Page:3
r hai a r:,-rh e r i i fe c a n b e g i n at a poi nt of
a{lv.rr..nent be;-ond the b'eginning of this
one .
L i i rn . .x p re s s i o n o f h i m s e i i of hi s true
iniji -' ' i i j ,.,ri i ti ..c c m e s th ro u g h the process of
deai:n; .r ith ihe universal force about him.
O r : r p i ,-,:i c a i l i v e s a re c o n s ta nrl y moci i fi ed
an,-i i,.::-,'.'-ereci b.,v the phy'sical conditions
u iti: ..r','::r-.i .,vedeai. !7e can take one of r*'o
atii:'':'i.-., :r-,'*'ardthis pcsirion in u'hich v,'e
finr i-,.' .,--i','es.ll can L'e one in u'hich u'e
r es e i i " :' ,rg p i a c e C i n s u c h a p o si ti on-and
i..vri;i: -i:it'nti'iient actuallv th'*'art the possi-
biiiii ' ' ,: c ro \r' i h , d e v e l o p me nt, and aci -
Vtnc--ir:::.rl ioward a more complete com-
pr , : ' n e r..:.:a o f th i n g s -o r i t c an be an aC -
knc.i'ir*gnent cf the position in which we
a. r c,rrrr :r a p o s i ti o n b e Vo n d Ou r control , but
thar: ''"",r::,inour control rests the ai-.ilit_vto
srrivt i'.,r ihose values r.r'hichseem evident as
bein:: ,r, nr:re value than rnere resistance to
r he.:i - ,--i :h i n g sa b o u r u s . W ' e rvi i l gai n l i rtl e
h1 i. .:; r.: a g a i n s t u ' h a t u e a rc; \' e can gai n
rnr,rtl: .- -ooperating rvith the forces about
'become
us, ltr*irlin that ver_vprocess more
a\.r'ai. i. rhe Divine Mind of *'hich \.e are a
L' di, . - .
Ch,:,*ras
and PsychicCenters*
Are They the Same?
A :r- .'r i::on-' Wiashington, D.C., rises to
add:es. ,-reFcrum as follows: "When I first
jc inr : . Orc i e r i m a C e th e rn i stake of usrng
'*
the f*r::- ,:lakra, not know.ing that the Rosr-
crucian! use the term nsychic center instead.
The ::r.'r,-'ire.to whom i was speaking tried to
convii-ii-{ n-rethat u.'hatRosicrucians call ps1'-
chic ,:.:.-:icrsare not the same as chakras.
Ho*'er',::, i am not convinced. Is there reallv
a -
- p.
- :7+- r r - -
I n r.:-,-.,.;a a h tn a
g n a n s w e r to our frater' s
que-<iir,:;:.lr is irnportant to reaiize that frorn
the bc{,,:-ing of time, ali creation has been
-b1,
supilLli:.:i trvo great principies. These two
prin;ili=s are knou'n under many narnes but
fbr i.r..,-,scs of our present discussion are
r ef er rr,t :c a l l e g o ri c a l i y a s t he Tree of
Knci-*'i,.,,,:r anci the Tree of Life. In the
hun".'--- '.,-j"v, these two principles are asso-
THE ROSICFUCIANFORUM
ciated *'ith the brain and nervoussystemon
the one hand, and ri'ith rhe heartand circula-
tory systemon the other.
According to Rosicrucian philosophy.
there are certain points in the human bod,vat
which the enormously high frequenciesof
the psychic seif are stepped down in order
that the energiesof the cosmic realm may
becomeuseful to man on the physicalplane.
Insofar as the human body: is concerned.
ihese points of coniact ber*'eenthe psychic
and physical u'orids are referred tc collec-
tively as p-sychiccez,ters and are associated
r.i'iththe activiriesof certain glands.
Frorn a ph.vsiologrcal
point of vieu',glands
are of two kinds, namely exocrineand endo-
crine. All glands produce secreiicnsu'hich
have important influencesin the u,orkingsof
the body. Exocrine giandsreleasetheir secre-
tions directly onto the surfaceswhere thel'
areto exert their influence.Endocrineglands,
on the other hand, releasetheir secretions,
knou'n as hormones, into the bloodstream
q,hich then rakes them to all tissuesof the
body. There is no function of the bodv, no
activity within the cells of the body, includ-
ing the repiication of DNA itself, that cioes
nct come under the direct or indirect influ-
ence of hormones. Psychiccentersare asso-
ciated q,ith endocrine glandsand are, ihere-
fore, the governors of ali activities in the
noci1.
