Practical Precepts for Practical People. 114 Chapter XVI. Sound, Silence, and Soul Growth. 121 Chapter XVII. The “Mysterium Magnum” of the Rose Cross. 130 Chapter XVIII. Stumbling Blocks. 138 Chapter XIX. The Lock of Upliftment. 147 Chapter XX. The Cosmic Meaning of Easter—Part I. 153 Chapter XXI. The Cosmic Meaning of Easter—Part II. 160 Chapter XXII. The Newborn Christ. 167 Chapter XXIII. Why I am a Rosicrucian. 173 Chapter XXIV. The Object of the Rosicrucian Fellowship. 180 Catalogue of Publications. Chapter I INITIATION: WHAT IT IS AND IS NOT PART I It is no rare occurrence to receive questions relating to Initiation, 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 treatise 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 reprehensible to express condemnation of any society or order, no matter what its practices. It may be perfectly sincere and honest _according to its light_. We do not believe that we rise in the opinion of discriminating men and women by speaking in disparaging terms of others; neither are we laboring under the delusion that _we_ have all the truth and other societies are plunged in Egyptian darkness. We reiterate what we have often said before, that all religions have been given to mankind by the Recording 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 Christian religion to those born in the Western Hemisphere.