The Abominable PATER CATHARE, or why we must be careful about what we pretend to be!

Part of my problem is that I cannot dispel the myths that have somehow accumulated over the years. Somebody writes something, it`s completely off the wall, but it gets filed and repeated until everyone believes it.

"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

Ja, degene die de waarheid aan de mensen wil onthullen,stelt zich bloot aan veel onbegrip." - Omraan Mikhaël Aïvanhov

"Een permanente, aandachtige vijand is haast dierbaarder dan onbetrouwbare vrienden." -Marnix Gijsen

It is so easy for the most clever, careful and conscientious historian OUTSIDE OF OUR ORDER, to be mistaken about facts which deal with the INSIDE. You must be initiated, to KNOW, although, of course, you may SURMIZE at any time.- HSL

"Occult truth, to be of any use, most become life experience; it must descend into the heart, pass through the fires of love and transfiguration, and rise again into the highest, a spiritual creation, to be shed abroad for the blessing of the world." ~ Raymund Andrea

Neutrality & passivity are the best friends of evil! - Christian Bernard

BROTHER WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?

Why is a person doing what he's doing, why does he like what he likes, what are his motives, in other words what makes him tick!?
What makes you tick?
Sometimes this question is extremely hard to tell such as to explain why you love your wife!?

Sometimes it's surprisingly easy though. Why would you want to write about something? Because you're mesmerized by the subject, you're very interested in it, or you're forced to do so by the authorities, or you're not so interested at all but you'd make a lot of money simply by writing about it.

If non of the above criteria do apply however and you nevertheless spend a substantial part of your time, by writing its history then, quoting Sherlock Holmes, after eliminating the impossible what remains must be the truth. So when I confronted the author of this illuminating series and frankly asked him what moved him, he completely freaked out.

Well, of course the answer's very simple, it was all my fault!

So now my conclusion is that, where he obviously doesn't like the subject he's writing about and provided he's not mental, his intentions are probably to deride it and discredit it.

quote Milko:

I'm from the Netherlands and a (former)student of CR+C
(AMORC offshoot)Fraterntas LVX Occulta (BOTA offshoot),
and a first degree Martinist.

"Does the AMORC system work"?.
Even though I am a former member myself, I am not in the position
to give a proper judgement simply because
I never advanced above the first Temple degree!?

unquote

It's a mix of tragedy and humor to reads all the attacks on AMORC on this discussion group. A lot of people, who obvious haven't the faintest idea what they are talking about, dedicate their spare time to publish lies about AMORC.
Blinded by some pathological hatred or paranoid conspiracy theories,they should rather turn and twist their minds, so as to be able to discuss the more important and essential matters. - Anonymous AMORC member


The following post was withheld by the Rosicrucian_Garden Yahoo group:

Milko & Fra Ben

To my best knowledge Milko until this week I've never addressed you, seen you, contacted or criticized you and or your writings or ever used your name. And to be honest what you write in your AMORC history or about Martinism isn't bad at all.

Well on the other hand if you read things and assume that I'm talking about you isn't that a bit paranoid!?

In various groups and on many occasions you've made it abundantly clear that you didn't exactly like them (AMORC i.e.) which is your prerogative of course.

What's so amazing though and it never fails to surprise and amuse me is that you and some others care to spend so much time on something that you in fact loathe, and which you traded in for the CRC and which again you soon left again to trade it in for... etc.etc.etc.

Talking about frustrations...

The only thing that I dare to question is the objectivity of these "researchers" and their hidden agendas.

And about my trustworthiness and popularity I couldn't care less. Being not trustworthy in the eyes of Fra Ben I rather consider it a compliment. And if I wanted to be popular I'd be doing other things in life. I am just the messenger...

So the fact that you're so f* pissed off, could this perhaps be because deep inside you know that I'm right!?

L:.L:.L:.

Pater Cathare



Two articles written By Milko BOGAARD

THE 1930'S – QUESTIONS, CONTROVERSIES, AND DISPUTES
As noted previously, AMORC's membership increased greatly during the
1930's when the Temple teachings were presented as written lessons
to all members. The introduction of the Home Sanctum membership
[developed during the latter half of the 1920's] accelerated the
increase of members.. The public magazine the "Mystic Triangle",
which had been published until 1929, had been replaced by
the "Rosicrucian Digest" in 1930. Over the years AMORC's public
magazine was issued under various names; the "American Rosae Crucis"
[1916-1918], the "Triangle" [1920-1925], the "Mystic Triangle"
[1929], and the "Rosicrucian Digest" [1930- ]. The Digest was
published for the North American jurisdiction and is still published
today. In time, other jurisdictions started to publish their own
journals, such as for instance the "Rosicrucian Beacon" [The Beacon],
issued by the "English speaking jurisdiction for Europe, Africa and
the Middle East".
Returning to the year 1930, in that year AMORC introduced a private
publication for their members called the "Rosicrucian Forum". Each
issue featured several topics of interest to members of all degrees
and often discussed current world events from a Rosicrucian
perspective. The "Rosicrucian Forum" was a bimonthly magazine.

