Appellatio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis

Salutem Punctis Trianguli!

In 1614, the Rosicrucians came out of anonymity by publishing the Fama Fraternitatis. Four centuries later, we, the deputies of the Supreme Council of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, are calling to men and women of good will, so that they might join us to work towards reconciling humanity with itself, nature, and the Divine. This is why we place this Appellatio under the auspices of spirituality, humanism, and ecology. So Mote It Be!

Antiquus Mysticusque Ordo Rosae Crucis

MANIFESTO

Dear Reader,

In 1614, four hundred years ago, a mysterious Fraternity made itself known almost simultaneously in Germany, in France, and in England, by publishing a Manifesto entitled Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis. At the time, the text elicited many reactions, especially from thinkers, philosophers, and leaders of the religions of the time, and in particular the Catholic Church. In general terms, this Manifesto called for a Universal Reform, in religious as well as political, philosophical, scientific, and economic spheres. According to historians, the situation was at the time highly chaotic in many European countries, to such an extent that one openly spoke of a

"European crisis."

The Fama Fraternitatis was followed by two other Manifestos: the Confessio Fraternitatis and the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz, published in 1615 and 1616 respectively. The authors of these three Manifestos claimed to adhere to the Rosicrucian Fraternity and belonged to a circle of mystics known as the "Tübingen Circle."

They were all passionate about hermetism, alchemy, and kabbalah.

Several years later, in 1623, this Fraternity made itself known once more by putting up a mysterious poster in the streets of Paris: "We, the Deputies of the Higher College of the Rose-Croix, do make our stay, visibly and invisibly, in this city, by the grace of the Most High..."

The purpose of this Appellatio is not to set out the history of the Rosicrucians nor their teachings. Through it, we wish to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the publication of the Fama Fraternitatis, the founding Manifesto of the Rosicrucian Order in historical terms. If we say "historical" it is because, traditionally, this Order traces its origins back to the Ancient Egyptian Eighteenth Dynasty Mystery Schools. Indeed, the famous seventeenth century Rosicrucian Michael Maier stated in one of his books: "Our origins are Egyptian, Brahmanic, derived from the Mysteries of Eleusis and Samothrace, the Magi of Persia, the Pythagoreans, and the Arabs."

Faithful to our Tradition, in 2001 we published a Manifesto entitled Positio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis, in which we gave our position regarding the state of humanity, notably through its principal areas of activity: economy, politics, technology, science, religion, morality, art, etc., not forgetting its situation in ecological terms.

That Manifesto, which some historians place in the same lineage as the three previous ones, has been read the world over by millions of people and has already for many of them formed a basis for reflection and meditation. In some countries, students have been advised to read it; in others, it has been made available to the public in municipal and national libraries; not to mention all those who have put it on the Internet.

Four centuries after the Fama and thirteen years after the Positio, we felt it was necessary to echo once more our own particular concerns with regard to humanity. Indeed, time goes by but the future that is emerging decade by decade, year by year, is still a cause for great concern. The "crisis," as it is commonly called, appears to have become firmly entrenched in many countries. Nonetheless we are not pessimistic, nor even apocalyptic, about the future. In "Rosicrucian Prophecies" published in December 2011, we wrote on this subject:

"We are optimistic about the future... Below the surface, the troubled times that we are crossing constitute a 'necessary transition,' which should enable humanity to transcend itself and be reborn."

Like the Positio, the Appellatio is not intended for the elite, but for all those people who learn of its publication and take the time to read it. Some will find it rather alarmist while others will consider it to be somewhat utopian. It is certainly neither dogmatic nor ideological.

Through it, we simply want to express ideas that are neither new nor original in themselves, particularly for Rosicrucians, but that, in our view, call more than ever for careful thought. In fact, we wish to send out an appeal for spirituality, humanism, and ecology, which, for us, are the conditions for humanity to regenerate on all planes and find the happiness it desires.

The Supreme Council of AMORC

APPEAL FOR SPIRITUALITY

In our view, the crisis that is affecting many, if not all, countries, is not just a social, economic, and financial one. These are the consequences of a crisis of civilization, in the wider sense of the term. Put another way, it is humanity as such that is in crisis.

