It is no rare occurrence to receive questions relating to Initiation1, and we are also frequently asked to state whether this order or that society is genuine, and whether the initiations they offer to all comers who have the price are bona fide. For that reason it seems necessary to write a treatise2 on the subject so that students of the Rosicrucian Fellowship may have an official statement for reference and guidance in the future.
In the first place let it be clearly understood that we consider it reprehensible3 to express condemnation4 of any society or order, no matter what its practices. It may be perfectly5 sincere and honest according to its light. We do not believe that we rise in the opinion of discriminating6 men and women by speaking in disparaging7 terms of others; neither are we laboring8 under the delusion9 that we have all the truth and other societies are plunged10 in Egyptian darkness. We reiterate11 what we have often said before, that all re8ligions have been given to mankind by the Recording12 Angels, who know the spiritual requirements of each class, nation, and race, and have the intelligence to give to each a form of worship perfectly suited to its particular need; that thus Hinduism is suited to the Hindu, Mohammedanism to the Arab, and the Christian13 religion to those born in the Western Hemisphere.
The Mystery Schools of each religion furnish to the more advanced members of the race or nation embracing it a higher teaching, which, if lived, advances them into a higher sphere of spirituality than their brethren. But as the religion of the backward races is of a lower order than the religion of the pioneers, the Christian nations, so also the Mystery Teaching of the East is more elementary than that of the West, and the Hindu or Chinese Initiate14 is on a correspondingly lower rung of the ladder of attainment15 than the Western Mystic. Please ponder this well so that you may not fall a victim to misguided people who try to persuade others that the Christian religion is crude compared with oriental cults16. Ever westward17 in the wake of the shining sun, the light of the world, has gone the star of empire, and is it not reasonable to suppose that the spiritual light has kept pace with civilization, or even preceded it as thought precedes action? We hold that such is the case, that the Christian religion is the loftiest yet given to man, and that to repudiate18 the Christian religion, esoteric or exoteric, for any of the older systems is analogous19 to preferring9 the older textbooks of science to the newer ones which embrace discoveries to date.
Neither are the practices of Eastern aspirants21 to the higher life to be imitated by Westerners; we refer particularly to the breathing exercises. They are both beneficial and necessary to the unfoldment of the Hindu, but it is otherwise with the Western aspirant20. To him it is dangerous to practice breathing exercises for soul unfoldment; they will even prove subversive22 of soul growth, and they are, moreover, absolutely unnecessary. The reason is this:
During involution the threefold spirit has become gradually incrusted in a threefold body. In the Atlantean Epoch23 man was at the nadir24 of materiality. We are just now rounding the lowest point on the arc of involution, and starting upward on the arc of evolution. At this point, then, all mankind is immured25 in this earthly prison house to such a degree that spiritual vibrations27 are almost killed. This is, of course, particularly true of the backward races and the lower classes in the Western world. The atoms in such backward race bodies are vibrating at an exceedingly low rate, and when in the course of time one of these people develops to a point where it is possible to further him upon the path of attainment, it is necessary to raise this vibratory pitch of the atom so that the vital body, which is the medium of occult growth, may to a certain extent be liberated28 from the deadening force of the physical atom. This result is at10tained by means of breathing exercises, which in time accelerate the vibration26 of the atom, and allow the spiritual growth necessary to the individual to take place.
These exercises may also be used by a great number of people in the Western world, particularly those who are not at all concerned about their spiritual advancement29. But even among those who desire soul growth there are many who are not yet at the point where the atoms of their bodies have evolved to such a pitch of vibration that acceleration30 beyond the usual measure would injure them. Here the breathing exercises would do no harm; but if given to a person who is really at the point where he can enter the path of advancement ordinarily mapped out for the Hindu’s precocious31 brothers and sisters in the West, in other words, when he is nearly ready for Initiation and when he would be benefited by spiritual exercises, then the case is far otherwise.
