Present-day scientific materialism presents a great challenge to spiritual
truth-seekers the world over. The purpose of this pamphlet is to discuss the
major alternatives to materialism which are available to present-day
spiritual aspirants.
Scientific materialism is based on the premise that nothing can be known
except that which is observed through the five senses or measured by
machines. Thus, materialism recognizes only the Physical World and its laws.
It originates from the theories of Charles Darwin, Auguste Comte, Herbert
Spencer, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels, among others.
These theories hold that man, as well as all life-forms that exist on our
planet, are the result of chemical forces which interact on a haphazard
manner. Thus, man is an accidental end-result, without any real purpose for
existence. Man's survival as a psychological organism requires balance
between the inner forces, which surge from the unconscious, and the outer
forces, which impinge from social and environmental sources. Although he
must try to gratify his inner urges without provoking a threat from without,
he has no direct control over either the inner or the outer forces.
The solution to the human dilemma, according to the logical implications
of materialism, is to control the inner urges through such things as drugs
and behavior modification and to control the outer forces through direct
manipulation of political, social, and economic structures.
With this concept of man, there is no individual responsibility because,
at any particular point in time, man is merely the result of factors over
which he has no control. As an example, man's behavior often is blame on
"genetics" or "education" or "poverty." In this theory, man does not have an
individual free will for which he can be held responsible; he simply reacts
to the inner and outer stimuli which he perceives. If responsibility for
man's destiny is placed on social institutions, rather than on man himself,
the intrinsic worth of the individual also is denied.
As the materialistic view has grown stronger and stronger, especially in
the Western World, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of
people who reject it. They have grown disillusioned at the over-mechanized,
over-intellectualized, de-humanized society which has resulted from
materialistic thought.
These truth-seekers perceive an intrinsic worth and integrity in the
individual human being — something of a transcendental nature. They feel that
people possess an individual free will which is not merely a response to
social or biological stimuli, but an independent assertion of the identity of
the individual. Also, they perceive that the Physical World is not all that
exists — that beyond outer appearances lie inner realities which are the cause
of what expresses itself outwardly.
Liberal and
Conservative Churches
Where can this group of truth-seekers go to find confirmation for their
beliefs? Many go to the churches in hopes of encountering a spiritual answer
for their inquiries. Some find solace there, but some do not. Of those who
leave the churches, many do so because they find in them the same
materialistic philosophy which they are trying to avoid, even though it may
be clothed with the appearance of spirituality.
In particular, there are two trends in churches today which are likely to
exemplify materialistic thought. One such trend is "liberal." "Liberal"
churches attempt to "accommodate" themselves to the times by embracing the
scientific, materialistic view of man. To them, salvation is collective
rather than individual and is achieved by establishing a "Heaven-on-Earth"
through social, economic, or political reform. They seem to have forgotten
Christ's statement, "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36)
The other major trend is "conservative." "Conservative" churches are
likely to place a literal, historic, and anthropomorphic interpretation on
what are really spiritual experiences and cosmic symbols. While insisting on
the physical reality of things such as Jonah's whale, they fail to perceive
the spiritual reality behind such accounts. Thus, they interpret the Bible
in the same way that scientific materialism interprets the Physical World:
through the five senses.
In addition, most churches limit their concept of man to one short life on
Earth. The decisions he make here will affect his existence for all
eternity. Thus, one can understand why there are spiritual truth-seekers who
feel impelled to search elsewhere.
Two Alternatives
In the world today, there are two major alternatives to materialism. One
is through the wisdom of the East; the other is through the wisdom of the
West, or esoteric Christianity.
It may surprise some that there really are Wisdom Teachings in the West.
They may have thought that the popular, exoteric churches were all that
Christianity had to offer. Yet all major world religions have had their deeper
mystery teachings, and Christianity is no exception.
There are very basic differences in the Eastern and Western approaches to
materialism. According to the Eastern approach, the aspirant strives for
direct spiritual enlightenment through meditative exercises. The goal is to
attain illumination in the shortest time possible. In order to lead a
meditative life, it becomes necessary to withdraw from the material world, at
least to a certain extent. Therefore, non-Eastern people who espouse Eastern
ideals often join an ashram of form a community in which part of their time
may be spent in experiencing an awareness of God in all things.
Western Wisdom teaches an altogether different approach to materialism. In
the West, where materialism has reached its greatest strength, there has
developed a rational approach to the world which has brought about great
advances in understanding and using it. The advent of scientific thought in
the West brought to an end the ignorance and superstition of the Middle Ages
which caused untold misery and suffering. Therefore, Western Wisdom does not
shy away from scientific discoveries and materiality. Rather, it would use
them for spiritual purposes. In other words, whereas the Eastern approach
advocates, explicitly or implicitly, the withdrawal from the material world,
the Western Wisdom advocates work in and with the material world for the
purpose of spiritualizing it. Its motto is "Be ye in the world, but not of
it."
