ANCIENT AND MODERN INITIATION
by
Max Heindel
[1865-1919]
THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP
INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
2222 Mission Avenue
Oceanside, California 92058-2329, US
Within the pages of this little volume are to
be found some of the most priceless gems belonging to the deepest phases of the
Christian religion. These gems are the result of the spiritual investigations of
that inspired and illumined Seer, Max Heindel, the authorized messenger of the
Elder Brothers of the Rose Cross, who are working to disseminate throughout the
Western World the deeper spiritual meanings which are both concealed and
revealed within the Christian religion.
The various important steps as outlined in
the life of our Savior, Christ Jesus, form the general plan of Initiation for
humanity. Max Heindel in this work gives a deeper and more mystic insight into
this alchemical process as it takes place in the body of man himself. For we are
but "a little lower than the angels...and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be."
This volume will be a welcome addition to the
libraries of many ministers and church organizations throughout the world. It
will sound a new note of inspiration and encouragement to all those who labor in
His name.
The Rosicrucian School has a priceless
heritage in the opportunity to promulgate, during this crucial time in the
spiritual evolution of men and nations, the esoteric teachings belonging to the
Christian Church. "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much
required." Therefore it is in the spirit of reverence and humility that the
Rosicrucian Fellowship dedicates the priceless teachings contained within this
little book to the service of all humanity.
May its Truth enlighten, its Wisdom guide,
and its Love enfold all those who come to partake of its Waters of Life. And may
each one who comes find the Illumined Way that is outlined herein.
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
merchantman, seeking goodly pearls. Who, when he had found one pearl of great
price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
PART I
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS
PART II
THE CHRISTIAN MYSTIC INITIATION
ILLUSTRATIONS
PART ONE
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS
THE ATLANTEAN MYSTERY TEMPLE
Ever since mankind, the prodigal spirit sons
of our Father in Heaven, wandered into the wilderness of the world and fed upon
the husks of its pleasures, which starve the body, there has been within man's
heart a soundless voice urging him to return; but most men are so engrossed in
material interests that they hear it not. The Mystic Mason who has heard this
inner voice feels impelled by an inner urge to seek for the Lost Word; to build
a house of God, a temple of the spirit, where he may meet the Father face to
face and answer His call.
Nor is he dependent upon his own resources
in this quest, for our Father in Heaven has Himself prepared a way marked with
guide posts which will lead us to Him if we follow. But as we have forgotten the
divine Word and would be unable now to comprehend its meaning, the Father speaks
to us in the language of symbolism, which both hides and reveals the spiritual
truths we must understand before we can come to Him. Just as we give to our
children picture books which reveal to their nascent minds intellectual concepts
which they could not otherwise understand, so also each God-given symbol has a
deep meaning which could not be learned without that symbol.
God is spirit and must be worshipped in
spirit. It is therefore strictly forbidden to make a material likeness of Him,
for nothing we could make would convey an adequate idea. But as we hail the flag
of our country with joy and enthusiasm because it awakens in our breasts the
tenderest feelings for home and our loved ones, because it stirs our noblest
impulse, because it is a symbol of all the things which we hold dear, so also do
different divine symbols which have been given to mankind from time to time
speak to that forum of truth which is within our hearts, and awaken our
consciousness to divine ideas entirely beyond words. Therefore symbolism, which
has played an all-important part in our past evolution, is still a prime
necessity in our spiritual development; hence the advisability of studying it
with our intellects and our hearts.
It is obvious that our mental attitude today
depends on how we thought yesterday, also that our present condition and
circumstances depend on how we worked or shirked in the past. Every new thought
or idea which comes to us we view in the light of our previous experience, and
thus we see that our present and future are determined by our previous living.
Similarly the path of spiritual endeavor which we have hewn out for ourselves in
past existences determines our present attitude and the way we must go to attain
our aspirations. Therefore we can gain no true perspective of our future
development unless we first familiarize ourselves with the past.
It is in recognition of this fact that
modern Masonry harks back to the temple of Solomon. That is very well as far as
it goes, but in order to gain the fullest perspective we must also take into
consideration the ancient Atlantean Mystery Temple, the Tabernacle in the
Wilderness. We must understand the relative importance of that Tabernacle, also
of the first and second temples, for there were vital differences between them,
each fraught with cosmic significance; and within them all was the foreshadowing
of the CROSS, sprinkled with BLOOD, which was turned to ROSES.
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS
We read in the Bible the story of how Noah
and a remnant of his people with him were saved from the flood and formed the
nucleus of the humanity of the Rainbow Age in which we now live. It is also
stated that Moses led his people out of Egypt, the land of the Bull, Taurus,
through waters which engulfed their enemies and set them free as a chosen people
to worship the Lamb, Aries, into which sign the sun had then entered by
precession of the equinox. These two narratives relate to one and the same
incident, namely, the emergence of infant humanity from the doomed continent of
Atlantis into the present age of alternating cycles where summer and winter, day
and night, ebb and flow, follow each other. As humanity had then just become
endowed with mind, they began to realize the loss of the spiritual sight which
they had hitherto possessed, and they developed a yearning for the spirit world
and their divine guides which remains to this day, for humanity has never ceased
to mourn their loss. Therefore the ancient Atlantean Mystery Temple, the
Tabernacle in the Wilderness, was given to them that they might meet the Lord
when they had qualified themselves by service and subjugation of the lower
nature by the Higher Self. Being designed by Jehovah it was the embodiment of
great cosmic truths hidden by a veil of symbolism which spoke to the inner or
Higher Self.
In the first place it is worthy of notice
that this divinely designed Tabernacle was given to a chosen people, who were to
build it from freewill offerings given out of the fullness of their hearts.
Herein is a particular lesson, for the divine pattern of the path of progress is
never given to anyone who has not first made a covenant with God that he will
serve Him and is wiling to offer up his heart's blood in a life of service
without self-seeking The term "Mason" is derived from PHREE MESSEN,
which is an Egyptian term meaning "Children of Light." In the parlance
of Masonry, God is spoken of as the Grand Architect. ARCHE is a Greek word which
means "Primordial substance." TEKTON is the Greek name for builder. It
is said that Joseph, the father of Jesus, was a "CARPENTER," but the
Greek word is TEKTON--builder. It is also said that Jesus was a
"tekton," a builder. Thus every true mystic Freemason is a child of
light according to the divine pattern given him by our Father in Heaven. To this
end he dedicates his whole heart, soul, and mind. It is, or should be, his
aspiration to be "greatest in the kingdom of God," and therefore he
must be THE SERVANT OF ALL.
The next point which calls for notice is the
location of the temple with respect to the cardinal points, and we find that it
was laid directly east and west. Thus we see that the path of spiritual progress
is the same as the star of empire; it travels from east to west. The aspirant
entered at the eastern gate and pursued the path by way of the Altar of Burnt
Offerings, the Brazen Laver, and the Holy Place to the westernmost part of the
Tabernacle, where the Ark, the greatest symbol of all, was located in the Holy
of Holies. As the wise men of the East followed the Christ star westward to
Bethlehem, so does the spiritual center of the civilized world shift farther and
farther westward, until today the crest of the spiritual wave which started in
China on the western shores of the Pacific has now reached the eastern shores of
the same ocean, where it is gathering strength to leap once more in its cyclic
journey across the waste of waters, to recommence in a far future a new cyclic
journey around the earth.
The ambulant nature of this Tabernacle in
the Wilderness is therefore an excellent symbolical representation of the fact
that man is migratory in his nature, an eternal pilgrim, ever passing from the
shores of time to eternity and back again. As a planet revolves in its cyclic
journey around the primary sun, so man, the little world or microcosm, travels
in cyclic circle dance around God, who is the source and goal of all.
The great care and attention to detail
regarding the construction of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness shows that
something far more exalted than what struck the eye of sense was intended in its
construction. Under its earthly and material show there was designed a
representation of things heavenly and spiritual such as should be full of
instruction to the candidate for Initiation and should not this reflection
excite us to seek an intimate and familiar acquaintance with this ancient
sanctuary? Surely it becomes us to consider all parts of its plan with serious,
careful, and reverential attention, remembering at every step the heavenly
origin of it all, and humbly endeavoring to penetrate through the shadows of its
earthly service into the sublime and glorious realities which according to the
wisdom of the spirit it proposes for our solemn contemplation.
In order that we may gain a proper
conception of this sacred place we must consider the Tabernacle itself, its
furniture and its court. The illustration opposite page 33 may assist the
student to form a better conception of the arrangement within.
THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE
This was an enclosure which surrounded the
Tabernacle. Its length was twice its width, and the ate was at the east end.
This gate was enclosed by a curtain of blue, scarlet, and purple fine twined
linen, and these colors show us at once the status of this Tabernacle in the
Wilderness. We are taught in the sublime gospel of John that "God is
Light," and no description or similitude could convey a better conception
or one more enlightening to the spiritual mind than these words. When we
consider that even the greatest of modern telescopes have failed to find the
borders of light, though they penetrate space for millions and millions of
miles, it gives us a weak but comprehensive idea of the infinitude of God.
