Rosicrucian Digest, December 1943

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Made of sterling silver withliea ilt ifli l (iian ml finisli ano$se


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What Christmas

Means Today.~yL_x HRISTMAS hits grown into the lives ol men. It is no longer but a rite or ritual.

or even a traditional lai lli. It is


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LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT

EVERYONE has a final aimsomething hewan ts to accomplish. Failure to achieve it is

usually due to the method usedor lack of one.How much nearer the realization of your ideals

are you today tha n five years ago? A re you sureyou have put forth your best efforts? W orkinglong hours and forgoing pleasures are not suf-ficient to assure success. W ha t are you psych o-logically and emo tionally best fitted for? Re-member, what you like to do is no test of yourcapabilities.

T he re are two ways to live. O ne is to exist,acce pting events as they arise. The other is to

pla n a future and put yourself, all of yourselfinto it. No intellige nt pla n of living can excludethe human factors, the qualities and powers ofselfimagination, intuition, will power, concen-tration, and memorizing. If you seek to ma sterlife by attention only to the world outside ofyourself, you are doomed to further disappintments.

You are the beginning of every enterprise thatconcerns you. But what do you know of you r-self? No mecha nic, draftsm an , or businessmanstarts a campaign or a venture without a thor-

ough understanding of his tools and instruments.You are your greatest instrumentdont dissipateyour capabilities. Learn to app ly them intelli-gently and enjoy gratifying results .

This Book Will Amaze You

Throughout the world, the Rosicrucians. an ageoldfraternity of learning, have been known as career cre-ators. Thousands of men and women, by means of themasterful Rosicrucian teachings, have established careersthat brought them great personal satisfaction. The Rosi-crucians point out how to use what you already possess

as a human heritage the powers of mind. Use thecoupon below to receive a free Sealed Book. It will

begin to tell you more about yourselfand what theRosicrucians can do for you.

Scribe S. P. C.The Rosicrucians (AMORC)San Jose, California

Please send me the free, sealed book. I am inter-ested in knowing how I may obtain the masterfulRosicrucian teachings.

Name

Address..................................................................................

THE ROSICRUCIANS, AMORC-San Jose, California, U.S.A.


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r : - v - n -

ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTCOVERS THE WORLD

TH E OF F I C I A L I NTERNA T I ONA L ROS I CRUC I A N MA GA -

Z I N E OF THE W O R L D W I D E R O S I C R U C I A N O RD E R

DECEMBER, 1943

What Christmas Means Today (Frontispiece)

Thought of the Month: Postwar Living

What Is An Electron?

The Knight Templars

Occult Sciences of Ancient Egypt

The Science and Mysticism of Color

Don't Let Your Child Be Afraid

Cathedral Contacts: Is God With Us?

The Mystic and Art Appreciation

From Those Who Serve

Temple Echoes

The Eyes Have It

So It Is Told

The Form of All Things

Making Christmas Come True

Newly Appointed Supreme Colombe (Illustration)

Subscription to the Rosicrucian Digest, Three Dollars per year. Single

copies twenty-five cents.

Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at San Jose, Cali

fornia, under Section 1103 of the U. S. Postal A ct of Oc t. 3, 1917.

Changes of address must reach us by the tenth of the month preceding

date of issue.

Statements made in this publication are not the official expressions of

the organization or its officers unless stated to be official communications.

Published Monthly by the Supreme Council of

THE ROS I CRUC IA N ORD ER A MO RCROSICRUCIAN PARK SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA


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TheRosicrucianDigestDecember1943

HE nation yes,the world is rife

w i t h p o s t w a rplan s. O n everyside of us may beheard the utter-ances of the com-mon citizen andthe exalted states-man alike as towhat each wantsfor the tomorrow.W e h e a r s a i d :" W e w a n t n o

bloodshed : we want no re st rictions of

just or im ag ined rights ; we w ant no cur-tailment of expressed thought; we wantan assured livelihood and greater lei-sure." Th ese are the dema nds whichmost of us are making, the things wew an t to acqu ire to satis fy self. It is truethat we promise and that we expect todo things to bring them about. W estate that we will make more efficientand more economical cars. W e will planmore beautiful and more comfortablehomes. W e will take new m easures foreconomic stability, so as to make secure

the possessions we have and those wehope to acquire. W e contemplate put-ting forth twice the effort that we have

before when the war is over. N earlyeveryone expects, however, to realize,/or himself and his interests, many timesthis effort in the material blessings ofthe new era.

