Sourced from www.rosicrucian.org- Promoting the mystical life of Jesus Christ
INTRODUCTION
IT IS A fact that very often truth is far more interesting than fiction. It is particularly so in regard to the life of Jesus. Perhaps it is due to the cosmic cycle through which humanity is passing, or perhaps it is due solely to our intellectual development, but people have become more interested in the life of the Great Redeemer than they have been in any other period since the dawn of Christianity.
In my contact with seekers for spiritual truths, covering twenty-five years, I have found that inevitably the student of mysticism, metaphysics, psychology and occultism is drawn to a more minute and analytical study of the life and teachings of the Christ, Jesus. His whole career, his doctrines, parables, miracles, and illuminating inferences, gradually fascinate and attune the spiritual side of mystical students, and they become restless until they can fathom the mysteries of Jesus’s life.
Why there are any mysteries in the life of Jesus is revealed in chapters in this book. After many years of careful study and research, even to the extent of visiting the holy and mystical places of Europe, Palestine, and Egypt, I am still unprepared to say whether the church authorities who authorized the incomplete, partly erroneous, and greatly veiled life of Jesus as it appears in the Christian Bible were justified in their actions or not. Certain it is, not all are prepared even today to comprehend, nor apprehend, the mystical significance of most of the mysteries associated with pristine Christianity. That there are thousands, perhaps several millions, now ready for the truth is undeniable; but even so, they are but a small fraction of those who have accepted and found peace and salvation through the offerings of the Christian church.
To those who in orthodox sincerity will reject much that is presented in this book, I can say only: “Hold fast to that which is good!” If your faith, your knowledge, and your conviction in regard to Christian matters serves you well, and there is no inner urge to look beyond the veil, then do not do so. Permit nothing to weaken or lessen your adoration and worship of him who is your Savior and your Lord.
To those who believe that a more intimate knowledge of Jesus, the
Son of God, the Master, the Avatar, and the Mystic, will endear him to
their hearts, and to those who feel that the inner self needs more light
on the mysteries of his mission, I present the chapters of The Mystical
Life of Jesus as a comprehensive survey of things long held in seclusion
by a few, but now deserving of wider circulation.
The story of the life and mission of Jesus as presented in this book
makes no sectarian appeal. I know, as a fact, that the Jesus revealed
herein is acceptable to as many Jews as Gentiles, to as many Roman
Catholics as Protestants; and in these days of religious controversy and
profound concern regarding the growth of the numberless thousands
who do not attend any church and who seem to be losing their interest
in religious matters, I am happy to say that I know that thousands will
find in this book a key to their problem and an incentive to reread the
Christian Bible and reconsider their rejection of the church.
I said I know these things. Through my official capacity I am in daily
contact with many thousands of such persons in North America and
thousands in other lands. In my public lectures throughout the United
States for twelve years, in personal interviews with the spiritually
restless among the populace, and in journeys to foreign lands, I have
seen the effect of these truths. Parts of the chapters in this book have
been used in public discourses, some of the interesting facts have been
used in private lessons, and others have been presented in personal
conversations. The result has always been an awakening of interest in
the life and teachings of Jesus, and generally a happy realization that
Jesus and his doctrines were wholly acceptable in the newer revelations.
In the past few years, certain pamphlets have appeared claiming to
contain hidden facts regarding the life of Jesus. In most cases these
stories contained such improbabilities or inconsistencies as to condemn
them as fabrications. Several of the most popular of these have
claimed that they were the result of a discovery of some rare manuscript
or record hitherto hidden in a secluded monastery. The real origin
of all that was dependable in such pamphlets was the uncovering of
certain holy books of the ancients which did contain casual references
to incidents in the life of Jesus rejected by the church authorities when
the first versions of the Bible were authentically compiled.
The facts contained in this book are not drawn from any newly
discovered manuscripts, writings, or records. In fact, it cannot be said
that the facts contained herein are new to either the founders of the
early Christian church, to the most profound and analytical writers of
spiritual subjects, or to the most advanced of mystics in many lands.
The Rosicrucian archives in foreign lands, embracing the records of
the Essenes, the Nazarenes, and the Nazarites, as well as the complete
records of the Great White Brotherhood in Tibet, India, and Egypt,
have always been sources of knowledge for the worthy inquirer into
the history of all avatars and especially into the history of Jesus. It is
from this dependable source that all the facts contained in this book
have been drawn—not at one time and not without years of labor and
indefatigable study and service.
Wherever possible, verification or substantiation has been secured
from the writings and records of the early church leaders, historians, or
archivists. Extracts have also been taken from the writings of Jews, and
even from the so-called heathens, whenever possible. Such citations
are plainly indicated.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who in past years
have carefully examined portions of my writings on this subject and
have called my attention to additional points which should be covered.
I wish also to thank those members in my tour to the Near East during
the months of January, February, and March of this year, who acted as
my companions in my special researches, and aided my secretary and
myself in securing the information needed to give personal verification
to the important statements contained in this book. It was a glorious
work and I hope that these many companions will find some rewards
for their efforts in the book which I have dedicated to them.
—H. Spencer Lewis
Egyptian Temple, Rosicrucian
Park San Jose, California
April 15, 1929
*Biblical quotations in this edition are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
translation of the Bible.