Each of the world's greatest religious founders, those who left to mankind a spiritual heritage, a system, doctrines, or a code of living by which man could commune with the God within, was a beacon of Divine Light in a dark and saddened world of humanity. Their lives were shining examples of the truths they expounded. The reason bitterness oftentimes exists between the present-day exponents of these great religious movements is that they in their own lives and conduct do not, as their predecessors did, exemplify their religious principles.
It is intriguing and inspiring to read The Story of Light, the beginning and evolution of the great religious movements, the construction of broad roads upon which man hopes to reach a closer understanding of his God. It is most befitting that with each initiation intended to evolve your consciousness you be given a brief biography of these religious founders, these eminent personages.
Mary Baker Eddy
Almost every fairly well-read individual has a general comprehension of the principles of Christian Science. The facts of the life of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, are not so well known, however, and have been greatly distorted due to the continual literary clash of biographies of her life written by her ardent admirers and followers on the one hand and her severe critics on the other. The general and well-established facts are as follows: She was born in 1821 in Bow, New Hampshire, was one of six children, and named Mary for her grandmother. She was of delicate health and her parents were very solicitous of her welfare. This tended to develop self-interest. Early in life she manifested a love of poetry and literature generally. At eight years of age, she declares in her own biography, a voice called to her continuously. Her parents, who were of an extremely religious disposition, became alarmed. They told her to declare as Samuel had done. "Speak, Lord, for Thy Servant heareth." She is said to have done this and the voice no longer troubled her. She disliked the limitations of the county school which she attended and preferred the tutoring of her brother during his summer vacations from college.
In 1843 she married George Washington Glover, contractor and builder, who took her to North Carolina. She became very distraught about the slaves which he owned and which he refused to liberate. She became afflicted with a spinal weakness and to occupy herself took to literary pursuits.
In 1853 she married Dr. Patterson. Dr. Patterson became greatly interested in the claims and fame of one Dr. Phineas P. Quimby of Portland, Maine, who declared he had a method of curing the ill by "correcting their errors" and also stating that "the truth is the cure." Eventually, after overriding family objections, Mrs. Patterson went to Portland, Maine, for personal treatment by Dr. Quimby. He is said to have rubbed her head with a series of gentle strokes and at the same time told her to free her mind of the thought of illness for it was but an error of thought, and presently, through a hypnotic condition, the pain for the first time fell from her. It is declared by many that Quimby's method was incorporated with slight changes into Christian Science, the addition by her being merely the religious version. Quimby's work entitled, Questions and Answers, written before Mrs. Eddy's book entitled, Science and Health, is similar, it is said, in many respects. The first edition of her book was published in 1875.
On February 1, 1866, she fell on an icy pavement in Lynn, Massachusetts, and for some time was confined in bed until, it is related, she heard from the heavens "Daughter, arise," and astounded her family by walking into their presence apparently without any ill effects.
She associated with a number of spiritualists though her followers denied that this affected her thought in any manner. On January 1, 1877, she married Asa G. Eddy. She later established the Boston Metaphysical College and made herself president. Her husband was stricken with heart disease and she engaged a Dr. Noyes, a medical physician, who attended him and this resulted in much criticism of her. Her husband died, due, technically, to a valvular heart condition; she declared later, however, it was due to malicious animal magnetism, a superstition which affected her writings and her practices and which is equivalent to the belief in black magic. She was in constant fear of it, believing it was even possible for enemies to affect her through that means.
Christian Science, according to Mrs. Eddy, is the revelation of the true interpretation of the Christian Bible. She fortified herself by using the established Bible in her new religion and implying that Jesus Christ sanctioned her method and interpretation. She adopted excellent business methods and sold thousands of copies of the book, Science and Health, at $3 a copy, it being the first Bible to contain an appendix of testimonials. She declared, in justification for the price asked, "We respect what we pay for." There is no doubt but what her religious philosophy has been a tremendous influence for good, especially since it has converted minds from orthodox religious concepts to the thought that good can be accomplished by the power of mind. Unfortunately, Christian Science has itself become as orthodox as that which preceded it.
Fratres and Sorores, Greetings!
