In the footsteps of Harvey Spencer Lewis...

Do not dwell in the past,
do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment. - Buddha

IT IS MORE THAN SOME PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND DIFFERENT THAN SOME BELIEVE - HSL

"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. - RML

The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. - Albert Einstein


In the Footsteps of Harvey Spencer Lewis by Paul DuPont, F.R.C.

In the 1980s, when I was doing research regarding the Rosicrucian Order’s history, and more specifically regarding Harvey Spencer Lewis coming to Toulouse, former Imperator Ralph M. Lewis allowed me to go to the chateau near the old town of Vieille Toulouse (Old Tolosa, some miles from Toulouse) where H. Spencer Lewis was initiated into the Rosicrucian Order.

We knew the name of the place where this chateau is situated, for Frater Lewis had described it precisely. I was of course somewhat impatient to go there, but I knew neither when nor how I could visit. An occasion presented itself to me soon, for I was asked to go not far from there for professional reasons.

It was a beautiful summer evening. The sun, still high in the sky, gave the hillsides a pink color well known in our region. I arrived near the little village, in sight of the hill where the chateau was located. From afar I could see a glimpse of the long outer wall of which Frater Lewis spoke. This wall was made of baked clay and of stones from the Garonne river. It surrounded the chateau and his property.

I walked along the wall to one of the entrances of the chateau, but it was closed by a great wooden door, which was high enough that I could not see inside. I could just barely see the façade of the chateau because of two square towers blocked my view, so I went back to the village to see if I could find another entrance.

I walked past another large door, formerly used as the main entrance. Walking outside the long outer wall running alongside the village itself, I eventually found a little door and decided to try to open it. Who knows? Maybe it was open.

Indeed it was easy to open. I stepped inside and found myself in the large park near the chateau, behind the old barns, and I was soon inside he main grounds. I thought to myself, since no one lived there, the worst I risked was to be taken back to the door. The shutters and the doors, everything was closed. With no one around I wavered between two thoughts: go back as I had come or go farther. Was I not after all completing a mission for the Grand Master and the Imperator!?

While I was there I thought while I was at it, I should take some photographs. (I learned later that Frater Ralph Lewis had hoped that I would take photographs of the interior of the building.) Therefore I proceeded further, taking some photographs here and there, in the park, and then after crossing a large carriage entrance, in the courtyard within.

And so, eventually, one step after another, I found myself in the courtyard, facing the façade of the chateau. The owners had built a swimming pool in the middle of the courtyard where the fountain had been located in H. Spencer Lewis’s drawing. I found such a thing somewhat preposterous, knowing what the chateau had sheltered. I tried to imagine that large courtyard in the state which it was in then, in the days of its mystical purpose.

I stopped taking photos and was about to leave when a fortuitous event occured. A I was retracing my steps, I saw an elderly woman hurriedly coming toward me. I prepared myself for the worst and tried to think of an explanation for my intrusion. After the usual salutations she simply asked me, “You have come for a visit?” The owners had entrusted the key and the safekeeping of the building to her because they expected visiting to purchase the estate.

Indeed, she had a huge key in her hand. The chateau was for sale. She explained to me that the owners, being in another country, had entrusted her to show visitors the property.

It was now a litttle late and perhaps the hour had arrived for her to prepare her meal. In any case, she let me visit the chateau alone. She opned the door for me, left it open halfway, and left me in the entrance hall.

Those who knew the history of the place will understand the emotions which overwhelmed me in that moment. There I stood in front of the large staircase leading the place where H. Spencer Lewis was interviewed by his initiator before the initiation itself. I was in the meeting room of the Grand Lodge of France.

Before going upstairs I pushed open the door of a room on the ground floor. It opened onto a huge room with may chairs scattered here and there in small groups. It was a vast living room for the meetings, which they held over the past centuries. The people met there and talked and exchanged their ideas about philosophical subjects.

As they were arranged, these chairs seemed to still be inhabited by their former owners. For a moment I even felt as if they were still present and I nearly excused myself for having disturbed them. I did not stay there long for I knew I knew the old Grand Lodge was one the second floor. I no longer had a lot of time. Passing by the chairs, I saw one of the ancient sculpted chairs which H. Spencer Lewis wrote, and I took a photograph of it.

