by Jeff Jacobson
| Like Father, Like Son ::: Vox Stellarum | |
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| Aleister Crowley | L. Ron Hubbard |
| Like Father, Like Son ::: Vox Stellarum | |
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| Aleister Crowley | L. Ron Hubbard |
Chapter 7 ::: Aleister Crowley
Hubbard had clear connections to the occult. Even in the
first publication of dianetics in "Astounding Science Fiction",
Hubbard in explaining how he did his "research" into what the
mind was doing, says he used "automatic writing, speaking and
clairvoyance" (1) to discover what the mind's memory banks were
doing. Automatic writing is an occult method of communicating
with the spirit world, although psychologists consider its
products to arise from subconscious thoughts of the writer.
Whichever is correct, it is hardly a method used by competent
scientific researchers.
Hubbard's connection to the occultist
Aleister Crowley is quite clear and noteworthy. Crowley called
himself the Anti-Christ, the Beast of Revelations, and 666. Russell
Miller has adequately chronicled Hubbard's connection in 1945 to
John W. Parsons, who headed
Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis
chapter in Los Angeles. (2) Hubbard was an active member in this
group for several months, and first met his second wife there. The
Church of Scientology
claims that Hubbard was actually infiltrating this group in order
to break it up, but the following should suffice to dismiss this claim.
In the Philadelphia Doctorate Course lectures taped in 1952,
Hubbard discusses occult magic of the middle ages, and recommends
a current book - "it's fascinating work in itself, and that's
work written by Aleister Crowley, the late Aleister Crowley, my
very good friend." (3) The book recommended was The Master
Therion, (published in London in 1929) later re-released
as
Magick in Theory and Practise. L. Ron Hubbard,
Jr. asserts that during the time when the Philadelphia course was
given his father would read Crowley's works "in preparation for
the next day's lecture..." (4)
In Crowley's Organization are several grade levels. To reach
the Grade of Adeptus Exemptus
"The Adept must prepare and publish a thesis setting forth His
knowledge of the Universe, and his proposals for its welfare
and progress. He will thus be known as the leader of a school
of thought." (15) It is apparent that Hubbard has fulfilled
this requirement.
Salvation begins with a messenger from beyond bringing the
necessary knowledge to mankind, but this knowledge is given only
to those deemed worthy, and even then one must follow certain
steps in order to arrive at the ultimate Truths. The individual
must struggle to earn and then incorporate the secret knowledge
needed to return to his rightful place.
There is a need for someone to bring this gnosis or knowledge
to mankind:
While on this earth, man is plagued by many difficulties which
lessen his real abilities and being. One problem to us all is
that within each of our bodies is a plethora of spirits or souls,
causing us harm:
Mankind is also cursed with forgetfulness of his true home and
true composition, being blinded by this material world.
As with Christianity today, there were many sects of
gnosticism. The most famous gnostics were those that took the
basic ideas of Christianity and mixed them into their own
otherworldly theories. One of the most dangerous enemies of the
early church were the Christian gnostic movement, for it greatly
distorted the essential message of Christ and his followers while
using similar terminology. The early church fathers, such as
Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian, spent much of their time
speaking out against gnosticism.
Scientology, however, embraces gnosticism. Its doctrines are
gnostic, and it uses gnostic writings to support its own ideas.
For example, "Advance!" issue 93
has an article entitled "The Surprising Christian Tradition of
Reincarnation", which relies heavily on gnostic writings such as
the Pistis Sophia (the best known of the surviving gnostic
writings) to support its viewpoint. Scientology is clearly
gnostic, by its own admission and by the similarities to its own
and gnostic teachings. Once again, ideas Hubbard declares to be
new and discovered by him, are shown to be derived from old and
widespread teachings in existence long before he came along.
Hubbard claimed to be the sole source of the hidden knowledge
needed to escape these earthly bonds. "The mystery of this
universe... has been, as far as its track is concerned,
completely occluded. No one has ever been able to make any
breakthrough and come off with it and know what happened... I
finally was able to make a breakthrough which brought people
through the zone safely." (19)
When Hubbard died in 1986, it was announced that he had left
this "MEST" (the acronym of Matter, Space, Time, and Energy)
universe to continue his work and research. In other words, he
had obtained the gnosis needed to break the bonds to this
material illusory plane and travel to other worlds or dimensions
at will. (20)
Hubbard was the sole source for the technology Scientologists
need to break free from this MEST universe. "Nobody else --
NOBODY -- ever discovered it." (21) He is thus the gnostic
"celestial mediator" empowered to bring mankind the knowledge
needed to bring us back home.
Another obvious connection to gnosticism is in the upper level
of training known as
Operating Thetan III, or "The Wall of Fire."
It is at this level that the Scientologist first is taught that
many of his problems are caused by other souls attached to his
soul. These souls are detached and sent on their way through the
course training. The goal of OTIII is to rid the individual of
hundreds of "Body Thetans", or other souls attached to the main
dominant individual. No one is even allowed to see OTIII
material until he has completed the previous courses leading up
to OTIII. (21) This material is carefully guarded and treated as
a great important mystery to be imparted only to those proven
worthy.
