Ige, AMORC: The Face of a Secret Society
By
"Ignorance is the true original sin"- J. Brierley
Each time a Christian leader speaks or writes derogatorily about the AMORC, I feel sad, much the same way that Jesus the Christ felt when he was persecuted
by those who thought they were doing God a favour by deriding, scourging, and eventually doing away with, him. And, like the one after whom Christianity was
formed, my attitude to, and prayer for, such Nigerian Christian elite is: "God, forgive them for they know not what they do."
The most recent of such pronouncements is that by Right Reverend Peter Adebiyi, Lord Bishop of Lagos West, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). In a
statement last week, he regretted that the church had to take part in the burial obsequies of Chief Bola Ige, the late Minister of Justice and Attorney-General
of the Federation. According to him, it was "a serious embarrassment" that the church was "lured" into participating in the funeral. His offence? He was a
member of AMORC.
This is in spite of the fact that "we have always known him as a committed member of the church. He was a strong member of the Student Christian Movement in his
university days at University of Ibadan. He rose to become a member of the World Christian Council. That he is (sic) a member of AMORC is a surprise to us."
Really? Let us see what AMORC stands for to know if, indeed, all the vituperations by Adebiyi and his ilk are truly justified.
AMORC is an acronym for Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (or of the Rosy Cross.) The operative word is mystical. To the average Nigerian in particular (as
opposed to those in the more enlightened parts of the world insofar as the words mystical and AMORC are concerned) the word and the organisation allude to
something mysterious - a charitable usage - or - fixatedly - something sinister, devilish, blood-sucking, satanic, evil, et al. To him, the organisation is a
secret society and his idea of a secret society is a group that engages in demonic practices.But is the mystic or a mystical organisation really evil? Is mysticism actually satanic?
To guide us in answering these questions, let us turn to a book as open (as against secret) as the dictionary. Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary defines the
mystic as one who seeks (or attains) direct intercourse with God in elevated spiritual feeling or ecstacy. As an adjective, "mystic" or "mystical" is described
as "involving a sacred or a secret meaning hidden from the eyes of the ordinary person, only revealed to a spiritually enlightened mind." And mysticism it
defines as the habit or tendency of religious thought and feeling of those who seek direct communication with God or the divine.
In the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, mysticism is defined as "beliefs, experiences, of a mystic; teaching and belief that knowledge
of God and of real truth may be obtained through meditation and spiritual insight...." And the mystic, it says, is a person who seeks union with God and,
through that, realisation of truth beyond men's understanding.
Many other dictionaries give about the same definitions, among others.
Having established that the mystic is the person who seeks or has attained union with God, is it difficult to see that all great men of God were or are mystics?
From Gautama the Buddha to Socrates to Zoroster to Jesus Christ to Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) to Mother Theresa, St. Augustine, Moses, David, King
Solomon to Grail Message's Elizabeth Kafaru and AMORC's Kenneth Idiodi, its Nigerian president. From Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jnr to Uthman Dan
Fodio to Zik to Awo.
Beyond the dictionary meaning, however, the mystic holds that a mystic is one who is consciously aware of the presence of God in him, knowing that he is in the
image of God and that the spirit of God flows through him, as it does through every other human being and every other created thing in different degrees. In
other words, the mystic holds a pantheistic view of God, i.e. that He is all-encompassing, omnipresent, ubuquitous. He is all that is, being.
The mystic therefore knows that he is a part of God and, in fact, that au fond, he and God are united, one (in the image of God). And through such oneness, he
is able to do 'great things'.Is it difficult then to see why Jesus the Christ made the statement, "I and my Father (God) are one"? And if Jesus and God are one (as he very well realised)
and we're told that the mystic is one who seeks union with God or, as the mystic holds, the one who is consciously aware of his oneness with God (man and God
being always one) does it not stand to reason that Jesus was indeed a mystic?
Being one with God, the heart of the mystic is God's heart and he exudes all the qualities of God: Love, (doesn't the Bible say God is love?) kindness,
forgiveness, tolerance, truth, humility, etc. And he finds it extremely difficult to hurt another creature. Because he knows they are one. That every other
person is a part of him, a brother.
That is why a mystic-poet John Donne (?) said: "The death of another diminishes me. And do not ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.... No man is an
island, entire unto itself. Everyone is a part of the whole." Indeed, a contemporary mystic, Jimmy Cliff, (the Reggae star) in one of his songs, brought this
point home more literally when he sang: "We're all one, we are the same person." Thus, the mystic may be ready and willing to sacrifice or even lay down his
life, just as Jesus did, for the sake of protecting, providing for, or uplifting others. Just as Mother Theresa did.
That is also why, while the average Nigerian Christian of today curses and invokes God's wrath and Holy Ghost fire to destroy his "enemy", the AMORC member
radiates love to, or at least forgives, those who hurt him.
If this is the mindset of the mystic, if this is the way he thinks and often acts, and if mystical organisations such as the AMORC teach people to become
mystics, isn't it ludicrous, preposterous, to allege that a mystic could deliberately, willfully, cause harm to another, let alone go to the extent of killing
another human being whom he regards as a part of himself? Do we now understand why Ige did such great things, (just like Awo, another AMORC member), why he
considered himself - and proved it - a part of all and all a part of him? Do we now see why it was testified of him that he could not hurt a fly and why,
consequently, he shrugged off security warnings?
What's more, the Rosicrucian student (AMORC member) is thoroughly impressed with the knowledge of immutable natural laws such as the Law of Karma: As you sow,
so shall you reap. Because the student is made aware of the fact that even death does not stop him from paying for or reaping the reward of whatever he does,
good or bad - and with interest - he knows, experientially, that the law is truly inexorable.
Again, right from the beginning, he is sensitised and made to come face-to-face with his conscience. Consequently, he is more circumspect in his actions, always
conscious of the fact that his conscience, which is an extension of God in us, stands as a silent witness to all he thinks, says and does and will judge and
requite him appropriately. So, he does not wait till he dies to be judged and sent to heaven or hell. He knows that judgement is now - or later, where one
refuses to face conscience.
Obviously, from the fore-going, the mystic-philosopher, as is turned out by "secret societies" such as the AMORC, must be an asset to his society as he is more
inclined to stay away from evil - corruption, fraud and all those things that have kept societies, including ours, backward. Is it any wonder then that it is
said that the world will know no peace (and happiness) until mystic-philosopers become kings or kings become mystic-philosophers?
The greatest problem of the AMORC, which makes people not to know of the good its members perform everyday, from an experiential point of view, is that the
members have been indoctrinated, if you will, to regard themselves as "silent workers in the vine-yard of God." So much so that even though there are many among
them who can heal through prayers to, and attunement with, God, and through physical contact, they make no noise about it. So also do they shy away from
publicity over acts of kindness and love they perform daily.
In fact, the Rosicrucian Code of Life enjoins every member of AMORC to go out of his way to seek to do some good each day, and to go to the assistance of any
living being in need.
Specifically, Rule No. 11 says: "...Go out of your way to find where that which you can give or do will be of benefit to someone else. While performing this
duty, shun all personal glory and let it be known that you're simply (going) about the work of (God)"
Rule 19 says: " Go to the assistance of any living being, regardless of race, creed or colour, when you can render direct or indirect aid in any emergency. If
you cannot give aid in person but can call (on God) or solicit aid, this, too, is imperative. In quiet and peace perform your work, render your service, and
retire with as little recognition as possible."
Interestingly, even the church is not left out. Rule 21 says: "Give your support, moral or physical, to some religious organisation in your community, that it
may have your help in carrying on the Great Work in its Light." Which explains why Ige was such a devout member of his church at university, national and
international levels. So also was Chief Obafemi Awolowo a committed Christian, just as some great moslem faithfuls were or are AMORC members.