I then proceeded to climb one step after another with deep veneration. I learned later from one of the owners, whom I would subsequently come to know in a friendly manner, that one of the wings of the chateau had been condemned since the beginning of the twentieth century. The owners, in order to save on heating, did not use it any longer and it had therefore stayed in its original condition. I will point out here that these rooms were in an advanced state of decay, especially the floors. This was precisely where H. Spencer Lewis had spent his initiation night!

It was a great privilege for me to be in this area, and I deeply valued this experience, however I had no flash with me and everything was in semi-darkness, therefore I do not have a photograph of this area. So I will endeavor to describe the place of the initiation itself from memory.

There was a large and high wooden door, which opened easily. Once inside the door, there was a small hall opening in front onto a room with an alcove, and on the right there was a larger room that reminded me of the reception room of our lodges. In the smaller room in front of me there was an old sofa and a huge stack of papers on a table.

I then made my way toward what I considered to be the reception room. The parquet floot was disintegrating so I cautiously put my pit my feet on the wooden boards that creaked under my weight. The room was at least ten meters (30 feet) long, stretching from one façade of the chateau to the other. There was an old fireplace, which the present owners had restored in the style of Louis XVI. Although the room was large, I crossed it quickly because I wanted to see what was next.

At the end of the room, to the left there was a twenty-meter-long (60 feet) corridor, which ran along the windows of the rear of the building. These windows had been bricked up from within, yet some cracks allowed just enough light to see that this corridor had three small doors, giving access to three small contiguous rooms and at the far end, to a square room and another small room situated on the right, in a tower of the chateau.

There was absolutely no decoration except a little picture nailed down on the edge of the door to the first room. From memory, it seemed to me that it was Gabriel, the Archangel, striking down the Dragon.

Was this the threshold chamber? I could not go into that room for it was too dark, so instead I went into the other room. It had no decoration and measured only a few meters. I went through it, not without some apprehension for it was dark, and then I pushed open the next door, which opened into a beautiful room. The walls were covered with ancient tapestries with small floral patterns in green and brown.

All this seemed to be very old. The patterned material probably dated from the 18th century, however I could not see it easily in the Darkness. Rather I tried to feel the mood of the place, and my thought was that it was quite small for a place of such importance. Here I was in the Grand Temple!

Certainly this place had not been used for a long time. H. Spencer Lewis had written that Count Bellcastle-Ligne, his initiator, told him in 1909 that the Lodge had not been active since the middle of the 1800s.

I looked for the door in the far end through which the master of this house could come and go. Indeed the rooms were linked to one another through doors in a row, which made it possible, as Frater Lewis had described, for the master of the house to leave a room and then find him again, as if by a miracle, in another place in the same room. For example, there is door that leads onto the little balcony near the grand staircase, which by a hidden passage, gives access to the room where I was.

I meditated for a while in this area before moving to the windows in the back of the building. Near one of them, through a half-open door, one could see another room situated in of the four towers of the chateau. The size of that room was that of a large sanctum, where three or four people could be accommodated without disturbing one another. I cannot describe this room from memory; again, all this was very dark.

The whole of this area that I just described is about one hundred square meters (300 sqaure fees) and as I saw it, was made up of a square roon, of three antechambers, of a small corridor for access, of a room to receive people, and of a room with an alvoce, a divan and some chairs. This is all that remained.

Of course I wish I had been able to take photographs of this area for since then the owners have remodelled it, from floor to ceiling, lowering the floor because they needed to redo the main beams.

During the months and years that followed, I visited again on several occasions, meeting the former and the new owners, as well as some neighbors. One of the eminent members of the Societé Archéologique du midi de la France lived near the chateau. He had been, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the authorized representative of one of the former owners.

We have photograph of this man, in uniform. He may have been the man in partial military dress who greeted H. Spencer Lewis in 1909 and asked him for his letter of introduction before he came before the Archivist of the Order. Within the famous Sociéte Archéologique du Midi de la France, there were personalities of whom it has been said were Rosicrucians, noticeably the Viscount de Lapasse, about whom we have some old documents, but chiefly and more directly concerning H. Spencer Lewis’s journal, “A Pilgrim’s Journey to the East”, was Clovis Lassalle.