Some of the discussions were quite controversial. In the April 1935
issue for instance, Harvey Spencer Lewis [HSL] talks about
the "Rosicrucian perspective" on birth control.. HSL emphasizes "that
the Rosicrucian Order should take any definite stand one way or the
other in regard to birth control except upon purely ethical grounds"
[RC Forum, 1935]. HSL continues by stating that he thinks that he has
touched upon this subject before "but will say again that we
agree with the view of Mr. Hitler, for instance, in Germany, who is
expressing only the view-point that the ancient Greeks had and which
all students of present-day social problems agree upon and which
scientists have indorsed; namely, that there is too little
restriction being placed upon who should marry and who should
propagate the future generations of mankind. In other words, I
believe that the doctrine of eugenics should be made universal and
enforced if possible and that in addition to the securing of a legal
license for marriage in order that there may be no violation of legal
laws in connection with marriage, there should be no violation of
natural laws either." [RC Forum, April 1935]

To some it might be shocking to find out that Lewis spoke favorably
of Adolf Hitler. In Lewis' defense it should be pointed out that at
the time he wasn't the only respectable American citizen who spoke
favorably of "der Führer" [Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, W.
Randolph Hearst, Joseph Kennedy -JFK's father, John Rockefeller, to
name but a few]. In the same issue of the "Rosicrucian Forum" there's
a short article on the situation of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Lewis
states that the Jews in Germany were treated by the Nazi's as any
other German citizen. HSL claimed he had obtained his information
from personal observation while traveling through Germany during one
of his "recent visits" to Europe. The negative reports in the
American press about the deteriorating situation of the Jews in
Germany gave occasion to Lewis' publication of the article in
the "Forum". It should be noted, however, that it was the year 1935.
It was just a year ago when Hitler's cabinet transferred the role and
powers of the head of state to Hitler as "Führer" and Chancellor. It
would take another three years before it became clear to the whole
world how the Nazi's thought the Jews should be dealt with. I am
referring, of course, to the notorious "Reichs Kristallnacht" [199].
On the other hand, Dachau [the first concentration camp] was built in
1933 and Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" had already been published in
1925. Being an exposition of the author's ideology the book was out
there for everyone to read.…

There are indicatiions that Lewis was not particularly fond of a
democratic and liberal system of government. Instead he allegedly
favored an autocratic system of government. French author René
Witzhard [200] claims that already in 1917 H. Spencer Lewis had
openly critisized the democratic and liberal models of government and
instead dreamt aloud about the benefits of autocracy.. This view will
seem controversial to many, but it must be said in defense of HSL
that this was common thinking in those days in the world of occultism
and initiatic organizations. Although I have to add for accuracy
sake, that the term `autocracy' should be replaced with `theocracy'
[`Theos'-`God']; a [wordly] government based on spiritual-social
fundaments, so to speak. We all are familiar with concepts like
the "Unknown Superiors", the Theosophical "Masters", or the "Great
White Brotherhood". Some mystics even developed a governmental
system, like Alexandre Saint Yves d'Alveydre [1842-1909] who
developed the concept of "Synarchy". Returning to H. Spencer Lewis,
according to Lewis the "Great White Brotherhood" was an association
of enlightened Spiritual Beings, "in or out of incarnation", who were
the real movers behind the Rosicrucians, hermeticists et cetera. The
G.W.B. are the overseers of the spiritual development [the G.W.B.
originated in the teachings of H.P. Blavatsky]. Strictly seen from a
theoretical point of view, it was not that unusual that Lewis adhered
to the belief in the benefits of an autocratic [read `theocratic']
government. However, this only partly explains HSL's alleged
sympathies for such dictators as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Again, it must be said in defense of Lewis that the first reference
to Hitler was made in an article on birth control. In the article HSL
explains why he believes that the doctrine of `eugenics', from an
ethical perspective, should be made universal. The reference to
Hitler which Lewis presents is just an example of a practical
application of eugenics. It should be noted however that the
philosophy behind eugenics is also considered controversial. Eugenics
is a philosophy which advocates the "improvement of human hereditary
traits through various forms of intervention" [201]. It is not hard
to undetrstand that a theory like this can lead very easily to a
slippery slope, ethical-wise… The latter reference to Hitler and Nazi
Germany only tells us that Lewis was still very naive in those days
[1935] about the situation of the Jews in Germany. Now, as for Lewis'
sympathy for Benito Mussolini ["Il Duce"], the fascist leader and
Prime Minister of Italy between 1922 and 1943, that is a whole
different story….

next: Part 52 "I TURISTI AMERICANI DELLA `ROSICRUCIAN' RICEVUTI DAL
DUCE" [HSL's visits to Mussolini]ART i

MY TEA WITH MUSSOLINI

I TURISTI AMERICANI DELLA `ROSICRUCIAN' RICEVUTI DAL DUCE"
For some reason Harvey Spencer Lewis considered it useful or even
necessary to associate himself with "Il Duce". As I have stated in a
previous work "Lewis even wins the confidence of Mussolini, who
already banned Masonry in Italy in 1925, who receives Lewis with open
arms as a friend of the family as early as 1931." [202]
Lewis met Mussolini for the first time in 1931. HSL's concern
for values and ethics is possibly reflected in his alleged sympathies
for a dictator like Mussolini. Concepts like ethics, morality,
patriotism etc. were held dear by H. Spencer Lewis. AMORC has always
extolled qualities such as "good citizenship and patriotism", next to
ones "scientific and cultural self-improvement", as it is stated in
one of their 1920's pamphlets. Lewis' commitment to these moral
values culminated in his chairmanship of the ultra-
nationalistic "United States Flag Association" for the state of
California. This association awarded Lewis in 1934 the Grand Cross of
Honor, making him a Knight of the Flag, for his activities in
connection with the "national war against crime" campaign. Regarding
Lewis' 'admiration' for the "Duce", the story goes that the Imperator
complimented Mussolini at one of his visits on the "absence of
beggars in the streets, the impressive architecture, the punctuality
of the trains" etc.[204], something which cannot be said of Italy
today, I'm afraid.. Lewis returned once more to Italy in 1937.

