Nazarene. The
Sword and the Wine Cup, — the perverted Cross and Com-
munion Chalice — have been the means by which the more
powerful of the so-called Christian nations gained suprem-
acy over the heathen peoples, and even over other but
weaker nations professing the same faith as their con-
querors. The most cursory reading of the history of the
Graeco-Latin, Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon Eaces will cor-
roborate this.

While man was under the full sway of Eace-religions
each nation was an united whole. Individual interests were
willingly subordinated to the community interests. All
were "under the law." All were members of their respec-
tive tribes first, and individuals only secondarily.

At the present time there is a tendency toward the other
extreme — to exalt "self" above all else. The result is evi-
dent in the economic and industrial problems that are
facing every nation and clamoring for solution.

The state of development wherein every man feels him-

CHEIST AND HIS MISSION 393

self ah absolutely separate unit, an Ego, independently
pursuing his own course, is a necessary stage. The
national, tribal and family unity must first be broken up
before Universal Brotherhood can become a fact. The
regime of Paternalism has been largely superseded by the
reign of Individualism. We are learning the evils of the
latter more and more as our civilization advances. Our
unsystematic method of distributing the products of labor,
the rapacity of the few and the exploitation of the many —
these social crimes result in under-consumption, industrial
depressions and labor disturbances, destroying internal
peace. The industrial war of the present day is vastly
more far-reaching and destructive than the military wars
of the nations.

THE HEART AS AN ANOMALY.

No lesson, though its truth may be superficially assented
to, is of any real value as an active principle of the life
until the heart has learned it in longing and bitterness,
and the lesson man must so learn is that what is not bene-
ficial to all can never be truly beneficial to any. For
nearly 2,000 years we have lightly assented with our lips
that we should govern our lives in accordance with such
maxims as, "Return good for evil." The Heart urges
mercy and love, but the Reason urges belligerent and re-
taliatory measures, if not as revenge, at least as. a means
of preventing a repetition of hostilities. It is this divorce
of head from heart that hinders the growth of a true feel-
ing of Universal Brotherhood and the adoption of the
teachings of Christ — the Lord of Love.

The mind is the focusing-point by means of which the
Ego becomes aware of the material universe. As an in-
strument for the acquisition of knowledge in those realms

394 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

the mind is invaluable, but when it arrogates to itself the
role of dictator as to the conduct of man to man, it is as
though the lens should say to an astronomer who was in
the act of photographing the Sun through a telescope:
"You have me improperly focused. You are not looking
at the Sun correctly. I do not think it is good to photo-
graph the Sun anyway, and I want you to point me at
Jupiter. The rays of the Sun heat me too much and are
liable to damage me."

If the astronomer exercises his will and focuses the
telescope as he desires, telling it to attend to its business
of transmitting the rays that strike it, leaving the results
to him, the work will proceed well, but if the lens has the
stronger will anB the mechanism of the telescope is in
league with it, the astronomer will be seriously hampered
in having to contend with a refractory instrument, and
the result will be blurred pictures, of little or no value.

Thus it is with the Ego. It works with a threefold
body, which it controls, or should control through the
mind. But, sad to say, this body has a will of its own and
is often aided and abetted by the mind, thus frustrating
the purposes of the Ego.

This antagonistic "lower will" is an expression of the
higher part of the desire body. When the division of the
Sun, Moon and Earth took place, in the early part of the
Lemurian Epoch, the more advanced portion of humanity-
in-the-making experienced a division of the desire body
into a higher and a lower part. The rest of humanity did
likewise in the early part of the Atlantean Epoch.

This higher part of the desire body became a sort of
animal-soul. It built the cerebro-spinal nervous system
and the voluntary muscles, by that means controlling the
lower part of the threefold body until the link of mind was

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 395

given. Then the mind "coalesced" with this animal-soul
and became a co-regent.

The mind is thus bound up in desire ; is enmeshed in the
selfish lower nature, making it difficult for the spirit to
control the body. The focusing mind, which should be the
ally of the higher nature, is alienated by and in league
with the lower nature — enslaved by desire.

The law of the Kace-religions was given to emancipate
intellect from desire. The "fear of God" was pitted against
"the desires of the flesh." This, however, was not enough
to enable one to become master of the body and secure
its willing co-operation. It became necessary for the spirit
to find in the body another point of vantage, which was
not under the sway of the desire nature. All muscles are
expressions of the desire body and a straight road to the
capital, where the traitorous mind is wedded to desire and
reigns supreme.