Once he presented his letter of introduction, H. Spencer Lewis was greeted again, with some ceremony, by an elderly woman who led him to the one who would some hours later initiate him into the Order of the Rose Cross.

I had found the Light - and it had illumined me as I faced the Rosae Crucis - HSL



http://www.youtube.com/user/RosicrucianTV

A tribute to Harvey Spencer Lewis by Frater E.D.C. (Eduard) van Drenthem Soesman, past Grand Master of the Netherlands Jurisdiction of AMORC.

Als het getij verloopt, moet men de bakens verzetten!

"Young man, some day you will be a member of this Order".

Met het hoofd in de wolken en de beide benen stevig op de grond.

De grootst mogelijke verdraagzaamheid binnen de meest strikte onafhankelijkheid

"Geloof, Hoop en Liefde, doch de meeste van deze is de Liefde".

"De boodschap van de Rozekruisers Orde A.M.O.R.C. is een boodschap die de wereld oproept tot meer humanisme en spiritualiteit".

Wij hebben het beste voor met allen, met onze geliefde fratres en sorores, of zij gefaald hebben of niet. “Alles sal rech kom”. Wij bouwen verder, wij bouwen beter en hechter dan ooit tevoren. Wij bouwen op goede fundamenten: Op het Leven, op het Licht en op de Liefde!

Onderstaande voordracht verscheen voor het eerst in 1982 in het boekje "Mijn Eerste Elftal".

Dr. Spencer Lewis was een gedreven mens. Uit persoonlijke ontmoetingen en vooral uit zijn correspondentie met ons, leden, bleek dit zonneklaar.
Er stond iets achter hem dat groter is dan de mens zelf kan zijn.
Dat iets was het kosmische, waarover hij ons geleerd heeft, waarover hij ons geleerd heeft hoe het te kontakten, waardoor wij Rozekruisers werden en leerlingen van deze grote Meester. Het is interessant om iets over zijn jeugd te weten in verband met the Methodistenkerk.

Zoals het vaak gaat met Rozekruisers brengt de prille jeugd de aanraking met de kerk, een kerk, terwijl het Licht doorbreekt nadat we voor het allereerst over de Orde vernomen hebben.
Dan komt er iets blijvends over ons. Zo was het ook met Dr. Spencer Lewis, de eerste Imperator van de nieuwe cyclus van de Rozekruisers Orde op het Noord Amerikaanse continent.
Hij was lid van de zondagsschool, die zoveel als een instituut is in de Verenigde Staten. Hij werd zeer toegewijd en hoe kan dat ook anders als men voor het eerst met de Christusfiguur in aanraking komt. Deze figuur heeft hem zijn leven lang vastgehouden, mede tot voldoening van alle leden die door hem een verdiepte kennis van Jezus mochten verkrijgen. Vele Rozekruisers zijn door het Kruis van Christus, door hun verering voor Jezus, tot de Orde gekomen. Het is immers deze toewijding die altijd leidt tot iets majestueus in ons leven.

Een ieder van u zal enige verwantschap voelen met deze grote figuur, die Jezus, met wie het in ons leven waarschijnlijk óók begonnen is. Begonnen met de tocht naar het licht. Om tot de Rozekruisers Orde te kunnen komen moeten we psychische aanleg hebben, iets dat anderen, misschien zelfs onze ouders, vreemd vinden.
Wij zullen ons allemaal dingen uit onze jeugd of zelfs onze prille jeugd herinneren die steeds wijzen op een zoeken naar het Pad, onze taak op aarde, een gevoeligheid voor dingen des geestes, begrip voor onzienlijke dingen, een begin van universele liefde, die nooit slap en decadent maar in de meeste gevallen krachtig is, normaal en fris. Dàt is wat mij zo bijzonder in Dr. Spencer Lewis heeft aangetrokken: zijn frisheid als mysticus.
Ik ken ze ook die graag erg gevoelig doen, willen lijken op een mysticus, vergetend dat AMORC een ander bordje heeft buitenhangen, waardoor de leden meer voldoening hebben, want op dat bordje prijken de woorden “Weest duidelijk, weest fris in uw beschouwing en laat uw mystieke gevoelens en uitingen op gewone wijze tot uw leden doorklinken”.