We know that this light, which is God, is
refracted into three primary colors by the atmosphere surrounding our earth,
viz., blue, yellow, and red; and it is a fact well known to every occultist that
the ray of the Father is blue, while that of the Son is yellow, and the color of
the Holy Spirit's ray is red. Only the strongest and most spiritual ray can hope
to penetrate to the seat of consciousness of the life wave embodied in our
mineral kingdom, and therefore we find about the mountain ranges the blue ray of
the Father reflected back from the barren hillsides and hanging as a haze over
canyons and gulches. The yellow ray of the Son mixed with the blue of the Father
gives life and vitality to the plant world, which therefore reflects back a
green color, for it is incapable of keeping the ray WITHIN. But in the animal
kingdom, to which unregenerate man belongs anatomically, the three rays are
absorbed, and that of the Holy Spirit gives the red color to his flesh and
blood. The mixture of the blue and the red is evident in the purple blood,
poisoned because sinful. But the yellow is never evident until it manifests as a
soul body, the golden "WEDDING garment" of the mystic Bride of the
mystic Christ evolved from within.
Thus the colors on the veils of the Temple,
both at the gate and at the entrance of the Tabernacle, showed that this
structure was designed for a period previous to the time of Christ, for it had
only the blue and the scarlet colors of the Father and the Holy Spirit together
with their mixture, purple. But white is the synthesis of all colors, and
therefore the yellow Christ ray was hidden in that part of the veil until in the
fullness of time Christ should appear to emancipate us from the ordinances that
bind, and initiate us into the full liberty of Sons of God, Sons of Light,
Children of Light, Phree Messen or Mystic Masons.
THE BRAZEN ALTAR AND LAVER
THE BRAZEN ALTAR was placed just inside the
eastern gate, and it was used for the sacrifice of animals during the temple
service. The idea of using bulls and goats as sacrifices seems barbaric to the
modern mind, and we cannot realize that they could ever have had any efficacy in
that respect. The Bible does indeed hear out this view of the matter, for we are
told repeatedly that God desires not sacrifice but a broken spirit and a
contrite heart, and that He has no pleasure in sacrifices of blood. In view of
this fact it seems strange that sacrifices should ever have been commanded. But
we must realize that no religion can elevate those whom it is designed to help
if its teachings are too far above their intellectual or moral level. To appeal
to a barbarian, religion must have certain barbaric traits. A religion of love
could not have appealed to those people, therefore they were given a law which
demanded "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." There is not in
the Old Testament any mention whatever of immortality, for these people could
not have understood a heaven nor aspired to it. But they loved material
possessions, and therefore they were told that if they did right they and their
seed should dwell in the land forever, that their cattle should be multiplied,
et cetera.
They loved material possessions, and they
knew that the increases of the flock were due to the Lord's favor and given by
Him for merit. Thus they were taught to do right in the hope of a reward in this
present world. They were also deterred from wrongdoing by the swift punishment
which was meted out to them in retribution for their sins. This was the only way
to reach them. They could not have done right for the sake of right, nor could
they have understood the principle of making themselves "living
sacrifices," and they probably felt the loss of an animal for sin as we
would feel the pangs of conscience because of wrongdoing.
The Altar was made of brass, a metal not
found in nature, but made by man from copper and zinc. Thus it is symbolically
shown that sin was not originally contemplated in our scheme of evolution and is
an anomaly in nature as well as its consequences, pain and death, symbolized by
the sacrificial victims. But while the Altar itself was made from metals
artificially compounded, the fire which burned thereon unceasingly was of divine
origin, and it was kept alive from year to year with the most jealous care. No
other fire was ever used, and we may note with profit that when two presumptuous
and rebellious priests dared to disregard this command and use strange fire,
they met with an awful retribution and instant death. When we have once taken
the oath of allegiance to the mystic Master, the HIGHER SELF, it is extremely
dangerous to disregard the precepts then given.
When the candidate appears at the eastern
gate he is "poor, naked, and blind." He is at that moment an object of
charity, needing to be clothed and brought to the light, but this cannot be done
at once in the mystic Temple.
During the time of his progress from the
condition of nakedness until he has been clothed in the gorgeous robes of the
high priest there is a long and difficult path to be traveled. The first lesson
which he is taught is that man advances by sacrifices alone. In the Christian
Mystic Initiation when the Christ washes the feet of His disciples, the
explanation is given that unless the minerals decomposed and were offered us as
embodiments for the plant kingdom, we should have no vegetation; also, did not
the plant food furnish sustenance for the animals, these latter beings could not
find expression; and so on, the higher is always feeding on the lower. Therefore
man has a duty to them, and so the Master washes the feet of His disciples
symbolically performing for them the menial service as a recognition of the fact
that they have served Him as stepping-stones to something higher.
Similarly, when the candidate is brought to
the Brazen Altar, he learns the lesson that the animal is sacrificed for his
sake, giving its body for food and its skin for clothing. Moreover, he sees the
dense cloud of smoke hovering over the Altar and perceives within it a light,
but that light is too dim, too much enshrouded in smoke, to be of permanent
guidance to him. His spiritual eyes are weak, however, and it would not do to
expose them at once to the light of greater spiritual truths.
We are told by the apostle Paul that the
Tabernacle in the Wilderness was a shadow of greater things to come. It may
therefore be of interest and profit to see what is the meaning of this Brazen
Altar, with its sacrifices and burning flesh, to the candidate who comes to the
Temple in modern times. In order that we may understand this mystery, we must
first grasp the one great and absolutely essential idea which underlies all true
mysticism, viz., that these things are WITHIN and not without. Angelus Silesius
says about the Cross:
"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."
This idea must be applied to every symbol
and phase of mystic experience. It is not the Christ without that saves, but THE
CHRIST WITHIN. The Tabernacle was built at one time; it is clearly seen in the
Memory of Nature when the interior sight has been developed to a sufficient
degree; but no one is ever helped by the outward symbol. We must build the
Tabernacle within our own hearts and consciousness. We must live through, as an
actual inner experience, the whole ritual of service there. We must become both
the Altar of sacrifice and the sacrificial animal lying upon it. We must become
both the priest that slays the animal and the animal that is slain. Later we
must learn to identify ourselves with the mystic Laver, and we must learn to
wash therein in spirit. Then we must enter behind the first veil, minister in
the East Room, and so on through the whole Temple service till we BECOME the
greatest of all these ancient symbols, the Shekinah Glory, or it will avail us
nothing. In short, before the symbol of the Tabernacle can really help us, we
must transfer it from the wilderness of space to a home in our hearts so that
when we have become everything that that symbol is, we shall also have become
that which it stands for spiritually.
Let us then commence to build within
ourselves the Altar of sacrifice, first that we may offer upon it our
wrongdoings and then expiate them in the crucible of remorse. This is done under
the modern system of preparation for discipleship by an exercise performed in
the evening and scientifically designed by the Hierophants of the Western
Mystery School for the advancement of the aspirant on the path which leads to
discipleship. Other schools have given a similar exercise, but this one differs
in one particular point from all previous methods. After explaining the
exercises we shall also give the reason for this great and cardinal difference.
This special method has such a far-reaching effect that it enables one to learn
now not only the lessons which one should ordinarily learn in this life, but
also attain a development which otherwise could not be reached until future
lives.
After retiring for the night the body is
relaxed. This is very important, for when any part of the body is tense, the
blood does not circulate unimpeded; part of it is temporarily imprisoned under
pressure. As all spiritual development depends upon the blood, the maximum
effort to attain soul growth cannot be made when any part of the body is in
tension.
When perfect relaxation has been
accomplished, the aspirant to the higher life begins to review the scenes of the
day, but he does not start with the occurrences of the morning and finish with
the events of the evening. He views them in REVERSE order: first the scenes of
the evening, then the events of the afternoon, and lastly the occurrences of the
morning. The reason for this is that from the moment of birth when the child
draws its first complete breath, the air which is inspired into the lungs
carries with it a picture of the outside world, and as the blood courses through
the left ventricle of the heart, each scene of life is pictured upon a minute
atom located there. Every breath brings with it new pictures, and thus there is
engraved upon that little seed atom a record of every scene and act in our whole
life from the first breath to the last dying gasp. After death these pictures
from the basis of our purgatorial existence. Under the conditions of the spirit
world we suffer pangs of conscience so acute that they are unbelievable for
every evil deed we have done, and we are thus discouraged from continuing on the
path of wrongdoing. The intensity of the joys which we experience on account of
our good deeds acts as a goad to spur us on the path of virtue in future lives.
But in the post-mortem existence this panorama of life is reenacted in reverse
order for the purpose of showing first the effects and then the causes which
generated them that the spirit may learn how the law of cause and effect
operates in life. Therefore the aspirant who is under the scientific guidance of
the Elder Brothers of the Rosicrucians is taught to perform his evening exercise
also in reverse order and to judge himself each day that he may escape the
purgatorial suffering after death. But let it be understood that no mere
perfunctory review of the scenes of the day will avail. It is not enough when we
come to a scene where we have grievously wronged somebody that we just say,
"Well, I feel rather sorry that I did it. I wish I had not done it."
At that time we are the sacrificial animal lying upon the Alter of Burnt
Offerings, and unless we can feel in our hearts the divinely enkindled fire of
remorse burn to the very marrow of our bones because of our wrongdoings during
the day, we are not accomplishing anything.