In fact, the whole current attitude isobviously a highly negative one. Th epla nned po sitive ac tivities are only re la -tively so. Sum med up, if they are putinto effect, they will amount to a civili-

zation seeking to get the utmost out ofits existence, with little thought of com-pen sa tion an d gen uine service to hu-man ity. It has been our custom to com-mend a past civilization for its humani-tarian accomplishments, for its displayof virtues and finer sensibilities. W eadmire the administrative prowess of aformer people if such efficiency wasused as an instrument to gain and main-tain cultural and spiritual objectives.W e speak highly of past nations andempires if their aggressiveness was tofurther the spiritual elements of man,and no t merely lust and avarice. In

contrast to this, what are we planningfor tomorrow, for ourselves? Th e an -swer is: Ease, material development,

power, and a peace to be built only uponsatiating the people with a plenitude ofthe things for their physical desires.

It is undoubtedly true that men to-morrow will labor to facilitate transpor-tation and that they will labor and ex-

pen d great sums of money for the im-provem ent of medicines an d elec tricaland mechanical timesaving devices, anda multitude of other things that will

touch our lives intimately. N ev erth e-less. if the trend now expressed is car-ried out, most of these men will be doingthese things only because it pays well,bec au se there is a m arket for thei rproducts and for thei r serv ices . Com-petition and profit will be their principalmotive. T he gro wth of a civilizationdependen t upon such conditions is neg a-tive and obviously unh ealthy. Its con -tribution to humanity in benefits would

be pure ly a secondary end. As profitwould become less through competition.

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and avarice heighten, ethical standardswould fall, and deceit, dishonesty, andhatred wo uld increase. In the end,humanity would be plunged again intoa chaos, and all such advantages as

would come from such a negative kindof progress would be destroyed.

How many, tomorrow, will raise theirhands to put forth an extra hour in theirchosen calling, free of overtime and

bonuse s, to pro duce a p ro duct or rendera service to help humanity, that will notimmediately reflect back to their own

benefit? W h a t will happen to a plan fo rp ro g re ss, no m atter how expansive itmay be. that does not include the spiritof sacrifice for a noble ideal? T hi s isno t a radical appe al. It is adm itted that

men must be compensated for servicesrende red if they are to live. Fu rthe r-more, initiative and merit must be re-w arded or they become atrophied. Onthe other hand, humanity only surely

progre ss es beca use of sacr ifices fo r anunselfish ideal. Un less grou ps, and theindividuals of which they are composed,

plan now to dev ote so much tim e outof their lives for the good of humanity,without thought of material gain, ca-lamity will again befall the world.

It is a genuine love for humanity and

its innate higher qualities which tempersgreed. W itho ut it, men will stop shortof nothing to gain material ends. Co n-sequently, each individual must includein his plans for tomorrow and thegreater leisure it may afford, the devot-ing of a portion of his time to helpcorrect social ills and maladjustments.He must, for example, work toward the

bea utification of his com mun ity , not be-cause he will receive the contract forlandscaping, or because it will providea job for his son. In a beau tiful environ-ment he will know men are brought alittle closer to Cosmic harmon y. T ha twill be his motive. Fu rthe r, he will wo rktoward the elimination of poverty and

filth in his neighborhood by perhapshelping some family, not because suchconstitutes a public menace, or for fame,

bu t beca use it will allev ia te th e m iseryand suffering of some mortals. H e will

find happiness in giving counsel to thosein need, not because it gives him theappearance of sagacity, but rather, be-cause he wants to share the happinessof the one helped. He will pursue anintensive course of education for a num-

ber of years , not alone to re pose even tu -ally in a lucrative profession and tocommand respect for his academic su-

periori ty . He will do so ra th er to as sis tin advancing human knowledge. Hewill never wish merely to capitalize onw hat he has learned. T ha t will be

incidental.Unless our postwar plans include

these, shall we say, minor sacrifices, thegrosser ones, the horrible ones whichhumanity is now experiencing will beagain e xacted from us. T his is not aPollyanna philosophy or the relating ofa num ber of innan e platitudes. It isrealist ic. W h at kind of parents wouldwe have if they had to be paid to carefor their children? W h at kind of musicwould we have if to every composerit was a task and not a love? W h at kindof citizens will we have tomorrow un-less they are willing to make some sac-rifice for the true and noble ends of life?Do something in your community thatfurthers the welfare of men for thesheer enjoyment you will derive fromhaving made the world just a little bit

better. If w h at you pla n doin g does notcost you something, or slightly incon-venience you, it will not amount to asacrifice that will bring you that imma-nent sense of righteousness and well-

being.

(The above is from an address bythe Imperator. It was delivered by

p ro x y at th e ra lly of th e N ew YorkCh ap te r o f AMORC. )

IS Y O U R M A G A Z I N E L A T E?The "Rosicrucian Digest may reach you late this month. W e regret that we cannot

be certain of its publication on the same date each month as was possible under prewarconditions. Various problems face us each month similar to those of other publishers, sokindly be patient and realize that delays here and in the mail are unavoidable and thatyour magazine will be in the mails on its way to you as soon as it is possible for us tohave it ready each month.

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Documents

Rosicrucian Digest, December 1943