But what kind of crisis? Although we answered part of this question in the Positio, we feel it is necessary to come back and elaborate on it. Our philosophy and ideals lead us to consider that it is a duty that involves us both as Rosicrucians as well as citizens. As such, and contrary to what may have been said about us, the importance that we attach to spirituality has never obscured the interest we have for materiality, not the least because the ultimate aim of our quest has always been to acquire life mastery.

First, we think that humanity is in a spiritual crisis. In our view, this irrefutable fact has two principal causes: the major religions established many centuries ago no longer answer the existential questions that today's women and men ask themselves. Their doctrines as well as their morals are no longer adapted, which explains why they are increasingly being abandoned, thus creating a large spiritual vacuum that many people no longer even seek to fill. At the same time, in the so-called developed countries, society has become more and more materialistic in that it incites people to seek happiness through material possessions and excessive consumption. This trend has considerably increased the power of money and has perverted its use. It has gone from being a means, to becoming an end itself, a thing that one likes to possess as such, when it is nothing by itself.

Does this mean that today's religions have no future? Before replying to that question, we wish to reiterate that we respect them in all the noble things that they have to offer their followers to enable them to practice their faith daily. But, as we have said previously, consciousness and mentalities have greatly evolved since they originated, and therefore their credos are outdated in the eyes of many people, especially the young. As they have not been able to, not known how to, or not wished to update their teachings, we think they are doomed to disappear in the medium term. As a result, all that will remain of them are the monuments created for them over the centuries, as well as the texts relating to them, including those that are considered to be sacred, such as the Bible, the Qur'an, the Upanishads, the Tripitaka, etc.

With regard to the subject of money, it is not a question of resorting to caricature or demagoguery. As a means of exchange, it is a necessity in order to live in society. We need it to obtain what is necessary for our material well-being and to satisfy the legitimate pleasures our existence can offer. But, over time, it has taken on too much importance, to a point where it conditions and governs practically all sectors of human activity. It has today acquired cult status, acting as a religion which probably has the greatest number of followers in the world. Unfortunately, every day at its altar we sacrifice the most elementary of ethical values (honesty, integrity, equity, solidarity, etc.) so that it constitutes more than ever a vehicle of debasement.

Do not think from the above that Rosicrucians are in favor of the "vow of poverty" and that they believe that material wealth is incompatible with spirituality. Ever since they appeared on Earth, humans have sought to improve their living conditions and be happy.

This tendency lies within their deeper nature and is part of the process we call "evolution." This does not mean that the aim of existence is to become rich, but it is neither natural nor normal to aspire to be poor.

Besides, the fact of being materially or financially destitute does not make a person better in human terms and is not a criterion for spiritual advancement, no more, indeed, than being rich.

It is our view that the happiness to which human beings aspire more or less consciously resides in equilibrium between the material and the spiritual, and not in the exclusion of one or the other. This is why anyone who consecrates oneself solely to spirituality, to the point of depriving oneself of the legitimate pleasures of life, cannot be happy. The same applies to anyone who makes material possessions the sole basis for one's well-being. This explains why many people that we term as being well-off are deeply unhappy. It is because they suffer from an inner emptiness that "all the gold in the world" would not fill. We are all familiar with the expression: "money does not buy happiness," even if it can, indeed, be a contributing factor.

If we assume that a human being is not simply a material body kept alive by a set of physicochemical processes, but that it also possesses a soul, we can easily understand that it also requires a certain form of nourishment: spirituality. But what is spirituality?

In accordance with what we have said previously, it transcends religiosity. In other words, it is not limited to believing in a God and following a religious credo, no matter how respectable this may be.

Instead, it consists of seeking the deeper meaning of existence and gradually awakening the best within ourselves. But this search for meaning and improvement is cruelly lacking today, which explains the chaotic state the world is in and the despondency into which it has sunk over the last decades.