If the United States were at war with France, it would
not land troops in England, hoping in that way to subju-
gate the French. It would land its soldiers directly in
France, and fight there.

Like a wise general, the Ego followed a similar course
of action. It did not commence its campaign by getting
control of one of the glands, for they are expressions of
the vital body; nor was it possible to get control of the
voluntary muscles, for they are too well garrisoned by the
enemy. That part* of the involuntary muscular system
which is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system
would also be useless for the purpose. It must get into a
more direct touch with the cerebro-spinal nervous system.
To do this, and secure a base of operations in the enemy's
country, it must control a muscle which is involuntary, and

396 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

yet connected with the voluntary nervous system. Such a
muscle is the heart.

We have previously spoken of the two kinds of muscles
— voluntary and involuntary. The latter are formed in
lengthwise stripes and are connected with functions not
under the control of the will, such as digestion, respiration,
excretion, etc. The voluntary muscles are those which
are controlled by the will through the voluntary nervous
system, such as the muscles of the hand and arm. They
are striped both lengthwise and crosswise.

The above is true of all muscles in the body except the
heart, which is an involuntary muscle. Ordinarily, we
cannot control the circulation. Under normal conditions
the heart-beat is a fixed quantity, yet to the bewilderment
of physiologists, the heart is cross-striped like a voluntary
muscle. It is the only organ in the body exhibiting this
peculiarity but, sphinx-like, it refuses to give material
scientists an answer to the riddle.

The occult scientist easily finds the answer in the mem-
ory of nature. From that record he learns that when the
Ego first sought a stronghold in the heart, the latter was
striped lengthwise only, the same as any other involuntary
muscle ; but as the Ego gained more and more control over
the heart, the cross-stripes have gradually developed. They
are not so numerous nor so well-defined as on the muscles
under the full control of the desire body, but as the altru-
istic principles of love and brotherhood increase in strength
and gradually overrule the reason, which is based in desire,
so will these cross-stripes become more numerous and more
marked.

As previously stated, the seed-atom of the dense body
is located in the heart during life and withdrawn only at
death. The active work of the Ego is in the blood. Now,

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 397

if we except the lungs, the heart is the only organ in the
body through which all the blood passes in every cycle.

The blood is the highest expression of the vital body,
for it nourishes the entire physical organism. It is also,
in a sense, the vehicle of the subconscious memory, and in
touch with the Memory of Nature, situated in the highest
division of the Etheric Region. The blood carries the pic-
tures of life from ancestors to descendants for generations,
where there is a common blood, as produced by inbreeding.

There are in the head three points, each of which is
the particular seat of one of the three aspects of the spirit
(See diagram 17), the second and third aspects having, in
addition, secondary vantage grounds.

The desire body is the perverted expression of the Ego.
It converts the "Selfhood" of the spirit into "selfishness."
Selfhood seeks not its own at the expense of others. Self-
ishness seeks gain regardless of others. The seat of the
human spirit is primarily in the pineal gland and sec-
ondarily in the brain and cerebro-spinal nervous system,
which control the voluntary muscles.

The love and unity in the World of the Life Spirit find
their illusory counterpart in the Etheric Region, to which
we are correlated by the vital body, which latter promotes
sex love and sex union. The life spirit has its seat pri-
marily in the pituitary body and secondarily in the heart,
which is the gateway of the blood that nourishes the
muscles.

The actionless Divine Spirit — The Silent Watcher —
finds its material expression in the passive, inert and irre-
sponsive skeleton of the dense body, which is the obedient
instrument of the other bodies, but has no power to act
on its own initiative. The Divine Spirit has its strong-
hold in the impenetrable point at the root of the nose.

398 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

In reality there is but one spirit, the Ego, but looking at
it from the Physical World, it is refracted into the three
aspects, which work as stated.

As the blood passes through the heart, cycle after cycle,
hour after hour all through life, it engraves the pictures
it carries upon the seed-atoms while they are still fresh,
thus making a faithful record of the life which is indelibly
impressed on the soul in the post mortem existence. It
is always in closest touch with the life spirit, the spirit of
love and unity, therefore the heart is the home of altruistic
love.

As these pictures pass inward to the World of Life Spirit,
in which is the true memory of nature, they do not come
through the slow physical senses, but directly through tne
fourth ether contained in the air we breathe. In the
World of Life Spirit the life spirit sees much more clearly
than it can in the denser Worlds. In its high home it is in
touch with the Cosmic Wisdom and in any situation it
knows at once what to do and flashes the message of guid-
ance and proper action back to the heart, which as in-
stantaneously flashes it on to the brain through the medium
of the pneumo-gastric nerve, resulting in "first impres-
sions"— the intuitional impulse, which is always good,
because it is drawn directly from the fountain of Cosmic
Wisdom and Love.

This is all done so quickly that the heart has control
before the slower reason has had time to "take in the situa-
tion," as it were. It is the thought that a man "thinketh
in his heart," and it is true that . "so is he." Man is
inherently a virgin spirit, good, noble and true in every
respect. All that is not good is from the lower nature, that
illusory reflection, the Ego. The virgin spirit is always
giving wise counsel. If we could only follow the impulses

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION . 399

of the heart — the first thought — Universal Brotherhood
would be realized here and now.

But that is just the point where the trouble begins.
After the good counsel of the first thought has been given,
the brain begins to reason, with the result that, in the
great majority of cases, it dominates the heart. The tele-
scope arranges its own focus and points where it lists,
despite the astronomer. The mind and the desire body
frustrate the designs of the spirit by taking control and, as
they lack the spirit's wisdom, both spirit and body suffer.

Physiologists note that certain areas of the brain are
devoted to particular thought activities and phrenologists
have carried this branch of science still further. Now, it
is known that thought breaks down and destroys nerve
tissues. This and all other waste of the body, is replaced
by the blood. When, through the development of the heart
into a voluntary muscle, the circulation of the blood finally
passes under the absolute control of the unifying life spirit
— the Spirit of Love — it will then be within the power of
that spirit to withhold the blood from those areas of the
mind devoted to selfish purposes. As a result, those par-
ticular thought centers will gradually atrophy.

On the other hand, it will be possible for the spirit to
increase the blood supply when the mental activities are
altruistic, and thus build up the areas devoted to altruism,
so that, in time, the desire nature will be conquered and
the mind emancipated by Love from its bondage to desire.
It is only by complete emancipation, through Love, that
man can rise above the law and become a law unto himself.
Having conquered himself, he will have conquered all the
World.

The cross-stripes of the heart may be built by certain
exercises under occult training, but as some of these exer-

400 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

cises are dangerous, they should be undertaken only undei
the direction of a competent teacher. That no reader of
this book may be deceived by impostors professing ability
and willingness to so train aspirants for a consideration,
it is emphatically repeated that No true occultist ever
boasts, advertises his occult power,, sells occult information
or lessons at so much each or for a course; nor will he
consent to a theatrical display. His work is done in the
most unobtrusive manner possible and solely for the pur-
pose of legitimately helping others, without thought of
self.

As said in the beginning of this chapter, all persons
earnestly desiring the higher knowledge may rest assured
that if they will but seek, they will find the way open for
them. Christ Himself prepared the way for "whosoever
will." He will help and welcome all real seekers, who are
willing to work for Universal Brotherhood.

THE MYSTERY OF GOLGOTHA.

During the last 2,000 years much has been said about
"the cleansing blood." The blood of Christ has been
extolled from the pulpit as the sovereign remedy for sin;
the only means of redemption and salvation.

But if the laws of Rebirth and Consequence work in such
a way that evolving beings reap as they have sown, and if
the evolutionary impulse is constantly bringing humanity
higher and higher, ultimately to attain perfection — where
then is the need for redemption and salvation? Even if
the need existed, how can the death of one individual help
the rest ? Would it not be nobler to suffer the consequences
of one's acts than to hide behind another ? These are some
of the objections to the doctrine of vicarious atonement
and redemption by the blood of Christ Jesus. We will try

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 401

to answer them before showing the logical harmony be-
tween the operation of the law of Consequence and the
Atonement by Christ.

In the first place, it is absolutely true that the evolution-
ary impulse does work to achieve ultimate perfection for
all; yet there are some who are constantly straggling be-
hind. At the present time, we have just passed the extreme
point of materiality and are going through the sixteen
Races. We are treading "the sixteen paths to destruc-
tion," and are consequently in graver danger of falling
behind than at any other part of the evolutionary journey.

In the abstract, time is nothing. A number may fall
behind so far that they must be abandoned, to take up their
further evolution in another scheme, where they can con-
tinue their journey to perfection. Nevertheless that was
not the evolution originally designed for them and it is
reasonable to suppose that the exalted Intelligences in charge,
of our evolution use every means to bring through in safety
as many as possible of the entities under their charge.