()n the other hanci, chakrasare defined as
centersof force at which energyflows bet.*een
the psychic and physical bodies of man. On
the srrength of this limited ciefinition it
r,;'ouldappear that rhere is little or no func-
tional distinction berweenpsychiccenterson
the one hand, an<i chakras on the other.
However, according to the experts,chakras
are seenas "saucer-likedepressionsor vorti-
ces" in the surfaceof the psychicbody. Each
chakra gives the appearanceof being com-
posedof petalsrvith a sremexrendinginward
from the surface.:fthe bodv and finallv mak-
ing contactwith ceriain nervegangliaof the
svmpathetic arm of fhe autonomic nervous
slrstem.The overail appearanceis, therefore,
that of a number of flowers havine their
stems firmly rooted in the svmparheticner,
\IOU S S r/S tem.

FT5FlUAil T,
Here. then' i,; ihe first major distinction
that \1'c ffii1!' ir,:t' b'eFveen psychic centers)
on r he one h a l l i , a n c i c h a k ra s o n th e o t her'
Psychrc centers- ererting their, influence via
the blood, are associated r'r'ith the Tree of
Life u'hiie chaoras are associated with the
nervous slrsten:arid, rherefore' r'r'ith.theTree
of Knou'ledgc. fhis distinction underscores
a fundamental iifference in the Rosicrucian
approach aS cOil-':o3red rt''ith the Eastern'
Filt",cu aplrfi:i'-1: :o enlightenment of rnan's
C OOS CT OUS !l i :' ! S
F r om an e s .l ' + ti c p o i n t o f v i e rv , th e ner-
vouS SlSteIr, :- : i'ehicie b'-vmeans of rvhich
man ma]' 3r.ei:-',iall,vgain master)' over the
forces of Nat,:r i- li1'the phrase "gain mastery
over" *'e,jc .'ii: :Tieanto imply dominance in
the sense!ha: ,:,n rvill learn to use the forces
- of the
of Nature ir':r-11rratter which way he chooses'
Rather, this gr:''*aseis intended to mean that
man u'ili leari: lc lring his personaf individ-
uai will inic h;:ri'r-tonious relationship with
rhe Cosmic s,-,) iilat "the forces of Nature *'iil
be happy :c- ii,. i-ris bidding," as is promised
to Rosicri:cian Neophyte. The phtTsical
"".ftas a r::,ai:i:cstationof the 1au'and order
body,
of the Cosn:rr ,s :herefcre the great crucible
in r','hich this i-,:eat Work is to be
"lrought.
And the neii'i:;r:: s!.'stemis the vehicle through
*'hich iue u'ili .j::.h eventuaiiy learn hou' to
br ing our l n ...' ,' i J u a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s i nto
harmonv r."'i:i, the Cosmic Consciousness
manifestinc ic .-''ery cell of ever,vtissue of the
bodl:.
For pur;-'+....-t-)t our discussion, the ner-
vous systeil . - lhe hurnan body may be
eilv lded ini i ., ' i i i e e fu n c ti o n a i s e g l n ents,
namelv ccrlbi',srinal, rvhich is associateci
rl'ith the objt,:::ve./subjecrive phase of con'
sclousnessi irir :!iirlpzthetic nervous system
u'hich is asso'.,:rieci with the subconscious
phase; and lh. :srasympathetic nervous sys-
tem q.'hich is associared with the cosmic
ohase of ccnsiiousness. According to this
sch"*e, thei:. lhakras are associated with
and reflect tht ','''c.rkingsof the subccnscious
phase of minc 'e'hich, according to Rosicru-
cian philcsoii,'. is the essential mind of the
-l-:ris
psychic boc'-: subconscious phase of
*it'td ls amena:rie to suggestion and it is by
fauity reasr--i:ir- that we. through autosug-
Page 79
gestion. unconsciousiy interfere with the
ha.mor'tio.lsfunctioning of the subconscious
phaseof rnind.
The challengero eachstudent on the Path
is to so organizehis or her relationshipwith
the activities of the subconsciousphase of
mind that it becomesa true vehicle for the
Cosrr,icMind which is immanentr'vithinit.
The discipline leading to such a harmoni:a-
Narurally there are
tion is called mlsrici,cm.
ditierent paths.In the Hindu syslemof chak-
ras, the p"rn ,o iliumination involvesa tech-
niquc ccrnmonl,vreferred to as "raising the
kun"daiini."
Kundalini is considerecito 'ne a force or
energyrvhichresidesin the chakraat the base
of the spine and representsthe basicenergy
'oodv' lt is referred to as a fire which is
in srriking contrast to the energyor vitality
enteringthe body from the sun. Kundalini is,
therefcre, an energy of negativepolarity as
comparedwith the positive polarity of Nous
which enters the body with each breath.
From a Rosicrucian point of view, then,
kundaiini is predominantly spirit energy
which rveknow is not absoiuteiy negativebut
onlv relatively so. Strictly speaking then,
kunJaiini has little to do with so-calledsex
energ) i.vith rvhich it is associated in the
minds of some people.
Kuncialini is conceivedas beingdual, con-
sistingof a positive,masculinepolarity,and a
negaii\ie,feminine poiarity. When the kun'
daiini is raised,the negativepolarity is thought
to travel up the ieft-handchain of the sympa-
thetic nervoussystem.This left-handchainis
referrecito as the Ida. Analogously,the posi-
tive polarity of kuncialini ls consideredto
travei up the right-hand chain of the sympa-
thetic nervouss.vstem,u'hile a mixture of the
ru'o polarities travels up the canalor chamber
in the spinal cord. The right-hand chain of
the s1'mpatheticnervoussystemis referredto
as the Pingaiawhile the canal in the spinal
cord is referred to as the Sushumna.
in their raising,the threestreamsof kunda-
lini areconsideredto travel upward from the
chakra at the baseof the spine to make con-
tact i.r.'ith,and to vivify in turn, each of the
other chakrasalong the path, and evenruaily
 Drno
r es i c i rrs!i l th i n th e c ro u ' n c h a k ra at the top of
t hc h rr-j . i n rh i s p ro c e s s th e e n ti re nervous
s v s r c rri. i n c i u .l i n g th e b ra i n , h ecomes hi ghl r
s en s i i r:.:.1u. ' i th th e re s u l r th a t the i ndi vi dual
bec.-n - re c e p ri v eto a g re a te r rangeofvi bra-
-s
torv fr.quencies than before.
Licr.'3i's1, because of the ,Jangersinherent
in t n i s " ri te o f p a s s a g e " fro m one l evel of
ps1'chi,,'sensirivity to anoiher, the neopht'te
r c qu i ;,' ; :h c g u i J a n c e o f a g u ru rr,ho i s erpe-
ricn.e!: in such rnarters. The Hindu approach
io e;-r,,.1i-,tenment.therefore, Concentrates
upt : n ,,r:;ro v i n g th e s e n s i ti v i r v of the ner-
vc1-:s:i.,i::'!-n,thereby expanding the activities
i:j..)
: rll-
.1,: '
of I ' -.' - rc c o f Kn o rv i e d g e . V/h a t, then, of rhe
R.Osirr',..:ranaooroach J
T h . l o s i c i u c i a n a p p ro a c h t o eni i ghren-
mL-nt i> reflecteci in the ancient injunction;
"Scici,:c i,"'ithout conscience brinp nothing
1 "' - \
irui :u:;: io the soul personaliti'." Science
her. :.ijis ro acquired knor','1edge,tvhiie
c ons c i t::;e re fe rs to th a t i n n e r k no* ' i ng, that
cosi.ri. .n'.;ri'ledgethat resiJes u,ithin each of
us ar,i . r:itiected in the activities of the Tree
of L; i c F o r th i s re a s o n th e R o si cruci an w ' ay
is reicr:-,-'j tc as "The rvay of the Heart" and
bcgir,-=..-.,ththe Cod of our Heart.
F ro i : :h e R o s i c ru c i a n p o i n t of vi el , en-
iighlc n t:rn r i s i rre v o c a b l v i l n k eci to one' s
c oncc i -:i rJ n o r e x p e ri e n c e o f t he Infi ni re.
