Cloud Upon The Sanctuary One

This evening I will be presenting the first part of a two part series of lectures on the book by Karl von Eckhartshausen, “The Cloud Upon The Sanctuary”. This book is made up of six letters. What we will cover tonight, to the extent that time allows, is the introduction, written by A.E. Waite, and the first three letters. As often as possible I will use the original quotes of the Author, so that his message is conveyed to you in his own words. My interpretations will be brief, so if you have questions, I will try to elaborate on some of these points further during the discussion period that follows.

At the next OTG Convocation, Thursday, December 10th, I will give a brief review of tonight’s material, followed by a study of the remaining three letters and the ideas contained therein. With these concepts and those previously presented, I will attempt to explain von Eckartshausen’s principles and method of obtaining,”the recovery of Triple Word ”, or our original divine state, so that we might behold the sanctuary that is presently covered by a cloud or veiled.

The Sanctuary that Von Eckartshausen speaks of is the “Holy of Holies” that was the inner sanctum of Solomon’s temple. This “Cloud” is like a “curtain “ which veils the sanctuary from our sight. The cloud is not placed upon the sanctuary to keep its light from us, but rather, the cloud is there out of divine mercy, because in our state of being it would harm us. As von Eckartshausen states in his third letter, “God and Nature have no mysteries for their children. They are caused by the weakness of our nature, unable to support light, because it is not yet organized to bear the chaste light of unveiled truth.”

There are six letters, which comprise this book. They seem to have been at one time sent anonymously to a group that he addresses as, "leaders of humanity”, and “brothers”. This seems to have included clergymen from the External Church to which he belonged. These letters were not meant to be from him alone, but comprise a kind of “manifesto” from the “Interior Church” to the “external church”. In these letters he states that the guidance presently being offered to mankind is reprehensible, or at the very least inadequate, to quote him, “You abstract from the Scriptures and Tradition their moral, theoretical and practical truth; but as individuality is the principle of your intelligence, and as egotism the incentive to your will, you do not see, by your light, the moral law which dominates, or you repel it with your will. It is to this length that the light of to day has penetrated. Individuality under the cloak of false philosophy is a child of corruption.”

He maintains that this interior church is not a secret organization of any kind; it represents rather the eternal truths that only fully realized mankind might come to know through regeneration, or inner transformation. Without this interior church showing the way, and the exterior church conforming to its plan, the exterior church will be wholly ineffectual in conveying the true Christian Mysteries to mankind in its natural state.

In these letters he describes the differences between fallen and regenerated man, the relationship between previous religions and the Christian (Catholic) religion, and outlines a process of redemption that is based on an experiential understanding and realization of these Mysteries, for the ultimate salvation of Mankind. And, as Waite says in the Introduction, “I should add that as far as I can trace, Eckartshausen always remained in loyal communication with the external church in which he was originally trained, and did not therefore regard apostasy and rebellion as among the first evidences of personal illumination. Perhaps, like one of the Eastern teachers, he thought that some things could be changed from within, and essentially, without altering outward names and forms.”

Now, more about our author from Waite’s introduction, “Karl Von Eckartshusen was born on June 28th, 1752, at the Castle of Haimbhausen in Bavaria, and was the natural son of Count Carl of Haimbhausen by Marie Anne Echart, the daughter of the overseer of the estates... His first education was received at the college of Munich, and he afterwards proceeded to Ingoldsladt for the study of philosophy and law...He published in all some sixty-nine works, embracing many classes of literature, including science, the fine arts, drama, politics, religion, history, and in particular, certain contributions of great merit to the occult sciences...”

Only one of his books, under the title “God is the Purest Love, commanded wide popularity.” Waite says, “Finally, he was the author of “The Cloud Upon The Sanctuary,” though the biographers to whom I am indebted almost for the words of this notice have scarcely mentioned this last and crowning production of his intellectual life.” There is much more in Waite’s introduction to explain the man and his message than we have time for in this short presentation. Hopefully you will be interested in reading this book on your own. I’ll conclude this short biography with one last bit of information from Waite, “He died on May 13th, 1813, after a painful illness.”

