Note: The following excerpts(with a few comments from Crystalwell) are taken from the Introduction to the book, In Search of Health and Happiness.This Book is available thru the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis . This is truley the best descriptions I have seen of what The Great Work entails. The Ascended Master of the Rosy Cross is the Christo's. Remember whether it is the Christ, Krishna, Thoth, Hermes or Buddha supplying the wisdom, it is the WISDOM that matters. Whether the person ever existed in this material realm is of no consequence. IT'S THE MESSAGE THAT MATTERS!
What are The Divine Law, The Great Work,
Transmutation and Soul Illumination?
In this text and in the many other publications issued by the Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis and the Philosophical Publishing Company you will find certain words and phrases whose meaning and interpretation are vital to the understanding of the information given and the instructions offered. In the past it was usually left to the individual student to gradually arrive at an understanding of these words and phrases, and even now it is still not easy to define them so that all might comprehend. But in this Introduction we shall do our best to provide the serious student with a modern definition of the key words and phrases used by the Initiates* of old and the present Arcane Masters.*
*The terms "Initiate" and "Arcane Master," as well as many other similar terms used in arcane literature, refer to an individual who has so lived in harmony with the Divine Law that he has become conscious of the Soul within himself. This exalted state of being is now called Illumination, but over the centuries various other names have been used to describe it and allied states, such as Soul Consciousness, Cosmic Consciousness, Philosophical Initiation and Mastership. While there are subtle differences between these various stages of development, they all indicate a specific degree of spiritual attainment from Illumination onward.
The most essential keys to an understanding of what Jesus referred to as the "Mysteries" are the four phrases, the Divine Law, the Great Work, Soul Illumination and Transmutation. Once the student is able to attain a working comprehension of the meaning of these four, he has opened the door to the first of the Mysteries mentioned by the man from Nazareth. While a great many other terms are used in our texts and lessons, most of them are either synonyms of these four, various degrees of them or entities directly related to one or more of the four.
The Divine Law
Perhaps no other phrase is used as much in the books of the Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis as the Divine Law. Every student is admonished not only to learn more of the Divine Law, but also to live in harmony with it. This may be well and good for those who are familiar with this Law, but what of those who have just encountered our Fraternity and its teachings? How are they to come to understand what we mean when we refer to the Divine Law? Just what is this Law, and how do we know if we are living in harmony with it?
There is nothing particularly mysterious about the Divine Law. It is a Law that each of us encounters a thousand times a day, though, of course, most individuals do not understand it as such. It is simply the Universal Operating Law of Creation. Each great spiritual teacher of mankind has taught its basic principles and adapted them to the people he was sent to instruct. While each of these interpretations may seem to vary since they were conceived for a specific time and group of people, the underlying Law does not, and cannot, change, because it is the only Law that allows the present state of Creation to exist. There is nothing arbitrary about the Divine Law, since all existence, as we know it, is completely dependent upon its absolute perfection of operation.
The degree of this perfection was intimated by the Nazarene when he stated, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered."- Matthew 10:29-30. If we substitute "the Divine Law" for "your Father" this statement is in full harmony with all that has been taught in the "Mysteries" since man became man.
What the Nazarene was attempting to teach his disciples (and anyone else who had "ears to hear") was the omnipresence and omnipotence of the Divine Law; that this Law was first instituted by the Creator as a vital and essential part of Creation; that it and it alone was complete and exact enough to bring Order out of Chaos.
This same inference (that of the Father being a synonym for the Divine Law He set into motion) is given in the statement, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."-Matthew 5:48. What the Nazarene is really saying to his listeners is, "Learn to function in harmony with the Divine Law which, by its very nature, must be perfect or the world as you know it would immediately return to Chaos."
The Divine Law was, and is, not an arbitrary Law. It was not just God's idea of how a Creation should be run. Rather, it was the only Law and set of rules and regulations that has allowed for the Universe as we know it. Take away the Divine Law, and you immediately return Creation to Chaos and consideration of man to only a vague memory.