Man, as a Spirit, has as his present field of activity the Physical World,
and has as his instrument a physical body. These are not conditions to be
shunned or avoided, for they are the results of the efforts of an all-wise
Creator. They are to be used so that man, the Spirit, can learn to become a
divine creative intelligence as is his Heavenly Father, able to create on
all levels of existence.
Having mentioned briefly the basic way in which the Eastern and Western
philosophies differ in regard to materialism,let us consider other
differences in these philosophies.
Concept of Christ
The crucial way in which the two philosophies differ is in their concept
of the Christ. Many Oriental teachings are silent on the subject. Some
Eastern philosophies, especially those which are promulgated in the West,
acknowledge Jesus as a great Teacher who attained Christ-consciousness, or
enlightenment, similar to that attained by Krishna or Buddha. They teach
that devotion to Jesus, to the exclusion of other great Teachers,
unnecessarily limits an aspirant to truth. If truth is universal, then
Teachers throughout history are equally worthy of study. In fact, the more
widely one studies from different sources, the more likely one is to arrive
at a fuller understanding of the truth.
The concept presented above indicates a lack of understanding regarding
the spiritual evolution of our planet. It is quite possible to arrive at
certain conclusions but, if one does not consider all the factors involved,
no matter how logical the conclusions may sound, they will be erroneous
because relevant factors have been left out.
The factor left out in the Eastern philosophies is the Christ. Christ was
not the man Jesus; He is not merely a lofty state of consciousness or an
abstract concept. Christ is a divine, self-conscious Being, the highest
Initiate of the Archangelic life-wave. He is a representative of the Godhead:
the "Word" which "was made flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) His
incarnation in the body of Jesus was totally unique in the history of the
world. It enabled humanity to overcome the Physical World, transmute the
physical body, and eventually conquer death itself.
Christ, Regent
of the Earth
Christ's entrance into the Earth at the time of the Crucifixion made Him
the Regent of the Earth. This event was the most important spiritual impulse
in the evolution of our planet. Previous to the coming of Christ, the Regent
of the Moon, Jehovah, had guided our planet from without. He took the
spiritual solar forces and reflected them indirectly to Earth, because
mankind was not yet able to withstand the direct spiritual rays from the
Sun. He did so by giving mankind tribal, national, and race religions, which
include Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism,
and all other Oriental religions. At the coming of the Christ, mankind was
given the first direct spiritual impulse from the Sun. Ever since, the
Christ Spirit incarnates into our planet at the Autumnal Equinox each year,
is "born" in the center of the Earth at Christmas, and "dies" and is
"resurrected" into the higher worlds at Easter, bringing an increasingly
stronger spiritual impulse from the Sun, the Source of all life and light in
our solar system. Such all-important cosmic events are too important to be
ignored by any philosophy which claims to lead men to God.
Only through the solar forces brought by the Christ can we hope to enter
into the etherealized condition of the Epoch to come. Even Eastern people,
after passing through a stage of materialism, eventually must take the next
step in their spiritual development and respond to the higher spiritual
vibrations of the Christ.
The concept of Oriental teachings concerning the Christ is deficient. It
is to be expected that the Mystery Teaching of Christianity present a higher
concept of the Christ than teachings from Eastern sources.
Not only is there a serious discrepancy between Eastern and Western
approaches concerning the central impulse development, but also the methods
of spiritual attainment are quite different.
The Wedding Garment
In the first place, the Western Teaching stresses physical action as a
method of spiritualizing the higher bodies of the individual. Every action
in harmony with the Christ impulse causes growth in the spiritual bodies.
For the Westerner, it is only through orderly, systematic work for the
Christ in the material world that he builds what Christ called "the Wedding
Garment" in one of his parables (Matt. 22:11) or what Paul called "soma
psuchicon" or "soul body." Meditation, dietary changes, and chanting may
sensitize Western bodies to the spiritual worlds, but only work in
materiality will cause the soul body to grow. It is essential that the soul
body be built if we are to pass into the etherealized Epoch to come.
Otherwise our future development will be retarded and we will become
stragglers in evolution.
