Talk:Rosicrucianism
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[edit] what does this sentence mean?
More recently René Guénon, a methodic researcher of the occult, veiculated also this same idea in some of his works.[14] --Filll (talk) 20:18, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
- Hmmm, I don't think "veiculate" is a word, is it?67.142.130.46 (talk) 19:40, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
- Syntax suggests writer may not be a native English speaker. Perhaps the intended word was "vehiculated," which has some specific scientific uses. *My opinion: The writer meant to say that René Guénon conveys this same idea in some of his works. Brlittle (talk) 16:30, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] from the page - this is too general
[edit] Concepts
[edit] Alchemy, astrology and healing
Alchemy (the ancestor of modern chemistry), is often thought to mean the science of creating gold from base metals. The true alchemists, or philosophers of the fire, often disparagingly refer to people attempting such a feat as blowers, meaning all those who were simply interested in the creation of gold and the purely material aspects of alchemy.
In his laboratory, the alchemist works on the materia prima and uses, among other tools, a furnace called an athanor. In Spiritual Alchemy,[1] the materia prima is the human soul, and the athanor is the physical body and the subtle bodies. The latter maintain the life of the most dense one and assure the connection with the soul. The laboratory is human existence during which the soul can learn to perfect itself, achieving the transmutation of vices and defects (the vile metal) into virtues and qualities.
The first Rosicrucians practiced alchemy in the laboratory, which was in vogue at that epoch, of interest even to popes and kings. The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is a major written work which clearly makes reference to this work. Current-day Rosicrucianists direct their concentration toward the work of spiritual alchemy. Many people put modern Freemasons, who do not construct cathedrals anymore, in this category.
According to the early Manifestoes, the Rosicrucians were a "secret" Order. Their members believed or could demonstrate healing powers that were seen as a gift from God: Spiritual Healing. In the outer orders these powers were explained by Egyptian mysteries and again, differently in the hermetic Order. Members were admitted on this basis alone and the "membership" was very selective. The writers, philosophers and people of the time became curious and infuriated because they were excluded. Most of the writings of the time are biased or speculative for this reason. Many modern Rosicrucian organizations hold the belief that these God-given powers may be used to help others.
Some interpretations are described as being Rosicrucian. They are used as an idea or icon by persons or groups either Gnostic Christian or syncretists who use a great deal of Christian elements. An example would be a cult that centers on the Virgin Mary yet openly or secretly identifies her to the Virgo constellation of the Zodiac.
Some modern Rosicrucians believe in the study of Spiritual Astrology as a key to the Spirit, to aid spiritual development and self-knowledge, as well as an aid to healing through Astro-Diagnosis.[3]. While other groups may respect Astrology, it is not a focus of their Rosicrucian work.
A way through which the alchemical work on the "Path of Initiation" has been expressed to the world, according to occultists such as Corinne Heline (1882-1975), is through classical music. To wit, the nine symphonies of Beethoven (1770-1827) were divided into two groups. The first, the third, the fifth, and the seventh are vigorous, powerful and of command, representing the intellect. The second, the fourth, the sixth and the eighth are elegant, ternurent, gracious and beautiful, representing the heart (intuition). They culminate in the symphony with human voices, the ninth symphony, in which the equilibrium between mind and heart or the "Chymical Wedding" ritual, where the Christ Within – the Adept – is born ("consumatun est"). Johan Herde speaks of Beethoven as "... God acts on earth through evolved men..." and Beethoven speaks of himself as "... I do not have friends, that is why I must live alone, but I know from the deepest of my heart, that God is closer to me than to others. I come close to Him without fear, because I have always known Him...".[4]
[edit] Rebirth versus transmigration
Some interpretations by practitioners of eastern religions state that the reincarnation process in mankind could happen in an interchangeable way with the animal, plant (and sometimes even mineral) kingdoms [5]; this theory is called transmigration or metempsychosis.
However, according to the Rosicrucians, as stated in the Western Wisdom Teachings, the eastern sacred teachings do not support an inferred belief in transmigration; meaning that, according to this western mystery tradition, each life wave has an independent evolution process and each one of these life waves is at a different stage in the evolutionary path. For example, according to the Rosicrucians, mineral life is the first and lowest level of spiritual evolution on earth; then comes plants, with actual life, then cold-blooded animals, then warm-blooded, and finally humans. This is also taught in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. In practice, the beings belonging to each life wave either evolve through the work of the individual Spirit or are yet evolving under a group spirit,[6] have a different state of consciousness,[7] and have acquired more or less subtle bodies,[8] according to the development stage of each life wave.
The eastern sacred text Kathopanishad refers in Chapter 5, Verse 9, that some of the souls, according to their deeds, return to the womb to be reborn, but others go into "the motionless" (Sanskrit word "STHANU", meaning "pillar"); allegedly the same concept is claimed to be found in the Bible (Book of Revelation) that mentions: "Him that overcometh, I will make a pillar in the house of my God, thence he shall no more go out." However, orthodox Christian biblical theologians dispute that application and reject any connection between the symbology of the Bible and occult teachings in any form. Rosicrucians interpret both references with the meaning that when humanity has reached perfection, there will come a time when they will not be tied to the wheel of births and deaths, but will remain in the invisible worlds to work thence for the upliftment of other beings. This too is another concept taught by occultists, but one which orthodox Christian biblical theologians regard as explicitly representing the "spirit of antichrist" from the epistles of the apostle John (1 and 2 John); yet it is perceived, by pupils and students dwelling into this western mystery tradition[9] who have been described as "undaunted spirits who refuse to be fettered by either orthodox science or orthodox religion",[10] that men and women having a pure mind and a noble heart may see these same Esoteric Christian teachings as coming from the "Spirit of truth" mentioned in John 16:12-15.
Last, if one takes into account the existence of earlier epochs in the development of human beings - as described also by the Theosophy and interpreted also as being mentioned in a veiled form in sacred eastern and western religious writings and by earlier philosophers (e.g Plato) - then, only at the current Aryan Epoch, the fifth one, it has started the event 'death' as we are conscious of it (not the death process of the physical-biological body itself, but the full awareness of the physical death event, with man having simultaneously lost the awaken awareness, or the inner contact, of the spiritual worlds). This conception, together with other related factors theorises that the entire rebirth process (i.e. during the activity period between two physical lifes), which works through the individual accountability for his own deeds, is a recent process when seen from the perspective of the whole human evolutionary scheme till now (including the long involutionary period and the "recently" started evolutionary one).
[edit] Interpretations
- "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change".[11]
The philosophical interpretation of Sacred verses may vary widely since such texts are directed to the higher or inner consciousness of the individual along his path of spiritual unfoldment. As such, quotations as this one may not even be a direct reference to transmigration, or to rebirth, but a reference to the process of transference to a subtle body occurring at the event death - described not only in esoteric teachings, but also in near-death experiences - and the consequent change in one' state of perception (not to be confounded with a literal change to a higher state of consciousness or awareness).
[edit] Preservation period after death
Some Rosicrucian groups practice methods of caring for the dead, regarding death as a birth into the spiritual worlds which should be prepared for with the greatest care, requires a "post mortem interval", or preservation period, of the physical body for three and half days (84 hours), for life review purpose (in a pacific death; not in a sudden impact such as: shock, accident, catastrophe, heart attack or suicide), before cremation or any other way of body disposal.[12]. Other groups do not specify such methods, leaving this up to individual members for their own cultural practices.
