MYSTERY SCHOOLS PAST AND PRESENT
Sylvia Shanti Vowless QSM, Rev.
According to many great Adepts and scholars including Manly P Hall, Mystery Schools are probably of Atlantean origin and although so many became corrupted and perverted with false forms and interpretations, a few have maintained their integrity and genuine teachings in their present forms. Scores of ancient Mystery Schools are known to have existed with branches in all parts of both the Eastern and Western cultures. Some like those of Pythagoras and the Hermeticists show Oriental influence, while others like the Rosicrucians according to their own writings, gained much wisdom from the Arabian mysteries. Much of the wisdom teachings of the Druidic and Eluesinian mysteries which were similar to those of Greece and Egypt, the Babylonian, Chaldean and Indian mysteries, have been lost because their members were bound to inviolable secrecy. Moses established the secret and symbolic Tabernacle Mystery School. Solomon's Temple was another and the Essenes had their Mystery School in which Jesus and his parents studied. The esoteric foundation of early Christianity was based upon the high ideals, impeccable morality and arcanum of the true Mystery Schools which Christian and Gnostic mystics preserved.
So what exactly is a Mystery School? The dictionary meanings of the words 'mystery' and 'mysteries' in this context are self-explanatory and provide a good starting point. Meanings include "a secret doctrine," "that which is beyond human knowledge to explain ............. known only to the initiated" while the associated word 'mystical' means "a sacred or secret meaning hidden from the eyes of the ordinary person, only revealed to a spiritually enlightened mind" and related to those "who seek direct communion with God or the Divine." Their common Latin and Greek roots of 'mysterium-mysterion' and 'mystes' mean "one initiated," "to initiate," "mastery," and "to close the eyes." Descriptions of an Initiate include "one who has developed their own inner Divine power that enables them to act and live wisely without prompting from others or an outside source" and "standing in one's own power." According to the Pistis Sophia scrolls from the Nag Hammadi library, mysteries are explained as "God-given levels of knowledge."
From all these explanations it's easy to see why Mystery Schools have never been very visible - or popular! And yet it is now recognised that all great advancements made in philosophies, science, the arts and the highest aspects of human civilization are due to those great minds, philosophers and mystics throughout the ages who were initiated into these secret institutions formed by spiritually mature men and women, Initiates and Adepts banding together to study, preserve and live the most sublime spiritual truths, morality and virtues. Manly Hall goes so far as to say that their re-establishment is necessary to civilization's advancement for without the re-discovery of their occult teachings humanity will sink ever further into states of confusion, fear, helplessness and uncertainty making the masses prey to those who seek power and control over others. For all genuine Mystery Schools share the ageless teachings of Ancient Wisdom that recognise and promote the only true credo of developing the God-Power within for the highest good and of developing self-control as the path to ultimate freedom, self-mastery, enlightenment and transformation.
Mystery Schools stand at the threshold of Reality, serving as doorways to the limitless region of Spirit. The knowledge and wisdom they guard and pass on is universal in nature and not based on people’s changing beliefs, opinions and interpretations. As such their validity and truth has been tested, lived, demonstrated and proven for millennia by enlightened Avatars, Masters, and Adepts. Their purpose is expressed in many ways but can be summarised briefly to include ........
* to teach the doctrine of one God or Source of all things * the resurrection of man/woman through reunion of the individual with their Divine Self * to reveal the Divine in all creation * to explain the operation of Divine Truth Principles/Precepts and Laws in the earthly sphere and in humans, and how to utilize them in everyday life so providing an illumined, empowered way of living above the mass consciousness * to give the understandings and means for humanity to overcome their lower nature * develop conscious communication with their Higher Self/I AM * give expression to their Higher Self potential and reawaken the latent Divinity and dormant God-Powers within * and explain the immortality, purpose and education of the human soul - beautifully expressed as: "The soul of man has not been deprived of its wings. They are merely folded under the garment of flesh. Once released it spreads its wings and soars to the very Source of itself."
While Mystery School teachings offer so much priceless knowledge and guidance that can accelerate individual and collective spiritual evolution, they never promise ‘short cuts,’ ‘quick fixes,’ or instant enlightenment/transformation so popular in today’s ‘fast food’ world. Nor do they ever suggest that anything or anyone outside of oneself can transmit this to another or do the Magnum Opus - Great Work for us. Inherent Divinity can only be experienced directly. Instead they provide the understandings and means which when applied and lived will not fail to purify the soul, free one from slavery to physical existence, and ultimately transform home sapiens into ‘homus universalis,’ the Adam Kadmon.