Dr. Spencer Lewis, en wij mogen gerust zo nu en dan over Professor Lewis spreken want hij was tenslotte ook nog Rector Magnificus van de Rozekruisers Universiteit, kreeg langzamerhand meer belangstelling voor kunsten en wetenschappen, voor mystiek en filosofie. Hij interesseerde zich voor alles wat op deze aarde interessant kan zijn, de faculteiten van universiteiten in zijn woonoord, kunt, theater, muziek.
Totdat hij door zijn kontakten met vele gelijkgestemden in aanraking kwam met mannen en vrouwen die gelezen hadden over de Egyptische Rozekruisers. Deze aanraking met wat in het begin niet meer dan een woord was biologeerde hem en vanaf die tijd, in het begin van 1908, begon zijn zoeken naar de Orde.

Nu even een grote sprong vooruit en een eigen waardering van onze Imperator, die zo enorm veel goeds voor de wereld heeft gedaan. Persoonlijk geloof ik niet dat er in deze eeuw iemand is geweest die onze Imperator kan evenaren. We kennen de namen van grote figuren in deze wereld, zoals Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Albert Schweitzer en talloze anderen, maar ik geloof niet dat ze in de schaduw kunnen staan van wat deze man vrijwel alleen tot stand heeft gebracht in het domein van de opvoeding, waarin alle menselijke terreinen hun aanvang vinden. Wèl eclatanter, maar zeker niet van de diepte die Lewis ging in zijn kennis van de esoterie, van de eeuwigheidsvragen, de kosmische wensen, welke door het mensdom worden veronachtzaamd.
Immers, onze gehele wereld zucht onder de leugen, de destructie, de corruptie, de foutieve instelling van het mensdom juist t.o.v. deze eeuwigheidsvoorwaarden. Dr. Lewis heeft ons op het pad geplaatst dat onherroepelijk leidt tot verlichting, tot inzicht, ook in de verdorvenheid van deze wereld. In Canada noemden wij deze vaderlijke vriend “Papa Lewis”.

Het ogenblik breekt nu aan dat Dr. Lewis omstreeks 1909 in aanraking komt met de Rose Croix de France. Zijn benoeming tot gedelegeerde in Amerika volgt en enige jaren later mag hij zich Imperator noemen. Dan begint zijn ongelooflijke arbeid voor de toekomst der volkeren, middels de leden die zijn onderwijs volgen, een onderwijs dat weer is samengesteld uit de oudste archieven der Orde. Wat weinigen beseffen die vragen naar de oorsprong der Orde komt nu als een lichtstraal in de duisternis van het heden, namelijk dat Lewis en vele zijner medewerkers ditzelfde werk reeds hadden volbracht in vroeger eeuwen, zij het dan op veel kleinere schaal.

Onze hogeregraadsleden, die zijn ingewijd in onze Tempels of in het geheime Sanctum zullen dan ook nooit vragen naar de historische feiten onzer Ordo Rosae Crucis eenvoudig omdat zij deze historie zelf hebben meegemaakt, deze hebben gemaakt.
De profane wereld natuurlijk des te meer. Die begrijpt niet hoe het mogelijk is dat Dr. Lewis met zoveel overredingskracht kan spreken over bijvoorbeeld Francis Bacon, alsof hij in die tijd geleefd had, sterker nog, in een vorige incarnatie deze hoge Bewaarder van de Schatkist zelf geweest was! Alle Rozekruisers weten hoe wij steeds in het defensief staan t.o.v. de profane wereld, die altijd klaarstaat om te kritiseren. Dr. Lewis zei dan wel: “Och, wat hebben zij dan wel van deze wereld gemaakt? Kijk eens naar ons en de diepe vrede die er bij ons heerst”. Hij heeft zeer veel te lijden gehad van oppositionele krachten, zeer veel. Die machten der duisternis, die wij nooit mogen onderschatten want zij liggen altijd op de loer om ons te bespringen, hebben het bestaan om hem in Amerika verdacht te maken, met modder te smijten om zijn levenswerk te vernietigen. Natuurlijk heeft hij gewonnen maar tegen welke prijs? Tenslotte heeft hij de booswichten voor het gerecht in Californië gedaagd, waar de overwinning werd bevochten. Lewis, een duidelijk trekje van de Imperator, vroeg niet meer dan één dollar schadevergoeding, die hij dan ook kreeg. Voor hem was de strijd voorbij.
In de twintiger jaren dezer eeuw werd er veel van de Imperator gevergd. Hij liet gebouwen bouwen, ging wekelijks op tournee om “zijn” orde te verbreiden, redeneerde dat leden die zelfs maar drie maanden lid van de Orde waren geweest en hun lidmaatschap dan opzegden tòch onnoemelijk veel psychische hulp bij de Orde hadden verkregen. Op dat gezegde bouwde Ralp Lewis, zijn zoon, de orde uit tot in meer dan 80 landen. Ik weet wel dat de opbouw momenteel overal revolutionair is, maar wij weten ook dat niet alle nieuwe leden blijvertjes zijn, maar voor deze nieuwe leden is het van onschatbare waarde dat zij, al is het maar voor drie maanden, lid zijn. Incarnaties later werkt die tijd nog door. Spencer Lewis heeft ervoor gezorgd dat er altijd weer iets nieuws voor ons klaar ligt in onze monografieën. Wat een Auteur, wat een architect, wat een redenaar was hij, wat een cello-speler, wat een kenner van de muziek, natuurkunde, chemie en journalistiek!
Zo ooit gezegd mag worden dat iemand een universeel genie was, en met dat woord speelt de profane wereld nogal eens, dan was dat Dr. Harvey Spencer Lewis! Ik wil onze huidige Imperator Ralph Lewis op dit punt in één lijn met zijn vader noemen.

Eén van de meest indringende ervaring welke ik ooit met Dr. Spencer Lewis heb meegemaakt was niet in een persoonlijk gesprek of tijdens een korte ontmoeting, waarbij men dikwijls werd afgeleid door de telefoon, een secretaresse, doch in een projectie. Ik woonde omstreeks 1930 in Toronto en op een donderdagavond zat ik te studeren in mijn Sanctum. Ik las toen voor de afwisseling “Hamlet” van Shakespeare. Enige dagen tevoren had ik de Imperator geschreven en hem een paar vragen voorgelegd. Plotseling die avond had ik het gevoel dat ik niet alleen was in mijn Sanctum. En warempel, ik zag de Imperator die mij een kort berichtje doorgaf met zijn prettig in het gehoor liggende stem, dat ik duidelijk kon verstaan. Hij gaf het antwoord op mijn vragen! Toen zag ik een hand vlak bij mij. “Shake hands”, hoorde ik duidelijk. Ik maakte een manuaal van handdrukken, maar vond het toch een beetje vreemd. Maar het wàs een handdruk. Ik wees op het boek van Shakespeare dat ik aan het lezen was. Vluchtig zij hij toen nog: “Good literature” en toen was hij weer verdwenen. Later hoorde ik dat hij met leden van zijn klaas veelvuldig dergelijke kontakten had, die even indringend waren als die wij heden van hem mogen ontvangen.

De grootste uibreidingen van de Orde staan nu voor de deur. Hij begint met de bouw van het Egyptische Museum en reist om inspiratie op te doen naar Egypte, was in die tijd een wereldreis was. Hij leidde een inwijding in de grote Pyramide. In de dertiger jaren liet de orde veel van zich horen in de Verenigde Staten, Canada, Frankrijk, Duitsland en Nederland. Bij ons vond de oprichting plaats in januari 1934 in “Villa Elisabeth” in Den Haag.
Op last van de Imperator werd de Kommissie van Oprichting als volgt samengesteld: Frater Coops, Grootsecretaris en de leden Soror van Drenthem Soesman, geboren Middelaer, Frater van Drenthem Soesman, Soror Van Rijn van Alkemade en Frater Corbière. Sedert 1926 was de Imperator niet meer in Nederland geweest. Wèl in Brussel voor de vergaderingen der FUDOSI, waar ook mijn grote vriend Frans Wittemans uit Antwerpen aanwezig was.

