Initiation Through the Ages

Prologue

This is a sacred book. It will provide you with all that both knowledge and Man can offer to the Eternal Truth.

The first roses bloom in the beginning of spring and the last wither in autumn. So, one spring, many centuries ago, did the Sacred Rose bloom. Many were drawn by the beautiful sight and, like bees, drank of its life-giving honey. Then came autumn and the Sacred Rose withered but the human bees were still under the spell of its beauty and were fed by its honey and remained true to it.

Centuries elapsed. The seasons succeeded one another building up a magnificent edifice. Then, one day in spring, the Lily bloomed and reigned. The bees rushed to it but did not abandon the Rose, and the honey they drank from both these flowers was the nectar that nourished the Spirit.

You must drink of this honey with prudence, for it is both eternal and ephemeral. Never squander this sacred substance in idle words. Urged by the drive of your spiritual youth, do not try, do not aspire to add anything to a Work that has been delivered to you complete. Do not seek to find anything hidden in it, for everything in this sacred book is clear and definite. There is no confusion between things: between the Spirit and Matter, Matter and the Soul, the Soul and the Spirit.

Never forget these distinctions while you study, otherwise you will fall into error. Rein in your rapture for Wisdom because it will cloud your mind and will conceal the truth. Think deeply but do not impose on others the conclusions you have reached. If you wish to teach, do not add anything to these words. Teach them as you have been taught them.

Pray for all others but never for yourself. When your soul is cleansed and your spirit purified, take this book and withdraw to the remotest place where no one can see you, where no earthly noise can reach and disturb your work. Then read, study, ponder and do not get lost in details. Think deeply and focus your powers on the point from which light will spring, And when the light penetrates into you, when finally you come face to face with the terrible secret, may your soul then tremble with fear, for what you will then feel is nothing but the revolt of Matter.

Chapter 1 - MAN AND GOD

Pray for all others but never for yourself. When your soul is cleansed and your spirit purified, take this book and withdraw to the remotest place where no one can see you, where no earthly noise can reach and disturb your work. Then read, study, ponder and do not get lost in details. Think deeply and focus your powers on the point from which light will spring, And when the light penetrates into you, when finally you come face to face with the terrible secret, may your soul then tremble with fear, for what you will then feel is nothing but the revolt of Matter.

When the incestuous one took possession of the Earth, a being was born: Man. This being was to experience great wonder and feel immense admiration at the sight of the beauty and variety in Nature.

Incest again prevailed on Earth and its fruit was another being: Woman. How great was the attraction, how great the love of this human being for the beauty of the Earth!

God secretly watched His creation. He would lie hidden in the fields, concealed behind a daisy, or in the forest, behind a branch, or again by the seashore, under a pebble brought in by the waves. God lovingly kept a secret watch over His creation, the human being.

In the fields, the created human being looked at the daisy with deep emotion and his eyes and his soul were uplifted to unknown regions. In the dark forest, the rustling of the leaves frightened him, and by the seashore, the sight of the pebble gave him joy.

In such a way did the human being perceive God: as absolute goodness and love but also as a Being of great severity, and he felt the omnipresence of this God for Whom he had great veneration.

At times, the beauty and magnificence of the work of Creation awed him and made him feel his smallness. He was made aware of his weakness, and his respect for God was mingled with fear. To avoid His presence, he took refuge in the caves, deserting the surface of the earth, which he imagined could not but be the dwelling of the powerful Being Who transformed everything.

And when night spread its veil and the kingdom of the God of peace and joy was succeeded by that of the dark and severe God, Man felt his fear grow as the darkness deepened. Then a muffled and secret whisper, a humble prayer rose from these shelters of the night, a prayer from a being still lacking conscience, yet desiring to appease his God and attract His mercy. This secret whisper, this muffled and humble complaint of a passive soul, this sound whose grandeur no human harmony has ever attained, was the solid bond expressed every day, the bond that linked the Creator to the created one.

At the break of dawn, Man entrusted himself to the kindness of the God of day and stopped praying. Under the sun's rays, his strength - not sufficiently revived by his troubled night's sleep - regained its vitality; joy replaced sorrow and once again Man began to admire the work of the Creator. The fruits and roots of the trees fully satisfied his hunger and he received them with great pleasure as a gift from his God.

