The true heart does not exclude, it embraces. That is why we can only be courageous – in the original sense of the word – if we see ourselves as part of a larger whole.
The true heart does not exclude, it embraces. That is why we can only be courageous – in the original sense of the word – if we see ourselves as part of a larger whole, as part of a communal cause that is greater than oneself.
About the founders of the Golden Rosycross
It is not very difficult to attribute courage to the founders of the Spiritual School of the Golden Rosycross when one knows what the word courage means in its original sense. It comes from modaz, which, three thousand years ago in our region meant something like spirit, thought or the inner state. Modaz, courage, is a movement of the soul, an action of the heart.
The true heart does not exclude, it embraces. That is why we can only be courageous – in the original sense of the word – if we see ourselves as part of a larger whole, as part of a communal cause that is greater than oneself.
Z.W. (Wim) Leene, Jan van Rijckenborgh, Catharose de Petri and their friend and comrade-in-arms from the very beginning, Cor Damme, have proven more than clearly that they were aware of the larger connections. Already in their youth, they discovered that they were part of a spiritual field, part of an invisible brotherhood and sisterhood rooted in thinking, in a pure, living reason and in the universal spiritual sphere of Christ. One spirit, one sphere, one field that presupposes unity, that has always remained one in spirit through all times and circumstances, that has always remained one and will remain so, because it transcends the temporal.
The goal of the founders of the modern Rosicrucian movement was, as Z.W. Leene put it, to give Christianity the place it deserves in the world of real life and philosophical thought. After the death of Z.W. Leene in 1938, his brother Jan – later Jan van Rijckenborgh – took over the leadership of the young Rozenkruizer Genootschap (Rosicrucian Society) and gave it a powerful impetus. In 1945, he became chairman of a board of four members. Together they continued to work purposefully and fearlessly. For that is the spirit that is needed to carry out the liberating work of the Light, the attitude of mind that has always been important in all ages: to summon up the courage to work effectively without a break. Decisive is neither the rapid progress of the work, nor the eventual success of the few striving persons, but the work itself, the sowing of selfless thoughts, the awakening of the memory of the field of life in searching souls, an atmosphere that extends beyond the earthly realm, the atmosphere which the souls once knew. It is an activity that comes from an inner necessity, not triggered or imposed from outside.
It takes a certain mindset to be able to say as a nineteen-year-old: ‘From my early youth, I have sought the Lord and served Him in a constant struggle for life. In 1915, I made a vow before my inner tribunal to devote my life to the service of the Lord and, if I should be granted the privilege, to give this to the world:
- a new Christian philosophy that would be based on the hidden things,
- 2. a free school to impart this philosophy to those who are suited to it,
- the foundation of a brotherhood that would sweep away the boundaries between material bondage and freedom of spirit through knowledge and lifestyle.
I was told that I would eventually reach my goal through a series of storms, as long as I remained true to my ideals and led a pure life in spite of all difficulties.’
Anyone reading this may shrug their shoulders and dismiss it as youthful exuberance. How often does something we set out to do in our younger years actually come to fruition? But here is the courage, the state of mind that expresses itself in a different way than one would expect. This courage is the signature of all those working and ploughing courageously in the fields of Light.
‘How great was the merit of Madame Blavatsky’, Max Heindel writes, ’with her fantastic moral courage to confront the materialism of her time with the spiritual values of a completely different, inner science!’
And Eduard Schuré was writing to Rudolf Steiner: ’If you want to fight the enemy, start by understanding him. You can only defeat the dragon by crawling into its skin. You have to grab the bull by the horns. It is precisely so that in the highest distress you will be able to find your weapons and your comrades-in-arms. I have shown you who you are, now go – and remain yourself!’
As for the young Jan Leene, by the time of his death in 1968, he had brought seven international conference centres into being, written forty profound books, edited more than ten journals, authored hundreds of articles and given countless lectures. An unbiased observer can draw no other conclusion than that his project (formulated in his youth) was impressively successful.
This is based on a mindset expressed in a different way than one would expect. It is a courage that comes from the heart, a mindset that is based on the words of the Bible: ‘Judge not.’[ii] Those who judge no longer perceive things openly and objectively; they have made up their minds and their understanding is no longer open to the Great Breath that speaks to the heart in a subtle way and keeps everything in motion and in flow. Such people are rarely able to see beyond the surface of things. Jan Leene said:
‘For the people of the spirit, this nature-order is a mystification. There is a hierarchy of human beings – and human beings are bound by blood, all of them are part of one humanity. There is only one way, one method – and I speak only to those who are ennobled to approach the words of Christ spoken on the Holy Mountain: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’
The founders of the Golden Rosycross could not escape the grey and oppressive reality of human existence. In the life of Jan Leene, it happened in February 1941 that he was picked up by the dreaded Gestapo. His friend and fellow fighter for the Light, Cor Damme, immediately travelled from The Hague to Euterpestraat in Amsterdam, where Jan was being held. A former school served as an interrogation and torture centre for the Gestapo and the security service. (It was bombed by the British in 1944.) The street bears the beautiful name of the Greek muse of poetry, playing flute – a cynical and bitter contrast to reality. During the occupation, the black monster, the Nazi secret service, was based there; Jewish people were brought there and the resistance fighters were detained and tortured there.
(After the war, the street name continued to have negative connotations for the people of Amsterdam, so the city council decided to rename the street after the resistance hero Gerrit van der Veen.) Damme did not dare to go in to see his friend, but waited for his brother at a distance. Meanwhile, a friend and fellow member of the Rozekruizers Genootschap, E. Roland-Retera, used her contacts to Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart to get Jan Leene free again.
Later, J. van Rijckenborgh recounted his experiences as follows:
I sat in front of one of the top leaders of the Gestapo. So, I was under arrest! The man had a handsome face and light blue eyes. In front of him on the desk were pictures of his wife and children. He was a completely normal person. There was certainly nothing bad or beastly about him. He looked at me – and I looked at him. We smiled at each other. We recognised the tragicomic nature of the situation … And then, suddenly, it happened. His eyes became fixed, his pupils dilated. He was overshadowed, his larynx was controlled. This can always be recognised by the unmotivated rising and falling of the voice and its total change in tone. His head was bent back slightly, as if he were being grabbed by the neck. I realized immediately that the man was possessed. His own self had been suppressed and the spirit from the background, the lurking black beast, was the one who was speaking to me. I forgot my resistance, the reason of my arrest. I was filled with deep compassion for this being, and while a flood of insults poured over me, I prayed for this strange enemy and enveloped him in the light of the Rosicrucians. And behold, the possession receded. The man shook himself like a wet poodle, my strange enemy became normal again, he became himself again. I had seen and heard who my real enemy was, I had resisted and defeated him, I had chased him away. For, my enemy was not this senior officer, it was someone else.
Finally, Jan Leene was allowed to go home on condition that he refrained from any further activities for esoteric Christianity. That same evening, he and Cor Damme held a course in The Hague. [iii]
A similar incident that occurred just less than two years later is worth mentioning as well. This time it was not Jan Leene who was affected, but Cor Damme. In 1943, he was summoned by the SS in Amsterdam and he had to report to SS headquarters, which was also in Euterpestraat. When Jan Leene was picked up and taken there in February 1942, he, Cor, stood at the corner of the street and waited. Now Jan went with him and waited at the same street corner. Cor said to him, ‘If I’m not back in a few hours, you must go home and tell Jos’[iv].
Inside the office were piles of confiscated works of art. And now everything is turning out quite differently than the friends had feared. The colonel who had ordered him to come seems to have been unexpectedly called back to Berlin. The deputy commander bosses him: ‘Mr. Damme, do you know why Colonel Ruempke ordered you here?’
Cor thinks quickly. It doesn’t seem to be about hiding Jews, as he had feared, or about the secret resistance that he is supplying with food in The Hague. But all this art he sees there! Now, being the owner of the Kunstsaal Damme, which specializes in Eastern art and Persian carpets, something occurs to him. It would be worth a try … He points to the pictures on the wall and the objects on the desk.
‘But it’s obvious! Because of the art here, of course.’ ‘Why is that?’ Cor thinks and sighs as if slightly annoyed and takes out his business card. ’Look, I’m a recognized art dealer and antiquarian. The colonel knows that and he wanted me to provide an official appraisal of all these items. I would like to get started!’ And indeed, he produces a detailed analysis of the art objects stolen by the crew. He draws up a list and gives an estimate of the value of each picture, painting and vase, assessing most of the items according to their art-historical value. In The Hague, too, he was asked to do the same from time to time. Most of the time, he gave the lowest possible values so that as little as possible would be confiscated. His actions were therefore called ‘The Rescue Brigade’. However, he is more cautious now – these works have already been claimed. When his work is finished, the deputy colonel seems to be satisfied. The expert opinions are good and the prices are pleasing. The colonel thanks him, shakes his hand and Cor Damme quickly makes his way out. Jan is standing outside waiting for him.
Two episodes in an already very eventful life. A truly open heart and an alert mind prove to be key factors in protecting against further misfortune. Both friends remember the words of their brother in spirit, Wim Leene:
‘That is why we are pioneers and why we must draw clear guidelines, because the world has been deceived for a long time. In spiritual matters, one either is made to look hopelessly ridiculous and, as it were, a spiritual evildoer, or one acts redemptively through reason and insight. The transcendent God is the Creator, the immanent God is man. It is like this: we cannot find the transcendent God within nature, but we can find him in man, because God is Spirit, just as man is Spirit. God is therefore not in nature, for nature is only the basis on which everything unfolds.
Teach us to control fear through the joy of knowledge!
We are spiritual beings, eternal, immortal spiritual beings, called to be completely spiritual in the Spiritual Order.
Thereby we do not forget that we are material human beings as well, mortal and undoubtedly called to leave the material world behind, not just for the time between one of our material existences and a new incarnation, but to leave it forever.’ [v]
The joy of knowledge, of being part of a sphere, a field, a Spirit that presupposes unity, in the service to Christ – that is the Rosicrucianism of the heart. It is white through its purity, red through its love for humanity, and golden in its radiant, comprehensive thinking.
[i] Called from the Heart of the World, Haarlem 2010, p. 158,
[ii] Matthew 7: 1
[iii] Called from the Heart of the World, p. 184
[iv] His wife
[v] Called from the Heart of the World, p. 158