Together with 120 American members, HSL was received by Mussolini at
the Palazzo Venezia in Rome where a reception was held in honor of
the American Rosicrucians. To this occasion, Mussolini gives a
speech "in which he promises a radiant future for AMORC." [205] It is
even claimed that Mussolini was going to open a universaty "in which
hermeticism and occult ideas supporting the elite would be taught".
It seems that Lewis was going to figure prominently in this
educational venture. The Italian newspaper "Il Messagero" published a
frontpage article on the event, complete with pictures [dated March
6, 1937]. In addition, H.Spencer Lewis was presented a special gift
from Mussolini; a statue of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. The life
size statue was placed in Rosicrucian Park [on a side note, there was
a rumor among old members of the Order that the statue of Caesar
represented Harvey Spencer Lewis. The Imperator was said to be an
incarnation of Julius Caesar].

The complete story on these visits to Italy has been published by
Belgian historian and former AMORC member Robert Vanloo in his "Les
Rose-Croix du Nouveau Monde" [Editions Claire Vigne-1996].
Disclosures such as this one obviously cause a stir within the
esoteric community, especially among Order members [in this case
AMORC]. But, as stated previously, Lewis was not an exception – also
not in the esoteric community. There were more well-known
esotericists with elitist- and theocratic sympathies; Julius Evola,
Max Heindel [a known anti-semitist], Lanz von Liebenfels, Frater
Albertus, RA Schwaller de Lubicz, Israel Regardie to name but a few.
Their views and ideas are probably regarded by the majority of the
public today as right-wing or even fascist in nature. In defense of
[most] of the here-accused, it should be pointed out that these
accusations are in fact a bit short-sighted. It is known, for
instance, that H. Spencer Lewis admitted women as well as Afro-
Americans into AMORC in a time when it was not generally accepted..
Already during his lifetime Lewis was accused of almost everything on
the menu – from satanist to a Jesuit agent, from a Russian spy to a
radical American nationalist etc. In July 1937 there appeared an
article written by HSL in the "Rosicrucian Digest" which commented on
these accusations. The article in question is called "My coat of
changeable color" [issued under the header "The thought of the
month"]. On the alleged Nazi sympathies Lewis comments: "When I have
expressed some personal criticisms of conditions in Germany, I have
been accused by many of nearly all of our German readers of being
anti-German or anti-Hitler. On the other hand, whenever I have spoken
of the excellent things I have found in Germany I have been accused
of being a patron of secret alliances in Europe supporting the Hitler
regime." About his meeting with Mussolini Lewis states; "And right
now, I am being accused of being one hundred percent pro-Mussolini
and pro-Fascism, and one hundred per cent anti-democratic and anti-
Communistic, just because of my recent interview with Mr. Mussolini
and my honest and unstinted praise of his remarkable accomplishments
in Italy and with the Italian people." ["My coat of changeable
color", Rosicrucian Digest, July 1937].

In the article Lewis wants to make it clear to his readers that AMORC
is not "actively interested in politics or religion". Lewis
furthermore states that his objective is "to speak of the good in all
things, in all movements, all individuals, all nations, as I
personally find them and observe them" ["My coat of changeable
color", 1937]. Lewis comes across as being quite sincere in this
article, a bit naïve maybe but that's another story. Lewis is said to
have claimed in one of his publications from that period that
Mussolini's government is closer to the initiatic model than the U.S.
democracy. With what we know today, it is almost unimaginable that
anyone with a sane mind could make such a claim. Harvey Spencer
Lewis' standpoints on these issues are therefore generally perceived
by the majority of the historians as `politically incorrect'.
Lewis, like many mystics and occultists, was a follower of an
initiatic and elitist model of government [see previous page]. He was
a nationalist and a romantic, with values and beliefs which we would
define as right-wing. But the majority of the people at the time
longed for a strong [political] leader. These were the days of the
Great Depression; times were hard, it was a period of poverty and
mass unemployment. In the U.S. there was an increase of "serious
crimes", mainly due to the alcohol prohibition. Many European
countries lived under the [imaginary] threat of a communist
revolution [which fed the success of National-Socialism and Fascism].
All things considered, it once again shows us that Harvey Spencer
Lewis was human; not a saint – not a sinner, but plain human, like
all the rest of us I personally think that Lewis should have known
better with Mussolini, way better actually, especially in his quality
as a Grandmaster and Imperator, let there be no doubt about it. The
only point I wanted to make here is that there is always more to the
story than meets the eye at first glance, obviously. it's always easy
to see things clearly through hindsight…

My Coat of Changeable Color by H. Spencer Lewis in the Rosicrucian Digest, July 1937

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM

Ones Liberties Are The Liberties Of Everyone, His Source Is A Part Of The United Power Of All Beings!.....Dr. Harvey Spencer Lewis

"Give thanks for Life, for Light, for Love. Let your love brighten your heart and the heart of others. Surround yourself with a widening aura of love and dispel the shadows of gloom and depression." - H. Spencer Lewis

"The common descent of all creatures established the fact that all human beings are brothers and sisters, coming form the one Creator and the same essence, of the same vitality and of the same consciousness, independent of questions of race, belief, colour or any other distinctions of personality." – H. Spencer Lewis in "Mansions of the Soul"

We are guilty of believing that Jesus Christ chose only those of His own race to be his 12 disciples, and that he did not go out and choose two Chinese, two blacks, two Indians, two Arabs, two women or two homosexuals, therefore he would be called a Supremacist, Racist and Bigot by today’s worldly standards.