The majority of people from all countries and nations feel they are in a dark tunnel from which no one can see the way out, not even those who lead and govern them. Furthermore, they are not aware that the light they hope to see can only come from themselves, and not from an external source. This brings us back to spirituality and the need to look towards something other than materiality for resolving the problems that humanity is confronted with. But you may be one of those people who does not accept the existence of the soul, and naturally you have every right to do so. If this is the case, allow us to ask you the following questions, and take the time to answer them yourself:

To what do you attribute what is commonly known as the voice of conscience?
How can you explain the human aptitude for virtues such as benevolence, generosity, compassion, and love?
Do you truly think that the most beautiful works of art, whether paintings, sculpture, music, or in another form, originate only in the mind of those who created them?
How do you explain that millions of men and women the world over have experienced clinical death, before coming back to life with the memory of what they "saw" and "heard" in what we generally call "the beyond"?
Do you really believe that if the existence of the soul was just an illusion, that the greatest thinkers and philosophers that humanity has known would have declared it as being an obvious truth?

Every human being most certainly possesses a soul. From our point of view, this is what makes each one of us a conscious living thing, capable of thinking and experiencing emotions. The better part of human nature equally resides in it, and we are alive here precisely to raise our awareness of its virtues and express them through our judgments and behavior. Unfortunately, too few people, believers included, apply themselves to this, which explains the presence of ill-will, intolerance, selfishness, jealousy, pride, and hatred in the world, and all that stems from this in terms of injustice, conflicts, inequality, and suffering. It is true that evil only exists in the absence of good, and is rooted solely in human behavior. Therefore it is neither the work of God, nor the devil, which has never existed, nor have the demons that are supposed to serve him.

Now, what about God? For centuries, believers saw God as an anthropomorphic Being, seated somewhere in heaven and presiding over the destiny of the entire human race. In an attempt to please God in order to gain God's favor, they followed and continue to follow the precepts upheld by religions; the basis of which are found in their Holy Books. But evidently, believing in God and adhering to a creed that is said to be inspired by God does not suffice to bring about happiness. Otherwise, billions of believers living the world over would be happy, with the exception of atheists. However, this is not the case. This means that the happiness to which every human being aspires lies beyond religiosity. It resides in spirituality, as has been defined previously.

Before giving you our conception of God, let us tell you why we think God exists and why atheism, while being respectable in itself, is an error of judgment: Whether we are believers or not, we cannot deny that the Universe exists. Thus, from a rational perspective, it has to be the effect of a creative cause. And, as it is governed by laws that scientists themselves admire, it follows that this cause is very intelligent. As a consequence, why not liken it to God and see in God the absolute and impersonal Intelligence that is at the origin of Creation? We might recall that the universe was originally just a center of energy the size of an atom, which potentially contained all the galaxies, stars, planets, and celestial bodies existing today, including Earth itself.

The real question we can and should ask ourselves on the subject of God is not, therefore, whether God exists or not, but in what manner does God intervene in the lives of human beings. In our view, God does so to the extent to which we respect the laws through which God appears in the universe, in nature, and in humanity itself. This means studying them, which Rosicrucians have always dedicated themselves to doing. You will note that this approach to God and the role God plays in our existence has a scientific connotation rather than a religious one. Indeed, AMORC has never been opposed to science; quite the reverse. This is why Rose-Croix University International, which it has sponsored since the start of the twentieth century, includes a physical sciences section.

More than ever, it is time now for us to move from religiosity to spirituality, which means definitively replacing the sole belief in God with the knowledge of divine laws - that is, universal, natural, and spiritual laws. The well-being we seek, including on a material plane, is to be found in this knowledge and in the wisdom that ensues. An ancient Rosicrucian adage says, "It is from ignorance and ignorance alone that humans must free themselves." It is indeed at the origin of the worst things a person can do to oneself, to others, and to one's environment. It is also the source of different superstitions that demean humanity and prevent it from finding complete fulfillment.

So give a spiritual direction to your life. In other words, do not be just a living thing, be a living soul.

You are perhaps wondering about our views on secularism.

So long as the classic or modern religions, eastern or western, are founded on dogmas and structured according to autocratic systems, we think that secularism is an absolute necessity, in order to preserve society from any kind of theocratic deviation. This being said, we hope that a time will come when spirituality, as a quest for knowledge and wisdom, will become normal practice and will condition civic life. From then on, politics will become as one with philosophy and therefore be inspired by the "love of wisdom" as it was at the height of the Greek civilization. Let us recall that this was the cradle of democracy and was at the origin of the notion of the republic, among others. Let us also recall that the majority of its philosophers were spiritual people.