As you no doubt realize, SEVEN is a mystical number and has a mystical significance. You now enter the Mystical Seventh Degree. You will find in it a radical departure from the material studies, the physical in man. You enter the sphere of the psychic. The Seventh Degree derives its appellation mystical from the fact that we concern ourselves with true mysticism and contact with God through the soul and mind of man. It is indeed fortunate that you are privileged now to receive this illuminating and beautiful Seventh Degree Initiation, so long denied the Home Sanctum student, because of the difficulty of individual performance. You are required to secure a few incidental things before conducting the ceremony; therefore, carefully read these instructions preceding the actual ritual. If you fail to secure these things in advance, you will not be able to carry out a successful Initiation, the most appropriate effects will be lost to you, and the Initiation will be words devoid of action and feeling.
DIAGRAM:
Here you will find the usual diagram indicating the manner in which you are to arrange your sanctum. You will recall that the figures in the diagram designate the positions in the sanctum which you will assume and the arrows allude to the direction you will take in moving from one position to another during the ritual.
LIGHTS: It is necessary that you have three candles burning upon your altar for this Initiation instead of two as shown in the diagram. They should be arranged in triangular order thus: 0 ° 0. All of the lights except those necessary for reading should be extinguished. Your incense should be burning on the altar.
APRON: If you have the Rosicrucian ritualistic apron, place it upon your person at this time.
REPORT: Please do not fail to make your brief report only on the special form enclosed. Then mail it to the Department of Instruction. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Special Requirements
Before beginning this ceremony place a small bowl of clear water on your Shekinah. (See diagram.) Also a metal dish about six inches in diameter should be procured-a pan will do. Into this dish or pan place a small white candle and ignite it. To keep the candle upright, allow some melted wax to drip onto the bottom of the dish or pan and then place the candle in it, holding it for a moment until the wax hardens. Next, place the lighted candle in W the dish or pan on the floor midway between the Shekinah and the West. (See diagram for position of Shekinah and West.)
Be seated in the West of your Sanctum and consider the following thoughts:
As Plato said, "The soul is nailed to the body with pleasures and pains. " We live in the realm of objective consciousness in the world of sensations by force of necessity so many hours of the day that it is difficult to look upon the heavens with their nobler purpose. In other words, the finer and subtler instincts in the inner being which are of the Cosmic are suppressed by the nature of the lives we live. It is an obligation to ourselves to free from such earthly bondage our ideas and thought concepts at least one hour a day. We should afford our consciousness the opportunity to roam the Universe and try to envision or visualize, if but for a moment, its purpose and intent. When it returns to the particular things of earthly affairs, although they may be constricted, they may be more easily directed, for their proper order or arrangement is known to us. Give thought for a moment to those ideas of the inner self which exert an elevating effect upon the world around you. Think of beauty devoid of form, love without a particular object, virtue without reward, and knowledge free from utilitarian purpose. These generalities are the forces which compel you to assemble the particulars of your everyday world in an order that makes life harmonious and worth living.
After a few moments of meditation upon these points you may proceed.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: Respected Neophyte, you are here to pursue the work of the Seventh Degree. Kindly arise and give the proper sign and password of the Sixth Degree.
CANDIDATE: Kindly arise and face the East (see diagram) and say the password of the Sixth Degree (Thokath). With the tip of your right forefinger, draw upon your forehead the cross and then be seated.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: I declare this sanctum ready for work and worship.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER (continues): Respected Neophyte, it is my privilege to assist you in passing through the Seventh Degree Initiation which is undoubtedly the strangest and most mystical of all the Initiations through which you have passed. I direct that you rise and recite the following prayer:
CANDIDATE: Arise and face the East of your sanctum.
(Read aloud, softly)
CANDIDATE: Cosmic Mind, Cosmic Consciousness, All-Pervading Essence, infuse my soul personality with an abundance of sacred vibrations that for the time of my presence here I may be more completely attuned with those forces which are to become my assistants in the accomplishing of great good. May my heart and thoughts this night bring me nearer the goal of perfection in all earthly deeds and one step nearer the Mastership of all earthly and spiritual forces. So Mote It Be!
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: Now travel to the East.
CANDIDATE: Travel to the East of your sanctum by way of the North.
(See diagram number and arrows. Go from figure 1 to figure 2 in the direction of the arrows.) Then stand directly facing the East.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: You will now kindly repeat this salutation softly.
(Read aloud, softly)
CANDIDATE: Hail to the East … where ariseth the Great Light … from whence cometh the Symbol of day … to dispel the night … from whence cometh also the fiery Symbol of Life … to vitalize the lifeless … and infuse the human temples with Soul.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: Return to your seat in the West.
CANDIDATE: (See diagram--follow direction arrow from figure 2 to figure 3 by way of the South of your Sanctum. When turning, do so at sharp right angles.)
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: It is necessary that I explain to you clearly the purpose of this strange Initiation so that you may be guided and guarded with understanding.
In the days of old, similar Initiations were held in separate chambers of the ancient Temples. The higher Degree Initiations were often held in the upper chambers of the Temples for the purpose of symbolizing advancement. In fact, tradition says that the old order of arrangement of the Degrees was symbolized by various planes or levels in the Temple. Thus, the first four Degrees of our Order represent the first four chambers of the first level of the Temple. The second level of the Temple contained three chambers, now constituting the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Degrees of our Order. The third level of the Temple contained only two chambers, the Eighth and Ninth Degrees. The highest level contained one chamber, the chamber in which the Tenth, Eleventh, and, Twelfth met. The arrangement of these levels and the number of chambers on each level suggest to us a building in the form of a pyramid, such as were built in Egypt.
We are now about to enter the last chamber of the second level--the Seventh Degree Chamber. The custom for the work of this Chamber we symbolize in an unusual way of procedure. It was customary for the Master to take a few Initiates to the door of the Seventh Chamber and then, giving each the password and providing them with a strange light, permit them to enter the chamber alone and be guided through the Initiation in that Chamber by an unseen Master. Today we have a similar plan whereby each Initiate is conducted through this Seventh Initiation--the Mystical Seventh--by the impressions which enter his mind as he sits in meditation in the Chamber.
Therefore, in a few moments you will sit alone while you are guided in your Initiation by those impressions or instructions which come to you as you sit here in silence.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER (continues): I am not permitted to give you any further details of what form the Initiation will take.
I may say only that the Initiation will be just what your understanding and development require. On some points of the Initiation you will undoubtedly agree with the experience of others. What you may see or hear--what you may experience--will depend on many things, all of which will be explained as you proceed through this Degree.
In the East on your altar, three candles signify the Trinity of Lights and you will notice that the lights form a triangle on the material plane. These three lights symbolize three elements in the composition of man and the Universe with which we will deal throughout this Degree. You must bear in mind that we are to learn in this Degree that man's body is the true Temple. In our next Degree we receive the title of Masters of the Temple and it means that we shall have attained perfect Mastership over the body and that within this physical Temple of ours, which we call the body, there resides an individual master whose development and attainment we shall perfect in this Degree.
The title given to each of us by our attainment of this Degree is that of 'ADEPTUS EXEMPTUS,' and it means that by the time we complete this Degree, we should have completed our Adeptship in the work of perfecting the attainment of Mastership of the master within the human temple.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER (continues): The incense burning in the East on your altar is symbolical of the liberation of the finer vibrations which we must learn to liberate in and from the body in order to perfect the experiments of this Degree. Upon the Shekinah there rests a vessel of pure water, the great solvent which liberates matter from its binding principle and turns molecules into atoms and the atoms into electrons so that matter may become more subtle and free from the narrow limitations of the earth plane.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER (continues): Respected Neophyte, again approach the East and stand erect.
CANDIDATE: Once again go to the East of your sanctum by way of the North (see diagram--follow the arrows from figure 1 to figure 2, then stand erect, facing the East).
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: As you stand and face the East with your back to the West, there are cast upon the floor of this Chamber three shadows from your body representing that the three spheres and conditions entering into your earthly existence are but shadows of the conditions which exist on the higher plane, and that, as shadows on the earth plane, they do not represent the substance but merely assure you that the real substance from which these shadows are cast is close at hand and about to be revealed to you. The burning incense will fill this chamber with such vibrations as will be aided by the vibrations of light or fire or water, and by this combination you will be assisted in this Initiation in your Chamber.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER (continues): Respected Neophyte, approach the Shekinah; dip your left hand into the water and sprinkle some of it upon the floor of the sanctum; then return to your seat in the West.