MY COAT OF CHANGEABLE COLOR
By H. Spencer Lewis
Rosicrucian Digest, July 1937

I WANT to ask my fellow members frankly whether it is possible that I am so vacillating in any religious, spiritual and social convictions that I am really a continuous “turncoat” or wear a coat of many colors?

From time to time some readers of this magazine who do not give careful thought, to what they read, or a proper analysis of what I have written and said in the course of twenty-five years, accuse me of being pro this or pro that and anti this or anti that. From the reading of just one article of mine in the current issue of this magazine, these readers will come to a surprising conclusion and, without recalling what they have read in preceding issues, they accuse me of being what I am not.

Our correspondence here at Headquarters, shows that in the past twenty-five years, and especially within the last five or six years, I have been accused of being not only a Jew but also a secret and mysterious agent or representative of insidious Jewish propaganda; and during the same period of time In have been accused by others of being a very secret agent of the Roman Catholic church carrying on a form of disguised propaganda for the Roman Catholic religion. Then again, at other times, I am accused of being vigorously opposed to the Jewish religion and everything Jewish, and in fact a member of some Jesuitical Society pledged to eliminate the Jews and the Jewish religion from the face of the earth. Throughout these past years I have been accused very consistently in some Roman Catholic publications of being bitterly opposed to the Roman Catholic Church and one of Satan’s most subtle destroyers of all faith in the Roman Catholic religion. Then again, after having expressed some personal opinion in this monthly department of the magazine, I am suddenly accused of being an atheist and a spy of the Russian government working against all religions and a disturber of the peace of all individuals – Jewish and Gentile, Roman Catholic and Protestant, pagan and heathen.

When, at one of our national Conventions, a representative from Washington brought to the opening session the gold cross of honour of the American Flag Association, and read the citation certificate making me a Knight of the Flag and an honored member of the Order of the Flag, equalled by the same honor conferred only upon Colonel Lindbergh, thereby being dignified by the highest patriotic award of the American Patriotic Society could grant to an individual, I was being accused of being a radical kind of American and most certainly a bitter enemy of the Communist movement, the Fascist movement, and all the other undemocratic movements throughout the world.

When in one issue of the “Rosicrucian Forum” magazine there appeared one of my discussions praising the nutritive and other values of the California prune, I was accused of being biased in regards to food, vegetables, climate and scenery of this country and looked upon as one seceding from the American republic and becoming a supporter of a California empire.

When I have expressed some personal criticisms of conditions in Germany, I have been accused by many or nearly all of our German readers of being anti-German and anti-Hitler. On the other hand, when I have spoken of the excellent things I have found in Germany I have been accused of being a patron of secret alliances in Europe supporting the Hitler regime.

In some magazines and newspapers within the past ten years I have been accused of being a Jew by birth and religion, and of hiding it under cover though it were something I was publicly ashamed of but used in privacy to the detriment of the Christians. On the other hand, some Jewish publications and some Jewish individuals have tried to claim that they had evidence that I was not born in a Protestant family of Methodist faith as many and unquestionable documents will prove, but that I was born in a Roman Catholic family and secretly educated in a Jesuit school.

When some years ago I wrote, as I often do now, against war and war propaganda, I was accused of being a “slacker” and an evader of the “draft” law, in spite of the fact that I was duly registered by our government and given a draft number and was waiting my call to military duty when the war suddenly ended by the signing of an armistice, and these facts are supported by government reports. I have been accused of being a secret and hidden and promulgator of the plans of the colored race to rise in their political, economic ad social position, and these accusers have even gone so far as to intimidate that there was a strain of colored blood in my ancestry. On the other hand, because I was at one them, and probably still am, an honorary member “The Aryan Society of America, I was accused by colored factions of being secretly in opposition to any degree of fair play being shown to the colored race.

Because of my writings in support of the logical and excellent British attitude in many regards, critics have investigated my ancestry and found that I was of Welsh extraction, and therefore a secret agent of Great Britain, ready to become a British spy in America in case of war, and always pro-British and anti-American. On the other hand, in addition to having been accused of being one hundred per cent German by blood and attitude of mind, I have been accused of being so pro-French that I sing the Marseillaise every time my companions sing the American anthem!
And right now, I am being accused of being one hundred percent pro-Mussolini and pro-Fascism, and one hundred percent anti-democratic and anti-Communistic, just because of my recent interview with Mussolini and my honest and unstinted praise of his remarkable accomplishments in Italy and with the Italian people. My accusers have suddenly abandoned all of their convictions that I was anti-Catholic and anti-Italian and extremely pre-Communistic and all reversed their opinions, this time feeling that they are as absolutely sure of their conclusion as they have been on so many occasion in the past years.

And, on top of it, I now find that an article which I wrote for this department before I started on the Rosicrucian tour in January and which appeared in these pages during my cruise through the Mediterranean, has suddenly made me again a one hundred percent supporter of the Roman Catholic church, of the Vatican and the Pope, and in fact I now find myself in the unique position of being a papal legate almost ready to be vested with ecclesiastical robes of a cardinal or an archbishop or something of the kind.

Why? Because in this recent article appearing in these pages I ventured to express my personal and sincere opinion regarding the efficiency, the practicability, and necessity of an autocratic form of government for any great international movement such as the Roman Catholic Church. I do not recall whether I expressed my personal admiration for the character, mentality, and sincerity of the present Pope, but if I failed to do that I herewith express my admiration for a man of his deep learning, his great forsight, and his excellent diplomacy. But my article did not deal with any endorsement of the Roman Catholic religion or church as such, but it dealt exclusively with that form of autocratic government which has made the Roman Catholic church as an international institution an eminent success in the face of every form of attack and criticism that could be directed against it by every type of individual, by every form of government, and particularly by the mad horde of unthinking individuals who prefer no form of government to any kind. For the very same reason, I could have and should have endorsed the autocratic form of government that controls and directs the welfare, progress and destiny of the Christian Science church, for it, too, has a hierarchy much like that of the Roman Catholic Church. I am sure that I did say that any form of cultural, educational, co-operative movement, composed of and operating through the individuals and characters of diversified nations in many lands and under many conditions must be autocratic in its government and control if it is to be a permanent success and fight the many battles that will naturally come its way. But this would apply even to such movements as the Freemasonic Fraternity and similar bodies as our own Rosicrucian Order.

Certainly those critics who have written so freely and bombastically about my article that appeared in the March issue of this magazine, “The Rosicrucian Digest, did not carefully read what I wrote and did not observe that my comments were neither a criticism nor and endorsement of the Roman Catholic religion as such.I was not writing about religion but form of government.

All of our members should know by this time, and our readers who are not members should gradually learn, that AMORC is not actively interested in politics or religion. Just yesterday afternoon I spent a very pleasant hour under one of the palm trees on a comfortable bench on the lawns of Rosicrucian Park, discussing our teachings and ideals with a priest of the Catholic Church who is one of our advanced members. On my trip through the Mediterranean on an Italian steamship, I again did what I have done every time I have crossed the ocean, and that is, to spend a large part of my recreation time in philosophical and religious discussion with the Roman Catholic chaplain or priest on the ship. I am proud of the excellent ideas that I have gained from my discussions and talks with many Roman Catholic priests within our Order and outside of it, but I am also proud of the fact that I have had many similar beneficial talks and discussions with Jewish rabbis, with pagan priests, with Protestant clergyman, and with all types of religious individuals. I am proud of the fact that I have friends--real friends--among these various religious denominations. I have found extreme peace and inspiration in attending, while in Europe, the low masses and the high masses and other services of the Roman Catholic Church, but I have also found similar peace and inspiration in some Sabbath Day services in Jewish synagogues and in so-called pagan temples of the Near East.

I have no antipathy toward any religion, any creed, or any doctrine, and I certainly have no such bias or prejudice in favor of any one of them that I would attempt to say that theirs is the only path, theirs is the only gateway to heaven.

It is true that I have written critically of certain religious doctrines found in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Protestant churches, in the Jewish synagogues and elsewhere. I have written critically of the interpretations that have become standardized in the modern versions of the Christian Bible, but I have also criticised other scriptural writings belonging to other sects and creeds. On the other hand, I have praised and shall continue to praise the good things as I find them, in church, in politics, among men and woman, and groups of individuals.

I am not going to change my opinions one iota because of a hundred or a thousand German or Italian, Russian, American or other individuals write to me and accuse me of being pro this or anti that. I am going to speak of the good in all things, in all movements, all individuals, all nations, as I personally find them and observe them.

Of course I may be wrong in my conclusions. My observations may not be correct. But of one thing my readers and the members of our organization can be sure, and that is, that I am absolutely sincere and that I have no ulterior motives, and there are absolutely no secret alliances motivating me in anything I say or do.

In answer to the argument that when I praise some individual, some movement, some form of government, some nation, I am fostering that movement and may not be aware of the injustice or the unfairness of my attitude and what results from it, I can only say that it is my duty as chief of this organization to help spread the truth as I find it, and to bring light where there is darkness and to help destroy falsehood. If in my way of doing this, and through erroneous conclusions or wrong observations, I am helping to spread untruth instead of truth, it will be my Karmic debt for which I shall have to make just compensation, even though it is done innocently of wrongdoing and in absolute sincerity. But to accuse me of having ulterior motives and being wilfully, deliberately, and secretly pro this or anti that, is to be absolutely unfair and unreasonable.

In order for these accusations to be true, I would have to change my coat and turn my coat so many times a month and year that it would soon become threadbare and colorless, or else I would have to wear a coat of more colors that the proverbial Jacob’s coat. Certainly I could not efficiently, and to any degree of success, assist any of these movements, individuals, nations, or people that I praise by wearing a coat of their color one week, and a coat of opposite color another week. If I wore a coat of but one color consistently and continuously, then there might be some reason to suspect that I was so enamored of that color, so enslaved to it and by it, that it colored my viewpoint of everything else, and I might be justly suspected of being secretly a propagandist of that one color.