During the ancient dispensation all the
sacrifices were rubbed with salt before being placed upon the Altar of Burnt
Offerings. We all know how it smarts and burns when we accidentally rub salt
into a fresh wound. This rubbing of salt into the sacrifices in that ancient
Mystery Temple symbolized the intensity of the burning which we must feel when
we as living sacrifices place ourselves upon the Altar of Burnt Offerings. It is
the feeling of remorse, of deep and sincere sorrow for what we have done, which
eradicates the picture from the seed atom and leaves it clean and stainless, so
that as under the ancient dispensation transgressors were justified when they
brought to the Altar of Burnt Offerings a sacrifice which was there burnt, so we
in modern times by scientifically performing the evening exercise of
retrospection wipe away the record of our sins. It is a foregone conclusion that
we cannot continue evening after evening to perform this living sacrifice
without becoming better in consequence and ceasing, little by little, to do the
things for which we are forced to blame ourselves when we have retired for the
night. Thus, in addition to cleansing us from our faults this exercise elevates
us to a higher level of spirituality than we could otherwise reach in the
present life.
It is also noteworthy that when anyone had
committed a grievous crime and fled to the sanctuary, he found safety in the
shadow of the Altar of sacrifice, for there only the divinely enkindled fire
could execute judgment. He escaped the hands of man by putting himself under the
hand of God. Similarly also, the aspirant who acknowledges his wrongdoing
nightly by fleeing to the altar of living judgment thereby obtains sanctuary
from the law of cause and effect, and "though his sins be as scarlet they
shall be white as snow."
THE BRAZEN LAVER
The Brazen laver was a large basin which was
always kept full of water. It is said in the Bible that it was carried on the
backs of twelve oxen, also made of brass, and we are told that their hind parts
were toward the center of the vessel. It appears from the Memory of Nature,
however, that those animals were not oxen but symbolical representations of the
twelve signs of the zodiac. Humanity was at that time divided into twelve
groups, one group for each zodiacal sign. Each symbolic animal attracted a
particular ray, and as the holy water used today in Catholic churches is
magnetized by the priest during the ceremony of consecration, so also the water
in this Laver was magnetized by the divine Hierarchies who guided humanity.
There can be no doubt concerning the power
of holy water prepared by a strong and magnetic personality. It takes on or
absorbs the effluvia from his vital body, and the people who use it become
amenable to his rule in a degree commensurate to their sensitiveness.
Consequently the Brazen Lavers in the ancient Atlantean mystery Temples, where
the water was magnetized by divine Hierarchs of immeasurable power, were a
potent factor in guiding the people in accordance with the wishes of these
ruling powers. Thus the priests were in perfect subjection to the mandates and
dictates of their unseen spiritual leaders, and through them the people were
made to follow blindly. It was required of the priests that they wash their
hands and feet before going into the Tabernacle proper. If this command was not
obeyed, death would follow immediately on the priest entering into the
Tabernacle. We may therefore say that as the keyword of the Brazen Altar was
"justification" so the central idea of the Brazen Laver was
"consecration."
"Many are called but few are
chosen." We have the example of the rich young man who came to Christ
asking what he must do to be perfect. He asserted that he had kept the law, but
when Christ gave the command, "Follow me," he could not, for he had
many riches which held him fast as in a vise. Like the great majority he was
content if he could only escape condemnation, and like them he was too lukewarm
to strive for commendation merited by service. The Brazen Laver is the symbol of
sanctification and consecration of the life to service. As Christ entered upon
His three years' ministry through the baptismal waters, so the aspirant to
service in the ancient Temple must sanctify himself in the sacred stream which
must sanctify himself in the sacred stream which flowed from the Molten Sea. And
the mystic Mason endeavoring to build a temple "without sound of
hammer" and to serve therein must also consecrate himself and sanctify
himself. He must be willing to give up all earthly possessions that he may
follow the CHRIST WITHIN. Though he may retain his material possessions he must
regard them as a sacred trust to be used by him as a wise steward would use his
master's possessions. And we must be ready in everything to obey this Christ
within when he says, "Follow me," even though the shadow of the Cross
looms darkly at the end, for without this utter abandonment of the life to the
Light, to the higher purposes, there can be no progress. Even as the Spirit
descended upon Jesus when he arose from the baptismal water of consecration, so
also the mystic Mason who bathes in the Laver of the Molten Sea begins dimly to
hear the voice of the Master within his own heart teaching him the secrets of
the Craft that he may use them for the benefit of others.
EAST ROOM OF THE TEMPLE
HAVING MOUNTED the first steps upon the path
the aspirant stands in front of the veil which hangs before the mystic Temple.
Drawing this aside he enters into the East Room of the sanctuary, which was
called the HOLY PLACE. No window or opening of any sort was provided in the
Tabernacle to let in the light of day, but this room was never dark. Night and
day it was brightly illuminated by burning lamps.
Its furniture was symbolical of the methods
whereby the aspirant may make SOUL GROWTH BY SERVICE. It consisted of three
principal articles: The ALTER OF INCENSE, the TABLE OF SHEWBREAD, and the GOLDEN
CANDLESTICK from which the light proceeded.
It was not allowable for the common
Israelite to enter this sacred apartment and behold the furniture. No one but a
priest might pass the outer veil and go in even as far as this first room. The
Golden Candlestick was placed on the south side of the Holy Place so as to be to
the left of any person who stood in the middle of the room. It was made entirely
of pure gold, and consisted of a shaft or principal stem, rising upright from a
base, together with six branches. These branches started at three different
points on the stem and curved upward in three partial circles of varying
diameter, symbolizing the three periods of development (Saturn, Sun, and Moon
Periods) which man went through before the Earth period, which was not half
spent. This latter period was signified by the seventh light. Each of these
seven branches terminated in a lamp, and these lamps were supplied with the
purest olive oil, which was made by a special process. The priests were required
to take care that the Candlestick was never without a light. Every day the lamps
were examined, dressed, and supplied with oil so that they might burn
perpetually.
The TABLE OF SHEWBREAD was placed on the
north side of the apartment so as to be in THE RIGHT HAND of the priest when he
walked up toward the second veil. Twelve loaves of unleavened bread were
continually kept upon this table. They were placed in two piles, one loaf upon
another, and on top of each pile there was a small quantity of frankincense.
These loaves were called shewbread, or bread of the face, because they were set
solemnly forth before the presence of the Lord, who dwelt in the Shekinah Glory
behind the second veil. Every Sabbath day these loaves were changed by the
priests, the old ones being taken away and new ones put in their place. The
bread that was taken away was used by the priests to eat, and no one else was
allowed to taste it; neither were they suffered to eat it anywhere except within
the Court of the Sanctuary, because it was most holy, and therefore might only
be taken by sacred persons upon holy ground. THE INCENSE THAT WAS UPON THE TWO
PILES OF SHEWBREAD WAS BURNED when the bread was changed, as an offering by fire
unto the Lord, as a memorial instead of the bread.
The ALTAR OF INCENSE or the Golden Altar was
the third article of furniture in the East Room of the Temple. It was situated
in the center of the room, that is to say, halfway between the north and the
south walls, in front of the second veil. No flesh was ever burned upon this
Altar, nor was it ever touched with blood except on the most solemn occasions,
and then its horns alone were marked with the crimson stain. The smoke that
arose from its top was never any other than the smoke of burning incense. This
went up every morning and evening, filling the sanctuary with a fragrant cloud
and sending a refreshing odor out through all the courts and far over the
country on every side for miles beyond. Because incense was thus burned every
day it was called "A PERPETUAL INCENSE before the Lord."
It was not simple frankincense which was
burned, but a compound of this with other sweet spices, made according to the
direction of Jehovah for this special purpose and so considered holy, such as no
man was allowed to make like unto for common use. THE PRIEST WAS CHARGED NEVER
TO OFFER STRANGE INCENSE on the Golden Altar, that is, any other than the sacred
composition. This Altar was placed directly before the veil on the outside of
it, but before the Mercy Seat, which was within the second veil; for though he
that ministered at the Altar of Incense could not see the Mercy Seat because of
the interposing veil, yet he must look toward it and direct his incense that
way. And it was customary when the cloud of fragrant incense rose above the
temple for all the people who were standing without in the Court of the
Sanctuary to send up their prayers to God, each one silently by himself.
THE MYSTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EAST ROOM AND ITS FURNITURE
THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK
As previously said, when the priest stood in
the center of the East Room of the Tabernacle, the Seven-branched Candlestick
was ON HIS LEFT toward the SOUTH. This was symbolical of the fact that the seven
light-givers or planets which tread the mystic circle dance around the central
orb, the sun, travel in the narrow belt comprising eight degrees on either side
of the sun's path, which is called the zodiac. "God is Light," and the
"Seven Spirits before the Throne" are God's ministers; therefore THEY
ARE MESSENGERS OF LIGHT to humanity. Furthermore, as the heavens are ablaze with
light when the moon in its phases arrives at the "full" in the eastern
part of the heavens, so also the East Room of the Tabernacle was filled with
LIGHT, indicating VISIBLY the presence there of God and His seven Ministers, the
STAR ANGELS.
We may note, in passing, the light of the
Golden Candlestick, which was clear and the flame odorless, and compare it with
the smoke-enveloped flame on the Altar of Burnt Offerings, which in a certain
sense generated darkness rather than dispelled it. But there is a still deeper
and more sublime meaning in this fire symbol, which we will not take up for
discussion until we come to the SHEKINAH GLORY, whose dazzling brilliance
hovered over the Mercy Seat in the WEST ROOM. Before we can enter into this
subject, we must understand all the symbols that lie between the Golden
Candlestick and that sublime Father Fire which was the crowning glory of the
Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.
THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD
The East Room of the Temple may be called
the Hall of Service, for it corresponds to the three years' ministry of Christ,
and contains all the paraphernalia for soul growth, though, as said, furnished
with only three principal articles. Among the chief of these is the Table of
Shewbread. Upon this table, as we have already seen, there were two piles of
shewbread, each containing six loaves, and upon the top of each pile there was a
little heap of frankincense. The aspirant who came to the Temple door
"poor, naked, and blind" has since been brought to the light of the
Seven-branched Candlestick, obtaining a certain amount of cosmic knowledge, and
THIS HE IS REQUIRED TO USE IN THE SERVICE OF HIS FELLOW MEN; the Table of
Shewbread represents this in symbol.
The grain from which this shewbread was made
had been originally given by God, but then it was planted by mankind, who had
previously plowed and tilled the soil. After planting their grain they must
cultivate and water it; then when the grain had borne fruit according to the
nature of the soil and the care bestowed upon it, it had to be harvested,
threshed, ground, and baked. Then the ancient SERVANTS OF GOD had to carry it
into the Temple, where it was placed before the Lord as bread to "SHEW"
THAT THEY HAD PERFORMED THEIR TOIL AND RENDERED THE NECESSARY SERVICE.
The God-given grains of wheat in the twelve
loaves represent the OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOUL GROWTH given by God, which come to
all through the twelve departments of life represented by the twelve houses of
the horoscope, under the dominion of the twelve divine Hierarchies known through
the signs of the zodiac. BUT IT IS THE TASK OF THE MYSTIC MASON, THE TRUE TEMPLE
BUILDER, TO EMBRACE THESE OPPORTUNITIES, TO CULTIVATE AND NOURISH THEM SO THAT
HE MAY REAP THEREFROM THE LIVING BREAD WHICH NURTURES THE SOUL.
We do not, however, assimilate our physical
food IN TOTO; there is a residue, a large proportion of ash, left after we have
amalgamated the quintessence into our system. Similarly, the shewbread was not
burned or consumed before the Lord, but two small heaps of frankincense were
placed on the two stacks of shewbread, one on each pile. This was conceived to
be the aroma thereof, and was later burned on the Altar of Incense. Likewise the
soul sustenance of service gathered daily by the ardent Mystic Mason is thrown
into the mill of retrospection at eventide when he retires to his couch and
performs there the scientific exercises given by the Elder Brothers of the Rose
Cross.
There is a time each month which is
particularly propitious for extracting the frankincense of soul growth and
burning it before the lord so that it may be a sweet savor, TO BE AMALGAMATED
WITH THE SOUL BODY and form part of that golden, radiant "wedding
garment." This as at the time when the moon is at the full. Then she is in
the east, and the heavens are ablaze with light as was the East Room of the
ancient Atlantean Mystery Temple where the priest garnered the pabulum of the
soul, symbolized by the shewbread and the fragrant essence, which delighted our
Father in Heaven then as now.
Let the Mystic Mason take particular note,
however, that the loaves of shewbread were not the musings of dreamers; they
were not the product of speculation upon the nature of God or light. THEY WERE
THE PRODUCT OF ACTUAL TOIL, of orderly systematic work, and it behooves us to
follow the path of actual service if we would garner treasure in heaven. Unless
we really WORK and SERVE humanity, we shall have nothing to bring, no bread to
"shew," at the Feast of the Full Moon; and at the mystic marriage of
the higher to the lower self we shall find ourselves minus the radiant golden
sold body, the mystic wedding garment without which the union with Christ can
never be consummated.
THE ALTER OF INCENSE
At the Altar of Incense, as we saw in the
general description of the Tabernacle and its furniture, incense was offered
before the lord continually, and the priest who stood before the altar
ministering was at that time looking toward the mercy Seat over the Ark, though
it as impossible for him to see it because of the SECOND VEIL which was
interposed between the first and second apartments of the Tabernacle, the Holy
Place and the Holy of Holies. We have also seen in the consideration of the
"shewbread" that INCENSE symbolizes the extract, THE AROMA OF THE
SERVICE we have rendered according to our opportunities; and just as the
sacrificial animal upon the Brazen Altar represents the deeds of wrongdoing
committed during the day, so the incense burned upon the Golden Altar, which is
a sweet savor to the Lord, represents the virtuous deeds of our lives.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
It is noteworthy and fraught with great
mystic significance that the aroma of VOLUNTARY SERVICE is represented as
SWEET-SMELLING, FRAGRANT INCENSE, while the odor of sin, selfishness, and
transgression of the law, represented by COMPULSORY SACRIFICE upon the Altar of
service, is nauseating; for it needs no great imagination to understand that the
cloud of smoke which went up continually from the burning carcasses of the
sacrificial animals created a nauseating stench to show the exceeding
loathsomeness of it, while the perpetual incense offered upon the Altar before
the second veil showed by antithesis the beauty and sublimity of selfless
service, thus exhorting the Mystic Mason, as a CHILD OF LIGHT, to shun the one
and cleave to the other.
Let it be understood also that SERVICE does
not consist in doing great things only. Some of the heroes, so-called were mean
and small in their general lives, and rose only to the occasion upon one great
and notable day. Martyrs have been put on the calendar of saints because they
DIED for a cause; but it is a greater heroism, it is a greater martyrdom
sometimes, to do the little things that no one notices and sacrifice self IN
SIMPLE SERVICE TO OTHERS.
We have seen previously that the veil at the
entrance to the outer court and the veil in front of the East Room of the
Tabernacle were both made in four colors, blue, red, purple, and white. But THE
SECOND VEIL, which divided the East Room of the Tabernacle from the West Room,
differed with respect to make-up from the other two. It was wrought with the
figures of Cherubim. We will not consider, however, the significance of this
fact until we take up the subject of the NEW MOON AND INITIATION, but will now
look into the second apartment of the Tabernacle, the western room, called the
Most Holy or the Holy of Holies. Beyond the second veil, into this second
apartment, no mortal might ever pass save the HIGH PRIEST, and he was only
allowed to enter on one occasion in the whole year, namely, Yom Kippur, the Day
of Atonement, and then only after the most solemn preparation and with the most
reverential care. The Holiest of All was clothed with the solemnity of another
world; it was filled with an unearthly grandeur. The whole Tabernacle was the
sanctuary of God, but here in this place was the awful abode of His presence,
the special dwelling place of the SHEKINAH GLORY, and well might mortal man
tremble to present himself within these sacred precincts, as the High Priest
must do on the Day of Atonement.
In the westernmost end of this apartment,
the western end of the whole Tabernacle, rested the "ARK OF THE
COVENANT." It was a hollow receptacle containing the GOLDEN POT OF MANNA,
AARON'S ROD THAT BUDDED, AND THE TABLES OF THE LAW which were given to Moses.
While this Ark of the Covenant remained in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, TWO
STAVES WERE ALWAYS WITHIN THE FOUR RINGS OF THE ARK so that it could be picked
up instantly and moved, but when the Ark as finally taken to Solomon's Temple,
the staves were taken out. This is very important in its symbolical
significance. Above the Ark hovered the Cherubim, and between them dwelt the
uncreated glory of God. "Three," said He to Moses, "I will meet
with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the Mercy Seat, from between
the two Cherubim which are upon the Ark of the Testimony."
The glory of the Lord seen above the Mercy
Seat was in the appearance of a cloud. The Lord said to Moses, "Speak unto
Aaron they brother that he come not at all time into the Holiest Place within
the veil before the Mercy Seat which is upon the Ark, that he die not, for I
will appear in the cloud upon the Mercy Seat." This manifestation of the
divine presence was called among the Jews the SHEKINAH GLORY. Its appearance was
attended no doubt with a wonderful spiritual glory of which it is impossible to
form any proper conception. Out of this cloud the voice of God was heard with
deep solemnity when He was consulted in behalf of the people.
When the aspirant has qualified to enter
into this place behind the second veil, he finds everything DARK to the physical
eye, and it is necessary that he should have another light WITHIN. When he first
came to the eastern Temple gate, he was "POOR, NAKED, AND BLIND,"
asking for LIGHT. He was then shown the dim light which appeared in the smoke
above the Altar of sacrifice, and told that in order to advance he must kindle
within himself that flame by remorse for wrongdoing. Later on he was shown the
more excellent light in the East Room of the Tabernacle, which proceeded from
the Seven- branched Candlestick; in other words he was given the light of
knowledge and of reason that by it he might advance further upon the path. But
it was required that BY SERVICE he should evolve within himself and around
himself another light, the golden "wedding garment," which is also THE
CHRIST LIGHT OF THE SOUL BODY. By lives of service this glorious soul- substance
gradually pervades his whole aura until it is ablaze with a golden light. Not
until he has evolved this INNER illumination can he enter into the darkened
precincts of the second Tabernacle, as the Most Holy place is sometimes called.
"GOD IS LIGHT; if we walk in the light
as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another." This is
generally taken to indicate only the fellowship of the Saints, but as a matter
of fact it applies also to the fellowship which we have with God. When the
disciple enters the second Tabernacle, THE LIGHT WITHIN HIMSELF VIBRATES TO THE
LIGHT OF THE SHEKINAH GLORY between the Cherubim, and he realizes the fellowship
with his FATHER FIRE.
