The Temple of Mysteries: A Key to the Secrets of Life
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Discover a key to the secrets of life in The Temple of Mysteries.
Bridging spirituality and science, this classic work is a true gem of the world’s esoteric legacy. The Master Hilarion, the Protector of America and Europe, transmitted it through Francia La Due, intending to assist humanity in resolving the challenges of modern civilization and guide us toward unity with the cosmic forces that shape our existence.
We all still benefit from the scientific inventions made by the Temple members and their children — inventions that led to radar, microwave technologies, satellite communication, and radiotherapy.
The Temple of Mysteries reveals the long-concealed pages of life, providing insights into an extensive array of subjects across its 249 short lessons:
- practical methods of self-development
- the fundamental laws of the Universe
- the working of Karma
- the power of color and sound
- health
- the afterlife
- democracy
- relationships with others
- good and evil magic
- thought and imagination
- twin souls
- the battle of Armageddon
- the Second Coming of Christ
- the future of humanity
- and so much more!
The Temple of Mysteries is a treasure trove of hidden wisdom. Its 700 pages will illuminate your path to self-realization and help you find answers to the most pressing questions that trouble your soul.
Are you ready to turn the key and unlock the secrets of life?
Take the first step, and download The Temple of Mysteries now!
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The Temple of Mysteries - Francia La Due
The Temple of Mysteries was originally published as Teachings of the Temple in 1925. Cover design by Sahidul.
Annotations © 2023 by Radiant Books
Glossary © 2023 by Radiant Books
Redrawn Illustrations © 2023 by Radiant Books
Disclaimer: This book is not intended to dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique or lifestyle as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the book is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the publisher assumes no responsibility for your actions. The publisher may not be held liable for any misuse or misinterpretation of the information in this publication.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023939497
Published in 2023 by Radiant Books
radiantbooks.co
ISBN 978-1-63994-035-6 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-63994-033-2 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-63994-034-9 (e-book)
Table of Contents
A Master
In the Heart of God
Preface
To My Beloved
Temple Aphorisms
A Few Qualifications
From the Place of Silence
The Message
Lesson 1: Manifestation of Substance — Matter
Lesson 2: States of Consciousness
Lesson 3: Power of Affirmation
Lesson 4: Qualifications for Chelaship
Lesson 5: The Christos
Lesson 6: Illusions and Ideals
Lesson 7: The Etheric Universe
Lesson 8: True Brotherhood
Lesson 9: The Law of Balance
Lesson 10: Shields of Nucleoli
Lesson 11: Knowledge and Power
Lesson 12: The Phenomena of Sleep and Death
Lesson 13: The Cosmic Laboratory
Lesson 14: Dangers of the Astral Plane
Lesson 15: Karmic Law
Lesson 16: Unselfish Love
Lesson 17: The Meeting of Extremes
Lesson 18: The Substance-Force of Love
Lesson 19: Failure
Lesson 20: The Control of Life Forces
Lesson 21: Prayer
Lesson 22: Energy of Reflection and Refraction
Lesson 23: Orient and Occident
Lesson 24: Radioactivity
Lesson 25: Selflessness, the One Thing Needful
Lesson 26: The Essence of Consciousness
Lesson 27: To the Faithful
Lesson 28: The Evils of Distrust
Lesson 29: Building in Accord with Natural and Divine Law
Lesson 30: Unto the Third and Fourth Generation
Lesson 31: The Creative Word
Lesson 32: How Long, O Lord!
Lesson 33: Fire and Blood
Lesson 34: Fulfillment
Lesson 35: Breath Culture
Lesson 36: Divine Love
Lesson 37: The Effects of Color
Lesson 38: The Deflection of the Earth’s Axis
Lesson 39: The Power of Thought
Lesson 40: Woman
Lesson 41: Our Natural Birthright
Lesson 42: Chelaship Versus Mediumship
Lesson 43: Ideation
Lesson 44: Windows of the Soul
Lesson 45: The Seven Rays of Evolution
Lesson 46: Love’s Apotheosis
Lesson 47: Right Application of Law
Lesson 48: The Path of Light
Lesson 49: The Value of Correspondences
Lesson 50: Zones of Color
Lesson 51: The Suicide of the Soul
Lesson 52: Astral Wreckage
Lesson 53: The Evolution of Will
Lesson 54: Karma — Action and Reaction
Lesson 55: The Symbol of the Serpent
Lesson 56: Creation in Unity and Trinity
Lesson 57: Initiation
Lesson 58: The Substance of God
Lesson 59: Transmutation
Lesson 60: Ideals of God
Lesson 61: The Camel’s Back
Lesson 62: The Murder of Ideals
Lesson 63: The Mountain Heights
Lesson 64: Let There Be Light
Lesson 65: Some of the Heroes of Life
Lesson 66: The Planes of Reflection
Lesson 67: Love of Ideals
Lesson 68: The Power of the Central Cell
Lesson 69: The Eternal Query
Lesson 70: God and Christ
Lesson 71: The Glory of the Lord
Lesson 72: The Revelation
Lesson 73: The Way
Lesson 74: The True Path
Lesson 75: The Mysteries
Lesson 76: Lest We Forget
Lesson 77: Value of Religious Instinct
Lesson 78: Sound Vibrations
Lesson 79: The Heresy of Separateness
Lesson 80: Chemical Action
Lesson 81: Speech in Music
Lesson 82: The Measure of Truth
Lesson 83: Action and Reaction of Forces
Lesson 84: Mothers of the Christ-Child
Lesson 85: Will and Law
Lesson 86: Law
Lesson 87: The Mystery Language
Lesson 88: Spiritual Heredity
Lesson 89: Character
Lesson 90: Misuse of Power
Lesson 91: The Overlapping of Cycles
Lesson 92: God and the Devil
Lesson 93: The Constructive Forces of The Temple of The People
Lesson 94: The Soul Redeemed
Lesson 95: To My Daughters
Lesson 96: The Holy Places
Lesson 97: The Occult Sciences
Lesson 98: Questions Answered by the Master
Lesson 99: The Middle Point
Lesson 100: Poison
Lesson 101: Color and Disease
Lesson 102: The Light from the Lodge
Lesson 103: His Coming
Lesson 104: The Coming Day
Lesson 105: My Brother’s Keeper
Lesson 106: The Minutiae of Life and Effects
Lesson 107: Stored-Up Memories
Lesson 108: The Great Temple
Lesson 109: Chemical and Alchemical Affinity
Lesson 110: Heredity
Lesson 111: The Human Race
Lesson 112: The Divine Spark
Lesson 113: Mental Healing
Lesson 114: The Lower Astral or Ka
Lesson 115: The Law of Primogeniture
Lesson 116: What Is Love?