This last point is of utmost importance to all men and women who live on this small planet. For centuries we have been taught of a vengeful God who is ever ready to punish those who do not obey His will. With such a negative concept, it is not difficult to see why so many individuals have left the church and embraced the religion of science. If the truth is to be admitted, more of the Divine Law is probably to be found today in the teachings of science (particularly the science of business) than in most churches or synagogues.
God does not punish. No, like the Nazarene, He weeps to see the suffering of those who, out of ignorance or desire, attempt to defy the Divine Law and thereby bring upon themselves the reaction of this exact Law. Notice we say "attempt to defy the Divine Law." No one, not even God Himself, can defy or circumvent the Divine Law. The most that can be accomplished is an attempt to do so. This was the point of the Nazarene in his dissertation with his disciples regarding the sparrow and the hairs of their head. He was attempting to convince them that if the death of a single sparrow is under the functioning "eye" of the Divine Law, how much more so would it be the governing Law for every action of man?
If you desire to construct anything, from an umbrella to a Universe, you have to take into consideration the various ways in which this can be accomplished. Certain factors have to be taken into consideration. As much as you might desire it otherwise, you would not be smart to make your umbrella out of a water-soluble substance. So the Creator discovered that in making His Universe out of Chaos (undefined matter) He too needed to follow certain criteria, or His orderly Creation would quickly revert to Chaos once again. This set of principles which God found to be essential to establish His Universe and to prevent it from immediately returning to Chaos is what we now call the Divine Law.
This Law is not arbitrary. It is simply the only functioning mechanism that is sufficiently balanced and powerful to sustain matter in its various organized forms to produce the Universe we now know and love. As such, it should be obvious that the Divine Law can show no partiality. It is, and must remain, completely neutral. It is for this reason that the Bible informs us: "God is no respecter of persons."-Acts 10:34. Here again, if we substitute "the Divine Law" for "God" we discover the original meaning of this verse.
The Divine Law is not a capricious edict of the Creator. It is simply the only functioning mechanism under which our Universe can exist. When the various spiritual texts of each authentic religion admonished mankind to "obey" the will of God, they used language they felt the common people could understand and apply, but which, in fact, is not the full truth as we know it today. What they would have said if the people had ears to hear was: "Learn to understand the Divine Law, and live in harmony with it. Since this is the basic Law of your existence, any attempt to defy it will always create an undesirable reaction for you."
It has been our experience that many fine, dedicated and moral human beings can no longer accept the admonition to "obey" God without further explanation. They are so sufficiently independent that they desire to obey only their own conscience and not be forced or coerced to obey just because they are told to do so by either church or state. We personally applaud these individuals and count ourselves among their cadre.
Most religious teachings as they have been handed down to us were not meant for such independently thinking individuals. They were designed instead for those who are not so much interested in the order of things in Creation, but who rather are looking for a simple pattern of belief to bring some solace and peace to an otherwise difficult existence.
Today we find the world divided into two general camps: (1) Those who are satisfied with the religious teachings of punishment and retribution doled out by a "loving" God if one does not "obey" His commands as dictated by the church and (2) those whose reasoning mind and rational conscience directs them to reject such church teachings as without scientific foundation. Admittedly, many of this latter group give "lip service" to the popular religions, much in the same way that the intelligentsia of Greece and Rome did to the mythology of their day; but by their actions one can readily discern their real feelings and beliefs.
Just as the philosophy of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle transcended the popular mythology of their day, so do the teachings of the Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis concerning the Divine Law, the Great Work and Soul Illumination transcend the religious mythologies of today. These three concepts are not for those who are satisfied with the status quo. They are concepts for those who are willing to think for themselves; who desire to know the Laws of their being and furthermore are not only willing, but eager to learn to live in harmony with them, knowing that this effort alone is able to bring them all that is good and productive in existence. They soon learn that it is not a "chore" to live in harmony with these three great principles, but rather that such a life rapidly becomes an "obsession," or, as one of our Fraternal brothers called it in his book by the same name, a Magnificent Obsession.
re-printed from Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis
