Idealism in PracticeBy
Raymund Andrea, Grand Master, AMORC of Britain
[From The Rosicrucian Digest July 1952]
I KNOW that
readers will agree that one of the most important features of the Rosicrucian
Digest is the reprinting of Dr. Lewis' articles. That they are as living,
instructive, and uplifting as at their first appearance is to be expected,
because transcripts of truth, penned under Cosmic direction or inspiration,
never lose their original force or value. As surely as they had inspirational
value for those who read them years ago, so will they have a like effect upon
others who read them today.
There is an
innate quality in all writings which come forth under, what I would call, the
pressure of the burden of Cosmic emotion laid upon the writer who is chosen as
a messenger of the truth of the inner life. They differ fundamentally from
discourses of a general scientific and philosophical character. These have an
academic and informative content of a factual nature; whereas, the former have
a moving, inspiriting, and enduring quality which leaves the reader with a
permanent impression for good. Moreover, those who have read such writings in
the past will find upon reading them again, after a considerable lapse of time,
a wealth of meaning which was not apprehended on the first perusal. They
perceive possible applications of the truths enunciated which were not before
obvious to them and therefore did not make their full impression.
The kind of
writings I refer to have a peculiar occult quality: they do not give up their
content of wisdom and significance fully on first reading. The mind may
understand and acquiesce and pass on, but such writings are not merely a
superficial diet for the rational mind. They have a far deeper objective--the
awakening of psychic and spiritual faculties. This requires time, often a long
time. However, the awakening goes on silently beyond the frontiers of our
mundane life, and the strongest proof we have of this is in the new light and
in the quick sympathetic response we experience on rereading the teachings of
those who have gone before us on their way in evolution.
Recently, I
had occasion to refer to comments by Dr. Lewis so far back as 1920 on the work
of the higher degrees of the Rosicrucian Order, and the reading of them
prompted the above reflections. He directed the mind to a consideration of the
value and possible potency of new members entering a lodge of the Order, and
offered three points for the serious thought of those who hold responsible
offices in lodges. Dr. Lewis was not only a thorough master of detail of any
subject in hand, he handled his detail prophetically. It is not an unusual
thing for a scholar to be a master of detail, but the marshalling of it in
unexpected ways and its application to ends which prompt the reader to new
thought and action are marks of an original mind. So, when I read these three
points regarding new members, written more than 30 years ago, the full
significance of them came back to me with singular force.
Three Points
The first
point stressed was this: "We have noted, often, that unexpected help of
the greatest value has come from new members, often unsolicited or without
suggestion. On more than one occasion a service or help that has turned the
tide in some grave affair of a lodge or of the whole Order, has come from a new
member when not hope but expectation was almost gone."
That is a
confession indeed, made in deep seriousness, and with a feeling of profound
gratitude; for the Imperator at that time was not very far away from the year
of the inauguration of the work of the Order in America and was still feeling the
heavy weight of the responsibility of a great task which rested mainly upon
himself. I sense in his words of grateful acknowledgment the value of the new
member and how much that help heartened him in those early days when the
Degrees which we know so well were being moulded and adjusted for international
use; some of the early Degrees were just then passing into the hands of lodge
members while the highest ones were still in preparation for the years to come.
But it was a
Karmic decree that when the work became launched, there would come, from near
and far, those linked with the Order from past ages, and with the Imperator
himself, who would rededicate themselves intuitively through this past
association and offer their personality, prestige and knowledge, their
appreciation, love and influence, as a manifold gift upon the altar of service
to humanity, which the Imperator had proclaimed with all the fervour of a
messenger of the hierarchy.
We should not
overlook the poignant words, "when not hope but expectation was
almost gone." They betray the secret anxiety of the master mind who, for
all his confidence in himself and the authority behind him, yet stood back from
the work of his hands, and looked up and wondered from whence would come just
the needed help, although promised--when it seemed that, if that help did not
materialize, so much would remain unfulfilled and the great ideal cherished so
devotedly would fade. But the promise was fulfilled; and it has been fulfilled
many times during the years since then. But the future is always uncertain, and
no matter how luminous and impressive the ideal and the work for it has grown,
keen eyes, strong hands, and prophetic minds must ever be watchful, ready to
do, and to envisage the morrow, so that nothing shall detract from but more be
added to the temple, with all its international ramifications and potencies,
which we have cherished, fought for and preserved, through such perilous times.
