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THE TEMPLE OF THE ROSY CROSS CREATED BY THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ADYAR

 
 
 
By March-April 1912, three important figures of the Theosophical Society Adyar (Annie Besant, Mary Russak and James Wedgwood) founded "The Temple of the Rosy Cross" in London. There is little information about that organization and in this article I am going to transcribe the texts that I find in this regard (in purple I put my comments).
 
 
 
In The Vahan magazine (April 1912) appeared the following note:
 
« The Temple of the Rosicrucians. — It is founded this institution dedicated to the study of the Mysteries, Rosicrucianism, Kabbalah, Astrology, Masonry, Symbolism, Christian Ceremonial, Mystical and Occult Traditions of the West. Trust that such a work serves as a preliminary to the restoration of the lost Mysteries of Europe with the decline of Rome. Details can be obtained from H.H.L, 19, Tavistock Square, London W.C., please include an envelope with your addressed and stamped to reply»
 
 
 
 
In The Vahan magazine (May 1912) appeared the following note:
 
« The foundation of the Temple of the Rosicrucians. — Referring to the previous publication in which the news of the constitution of this new Order was given, more extensive details are now communicated. The Council of the Order is today composed by twelve brothers deeply interested in everything that refers to Ceremonial Occultism and Archaic Mysteries, and who hope to form a useful instrument, under the inspiration and help of Master Rakoczi, to resurrect the Ancient Mysteries and prepare the arrival of the Master of the World. It is useless to draw the attention of our readers and of every Theosophist to the capital importance of this foundation. Details may be requested from H.H.L., 19, Tavistock Square, London, W.C., please include a stamp for the reply»
 
(Master Rakoczi does not exist, he was a Charles Leadbeater’s invention, which already indicates to me that this "Rosicrucian temple" is very fraudulent.)
 
 
 
 
In The Theosophist magazine (May 1912) appeared the following information:
 
« NEW T.S. SUBSIDIARY ACTIVITIES
 
The Temple of the Rosy Cross
 
Those who look with long-sighted vision over the reaches of history, may notice that some special thought dominates an era of history, and then fades away, giving place to another. Mediaeval England rejoiced in splendid ceremonial, raised noble temples, brightened the daily lives of the people with masque and miracle-play. Then the glow and the color paled and vanished away, and the dull hard regime of the Puritan supplanted the statelier and gorgeous rule of Rome. The Freemasonry of the eighteenth century revived ceremonial beauty and stateliness in its Lodges, and, even through industrial grayness and Victorian ugliness, its ritual breathed of fairer customs and of gentler ways. The self-conscious Englishman wore his regalia with some shyness, and defended his ceremonial somewhat apologetically in the outer world; yet, while attacking ceremonial in the Church, he enjoyed it in his own silent way in the Lodge, and, while objecting to candles unneeded for lighting on the altar, he admitted them as symbols in the Masonic Temple.
 
Now, the demand for stately ceremonial and significant symbol is rising on many, sides with reiteration and urgency, and the hunger for beauty expresses itself with insistent force. In the Theosophical Society there are many who find the fittest expression of their highest spiritual emotions in stately and rhythmical ceremonial, men and women who in past lives trod the mystic measures of the solemn planetary dance, filed in long procession through the Temples of the Gods, studied the symbols of the Egyptian and Chaldean Mysteries, and are haunted by memories of that past.
 
One of the Masters of the Wisdom, who, ere He reached that stupendous height, had oft been priest and hierophant in archaic mysteries, and who, in later days, had guided movements in the West wherein the Wisdom was veiled in symbols. He —Christian Rosenkreuz, Francis Bacon, St. Germain— had ever found in such symbols apt means of deepest teaching.
 
(It was Leadbeater who invented the lie that the Earl of Saint-Germain in his past life had been Francis Bacon and previously had been Christian Rosenkreuz.)
 
Many of His ancient and mediaeval followers are with us now, and turn naturally to the old ways, desiring to form a channel for His force along the old lines, and to serve as helpers to prepare by these means for the Great Coming for which He —and, indeed, all Masters— are working now.
 
(For the supposed coming of the "Lord Christ Maitreya, the World Teacher", but that was just another lie invented by Leadbeater.)
 
These are founding in His name the Temple of the Rosy Cross, an Order which will be devoted to the study of the Mysteries, Rosicrucianism, Kabalism, Astrology, Freemasonry, Symbolism, Christian Ceremonial, and the mystic and occult traditions found in the West. While recognizing that there is but one true Occultism, they will seek to find it in its western manifestations, in order to enrich, not to supplant, its eastern aspects. They trust that their work may lead up to the restoration of the Mysteries withdrawn from Europe with the decay of the Roman Empire, and even, per­ chance, in time, to the restoration of teachings once given by the ministry of Angels, and even by the Master of Masters, after His cruel murder in Judaea, in the circle of initiated disciples.
 