During the aeons which we have spent in evolution since the time when we were in Hindu bodies, our atoms have accelerated their vibratory pitch enormously, and as said in the case of one who is really nearly ready for Initiation, the pitch of vibration is higher than that of the average man or woman. Therefore he does not need breathing exercises to accelerate this pitch, but certain spiritual exercises suited to him individually which will advance him on the proper path. If such a person at this critical period meets11 some one who ignorantly or unscrupulously gives him breathing exercises, and if he follows the instructions accurately32 in the hope of getting quick results, he will get them quickly but in a manner he has not looked for, since the vibratory rate of the atoms in his body will in a very short time become accelerated to such a pitch that it will seem to him as if he were walking on air; then also an improper33 cleavage of the vital body may take place, and either consumption or insanity34 follows. Now please put this down where it will burn itself into your consciousness in letters of fire: Initiation is a spiritual process, and spiritual progress cannot be accomplished35 by physical means, but only by spiritual exercises.
There are many orders in the West which profess36 to initiate anyone who has the price. Some of these orders have names closely resembling our own, and we are constantly asked by students whether they are affiliated37 with us. In order to settle this once and for all, please note that the Rosicrucian Fellowship has constantly taught that no spiritual gift may ever be traded for money. If you bear this in mind, you may know we have no connection with any order which demands money for the transference of spiritual power. He who has something to give of a truly spiritual nature will not barter38 it for money. I received a particular injunction to this effect from the Elder Brothers in the Rosicrucian Temple, when they told me to go to the English speaking world as their messenger,12 a claim I do not expect you to believe save as you see it justified39 by fruits.
Now, however, about Initiation: What is it? Is it ceremony as claimed by these other orders? If so, any order can certainly invent ceremonies of a more or less elaborate kind. They may by flowing robes and clashing swords appeal to the emotions; they may appeal to the sense of wonder and awe40 by rattling41 chains and by deep sounding gongs, and thus produce in their members an “occult feeling.” Many revel42 in the adventures and experiences of the hero in “The Brother of the Third Degree,” thinking that this is surely Initiation, but I tell you that it is very far from being the case. No ceremony can ever give to any one that inward experience which constitutes Initiation, no matter how much is charged or how fearful the oaths, how awful or beautiful the ceremony, or how gorgeous the robes, any more than passing through a ceremony can convert a sinner and make him a saint, for conversion43 is to the exoteric religionist exactly what Initiation is in the higher mysticism. Please consider this point thoroughly44, and you will have the key to the problem.
Do you think that any one could go to a person of depraved character and agree to convert him for a certain sum and carry out his part of the agreement? Surely you know that no amount of money could bring about that change in a man’s character. Ask a true convert where he got his religion and how he got13 it. One may tell you that he received it upon the road as he was walking along; another says that the light and the change came to him in the solitude45 of his room; another that the light struck him as it struck Paul upon the road to Damascus, and forced him to change. Every one has a different experience, but it is in every case an inward experience, and the outward manifestation46 of that inward experience is that it changes the man’s whole life from the very least to the very greatest aspects.
So it is also with Initiation; it is an inward experience, entirely47 separate and apart from any ceremonial whatever, and therefore it is an absolute impossibility that any one could sell it to any one else. Initiation changes a man’s whole life. It gives him a confidence that he never possessed48 before. It clothes him with a mantle49 of authority that never can be taken from him. No matter what the circumstances in life, it sheds a light upon his whole being that is simply wonderful. Nor can any ceremony effect such a change. We therefore hold that anyone who offers initiation into an occult order by ceremonials to every one who has the price, brands himself as an imposter. For the true teacher, if he were approached by an aspirant with an offer of money for spiritual attainment would answer indignantly in the words used by Peter to Simon, the sorcerer, who offered him money for spiritual powers: “Thy silver perish with thee.”
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1
initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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treatise
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| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
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reprehensible
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| adj.该受责备的 | |
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condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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discriminating
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| a.有辨别能力的 | |
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7
disparaging
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| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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8
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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reiterate
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| v.重申，反复地说 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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initiate
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| vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入 | |
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attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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cults
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| n.迷信( cult的名词复数 )；狂热的崇拜；（有极端宗教信仰的）异教团体 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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18
repudiate
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| v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行 | |
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analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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aspirant
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| n.热望者；adj.渴望的 | |
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aspirants
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| n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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subversive
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| adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子 | |
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epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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nadir
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| n.最低点，无底 | |
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immured
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| v.禁闭，监禁( immure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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28
liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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29
advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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acceleration
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| n.加速，加速度 | |
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31
precocious
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| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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33
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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34
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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37
affiliated
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| adj. 附属的, 有关连的 | |
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38
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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39
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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40
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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41
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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42
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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43
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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44
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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45
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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46
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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47
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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48
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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49
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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