His first letter starts with an observation of the age in which he lived, but it could be said that his observations are equally true of our present age. He says, “We live in the times of idolatry of the intellect, we place a common torchlight upon the altar and we loudly proclaim the aurora, that now daylight is really about to appear, and that the world is emerging more and more out of obscurity into the full day of perfection, through the arts, sciences, cultured taste, and even from a purer understanding of religion.”

Obviously this is not an optimistic outlook on what we might call in our present age, the “human potential movement.” in which most Spiritual and Religious doctrines can be included. My interpretation of this is as follows; when we are excited by something that is illusory and unreal, we ignore the interior search for a “higher source” that is necessary to a genuine accomplishment of our potential state of being. By realizing that we are, by his description, Natural Man, ruled by the Senses, and that is our present state of being, we might then, as he says, “...approach that which alone can give us this true element, because it is wisdom in its essential substance.”

This development that he speaks of he describes as an “inner sensorium” a faculty that allows us to perceive these hidden truths. A story is told to us of how we once had this faculty, before “the fall”. In our present state he says this “inner sensorium” is, to quote, “enveloped in gross matter... and therefore prevents the exterior eye from seeing into spiritual realms.” According to von Eckartshausen it also, “...muffles our internal hearing so that we are deaf to the sounds of the metaphysical world; and it so paralyses our spiritual speech that we can scarcely stammer words of sacred import, words we fully pronounced once , and by virtue of which we held authority over the elements and the external world.”

He explains the significance of this process, “the opening of this spiritual sensorium is the mystery of the New Man - the Mystery of Regeneration, and of the vital union between God and Man-it is the noblest object of religion on earth, that religion whose sublime goal is none other than to unite men with God in Spirit and in Truth.”

Then he contrasts the “external sensorium” that is a condition of the natural man, with this “internal sensorium”. He says, “the first is the cause of our depravity and mortality, the second the cause of our incorruptibility and our immortality.” This envelope of the senses, he says is, “a truly corruptible substance found in our blood, forming the fleshly bonds binding our immortal spirits under the servitude of the mortal flesh.”

To get from one condition to the other, the immortal principal within us must, he says, “expand and absorb the corruptible principle so that the envelope of the senses should be opened, and man appear in his pristine purity.” This process is a work, which he alludes to a ‘divine temple’ that must be built within us, he says “This means, in other words, to develop in us the interior sensorium, or the organ to receive God. After this process, the metaphysical and incorruptible principle rules over the terrestrial, and man begins to live, not any longer in the principle of self-love, but in the spirit and in the Truth, of which he is the Temple.”

He describes three degrees, or states in the opening of our “internal sensorium. The first degree reaches to the moral plane only, the transcendental world energizes through us by interior action, called inspiration. The second and higher degree opens this sensorium to the reception of the spiritual and the intellectual, and the metaphysical world works in us by interior illumination. The third degree, which is the highest and most seldom attained, opens the whole inner man. It breaks the crust which fills our spiritual eyes and ears; it reveals the kingdom of the spirit, and enables us to see objectively, metaphysical, and transcendental sights; hence all visions are explained fundamentally.”

These three degrees he later equates with what he calls the symbols of external worship; “The Fall, the Reconciliation, and the Complete Atonement.” In the second letter he describes how the external service was created by the “interior church” after the fall, and why this was necessary, “...when men multiplied, the frailty of man and his weakness necessitated an exterior society which veiled the interior one, and concealed the spirit and the truth in the letter. Because many people were not capable of comprehending great interior truth, and the danger would have been too great in confiding the most holy to incapable people. Therefore, interior truths were wrapped in external and perceptible ceremonies, so that men, by the perception of the outer, which is the symbol of the interior, might by degrees be enabled safely to approach the interior spiritual truths.”

As a “lesson and a warning” to those whom he writes, he explains what happened to the external church before the coming of Christ, “When the divine external worship abandoned the interior worship, it fell, and God proved by a remarkable chain of circumstances that the letter could not exist without the spirit, that it is only there to lead to the spirit, and it is useless and even rejected by God if it fails in its object.”