Only those who sympathise with this hope, this study and this method, should become Templars, for in the Temple of the Rosy Cross there must be one mind, one heart, one body. Applications for information or admission should be sent to H.H.L., 19 Tavistock Square, London, W.C.
 
H. H. L»
(p.311-312)
 
(H.H.L. are the abbreviations for Herakles, Helios and Lomia, the "mystical" names that Charles Leadbeater gave to Annie Besant, James Wedgwood and Mary Russak.)
 
 
 
 
Josephine Ransom wrote:
 
« On July 4, 1912, Mrs. Besant went to London to preside the Annual Convention of the English and Welsh Section, of which Mr. James I. Wedgwood was the Secretary General, and who made a public recognition of the help that Mrs. Russak had given to the Section during that year»
(History of the TS, p.396)
 
 
 
In The Theosophist magazine (September 1912) appeared the following note:
 
« We have had a wonderful Convention, large in numbers, varied in nationalities, perfect in joy and harmony. Members came flocking to London from the 11th July, and on the 12th the first regular assembly of the Temple of the Rosy Cross was held; all those admitted were from Scotland or the Continent, preference being given to those who had travelled from afar, and the ceremony was very long, there being no fewer than sixty-three Fellows who became Templars. The membership is restricted to F.T.S. (members of the Theosophical Society)»
(p.791)
 
 
 
 
In the American Theosophist and Theosophic Messenger magazine (May 1913) appeared the following informations:
 
« Will you define the relation of the Temple of the Rosy Cross to the Order of the Star in the East?
 
There is no direct relation. The O.S.E. is an organization open to all who believe in the Coming of a World-Teacher, with our much­loved Alcyone at its head, and he has round him his own special band, forming the highest grade of that Order.
 
The T.R.C. is confined to members of the Theosophical Society, who find in ceremonial a congenial expression of devotion and who definitely seek the World-Teacher in their ritual; they desire to study the Symbolism and Mysticism of the West, and to aid in the restoration of the Lesser Mysteries. Herakles is its head, with two colleagues, Helios and Lomia.
 
The two bodies are thus distinct organizations, seeking to prepare the Way for the Coming Lord along two very different lines. There must be much sympathy between them, since both have the same object —to prepare His way— and there cannot be any rivalry, because their methods are utterly different — one working by lectures, pamphlets, magazines and carrying on a public propaganda; the other working privately, expressing its devotion through ritual, and making no appeal to the public.
 
A. B. [ANNIE BESANT] »
(p.677)
 
 
Information of the General Secretary (A.P. Warrington)
 
« It may interest Theosophists generally to have a word about the work of the Temple of the Rosy Cross and its relationship to the Theosophical movement.
 
The Temple has nothing whatsoever to do in an organic sense with the Theosophical Society. Both are quite distinct and apart from one another, and each works in a different field and in a different way. But the work of the Temple is of such nature that only Fellows of the Theosophical Society are eligible for membership in it. It is not a Theosophical activity, in the technical sense, and there is no call upon any Theosophist to labor in that field, unless the call should come from within himself. Having myself worked in the Temple for many weeks at Krotona, and having carefully observed the nature of its activities and the force it wields for fraternal love; and realizing what a great spiritual electrode it has be­ come for telepathing to the minds and hearts of the people in general the great truths for the sake of which it has its existence; and observing, as I have done, the exaltation that seems to pervade the natures of the Templars for days after the meetings, I am convinced that the Theosophical movement is blessed in an unusual way from having this activity with it.
 
I am not myself by inclination a ceremonialist, yet the impressive beauty and spiritual power of this ceremonial has rather removed my previous lack of interest in forms and ceremonies. Of the auxiliary movements in association with the Theosophical Society, I know of none whose promise for good is greater than this.
 
The founders and supreme heads are Herakles, Helios and Lomia. The following has been issued by the heads:
 
 
The Temple of the Rosy Cross
 
Those who look with long-sighted vision over the reaches of history, may notice that some special thought dominates an era of history, and then fades away, giving place to another. Mediaeval England rejoiced in splendid ceremonial, raised noble temples, brightened the daily lives of the people with masque and miracle-play. Then the glow and the color paled and vanished away, and the dull hard regime of the Puritan supplanted the statelier and gorgeous rule of Rome. The Freemasonry of the eighteenth century revived ceremonial beauty and stateliness in its Lodges, and, even through industrial grayness and Victorian ugliness, its ritual breathed of fairer customs and of gentler ways. The self-conscious Englishman wore his regalia with some shyness, and defended his ceremonial somewhat apologetically in the outer world; yet, while attacking ceremonial in the Church, he enjoyed it in his own silent way in the Lodge, and, while objecting to candles unneeded for lighting on the altar, he admitted them as symbols in the Masonic Temple.
 