Lesson 117: The Circuit of the Soul
Lesson 118: The Place of Power
Lesson 119: The Law of Opposites
Lesson 120: The Source of Evil
Lesson 121: Your Keynote
Lesson 122: The Phosphoric Plane
Lesson 123: The Responsibility of Leadership
Lesson 124: Determination of Sex
Lesson 125: White and Black Magic and Magicians
Lesson 126: Commentaries on Centralization
Lesson 127: Preparation for the Avatar
Lesson 128: The Wise Man
Lesson 129: Hands
Lesson 130: The Conservation of Lodge Force
Lesson 131: Devachan
Lesson 132: Sincerity
Lesson 133: Radical Action
Lesson 134: The Intermediate States of Consciousness and Man’s Relation Thereto
Lesson 135: Blood Sacrifice
Lesson 136: To Those Who Suffer
Lesson 137: Preparedness
Lesson 138: The Eternal Tragedy
Lesson 139: Cosmic Consciousness
Lesson 140: The Neutral Center
Lesson 141: Cosmic Pictures
Lesson 142: The Individual Soul
Lesson 143: Unity
Lesson 144: Only One Will
Lesson 145: Stimulants and Narcotics
Lesson 146: Soul Memory
Lesson 147: Thought Transference
Lesson 148: A Letter from the Master
Lesson 149: Self-Examination
Lesson 150: The Measure of a Man
Lesson 151: Multiple Planes of Being
Lesson 152: The Umbilicus
Lesson 153: Pledge Fever
Lesson 154: The Power of Light
Lesson 155: Inner Realms
Lesson 156: War
Lesson 157: The Windows of the Soul and the Fire Elementals
Lesson 158: Truth Versus Falsehood
Lesson 159: The Purpose of Life
Lesson 160: Righteousness
Lesson 161: Atonement
Lesson 162: Fresh Air
Lesson 163: Sound and Light
Lesson 164: The Cross of Balance
Lesson 165: Genius Versus Madness
Lesson 166: Lodge Agents
Lesson 167: Condensation and Diffusion of Matter
Lesson 168: The Law of Rhythm
Lesson 169: The Fourfold Wave Motion of Matter, Force, and Consciousness
Lesson 170: The Twelve Gates
Lesson 171: The Ætheric and the Etheric Screens
Lesson 172: Vibratory Changes
Lesson 173: Sex
Lesson 174: Peace on Earth
Lesson 175: The Higher Love
Lesson 176: Motion and Vibration
Lesson 177: The Multitude
Lesson 178: Imagination Versus Fancy
Lesson 179: Fire
Lesson 180: The Great Mystery
Lesson 181: The Gift of Healing
Lesson 182: Some Mysteries of Light
Lesson 183: Life Sparks
Lesson 184: No God
Lesson 185: Whom Will Ye Serve?
Lesson 186: Egoism Versus Egotism
Lesson 187: Dissonance
Lesson 188: War and Peace
Lesson 189: Universal Law
Lesson 190: Some Chief Causes for Failure in the Domain of Occultism
Lesson 191: Self-Deception
Lesson 192: His Line Hath Gone Out
Lesson 193: Why Waste Is an Evil
Lesson 194: As a Grain of Mustard Seed
Lesson 195: The Junction
Lesson 196: Self-Responsibility
Lesson 197: The Avatar
Lesson 198: The Number Seven
Lesson 199: Healing
Lesson 200: Liberty and License
Lesson 201: The Separation of the Sexes and the Modern Theory of Twin Souls
Lesson 202: The Vision
Lesson 203: The Third Cycle
Lesson 204: Magnetic Personalities
Lesson 205: The Betrayer
Lesson 206: The Great Question
Lesson 207: The Coming Avatar
Lesson 208: The Momentous Question
Lesson 209: Interrelation, Interpenetration, and Correlation of Matter
Lesson 210: The Yoke
Lesson 211: Power of Choice
Lesson 212: Undeveloped or Unused Centers of the Brain
Lesson 213: Automatic Revelations
Lesson 214: The Lords of Karma
Lesson 215: Karmic Adjustment
Lesson 216: The Witness of God
Lesson 217: The World’s Travail
Lesson 218: The Wave of Psychism
Lesson 219: The Curse of the World
Lesson 220: Crystallization
Lesson 221: The Karma of the Nations
Lesson 222: The Betrayal of the Christ
Lesson 223: The Basic Law
Lesson 224: Dangers of Mediumship
Lesson 225: The Seed of Life
Lesson 226: The Etheric Planes
Lesson 227: Religion
Lesson 228: Hero Worship
Lesson 229: Ruling Your Star
Lesson 230: A Supreme Being
Lesson 231: The Unknowable
Lesson 232: The Relationship Between Teacher and Chela
Lesson 233: Mundane Electricity
Lesson 234: Vibration — a Synopsis of Creation
Lesson 235: Recognition of Limitations
Lesson 236: Inner Robes of Light
Lesson 237: The Fifth Breath
Lesson 238: The Great Silence
Lesson 239: The Master’s Touch
Lesson 240: The Sixth Breath
Lesson 241: The Seventh Breath
Lesson 242: The Dual Power
Lesson 243: The Still Small Voice
Lesson 244: The Cause of Failure
Lesson 245: Cause and Effect
Lesson 246: The Curse of Mammon
Lesson 247: The White Brotherhood and Its Connection with the Temple
Lesson 248: The Ten Rules of Discipleship of the 4th Degree of the Great White Lodge
Lesson 249: My Father’s House Is a House of Prayer
Glossary
About the Author
Dedicated to Humanity
A Master
A Master is one who has become as a little child, who has entered the Eye of the Triangle in the Square within the Seven, and who, by sore travail of Soul, has won his Robe of Immortality, which Robe he must keep unspotted, not for fear of the spotting, but lest the mud thrown against that Robe rebound and strike the thrower.