The response from this inner community, to which he says was united, “The Chief of all agents, Jesus Christ Himself, ...as royal priest after the order of Melchizadek.” was the combination of all the specialized perfections of the divine agents of the ancient alliance into one. Then, he states, “A universal type appeared, which gave the real touch of perfect unity to the picture, which opened a fresh door, and destroyed the number of the slavery of humanity.”...”This Chief Agent of all, this savior of the world and universal regenerator, claimed man’s whole attention to the primitive truth, whereby he can preserve his existence and recover his former dignity.”

After this ‘Incarnation of the Savior’ he says, “New symbols became necessary for external use, which showed us through the letter the future accomplishment of universal redemption.” He then explains that the rites of the Original Christian (Catholic) were formed after the pattern of these fundamental truths. Of course this is the model, not the present reality, which he says, has fallen considerably short of this ideal.

Expounding on this, he describes a ‘Community of the Elect’ to which he belongs this way, “We possess a fire which feeds us, and which gives the strength to act upon everything in nature. We possess a key to open the gate of mystery, and a key to shut nature’s laboratory. We know of the existence of a bond which will unite us to the Upper Worlds, and reveal to us their sights and their sounds. All the marvels of nature are subordinate to our will by its being united with Divinity.” Here is where his optimism and hope for humanity lies; he explains how we are joined to this Community, “All men are called, the called may be chosen, if they become ripe for entrance. Anyone can look for the entrance, and any man who is within can teach another to seek for it; but only he who is fir can arrive inside...” “ He who is ripe is joined to this chain, perhaps often where he thought least likely, and at a point of which he knew nothing himself. Seeking to become ripe should be the effort of him who seeks wisdom.”

He also says that this community possesses a “School in which all who thirst for knowledge are instructed by the Spirit of Wisdom itself...”In his third letter he explains the importance of the use of forms of “external worship” for this purpose, he states, “in order that man may recover the veiled light, strength and dignity, Divinity bends to the weakness of its creatures, and writes the truth that is an interior and eternal mystery on the outside of things, so that man can transport himself through this to their spirit. These letters are the ceremonies or the rituals of religion, which lead man to the interior life of union with God.”

He states the importance of visual symbols as well, “Mystic Hieroglyphs are these letters also; they are sketches and designs holding interior and holy truth.” Later he clarifies further his previous statement, “Thus religion can never be merely ceremony, but hidden and holy Mysteries penetrate through symbol into the outer worship to prepare men properly for the worship of god in spirit and in truth.”

The content of his third letter is curious as it especially appears to be written as a kind of ‘manifesto’ from the interior church that he represents, it also seems to be addressed to his audience anonymously. He tells his “brothers”, ”Do not ask who those are that write to you; look at the spirit not the letter, the thing, not at persons”. The all important message he transmits is to bring about the accomplishment of this change in our fundamental state of being which especially, “will enable the leaders of humanity to bring back from every side their wandering brothers, those who are led by the prejudices of reason, by the turbulence of passions, to the ways of peace and knowledge.”

To summarize briefly, Natural man cannot partake of the mysteries of God. To experience these mysteries a complete change of our being must take place. This will open the inner sensorium, and the process of re-generation of fallen man to his original divine state. The exterior church does, however, have a part in this. He sees External Worship not as an end in itself, but insofar as it conforms to the “Interior Church” a path to “interior worship”, and from our fallen state to complete regeneration of our being. To him, Revealed Religion, which includes the mysteries, in its truest sense is, “the science of rebinding man with god, to bring man back to his origin.” Ultimately we are called to join the interior church, and the community of the elect.

This science is a mystery, and a process, which he discusses further, in the following material. Next month we will take up where we left off and further examine the ways in which this change of being, the opening of this “inner sensorium” which is truly a re-birth, can take place; in its triple and sevenfold aspects, for the regeneration of our being and the rescue of mankind, as is presented to us in his next three letters.