The male lived alone in the vast expanses of the Earth. Then suddenly, he saw the created female. The two beings were troubled when brought face to face. The woman was shy and felt her cheeks blush. She put her hands before her to hide her nakedness. The man covered himself too, for he felt that his God was watching him.

Unconsciously they started walking side by side on the deserted Earth and when they got to a tree they sat in its shade. The woman fell into a deep sleep while the man, cradling her in his arms, began to sing a sweet melody. This was the first love song. The mystery of the first Union was taking place.

The woman woke up in the man's arms; she lived in him and he lived in her. The Divine mission on Earth was accomplished and God returned to His dwelling, leaving behind Him His Influence, which was to preserve His accomplished work.

In the beginning Man was in a subconscious state due to his previous isolation. The presence of the woman put an end to this and he gradually rose to self-conscience because of the need of effusion (utterance) which he now felt growing in him. The need he felt to utter and make known both his feelings and his observations of the external world urged him to expressions which were eventually to end in speech.

Melody and mimicry were the first means of human expression. They were eventually replaced by the first utterance - a primary and rudimentary speech, yet one of truth - a kind of humming or confused noises and sounds, borrowed in great part from Nature. This was succeeded by the imitation of the cries of the animals that lived on the vast expanses of the Earth. Thus Man developed his utterance and made it more complex. Croaking was added to the humming and eventually it prevailed. Finally, he managed to express himself in speech and this started a new era.

Still closely connected with his Creator, Man felt the need to express his devotion to Him by natural means. This was the beginning of worship, which preceded and later gave way to religion.

Worship is the great love for the Supreme Being and faith in It in all simplicity, deprived of all interference of reason to complicate it. Religion, on the other hand, is the combination of worship and dogma; it is faith expressed by a natural act but reasoned and complicated by another series of truths applied to the worship of the Divine. Worship played a leading part in the birth of religion by offerings, dedications and sacrifices.

Originally Men built an altar for the Creator and brought to Him the most beautiful of the first gifts of Nature; the first flowers and the first ripe fruit were retained and offered to God. No conscious being dared touch this sacred offering, which was a token of the respect of the humble ones on Earth for their God. It was left as food for animals or was returned to Nature.

Dedication soon replaced and perfected these offerings. To the flowers and fruit, Man added the first bird caught, the first lamb, the first kid goat, the firstborn child - the fruit of earthly love. He let the animals go free in the virgin forests but kept those he had dedicated in captivity, for he considered them the property and dwelling of his God.

Dedication was succeeded by sacrifice. Flowers, fruit, animals and at times even human beings were prey to the altar of God. This necessary evil was the first step towards dogma, for privileged persons were dedicated to perform the custom of sacrifice. They alone carried out the great rituals of Man's worship of God.

Thus a class of priesthood was created. It had the privilege of carrying out the rituals of worship. Man no longer had the right to worship his God without the mediation of priests. The effusion of the human soul towards its Creator was fenced in by the rules and privileges of the priesthood.

The priests were the first to establish dogma, and religion saw the light under their authority and protection. The priest enjoyed freedom and had absolute consciousness of his mission; he dedicated his life to the duties of worship and the research of things unknown. He was the one to disclose to Men the mysteries of Creation. He was the one to impart to them the knowledge of sacred things.

Yet, from the very first years, the priests got carried away by ambition. Their guilty schemes took up most of their time; they lost their sense of duty and neglected their sublime task, which was Initiation into the divine mysteries.

They took advantage of Man's artlessness in his faith and confidence in God, which was extended to those who officiated this worship. The priest thus became the absolute authority and tyrant and proved to be the most despotic and most cruel leader of society. He wielded his power over all, down to the lowest, and used this power to serve his individual and personal interests. And Man, in continuous oppression and a victim of continuous injustice, in his naive faith, believed that he was constantly exposed to the slings and arrows of an irascible Divinity.

The priesthood was so blinded and degraded by ambition, tyranny and baseness, that the sublime principle of the worship of a Unique God, a Supreme Spirit, the Creator of the Universe, was soon lost.

This perfect dogma that reveals the grandeur of Wisdom, the fatherly Love of God, His mercy and absolute Justice, this perfect dogma of Truth which bore the stamp of such splendour and beauty that it overshadowed every deceitful figment of the imagination, gradually died from Man's memory and gave way to polytheism. This appeared under three forms: animal, stellar and mental.

Originally, these blind and faithless priests lifted animals to the class of divinities. Soon, however, Man's sacred instinct steered him away and allowed him to unmask this abomination, The divine character was then transposed to the stars and planets that Man could observe gliding in the firmament. Stellar polytheism met with the same fate as animal polytheism. Then, under the influence of his deluded imagination, the priest's mind gave birth to the mental religion, So great was the number of these gods, that humans ended up worshipping beings whose existence was very questionable. Their confused spirit pushed superstition to the extremes of irrationality and they ended up believing that they came across these imaginary gods in the streets and even in their very homes.

The Supreme Lord of Creation looked on impassive at the evil work of the priests and sacrificers. Still, human decadence spread, poisoning and killing the spirit. The intermediate Celestial Plane was devoid of all human consciousness. God saw that Man was on the course which would sever him completely from Him. He saw that the numbers of the lost sheep multiplied and that corruption would complete the destruction of the human species. He then took pity on His children and decided to come to the assistance of His own creations. He ordered the leaders of the Celestial Dwelling to descend to the lower planes and become incarnate on the earthly level so as to reinstate the straight course that had been cut short by Man's ambition and superficiality. This would allow Men to resume their ascent towards the Creator.

Then, beings of great intelligence were born on Earth and the age of the Chosen ones (the Elect), of the Angels and the Prophets was inaugurated.

When one of these privileged beings appeared on Earth, humanity was humbled, repented for its errors and the Celestial mercy reconciled Man with his God. Once the Chosen one withdrew, the plunderer and desecrator of the divine mysteries would again make his appearance. This bloodthirsty animal exploited the fame of the Chosen one and canonized him as a saint, the better to delude and corrupt Men and satisfy his own ambitions.

This was the one and only reason that made some men of a superior spirituality rally together. They had been trained by the Chosen ones and had received higher knowledge from them. They saw that the truths of their venerable Masters were degraded and perverted by the plunderers who were the privileged caste. They then gathered secretly, formed an invisible chain and established relations between Man and God firmly and everlastingly. No ambition, no tyranny, no 'connections' or personal aims ever distorted or disturbed the pure assemblies of the Great Mystics. Anything that might possibly develop into a defect was excluded by the very regulations and mores of those who took part in the Secret Societies of those times. If was only by This means That Man was able to reinstate his relationship with God and apply himself to the deep knowledge of mysteries.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 12 - History of the Society of the Sinoua (F. Senoua)

The air was filled with the delicate aroma from the ten different altars on which incense of amber and musk was burning in honour of Brahma. The scenic beauty of this brilliant feast added to the harmony of the whole and Nature seemed to contribute with its wondrous grace. Tall priestesses, adorned with flowers, in white robes that brought out their slightly dark complexion, were a sight that was the utmost that human imagination can grasp so as to glorify God.

But who was all this brightness and activity in honour of?

A few days before, Roupa, the glorious emperor of India, had acquired an heir, born in the maternal palace.

The infant was brought to the Temple with great pomp, for the happy father wished to anoint his heir and draw the grace of God upon him.

People were not easily to forget this great celebration and later, whenever prince Sen made a public appearance - even at an advanced age - they would say: "This is the happy prince whose birth was celebrated and brightened with all the beauty that Brahma created in Nature."

Years went by and Sen grew in grace of body, soul and spirit.

One evening at sundown, as Sen was sitting by the bank of a river, his spirit flew to higher spheres and nobler thoughts. All of a sudden, a young girl of great beauty appeared among the bushes of the far bank. A single look at her was enough to throw the dreaming youth into ecstasy.

He fell passionately in love with her and when she disappeared into the bushes he jumped into a nearby boat and started after the vision that had bewitched him. The young damsel seemed terrified at being followed and ran along the bank of the river while the young prince rowed as fast as he could, following this heavenly beauty.

Darkness fell and still the young prince rowed away, caught by this sudden magic, as if following a vision. Dawn found him still at the oars and whenever his strength failed him, the sight of the girl's head among the tall vegetation renewed his passion and inflamed the fire that was burning within him.