These great "discoveries" of Hubbard actually were taught as
far back as 300 AD:
Although this sounds almost identical to ideas in OTIII, it is
in fact a quote from Valentinus, one of the most famous early
Christian gnostics, writing around 300 AD. Valentinus taught
that there was more than one spirit within an individual, causing
difficulties for the "host" or main soul of the individual. The
gnostic Basilides also taught in a similar vein that man
"preserves the appearance of a wooden horse, according to the
poetic myth, embracing as he does in one body a host of such
different spirits." (23)
The above is similar to the New Testament idea of demons in
that demons are "outsiders" from the main inhabitant of the body
and are problematic to the host. Gnostics, however, seem to feel
that it is the normal human condition to have these other souls,
whereas Christianity considers this a rare aberration.
Another gnostic idea, that this is a world of illusion, is in
Scientology doctrine as well. Scientology teaches that this
universe we live in is the MEST (matter, energy, space, time)
universe that exists solely because the non-MEST beings known as
thetans decided to agree to bind themselves to the rules and laws
that we see operating here, such as gravity and the speed of
light: "a Thetan may postulate a material or mental condition and
subsequently consider that he cannot escape that condition, and
succumb to the resulting illusion of entrapment within it." (24)
Theta beings (Hubbard's name for the soul) lived here on earth by
dwelling in a human body. Humans, that is, the living body,
existed without the theta being before the thetans were trapped
in this material universe. Theta beings are "trapped" into human
bodies by trickery and forget their true nature:
Scientology then shares the gnostic idea that mankind is
separate from the physical universe and is trapped against his
will here.
As gnosticism is a secret knowledge, Scientology hides its
upper level or OT level teachings under a strict veil of secrecy.
When I visited the Los Angeles "Big Blue
Building" of Scientology, I was invited to listen to
some OT VIII's speak via satellite from the "Free Winds" ship
where OT VIII is exclusively taught.
An OT VII on board said that the
OT VIII material is in a locked case, and the only way to open
the case is to enter a certain locked room and pass the case under
a laser beam there. Scientologists are taught that if they hear
the teachings of OT VIII before they have taken the necessary
previous courses, they will catch pneumonia and die.
Early gnostics also used various methods to hide their
teachings. The initiations were so secret that today we can only
piece parts of them together. The writings of many gnostics were
purposely vague and incomprehensible, so only the initiated could
understand them.
The goal of dianetics and Scientology is to return the Theta
being to its inherent abilities (i.e. freeing it from the laws of
this universe) and remove it from its need to have a body. The
sole source for accomplishing this is the technology of L. Ron
Hubbard, celestial mediator of the gnostic Church of Scientology.
Parenthetically, one can clearly see from above that these
teachings clash with Christian thinking today. While
Scientologists claim that "in Scientology there is no attempt to
change another's beliefs or to persuade the person away from his
own religious practice," (26) in reality there is an incongruity of
beliefs that must fall either to the side of Scientology or
Christianity. They are not compatible. Scientology is gnostic,
which has been seen from almost the beginning of Christianity to
be a great threat to correct Christian dogma (see the Ante-Nicene
Fathers writings, for example), and it requires the belief in
reincarnation, which is foreign to Christian thought. Elsewhere
I write about Hubbard's connection to Aleister Crowley, "my very
good friend," who called himself the anti-christ and taught
accordingly. Hubbard generously borrowed ideas from and admired
the writings of Crowley. Obviously, Scientology's claim that
their ideas will not interfere with a person's Christian beliefs
is absurd.
Notes:
Reprinted from The Hubbard is Bare
Both Crowley (13) and Hubbard (14) use an equilateral triangle
pointing up in a circle as one of their group's symbols. Both
use Volume 0 instead of Volume 1 to begin enumerating their
works. One could go on for quite some time listing the
similarities between Crowley's and Hubbard's theories and
writings, but for more the reader is encouraged to look for him
or herself.
Scientology logo on left
Crowley's Konx om Pax on right
Gnosticism
First, an explanation of what gnosticism is. It is an old
religious philosophy with Platonic roots. Basically, gnostics
believe that we as humans are "outsiders" to this material
universe. Our immortal godlike souls were trapped here in a body
by evil forces, and we are reincarnated continually, while our
true spiritual identities are clouded from our memory. It is our
task to discover the hidden knowledge, or gnosis, that will allow
us to escape this evil material world of illusion and return to
our rightful place. We keep reincarnating until we learn how to
escape.
The world seems to be 'the epitome of evil'. Because it
is alien to their true nature, human beings must renounce it
and flee from it in order to be able to return to their
heavenly home. To achieve this aim they must possess Gnosis,
be reborn in their true nature, and be baptized in the cup of
knowledge into which the divine intellect has been poured. (16)
It follows that this divine reality cannot be known through
the ordinary faculties of the mind. Illumination, revelation,
the intervention of a celestial mediator is required. He
descends from above to call the Gnostic, to rouse him from
earthly sleep and drunkenness, to take him back to his divine
homeland. (17)
A hierarchy of demons, servile and ready, is continually at
work in everyone's body, transformed into a remorseless inferno
in miniature. (18)
"For many spirits dwell in it [the body] and do not permit it
to be pure; each of them brings to fruition its own works,
and they treat it abusively by means of unseemly desires.
To me it seems that the heart suffers in much the same way
as an inn: for it has holes and trenches dug in it and is
often filled with filth by men who live there licentiously
and have no regard for the place because it belongs to
another." (22)
Your preclear was basically good, happy, ethical and aesthetic
before the contagion of the MEST universe got him. Then, still
a thetan, he wasn't very good but he was still trusting and
ethical. Finally, when he had a body - well, look around. (25)
Copyright © 1992 by Jeff Jacobsen, P.O. Box 3541, Scottsdale, AZ 85271.