So have any Mystery Schools of the Western Esoteric lineage succeeded in surviving down to the present day, and are there 'Golden Threads' that link them? Yes is the answer to both questions! For example, the Rosicrucian Order, some of the Freemasonry Orders, the B.O.T.A and the Order of Melchizedek Mystery School which I am privileged to work with, still offer wonderful treasure-houses of the Ancient Wisdom teachings to those who are ready for their discipline and practice. While the format and presentation may have changed over the years, their essence remains pure and relatively untainted by human interference. The exciting development of today is that the new sciences are now explaining how and why these principles and laws work, thus verifying their valid reality!
A look at their histories reveals that they have been linked in various ways through their core teachings. According to Manly Hall and many other scholars, Masonry is believed to have been an outgrowth of Rosicrucianism which in turn is the 'missing link' between modern Masonry and Egyptian Hermeticism. The B.O.T.A - Builders of the Adytum - founded under St Germain's guidance by Dr Paul Foster Case in 1922 is an outgrowth of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a highly influential esoteric fraternity founded in 1888 by a group of Qabbalists, Rosicrucians, Freemasons and Theosophists. Interestingly enough, the Theosophical Society headed by Madame Blavatsky was also founded (1875) by a group of Spiritualists, Qabbalists, Freemasons and Rosicrucians! She herself wrote about the Tree of Life in “Isis Unveiled.”
Based on the idea of an esoteric wisdom-teaching that was common to all humanity throughout the ages, Theosophy was originally founded as a Western esoteric society, only shifting to an Eastern orientation some years later when Blavatsky and Olcott converted to Buddhism. As there remained a real need for an organization that carried on the equally empowering Western Esoteric Tradition, the Golden Dawn was founded in response to this change to Eastern spirituality. Then in 1889 Blavatsky created the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society aimed at stemming the loss of members to the Golden Dawn and preventing a total split between proponents of Eastern and Western spirituality.
In my forty-plus years of research and study I have discovered that there are two major 'Golden Threads' that provide not only a link but in fact could be seen as the origin of most Western Esoteric Wisdom teachings. These are the Qabbalah and the genuine, ancient Order of Melchizedek. Qabbalistic teachings are based on the Tree of Life whose importance to humanity is stated many times throughout the scriptures and many cultures - in Genesis, Proverbs, Revelation - and it is the Tree of Life that is the 'secret' teaching of the Order of Melchizedek together with Divine Truth Principles and Universal Laws. Pre-dating the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition by millennia, God is believed to have given the Qabbalah wisdom to Metatron at the beginning of humanity's history to guide us back to Source. These same "first principles of the oracles of God” as the Bible describes them were later taught to Abraham, Patriarch of the three main world religions, by the non-human Priest-King and 'son of God' Melchizedek (Genesis 14, Hebrews 5, 7).
According to the Pistis Sophia scrolls which record advanced teachings of the resurrected Jesus to his disciples, the Light Power Melchizedek is known as Educator of the Soul, King of Peace and Righteousness, and the Paralemptor (Receiver) of the Purified Light of our souls. In these scrolls Jesus also speaks at length about the soul's journey, the Tree of Life's Divine Principles, as well as the role of Melchizedek - humanity’s first spiritual teacher - in the evolution of humanity. The fact that Jesus is referred to many times in the Bible as being "called of God a High Priest after (of) the Order of Melchizedek" makes Jesus one of a line or order of which there must have been others of equal or even superior dignity before him.
The Essenes were Qabbalists, the tenets of Rosicrucianism are interwoven with Qabbalism, and the foundation of the Golden Dawn, B.O.T.A, and the Order of Melchizedek Mystery School is the Qabbalah. Whether consciously or not all humanity is governed and guided by these same Divine Wisdom Principles and Laws, and because of their universality they can be found in every true spiritual path and religion. This simply demonstrates the many expressions of Melchizedek’s Law of Oneness and Unity Consciousness, the Truth of Divine Creation and our hope for the future. For is there not just one of us in six and a half billion containers?!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Secret Teachings of all the Ages – Manly P. Hall
Pistis Sophia from the Nag Hammadi library
The Book of Knowledge: the Keys of Enoch – Prof. J. J. Hurtak
Builders of the Adytum
The Essential Golden Dawn – Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero
Holy Bible
Sylvia is a sought-after International Master Teacher, Spiritual Educator and lecturer with over 35 years’ inner-levels training, study and experience. A Neshamah Adeptus and Ordaining Priest of the Order of Melchizedek, author of Soul Education books including the latest of 80+ Universal Laws and Sciences, and a monthly Home Study Series, she has travelled worldwide for decades empowering people to accelerate their ascension of consciousness, life mastery and fulfilment.
Director of the Melchizedek Mystery School International and the Living Qabbalah Foundation of New Zealand, Sylvia can be contacted on:
Ph: MOB: 021 259 4491; Email
Website: www.melchizedekacademy.com