Now, the demand for stately ceremonial and significant symbol is rising on many, sides with reiteration and urgency, and the hunger for beauty expresses itself with insistent force. In the Theosophical Society there are many who find the fittest expression of their highest spiritual emotions in stately and rhythmical ceremonial, men and women who in past lives trod the mystic measures of the solemn planetary dance, filed in long procession through the Temples of the Gods, studied the symbols of the Egyptian and Chaldean Mysteries, and are haunted by memories of that past.
 
One of the Masters of the Wisdom, who, ere He reached that stupendous height, had oft been priest and hierophant in archaic mysteries, and who, in later days, had guided movements in the West wherein the Wisdom was veiled in symbols. He —Christian Rosenkreuz, Francis Bacon, St. Germain— had ever found in such symbols apt means of deepest teaching; many of His ancient and mediaeval followers are with us now, and turn naturally to the old ways, desiring to form a channel for His force along the old lines, and to serve as helpers to prepare by these means for the Great Coming for which He —and, indeed, all Masters— are working now.
 
These are founding in His name the Temple of the Rosy Cross, an Order which will be devoted to the study of the Mysteries, Rosicrucianism, Kabalism, Astrology, Freemasonry, Symbolism, Christian Ceremonial, and the mystic and occult traditions found in the West. While recognizing that there is but one true Occultism, they will seek to find it in its western manifestations, in order to enrich, not to supplant, its eastern aspects. They trust that their work may lead up to the restoration of the Mysteries withdrawn from Europe with the decay of the Roman Empire, and even, per­ chance, in time, to the restoration of teachings once given by the ministry of Angels, and even by the Master of Masters, after His cruel murder in Judaea, in the circle of initiated disciples.
 
Only those who sympathize with this hope, this study and this method, should become Templars, for in the Temple of the Rosy Cross there must be one mind, one heart, one body.
 
 
The Founding of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
 
For some time past there has been the desire in the hearts of various people to form a body through which the Master Rakoczi could function, while performing His special mission in aid of the coming of the Christ. The desire culminated a short time ago in the founding of such an Order by Mrs. Besant, Mrs. Russak and Mr. Wedgwood — H:H:L:. As no Temple of the Rosy Cross is complete in numbers without twelve Brethren working directly under its Head, nine other Theosophists, also deeply interested in Occultism, Ceremonial and the Ancient Mysteries, were invited to join the three mentioned, and these, together with the three Founders, constitute the governing Council of the Order.
 
To recall the words in the original article signed H: H: L:
 
-         “In the Theosophical Society there are many who find the fittest expression of their highest spiritual emotions in stately and rhythmical ceremonial, men and women who in past lives trod the mystic measures of the solemn planetary dance, filed in long procession through the Temples of the Gods, studied the symbolism of the Egyptian and Chaldean Mysteries and are haunted by memories of that past.”
 
We quite understand that there are many who are not sympathetic with ceremonial, and these may not realize how literally true these words are; but those who work close to the heart of the Theosophical Society, meeting with many people in various lands, can testify to their truth, and also to the fact that very many such egos are groping about unsatisfied in numerous fields of research, simply because they are endeavoring to find the true channel of their highest spiritual inspiration. For these egos the line of ceremonial is the way of the least resistance, inasmuch as it is the line of evolution which experience has carved for them in the past.
 
H.P. Blavatsky stated that the Theosophical Society would have to pass through three phases of evolution — the physical, intellectual and spiritual. To some extent the three are contemporaneous, but the predominant periods of the physical and intellectual are easily recognized by those cognizant with its history; and many believe that we have recently definitely entered upon the spiritual era. The varied needs of spiritual expression of its members must be recognized and provided for, otherwise its all-inclusiveness will be marred. There are many whose temperament inclines towards the inner or esoteric line of development on the line of ceremonial, and H.P.B. certainly recognized this fact, inasmuch as The Secret Doctrine and Isis Unveiled are replete with teachings concerning the Mysteries, in which ceremonial played so great a part. Up to the present time, however, there has been little opportunity in the Theosophical Society for the study of ceremonial and the Mysteries. It is therefore the desire of the Founders of the new Order to synthesize the scattered teachings in the Theosophic literature on this subject, as well as those in other available literature. They will add to these valuable occult researches of the present, and will endeavor to reach, if possible, the inner shrine of each one’s being, to there nourish into new life the smouldering fire on the altar of spiritual aspiration, around which a temple has been builded in the ages of the past.
 
