MASTERS HONOR SPENCER LEWIS

 

One of the constants of Harvey Spencer Lewis, the founder of AMORC, is his continuous contradictions with large doses of fantasy that make him fall often into big lies, which would not be serious if he was someone without responsibilities of any kind, but when he is an individual who leads a movement that guides a large number of people, then such contradictions constitute something disastrous because they disorient those who believe in good faith in this individual.

 

And if these fantasies are manifested in false documents, then the matter is even more serious because there is already an obvious intention of deception, and it shows a lack of scruples on the part of this individual who does not hesitate to falsify documents in order to be able convince people, even if that is completely fraudulent.

 

This is the case of Spencer Lewis who falsified many documents, and one of the most curious among the many that he produced (since he did not stop seeking the recognition and the honors that could serve him to impress people) is "the Charter of the Great White Lodge".

 

All this happened when Lewis, after having had a resounding failure at the Second AMORC Convention, held in the summer of 1918 in New York City, a large number of members were skeptical of the stories he told them.

 

The lack of credible explanations in the matter of the disappearance of the funds of the 6% obligations for the purchase and restoration of the property of the singer Lily Langtry and the subsequent arrest of Lewis, this produced a considerable loss of members that caused that Lewis accepted the offer of a German confectioner named Willem Reisener, who became his protector and paid for the transfer of the AMORC organization to the city of San Francisco in 1919, and there Lewis came into contact with a curious character.

 

Ralph Lewis, the son of Spencer Lewis, relates in his book Cosmic Mission Accomplished that this individual was an elderly Englishman, a Buddhist priest who made friends with his father and with whom he spent many afternoons in his office talking about philosophy and psychology. And that Lewis out of sympathy for his old friend agreed to receive an honorary consecration as a "Buddhist priest."

 

But the reality does not correspond with the version that Ralph told in his book, since this old man was of Persian origin and called himself "Bishop Masananda" (curious title for a Buddhist) of the "Church of Dharma" (curious name for a Buddhist institution).

 

This eccentric old man said that he acted as "The Great Hierophant for the Western World of the Great White Brotherhood of Tibet" (which sounds strongly to charlatanism) and also called himself Sri ELMM Kahn; that is how he signed the letters and documents he emitted.

 

The fact is that on August 17, 1920, the "Bishop Masananda of the Dharma Church" ordained Spencer Lewis as "priest" of this church, to whom he conferred the mystic name of "Sri Sobhita Bhikku".

 

And to immortalize the event, a certificate was issued which we reproduce below:

 

 

 

 

The text says the following:

 

G∴ W∴ B∴ L∴

 

These are the initials of Great White Brotherhood Lodge

 

Salutations

 

In the name of KAR-GYA-PA, the Venerable founder of the G∴ W∴ B∴ L∴ in the sacred mountains of Tibet, and in the name of his apostolic successors as Narpa, Mila-Ba-Pa, Om- Rah-Mah, Kar-Ma-Baksri, Kar-Ma-Pa etc.

 

Then follows a text in Hebrew

 

 

Then say

 

By this proclamation be it known that in accordance with the instructions, decrees, powers and mandamuses of the venerable G∴ W∴ B∴ L∴ whose secret sign and name are revealed in this document, and vested with the right, the authority and sole permission to act as Prelate, Master and Secret Chief for the Western World, the undersigned Messenger of Light, and we who have signed and sealed this document, institute and establish in the Occident of the world for and during the Aquarian cycle, the Occidental section of the Great White Brotherhood Lodge, to be and to continue to be an active body with all of the privileges as of the Oriental section, to accept and admit members who have been duly tried through the grades of the recognized and approved Order, to confer upon them the rights and powers of the G∴ W∴ B∴ L∴, and to affiliate them with the Oriental section of the G∴ W∴ B∴ L∴

 

And this document also proclaims the nomination of the beloved and respected Reverend Sobhita Bhikku, ordained by me on August 17, 1920, in California, USA, known to the world as Harver Spencer Lewis, Ph. Dr. who is also certified and honored by the Indian Academy of Sciences, India, as our successor in the role of Prelate and Secret Head of the G∴ W∴ B∴ L∴ according to the Apostolic Succession, upon the death of the undersigned.

 

Signatures

 

Dated: October 20, 1920 AD 2508 AB 3273 RC in San Francisco, California, USA.

 

Witnesses: Maud Moore, Willard Moore, Columba H. Reisener.

 

_  _  _

 

 

This document was first published in September 1933 in AMORC's Rosecrucian Digest magazine (p.317) and it is considered one of the five important documents that support the authenticity of Spencer Lewis, however a simple analysis casts seriously doubt on its legitimacy.

 

The first thing we can notice is that the charter was issued on October 20, 1920, three days after Lewis' "ordination as a Buddhist priest."

 

Why it was not published the same day?

 

Everything suggests that it was a later initiative made by Lewis that should serve as recognition and honor for subsequent propaganda activities.