T hus . :::tn e r th a n fb c u s i n s e x cl usi vel v on
dire,.::s':r:siti:ation of rhe .,aryo,u, svstem, \^,e
bring i',-rr efforts to bear on how best ro
harr:-ror,:eour indiviciual consciousnesswith
the Cc-s.:ricConsciousness of q'hich \r'e are a
par t . i l ::i fh i s c o n s ta n t s tri v i n g to evol ve the
c har a c :.: a n d s o u i p e rs o n " l i rv i hat l eads
ine. ,-i ta :-,'to ' th e n e c e s s a rya n d c oncomi tanr
s ens i ti :;ri c -n o f th e n e rv o u s s y stem and the
acccinc; nving-increasein psvchic sensitivity.
In thi: ',...:-,-rhe Tree cf,Knor'ledge is harrnon-
i;ed '.iii-r the Tree of Life. This process of
har nr ' :i ' :::i i c rn i s d i re c te d b v th e God of our
Hearl , :re u i ri m a te g u ru , ra rher than bl -
sorncar::-. r-xtern&l to ourselves.
Th'":s. .: second point of distinction l,.enveen
t he R o s ,,-ru c i a n s y s te m , b a s e C on psvchi c
c enie rs , ;n C th a t o f th e H i n d u . based on
c hak r a s i s a s fo l i o w s : W h i l e the H i ndu
apir , rri :' ' rrq u i re s rh e g u i d a n c e of a personal
THE ROSICRUCIANFORUM
ieachcr or guru, the Rosicruciandepends
only.uponthe God of his or her Hearr.In this
mrnner t h e n e o p h , v t e t a k e s c o n s c i o u s co n -
trol of hi s or her evol uti on and develops a
partnership r,"ith the Master Within ri'hich is
rhe onl l ' true gui de. It i s through rhe M ast er
'Within
that the funcrions of the psvchic cen-
iers are harmonized. *,ith the concomrtanr
increase in the sensitivitv of the nervous svs-
ls it to be taken then that in the Rosicru-
cian approach there is no altereC t-lou' of
energy among the vari ous hranches of t he
nervous svstem? In order to approach an
ans\\'er ro this question, iet us take a brief
i ook at the pol ari ti es exi sti ng i n the aut o-
nomic nervous system.
First of all, it shoulci be realized that rhe
various segments of the nervous sl'stem
manifest an inherent Cualitv. Thus, there rs
the right-hand chain of the symparhetic svs,
tem rvhich is associated *'ith energies of a
pcsitive polarity', anil the left-hand charn
rvhich is associated *'ith energies of a nega-
tive poiarity. The paras,vmpathetic nervous
s-vstem is iikeu'ise duai, consisrinp of nerve
fibers u'hich arise q'ithin the unper DorElon
of the brain srem, and nerve ftU.rr u'hich
arise wirhin the lcwermosr porrion of the
spinal cord. Hence, rhe parasympatheric siTs-
lerr rnanifesis a verrical. top-to-botrom divi-
sion rvhile the sympatheric system manifests
a lateral, right-to-lefr division. The tr','osvm-
pathetic chains are located ber*'een the top
and bottom sections of the parasvmparheric
system, and appear to be associatedwith the
body's ri ght-side-to-iefr-side electrical poiar-
it1'. In an analogous manner, the two poles of
the parasympathetic nervous sysiem mav be
associated with the body's weil-knou'n heaci-
to-foot elecrrical polariry.
Many- members who foliow onl_vthe Rosi-
crucian approach report experiencing an
ener6ryflow starting at rhe base of the spine
ani ri si ng up the spi nal col umn. In sor ne
cases the energy florv is experienced during
the meditarive state and travels up the srlne
io lodge at a poinr in the foreheid b,eiu.een
the e-ves.In no case has there been anv reDorr
of fear or discomfori associared o'ith'this
energy flow. This energv flo.,v may be a
 trEBRUA.qY.
1986
r eilec t lo l i .; a g re a te r h a rm o n r- o r i ncreaseJ
'l-tat'een
resonance the t-,r'opoles oithe para-
s v r n p a t h cii. itcr vo u s s) ' ste r T r ,
On the c:her hand, rhere have also been
reportstron studentsu'ho haveattemptedto
rnir the,R.osicrucian and Hindu ap-
proaches. S,rch students report a sudden,
violent fior.' .rrtenerg,v
srarringat the baseof
rhe spine a^,i rushing torvard the brarn.
Thesestudci:rsinvariablv report fear, some-
timesterror. and generaiivseekthe aid of rhe
Council .r: ].r;1ace.