Dr. Lewis'
second point is this: "Do we fully realize the potent power lying dormant
in a new member? This should not be mistaken to refer to any financial power of
such possible potency." It is just here that some of the older members
have sometimes fallen heavily. The new member, presenting the necessary qualifications,
has no doubt been welcomed gladly and courteously, and then been left to
himself to find his place and adjust himself in his own way as best he can. Up
to a point this is well, but it is not enough.
The long
standing member, who may be an officer in his lodge, is far from being in the
category of a foreman in a factory who greets the newcomer, indicates his job,
and leaves him to it. The new member represents a soul of potential worth, and
the prophetic sense of the officer will show its chief act of service in
understanding and assessing the evolutionary value of the member on all the
planes of his manifesting life. I have seen many new members enter the Order
anxiously, yet so diffidently at the first step as to hide the likelihood of
any exceptional advancement in them or outstanding service from them, when
judged by ordinary standards; but within a short time the spirit of Christ so
permeated all they did, that I have had cause to thank the Cosmic for the gift
to us. Some of these have finished their journey and gone to their reward, but
the memory of them remains: the Order is richer for their service; and their
spirit lives with us as a present inspiration and assurance that others will
come with secret graces in their hearts and strength in their hands to add new
stones to the temple we have been at pains to build and guard through the
years.
Dr. Lewis was
a seer of souls. That is why he could not regard a new member simply as a unit
with a number. He made it his business to know the member, as far as was
possible from a distance; and when he contacted the member he soon knew the
limitations and the possibilities which would sooner or later show themselves.
He treated the limitations with kindness and humanity, for he foresaw the struggle
of mind and heart which would be needed to overcome them, and the possibilities
ripened under his wise guidance and encouragement.
Do you
realize, my brothers, how comparatively few there are, even in the realm of
studies to which we are dedicated, who possess this rare qualification of the
seership of souls? They are few indeed. If it were otherwise we should not
witness the whole train of schools, societies and cults of many names, of East
and West, exercising so poor an influence in the world today as to be
relatively unrecognized and unknown. And recalling what Dr. Lewis brought to
his contact with members, and what we should endeavour to bring to them today,
I cannot do better than quote the famous words of Saint-Martin in one of his
letters, as indicating how to equip ourseIves with the eminent grace of
seership needed to comply with our second point. For, in putting this question
to us as to our attitude to the new members, Dr. Lewis concealed in it a direct
challenge in its simplest form to ourselves. That challenge is, "what
capabilities have we evolved in order to deal with the members in the highest
sense of proficiency in service?" The response to us by members possessing
strong latent possibilities will depend upon the proficiency of our contact to
act as a stimulant to their possibilities. What they need from us is the light
of initiation, the revealing word, and the healing hand, and all these are
pre-supposed and comprised in the citation from Saint-Martin.
Here it is: "The only initiation which I preach and
seek with all the ardour of my soul is that by which we may enter into the
heart of God and make God's heart enter into us, there to form an indissoluble
marriage, which will make us the friend, brother, and spouse of our Divine Redeemer.
There is no other mystery to arrive at this holy initiation than to go more and
more down into the depths of our being, and not let go until we can bring forth
the living, vivifying root, because then all the fruit which we ought to bear,
according to our kind, will be produced within us and without us
naturally."
The third
point suggests how the new members can serve; it briefly notes that for several
reasons they are better able to serve with their possibilities than were the
new members of the previous years. First, there are more ways, means, and
systematized utilities for new members to apply efficiently their possible
services. Second, there are more definite, concrete and self-evident needs and
channels for such services. Third, there are many advanced members in each
lodge and in so many more localities now to guide, suggest to, or assist the
new members, or any others, who desire secretly, anonymously, and adequately to
render such service to the Order, to a lodge, or to strangers as is easily
within their means and consciousness.