I believe that the majority of our members like to have me express my opinion regarding things that I have seen and observed in my tours and travels around the world, and especially because my connections with the Rosicrucian Order enable me to make many intimate contacts and to learn things at first hand that the average person does not learn. One of the things I have learned is that not one of us can put very much faith--in fact very little--in what we read in our own and foreign newspapers and magazines. Yet it is from such sources that the average individual, who have criticized me in my attitude derives his or her knowledge and beliefs regarding the things I have commented upon. And in most cases my opinions and convictions have been opposite to what is popularly claimed in the controlled newspaper propaganda.

Fortunately for me and my attitude in regards to many things of a political, social, economic and educational nature, while in various lands on this recent cruise I was surrounded and accompanied by over one hundred and forty Rosicrucian members of every walk of life, professionally and socially, and of every grade of intellectual and cultural understanding, and in nearly every instance they have concurred in and unanimously agreed with my observations and conclusion. These touring members represented not only a very fair cross-section of our entire membership, but a very excellent cross-section of American citizenship. I highly valued their opinions and conclusions, and I was glad to find that in practically every instance their opinions where in harmony with my own, therefore proving to me, at least, that my glasses are not colored, and that my attempt to be broad and tolerant in every respect is not a fanatical hallucination on my part.

In the earliest issue of this magazine, "The Rosicrucian Digest," it was editorially stated that "The Rosicrucian Digest" would become at times and on occasion militant in its attitude and especially in its attack upon darkness and falsehood. We are determined to spread the light where it will do the utmost good. In my department and in those articles signed by me I shall continue, as an individual, to express my opinion of truths and falsehoods as I observe them. No influence by one contingent or another, no threats by members or readers expressing the intention of withdrawing form our organization or from the subscriptions list of this magazine will cause me to withhold what facts I think are of interest or what beliefs I consider illuminating.

The organization does not insist that members shall adopt the opinions I hold, nor change their religious, social, economic, political or intellectual conclusions or convictions in accordance with mine or those of any officer of the organization. But at least, in fairness to yourself and in fairness to our motives in preparing these articles and expressing these opinions, our readers should read them carefully and not try to read between the lines certain ideas that are not there and were not intended. At least, if the opinions we express are incompatible with your own, allow me the same honor, the same privilege, of being sincere, as you claim in the things you believe and express.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDEKx16W8ss&feature=related

Dungeons & Dragons at Rosicrucian Park: Stewart Affair or Bernard Conspiracy!?

Vitam Impendere Vero!

Neutrality & passivity are the best friends of evil! - Christian Bernard

And it was Raymond Bernard who introduced the idea that the next imperator should be American, because of the completion of the 108 years cycle. – Frater Melchior

I think one of the reasons GLS was so disliked was because of envy, in addition to him being a weak character and easily persuaded; a downright unstable person. - Frater Melchior

Man's greatest conquest is of himself. Before one can impart knowledge to others, he must first know himself.


From a report in The Los Angeles Times; January 24, 1987
Ralph M. Lewis; Leader of Rosicrucians for 49 Years
Ralph M. Lewis, son of the founder and head of the 250,000-member Rosicrucian order, has died, it was reported Tuesday.
Lewis, head of the order for nearly 50 years, was 82 and died Jan. 12 in San Jose, although his death had gone unreported.
His father, H. Spencer Lewis, a New York advertising executive who started the Ancient and Mystic Order of Rosae Crusis in 1909, moved the headquarters to San Jose in 1927. Lewis took over the organization after his father's death in 1938.
The organization claims 250,000 members worldwide and operates the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and the Planetarium in San Jose, two of the city's largest tourist attractions.
The group traces its roots to 1,500 BC and teaches a philosophy of cosmic consciousness intended to awaken dormant human faculties and help individuals to lead a happier and more useful life, group leaders say.
"The press has the idea that we're a strange, weird cult," said Lewis, the president and imperator of the group, in an interview several years ago. "We're not. We're a study group that takes the position that human consciousness is a stream, a flow. We believe that man generally functions on only one level, but that he can function on levels higher than the objective and the subjective.
"I'm not a strong adherent of reincarnation myself. I'm not so concerned with what I may have been, or what I may be, as I am with what I am now."
Lewis is survived by his wife Margaret, two sisters and a brother.


On Monday January 12th, 1987 at 11.26 P.M. Ralph Maxwell Lewis dies (henceforth RML). Not only marks his transition the end of a remarkable and highly respected person. Dark clouds already hover over Rosicrucian Park. His very successor would usher in the end of AMORC's Golden Age as we shall soon see. "Darkness pervaded all..."

Ralph was a good man. Good in the sense that his accomplishments far outweighed his failures; a men in the sense that those same strenghts and his weaknesses that shaped his leadership gave him some very human and humane dimensions. He possessed the gravity and demeanor of an Imperator, well leavened with a warmth and a wit. Above all else he truly loved the membership he was charged to guide. He devoted his life to the order validating and fulfilling his fathers work; he was the son who brought credit Harvey Spencer Lewis's name.

Under Ralph AMORC had steadily expanded, and had now become the stabilizing force in the occult world. It was a pleasure being an AMORC member in those days. It was something you could be proud of and the majority of its members was extremely loyal. But alas the good things weren't going to last...