Thus, a ii,;r,i poinr of distinction is that,
insofara-.en,ightenmentis ccncerned,in the
Rosicruciar,r.pproach not oniy is the ner-
vous SVStciri,:ithe stucientsensitized,but the
consciolrsn"-s". cf the student is graduallyand
naiurailv exi.-andedso rhar evolution of rhe
soui pers.lni:l1tyoccurs in an orJerly, har-
monious marner. This gradual, crderlv ap-
proach refle.:,;the Rosicrucianpoint of view
r.vhichhcijs rhar rhere is no quick way ro
mysticaliiiunination, for true knowledqeis
to be foun.i ':: :he Tree of Life which is nor
amenabletc-.:u..idenand violent shifts in rrs
activities. -i-
l!i:ressAfter Death
A frater rir..;:i Nigeria asks: "'S7hat happens
t o a m en ta i r.. rrta rd e d o r a n i n s a n e person
af t er dea ri :l i c e s th e re ta rd a ri o n or the
insanitv inst::r'rri'o' rjisappear? Also. u,hat are
the karml.: ;rplications of the acrions of
such a pcrsoi .,thiie on earthl"
'We
genera ,.; do not associatediseasewith
'
a soul personaiirl'. Diseasesare on rhe physi-
cai piane. and surely, therefore, at transition
rhere is nc nt--:repain nor symptoms of dis-
ease.Even cr::r-'i:ionaiand mental diseasesare
only exper:ci:,:td during the period of con-
scious life.
'When
\4'eaic incarnared in a body, pain is
realized thrr:r-r,:r interacrion between rh; bodv
anci soul. \1.,'i::-:{lur a bodv-, a soui corrld noi
r ealiz e pai n . 1 ;i :h o u t a s o u l , a b o d r,' s han-
c ir c apor iii n c -, .-.' u l d n o t h e re a l i z e da s pai n.
Retardali,';:: srouid not be looked uDon as
a mentai ,jis,..rjcr- The probiem is in the t odv
P age 81
strlicrure, a body rhat does nor allor.r.fbrthe
normal expressionof the soul personaliry.
insaniry also, rhe inabilir,vro rationali;e,the
enriapn.enr in a different reality from rhe
norm! may also be caused by a structurai
defectin rhe physicalbody, somerhingin rhe
flou' of nerve energv through the nervous
svsrem.It doesn't take much in the w.ayof a
,Jamagecisynapse, or connecring iink, ro
bring mixed,alrered,or incompletimessages
io the brain, thus preventinga rarionalvielr.
cf the r','orldand societ_v.
Theseareexperien-
ces that for one reason or another the soul
personality is going through in this incarna-
rion. and ir seemsthere is no likelihoodthat
the same experiencew,ouid be carried over
into another incarnation.
As rve have pointed out in previous arti-
cies.as it refersto Karma, "ciisabled"peopie
are not necessarilythe rvorst off of people.
We tend to rhink of them as especialll.
seiectedfor somc negativekarmic purpose,
forced ro go rhrolrgh life rvirh lessrhan ail
their normal faculties. There are undoubt-
e,llv orher millions of people withour any
ohr,ic-rus physical or mentaf handicapswho
icad difficult lives, teset ri.irh strife, fear,
ioneiiness, or poverry, who u,ould gladirr,
trade places rvith a "handicapped" p"rron
w'ho often is free of menral anzuish.Handi-
cappeCpeopleare ofren a proteited secrorof
scciety. They areoften caredfor and attended
to.
'Wc
understandthar being handicappedis
not a favored condition, but *.e a.. only
bringing into perspectiverhe equalplighr of a
greatnumber of other peopiewhoselivesare
an al.mostconstant"hell on earrh." Thereare
hunciredsof rhousandsof reporred casesof
child abuseand wife-bearins.Would a ,.han-
dicapped" person changellacesl lr is diffi-
cuit.to say, but rhe chincis are rhat most
wouic nct.
it is *'rong to iook at Karma as punish-
mer-rt.In ali the casesmentioned above, ,,re
cannoi trurhfuliy savthat theseafflictionsare
t,ltFosed.upon.people hecauseof somerhing
thcy drd ro deserveir, in rhis life or in
another. Trr.re,there is alrvavsan action for
ever\"rreaction; but in the casesof a person
u'alkingdown a dark streetand beingrobbed,