H—Ф
MasterIn the Heart of God
Forget not that there are no little things. The hand outstretched when the need is great pulls hard on the heart-strings of him who is down, and the heart-strings of the fallen are fastened in the Heart of God.
H—Ф
Behold! I give unto thee a Key.
KeyPreface
The teachings contained in this volume were first given to the world through the pages of The Temple Artisan, a monthly publication and the official magazine of The Temple of the People, an organization having its headquarters and central activities at Halcyon, San Luis Obispo County, California.
This organization was called into being in 1898 at the behest and under the direction of the Master Hilarion, one of the Masters of the Great White Lodge¹ working to lift humanity to higher levels by a direct outpouring of force and teachings, fulfilling the need of the time as rapidly as humanity was able to receive and assimilate such teachings and higher vibrations.
As published in the magazine referred to, these lessons appeared under the head of Open Series
as distinguished from esoteric² teachings given to inner groups of students. In the present volume no attempt has been made to group the lessons under any definite classification, but they appear in the sequence in which they were given to the Temple by the Masters — in most instances, no doubt, being called forth by the law of supply and demand spiritually operating at the time. The lessons open up so many marvelous mines of spiritual richness and helpfulness that The Temple of the People sends out this work to the world in order that a more universal benefit may be derived from a wider dissemination of the same.
The Temple is a continuation of the work inaugurated by H. P. Blavatsky and is inspired and ensouled by the same great cosmical forces having their source in the Masters of the Great White Lodge who are ever guiding the evolution of worlds, races, and the affairs of men. While the Masters of the White Lodge are many, yet their work is one.
The Masters are those beings who, by sore travail of soul, by vast experience, suffering, and sacrifice, have advanced to a degree of evolution far beyond ordinary human beings.
Their consciousness is not limited to any one plane of life, as is the case with ordinary men and women. A Master is one who has conquered the limitations of matter, as that term is usually understood, and is able to function consciously and at will on more than one plane of being, according to the degree to which he has attained. In other words, a Master is one who has entered the Eye of the Triangle in the Square,³ and who henceforth functions in wider spheres of action, where he becomes and is a conscious factor, force, and agent in helping on the evolution of worlds and races.
The Masters are not Gods; they are men, and if necessity requires, they can work on the physical plane in a physical body. Their greater work is done, however, in their Nirmanakaya body,⁴ the robe of conscious immortality, which they have won through pain and sacrifice endured age upon age.
The Lodge of Masters is synthesized in the Central Spiritual Sun, which is composed of all the Masters of the Right-Hand Path.⁵ This Central Sun is interchangeable with the Christos who is the perfected Son (Sun) of Infinite Love.
At cyclic periods one or more Masters may seem to take a more particular direction of forces affecting the evolution and development of humanity, but this is because karmic and hierarchical law so ordain.
The Masters are, in a sense, the Higher Self of humanity and watch over, protect, and guide its unfoldment. They cannot interfere with Karmic law,⁶ but have the power, at crises, to hold back to some extent the action of accumulated karma that otherwise might destroy civilization or shatter the planet itself. But in the end every iota of Karmic law must be fulfilled. Devastating epidemics, great wars, destruction of cities in past or present times with their toll of death, the sudden breaking up and submergence of continents, as in the case of Atlantis,⁷ are instances of karmic forces operating on a large scale, and where such forces could be held back no longer by the administrators of nature’s laws, the Masters of Wisdom, lest a greater spiritual damage be done to the people of those cities, nations, or continents affected. Where spirituality and morality have departed beyond a certain measure, humanity can only be brought back to a recognition of its spiritual foundations by some great shock or series of shocks driving the personal consciousness inward to the eternal verities, to its inherent divinity, and so preventing a further descent into the lure and glitter of outer falsities and sense illusions.
We have been told by Those Who Know
that it is not an uncommon occurrence for a planet to be riven into fragments by retributive forces when the inhabitants of some world have misused high spiritual powers persistently, thus accumulating an excess of destructive forces, outweighing the balance of constructive energies and finally culminating in the destruction of the planet itself. In our solar system we have evidence of such a happening. Astronomers had noted the wide gap between Mars and Jupiter in which no planet was found, and for years they looked in vain to find a body that ought to be there. Finally over two hundred asteroids were discovered. These are very small planets, some of them not over twenty-five miles in diameter, moving very close one to another all in the same direction between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, as would be the case if they were shattered fragments of a once large planet.
A similar fate threatened our own world in 1899; but it was saved at that time by many Masters of high degree and power assembling from other planets at certain zones on and in the earth centers and holding the balance for the time being. The Dark Star⁸ was saved for the time, but for how long? Who can tell? Since that time there has been a great advance in scientific knowledge, invention, and attainments, and we are harnessing nature’s finer forces more and more to our personal and commercial uses and pleasures. But these forces are forces of Life Itself — rays of Deific Energy from the very Heart of God and of Nature, and unless rightly used in the spirit of unselfish service and for the good of all, there is bound to be a reaction, due to the inversion of divine qualities, with terrible consequences to humanity, endangering the very existence of the planet itself upon which we live. Like unto a brotherhood of worlds in the celestial spaces, so must there be a Brotherhood of Nations on the earth and a true spirit of Universal Brotherhood without distinction of race, age, color, or creed among all the peoples of this earth, in order that such a cosmical catastrophe may be averted.
The teachings given out in this volume are ensouled by very high spiritual forces — the forces from the Lodge of Light itself — and in sending these teachings into the world the Temple will radiate into the hearts of the people a light and an influence that must powerfully promote the ideal of the Brotherhood of Man. Because of the great inner Light and Love back of these teachings, every person who loves his fellow men and who opens his or her mind in attunement to the fundamental truth contained in this volume will inevitably receive an uplift in consciousness and a help that will be entirely independent of the teachings themselves. He will receive the touch of Infinite Love and Compassion from the Master’s hands, warming the heart of every true and earnest seeker for light and giving greater opportunity to help the world. The cosmic lilt of Life Itself may then be heard by the inner ears once more attuned to the initiating sounds of primal Consciousness, that Consciousness which is divine and reveals the concealed unity of the One in All and All in One.