To the surprise of many or perhaps most members outside the USA his successor was the relatively unknown Gary Lee Stewart and thus what most members expected or hoped for didn't occur i.e. Raymond Bernard(Sar Rosenkreutz) for Imperator! Unfortunately, upon the death of Ralph Maxwell Lewis, Gary Stewart was elected to the position of Imperator on 23rd January 1987. He soon however, demonstrated that he was not up to the task of leading the Rosicrucian Order, and after a series of grave errors, he was dismissed from his office and duties by all Grand Masters on April 12th, 1990.

So why not? Was it because Raymond Bernard (RB), had in September 1986 ceased participation in all AMORC activities where he held the position of Supreme Legate?? Or perhaps because of health reasons, as was frequently claimed?

The above scenario is most unlikely considering all activities RB developed after his untimely resignation. It's also been suggested that Raymond Bernard stepped down to make place for a younger person. Given his character and ego this option can also be safely ruled out!!!

Raymond and Yvonne Bernard moved to Yaoundé in Cameroon, and in 1988 he founded CIRCES (Cercle International de Recherches Culturelles et Spirituelles). Some of his adherents would rather read for CIRCES: Cercle Intérieur de la Rose Croix Esotérique et Secrète.

Please note that it is also claimed that Raymond considered Christian to be not eligible for the office of Imperator (well of course now that he knew that he wouldn't be it either!) and that he therefore favoured an American or rather that the Imperator should always be an American.

The single most stupefying fact of the CIRCES' history is Gary Stewart being publicly announced as its Honorary President! This totally contradics Stewart's claims that father & son Bernard together were conspiring against him! Father and son Bernard were simply not on speaking term those days!! Sure, later GLS did a 180 degree turn on CIRCES, just as he did on so many things.

So the much acclaimed and highly discussed "Conspiracy" of the "Bernards" against Stewart is just another internet hoax created by the Stewart clan. All evidence is simply pointing in the opposite direction!

This is even acknowledged by Tobias Churton in his book Invisibles: The True History of the Rosicrucians "Gary L. Stewart succeeded R.M. Lewis in 1987 at the age of 34, backed by Raymond Bernard of the French branch of AMORC".

Next project l'OSTI (Ordre Souverain du Temple Initiatique). Well not really the kind of activities you'd expect from a man struggling with his health. (l'OSTI & CIRCES organizations merged in 1993 and from then on CIRCES would appear to be the humanitarian branch of l'OSTI).

The true reason rather seems to have been severe disagreements within AMORC's Board and most likely over his extra-curricular activities before 1986, read l' Ordre Renové du Temple.
26 October 1970: Déclaration en sous-préfecture de Mantes-la-Jolie, d'une association loi 1901 dénommée Ordre Rénové du Temple ou O.R.T. (According to Belgian investigative journalist Marcel Roggemans, RB started this project on 5/12/1962)!?. Others maintain it was 1968.
1968 : Raymond Bernard crée le mythe du « Cardinal blanc » et de « la grotte de San Nilo » à Grotteferrata (Italie) dans un document interne Rendez-vous secret à Rome. Ce personnage lui aurait confié la mission (« donné l'ordre ») de réactiver l'Ordre du Temple et l'adoube en conséquence. Dans la crypte de la Cathédrale de Chartres, il adoube à son tour le 23 septembre Robert Devaux et Julien Oriegas.
The ORT was in the form of a legal association, distinct from AMORC. This Order, from its creation till RB left it in October 1972, was reserved uniquely for the members of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC with some 1700 members.

Where on the one hand RB usually pretends to have had the full support of RML "He finally gave his consent" but in another interview he clearly states that he had no authorization whatsoever, and which was indead the fact of the matter!

SC: Au départ, Ralph M. Lewis était donc tout à fait d'accord? Il t'avait lui-même mandaté? RB: Il ne m'a pas mandaté.

In his defence it should be said that in the sixties RML himself had come up with such an idea i.e to increase participation levels within AMORC membership, through a templar like order i.e. However, the project was abandoned because it proved inviable.

April 1971 RB abandons ORT Grandmastership and is replaced with one Julianos Origas, Grand Sénéchal of the Order who as Grandmaster uses the pseudonym: Hu(m)bert de Frankenb(o)urg.
Slowly but gradually RB furthers withdraws from ORT (most likely under severe pressure from San Jose) till the point where all links with AMORC are severed in October 1972. RB later simply claims that he'd lost all his interest!? If he'd lost all his templar interest, than why would he later have founded CIRCES!!??

Then in July 1983 Origas installs Luc Jouret as the next ORT Grandmaster whereas Origas dies on 20/8/1983. Fortunately RML didn't live to see the dire consequences of this step!

Contrary to popular belief and in fact most logical explanation of all is that Ralph Lewis hand picket and thoroughly trained his successor (read GLS). However, I'm of the opinion that he didn't. Because of his lingering doubts, at the end, Ralph did not name his successor. He trusted the supreme Grand Lodge to do this.

There's some very strong evidence against this scenario: Ralph's second wife (and former long time secretary) Margaret Burt Lewis, was very much against Stewart. To such extend that she refused to hand over the Lewis Imperator ring and refused to attend his installation. Always hear the other side: well they simply state that Christian Bernard stole the imperator ring from the Lewis vault, and that Margaret didn't attend because of ill health. What's truth...

So now we're faced with Gary Lee Stewart the third imperator of AMORC. The Stewart reign can be described as nothing short of catastrophic.