This ceaseless pursuit went on for twelve days and they eventually came to the source of the river. Like a startled deer, the damsel made for the mountains. Sen pursued her as if in a dream and ecstasy over numerous mountain tops and finally was happy to see her enter a cave. In sheer joy because he thought that his desires would soon be satisfied, he followed suit only to find himself face to face with a venerable white-bearded old man. Stunned by this unexpected turn of events, the young prince stopped short and respectfully bowed his head before him.

"Where are you rushing to and where do you come from young man?" asked the old man.

"Stranger, I come from a very distant place in pursuit of a vision that has fascinated me."

"Do you mean the young damsel?"

"Yes!" answered the young prince, shaking all over.

"You can come and look at her, you can come and worship her, but only after cleansing yourself and wearing clean and decorous attire."

The young man glanced at the silk clothes he was still wearing and to his chagrin perceived that the events of the previous twelve days had worn them to shreds. The old man led him to an underground room where two other men washed him clean and gave him new clothes to wear.

The young prince went through all these motions as if in a trance, for his mind was constantly on the beautiful damsel he was about to meet. As soon as he was ready, the old man came to him and said:

"Come with me and meet the beautiful damsel."

They went through a dark and narrow passage at the end of which his guide lifted a thick and heavy curtain. Dazzled by the bright light ahead, the young man stepped back. When he eventually entered, he saw that the hall was lit by thousands of hidden candles exuding an aroma of incense which numbed the senses and caused ecstasy. He gathered himself together and looked around in search of the young girl. To his surprise he saw her standing before him, as beautiful as ever but made of marble! Then he heard the old man say.

"You were drawn to this sacred place by the power and attraction of this Goddess. Your own limbs brought you here to adore her. Do you wish to stay?"

"Master," replied the youth," I shall stay here for ever to serve and adore the beauty of this Goddess".

"Yet you are too unclean to serve her," was the retort, "for you were drawn to her by lust."

"Master, do not profane my feelings. Can one ever lust after a marble statue?"

"You are accepted as a disciple and your devotion to our heavenly Mother - the Venerable Goddess Takoui - will be tested until the day when your physical senses will no longer insult her person. Then the statue will come to life."

It was thus that Sen, the crown prince of India, was admitted to the hermitage of the Takoui and vowed to keep the strictest and most rigorous purity for, according to its principles, no family alien to the sect - whether of princely or royal lineage - could serve in the secret temple of this Divinity.

The prince stayed on and kept his vow with absolute sincerity. In the morning, he was the first to rise and enter the secret Temple of the Goddess and in the evening he was the last to leave and close the door behind him. He was also the last to retire at night and rest his weary limbs from the day's hard work, but his sleep was full of dreams and ecstasy during which, as legend has it, Takoui herself came to commune with him. He was honoured and revered by the followers of the sect and was looked upon as the future leader of those serving the Divinity.

One day, as he was serving in the Temple, he fell into a trance and saw the statue of the Goddess come to life, step down from its pedestal and draw near him.

"Sen, my beloved child," she said, "the time has come that my God, the Great Brahma, has chosen for you to leave this place to which you have been devoted. You must now go to the inhabited regions and teach what I shall teach you. Your emblem will be the wild rose - a rose that you will pick from the first rosebush you see on your way out.

"My beloved son, listen to what I wish you to convey to my faithful servants. Tell them that I no longer desire darkness and the iciness of a marble dwelling place. I wish to be chiselled amid smiling Nature and feel its vivifying vibrations. Tell my servants to take me out of this dark place and build a temple for me where you will pick your first rose. I want this temple to be white as snow but not made of marble, for marble is too cold to receive the throbbing of a latent love."

Takoui then kissed her son's brow and withdrew. Sen cried out: "Lord and Father of all the race, what a miracle this is. Takoui has spoken!"

All the brethren gathered round him but no one dared touch him lest they offend the Divinity that had been there.

"Brethren", said Sen, "follow me, all of you. I shall announce to you the wishes of the beauteous Goddess."