CANDIDATE: Do as directed (see diagram--walk from position of figure 2 to figure 4, then, when concluded, about-face and walk to the South and back to figure 3 in the West and be seated).
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: With the water now liberated, there remains but one more element to give you to assist in the Initiation, and this is the Mystic Flame of fire. While the fire burns (the candle flame in the pan on the floor) you shall sit in the place you now occupy in quietness and meditation and await such impressions as come to you. If you are instructed inwardly by the voice of the Master Within to concentrate your gaze upon the mystic fire, that you shall do. If you are impressed to concentrate your gaze on the East or West, North or South, do so. If you are impressed after a time to close your eyes, that you shall do. In other words, you shall be guided in your actions and conduct by the directions given to you and you shall bear witness to your own Initiation and the strange details of it.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER (continues): As the mystic flame burns and sends forth its vibrations, it affects the human aura and will cast over your appearance the strange coloring of the subjection of the body to the power of the soul, and into this Chamber will come all the elemental primary forces of nature to manifest in ways and means which time and conditions throughout this Degree will make plain to you. You will feel not as a human being, with which you are so familiar, but as a mystic or mind and soul clothed with a material body, the mortality and gross condition of which will become plain and significant. Fear and even inquiry should not be in your mind; but a close observation of all you see or hear is your duty. After a time of your determination, extinguish the mystic flame. The Chamber will then be in darkness except for the candle flames on the altar. You shall continue to sit in meditation in the semidarkness without moving, carefully watching and observing.
Beloved, the next letter of the lost word is B. It is one of the most potent of the letters of the word. It represents the positive, creative forces of the universe. Its full significance will be explained to you in time. The password for this Degree is Regulus and alludes to the regulating and adjusting of your mind and consciousness to the plane of higher thought. It further alludes to the regulating of your affairs and your thoughts so that your consciousness will not be bound at all times to one plane. Remember the password--REGULUS.
(Read, not aloud)
MASTER: Beloved candidate, this concludes your initiation.
Now please write your brief report on your initiation as instructed on page one.
NOTE:
The little character appearing in the center of the triangle on each of your present monograph pages is an archaic symbol. Possibly, it is used today only by the Rosicrucians. It depicts the psychic self and the emotions or feelings of the psychic nature of man. It is used also to designate the Rosicrucian Seventh Temple Degree.
The Words of the Illumined
Many Are the Vistas That Are Revealed to Him
Who Has Attained the Mountaintop
The worldly lives of those recognized as the fathers of our religions are, in most instances, merely a matter of chronological record, but their personal Cosmic illumination is best determined from the truth which flowed from their mouths, for it is that, and that alone, which elevates them above all men. Below are brought to you some beautiful reflections of the great avatar whose biography has been given you in the forepart of this manuscript.
To the Christian Science healer, sickness is a dream from which the patient needs to be awakened. Disease should not appear real to the physician, since it is demonstrable that the way to cure the patient is to make disease unreal to him. To do this, the physician must understand the unreality of disease in Science.
Explain audibly to your patients, as soon as they can bear it, the complete control which Mind holds over the body. Show them how mortal mind seems to induce disease by certain fears and false conclusions, and how divine Mind can cure by opposite thoughts. Give your patients an underlying understanding to support them and to shield them from the baneful effects of their own conclusions. Show them that the conquest over sickness as well as over sin, depends on mentally destroying all belief in material pleasure or pain.
Stick to the truth of being in contradistinction to the error that life, substance, or intelligence can be in matter. Plead with an honest conviction of truth and a clear perception of the unchanging, unerring, and certain effect of divine Science. Then, if your fidelity is half equal to the truth of your plea, you will heal the sick.
It must be clear to you that sickness is no more the reality of being than is sin. This mortal dream of sickness, sin, and death should cease through Christian Science. Then one disease would be as readily destroyed as another. Whatever the belief is, if arguments are used to destroy it, the belief must be repudiated, and the negation must extend to the supposed disease and to whatever decides its type and symptoms.
Truth is affirmative, and confers harmony. All metaphysical logic is inspired by this simple rule of Truth, which governs all reality. By the truthful arguments you employ, and especially by the spirit of Truth and Love which you entertain, you will heal the sick.
-Excerpt from Science and Health