In ordinary evolution, the laws of Rebirth and Conse-
quence are perfectly adequate for bringing the major por-
tion of the life wave up to perfection, but they do not suffice
in the case of the stragglers, who are lagging behind in the
various Races. During the stage of individualism, which
is the climax of the illusion of separateness, all mankind
needs extra help, but for the stragglers some additional
special aid must be provided.

To give that special aid, to redeem the stragglers, was
the mission of Christ. He said that He came to seek and
to save that which was lost. He opened up the way of
Initiation for all who are willing to seek it.

Objectors to vicarious atonement urge: That it is cow-

402 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

ardly to hide behind another; that each man should be
willing to take the consequence of his acts.

Let us consider an analogous case. The waters of the
Great Lakes narrow into the Niagara River. For twenty
miles this enormous volume of water flows rapidly toward
the falls. The river bed is filled with rocks and i f a person
who goes beyond a certain point does not lose his life in the
rapids above the cataract, he will surely do so by the plunge
over the brink.

Suppose a man appeared who, in pity for the victims of
the current, placed a rope above the cataract, although he
knew that the conditions were such that in doing so, he
himself could not by any possible chance escape death. Yet
gladly and of his own free will, he sacrificed his life and
placed the rope, thus modifying former conditions so that
any otherwise helpless victims who would grasp the rope
would be saved and thenceforward none need be lost.

What would we think of a man who had fallen into the
water through his own carelessness, and was struggling
madly to reach the shore, if he should say : "What ! Save
myself and seek to avoid the penalty of my carelessness by
shielding myself behind the strength of another, who suf-
fered through no fault of his own, and gave up his life that
such as I might live? No, never! That would not be
"manly." I will take my deserts!" Would we not all
agree that the man was a fool ?

Not all are in need of salvation. Christ knew that there
is a very large class who do not require salvation in this
way, but just as surely as there are the ninety-and-nine
who are well taken care of by the laws of Rebirth and
Consequence and will reach perfection in that way, so there
are the "sinners" who have become "bogged" in matter and
cannot escape without a rope. Christ came to save them

CHEIST AND HIS MISSION 403

and to bring peace and good will to all, by raising them to
the necessary point of spirituality, causing a change in
their desire bodies which will make the influence of the
life spirit in the heart more potent.

His younger brother Sun-spirits, the Archangels, had
worked as Race-spirits on the desire bodies of man, but
their work had been from without. It was simply a re-
flected spiritual Sun-force and came through the Moon —
as moonlight is reflected sunlight. Christ, the Chief Ini-
tiate of the Sun-spirits, entered directly into the dense
body of the Earth and brought the direct Sun-force, thus
enabling Him to influence our desire bodies from within.

Man cannot gaze long upon the Sun without becoming
blind because its vibrations are so rapid that they destroy
the retina of the eye. But he can look without harmful
results upon the Moon, the vibrations from which are much
slower ; yet they also are sunlight, but the higher vibrations
have been taken up by the Moon, which then reflects the
residue to us.

So it is with the spiritual impulses which help man to
evolve. The reason why the Earth was thrown off from
the Sun was because our humanity could not endure the
Sun's tremendous physical and spiritual impulses. Even
after an enormous distance had been placed between Earth
and Sun, the spiritual impulse would still have been too
strong had it not been sent first to the Moon, to be used by
Jehovah, the Eegent of the Moon, for man's benefit. A
number of Archangels (ordinary Sun-spirits) were given
Jehovah as helpers in reflecting these spiritual impulses
from the Sun upon the humanity of the Earth, in the form
of Jehovaistic or Race-religions.

The lowest vehicles of the Archangels is the desire body.
Our desire body was added in the Moon Period, at which

404 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION

time Jehovah was the highest Initiate. Therefore Jehovah
is able to deal with man's desire body. Jehovah's lowest
vehicle is the human spirit (see diagram 14) and its coun-
terpart is the desire body. The Archangels are His helpers
because they are able to manage the spiritual Sun-forces
and the desire body is their lowest vehicle. Thus they are
able to work with and prepare humanity for the time when
it can receive the spiritual impulses directly from the Solar
Orb, without the intervention of the Moon.

Upon Christ, as the highest Initiate of '"he Sun Period,
is laid the task of sending out this impulse. The impulse
which Jehovah reflected was sent out by Christ, Who thus
prepared both the Earth and humanity for His direct
ingress.

The expression, "prepared the Earth," means that all
evolution on a planet is accompanied by the evolution of
that planet itself. Had some observer gifted with spiritual
sight watched the evolution of our Earth from some distant
star, he would have notiped a gradual change taking place
in the Earth's desire body.

Under the old dispensation the desire bodies of people
in general were improved by means of the law. This work
is still going on in the majority of people, who are thus
preparing themselves for the higher life.

The higher life (Initiation) does not commence, how-
ever, until the work on the vital body begins. The means
used for bringing that into activity is Love, or rather
Altruism. The former word has been so abused that it no
longer conveys the meaning here required.

During the old dispensation the path of Initiation was
not free and open, except to the chosen few. The Hiero-
phants of the Mysteries collected certain families about
the Temples, setting them apart from all the other people.

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 405

These chosen families were then rigorously guarded as
to certain rites and ceremonies. Their marriages and
sexual intercourse were regulated by the Hierophants.

The effect of this was to produce a race Iiaving the
proper degree of laxity between the dense and vital bodies ;
also to wake the desire body from its state of lethargy dur-
ing sleep. Thus a special few were made fit for Initiation
and were given opportunities that could not be given to all.
We see instances of this method among the Jews, where the
tribe of Levi were the chosen Templars; also in the caste
of the Brahmins, who were the only priestly class among
the Hindus.

The Mission of Christ, in addition to saving the lost, was
to make Initiation possible to all ; therefore Jesus was not
a Levite of the class to which priesthood came by inherit-
ance. He came from the common people and, though
not of the teacher class, His teaching was higher than
that of Moses.

Christ Jesus did not deny Moses, the law, nor the
prophets. On the contrary, He acknowledged them all and
showed the people that they were His witnesses, as they all
pointed to One Who was to come. He told the people that
those things had served their purpose and that henceforth
Love must supersede Law.

Christ Jesus was killed. In connection with this fact,
we come to the supreme and fundamental difference be-
tween Him and the previous teachers, in whom the Race-
spirits incarnated. They all died and must be reborn
again and again to help their peoples bear their destiny.
The Archangel Michael (the Race-spirit of the Jews)
raised up Moses, who was taken up to Mount Nebo to die.
He was reborn as Elijah. Elijah returned as John the
Baptist; Buddha died and was reincarnated as Shankara-

406 ECSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

charya; Shri Krishna says, "Whenever there is decay of
Dharma . . . and . . . exaltation of Adharma, then
I myself come forth for the protection of good, for the
destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing
Dharma. I am born from age to age."

When death came Moses' face shone and Buddha's body
became alight. They all reached the stage when the spirit
begins to shine from within — but then they died.

Christ Jesus reached that stage on the Mount of Trans-
figuration. It is of the very highest significance that
His real work took 'place subsequent to that event. He
suffered; was killed — and resurrected.

Being killed is a very different thing from dying. The
blood that had been the vehicle of the Eace-spirit must
flow and be cleansed of that contaminating influence. Love
of father and mother, exclusive of other fathers and moth-
ers, must go — otherwise Universal Brotherhood and an
all-embracing, Altruistic Love could never become an
actuality.

THE CLEANSING BLOOD.

When the Savior Christ Jesus was crucified His body
was pierced in five places; in the five centers where the
currents of the vital body flow; and the pressure of the
crown of thorns caused a flow from the sixth also. (This
is a hint to those who already know these currents. A
full elucidation of this matter cannot be publicly given
out at this time.)

When the blood flowed from these centers, the great
Sun-spirit Christ was liberated from the physical vehicle
of Jesus and found Himself in the Earth, with individual
vehicles. The already existing planetary vehicles He per-
meated with His own vehicles and, in the twinkling of an

CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 407

eye, diffused His own desire body over the planet, which
has enabled Him thenceforth to work upon the Earth and
its humanity from within.

At that moment a tremendous wave of spiritual sunlight
flooded the Earth. It rent the veil which the Race-spirit
had hung before the Temple to keep out all but the chosen
few, and it made the Path of Initiation free thenceforth
to whomsoever will. So far as concerned the Spiritual
Worlds, this wave transformed the conditions of Earth
like a flash of lightning, but the dense, concrete conditions
are, of course, much more slowly affected.