APPEAL FOR HUMANISM

If you do not reply favorably to our call for spirituality, then we would ask you to show humanism in your everyday lives. Article 10 of the "Rosicrucian Declaration of Human Duties" published by AMORC in September 2005, says: "It is each individual's duty to consider the whole of humanity as his or her family and to behave in all circumstances and everywhere as a citizen of the world.

This means making humanism the basis of his or her behavior and philosophy." Obviously, if all human beings carried out this duty towards one another, the word "humanity" would take on its full meaning, so that it would become the living manifestation on Earth of fraternity, exercised most nobly and universally. We may then consider peace to reign between all peoples and nations.

But what does "being a humanist" mean? In the first place, it involves considering all human beings to be blood brothers and sisters, and the differences between them to be purely superficial.

That said, we do not subscribe to the dogma according to which all of humanity stems from one and the same original couple, which, for those who believe in the Old Testament, was Adam and Eve. Whether it be from an ontological point of view or a scientific one, this claim is unfounded. Indeed as a result of such a close relationship, such a lineage would rapidly have led to physical and mental degeneration.

In our view, human beings emerged from the animal kingdom, which has itself undergone an extremely long and slow evolution process of life since its first appearance on Earth. In any case, we all share the same genome, and the blood that flows through our veins is basically the same. More than forming a fraternity, we make up humanity itself.

As you are aware, some anthropologists refer to three, and even four races: white, yellow, black, and red. For some years now, this distinction has been abandoned by most scientists, who prefer to use the global notion of a Human Race. By doing so, do they perhaps hope to take away from racists all arguments of a "physiological" nature?

This being so, it is not necessarily racist to recognize the existence of several races, especially as it cannot be denied that Europeans, Asians, Africans, etc. are all hominidae that are quite clearly distinguishable in morphological terms. It would be racist to think and say that one race is superior to others, in particular the one to which we belong.

The fact remains that a true humanist considers all human beings to be so many cells of one and the same body - that of humanity.

Many people tend to prefer those who belong to the same

"race," have the same nationality, share the same political views, or follow the same religion, because this comforts them and makes them feel secure. Nevertheless, this is not a reason for rejecting others or, worse still, hating them. A humanist worthy of the name respects all differences, providing, of course, they do not undermine each other's dignity or integrity. In other words, one shows tolerance and does not behave as if one were or felt superior. This is a sign of intelligence, because intolerance in any form is generally a characteristic of stupidity and/or pride. Unfortunately, this weakness, or fault to be more precise, is one of the most common, which explains why there are so many conflicts between humans.

On the subject of tolerance, we would recall that AMORC's motto is: "The greatest tolerance within the strictest independence."

This explains why we have Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. among us, together with people who do not follow a religion at all. Some are even atheists, and yet they appreciate the fraternal nature of our Order. Furthermore, it has always included men and women of all social categories and with different, and even opposing, political views. If, beyond their differences, Rosicrucians are able to show mutual respect towards one another and maintain harmonious relationships, why would humanity not do the same?

You are probably familiar with Jesus's commandment: "Love one another!" which he explained by saying that we should not do to others that which we would not wish others to do to us. Whether we are an atheist or a believer, and in the latter case whatever the religion we follow, we cannot deny that this commandment alone sums up the ideal behavior that any individual should adopt in one's relationships with others. And although we are free to see in Jesus neither a spiritual master, nor a messiah, nor the redeemer revered in Christianity, each one of us should at least recognize that he was an exceptional humanist and that he revolutionized the mores of his time by advocating solidarity and peace, to the point of urging people to love their enemies.

Today's society has become too individualistic, in the sense that "every person for themselves" has become cultural. Under the combined effects of materialism and the social and economic crisis that the world has been experiencing for several decades, more and more people are tending to think only about their personal well-being and show indifference towards that of others. Such an attitude distances citizens from one another and contributes to dehumanizing society.