Undoubtedly,
the possibilities of applied service by the new members have vastly increased
since these points were first written. No live member needs now to be reminded
of the "definite, concrete and self-evident needs and channels of such
service." They petition him on every hand. But it is the third suggestion
which immediately interests me: that there are many advanced members now
"to guide, suggest to, or assist the new member, or any others, who desire secretly, anonymously, and
adequately to render such service to the Order, to a lodge, or to strangers, as
is easily within their means and consciousness."
I am also
particularly interested in one feature of this statement: it does not demand or
request: it suggests what can be done. I remember the late Imperator
very well, for I was in constant contact with him from those earliest years
until he passed to higher work, and one of his strongest traits was, in wise
suggestion to a possible or necessary objective. He did not impose his will or
exert undue authority even where he might, for that would have defeated the
chief end of development in others. He indicated a way and left it to the
initiative, the readiness, of the member or officer to take it. So it is here:
"There are many to guide, suggest to, or assist." If that were so
then, how much more is this possible today?
When I look
back over 30 years and review the catastrophic events of that period and what
they have done to our generation, the cruel burdens they have thrust upon it
almost beyond what human beings ever thought they would be able to bear, it
requires little imagination to realize what those conditions have done to the
mind and heart of humanity. They have crucified both, as surely as Christ was
crucified in his day. And anyone who can look into the mind and heart of
humanity today and not have pity and compassion for what the world Karma has
written there, is but crucifying Christ afresh within his own heart. This must
not happen with us. We are called to pity and compassion.
Initiation is Dual
Under
hierarchical guidance we have found ourselves elected and made responsible in
the eyes of the invisible Masters for the trust they have placed in us. That
fact alone should sharpen our vision, because "initiation into the heart
of God," as Saint-Martin so esoterically puts it, has really a dual
process. No man can enter into the heart of God without entering more and more
deeply into his own heart; and no man can so rightly enter into his own without
sympathetically entering into the secret precincts of the "heart" of
his fellow men. Nor can "God's heart," the spirit of Christ, abide in
the heart of a man until he so awakens to the consciousness of the
possibilities of that awakening in the hearts of his brethren.
Now we see the
full import of "to guide, suggest to, or assist the new members, or any
others." Indeed, the more
these words are considered, the more widely applicable they become, the more
inclusive and esoteric their meaning, until we are carried back intuitively
into their deepest significance in the mind and heart of the writer of them. We
are too prone to read esoteric truths with the eye and the intellect, instead
of inwardly sensing the psychic, auric content whence they emerge, the object
of which is our guidance and illumination. We are surrounded by people who love
to guide and suggest; they are never happy unless they are exercising a
meddlesome and officious brief and superficial authority in the lives of
others. The new member can get this outside the Order without asking for it;
but when he comes in, he should feel the surprise of entering within a new
atmosphere, an atmosphere of peace, of restraint in speech, and of harmonious cooperativeness,
unconsciously awakening new thought and feeling, and a desire to express the
best within him.
I do not
intimate that this has not been done, and done abundantly by the older members
and officers. I am only restating what Dr. Lewis had in mind when he wrote his
comments in 1920. I am looking back and reviewing them from the standpoint from
which he wrote. Obviously, his word has not been in vain. I have known
countless instances through the years when the frankest confession of new
members has acknowledged this kind of esoteric service from those among us who
have taken unsparing pains to carry out this ideal. It is a beautiful thing and
I know nothing comparable with it.
My object here
is but to re-emphasize this ideal, because the immediate future will demand it
of us. Into our ranks will come those, some young in years, others far along
the path of life, who will confess that everything has failed them. They are
coming, and will come, from societies and cults which have given them their
best yet left them without encouragement and with little hope. They must be
made to feel that they have entered into a fellowship of compassionate
soul-personalities who know the pitfalls of the way, who have tasted the cruel
sufferings of a tortured world, who know at a glance the countenance of pain, unrest,
disappointment, and loss, and yet have an inward assurance which cannot be
shaken by aught the world can say or do. There is a consciousness of the
presence of Christ which is a perennial source of blessing to others.
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