Men, women and children rose and followed Sen, whom the Goddess had sanctified by blowing thrice on his forehead before leaving. They all left the cave and started towards the east. They soon reached a nearby virgin forest where, at a crossing, Sen perceived a beautiful wild rosebush full of fresh red roses. He drew near, knelt beside the plant and related his vision to the venerable elders of the sect. He then said,

"Brethren, I shall remain here for 40 days to commune with the revered Goddess. Meanwhile, you are to make ready to return to this very place where you will erect Her Temple. You will not find me here for I shall leave in order to accomplish my mission wherever She bids me go. When my mission is done, I shall return to die here among you."

The brethren were truly sad and they tearfully parted form the man they had adopted. When they had all gone, Sen ate some fruit and waited for sundown. At sunset, he knelt and eagerly awaited the solemn hour.

Suddenly, the bushes parted and a beautiful damsel appeared before him - the very same who had avoided him ten years before. This time she approached with a slow and stately step. It was the Goddess Takoui in all her wondrous beauty. Exhausted and ecstatic, Sen started shaking all over and fell prostrate waiting for what was to come. He tried to whisper the hymn usually sung in the Temple during their evocation to the glory of the Goddess, but his tongue would not move and he could only utter incoherent noises that sounded like groans.

The Goddess drew near, kissed his brow and Sen immediately fell into a trance which lasted 40 days and 40 nights. Tradition has it that grass grew all around his prostrate body in such a way as to make all passers-by think they saw just a mound of green grass. On the 40th day, this mound came to life and Sen's head reappeared. He had aged.

He rose, stretched his limbs and rubbed grass all over his body to bring it back to life and speed up his circulation. He drank the juice of some fruits and started on his way slowly towards the inhabited region. Not once did he look back or think back. He felt neither joy nor sorrow in his soul and his serene expression revealed inner enlightenment. He kept talking to himself on the way, but tradition says that he was communing with Takoui.

Twenty days later, he reached the inhabited regions. He went straight to his native city and sat on the steps of his father's palace. One of the guards approached him and ordered him to leave but Sen did not obey, for he had the live image of Takoui ever before him and was aware of her support. The guard did not dare touch him but hastened to inform his chief. This last came along and in turn ordered Sen to leave.

"I wish to see the King," said Sen in a sweet voice.

He was ushered into the palace and brought before the King. Sen approached him, knelt down and bared his chest, revealing an ornament that hung round his neck. The King opened his eyes wide and looked at the stranger closely. He then rose and stretched his trembling arms towards him, crying out, "Sen, my beloved son, has been found!" He embraced his son lovingly and gathered all the Court around him to share in his happiness.

The celebrations for Sen's return lasted 12 days and he resumed his place in Court. On the morning of the 13^th day, he was informed that his father had died.

Sen succeeded his father to the throne. He was the first enlightened and initiated King ever. On the day of his enthronement, the whole palace was decorated with wild roses and a beautiful wooden statue was set by his throne. From high up on its pedestal it dominated the throne room.

It was in front of this statue that Sen received all the wise men of his empire and spoke to them of the great powers of Brahma, He never once uttered the name of the Goddess that presided over the accomplishment of his mission. Yet tradition says that he was often seen kneeling before the statue and conversing with an invisible entity.

Twenty years elapsed and then one day Sen put on his most luxurious clothes, mustered his troops and left on a mission to the mountainous region from which he had come. The troops were led by ten tall officers bearing the statue on their shoulders. After a journey of 20 days, they reached the forest where the Temple of Takoui, already erected, rose in its pure whiteness towards the sky.

The followers of Takoui were taken by surprise and approached the troops in great fear, bearing gifts so as to deter trespassing into the sacred grounds where their Divinity resided.

When they were brought before the King himself, they recognized him and fell into his arms. With the King leading them all, the Takoui followers brought the statue before the Temple and set it outside the sacred grounds.

Sen opened the door, took off his luxurious clothes and used them to clean the floor of the Temple. When he got to the other statue of Takoui, which the brethren had placed in the holy of holies, he sat cross-legged before it and fell into a trance by a kiss from the Divinity, When he came to, he placed the statue that he had brought inside the Temple and then called his younger brother to the entrance of the sacred grounds.

 "Dear brother", he said, "here is my crown, my sceptre and my royal attire. Rule over our father's people with justice. I shall stay here to die. Go your way. May the Great Brahma lead you in the path of goodness"

Sen lived with his brethren in the forest and became a high priest of the beautiful Divinity. He died while in a trance, in the arms of Takoui.

The End