Added to this is the fact that the means of communication has been substituted for direct exchange, so that we no longer really take the time to speak to our close relations or to our neighbors, yet we boast at having many (virtual) friends on such and such a social network.

What a paradox this is! Let us learn all over again to converse through physical contact with others, heart to heart, if not from soul to soul.

In the Positio it says: "We notice that the gap never ceases to widen between the most affluent nations and the poorest. We can observe the same phenomenon within each country, between the most deprived classes and the most fortunate ones." The situation has continued to get worse ever since. No humanist can reconcile himself or herself with this situation, particularly as poverty and misery are not a certainty, but are the result of poor management of natural resources and of products from the local, regional, national, and international economies. In other words, they are largely due to human egotism and lack of solidarity. And yet, whether they realize it or not, their survival depends more than ever on their ability to share and cooperate, not only between citizens of one country but between countries. In mystical terms, we would say that, as a result of globalization, their respective karmas are linked in such a way that no nation will now be able to prosper in the long term without giving any consideration to those who are still in need.

As we have just referred to globalization, we think that it is irreversible and that it is, therefore, pointless to oppose it. Since humanity appeared on Earth, it has increasingly spread its fields of action and relations, first from one clan to another, then from one village to another, one country to another and, finally, from one continent to another. With the development of transport and communications, the world has become one country. This is a natural evolution that we should be delighted about, for it is a vector for mutual understanding and peace between peoples. But this process is only in its beginnings and has come up against the diversity of cultures, mentalities, and economic and political systems, so that it still exacerbates inequality.

This is why we think that it must be accelerated and given a humanist direction, so that it is beneficial for everyone's welfare.

Let us turn now to a quite different subject. Individualism is not the only barrier to humanism, as imagined and hoped for by Rosicrucians. There is also the importance that machines have gained following the mechanization and robotization of industrial processes.

While these should have been restricted to helping humans in their most arduous tasks, they have come to replace them for efficiency and profitability reasons. Such excessive use of machines within society has contributed not only to dehumanizing it, but also to increasing the social problem of unemployment. It has therefore become a matter of urgency to reinstate humans in place of machines wherever possible, and to break away from the materialistic dogma that consists of thinking and saying, "Time is money."

But human beings are not just blood brothers and sisters, irrespective of "race." They are also soulmates emanating from the same spiritual source, the Universal Soul. The intrinsic difference between them is their level of inner evolution, or the degree to which they have reached the consciousness of their own divine nature. We might add that we embrace the notion that every individual reincarnates as many times as necessary to attain this level of consciousness and reach the state of wisdom, as can be manifested by us on Earth. If you accept this principle, or rather this law, you will understand that the differences that exist between individuals in terms of their maturity, profoundness of mind, sense of responsibility, and humanism, are mainly due to the fact that some have lived through more incarnations than others. From this perspective, no human being is superior to another; some are simply more spiritually evolved.

If he or she does not believe in God, the humanist must have faith in human beings and their capacity to transcend themselves to show their better nature. It is true that when we look back over the history of humanity and on its current situation, we may feel that human beings are fundamentally individualistic and that they are destined to harm one another as a result of their weaknesses and failings.

But beyond appearances, they have evolved a great deal in terms of consciousness. Across the world, more and more people are rising up against injustice and inequality, demonstrating against wars in favor of peace, denouncing dictatorships and other totalitarian regimes, calling for increased fraternity, helping the destitute, becoming involved in nature conservancy, etc. This is the case because every human being, under the impetus of the soul, aspires, as Plato said, to the good, the beautiful, and the true. Each one of us simply has to become aware of this and act accordingly.

Throughout history, humans have demonstrated the capacity to accomplish extraordinary things when they call upon the most noble and ingenious sides of human nature. Whether it be in the fields of architecture, technology, literature, the sciences, the arts, or in relations between the citizens of a single country, they have demonstrated intelligence, creativity, sensitivity, solidarity, and fraternity. This observation is comforting in itself, because it confirms that human beings are inclined to do good and work toward the happiness of all.

It is for this reason precisely that one must be a humanist and have faith in oneself.

APPEAL FOR ECOLOGY

In our view, you cannot be a humanist without being an ecologist. How indeed can you want all human beings to be happy, without concerning yourself with the conservation of the planet on which they live? Yet each of us knows that it is in danger and that humanity is largely responsible for this: various types of pollution, the destruction of ecosystems, excessive deforestation, and the massacre of animal species, etc. In regards to global warming, the vast majority of scientists agree that human activity is responsible for, if not causing it, at least contributing to its increase, particularly through greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, many of them have linked this warming to the increase in the number of storms and cataclysms of all kinds, with all the resulting loss in terms of human life and material destruction. In any case, it is obvious that if no short-term action is taken on a global scale to put an end to the ills that we inflict on our planet, it will become uninhabitable for billions of people, and perhaps for all humanity.

In ancient civilizations, Earth was considered to be the Mother of all living things and was the object of an Earth Mother tradition.

Today only ancestral peoples, such as the Australian aborigines, the Amazonian natives, and African pygmies, to name the better-known ones, have preserved this state of mind. Present-day humans have come to view her primarily as a source of various kinds of profit, to the point of exploiting her beyond reason and to the detriment of her health. If we use the term "health" when speaking about our planet, it is because it's obvious to us that she is a living, and even conscious, thing. One only has to consider the life forces she exhibits in nature and the intelligence that she expresses through her different kingdoms, not to mention all that makes up her beauty. This is so true that even an atheist would deify her and consider her to be a masterpiece of Creation.

According to scientists, Earth appeared approximately four and a half billion years ago, life appeared about four billion years ago, and humans about three million years ago. But in less than a century we have interfered with Earth so much that her future, as well as our own, is at risk, to such an extent that her condition is the subject of international summits. Unfortunately, these summits remain theoretical and translate as consensual decisions that are far from being sufficient to turn the situation around. AMORC is anxious to contribute to raising awareness on the subject of ecology and published in 2012 a "Plea for Spiritual Ecology," which was presented at the Brazilian senate during the Earth Summit in Rio. Other seminars of this kind have taken place in various countries, but the decisions announced remain derisory in light of the situation and continue to be sources of conflict between different socio-economic interests.

The majority of developed countries, including the richest ones in the world, have become so by favoring the economy to the detriment of ecology. It is obvious that if the developing nations follow the same economic model, which is founded on overproduction and excessive consumption, the environmental problems we are confronted with will increase and worsen dramatically. This is unfortunately the direction these emerging countries are taking today and, considering the example they have been given, no one can blame them for it.

Given the current state of affairs, we can only hope that, despite all, they will be able to break away from this model and replace it with a system that associates the economy with ecology. This would be a great and useful lesson for all humanity.

Rosicrucians are not sweet-dreamers with the spiritual side of existence as their sole preoccupation. We are indeed mystics, in the etymological sense of the term, which means men and women who are interested in the study of the mysteries of life, but we know that it is here on Earth that we must establish the paradise that religions situate in the afterlife. To do so, humans must learn to wisely manage natural resources and the products they create, which is why it is necessary to ensure that all levels and aspects of the economy benefit all peoples and all their citizens equitably, out of respect for human dignity and for nature.

What could lead human beings to develop an ecological economy? The fear of falling victim to global warming and the natural catastrophes associated with it? Apparently not, because the average person tends to think that this only happens to others. As long as one is not personally affected and is not harmed by it, one will merely sympathize with the victims, possibly contribute to such and such a charitable cause in their favor, and carry on with life hoping to be spared this type of catastrophe. Must we wait until many more people have been affected, including and above all in the developed, wealthy countries, for humanity to finally face the facts? Earth, our Mother, is nonetheless very sick and risks becoming uninhabitable for a vast number of humans.

Aside from the growing number of people affected by the natural catastrophes that are on the increase in all parts of the globe, it should be noted that, according to some scientists, life expectancy, which had steadily risen over the last few decades in most countries, is beginning to decrease. In parallel, the number of cases of cancer is rising sharply. Why? Mainly because the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we ingest are heavily polluted (nitrates, phosphates, pesticides, coloring, and preservatives), which inevitably leads to organic, cellular, and even genetic changes. If we combine this with the fact that the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs is increasing at an exponential rate, it is hardly surprising that the health of human beings faces such a threat in the short term.

Another danger, and a major one at that, is threatening the health of many individuals: the multitude of electromagnetic waves emitted by computers, mobile phones, and other electronic appliances. It is still too soon for us to assess the issue of electromagnetic pollution, but there can be no doubt that it is responsible for various illnesses.

It is not a question of contesting the usefulness of these devices.

However, every effort should be made to ensure that the use of them does not lead to diverse pathologies, which involves the responsibility of those that manufacture and sell them. Furthermore, many users use them unwisely, in that they overuse them to the detriment of their well-being. By way of an example, it is a known fact that the number of brain tumors has considerably increased since the advent of the mobile phone, particularly in young people.

Yet a more metaphysical pollution is affecting humanity, in the shape of negative thoughts that human beings generate through hatred, spite, rancor, intolerance, anger, jealousy, etc. First, such thoughts have a negative effect on the people who harbor or send them out, even if they are not objectively aware of this. Over time, they ultimately cause them physical or psychological problems that may lead to serious illnesses. Second, they infest the collective unconscious and fill it with negative vibrations that, in turn, nurture situations of hatred, spite and rancor, etc. Conversely, every positive thought benefits not only the person who produced it but also the collective consciousness of humanity. In light of this, Rosicrucians have devoted themselves for centuries to what they refer to as "spiritual alchemy."

Where there is illness there is medicine! Although it must be acknowledged that, together with surgery, it has made great progress and has contributed in an important way to improving health, it is not without its weaknesses and even deviations. As is the case with most fields of human activity, it is influenced by money to the extent that one might say that illness is the "money maker" of the large medical and pharmaceutical companies. It is a known fact today that a large number of drugs are placebos and do not produce the effects attributed to them. As regards those that have proven therapeutic properties, some of them have disastrous side effects. The same is true of many vaccines, some of which have contributed to destroying natural human immune systems. Once again, we would insist on the fact that we do not reject either medicine or surgery. But to say that the sole objective of one or the other is to treat and heal would be pure hypocrisy.

Whether it be in the medical or any other field, human beings must keep close to nature. As soon as they stray away from it, they are breaking ties with the natural laws and running counter to their own well-being. Through ignorance, pride, or greed, however, they have spent too long trying to dominate nature, when they should be cooperating with it. Blinded by their self-importance, they have forgotten that the intelligence it displays is infinitely greater than that of humanity and that its power has virtually no limits except for those they impose on it. Homo sapiens sapiens, the name given by scientists to our species and whose literal meaning is "man who knows that he knows," is most assuredly very far from knowing the essential fact that human beings owe everything to nature and are nothing without it.

For us, Earth is not only the planet on which human beings live. It is also the backdrop to their spiritual evolution and allows each one of them to be fulfilled as living souls. It has therefore both a terrestrial and a celestial vocation, which is what the wisest of thinkers and philosophers have taught through the ages, the world over. Until humanity recognizes this truth and acts accordingly, the materialism and individualism that currently prevail will gradually worsen, with all the consequential negative outcomes for itself and for nature. More than ever, there is an urgent need to reinstate the Ternary Humanity-Nature-Divine that is the basis of all esoteric traditions and that civilization itself should adopt. So long as it does not do this, it will remain in its current state of suffering and will be unable to reach the harmonious state it is destined for.

As we all know, Earth is also home to a multitude of animals, some wild and others domesticated. They too possess a soul, which is individual for the most evolved among them and collective for the less evolved. In fact all living things are animated by the Universal Soul and its specific Consciousness. However each one of them manifests this Soul and this Consciousness to a greater or lesser extent, depending on their position in the life chain and on their particular organism.

This is why they do not possess the same level of intelligence and sensitivity.

In any event, there are no voices or boundaries between nature's kingdoms, for they are animated by the same Vital Force and are part of the same cosmic evolutionary process observed on our planet. Of course the human kingdom is the most advanced of all in this process, yet this does not mean that it has rights over others; it has duties towards them instead.