The Temple of the People
[Guardian-in-Chief]
Halcyon, California
January 1925
To My Beloved⁹
Arouse ye! Arouse ye! Children of the New Covenant. Why stand ye in the public places idle throughout the busy day? The War of the Ages is upon thee — the strife between the Sons of Universal Light and the Brothers of the Shadow. The long list of the Sons of Betrayal, the Judas power of the accumulated ages, hath its arms about thy neck and is pressing upon thy cheek the kiss that bringeth crucifixion. Awake, thou that sleepest! And the Logos¹⁰ shall shine upon thee. The Christ in thine own soul whispers: Be of good courage, I have overcome the world.
¹¹
The days of preparation are upon thee. Gird on that armor of Righteousness which is the Heritage of every Son of the Living God, and strike for the freedom of the races of the earth from the clutch of the beast, the embodied Mammon¹² who now holdeth in subjection the Children of Man.
Think ye that no protest rises to the seventh heaven from the murdered Abels¹³ of the long past ages? Think ye the Law hath lost its power because its judgments tarry long? Become one with the Law. Enter thou the Holy of Holies with unsandaled feet and uncovered head, that the Forces of Love, Law, and Life may flow unobstructed through the Stone of Sacrifice upon which thou standest, and the return wave bear to thee the spiritual essence that shall make thee free. In freedom lies thy strength. The Sword of the Spirit shall be thy reward, and He whom thou lovest shall lead thee to living waters, for He is the Warrior of Light, the Unconquerable, for whom the hour shall never strike. He is thine own true Self; and when thy shadows flee away, thou shalt behold the King in His Beauty and Holiness.
Temple Aphorisms
Days come and days go, but if thou watchest thou shalt see:
The load thou hast laid on the heart of a friend will God transfer to thine own heart; heavy as it presses on the heart of thy friend, heavier will it press on thine own heart in the days to come.
The stone thou hast cast from the path of the blind will smite the adder lying in wait for thee.
The weight thou hast clamped on the feet of another will drag thine own feet into Hadean¹⁴ desolation.
The shelter thou hast given the wayfarer will protect thee from the fiercest of life’s storms.
The jewel thou hast stolen from the strong-box of another will burn and torture the breast wherein it is hid.
The bread thou hast given the hungry holds the substance of many loaves for thee.
The lie whereby thou hast gained an end will eat out thine own vitals.
The tears thou drawest from others’ eyes will mark deep furrows down thine own face.
The shoe-latch thou hast fastened for the halt and lame will bind the hands of thine enemies.
The fire thou dost feed to scorch another will consume thee in its flames.
The law of right can never be thwarted long.
That which thou hast sown, that shalt thou gather, whether it be in joy or sorrow, pain or peace.
Thou mayest plan the hour of planting — the hour of gathering must needs be struck by the hand of God.
I have said.
A Few Qualifications
(Without which no man can save his soul — alive)
1. The ability to stand upright and look squarely at the sun, while the shadows are engulfing everything upon which he has leaned, and yet to know that, illusory though they are, it has been by the means of such supports that he has gained the power to stand upright.
2. The ability to forgive and forget his real or fancied grievances with the same degree of forgiveness and forgetfulness that he desires for himself from his own Higher Self.
3. The ability to examine his own life by means of the same light that he throws upon the life of another.
4. The ability to mete out to himself the same just punishment for his offenses that he would wish to see meted out to any other human being.
5. The ability to shed his last drop of blood to sustain his given word, believing nothing less could wipe out the dishonor of a willful lie.
6. The ability to pour out his soul in streams upon his beloved, and yet, when the streams are treacherously turned aside, to gather up the scattered drops and hold them in leash against the need of some other soul.
To those who would enter the Temple of Mysteries as disciples, I would say, there are seven requisites: freedom from prejudice; and from thralldom; devotion to the principles; charity towards all; removal of stumbling blocks from the path of lesser disciples; earnest cooperation; burial of past mistakes.
From the Place of Silence
To you — comes the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
Are you to be found among the sorely disappointed, heart-hungry souls who have long been seeking in vain for the realization of some high ideal? Those who have been growing more and more dissatisfied with what life seems to offer and feel appalled at the apparent inadequacy of the present methods of Church or religious organization, science, art, or social conditions to satisfy the ever-increasing craving of your soul for something, you know not what, something to which you can give no name?
Do you believe that you could satisfy that hunger of the soul or still the unrest which is now driving you on as with a whiplash into everything that seems to promise a change, if you might accomplish the realization of some personal ambition, the gratification of passion, or the upheaval of home, family, or business associations? If you hold such a feeling, you may be on the verge of making forever impossible the satisfaction of that hunger, the stilling of that unrest.
Perhaps you are trying to solve life’s deepest mysteries from the standpoint of their effects instead of from that of their causes. It never yet has been done by man. You cannot so flout and disgrace your Creator as to believe that the all-powerful, sacred and beneficent laws of universal life could bring you to your present stage of evolution and then leave you at that imperfect stage with no means by which you could carry out their decrees. Those decrees point to self-conscious attainment of the ideals which those laws have formed in your nature. Realization of present limitations may be the cause of your deep dissatisfaction with all that which seems to promise so much only to leave you more discouraged after each effort toward attainment. Yet those efforts have been gradually bringing you to the point where it is possible for you to perceive the one all-important necessity for your next step, when it is presented to you rightly.
All prophecy, all revelation, even the revelations of your own higher nature, have taught that there was just one Being or one Attribute which was capable of leading to or teaching you the way to all attainment. Have you ever asked yourself how you were going to recognize that Being or Attribute when it came on the scene of action?
The predictions and prophecies of the holiest, most self-sacrificing souls of all time; all science and invention; even the very stars in heaven, as well as the sun that is now entering the sign of the Water-Bearer, all prefigure the second coming of the Son of Man and the servant of the people, and the period of his coming.