Spiritual Exercises
In the second place, there are great differences in the type of exercises
given for spiritual development. It is important that a distinction be made
between the two approaches, because the brain organization is different in
Eastern and Western bodies. The Eastern brain is especially adapted for
metaphysical thought, because the ethers of the etheric body are as yet
loosely interwoven with the physical body and are, therefore, passively
receptive to spiritual impacts. However, the lack of tight organization
causes difficulty for the individual Easterner in coping with and mastering
the external world. On the other hand, the Westerner has a brain
organization well-suited for work in the objective, material world. Because
the ethers are closely interwoven in the Westerner's brain, the Eastern
methods of development tend to derange the Westerner's faculties instead of
spiritualizing them.
Bodily positions which cause etheric currents to course in specific directions
may be detrimental to a Westerner, but the most harmful discipline for
a Westerner to undertake is breathing exercises. Breathing exercises can
cause severe reactions: from susceptibility to infectious diseases in some,
to insanity and even death in others. Attempts to raise the spiritual spinal
fire and open the sense centers, or chakras, are difficult for Westerners
and would have severely deleterious results should they be accomplished
without adequate development of the spiritual bodies. The safest exercises
for Westerners are those given by the Mystery School relative to the
Christian religion.
Rebirth
Another major difference is the Western and Eastern views of reincarnation,
or rebirth. The Western students of the Mysteries agree with their
Eastern counterparts that human beings are reborn from age to age in
different bodies under varying circumstances. The point of difference seems
to be the purpose behind the fact of rebirth. The goal in the East is to
escape from the wheel of reincarnation by reaching a state of Nirvana, or
enlightenment. This state is attained by withdrawal from the material world
and dedication to the elimination of desires and actions. The idea is that
by refraining from every new cause, there eventually will be no more future
karma to pay off and, therefore, no reason to return to physical existence.
It is for this reason that the Eastern aspirant adapts a passive and
disinterested attitude toward life.
The Western aspirant, in contrast, sees material life as a school of
experience which must be mastered if he is to become a creator like his
Heavenly Father. Christ said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do
shall he do..." (John 14:12). Rather than trying to be liberated from the
cycle of rebirth, the Western aspirant uses his sojourn in the material
world to the greatest spiritual advantage possible. Thus, he builds the soul
body and, in time, after having learned all the lessons the material world
has to offer, he becomes an Adept and rises above the Law of Rebirth.
However, even in that exalted state, he does not shirk his duty to his
younger brothers, but assumes a physical body with which to serve them. Even
the Christ "took upon himself the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of man." (Phil. 2:7) Service in our present environment is the
shortest, safest, and most joyful road to God.
Law of Cause
and Effect
The Eastern philosophies emphasize the fact of karma, that is, the Law of
Cause and Effect. Each act we perform generates causes which later come back
to us. If we have committed evil in past lives, we must "pay off" this evil in
a later life by experiencing evil ourselves. This is why Easterners lead lives
of asceticism.
The Bible acknowledges this Law. "Whatever a man soweth, so also shall he
reap." (Gal. 6:7) The Christ, however, fulfilled and superseded this Law
with a new one: the Law of Grace. The Law of Grace affirms that we do not
have to suffer the consequences of our former acts if we so repent of them
that we would never commit them again. We then come under grace through
repentance and are "forgiven for our sins." The forgiveness of sins, rather
than the painful and laborious expiation of them, is unique to Western
Teachings.
Master or Friend
Another great difference in the two approaches is that the Mystery School
for the Christian religion does not have masters or gurus. The Western
pupils have no master. The Christ said, "Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends. Henceforth I call you not
servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called
you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known
unto you." (John 15:14,16) There is a tremendous difference between the
position of a servant and that of a friend. The servant without any question
obeys the commands of his master, as the Oriental pupil obeys the commands
of his guru. However, the word "friend" implies equality.
Developing
Self-Reliance
Rather than remain dependent on outside sources, Western pupils must stand
alone and rely on their own inner forces. As a result, they develop self-
reliance, independence, and self-determination. If we are to become creators
in our own right, we must develop our own will-power, so that we can apply
it to help and heal others. Only someone who is strong himself can hope to
help others.
Both Eastern and Western spiritual aspirants must confront the widespread
growth of materialism, but the Christian Mystery School teaches that Western
methods are best for Western people. Furthermore, it teaches that the Western
approach eventually must be embraced by the Easterner. In the book "The
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception," Max Heindel states that esoteric Christianity
is destined to be the world-religion:
"Buddha, great, grand, and sublime, may be the Light of Asia, but Christ
will yet be acknowledged the Light of the World. As the Sun outshines the
brightest star in the heavens, dispels every vestige of darkness and gives
life and light to all beings, so, in a not too distant future, will the true
religion of Christ supersede and obliterate all other religions to the
eternal benefit of mankind."
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