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# Thought this may be of interest

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- To: BardonPraxis@yahoogroups.com
- Subject: Thought this may be of interest
- From: "anton_temple" <anton_temple@...>
- Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:32:45 -0000
- User-agent: eGroups-EW/0.82

    Thought this may be of interest

    WORKERS FOR THE LIGHT
    Interviews with those who promote and follow Franz Bardon's System
    Dieter Rüggeberg ? Germany

    Mr Ruggeberg, thoughout the world you are known as a tireless worker
    for the works of Franz Bardon. The great debt the world holds to you
    for ensuring that these works have become so far spread, is
    immeasurable. I have written this interview to stand as a record of
    your effort and opinions.

    Q: What inspired you to first promote Franz Bardon's magical system?

    A: In the beginning of the 60ths I came across the teachings of
    Rudolf Steiner where he pointed out that each human being has so
    much karmic debt on his shoulders that it is scarcely possible to
    remove it in one incarnation. These words impressed me very much and
    I thought by myself that it would not be enough to do the exercises
    of the Bardon book "Initiation into Hermetics" but moreover I had to
    reduce my karmic debt as much as possible at the same time. At that
    time, the English edition of "The Practice of Magical Evocation" was
    prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Pravica in Graz/Austria and I got my first
    chance to contribute to the Bardon books. Around 1969 I was offered
    to take over the management of the published and unpublished works
    of Franz Bardon. According to the story in "Frabato" this duty was
    bound to the highest responsibility imaginable and laid on my
    shoulders as a very heavy weight. Therefore I was in good hope that
    an initiate would come soon to take the burden over, since I was an
    undeveloped person with no knowledge in book production at all. But
    since there was nobody else I agreed and started in 1970 with
    publishing the 2nd edition of "The Practice of Magical Evocation".
    The initiate did not come and therefore I am today still in the same
    position as in 1970 but very thankful for the great chance I got to
    contribute to the spiritual development of mankind.

    Q: What most disappoints or saddens you about your career promoting
    the works of Bardon.

    A: After 32 years working for the Bardon books and the spreading of
    about 150 000 books around the world, there are not even ten
    students of Hermetics on this globe who support the Bardon work
    (printings, translations etc.) constantly with at least one dollar a
    year.

    Q: What has most pleased you about your career promoting Bardon's
    works?

    A: The fact that I succeeded to publish the Bardon books in several
    languages and spread them all over the world so far, that probably
    no persecution can ever destroy all of them any more in the future.

    Q: Many people have mentioned Darker forces trying to prevent these
    methods being revealed. Have you ever experienced this?

    A: Of course, there is a kind of boycott against magic and
    occultism, mostly exercised by the Christian churches with the same
    witch-hunting-terms as in the middle age. But since the Christian
    belief is vanishing and the esoteric interests of many people grew
    up during the past centuries we had no real severe difficulties.
    Basically all fanatic religions and materialistic conceptions of the
    world are the enemies of magic and occultism.

    Q: As progress can be slow and hard work, how many people do you
    believe have the potential to advance beyond the first book of the
    Franz Bardon system?

    A: As I pointed out above, not even ten students of Hermetics
    support the work of Franz Bardon constantly with at least one dollar
    in a year. Therefore I have to assume that there are not even ten
    students around the world who have at least gone through the first
    three steps of "Initiation into Hermetics".

    Q: Readers of Frabato read of Mrs. Otti Votavova using Franz
    Bardon's magic mirror. Did you ever see any of his magical items
    used?

    A: No, I did not.

    Q: Are any of Franz Bardon's students still alive?

    A: I have no knowledge about that.

    Q: Are there any other texts either in English or in German that you
    feel are on the same standard as those of Franz Bardon.

    A: I know several systems for occult development but in my opinion
    none of them has the standard of the Bardon system.

    Q: Which texts either in English or in German, do you think would be
    of use to those following Franz Bardon system.

    A: I learned a lot through the teachings of Rudolf Steiner (the
    founder of Anthroposophy) especially concerning the laws of karma,
    reincarnation and introspection. Moreover I can recommend the yoga
    books of Swami Shivananda, of Karl Brandler-Pracht and Dr. Georg
    Lomer.

    Q: Did you ever meet Franz Bardon?

    A: Unfortunately I never met Franz Bardon personally because he was
    already dead when I came to the books in fall 1958. Nevertheless I
    had the advantage to become acquainted with his secretary Mrs. Otti
    Votavova and visited her through many years in Prag until her death.

    Q:Franz Bardon must have had a big library. Tell me did any of the
    contents survive? Did anyone ever take an inventory?