 

Secondly, this "charter of the Great White Lodge of Tibet" is in English and there is not a single symbol or letter in Tibetan in it, which makes no sense if it was supposedly issued by great Masters of Tibet.

 

And not only does it not have anything in Tibetan, but it also has a series of inscriptions in Hebrew, which makes these "Tibetans" who do not put a single Tibetan word in an official Tibetan document, instead they are knowledgeable in Hebrew.

 

And they loved to write in Hebrew since inside the six pointed star which appears in the lower left margin, there is also a series of Hebrew letters.

 

 

It would have been better for Lewis and his old friend to pretend that this chart had been issued by a Lodge of Kabalistic Masters because that would have made their deception more credible.

 

In addition, a cross with a serpent appears above the document, which is a European alchemical symbol but has never been used in Tibet.

 

 

In the central seal located in the middle of the letters G ∴ W ∴ B ∴ L ∴ there is a cross that is a Christian symbol but it is not Tibetan at all.

 

 

In the center there is an Ankh which is an Egyptian symbol which has never been used in any of the Tibetan writings.

 

 

The document talks a lot about “apostolic succession”, which is a Christian term, not a Tibetan one, but let's see what Madame Blavatsky who was in contact with the Masters of Tibet, says about this matter:

 

   -   "The apostolic succession is a fraud" (Isis Unveiled II, p.544)

 

 

We have to ask ourselves why those "Tibetan Masters of the Great White Lodge of Tibet" who are the highest spiritual intelligences of humanity, make a document with a jumble of symbols and without not a single Tibetan letter or symbol, but instead they put a lot of Hebrew letters and the text is in perfect English ???

 

All this sounds like fraud. It seems that Lewis put these symbols simply to impress his followers, and his fraudulence is accentuated by delusion of grandeur since there the "Adepts of the White Lodge name Lewis: heir Prelate and Secret Chief."

 

But not so secret since his new titles were quickly revealed in AMORC so that people would know that Lewis was the "Venerable representative of the Great White Brotherhood."

 

* * *

 

But now let's see what Spencer Lewis said about the Great White Lodge in his Rosicrucian Manual, because this will allow us to see what extent Lewis was able to distort his own teachings when it suited him.

 

« You will realize, of course, that the Great White Brotherhood and the Great White Lodge have no visible organization. They never come together in one united session; their members are never assembled in any one meeting; they have no Temple known by their names; and they have no earthly rituals, physical organization laws, or material form as a Brotherhood or Lodge. »

(p.144, 1932)

 

 

And as you yourself can see, Spencer Lewis with this diploma is contradicting what he himself wrote, since if there are no meeting centers, ceremonies, temples, etc. What is this "Charter of the Great White Lodge" and what real value does it have if it contradicts what Lewis himself claimed to teach?

 

The fact is that this disjointed matter and this very strange document, one more of Lewis's montages that like many other things he used very recklessly because he had an unbridled fantasy, caused a serious incident among the European members of the Masonic rite Memphis-Misraim.

 

This happened when a Masonic group of them, led by Arthur Rombaud and the Belgian lawyer, Jean Mallinguer, split from the French matrix of the Masonic Rite of Memphis Misraim, led by Grand Master Constant Chevillon, as Lewis intervened in the matter, who said that by virtue of the "powers conferred by the Charter of the Great White Lodge of Tibet", he recognized this split.

 

But later when Brother Arthur Rombaud learned what that "charter" was, he felt so ashamed that he resigned from his position as Grand Master of Memphis Misraim and withdrew from all esoteric associative activity.

 

 

 

~ * ~

 

And this is one more example of the enormous charlatanism of Spencer Lewis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPENCER LEWIS HAD GREAT ADMIRATION FOR DICTATOR MUSSOLINI

 

The AMORC leaders have tried to hide this fact, but the evidence found by various researchers is irrefutable and shows that Harvey Spencer Lewis, founder of AMORC, had great admiration for Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy. And this admiration peaked when they met in Rome in 1937, after which Lewis praised the fascist dictator highly in newspaper interviews and in his own publications.

 

But we should not be surprised by this admiration since it is consistent with the way of thinking that Lewis had who praised the system of government where one person concentrates all the power and which is called: autocracy.

 

For example, in his first magazine The American Rosae Crucis, to explain why he had all the control of AMORC, Lewis wrote:

 

« It is right that this should be so. Even nature finds the power of autocracy to be the only power making for success in her realms. Every law of nature is an autocratic law, immutable, inconsiderate of all else except the one purpose and one goal to which she is dedicated, and determined that all should bow to her laws and decrees.

 

Nature is likewise constructive in purpose, and resorts to seeming destruction only to bring about greater progress. So can all forms of autocratic government be constructive and for the final, ultimate, good of all.