Like all rapid and high vibrations of light, this great
wave blinded the people by its dazzling brilliance, there-
fore it was said that "the Sun was darkened." The very
opposite was what actually occurred. The Sun was not
darkened, but shone out in glorious splendor. It was the
excess of light that blinded the people, and only as the
entire Earth absorbed the desire body of the bright Sun-
spirit did the vibration return to a more normal rate.

The expression, "the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus,"
means that as the blood flowed on Calvary, it bore with it
the great Sun-spirit Christ, Who by that means secured
admission to the earth itself and since that moment has
been its Regent. He diffused His own desire body through-
out the planet, thereby cleansing it from all the vile influ-
ences which had grown up under the regime of the Race-
spirit.

Under the law all sinned; nay, more — they could not
help it. They had not evolved to where they could do
right for Love's sake. The desire nature was so strong that
it was an impossibility for them to rule it altogether, there-
fore their debts, engendered under the law of Consequence,
piled up to monstrous proportions. Evolution would have

408 BOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

been terribly delayed and many lost to our life wave
altogether if some help had not been given.

Therefore did Christ come "to seek and to save that
which was lost." He took away the sin of the world by
His cleansing blood, which gave Him entrance to the
Earth and its humanity. He purified the conditions and
we owe it to Him that we are able to gather for our desire
bodies purer desire-stuff than formerly, and He continues
working to help us, by making our external environment
constantly purer.

That this was and is done at the expense of great suf-
fering to Himself, no one can doubt who is able to form
the least conception of the limitations endured by that
Great Spirit in entering the hampering conditions of
physical existence, even in the best and purest vehicle pos-
sible ; nor is His present limitation as Regent of the Earth
much less painful. True, He is also Regent of the Sun,
and therefore only partially confined to the Earth, yet the
limitations set by the crampingly slow vibrations of our
dense planet must be almost unendurable.

Had Christ Jesus simply died, it would have been im-
possible for Him to have done this work, but the Christians
have a risen Savior ; One Who is ever present to help those
who call upon His Name. Having suffered like unto our-
selves in all things and knowing fully our needs, He is
lenient toward our mistakes and failures so long as we
continue trying to live the good life. We must ever keep
before our eyes the fact that the only real failure is ceasing
to try.

Upon the death of the dense body of Christ Jesus, the
other vehicles were returned to the original owner, Jesus
of Nazareth, who for some time afterward, while function-
ing in a vital body which he had gathered temporarily,

CHKIST AND HIS MISSION 409

taught the nucleus of the new faith which Christ had left
behind. Jesus of Nazareth has since had the guidance of
the esoteric branches which sprang up all over Europe.

In many places the Knights of the Round Table were
high Initiates in the Mysteries of the New Dispensation.
So were the Knights of The Grail — to whom was finally
confided Joseph of Arimathea's Grail Cup, which was used
by Christ Jesus at The Last Supper. They were after-
ward entrusted also with the Lance which pierced His
side, and the receptacle which received the blood from the
wound.

The Druids of Ireland and the Trottes of Northern
Eussia were esoteric schools through which the Master
Jesus worked during the so-called "Dark Ages," but, dark
though they were, the spiritual impulse spread, and from
the standpoint of the occult scientist they were "Bright
Ages" compared to the growing materialism of the last
300 years, which has increased physical knowledge im-
mensely, but has almost extinguished the Light of the
Spirit.

Tales of "The Grail," "Knights of The Round Table,"
etc., are now scouted as superstitions and all that cannot
be materially demonstrated is regarded as unworthy of
belief. Glorious as are the discoveries of modern science,
they have been bought at the terrible price of crushing the
spiritual intuition and, from a spiritual standpoint, no
darker day than the present has ever dawned.

The Elder Brothers, Jesus among them, have striven
and are striving to counteract this terrible influence, which
is like that in the eyes of the snake, causing the bird to
fall into its jaws. Every attempt to enlighten the people
and awaken in them a desire to cultivate the spiritual side
of life, is an evidence of the activity of the Elder Brothers.

410

ROSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

May their efforts be crowned with success and speed the
day when modern science shall be spiritualized and con-
duct its investigations of matter from the standpoint of
spirit, for then, and not until then, will it arrive at a true
knowledge of the world.

"As ABOVE, So BELOW."

POSITIVE

GPOUP NO.

I

COM BIN INC CAPACITY

R2O

D O

ATOMIC .WEIGHT

L 1.7

QL.9

B.10.9