    A: Mrs. Bardon, the wife of Franz Bardon, told me that the police in
    1958 took all the books with them and never gave them back. Only a
    few books survived, but mostly German books about medicine. An
    inventory is not known to me. I was told by Mrs. Votavova that he
    had a rather big library although this was not so easy during the
    communist times. As you perhaps know Franz Bardon was a natural
    healer and was able to cure cancer until the 2nd stage just with
    natural medicine. This was too much for the so called official
    doctors of medicine and they tried to drop him down by accusing him
    to have given the wrong medicine to his patients. Before the trial
    was finished he died in the prison hospital. During this process all
    his books were confiscated and never given back. This is the reason
    why we have only little knowledge about his library. Beside some
    parts of Dr. Lomer, he had a translation of a book by S. A. Kummer
    who was perhaps the only rune-initiate in Germany. He even visited
    the last one with his wife as I know. He also met Mrs. Alexandra
    David-Neel when she was in Vienna for a lecture. David-Neel was a
    French female magician initiated in the Tibetan mysteries.]

    Q. Many people ask about the source of the Bardon system. Everyone
    has their ideas about which tradition he drew from. Can you shed any
    light on this?

    A: The magical system of Franz Bardon is an Egyptian one. He points
    to this in the chapter of "Initiation into Hermetics" where he talks
    about the muladhara-chakra in Kundalini-Yoga. Several basic
    exercises of "Initiation into Hermetics" are known in other systems
    like Yoga and Tibetan Buddism too, but the eastern initiates still
    keep silence about the complete way. Since Franz Bardon is one of
    the highest initiates of our cosmic system he of course needs no
    books from tradition.

    Q: Does the FOGC still exist in Germany? Do you know if the
    mainstream Freemasons were aware of this order?

    A: I have no knowledge about the 99-order in Germany or elsewhere. I
    think that lodges like the FOGC will never die out completely
    because there existed 99-orders around the world. I have no
    knowledge whether Freemasonry has taken notice of the work of Franz
    Bardon and the 99-orders. After my knowledge the whole Freemasonry
    is rather involved in materialism today what does not exclude that
    some of them members of a 99-order.

    Q: What would be your advice to those following the Franz Bardon
    System.

    A: They should study other occult systems too, because this
    strengthens the confidence in the Bardon-System. From the experience
    of a few decades now, I know that the beginners have extreme
    difficulties with the introspection or self knowledge. Nevertheless
    this labour is inevitable! Even if most people are not able to do
    the exercises of the first steps I consider it most important to
    work on introspection, to change at least a few bad qualities into
    good ones, what can improve their life situation in many aspects. In
    addition I recommend a serious study of Karma-Yoga because in my
    eyes without reduction of negative Karma a greater progress in
    Hermetics is scarcely possible. Thank you for answering my
    questions.

    Merkur Publishing Inc Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Thank you for answering my questions.

    Merkur Publishing Inc. ? Salt Lake City ? Utah ? USA

    Q: What inspired you to promote Franz Bardon's magical system?

    A: Even though your choice of words is quite to the point, it does
    not really depict how we came into this position. It was quite a
    gradual process and we found ourselves in this position quite
    naturally. As far as promoting Franz Bardon's magical system, this
    is the first time that someone brought up the word promotion. We
    never thought of it in those terms; to us it was a very pleasant
    duty fraught with many challenges. However, it is true that we never
    dreamed that we would be doing what we are doing, and even after
    many years we are still overwhelmed by the position we are in, and
    we are very grateful for it and consider it a great blessing.

    Q: What disappoints or saddens you about your career promoting the
    works of Franz Bardon?

    A: We cannot say that we experienced really any disappointments, but
    we did have our share of countless challenges. In his books Franz
    Bardon makes the statement: 'We should be happy about the good
    things in our lives and learn from the bad things'. What saddens us
    somewhat is that very few people realize that they have the sacred
    sciences (the Holy Mysteries) in their hands, and in many instances
    they are not treated with the respect they deserve. The Hermetic
    Sciences are not dead letters but are actually the living word. And
    most people do not take the valuable time that is given to them to
    study the works of Bardon for the benefit of others. And if they do
    not want do to it for others they should at the very least do the
    Bardon exercises for their own benefit. In Initiation of Hermetics,
    Franz Bardon writes in the epilog: "Anyone who seeks the path to
    God, (and the path of magic or perfection is the path to God) should
    take Christ's words to heart, the great Master of the Mystics: 'Thou
    shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'. these words should be the
    sacred command for every seeker who is on the spiritual path.'"

    Q: What pleases you the most about your career promoting the works
    of Franz Bardon?

    A: That we have been given this great opportunity.

    Q: Many people have mentioned darker forces trying to prevent these
    methods from being revealed. Have you ever experienced this?

    A: Do darker forces exist? Yes, they do. But, as to their abilities
    that depends on one's belief system. If you believe that the so-
    called darker forces have the ability to prevent these methods from
    being revealed, then they have been given this ability by you.
    However, if you do not believe that they can do this, then they will
    not be able to prevent it.

    Q: As progress can be slow and hard work. How many people do you
    believe have the potential to advance beyond the first book of the
    Franz Bardon system?