Deep unrest, widespread rebellion, passionate demands for freedom in all walks of life, all proclaim the same tidings; for without the latter the former would be inadequate. One demands and the other supplies the necessary information. The before-mentioned prophecies and revelations also predict or indicate the evolving of peculiar children,
in whom the long-atrophied psychic senses of the race will be again aroused, and through whom many of the long-hidden mysteries of life will be unsealed. As has also been foretold, many false teachers are appearing who if it were possible would deceive even the elect,
¹⁵ the prepared. Therefore, we, who bring the message that has been sent to you, can only leave it to your own soul to decide the authenticity of the Message and its application.
Thirty-five years ago there came a call from the long waiting Seers of past ages, to a body that had been many, many years in process of preparation, to go out into the world and make ready a still larger body for the receipt and dispersion of vast revelations. Ten years ago there came another call from the same Seers, to the faithful of the first body; to stand ready to deliver to the world the message they brought and assist the people who would accept that message to recognize the Messenger when he comes. Within the last year that message has been deciphered and has been prematurely delivered by some whose inner ears were partially opened, and who, therefore, caught some portions of it when it was first delivered to its custodians.
We who send the full message to you were of the first and second bodies before mentioned. We do not claim for ourselves anything that you may not have if you will fulfill the necessary conditions. We only ask you now to review your own past spiritual experiences, the instructions or interpretings of your own pastors or teachers, the revealings of your own higher selves as to the necessity, probability, and possibility of a return to earth of the Great Soul called Jesus of Nazareth, according to his own prophecy; and also, ask what is the possibility of your recognizing him or any other Great Soul with no more knowledge of the nature or substance of the soul or body in which he must come than the average person possesses? When one realizes that he would not be able to recognize his own father or mother without previous association and mutual experiences, the difficulty in the way of the recognition of a Savior or Avatar,¹⁶ without adequate preparation, is obvious.
Not all the paraphernalia of the heavenly spheres, the sound of trumpet or voice of angel would prove the identity of such an one, for we are told the satanic emissaries could make use of similar means. Something must be done to or within us individually to make such recognition possible and, according to the words of the message we bring to you, it is quite possible to make such preparation for the coming Christ, and to make it first in our own hearts.
Do not let anyone persuade you that you must sever your connection with your own church, your own family, your own people in order to make such preparation. It is the whole world and all the people of that world that the Christ desires to gain for the kingdom of God, not merely a fraction of it. Turn to and help to carry the message into all corners of the world and so prepare yourself for recognition of the man of the hour,
for in the carrying mayhap your own eyes and ears will be unsealed.
Francia A. La Due
William H. Dower
The Message
Hearken, ye children of the New Dispensation! The time is near at hand when He who is to come will reappear among men for the unification of the races of the earth. Open your eyes that they may see. Open your ears that they may hear. And open your hearts that the Son of Man may have place to lay his head, lest he pass you by and ye know him not.
H—Ф
Lesson 1
Manifestation of Substance — Matter
The Instruction I am about to give you is of infinite importance, and I shall endeavor to render it as simple as possible, in the hope that it will be understood by those students whose opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge have been limited. Upon a complete understanding of this subject depends the full comprehension of many previous Instructions, as well as others that will follow.
The visible Universe as a whole, as well as each constituent or organic part of the same, whether it be sun, planet, man, or molecule, is primarily brought into manifestation on the physical plane, as Substance or Matter, from the inner or Spiritual plane of Life, by the energizing, through will (Fohatic)¹⁷ power, of the potential forces contained or confined in certain colors manifesting through a great age or Kalpa¹⁸ in the sphere of Mind. These colors are of a much higher order than their reflections, the colors of the physical plane. When a new life cycle of manifestation begins for any separated or individualized portion of the Universal Whole, it first appears as a rapidly vibrating mass of scintillating colors, which, from a definite point in Etheric Space, spread outward into physical space (so termed), by means of a circular mode of motion, in a spiral. The diameter of the last outward sweep of the spiral would be determined by the amount of expansive energy imparted to the mass by the initial impulse. When this energy reaches its extremity of power in the last spiral sweep, a neutral center is in process of creation by means of the contact and interaction of the negative forces of contraction peculiar to the physical plane, with those induced by the action of spiritual or positive energy, before mentioned. This neutral center, which, in the creation of a world, becomes the equatorial belt, manifests in the human and animal kingdoms as the solar plexus.
From the center, the spiral of color decreases in exact ratio to another point, resulting in the formation of a rapidly revolving globe of color, partially flattened at each pole, and hollow so far as physical substance is concerned; but in reality containing all the potencies, as well as the skandhas¹⁹ — the stored up good and evil tendencies of preceding manifestations of the incarnating Ego,²⁰ or entity — and the latent forces which will bring effects into action as causes of subsequent effects, at the right time and in the right place, as determined by the law of Karma. In this globe also resides the alchemical power transmuting physical substance into spiritual energy, and vice versa, as food is transmuted by the powers of digestion and assimilation into flesh and blood, and finally into physical energy. If this spiral globe of color could be seen by physical eyes at the beginning of an era of manifestation, it would seem to enclose a certain portion of clear space. On the highest Spiritual plane all lines of demarcation would disappear, and it would be indistinguishable, as far as form is concerned, from all the great ocean of Ether, the storehouse of all energies and potencies; but on the higher astral,²¹ the plane of soul, it would be visible to spiritual eyes as an individualized Entity — call it Angel, or Deva-God, whichever you like — so far transcending in beauty, glory and power any description ever given by human tongue or pen, that it is useless to attempt to convey any impression of it to the human mind; it must be seen and recognized to be understood. It belongs to the army of archangels which surround the Throne of God, situated in the hearts of every one of that vast throng, and which exists potentially in the heart of every human being. For illustration, take a piece of paper; consider one side of it as the Spiritual, the other side as the physical plane. Separate one single point, among many others, of white light on the Spiritual plane (or side) of the paper; then imagine a flash of Light, or Creative Energy, darting from some other point and impinging upon, thus imparting a more rapid vibration, or another mode of motion to the point under consideration. This mode of motion (Fohatic energy) imparting a forward movement, would drive the substance contained in the point, through the piece of paper (the fiber of which would correspond to the astral, or middle plane) to the other side (the physical plane) and then proceed to form, by the process of spiral movement referred to above, a