As the Cherubim and the Father Fire which
hover above the Ark represent the divine Hierarchies which overshadow mankind
during his pilgrimage through the wilderness, so THE ARK WHICH IS FOUND THERE
REPRESENTS MAN IN HIS HIGHEST DEVELOPMENT. Three were, as already said, three
things within the Ark: the Golden Pot of Manna, the Budding Rod, and the Tables
of the Law. When the aspirant stood at the eastern gate as a child of sin, THE
LAW WAS WITHOUT AS A TASKMASTER to bring him to Christ. It exacted with
unrelenting severity an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Every
transgression brought a just recompense, and man was circumscribed on every hand
by laws commanding him to do certain things and refrain from doing others. But
when THROUGH SACRIFICE AND SERVICE he has finally arrived at the stage of
evolution represented by the Ark in the western room of the Tabernacle, the
TABLES OF THE LAW ARE WITHIN. He has then become emancipated from all outside
interference with his actions; not that he would break any laws, but because HE
WORKS WITH THEM. Just as we have learned to respect the property right of others
and have therefore become emancipated from the commandment. "Thou shalt not
steal," so he who keeps all laws because he wants to do so has on that
account no longer need of an exterior taskmaster, but gladly renders obedience
in all things because HE IS A SERVANT OF THE LAW AND WORKS WITH IT, FROM CHOICE
AND NOT THROUGH NECESSITY.
THE GOLDEN POT OF MANNA
Manas, mensch, mens, or man is readily
associated with the MANNA that came down from heaven. it is the HUMAN SPIRIT
that descended from our Father above for a pilgrimage through matter, and the
Golden Pot wherein it was kept symbolizes the golden aura of the soul body.
Although the Bible story is not in strict
accordance with the events, it gives the main facts of the mystic manna which
fell from heaven. When we want to learn what is the nature of this so-called
BREAD, we may turn to the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, which relates how
Christ fed the multitudes with LOAVES AND FISHES, symbolizing the mystic
doctrine of the 2000 years which He was then ushering in, for during that time
the sun BY PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOX has been passing through the sign of the
fishes, Pisces, and the people have been taught to abstain at least one day
during the week (Friday) and at a certain time of the year from the fleshpots
which belonged to Egypt or ancient Atlantis. They have been given the Piscean
water at the temple door, and the Virginian Wafers at the communion table before
the altar when they worshiped the Immaculate Virgin, representing the celestial
sign Virgo (which is opposite the sign Pisces), and entered communion with the
sun begotten by her.
Christ also explained at that time in mystic
but unmistakable language what that LIVING BREAD, or manna, was, namely, the
Ego. This explanation will be found in verses thirty-three and thirty-five,
where we read: "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven
and giveth light unto the world--I am (EGO SUM) THE BREAD OF LIFE." This,
then, is the symbol of the golden pot of manna which was found in the Ark. This
manna is the Ego or human spirit, which gives life to the organisms that we
behold in the physical world. It is hidden within the Ark of each human being,
and the Golden pot or soul body or "wedding garment" is also latent
within every one. It is made more massive, lustrous, and resplendent by the
spiritual alchemy whereby service is transmuted to soul growth. It is THE HOUSE
NOT MADE WITH HANDS, eternal in the heavens, wherewith Paul longed to be
clothed, as said in the Epistle to the Corinthians. Every one who is striving to
aid his fellow men thereby garners within himself that golden treasure, laid up
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can destroy it.
AARON'S ROD
An ancient legend relates that when Adam was
expelled from the Garden of Eden, he took with him three slips of the TREE OF
LIFE, which were then planted by Seth. Seth, the second son of Adam, is,
according to the Masonic legend, father of the spiritual hierarchy of CHURCHMEN
working with humanity through Catholicism, while the sons of Cain are the
CRAFTSMEN of the world. The latter are active in Freemasonry, promoting material
and industrial progress, as builders of the temple of Solomon, the universe,
should be. The three sprouts planted by Seth have had important missions in the
spiritual development of humanity, and one of them is said to be the Rod of
Aaron.
In the beginning of concrete existence
generation was carried on under the wise guidance of the angels, who saw to it
that the creative act was accomplished at times when the interplanetary rays of
force were propitious; and man was also forbidden to eat of the Tree of
Knowledge. The nature of that tree is readily determined from such sentences as
"Adam KNEW his wife, and she bore Cain"; "Adam KNEW his wife, and
she bore Seth'; "how shall I bear a child seeing that I KNOW not a
man?" as said by Mary to the angel Gabriel. In the light of this
interpretation the STATEMENT of the Angel (it was not a curse) when he
discovered that his precepts had been disobeyed, namely, "dying thou shalt
die," is also intelligible, for the bodies generated regardless of cosmic
influences could not be expected to persist. Hence man was exiled from the
etheric realms of spiritual force (Eden), where grows the tree of vital power;
exiled to concrete existence in the dense physical bodies which he has made for
himself by generation. This was surely a blessing, for who has a body
sufficiently good and perfect in his own estimation that he would like to live
in it forever? Death, then, is a boon to the spiritual realms for a season, and
build better vehicles each time we return to earth life. As Oliver Wendell
Holmes says:
"Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul!
As the swift seasons roll.
Leave thy low-vaulted past,
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut tree from Heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell
by life's unresting sea."
In the course of time when we learn to shun
the pride of life and the lust of the flesh, generation will cease to sap our
vitality. The vital energy will then be used for regeneration, and the spiritual
powers, symbolized by Aaron's Rod, will be developed.
The wand of the magician, the holy spear of
Parsifal the Grail king, and the budding Rod of Aaron are emblems of this divine
creative force, which works wonders of such a nature that we call them miracles.
But let it be clearly understood that no one who has evolved to the point in
evolution where he is symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant in the West Room of
the Tabernacle ever uses this power for selfish ends. When Parsifal, the hero of
the soul myth by that name, had witnessed the temptation of Kundry and proved
himself to be emancipated from the greatest sin of all, the sin of lust and
unchastity, he recovered the sacred spear taken by the black magician, Klingsor,
from the fallen and unchaste rail king, Amfortas. Then for many years he
traveled in the world, seeking again the Castle of the Grail, and he said:
"Often was I sorely beset by enemies and tempted to use the spear in
self-defense, but I knew that THE SACRED SPEAR MUST NEVER BE USED TO HURT, ONLY
TO HEAL."
An that is the attitude of everyone who
develops within him the budding Rod of Aaron. Though he may turn this spiritual
faculty to good account in order to provide bread for a multitude, he would
never think of turning a single stone to bread FOR HIMSELF that his hunger might
be appeased. Though he were nailed to the cross to die, he would not free
himself by spiritual power which he had readily exercised to save others from
the grave. Though he were reviled every day of his life as a fraud or charlatan,
he would never misuse his spiritual power to show a sign whereby the world might
know without the shadow of a doubt that he was regenerate or heaven-born. This
was the attitude of Christ Jesus, and its has been and is imitated by everyone
who is a Christ-in-the-making.
THE SACRED SHEKINAH GLORY
The Western Room of the Tabernacle was as
dark as the heavens are at the time when the lesser light, the moon, is in the
western portion of sky at eventide with the sun; that is to say, at the new
moon, which begins a new cycle in a new sign of the zodiac. In the westernmost
part of this darkened sanctuary stood the Ark of the Covenant, with the Cherubim
hovering above, and also the fiery Shekinah Glory, out of which the Father of
Light communed with His worshipers, but which to the physical vision was
invisible and therefore dark.
We do not usually realize that the whole
world is afire, that fire is in the water, that it burns continually in plant,
animal, and man; yes, there is nothing in the work that is not ensouled by fire.
The reason why we do not perceive this more clearly is that we cannot dissociate
fire and flame. But as a matter of fact, FIRE bears the same relation to FLAME
as SPIRIT to the BODY; it is the unseen but potent power of manifestation. In
other words, the true fire is dark, invisible to the physical sight. IT IS ONLY
CLOTHED IN FLAME WHEN CONSUMING PHYSICAL MATTER. Consider, for illustration, how
fire leaps out of the flint when struck, and how a gas flame has the darkened
core beneath the light-giving portion; also how a wire may carry electricity and
be perfectly cold, yet it will emit a flame under certain conditions.
At this point it may be expedient to mark
the difference between the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Solomon's Temple, and
the later Temple built by Herod. There is a very vital difference. Both the
MIRACULOUSLY ENKINDLED FIRE on the Brazen Altar in the eastern part of the
Tabernacle and the invisible SHEKINAH GLORY in the distant western part of the
sanctuary were also present in Solomon's Temple. These were thus sanctuaries in
a sense not equaled by the Temple built by Herod. The latter was, nevertheless,
in a sense the most glorious of the three, for IT WAS GRACED BY THE BODILY
PRESENCE OF OUR LORD, CHRIST JESUS, IN WHOM DWELT THE GODHEAD. Christ made the
first self-sacrifice, thereby abrogating the sacrifice of animals, and finally
at the consummation of His work in the visible world RENT THE VEIL and opened a
way into the Holy of Holies, not only for the favored few, the priests and
Levites, but that WHOSOEVER WILL may come and serve the Deity whom we know as
our Father. Having fulfilled the law and the prophets Christ has done away with
the OUTWARD sanctuary, and from henceforth the Altar of Burnt Offerings must be
set up WITHIN the heart to atone for wrongdoing; the Golden Candlestick must be
lighted WITHIN the heart to guide us upon our way, as the Christ WITHIN, the
Shekinah Glory of the Father, must dwell WITHIN the sacred precincts of our own
God Consciousness.
THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS
Paul in his letter to the Hebrews gives a
description of the Tabernacle and much information about the customs used there
which it would benefit the student to know. Among other things note that he
calls the Tabernacle "a shadow of good things to come." There is in
this ancient Mystery Temple a promise given which has not yet been fulfilled, a
promise that holds good today just as well as upon the day it was given. If we
visualize in our mind the arrangement of things inside the Tabernacle, we shall
readily see the shadow of the Cross. Commencing at the eastern gate there was
the ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERINGS; a little farther along the path to the Tabernacle
itself we find the LAVER OF CONSECRATION, the Molten Sea, in which the priests
washed. Then upon entering the East Room of the Temple we find an article of
furniture, THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK, at the EXTREME LEFT, and the TABLE OF
SHEWBREAD at the EXTREME RIGHT, the two forming a cross with the path we have
been pursuing toward and within the Tabernacle. In the center in front of the
second veil we find the ALTAR OF INCENSE, which forms the center of the cross,
while the Ark placed in the westernmost part of the West Room, the Holy of
Holies, gives the short or upper limb of the cross. In this
manner the symbol of spiritual unfoldment
which is our particular ideal today was shadowed forth in the ancient Mystery
Temple, and that consummation which is attained at the end of the cross, the
achievement of getting the law WITHIN as it was within the Ark itself, is the
one that we must all concern ourselves with at the present time. The light that
shines over the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies at the head of the cross, at
the end of the path in this world, is a light or reflection from the invisible
world into which the candidate seeks to enter when all the world has grown dark
and black about him. Only when we have attained to that stage where we perceive
the spiritual light that beckons us on, the light that floats over the Ark, only
when we stand in the shadow of the cross, can we really know the meaning, the
object, and the goal of life.
At present we may take the opportunities
which are offered and perform service more or less efficiently, but it is only
when we have by that service evolved the spiritual light WITHIN ourselves, which
is the SOUL BODY, and when we have thus gained admission to the West Room,
called the Hall of Liberation, that we can really perceive and understand why we
are in the world, and what we need in order to make ourselves properly useful.
We may not remain, however, when access has been gained. The High Priest was
only allowed to enter ONCE A YEAR; there was a very long interval of time
between these glimpses of the real purpose of existence. In the times between it
was necessary for the High Priest to go out and function among his brethren,
humanity, and serve them to the very best of his ability, also to sin, because
he was not yet perfect, and then reenter the Holy of Holies after having made
proper amends for his sins.
Similar it is with ourselves at this day. We
at times attain glimpses of the things that are in store for us and the things
we must do to follow Christ to that place where He went. You remember that He
said to His disciples: Ye cannot follow me now, but ye shall follow me later.
And so it is with us. We have to look again and again into the darkened temple,
the Holy of Holies, before we are really fit to stay there; before we are really
fitted to take the last step and leap to the summit of the cross, THE PLACE OF
THE SKULL, that point in our heads where the spirit takes its departure when it
finally leaves the body, or off and on as an Invisible Helper. That Golgotha is
the ultimate of human attainment, and we must be prepared to enter the darkened
room many times before we are fitted for the final climax.
THE FULL MOON AS A FACTOR IN SOUL GROWTH
Let us now consider the Path of Initiation
as symbolically shown in the ancient Temples with the Ark, Fire, and Shekinah,
and in the later Temples where Christ taught. Note first that when man was
expelled from the Garden of Eden because he had eaten of the Tree of Knowledge,
Cherubim guarded the entrance with a flaming sword. Passages like the following,
"Adam KNEW Eve, and she bore Abel"; "Adam KNEW Eve, and she bore
Seth"; "Elkanah KNEW Hannah, and she bore Samuel"; also Mary's
question to the angel Gabriel, "How shall I conceive seeing that I KNOW not
a man?" all show plainly that indulgence of the passions in the creative
act was meant by the phrase, "eating the Tree of Knowledge." When the
creative act was performed under inauspicious planetary rays it was a sin
committed against the laws of nature, which brought pain and death into the
world, estranged us from our primal guardians, and forced us to roam the
wilderness of the world for ages.
At the gate of the mystic Temple of Solomon
we find the Cherubim, but the fiery sword is not longer in their hand; instead
they hold a FLOWER, a symbol full of mystic meaning. Let us compare man with a
flower that we may know the great import and significance of this emblem. Man
takes his good by way of the head, whence it goes downward. The plant takes
nourishment through the root and forces it upward. Man is passionate in love,
and he turns the generative organ toward the earth and hides it in shame because
of this taint of passion. The plant knows no passion, fertilization is
accomplished in the most pure and chaste manner imaginable, therefore it
projects its generative organ, the flower, TOWARD THE SUN, a thing of beauty
which delights all who behold it. Passionate fallen man exhales THE DEADLY
CARBON DIOXIDE; the chaste flower inhales this poison, transmutes it, and gives
it back pure, sweet, and scented, a fragrant elixir of life.
This was the mystery of the Grail Cup; this
is the emblematic significance of the Cup of Communion, which is called
"KELCH" in German "Calix" in Latin, both names signifying
the seed pod of the flower. The Communion Cup with its mystic blood cleansed
from the passion incident to generation brings to him who truly drinks thereof
eternal life, and thus it becomes the vehicle of regeneration, of the mystic
birth into a higher sphere, a "foreign country," where he who has
served his apprenticeship in Temple building and has mastered the "art and
crafts" of this world may learn higher things.
The symbol of the Cherubim with the open
flower placed upon the door of Solomon's Temple delivers the message to the
aspirant that PURITY IS THE KEY by which alone he can hope to unlock the gate to
God; or as Christ expressed it, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they
shall see God." The flesh must be consumed on the Altar of self-sacrifice,
and the sold must be washed in the Laver of Consecration to the higher life
where it may approach the Temple door. When "naked," "poor,"
and "blinded" by tears of contrition it gropes in darkness, seeking
the Temple door, it shall find entrance to the Hall of Service, the East Room of
the Tabernacle, which is ablaze with light from the Seven-branched Candlestick,
emblematic of the luminosity of the full moon, the moon changing in cycles of
seven days. In this Hall of Service the aspirant is taught to weave the luminous
vesture of flame which Paul called "some psuchicon," or soul body (1st
Cor., 15:44), from the aroma of the shewbread.
When we speak of the soul body we mean
exactly what we say, and this vehicle is in nowise to be confused with the soul
that permeates it. The Invisible Helper who uses it on soul flights knows it to
be as real and tangible as the dense body of flesh blood. But within that golden
"wedding garment" there is an INTANGIBLE SOMETHING cognized by the
spirit of introspection. It is unnamable and indescribable; it evades the most
persistent efforts to fathom it, yet it is there just as certainly as the
vehicle which it fills-yes, and more so. It is not life, love, beauty, wisdom,
nor can any other human concept convey an idea of what it is, for it is the sum
of all human faculties, attributes, and concepts of good, immeasurably
intensified. If everything else were taken from us, that prime reality would
still remain, and we should be rich in its possession, for through it we feel
the drawing power of our Father in Heaven, that inner urge which all aspirants
know so well.
To this inner something Christ referred when
He said: No man cometh to me except my Father draw him. Just as the true fire is
hidden in the flame that encloses it, so that unnamable, intangible something
hides in the soul body and burns up the frankincense extracted from the
shewbread; thus it lights the fire which makes the soul body luminous. And the
AROMA OF LOVING SERVICE to others penetrates the veil as a sweet savor to God,
who dwells in the Shekinah Glory similar created above the Ark in the innermost
sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.
THE NEW MOON AND INITIATION
When the candidate entered at the eastern
gate of the Temple looking for light, he was confronted by the fire on he Altar
of Burnt Offerings, which emitted a dim light enveloped in clouds of smoke. He
was then in the spiritually darkened condition of the ordinary man; he lacked
the light within and therefore it was necessary to give him the light without.
But when he has arrived at the point when he is ready to have evolved the
luminous soul body in the service of humanity. Then he is thought to have the
light within himself, "the light that lighteth every man." Unless he
has that, he cannot enter the dark room of the Temple.
What takes place secretly in the Temple is
shown openly in the heavens. As the moon gathers light from the sun during her
passage from the new to the full, so the man who treads the path of holiness by
use of his golden opportunities in the East Room of selfless service gathers the
materials wherewith to make his luminous "wedding garment," and that
material is best amalgamated on the night of the full moon. But conversely, as
the moon gradually dissipates the accumulated light and draws nearer the sun in
order to make a fresh start upon a new cycle at the time of the new moon, so
also according to the law of analogy those who have gathered their treasures and
laid them up in heaven by service are at a certain time of the month closer to
their Source and their Maker, their Father Fire in the higher spheres, than at
any other time. As the great saviors of mankind are born at the winter solstice
on the longest and darkest night of the year, so also the process of Initiation
which brings to birth in the invisible world one of the lesser saviors, THE
INVISIBLE HELPER, is most easily accomplished on the longest and darkest night
of the month, that is to say, on the night of the new moon when the lunar orb is
in the westernmost part of the heavens.