    A: Only very few human beings have the answer to that question.
    Because those who have succeeded would not break the seal of
    silence. Breaking the seal of silence would mean also loosing
    everything you have gained. Therefore, we do not know how many have
    succeeded or how many are progressing toward that goal. However,
    there should be considerably more now than in the past, otherwise
    these books and the knowledge they contain would be in vain. Anyone
    who is serious, and who follows the instructions exactly, acquires
    the necessary virtues and eliminates his passions and does not waste
    his time with other meaningless endeavors, has the potential to
    master the exercises in Initiation. Any person who wishes to succeed
    on the path to God requires the necessary virtues, because they give
    him the strength necessary to accomplish this; whereas his passions
    consume the energy he requires. When these books were not available
    to the world at large, the number of people who reached the level
    described in Initiation of Hermetic were about four in a billion.

    Q: What do you think is the most common characteristic that holds a
    student of Hermetics back?

    A: Pride!!!!

    Q: How can the previously mentioned characteristic be overcome?

    A: By turning it into love, especially love for thy neighbor and
    above all for God, and then turning it into humility without losing
    the virtue of love. This of course is a task that requires a strong
    will. But a person who has pride has no will of its own, and such a
    person is completely controlled by his passions. However you can
    regain your will through love.

    Q: Are there texts either in English or in German that you think
    would be of use to those following Franz Bardon's system?

    A: Yes, there are. Once you have worked through the maze of
    available literature on this subject, including all the well-known
    authors, there is only one which emerges -- the writings of Jakob
    Lorber. He received his information through the Inner Word, which
    means directly from Divine Providence or God. Everything that has
    been taken out of the Bible is now available again through his
    writings. His first work, The Household of God contains in detail
    information that was/is not contained in Initiation into Hermetics.
    Besides that it contains historical information from Adam to Noah,
    and for those who are interested in the exact location of Atlantis,
    which in those days was called Hanoch, this too is available. Jakob
    Lorber's books, twenty-five in all, contain details not contained in
    the Bardon books. We have assumed that Franz Bardon was aware that
    these books existed. And of course it is up to the seeker of truth
    to find them. However, if you spend your time on other literature in
    this field you have to expect that you will experience many dead
    ends.

    Q: Many people ask about the source of the Bardon system. Everyone
    has their ideas about which tradition he drew from. Can you shed any
    light on this?

    A: There is only one source and Franz Bardon mentions it several
    times. Divine Providence!

    Q: It is mentioned in an article by Franz Bardon called "Hermetic
    Sciences" that when we perform our exercises to develop ourselves
    (microcosm) this also causes an equivalent change in the universe
    (macrocosm). Can you explain this more?

    A: If you can imagine, on the physical level, if our lives were
    curtailed or extended, what kind of consequences our presence or
    lack of presence could cause. This also applies when we rid
    ourselves of our negative characteristics. Not only does this change
    in us affect the people in our surroundings, but also the spirits we
    attract and those we reject. From there it is a chain reaction, and
    it affects everything. This is very briefly the explanation and if
    you meditate on that you will find more variations and also the
    deeper meaning of the above statement.

    Q: What would be your advice to those following the Franz Bardon
    system?

    A: We get many calls asking for help with the exercises. This help
    cannot be given until all the preliminary work has been done by the
    student. Most of the callers expect results without adhering to the
    instruction given in the Bardon books. The exercises in his books do
    not require a teacher in the earlier stages, which is mentioned in
    the instructions. However most students do not even seem to have
    read that portion of Initiation. Before anyone begins with the
    practice the theory has to be studied to the point that it is
    completely committed to memory. And later when a teacher is needed,
    Divine Providence will provide one for the student. Failure will be
    imminent when the student is convinced by someone else, that they
    need a teacher or initiator at the earlier stages of their
    development.

    The negative characteristics have to be completely eliminated or a
    least to be brought into some kind of a balance. For example: 21
    negative characteristics of the fire element, 20 negative
    characteristics of the air element, 19 negative characteristics of
    the water element, and 18 negative characteristics of the earth
    element. What is of the utmost importance as a student of Hermetics
    or to the aspiring magician is to keep silent about your personal
    progress, otherwise you cannot be or become a magician. These are
    the basic rules to succeed.

    As supporting literature, not in place of the Bardon system, it
    would be advantageous to read Seven Hermetic Letters by Dr. Georg
    Lomer, and all the Lorber books which are presently available. All
    students of the Bardon system of Hermetics can keep up with Faulks
    Books for all future titles.

    Q: In Questions and Answers, by Dieter Ruggeberg, Franz Bardon
    recommends that the student pray before he performs his exercises.
    He also talks about magical prayer. Could you explain a little about
    this and perhaps recommend a prayer that the student could pray
    before his exercises?

    A: If we want to succeed in our spiritual development, we are really
    on the path to God, becoming one with God. Therefore we have to ask
    Him for guidance, and that He help us to be obedient in every way to
    Him, and only to do His will. We must ask God to bless our food
    before we eat, thank him after we have eaten, ask Him to bless our
    home, because all the instructions in the Bardon books are divine
    laws belonging to the divine order. Therefore, any student who is
    not within this order will not succeed. And remember: with God all
    things are possible, without God nothing is possible.

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