Sven Johansson has served as the Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa since 1994. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC. Born in Durban, South Africa, on November 26, 1952, Frater Johansson has been a member of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, since 1973.
Having taken degrees in Economics and Mathematics, he has acquired a special interest in the economics of third-world development and keeps himself informed of developments in the fields of physics and especially cosmology. His hobbies include listening to classical music, nature conservation, and spending time alone in nature's wild places.
Discourse
There are millions of people throughout the world of numerous ethnic origins and religious persuasions who hate with passion members of societies different from their own. With irrational anger they advocate simple solutions to problems far more complex than they can comprehend, and see only “final-solution” answers, just as dictators and tyrants of all ages have done. Undoubtedly, it will be some time before all humanity realizes that solutions can only be found when there is a genuine will to compromise and see other cultures and religions as being composed of humans of many different persuasions. Sadly, humanity, despite its great technological advances in almost every field we can think of, still has far to go before it reaches that great dream of permanent peace and harmony among nations, races, and religions the world over.
But doom and gloom is not the way of the mystic, and a joyful and optimistic way forward is always found by those with peace in their hearts. In 1944, at the height of World War II, former AMORC Imperator Ralph M. Lewis wrote a short essay about the nature of war in the Rosicrucian Forum. At the end of his article, Frater Lewis listed twelve brief statements that he called “acts of war,” and ever since, these statements have been known as the Creed of Peace, of which you are probably familiar.
Although each one of Frater Lewis’ statements deserves a full and searching analysis, that would take more than a full day to accomplish, so I will try instead to do justice to just one: the first article of the Creed of Peace.
Article 1: I am guilty of war when I proudly exercise my intelligence to the disadvantage of my fellow man.
Exercising our intelligence to the clear disadvantage of those who are intellectually less fortunate than us, yet clearly infused with the same soul force we are, will eventually result in karmic retribution. Always!
As aspiring mystics, when we do something wrong, we know this by the way we feel inside. The Master Within, that personal master who guides us from birth to death, our infallible guide and “Guardian angel,” advises us as to what is truly right and wrong. The voice of conscience guides us for our own self-preservation, our own good, for this deepest part of our being knows full well the karmic consequences of all our thoughts, words, and deeds, and tries its utmost to guide us out of harm’s way. Because of this, we eagerly seek to compensate now rather than in some distant future when we quite possibly would not be aware of the reasons for our discomfort and hence would learn less from the compensatory experiences.
Therefore, it can be said that in the life of every true mystic, there is a sense of urgency in attempting to use every moment of conscious existence as well as possible. It can also be said that the true mystic specifically tries to compensate for the harm he or she may have caused others and quite possibly continues causing others through undisciplined and uncontrolled thoughts, words, and deeds.
It is so easy to use our intellect and inherent intelligence to fool others less gifted than ourselves. It is so easy to lead them astray, to persuade those less intelligent to do things that we know are not in their best interests. Would you ever do such a thing to yourself? Would you do it to your child or to your beloved partner in life? Of course not. Therefore, do not do the same to others. For the mistakes we make individually may one day be made locally, then nationally, and finally internationally, eventually leading to open hostilities and war.
The Rosicrucian teachings are an eclectic conglomeration of wisdom born out of the trials, tribulations, and deepest thoughts and emotions of mystics who have lived before us. They encountered obstacles just as we have and overcame many challenges that we still face. Their lives span thousands of years of experience, and although most of them had no great technological skills, and probably didn’t have even the most basic knowledge of math, biology, and science that we take for granted today, despite their relative technological backwardness, they still had such profound wisdom, kindness, gentleness, and inner strength. Above all, they had an understanding of God that goes beyond what most of us could even hope to attain. Isn’t it strange that living a life of sanctity can be so completely independent of our vaunted modern technology?
And so, Fratres and Sorores, returning to the first of the twelve articles of Frater Lewis’ Creed of Peace, remember, when you use your intelligence to harm the interests of another, you are guilty of WAR. But, use your intelligence to assist those less gifted and less fortunate than you, and you are a contributor to PEACE.
