Gleanings of a Mystic: A Series of Essays on Practical Mysticism — John Shaqi
Gleanings of a Mystic: A Series of Essays on Practical MysticismHeindel, Max
Religion
Gleanings of a Mystic: A Series of Essays on Practical Mysticism
Heindel, Max
Rosicrucians
If we have a number of brick buildings and desire to amalgamate them
into one large structure, it is necessary to break them down first and
free each brick from the mortar which binds it. Likewise each human
being must be freed from the fetters of family, hence Christ taught
“Unless a man leave father and mother he cannot be my disciple.” He
must outgrow religious partisanship and patriotism and learn to say
with the much misunderstood and maligned Thomas Paine: “_The world is
my country, and to do good is my religion_.”
Christ did not mean that we are to forsake those who have a claim upon
our help and support, but that we are not to permit the suppression of
our individuality out of deference to family traditions and beliefs.
Consequently He came “not to bring peace, but a sword;” and whereas
the eastern religions discourage the use of wine, _Christ’s first
miracle was to change water to wine_. The sword and the wine cup are
signatures of the Christian religion, for by them nations have been
broken to pieces and the individual emancipated. Government by the
people, for the people, is a fact in northwestern Europe, the rulers
being that principally in name only.
But the fostering of the martial spirit such as prevails in Europe was
only a means to an end. The segregation which it has caused must give
place to a regime of brotherhood such as professed by Paine. A new step
was necessary to bring this about; _a new food_ must be found which
would act upon the spirit in such a way as to foster individuality
through _assertion of self without oppression of others and without
loss of self-respect_. We have enunciated it as a law that only spirit
can act upon spirit, and therefore that food must be a spirit but
differing in other respects from intoxicants.
Before describing this let us see what flesh has done for the evolution
of the world.
We have noted previously that during the Polarian Epoch man had only a
dense body; he was like the present minerals in this respect, and by
nature he was as inert and passive.
By absorbing the crystalloids prepared by plants he evolved a vital
body during the Hyperborean Epoch and became plantlike both in
constitution and by nature, for he lived without exertion and as
unconsciously as the plants.
Later he extracted milk from the then stationary animals. Desire for
this more readily digestible food spurred him on to exertion, and
gradually his desire nature was evolved during the Lemurian Epoch.
Thus he became constituted like the present day _Herbivora_. Though
possessed of a passional nature, he was docile and could not be induced
to fight save to defend himself, his mate, and family. Hunger alone had
the power to make him aggressive.
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