complete globe of color from the point of its appearance on the physical plane as represented on the paper. There are always forty-eight spiral rings on either side of the middle, or equatorial line, the latter being the forty-ninth from either end. This spiral sheath of color encloses the substance on the plane of action in and through which the energy which passes into it from the first point of manifestation will work in conjunction with the forces of color, for the creation of an individualized life, whether it be a cell, man or world. The auric correspondence to this hollow globe obtains throughout a whole era of individualized manifestation, however long or short that may be, as its particular sphere of creative energy, as does also the globe of color which constitutes the aura²² of each cell, man, or world. In the materialization of a world there gradually forms, just within the globe of color (as the result of interaction of interior and exterior forces), first, a rapidly revolving sphere of heat and subsequently, moisture. In the creation of a world the power of attraction, which the combined energy and force hold within its mass, draws to this moisture the Cosmic dust which is floating in space. For long ages of time, great quantities of dust and falling masses from other worlds, in the form of meteors, etc., intercepted by or attracted to it, gradually transform this (so to speak) lining of the color globe into the crust of such a world as the one you are now living upon. But innumerable Kalpas before this occurred, the substance with which the spiritual energy manifesting in the point was clothed, had passed through many phases of existence from a molecule to a God. And the Spiritual Entity, or World-Builder, visibly represented by that point of Light, has voluntarily and intelligently assumed the labor, responsibility and sacrifice of creating from its own substance, a world in which other manifesting entities of lower orders may gain the necessary physical experience to fit them also in time for spiritual existence as Angels or Gods. A corresponding process to the one outlined above occurs in the birth of every child or animal on the physical plane. The creative emanation of the male contains a definite portion of the substance generated on the Spiritual plane by the interaction of masculine and feminine forces as previously explained between the two points of light, or the creative fires; and the product, by contact and interaction with the ovum or egg budded from the ovaries of the female sex, results in impregnation. A certain residue is used by Nature in the formation of a state of matter comparable to the inner lining of the spiral globe of color, within which gestation is accomplished. The uterus, or outer covering, corresponds to the color globe, but is not the globe; for the uterus, as well as every other organic structure, has its own peculiar spiral globe of color or aura.
Despite innumerable explanations and descriptions of the planes of manifestation, students are continually misinterpreting terms and location. The diagram shown below will aid in many ways. First of all, however, you must charge your mind with the fact that there is in reality no high nor low, no hard nor fast lines; that all manifestation is from within outward; that all planes penetrate and interpenetrate each other.
Figure 1
Diagram of the Planes
Diagram of the PlanesThe dot on the top indicates the Unmanifested, the Absolute, the positive potencies. The one at the bottom indicates the negative of the above — the reservoir in which had been generated and from which had been projected into space, all potential energies belonging to the physical plane, and into which would be cast all manifested matter that had fulfilled its mission; as well as all of nature’s abortions and seeming abnormal conditions, to be in some future age energized again by the positive forces of life, and so given another opportunity. It is also known as Chaos.
Each horizontal line in the diagram indicates the positive and negative aspects of some plane or sphere of consciousness; that part of each line to the right of the center representing the positive pole, that to the left, the negative. The line through the center indicates interaction of Spirit and Matter.
This diagram must not be confounded with others which illustrate the same truths, or the different planes or forces. In a certain sense this stands alone.
Lesson 2
States of Consciousness
Many wrong and much-to-be-regretted conceptions regarding existence after dissolution of the physical body exist among members of the Temple.
So much emphasis has been placed upon the reincarnation of the Ego upon earth, that the truth concerning the intermediate states between embodiments has suffered by comparison; and rejection of the fact of reincarnation, in many instances, has resulted from inability to comprehend the conditions upon which the soul enters after leaving the body; for the ingrained belief of a conscious existence after death is inseparable from many religions, especially from that of the Christian.
In one sense it was peculiarly necessary that the doctrine of reincarnation or rebirth in a physical body, should be emphasized more particularly, when H.P.B.²³ undertook her great work, in order to strike a just balance; for devotees of certain religious sects have zealously inculcated the belief that life on the physical plane is unendurable — a vale of tears
and of anguish, to be avoided and abhorred — instead of a field for growth, to be cultivated and raised to perfection. A constant stream of antagonistic thought arising from the minds of multitudes of mistaken human beings, contacting and lowering the vibrations of Nature’s purer evolutionary energy, could result in nothing but a depression of the mental sphere of the earth — making evolution more and more difficult for those who through the action of Karmic law must return here in order to work out some unsolved problem.
The unhappy use of a word and simile is frequently responsible for a whole train of false doctrines, and after results in the public presentation of an important philosophical truth disguised beyond recognition by its original expounders. The word illusion
used by Eastern mystics and theosophists, in reference to life in the devachanic²⁴ (Heavenly) state is such an instance. Although by some teachers the term has been qualified or made all-inclusive by applying it to life on all other planes as well, yet the true idea veiled by the word has not been sufficiently emphasized.
Beyond all controversy there is but one Reality in every sense of the word, whether we name it the Absolute, Eternal Spirit, or God; all else is illusion
from that higher standpoint, because all else is reflection or manifestation of one or more attributes of God or the Absolute. Matter is illusion
only from a cosmic point of view; and as Matter in some form manifests in all states of Life, it follows that Life in Devachan or Heaven is as real to the spiritual senses as is Life on earth to the physical senses; and in fact far more real, for the spiritual senses are more delicate, refined, and of infinitely greater power than the physical. Death, like sleep, is Nature’s great restorer
and must inevitably give back to man the realization of all his higher Ideals. If man is without high ideals, utterly hardened, and faithless of all good, the Heavenly Life can hold nothing for him — consequently, he can have no conscious existence on that plane; there can only remain consciousness of the Eighth Plane or Sphere.²⁵
One great difficulty met with by students lies in trying to reconcile certain statements made by occultists²⁶ which seem to be absolutely opposed to each other, without the use of the Triple Key
of Matter, Force, and Consciousness; for by the use of this Key
alone, can any one particular state or phase of Life be interpreted. If the Key of Consciousness is used, the subject must be treated from point of consciousness — simply one form of consciousness functioning in another form of the same power. The same rule holds good using the Key of Force or of Matter. It is simply impossible to investigate the plane of Astral matter with physical eyes; astral sight is absolutely necessary; and this is latent in every human being.
There is not a cubit’s width of void space in the Universe. The ocean of Æther, the self-luminous imponderable substance which fills and molds all space, is, in a sense, the shield or garment of the Infinite. It is also a double reflector: from within it reflects The Infinite; from without it reflects every atom of matter on the manifested planes. Consequently, it is the great Illusion
in which, while in manifestation, we live and move and have our being.
²⁷ Among its other attributes, the consciousness, or soul, has the power of penetrating the Æther, and when freed from the physical body, is only limited as to space by its will; so it may seek its own Heaven at its own desire, when freed from the astral body,²⁸ which, after the dissolution of the physical form, remains for a time in the Astral Light,²⁹ one of the sheaths of Æther, and from which the original idea of purgatory
arose.
The subject is too vast to be well considered in a short article, but it is important that an effort be made to change existing opinions.
Lesson 3
Power of Affirmation
It seldom occurs to the advocates of modern Mental Science that the exercise of the affirmative power as taught by some of their number, may result disastrously to themselves as well as to such innocent and ignorant pupils as are not content with natural evolutionary methods for the awakening and satisfying of desire and ambition. The quiet, unostentatious movements of the slower processes of normal growth are a weariness to the flesh
;³⁰ consequently, many are on the qui vive³¹ for something new — something that shall stimulate more rapidly the development of their psychic centers.
Unquestionably, the power of affirmation is almost illimitable when rightly used; but it is similar to the power of the double-edged sword in the hands of an irresponsible person; for the opposite pole, the power of denial, must manifest simultaneously with that of affirmation; and unless the former can be controlled, the latter may be overruled. Only a few are capable of exercising this control, because of the peculiar existent conditions of the present cycle, and the unlawful purposes to which spiritual power has been prostituted. For example, the use of the words I am,
preceding some expressed desire, or statement relating to possession or control of some form of matter, as for instance, I am power,
or I am wealth,
may possibly, under right conditions, bring into action certain latent inner forces or elementals,³² which may serve to bring about a realization of the expressed desire; but, as before intimated, such a positive affirmation invariably awakens the negative aspect of the particular force affirmed, and unless the operator be a trained occultist, perfectly competent to control all force and matter of lower vibrations than those which govern his individual existence, the negative aspect of the force invoked, in striving for equilibrium, may cause him to lose control of the force affirmed. This is one illustration of the eternal war between matter and spirit.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things,
³³ and the power of overcoming is the power to control matter, the negative aspect of the eternal positive. Instances are rare indeed where the ordinary 19th-century man is able consciously to separate the Ego from the physical body and to realize the process of merging his personal consciousness with that of the Absolute; and he must be able to stand on this altitude ere it is safe or prudent to call into action the unified forces of the I am
and direct them toward the accomplishment of a personal desire, however high that desire seems to be; for, sad to say, a pure and undefiled desire is almost an impossibility in this age and among present races, for the element of self enters too largely into every consideration. Only the Masters of the Highest Degrees can accomplish such a herculean task, and even they but relatively. While the individual consciousness is passing through the different planes or states of consciousness, it is subject to the pairs of opposites,
and it cannot awaken any positive phase of its lower nature without awakening the negative also; and it must succeed in striking a balance, in gaining a neutral position on each plane or phase of life, before it can reach a point of safety or of power upon that plane or within that phase or state.
If, by the exercise of the power of affirmation, a man has succeeded in drawing to himself (for the power of affirmation is also the power of attraction) a large share of the wealth of the world, the positive forces aroused by the amassing of that wealth will bring into action the opposing or negative forces, and these will take from him something in his nature which is exactly an equivalent to the wealth he has secured; something in manifestation either on the inner or the outer planes of his life. It may be honor, intellect, health, sight, or hearing — but whatever its nature, the balance will be struck exactly, for natural law cannot swerve from exact justice. If one wins wealth, fame, or any other so-called treasure by the method which natural evolutionary law will teach him, that is, by labor, the same forces manifest, but in a far less dangerous manner; for they manifest normally. The same fight occurs, but his foes are far less powerful, and he is more capable of understanding their methods of warfare and of arming himself against them.
But few appreciate the real power contained in the sentence: Thy Will be done.
³⁴ It embodies one of the deepest occult mysteries; for Will in this case is identical with Law. An act of Infinite Will sets in motion a natural law which must eventually bring about the thing willed.
When an occultist has reached an advanced stage of mastery, an effort of his will connects his individual power with the power of the Infinite — which must bring about the accomplishment of the desire behind the act of will. He could not will to perform an action out of harmony with the Divine Will. And the fact that he has willed the performance of some act is sufficient to show that he has been acted upon by the Divine Will to serve as an intermediary or converter of the Divine Will to lower forms of force and matter, upon which the Divine potency could not act without danger to the particular grade of matter acted upon, because of the higher vibration of the substance of Divine Will. This is the real secret of all evidences of will power shown by Masters.
The use of the expression quoted above by Jesus at the crucifixion, would go far to substantiate His claim that He and the Father were One, were there no other evidence. The same expression has been used for thousands of years at a certain point in a great Initiation and the result is similar in all instances; that is, it precedes a form of crucifixion.
As powerful as is the action of Will, there is another form of force with which you are all more or less familiar which is equally great, but which has been slighted or neglected in modern occultism. This force is expressed by the word gratitude.
We will keep the familiar word because it will be easier for you to remember.
In striving to set aside a personal God, many attributes which were supposed to be especially connected with such a God, but which are in reality most potent Universal Forces, have been ignored or forgotten. This particular force is closely allied to the law of supply and demand — the demand being the positive aspect of the great law of assimilation, the negative of which is the law of supply. Without the outpouring or setting free of this force of gratitude — thankfulness — on the accomplishment of an act of will, it is impossible for that act to be fully consummated. It may seem to be so to your limited understanding, but could you see interiorly on the plane of forces, you would learn that just according to the degree of your ingratitude, just so would the real consummation of the act remain unmanifested or the results be nullified by some unexpected turn of the wheel of life.