IN CONCLUSION

These then are the ideas that we wished to share with you in this Appellatio. We do indeed believe that it has become urgent for us to move in a spiritual, humanistic, and ecological direction in terms of our individual and collective behavior. But if a higher priority was to be given, it would be in favor of ecology. Indeed if humanity succeeds in finding a long-term solution to the social and economic problems encountered by it but if, in parallel, Earth has become uninhabitable or difficult to live on for the vast majority of its inhabitants, what is the point and what pleasure can be gained from living there? On this subject, those who govern the countries and nations have a huge responsibility in that they have the power to make decisions and ensure they are carried out. If the people lose interest in ecology and do nothing at their level to preserve nature, it is clear that the situation will continue to get worse and future generations will inherit a planet that is only a shadow of its former self.

Second, and at the risk of surprising you, priority should be given to humanism and not spirituality. Placing human beings at the heart of social life, while respecting nature, can only bring about well-being and happiness for all of us without distinction. This implies seeing in every person an extension of ourselves, despite the differences, and even divergence, between us. This will be no easy task, for each of us has an ego, which tends to make us individualistic and leads us to place our own interests or those of our family and the people with whom we have different affinities before those of others.

When taken to the extreme, this egotistical, even selfish, attitude is the underlying cause of discrimination, segregation, division, opposition, exclusion, and other forms of rejection among individuals. At the other end of the scale, humanism is synonymous with tolerance, sharing, generosity, empathy - in a word: fraternity. It is based on the idea that all human beings are citizens of the world.

The need to be ecologically friendly is relatively obvious considering the state the planet is in. In the same way, any sufficiently sensitive, intelligent individual can understand why being humanistic is a good thing, without even being humanistic oneself. On the other hand, in principle there is no objective reason for being spiritual, especially as it is impossible to prove the existence of the soul and of God, even in the sense given to God by Rosicrucians. So although spirituality seems to us to be essential in obtaining happiness and giving full value to life, we understand that one can be an atheist. That said, it is obvious to us that the universe, Earth, and humanity are not here by accident, but are part of a transcendent, if not divine, Plan. It is precisely for this reason that we have the ability to study Creation and wonder about the deeper meaning of existence. As such, we are both actors and spectators of Cosmic Evolution, as it manifests itself in the cosmos and on our planet.

Are you, perhaps, an ecologist and a humanist, but not a spiritual person? Unless you are fundamentally materialistic, this means that you may not believe in God, but you at least believe in nature and humanity, and this is both respectable and commendable.

As such, we make a distinction between a materialist and an atheist.

As a rule, the former takes material belongings to be the ideal that one lives for, often to the detriment of nature and without regard for others. The latter is generally a believer without being aware of it, or who has lost faith, in the religious sense. In any event, we think that spirituality (and not religiosity) is in itself a vector of humanism and ecology for, as we explained earlier, it is founded on the knowledge of divine laws, in the sense of natural, universal, and spiritual laws.

Anyone who seeks this knowledge, even if one has not yet acquired it, is by nature an idealist.

Anthropologists believe that "modern" humanity appeared about two hundred thousand years ago. Compared to one human life, it may seem old. But in terms of evolutionary cycles, it is in its adolescence and is showing all the characteristics of this, in that it is in search of its identity, is looking for its destiny, is carefree and even reckless, considers itself to be immortal, indulges to excess, defies reason, and disregards common sense. This evolutionary stage, with its share of difficulties, trials, and failures but equally its satisfactions, successes, and hopes, is a necessary transition that should allow it to grow up, mature, flourish, and finally reach fulfillment. But in order for this to take place it must become an adult.

To conclude, and in light of all the above, it is more than ever our hope that humanity will take a spiritual, humanistic, and ecological direction, so that it may be born again and make way for a

"new humanity," regenerated on every plane. The Rosicrucians of the seventeenth century were already calling for such regeneration in the Fama Fraternitatis. Rejected by the religious, political, and economic conservatives of the time, this appeal was only acknowledged by free thinkers. In view of the current situation in the world, we felt it was useful and necessary to openly renew this appeal, in the hope that this time it would receive a favorable response.

So Mote It Be!

Sealed January 6, 2014 Rosicrucian Year 3366