Each incarnation of the Bodhisattva in the past has brought with it a distinctive keynote of spiritual truth with which He has endeavored to harmonize and develop the souls of the people with whom He dwelt. The teachings encircled that keynote, and often clothed its expression in Mysteries which were participated in by the people. With each successive incarnation of the Great One the chord grew richer, the harmonies deeper, and the various Mysteries became one symphony of beauty.
 
Many of the egos of the present were taught in the language of those Mysteries while sitting at the foot of the Teacher, and are now striving to view and understand them once again, to have the veil which temporarily obscures the past torn aside once and for all. The motive for this striving is in no sense a selfish one, since it is felt that we can better understand the deep new note of Truth which the Bodhisattva is to sound, if we grasp in greater fullness that which He has previously taught, which lies hidden in the long night of the past. We feel that this is part of the ground in which the seed of the past has been planted, and from which is to spring forth a rich harvest for the future. By the study of these Ancient Mysteries and, in time, the endeavor to perform some of their attendant ceremonial, we hope to bring about this better understanding of those teachings of old, and thus to prepare, not only ourselves, but others to receive the new teachings, which are the old in a new form. Step by step, with the aid of the Master Rakoczi, we hope to trace the Mysteries from their birth in far ancient times in Lemuria down to the present time, and to clothe them in a new garment woven by our active endeavor, earnest devotion and lofty aspirations, while offering ourselves as servants for the new Day of the Coming of the World-Teacher.
 
In choosing the name “The Temple of the Rosy Cross,” the Founders had in mind various ancient organizations. One was the famous Order of the Knights Templar, formed to protect pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land, and to defend the Mysteries of the Christian Faith.
 
(Whoever wrote this has very confused ideas because the Templars were ruthless murderers, so associating them with the Rosicrucians is truly sacrilegious.)
 
He who is now the Master Rakoczi was connected with this body, as well as with some supposed offshoots of that Order, one of which existed later in France under the name of the “Ordre du Temple,” He was also connected with the “Rite of the Strict Observance.” In like manner the present Templars of the Rosy Cross desire that they may prove worthy to gather round the Bodhisattva when He comes again, and to defend the Mysteries with the sword of the Spirit.
 
The chief body with which the present Order is in occult relationship is a mediaeval body founded by the same Messenger of the White Brotherhood, who a little later assumed the mystical name of Christian Rosenkreuz. At that early date the Brothers of the Order had specially incarnated together for the purpose of assisting in the great work of restoring the Occultism of the Mysteries, and of clothing them in a Christian garment. Each had charge of a special department pertaining to one form of them, his peculiar mission being to search the occult records of the past, and endeavor to reestablish the Mysteries of a certain previous race and time. The Order served its purpose and was a beacon light of Truth, which succeeded in dispelling much of the darkness and ignorance of the Middle Ages. Three of that ancient inner Order now exist in physical bodies, and from time to time certain outer but secret Orders have been formed, which endeavored to carry on the work of the original body.
 
As Francis Bacon, the same great messenger founded in Elizabethan England a Rosicrucian Order, knit, like the first, through Himself, to the White Brotherhood. This did not wholly perish, even in the physical world, and the author of Zanoni was later among its Initiates. In the last century various efforts, too often misdirected, were made to establish a modern Rosicrucianism, and those efforts still continue under various names and forms. The great Messenger to the West —who is now a Master, the “Hungarian Adept,” the Master Rakoczi— has bestowed His benediction on this new effort to reestablish the original teachings of the ancient Order and to endeavor as far as possible to purify it — to free it from the superstitions and misconceptions with which it is now beclouded.
 
We know also that as far back as the end of the thirteenth century the same great Being incarnated amidst a body of twelve such Brothers, who had banded themselves together with the same object as that of the present Temple of the Rosy Cross. The Holy Grail is not such a myth as it seems, and, mystically speaking, that ancient Brotherhood formed the Chalice containing the twelve drops of blood from the heart of the Christ—symbolical of the twelve lines of the Mysteries.
 
The time is ripe for us once again to form this Chalice of the Mysteries, that the world may partake of the Sacrament.” »
(Supplement, p.701-703)
 
 
Organization associated with the Theosophical Society
 
« Temple of The Rosy Cross in the United States: Address the Grand Chancellor of the T.R.C., Krotona, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California»
(p.716)
 
 
 
 
 
 
OBSERVATIONS
 
All this speech that the founders of this "Temple" wrote, is pure verbiage that only served to further manipulate the members of the Theosophical Society Adyar into accepting this new spurious organization that would also focus on the lie of the prompt arrival of the Lord Christ Maitreya.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous18.5.22

    "The Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross" was the actual name and Marie Russak had an extremely accomplished life. Your commentary is innocuous at best and under researched at worst.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry if my words offend you, but historical data shows that Marie Russak was a very deceitful and ignorant person.

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