All occult development begins with the vital
body, and the keynote of that vehicle is "repetition." To get the best
out of any subject repetition is necessary. In order to understand the final
consummation to which all this has been leading up, let us take a final look
from another angle at the three kinds of fire within the Temple.
Near the eastern gate was the Altar of Burnt
Offering. On that altar smoke was continually generated by the bodies of the
sacrifices, and the pillar of smoke was seen far and wide by the multitude who
were instructed in the inner mysteries of life. The flame, the light, hidden in
this cloud of smoke was at best but dimly perceived. This showed that the great
majority of mankind are taught principally by the immutable laws of nature,
which exact from them a sacrifice whether they know it or not. As the flame of
purification was then fed by the more coarsely constructed and baser bodies of
animal sacrifices, exacted under the Mosaic law, so also today the baser and
more passionate mass of humanity is being brought into subjection by fear of
punishment by the law in the present world-more than by apprehension of what my
follow in the world to come.
A light of a different nature shone in the
East Room of the Tabernacle. Instead of drawing its nourishment from the sinful
and passionate flesh of the animal sacrifices, it was fed by olive oil procured
from the chaste plant kingdom; and its flame was not shrouded in smoke, but was
clear and distinct, so that it might illuminate the room and guide the priests,
who were the servants of the Temple, in their ministrations. The priests were
endeavoring to work in harmony with the divine plan, therefore they saw the
light more clearly that the uninstructed and careless multitude. Today also the
mystic light shines for all who are endeavoring to really serve at the shrine of
self-sacrifice-particularly for the pledged pupils of a Mystery School such as
the Rosicrucian Order. They are waling in a light not seen by the multitude, and
if they are really serving, they have the true guidance of the Elder Brothers of
humanity, who are always ready to help them at the difficult points on the Path.
But the most sacred fire of all was the
Shekinah Glory in the West Room of the Tabernacle above the Mercy Seat. As this
West Room was dark, we understand that it was an invisible fire, a light from
another world.
Now mark this, the fire that was shrouded
in smoke and flame upon the Altar of Burnt Offerings, consuming the sacrifices
brought there in expiation of sins committed under the law, was the symbol of
JEHOVAH THE LAWGIVER; and we remember that the law was given to brings us to
Christ. The clear and beautiful light which shone in the Hall of Service, the
East Room of the Tabernacle, is the golden-hued Christ light, which guides those
who endeavor to follow in His steps upon the path of self-forgetting service.
As the Christ said, "I go to my
Father," when He was about to be crucified, so also the Servant of the
Cross who has made the most of his opportunities in the visible world is allowed
to enter the glory of his Father Fire, the invisible Shekinah Glory. He ceases
then to see through the dark glass of the body, and beholds his Father face to
face in the invisible realms of nature.
The church steeple is very broad at the
bottom, but gradually it narrows more and more until at the top it is just a
point with the cross above it. So it is with the path of holiness; at the
beginning there are many things which we may permit ourselves, but as we
advance, one after another of these digressions must be done away with, and we
must devote ourselves more and more exclusively to the service of holiness. At
last there comes a point where this path is as sharp as the razor's edge, and we
can then only grasp at the cross. But when we have attained that point, when we
can climb this narrowest of all paths, then we are fitted to follow Christ into
the beyond and serve there as we have served here.
Thus this ancient symbol shadowed forth the
trial and triumph of the faithful servant, and thought it has been superseded by
other and greater symbols holding forth a higher ideal and a greater promise,
the basic principles embodies in it are as valid today as ever.
In the Altar of Burnt Offerings we see
clearly the nauseating nature of sin and the necessity of expiation and
justification.
By the Molten Sea we are still taught that
we must live the stainless life that of holiness and consecration.
From the East Room we learn today how to
make diligent use of our opportunities to grow the golden grain of selfless
service and make that "living bread" which feeds the soul, the Christ
within.
And when we have ascended the steps of
Justification, Consecration, and Self-Abnegation, we reach the West Room, which
is the threshold of Liberation. Over it we are conducted into greater realms,
where greater soul unfoldment may be accomplished.
But through this ancient Temple stands no
longer upon the plains where the wandering hosts pitched their camps in the
hoary past, it may be made a much more potent factor for soul growth by any
aspirant of today that it was by the ancient Israelites provided he will build
it according to pattern. Nor need the lack of gold wherewith to build distress
anyone, for now the true tabernacle must be built in heaven-and "HEAVEN IS
WITH YOU." To build well and true, according to the rules of the ancient
craft of Mystic Masonry, the aspirant must learn first to build within himself
the altar with its sacrifices, then he must watch and pray while patiently
waiting for the divine fire to consume offering. Then he must bathe himself with
tears of contrition till he has washed away the stains of sin. Meanwhile he must
keep the lamp of divine guidance filled that he may perceive how, when, and
where to serve; he must work hard to have abundance of "bread of
shew," and the incense of aspiration and prayer must be ever in his heart
and on his lips. Then YOM KIPPUR, the Great Day of At-one-ment, will surely find
him ready to go to his Father, and learn how better to help his younger brothers
to ascent the Path.
THE ANNUNCIATION AND IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Much is said in certain classes of the
Western World about Initiation. This in the minds of most people seems usually
to be associated with the occultism taught in the religions of the far East;
something that is peculiar to the devotees of Buddhism, Hinduism, and kindred
systems of faith, and which in nowise appertains to the religion of the Western
World, particularly to the Christian religion.
We have shown in the preceding series on
"Symbols and Ancient and Modern Initiation: that this idea is entirely
gratuitous, and that the ancient Tabernacle in the Wilderness pictures in its
symbolism the path of progression from childlike ignorance to superhuman
knowledge. As the VEDAS brought light to the devotees who worshiped in faith and
fervor on the banks of the Ganges in the sunny South, so the Eddas were a
guiding star to the sons of the rugged Northland, who sought the Light of life
in ancient Iceland where the sturdy Vikings steered their ships in frozen seas.
"Arjuna," who fights the noble fight in the "Mahabharata,"
or "Great War," constantly being waged between the higher and the
lower self, difference in nowise from the hero of the northern soul myth,
"Siegfried," which means, "He who through victory gains
peace."
Both are representative of the candidate
undergoing Initiation. And though their experiences in this great adventure vary
in certain respects called for by the temperamental differences of the northern
and southern peoples, and provided for in the respective schools to which they
are referred for soul growth, the main features are identical, and the end,
which is enlightenment, is the same. Aspiring souls have walked to the Light in
the brilliantly illuminated Persian temples where the sun god in his blazing
chariot was the symbol of Light, as well as under the mystic magnificence of the
iridescence shed abroad by the aurora borealis of the frozen North. That the
true Light of the deepest esoteric knowledge has always been present in all
ages, even the darkest of the so-called dark, there is ample evidence to show.
Raphael used his wonderful skill with the
brush to embody it in two of his great paintings, "The Sistine
Madonna" and the "Marriage of the Virgin," which we would advise
the interested reader to examine for himself. Copies of these paintings are
procurable in almost any art store. In the original there is a peculiar tint of
golden haze behind the Madonna and Child, which
though exceedingly crude to one gifted with
spiritual sight, is nevertheless as close an imitation of the basic color of the
first-heaven world as it is possible to make with the pigments of earth. Close
inspection of this background will reveal the fact that it is composed of a
multitude of what we are used to call "angel" heads and wings.
This again is as literal a pictorial
representation of facts concerning the inhabitants of that world as could be
given, for during the process of purgation which takes place in the lower
regions of the Desire World the lower parts of the body are actually
disintegrated so that only the head, containing the intelligence of the man,
remains when he enters the first heaven, a fact which has puzzled many who have
happened to see the souls there. The wings of course have no reality outside the
picture, but were placed there to show ability to move swiftly, which is
inherent in all beings in the invisible worlds. The People is represented as
pointing to the Madonna and the Christ Child, and a close examination of the
hand wherewith he points will show that it has six fingers. There is not
historical evidence to show that the Pontiff actually had such a deformity,
neither can that fact be an accident; the six fingers in the painting must
therefore have been due to design on the part of the painter.
What its purpose was we shall learn by
examination of the "Marriage of the Virgin," where a similar anomaly
may be noted. In that picture Mary and Joseph are represented together with he
Christ Child under such conditions that it is evident that they are just on the
eve of departure for Egypt, and a Rabbi is in the act of joining them in
wedlock. The left foot of Joseph is the foremost object in the picture, and if
we count we shall find it represented as having six toes. By the six fingers in
the Pope's picture and the six toes of Joseph, Raphael wants to show us that
both possessed a sixth sense such as is awakened by Initiation. By this subtle
sense the foot of Joseph was guided in its flight to keep secure that sacred
things which had been entrusted to his care. To the other was given a sixth
sense that he might not be a blind leader of the blind but might have the
"seeing eye" required to point out the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
And it is a fact, though not commonly known, that with one or two exceptions
when political power was strong enough to corrupt the College of Cardinals, all
who have sat upon the so-called throne of Peter have had the spiritual sight in
a greater or lesser degree.
