LIST OF ARTICLES

THE THEOSOPHICAL MASTERS PORTRAITS THAT AMORC WAS SELLING

 
 
 
 
Master Morya's portrait was published on, The American Rosae Crucis magazine, June 1916, page 16:
 


 
 
 
Then Master Kuthumi's portrait was published on The American Rosae Crucis magazine, August 1916, page 16:
 
 
 
 
 
 
AMORC leaders were a bit hesitant to publish Kuthumi's portrait for the reasons they stated at the beginning of this magazine:
 
«
PUBLISHER'S ANNOUNCEMENT
 
In this number of the American Rosae Crucis revue we publish the picture of Deputy Grand Master Kut-Hu-Mi of Tibet, India. In doing so we feel a word of explanation is necessary, because we did not publish this picture in the July number as promised in the biography of Master Moria-EI.
 
Many letters have reached us requesting an explanation why these pictures are given such open publicity, bordering on a sacrilege. It is not our intention to hurt the feelings or devotional delicacy of anyone or any set of philosophic students, congregations or assemblies.
 
It is not regarded a sacrilege by those of us who accept Jesus, the Christ, as the Savior of the world, to Have his picture in our possession, nor to publish the same for the eyes of those who want to study the features, whether these are idealistic or actual. Therefore we can not regard the publishing of these two pictures as a sacrilege, especially when the pictures were given to us for the express purpose of publishing. In connection herewith it is probably not out of place to explain the circumstances that led up to this publicity.
 
There came to our office a man who gave his name as George Ambrosius Immanuel Moryason Sykes, who stated that when in Tibet and India, he had, met in the flesh Master Moria-EI and Deputy Kut-Hu-Mi, both members and heads of our Order Rosae Crucis, and a number of other organizations unknown to us, that he had been selected as the personal representative of these Masters with authority to give a set to our order as the true R. C. Order in America, and to publish, give away or sell these pictures and others of a religious and occult nature, ,and that theses pictures were properly signed in the Zend Avestan language and were the only authoritative pictures in existence, that he intended to have the same reproduced and offer them to the general public or societies, etc.
 
We have published the pictures in this magazine as interesting and instructive to our readers. The biographical sketches written by Mr. Sykes are certainly the most weird and astounding ever published in any American publication and since they pertain to the work of so many occult organizations we were assured that they would be appreciated by readers who were and were not members of the Order Rosae Crucis. The publication of the pictures and biographies has surely brought forth much correspondence from our readers and many personal calls to our editorial offices. We have heard and read much praise of the man and also some condemnation. We have been called upon to verify the statements made and in the absence of any proof in our possession (and which we never claimed to have) we have asked Mr. Sykes to give us in writing his guarantee that these pictures are just what he claims them to be.
 
To this end we reproduce his written statement. It is broad, complete and covers every possible point and we trust that it will answer the many questions put to us by those who believe that the publishers have voluntarily unearthed these pictures with the intent to offer them in an unauthorized manner. The following statement, therefore, clearly proves that Mr. Sykes is ready to assume the full responsibility for both pictures and biographies and that he maintains his proper authority for their existence. The publishers invite any who have other information to write to them and the matter will be given to Mr. Sykes who is anxious to prove his claims to us and to all others.
 
_______________________
 
Guarantee to publishers
 
“I issue the following statement and warning: the pictures of the Masters which I offered to the American Rosae Crucis for publication with biographies are issue under the order and by the authority of and signed by the Masters themselves in their own Zend-Zar (Sen-Zar) script (see S.D. and H.P.B., Vol. 1, Page. 26), and have their signs and seals issued.
 
They are copyrighted by their duly authorized agent. They are issued in compliance with the Temple Law. All other pictures of these Masters now in possession of others, made in the past or capled from unauthorized and unsigned portraits of them, or purporting to be of them, are made contrary to Temple and copyright  law and are unwarranted and illegal and are subject to confiscation whenever and wherever found; and all sueli infringements will be carefully and thoroughly guarded against by the Agent and Temple Association and brotherhood both here and abroad.
 
Therefore I caution the public against unauthorized portraits of the Masters. The Brotherhood will prevent by all their resources any attempt to wrong or cheat or defraud them or the public.
 
G.A.I.M. Sykes, M.A., N.Y. City. August 17th, 1916»
(p.2)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OBSERVATIONS
 
Numerous members of AMORC complained about the publication of the portraits of these two trans-Himalayan masters, since they considered this an offense against the Christian Rosicrucians.
 
And in response to these claims, the leaders of AMORC responded that these two masters are part of the World Rosicrucian Order (which is false), and that a man named George Ambrosius Immanuel Moryason Sykes was also in Tibet and India where he met in person with those two masters, and that they gave him those portraits and authorized him to promote them in the West through AMORC.
 
But that is also false because in reality those two portraits were painted by the Austrian painter Wolfgang Freiherr von Bibra who was then living in New York (where AMORC's headquarters were also located at the time).
 
 
This was confirmed by his great-great-grandson and is also demonstrated by Morya's portrait, since at the bottom left it is written "copyright, 1916, by W. VON BIBRA".
 

 
 
Mr. Bibra was based on the portraits that the German painter Hermann Schmiechen made of the theosophical masters in 1884.
 
Portraits of the Masters painted by Hermann Schmiechen in 1884
 
 
Portraits of the Masters painted by  Wolfgang Freiherr von Bibra in 1916
 
 
 
And it is very disconcerting the huge emphasis AMORC puts on the fact that their portraits of the Mahatmas are copyrighted and they are the only ones authorized by the masters to be sold.
 
At the end of their magazine they put a price list:
 

 
This appeared in the June, July, and August 1916 issues, and reads:
 
«
PORTRAITS OF THE MASTERS
 
(Signed in Zen-Zar)
 
The Temple Supply Association, 101 West 126th St., New York, has secured the rights to reproduce and sell portraits of the Masters of the East. During the last 25 years travelers and students of Theosophy visiting the Far East have brought back to United States copies or paintings of these authorized originals, but it is only recently the Temple Supply Association has secured the rights to reproduce the same in United States.
 
MORIA-ELI The Illustrious
KUT-HU-MI, The Illuminator
ZAR-ATUSHT-RA, The Magian
JESUS, The Na-zar-ene
 
At the present time the following reproductions are ready for delivery in different sizes, black and white or hand colored.
 
The Temple Supply Association
101 WEST 126TH STREET
NEW YORK.
 
Send Express Money Order or P. O. Money Order to G. A. I. MORYASON SYKES, M. A. 101 W. 126th St ., New York City, U. S. A»
(p.31)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
All this indicates that the leaders of AMORC hired Wolfgang Freiherr von Bibra to paint these two portraits of the Masters for them, since they wanted to own the copyright and sell those portraits to their followers, but when they found that many members of AMORC were offended, they inventing a fictitious character whom they called George Ambrosius Immanuel Moryason Sykes to whom they attributed all the responsibility, and took the farce to the point of publishing a supposed guarantee given by that individual assuring that what he affirmed it was true.
 
 
And this is one more example of how deceitful and commercial this organization is.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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