Persoonsverheerlijking dat wilde Dr. Spencer Lewis niet. Maar als men hem beter leerde kennen, hetzij uit zijn boeken, leringen, gebouwen of persoonlijke gesprekken, dan kon men het niet helpen deze persoon ter vereren. Dat deden wij dan ook en dat was waarschijnlijk het enige waarin we ongehoorzaam aan hem waren.
Hij stond op een “pied de stalle”, een voetstuk. Gelukkig dat de mens hem heeft gekend voor wat hij was. Gelukkig!
Mijn moeder vertelde mij na haar bezoek aan hem:
“Ik heb iets van de grandeur van deze man mogen zien!”
Zo wàs het en zo is het! Hij is voor de meesten van ons niet gestorven.

Ikzelf tracht steeds weer waar te maken dat ene grote dat ik van de Imperator heb mogen leren: LIEFDE IS DE WET.
Dat is o zo moeilijk in deze verdorven maatschappij. Om alles wat op je afkomt te verwerken is dikwijls ontzettend moeilijk, maar ik geloof dat datzelfde Kosmische dat hem in zo grote mate heeft geholpen ons ook helpt, gezien de grote uitbreiding van de Orde en het succes dat wij hebben.

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

Als je geen antwoord meer weet op de vragen,
die een knotsgekke wereld je dagelijks stelt,
Als je niet meer weet of je moet lachen of huilen,
Als je hoort wat de jeugd je vertelt…

Dan is het tijd dat je rustig gaat zitten,
je ogen sluit en een taf’reeltje ziet
van blauwe luchten, een enkele vogel
en spierwitte wolkjes in ’t verschiet.

Dan komt de rust voor wie haar kan grijpen,
een meditatieve, prettige rust.
En dat is in dit knotsgekke leven
HET medicijn, word je daarvan bewust!

Though the above article of past Grand Master E.D.C. van Drenthem Soesman, taken from his booklet “Mijn eerste Elftal” was posted just as the title implies, to honour Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, I later realized that it was also an interesting talk on AMORC's history in The Netherlands, which officially started in 1934. So next year we celebrate it’s 75th anniversary! On this occasion I'd like to share parts of a letter from former Grand Master I.L.M. (Irène) Beusekamp-Fabert about the genesis of the Netherlands Grand Lodge.

quote

Onze Nederlandstalige Jurisdictie is op 1 februari 1934 opgericht. Vóór die tijd had Frater Jan Coops jaren in Canada gewoond, waarheen hij was geëmigreerd en waar hij in aanraking kwam met Frater Spencer Lewis en de AMORC. Hij werd lid van de AMORC en Spencer Lewis vroeg hem terug te keren naar Nederland en aldaar de Nederlandse Jurisdictie op te bouwen, en dat deed Jan Coops in 1934, nadat hij het Charter voor de Nederlandstalige Jurisdictie van Spencer Lewis had ontvangen.

Jan Coops begon de monografiën te vertalen in het Nederlands en na verloop van tijd had hij drie leden in Nederland, één dame, die trouwens 104 jaar geworden is, en twee heren. Een van deze twee heren was Frater L. van Gastel, die toen student scheikunde was. Langzamerhand kon in Amsterdam in de woning van Jan Coops een Pronaos worden opgericht. De dame en heren brachten de monografiën ’s nachts per fiets naar de eerste leden. Dat was dus het begin van onze Jurisdictie, die helaas door de oorlog tijdelijk aan haar activiteiten een einde moest maken. Wel hadden in het verborgene nog enige ontmoetingen plaats, maar pas na de oorlog kon Jan Coops de activiteiten van de AMORC en van de TMO goed ontplooien. Onze Jurisdictie werd dan ook een Grootloge en Jan Coops werd tot Grootmeester benoemd.

unquote

Van vrijdag 13 t/m 15 november 2009 zal t.g.v. het 75-jarig bestaan van de Grootloge van de Nederlandstalige Jurisdictie een Jubileumconvent worden gehouden. "De Rozekruiser nu", 75-jaar AMORC in de Nederlandstalige gebieden.
Dit nationale convent wordt gehouden in het conferentiecentrum "De Leeuwenhorst" in Noordwijkerhout.

On August 12, 2009 we’re also commemorating the 100th anniversary of H. Spencer Lewis’s initiation into the Rosicrucian Tradition in France!

Watch DVD: Dr. H. Spencer Lewis Restorer of Rosicrucianism

http://www.youtube.com/user/RosicrucianTV

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…