 

There seems to be a general impression that autocracy means tyranny, suffering, death. Nothing is further from the truth. Autocracy, tempered with love and the consciousness of the divine permission which makes possible the opportunities to direct and serve out fellowmen, means the uniting of many minds, many hearts and many hands in a more efficient service or more productive work, whatever it may be. »

(December 1917, p.248)

 

Many philosophers and guides disagree with Lewis's thinking. But in addition Mussolini claimed to be the new Emperor of Italy, and Lewis named himself Emperor of AMORC. So as you can see, these two individuals had very similar ideas.

 

 

And this similarity of thought makes us understand the statements Lewis made to the San Jose Mercury Herald newspaper after his visit to Italy in 1931.

 

« According to what Mr. Lewis told us, his visit to Italy took place under more pleasant conditions than in previous years. He has told us that the streets were cleaner, there were no beggars, the hotels were better cared for, with fixed rates, the trains ran regularly and seemed to be running properly under the supervision of fascist agents. The ships were better managed and more carefully maintained than before. 

 

Mr Lewis claimed that such changes are due to Mussolini's government, and neighboring countries fear him because Mussolini has shown that in his own country at least business is being better managed than the others countries, concerning certain aspects. »

(October 1, 1931)

 

 

But in a dictatorship it is easy to maintain order at the cost of implementing terror.

 

 

How could the Italian trains and ships not be "better" functioning if they were controlled by fascist agents?

 

How could there be beggars on the streets if there was a fascist law forbidding public begging, and Mussolini's black shirts were in charge of enforcing it on the unfortunate beggars?

 

How could other countries not fear Mussolini, if they saw that they could lose their freedom as the Italians had already lost it?

 

 

The fact is that Lewis, delighted by the "achievements" of Mussolini's fascist government, during a trip he made to Europe in 1937 and where he took with him more than a hundred members of AMORC, he took the opportunity to visit Italy again and on this occasion he was received by Mussolini on March 5.

 

This meeting was publicized by the Italian newspapers and below you can see the cover of the newspaper Il Messaggero of the following day:

 

 

 

On the first page the newspaper put a photo where Mussolini appears receiving the AMORC group.

 

 

And below is a zoom of the photo where to the right is Mussolini and to the left is Lewis.

 

 

 

The title says:

 

"American Rosicrucian tourists are greeted by the Duce"

 

 

And the text below the photo says:

 

« Professor Spencer Lewis, who led the group of tourists (members of AMORC) visiting Italy, has declared himself happy and extremely honored to be able to present the Duce the tribute by the group that accompanied him, and has stated in the name of they that each one of the Americans who had enjoyed this brief stay in Italy, had been able to verify with their own eyes what had been accomplished in the peninsula thanks to the will of Mussolini, and has concluded by saying that each visitor, after returning to his country, could testify in the name of the truth what he had seen. In short, he warmly thanked the Duce for having granted him this audience and for having granted this honor to his group. »

 

 

Historian Robert Vanloo notes that Mussolini dedicated the entire day to receiving the "Venerable Rosicrucian Imperator" and offered a sumptuous reception at the Palazzo de Venezia to the 120 visitors from America.

 

AMORC members overjoyed at the lavish reception of the fascist dictator, in an article that appeared in the official AMORC magazine, Rosicrucian Digest, they said:

 

« The reception to the Rosicrucians by Mussolini was splendid, the magnificent speech he gave in recognition of our Imperator Lewis, as well as the Supreme Officers of AMORC, the magnificent things he said about the Rosicrucians and our organization. »

(August 1937, p.267)

 

 

 

But at the same time that Lewis and his entourage were delighted by the meeting they had with the fascist dictator, the members of AMORC were blind to all the atrocities that this dictator was committing this same year:

 

- Mussolini had banned esoteric democratic organizations, such as Masonry, and which Grand Master in Italy, the illustrious Torrigliani, had been arrested and confined in the Lipari Islands, where he died blind due to lack of medical care.

 

- Mussolini had invaded Libya and also Abyssinia, which earned him the unanimous condemnation of democratic countries.

 

- Mussolini was helping General Franco with troops and weapons, who had taken up arms against the legitimate and democratic government of the Spanish Republic.

 

- Mussolini was giving all his military and political support (together with the German dictator Adolf Hitler) to General Franco who banned esoteric democratic organizations and imprisoned and killed thousands of Freemasons and hundreds of thousands of Democrats.

 

- Mussolini, like Hitler, were testing their new weapons in the Spanish Civil War for use them later in the Second World War that those dictators were already preparing.

 

- And when the genocide began, Mussolini authorized the deportation to German concentration camps of thousands of Italian Jews, where they died in the most abject of misery.

 

 

 

~ * ~

 

And this is further proof of the enormous hypocrisy of Spencer Lewis who claimed to be the heir to the Rosicrucians, who were deeply spiritual occultists, while Lewis was a great fascist admirer of bloodthirsty dictators and the utter lack of freedom.