Someone might ask — who or what are we to thank? In answer, simply turn your thoughts inward to Omnipotent Love, and cultivate the will and the desire for awakening this force within yourself which, when cultivated, will flow forth as naturally as does desire for the accomplishment of wish or purpose.
The occult meaning of the sentence, Thy Will be done,
may be summed up in the word Indifference
as used by learned mystics, and one great cause of danger in the exercise of the power of affirmation referred to above lies in the elimination of this principle, and the putting in its place the most intense desire. While the higher or positive side of the desire principle is good, the lower or animal side is evil, and the lower desire elementals are the class that surround and drag down the neophyte³⁵ or student who has ignorantly or carelessly invaded their sphere, and who has prematurely awakened the corresponding good elementals of the higher side of desire by forcing them into action; therefore, it is plain that until one has become perfectly indifferent
in the true sense of the word, and can say from his heart Thy Will be done,
he should be cautious about awakening that Will. Far be it from me to attempt to minimize or deny any power or attribute belonging to the Absolute. The one thing which I am constantly pleading for with you is a natural life.
The individual life of each of you should grow and expand naturally, and so reach fruition without spot or blemish, instead of being distorted by deformity and imperfection. If there were but one life to be lived — if men were never again to be capable of experiencing joy or pain, the present mad rush for the gratification of desire would seem more reasonable; but when one comes to realize that by the premature attainment of any special desire, he must eventually relinquish not only that, but all others of a like nature, he will, to say the least, believe it to be a matter of poor policy to risk so much. When man reaches the understanding and realization of the impossibility of gaining something valuable by means of something valueless, and that the law — by the sweat of thy brow shall thy bread be earned,
³⁶ is irrevocable and immutable, and in action on all planes of life — and is capable of using this knowledge in all that concerns his daily life, he will have at last succeeded in placing the entering wedge into the mass of all power. And the ability safely to use his developing faculties to acquire absolute control over higher forms of matter will follow, as surely as day follows night.
The expression, by the sweat of thy brow,
is symbolic as well as literal, and means — by the use and control of the heat centers of the inner sheaths or bodies, for such correspond to the positive spiritual potencies.
The labor which causes sweat corresponds to the travail of soul which yields the water of affliction. The positive energy of Spirit or Fire yields the negative of Spirit which is the Water of Life or Purification.
Lesson 4
Qualifications for Chelaship
Despite the instructions given so freely, and the manifest allusions in sacred and profane writ, backed by all the evidence the physical senses are capable of cognizing and comprehending in regard to mental and spiritual qualifications for chela-³⁷ or discipleship, in nine cases out of ten, man still persists in looking for those qualifications almost entirely in the physical man; his environment, occupation, intellectual pursuits, etc. You read — the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God
;³⁸ recognize and acquiesce in the unmistakable truth of the statement; then serenely uphold that wisdom of the world by your actions the first time you are called upon to make a decision between that and the Wisdom of God as expounded by those to whom advanced evolution has given the highest power of discrimination.
At the risk of rendering myself misunderstood, my words open to grave misconstruction, I must once more strive to clarify this subject.
If it were not so pitiable, it would often be amusing to us, to witness the list of qualifications, mental and physical, including all things from physical culture, scientific attainment, moral uprightness, up to supposed seership, that are frequently held up to us as a basis for demanded spiritual enlightenment. Understand me — I am by no means underestimating any one of these great cultivated attainments; all are necessary, but they are only necessary as an antaskarana³⁹ or bridge between the lower grades of matter and Spirit; they have nothing whatever to do with spiritual enlightenment or attaining to the use of inner senses. They may or may not be a means to that end, according to the use made of them.
It is frequently stated and often contemptuously by the worldly wise that the Masters never could use such and such a person, for he has been guilty of this, that, or some other great crime against society; therefore, he is not capable of use by the pure and holy. To say nothing about the unqualified fact that were this true, no single individual in the world could ever be used in such a capacity — for all are equally guilty, it being a mere matter of different incarnations — the truth remains that it is only those who through spiritual enlightenment have been brought to a point where they can calmly behold in themselves the heights and depths of life that are capable of chelaship; and it matters not whether they have reached this point in this or another incarnation, each human being must be able sometime to stand where two roads meet and look backward and forward intelligently. And it is here that the true occultism of repentance for sin as put forth in the Gospels appears in part. For until one has beheld and trembled at the hideousness of one pole of Universal life, he is unable to see the other, for he must learn by comparison, by correspondence; and all possibility of spiritual attainment finally resolves itself into one word — Love. Love of evil or darkness — dead, buried, resurrected, and transfigured — becomes Love of God or Good, Love of humanity, selflessness.
There is no room for self-love in the consciousness of one who has attained to a knowledge of past incarnations unless pride in his victory over the limitations that have hitherto hampered his development arises and awakens latent ambition, or vice-versa; for ambition awakens pride. But when, instead of either, true humility is born of the sore travail of the soul, that soul becomes a power for good in the hands of the great Master that it is incapable of reaching by any human means.
We who believe in the perfect operation of Karmic law cannot conceive of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus as being due to anything but corresponding evil in some physical manifestation of the Ego which incarnated as Jesus; but this does not affect the statement that He died for the sins of the world, for the sins of the world were His sins in a double sense that will be explained more fully when we take up the study of the New Testament from an occult standpoint.
The fact that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene who stands even today as the epitome of all evil in woman, when his resurrection was completed, should teach those who presume to call themselves Christians the truth regarding this subject.
A true occultist is never at a loss to reconcile that statement with what he knows to be the requisite purity of body and mind for an accepted chela. Mary the mother stands for ignorant or passive purity — that state of purity that knows no temptation; Mary the Magdalene for conscious and active purity; two poles of one great attribute.
What I have here stated must not be taken as advocacy of that great heresy that the end justifies the means, or that one may do evil with the expectation of having good follow; for conscious evil can never bring forth good — the two are as far apart as the antipodes. What we understand as ignorant evil, sincerely repented of and atoned for, awakens the opposite pole by means of the forces brought into action