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beloved Teacher and put Him to a shameful death. But though He had died after the flesh, he continued to
commune with them in spirit for some time. At last, however, He ascended to higher spheres, direct touch
with Him was lost, and sadly these men looked into each other's faces as they asked, "Is this the end?" They
had hoped so much, had entertained such high aspirations, and though the verdant glory was as fresh upon the
sun-kissed landscape as before He went, the earth seemed cold and dreary, for black desolation gnawed at
their hearts.
Thus it is also with us who aim to walk after the spirit and to strive with the flesh, though the analogy may
not have been previously apparent. When the "FALL" of the Christ ray commences in autumn and ushers in
the season of spiritual supremacy, we sense it at once and commence to lave our should in the blessed tide
with avidity. We experience a feeling akin to that of the apostles when they walked with Christ, and as the
season wears on it becomes easier and easier to commune with Him, face to face as it were. But in the annual
course of events Easter and the ASCENSION of the "risen" Christ ray to the Father leave us in the identical
position of the apostles when their beloved Teacher went away. We are desolate and sad; we look upon the
world as a dreary waste and cannot comprehend the reason for our loss, which is as natural as the changes of
ebb and flood and day and night phases of the present age of alternating cycles.
There is a danger in this attitude of mind. If it is allowed to grow upon us, we are apt to cease our work in the
world and become dreamers, lose our balance, and excite just criticism from our fellow men. Such a course of
conduct is entirely wrong, for as the earth exerts itself in MATERIAL ENDEAVOR to bring forth abundantly
in summer after receiving the SPIRITUAL IMPETUS in winter, so ought we also to exert ourselves to
greater purpose in the world's work when it has been our privilege to commune with the spirit. If we do Thus
we shall be more apt to excite emulation than reproach.
We are wont to think of a miser as one who hoards gold, and such people are generally objects of contempt.
But there are people who strive as assiduously to acquire knowledge as the miser struggles to accumulate
gold, who will stoop to any subterfuge to obtain their desire, and will as jealously guard their knowledge as
the miser guards his hoard. They do not understand that by such a method they are effectually closing the
door to greater wisdom. The old Norse theology contained a parable which symbolically elucidates the
matter. It held that all who died fighting on the battle field (the strong souls who fought the good fight unto
the end) were carried to Valhalla to be with the gods; while those who died in bed or from disease (the souls
who drifted weakly through life) went to the dismal Niflheim. The doughty warriors in Valhalla feasted daily
upon the flesh of the boar called Scrimner, which was so constituted that whenever a piece was cut from it the
flesh at once grew again, so that it was never consumed no matter how much was carved. Thus it aptly
symbolized "KNOWLEDGE," for no matter how much of this we give to others, we always retain the
original.
There is Thus a certain obligation to pass on what we have of knowledge, and "to whom much is given of
him much will be required." Perhaps it may not be out of place to recount an experience which will illustrate
the point, for it was the final "test" applied to myself before I was entrusted with the teaching embodied in
THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION, although I was, of course, at the time unaware that I was
being weighed. It occurred at a time when I had gone to Europe in search of a teacher who, I believed, was
able to aid me to advance on the path of attainment. But when I had probed his teaching to the bottom and
forced him to admit certain inconsistencies in it which he could not explain, I was in a veritable "slough of
despond," ready to return to America. As I sat in my chair ruminating over my disappointment, the feeling
that some one else was present came over me, and I looked up and beheld the One who has since become my
Teacher. With shame I remember how gruffly I asked who had sent him and what he wanted, for I was
thoroughly disgruntled, and I hesitated considerably before accepting his help on the points that had caused
me to come to Europe.
CHAPTER XIII. THE ESOTERIC SIGNIFICANCE OF EASTER AND THE INCEPTION OF THE ROSICRU
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 Teachings of an Initiate
During the next few days my new acquaintance appeared in my room a number of times, answering my
questions and helping me to solve problems that had previously baffled me, but as my spiritual sight was then
poorly developed and not always under control, I felt rather skeptical in the matter. Might it not be
hallucination? I discussed the question with a friend. The answers to my queries as given by the apparition
were clear, concise, and logical to a high degree. They were strictly to the point and altogether beyond
anything I was capable of conceiving, so we concluded that the experience must be real.
A few days later my new friend told me that the Order to which he belonged had a complete solution to the
riddle of the universe, much more far-reaching than any publicly known teaching, and that they would impart
that teaching to me provided I agreed to keep it as an inviolable secret.
The I turned on him in anger: "Ah! do I see the cloven hoof at last! No, if you have what you say and if it is
good for the world to know. The Bible expressly forbids us to hide the Light, and I care not to feast at the
source of knowledge while thousands of souls hunger for a solution to their problems as I do now." My
visitor then left me and stayed away, and I concluded that he was an emissary from the Black Brothers.
About a month later I decided that I could obtain no greater illumination in Europe and therefore made
reservation on a steamer for New York. As travel was heavy, I had to wait a month for a berth.
When I returned to my rooms after having purchased my ticket, there stood my slighted Teacher and he again
offered me instruction on condition that I keep it secret. This time my refusal was perhaps more emphatic and
indignant than before, but he did not leave. Instead he said, "I am glad to hear you refuse, my brother, and I
hope you will always be as zealous in disseminating our teachings without fear or favor as you have been in
this refusal. That is the real condition of receiving the teachings."
How directions were then given me to take a certain train at a certain depot and go to a place I had not heard
of before, how I there met the Brother in the flesh, was taken to the Temple, and received the main
instructions embodied in our literature, are matters of small interest. The point is that had I agreed to keep the
instructions secret, I should naturally have been unfit to be a messenger of the Brothers, and they would have
had to seek another. Likewise with any of us: if we hoard the spiritual blessings we have received, evil is at [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]