Let's for assessment's sake and simplicity forget here about his financial shenanigans, such as his self-inflicted pay raise, his second honeymoon paid for by AMORC, the infamous money transfer to Andorra etc. etc. etc.
Is GLS: Grand Lodge of Spain, Gran Logia Suprema or Gary Lee Stewart? You tell me!?

What I do care about is the fact that he simply wasn't the kind of Imperator, AMORCans expected or wanted. Such as divorcing and marrying a Rosicrucian Park employee. He didn't have a clue that rasta hair and a youthful appearance wasn't necessary a plus for an Imperator?? But worst of all: Gary simply was a lousy manager, he didn't grasp one iota of what was needed in his position. AMORC members were hardly waiting for a new magazine, Heterodoxy, for non-AMORC members, nor did they expect books on pension plans.

Gary also handled his imperatorship as a corporate takeover! He brought his own friends (such as Antonio de Nicholas the intended Spanish Grand Master who wasn't even AMORC member) and even family with him while at the same time firing the very people he so desperately needed the most to make his imperatorship work. He behaved like a blind dog in a meat market. That in short was the trouble with GLS.

Or as another Frater put it in the yahoo Rosicrucianism group:
My own view is that he was the boy who suddenly found himself in charge of the cookie factory. I think he was probably guilty of misfeasance and incompetence, but probably not guilty of malfeasance or any crime. I don't believe he was a victim of anyone or anything other than his own lack of pragmatism, managerial ability, and possibly respect for the people he had to work for and with.
I do not believe that Gary Stewart was anointed by Ralph Lewis or anyone else to be Imperator for life.

Finally the assessment of a three eminent rosicrucians about Gary Stewart as a person:

"We gave Frater Stewart the benefit of the doubt, but that proved to be a mistake."- former Stewart supporters: Paul Walden & Ashley McFadden, ARC

"Charmante jongeman, maar veel te jong in meer dan één opzicht." - Irène Beusekamp-Fabert

"Er war viel zu jung." - Martin Erler

Ten years later, much water has since flowed under the bridge, I'm in a circle of rosicrucian history fetishists and in the center of the center of this circle is this friend a Belgian "research journalist" aka "historian" though he's neither, who's personally and constantly in contact with Stewart.

Stewart is a very approachable guy. Too approachable imho.
(Because I didn't like him, I've always avoided to take up contact with him personally). His current openness btw totally contradicts his permanent inaccessibility during his AMORC term, where he was either travelling and or playing c.q. conferencing with his inner circle, read friends and family.

Well, whatever GLS discusses with Marcel Roggemans (his so-called interviews with Stewart!) he (MR) forwards to me (AK). They even discuss personal things. We even know when Gary's having dental problems and when he's got to see his dentist.

My own conclusion: the very nature of these discussions in this "forum" leaves me without further doubt. 2000 A.D. he's still too young and he'll probably be forever too young mentally i.e.. Or call it naive or as someone else described him: he's downright unstable. With only a little common sense and moderation he should have prevented Dorothy L. Stewart to issue her silly open letter (May 10, 1990) to all AMORC rosicrucians...

WHO TOLD WHAT TO WHOM. Mind you, this is all hearsay that I'm parrotting!

From the website Geschiedenis van de occulte en mystieke broederschappen:
After the Stewart Affair AMORC’s faced with succession problems. Since Gary L. Stewart was ousted they have a problem. They asked frater:: to install Christian Bernard as the new Imperator of AMORC. Frater:: refuses inexorably. During the same meeting Frater :: is offered a substantial amount of money to sell AMORC his order.
This was confirmed to me by phone on 23/01/1999.

From Rosicrucian Order AMORC vs l’Imperator Gary L. Stewart webside interview with Rosicrucian Imperator Gary L. Stewart:
GLS: Je ne sais rien de très précis de cette cérémonie si ce n’est que celle qui a été utilisée n’est pas celle écrite par Ralph Lewis. Pourquoi Christian a-t-il décidé de ne pas utiliser le rituel de Ralph Lewis ? Voilà ce que j’ignore. Concernant le rituel utilisé pour installer Christian, je me suis laissé dire par un des administrateurs de la Grande Loge Suprême, qui assume encore cette responsabilité, que Christian Bernard avait demandé à Martin Müller(un rosicrucien allemand réputé qui est le successeur d’Emile Dantinne—plus connu sous le nom de Sar Hieronymus) de diriger cette installation. Je me suis également laissé dire que M. Mueller avait refusé. Mais, comme je l’ai dit, je n’ai pas moi-même pu vérifier ces affirmations, je ne peux que m’appuyer sur ce qu’on m’a rapporté.

Roughly translated Gary avers here that someone'd told him (guess who?) that Christian Bernard had requested Martin Mueller (a highly reputed German rosicrucian who claimed to be the successor of Emile Dantinne aka Sar Hieronymus) to conduct his installation.

Believe it or not in 2000 AD I had a number of rather long phone calls with frater :: from Bavaria, well let’s eeeh continue calling him Mr. Müller and in which he wasn’t exactly positive about GLS and who was in fact the very person confiding to me: "Er war viel zu jung!"

I'll always remember what my daughter said that Friday afternoon, calling me in while I was just coming home, still in the driveway: hey dad here’s this man from Germany on the phone again!

THE END ...?