We have seen in the articles on
"Symbols of Ancient and Modern Initiation," which preceded the present
article, that the Atlantean Mystery Temple known as the Tabernacle in the
Wilderness was a school of soul growth; and it should not surprise us to learn
that the four Gospels containing the life of Christ are also formulae of
Initiation, revealing another and a later Path to power. In the ancient Egyptian
Mysteries, Horus was the first fruit whom the aspirant endeavored to imitate,
and it is significant that in the Ritual of Initiation which was in vogue in
that day and which we now call the "Book of the Dead," the aspirant to
Initiation was always addressed Horus so-and-so. Following the same method today
we might appropriately address those following the Christian Path of Initiation
as Christ so-and-so, for as a matter of fact all who tread this Path are really
Christs-in-the-making. Each in his or her turn will reach the different stations
of the Via Dolorosa, or Path of Sorrow, which leads to Calvary, and experience
in his or her own body the pangs and pains suffered by the Hero of the Gospels.
Initiation is a cosmic process of enlightenment and evolution of power;
therefore the experiences of all are similar in the main features.
The Christian Mystic form of Initiation
differs radically from the Rosicrucian method, which aims to bring the candidate
to compassion through knowledge, and therefore seeks to cultivate in him the
latent faculties of spiritual sight and hearing at the very start of his career
as an aspirant to the higher life. it teaches him to know the hidden mysteries
of being and to perceive intellectually the unity of each with all, so that at
last through this knowledge there is awakened within him the feeling that makes
him truly realize his oneness with all that lives and moves, which puts him in
full and perfect tune with the Infinite, making him a true helper and worker in
the divine kingdom of evolution.
The goal attained through the Christian
Mystic Initiation is the same, but the method, as said, is entirely different.
In the first place, the candidate is usually unconscious of trying to attain any
definite object, at least during the first stages of his endeavors, and there is
in this noble School of Initiation but no Teacher, the Christ, who is ever
before the spiritual vision of the candidate as the Ideal and the Goal of all
his striving. The Western world, alas! has become so enmeshed in intellectuality
that its aspirants can only enter the Path when their reason has been satisfied;
and unfortunately it is a desire for more knowledge which brings most of the
pupils to the Rosicrucian School. It is an arduous task to cultivate in them the
compassion which must blend with their knowledge and be the guiding factor in
the use of it before they are fitted to enter the Kingdom of Christ. But those
who are drawn to the Christian Mystic Path feel no difficulty of that nature.
They have within themselves an all-embracing love, which urges them onward and
eventually generates in them a knowledge which the writer believes to be far
superior to that attained by any other method. One who follows the intellectual
Path of development is apt to sneer superciliously at another whose temperament
impels him along the Mystic Path. Such an attitude of mind is not only
detrimental to the spiritual development of whoever entertains it, but it is
entirely gratuitous, as the works of Jacob Boehme, Thomas a Kempis, and many
other who have followed the Mystic Path will show. The more knowledge we possess
the greater condemnation also shall we merit if we do not use it right. But
love, which is the basic principle in the Christian Mystic's life, can never
bring us into condemnation or conflict with the purposes of God. It is
infinitely better to be able to FEEL any noble emotion that to have the keenest
intellect and one which is able to define all emotions. Hairsplitting over the
constitution and evolution of the atom surely will not promote soul growth as
much as humble helpfulness toward our neighbor.
There are nine definite steps in the
Christian Mystic Initiation, commencing with the Baptism, which is dedicatory.
The Annunciation and Immaculate Conception precede as matters of course for
reasons given later. Having prepared our minds by the foregoing consideration,
we are now ready to consider each stage separately in this glorious process of
spiritual unfoldment.
THE ANNUNCIATION AND IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
The Christian Mystic is emphatically not
the product of one life, but the flower of many preparatory existences, during
which he has cultivated that sublime compassion which makes him feel the whole
world's woe, and conjures up before his spiritual vision the Christ Ideal as the
true balm of Gilead, its practice the only palladium against all human grief and
sorrow. Such a soul is watched over special care by the divine Hierarchies who
have charge of our progression along the path of evolution, and when the time is
ripe for him to enter that life in which he is to run the final race to reach
the goal and become a Savior of his kind, angels are indeed watching, waiting,
and singing hosannas in joyful anticipation of the great event.
Like always seeks like, and naturally the
parents are carefully selected for (and by such a noble soul from among the
"sons and daughters of the King." They may be in the poorest
circumstances from a worldly point of view; it may be necessary to cradle the
babe in a manger, but no richer gift ever came to parents that such a noble
soul. Among the qualifications necessary to be the parents of such an Ego is
that the mother be a "virgin" and the father a "builder."
It is stated in the Bible that Joseph was a
CARPENTER, but the Greek word is "tekton" which means
"builder." In Mystic Masonry God is called the Grant Architect. ARCHE
is the Greek word signifying primordial substance, and a tekton is a builder.
Thus God is the Great Master Builder, who out of primordial substance fashioned
the world as an evolutionary field for various grades of beings. He uses in His
universe many tektons, or builders, of various grades. Everyone who follows the
Path of spiritual attainment, endeavoring to work constructively with the laws
of nature as a servant of humanity, is a TEKTON or builder in the sense that he
has the qualifications necessary to aid in giving birth to a great soul. Thus
when it is said that Jesus was a carpenter and the son of a carpenter, we
understand that they were both TEKTONS or builders along cosmic lines.
The Immaculate Conception, like all other
sublime mysteries, has been dragged down into the gutter of materiality, and
being so sublimely spiritual it has perhaps suffered more by this rude treatment
than any other of the spiritual teachings. Perhaps it has suffered even more
from the clumsy explanation of ignorant supporters that from the jeers and
sneers of the cynic. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, as popularly
understood, is that about two thousand years ago God in a miraculous manner
fertilized a certain Mary who was a virgin, as the result she gave birth to
Jesus, an individual who is consequence was the Son of God in a sense different
from all other men. There is also in the popular mind the idea that this
incident is unique in the history of the world.
It is particularly the latter fallacy which
has served to distort the beautiful spiritual truth concerning the Immaculate
Conception. It is not unique in any sense. Every great soul who has been born
into the world to live a life of sublime saintliness, such as required for the
Christian Mystic Initiation, has also found entrance through of immaculate
virginity who were not besmirched by passion in the performance of the
generative act. Men do not gather grapes of thorns. It is an axiomatic truth
that like begets like, and before anyone can become a Savior, he must himself be
pure and sinless. He, being pure cannot take birth from one who is vile; HE MUST
BE BORN OF VIRGIN PARENTS.
But the virginity to which we refer does
not comprehend a merely physical condition. There is not inherent virtue in
physical virginity, for all possess it at the beginning of life no matter how
vile their disposition may be. The virginity of the mother of a Savior is a
quality of the soul, which remains unsullied regardless of the physical act of
fertilization. When people perform the first creative act without desire for
offspring, merely for gratification of their animal lusts and propensities, they
lose the only (physical) virginity they ever possessed; but when prospective
parents unite in a spirit of prayer, offering their bodies upon the altar of
sacrifice in order to provide an incoming soul with the physical body needed at
the present time to further spiritual development, their purity of purpose
preserves their virginity and draws a noble soul to their hearth and home.
Whether a child is conceived in sin or immaculately depends upon its own
inherent soul quality, for that will unerringly draw it to parents of a nature
like unto its own. To become the son of a virgin predicates a past career of
spirituality for the one who is so born.
The "mystic birth" of a
"builder" is a cosmic event of great importance, and it is therefore
not surprising that it is pictured in the skies from year to year, showing a
graphic symbolism in the great world or macrocosm what will eventually take
place in man, the little world or microcosm. We are all destined to experience
the things that Jesus experienced, including the Immaculate Conception, which is
a prerequisite to the life of saints and saviors of varying degrees. By
understanding this great cosmic symbol we shall more easily understand its
application to the individual human being. The sun is "THE LIGHT OF THE
WORLD" in a material sense. When in winter time it reaches the extreme
southern declination at the solstice on December 23rd, the people in the
northern hemisphere, where all the present religions have had their birth, are
plunged into the deepest darkness and bereft of the all-sustaining vital power
emanating from the sun, which is them partly dead so far as its influence upon
men in concerned. It is therefore necessary that a new light shine in the
darkness, that a SUN OF GOOD be born to same humanity from the cold and famine
which must inevitably result if the sun were to remain in the southern position
which he occupies at the winter solstice.
On the night between the 24th and 25th of
December, the sun having commenced to slowly rise toward the earth's equator,
the zodiacal sign of Virgo, the immaculate celestial Virgin, is on the eastern
horizon in all northern latitudes (in the hours immediately preceding midnight).
In the science of astrology it is the sign and degree on the eastern horizon at
the time of birth which determine the form or body of the creature then born.
Therefore the Sun of Good is said to have been born of Virgo, the sublime
celestial Virgin, who remains as pure after giving birth to her Sun Child as she
was before. By analogy the Son of God who comes to save his fellow men must also
be born of an immaculate spiritual virgin.
From what has been said it is evident that
a great period of preparation precedes the entrance of a Christian Mystic into
the present sphere of human life, though he in his physical consciousness is
usually entirely unaware of the fact of the great adventure in store for him. In
all probability his childhood days and early youth will pass in obscurity, while
he lives an inner life of unusual depth, unconsciously preparing himself for the
Baptism, which is the first of the nine steps of this method of attainment.
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