A part of the silent welfare work AMORC members carry out every day is meditation at specific times of the day for the well-being of all those in distress,
whether as individuals or community or nation. Information about this is contained in the booklet, Meditation For Nation-building, written by Dr Kenneth Idiodi
and which may be obtained from AMORC headquarters in Calabar by non-members wishing to link up their thoughts for this noble endeavour.
Such then is the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC: And this is the face, veiled, as it were, for too long, of what Nigerians call a secret society and which some
groups, rather unfortunately, want out of existence.
One of such groups is the Evangelical Church of West Africa, ECWA, which went through a nine-year court case to achieve that aim, although it was the AMORC that
actually took it to court to redeem its name after ECWA's Challenge magazine insisted on defaming the Rosicrucian group. Incidentally, throughout the period,
while it kept claiming that AMORC was satanic, evil and demonic, there was no single person who could prove that the mystical organisation has ever, in its
monographs or other literature, or by word of mouth, taught its students to do evil. Nonetheless, many Christians, unfortunately, are so consumed by the idea of
AMORC being a "secret society" that they would have nothing to do with it. So much so that a legislator, Dr. Jerry Ugokwe (Idemili South/North Federal
constituency, Anambra State) sponsored the Secret Societies Bill, widely seen as aimed at the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, last year.
Titled "A Bill For An Act To Prohibit Establishment (Formation), Membership Or Activities Of Cults And Secret Societies", the bill targets, essentially, to
outlaw secret societies and cults.
Among what the bill is canvassing is that no person shall use any sign, password, code, ring, brooch, uniform, rites, symbols or anything related to, or
associated with, a cult or secret society.
Opponents of the bill, however, believe that just as the hood does not make the monk, belonging to a so-called secret society does not necessarily make one evil
since "secret society" does not, and should not connote evil.
On the contrary, there would be topsy-turvydom if all of the awesome knowledge about the mystery of nature, man, God and creation which these "secret societies"
keep from the uninitiated or those who have not applied for formal membership is given to just anyone without first being prepared through the cultivation of
love, tolerance, forgiveness, etc. and a thorough awareness of its implication and repercussion.
It is akin to certain knowledge, such as that of how to produce nuclear power, which the U.S. and its cohorts strive to keep secret from those they fear might
misuse it, not being mature enough or not having suscribed to certain oaths. To ensure its secrecy, they use signs, passwords, codes and symbols. Should such
countries then be declared secret societies in the sense in which we understand that expression in Nigeria?
Even Jesus Christ Himself, whose Nigerian followers are battling tooth and nail to have secret societies outlawed, apparently using the likes of Dr Jerry
Ugokwe, a devout Catholic, as cat's paws, had a circle of disciples whom he plainly told the secrets (mysteries) of the kingdom of God which, He admitted, must
be kept secret from the uninitiated, by using parables (Matt. 13:11,13; Mark 4: 10-13; 34) Without meaning any harm, should we now say that because Jesus and
His 12 disciples (and the extended 144 as a school of thought holds) constituted, in the proper sense, a cult or secret society, they were an evil sect? Another
reason why such knowledge must be kept from the profane is, as Jesus said, to avoid a situation where pearls are cast before swine.
But even if anybody or group succeeds in outlawing the organisation in Nigeria, the knowledge which it offers which, actually, is a body of natural and
spiritual laws, will not cease to exist. Rather, more people will accidentally stumble upon it and, not having been groomed in the proper way to use it for
good, they may use it for evil, knowledge being a double-edged sword.
This is because the knowledge in question is not available to AMORC alone but is in nature. Hence, a number of people, merely by observing nature and God's laws
in operation, do stumble upon the knowledge. Some have used it for positive purposes, others for evil.
Having now had a clearer perspective of what some of these "secret societies" are, the National Assembly should be very perspicacious and not allow itself to be
used to commit mental and spiritual murder against those whose only way of seeking improvement in their lives and assisting others and the society at large
through an intimate knowledge of God is through mystical organisations such as the AMORC.
Epilogue
Let us pray for our religious - especially Christian - leaders who are the harbingers of the countless tales about "secret societies", among which they include
AMORC. Let us pray for them because when they hear tales from their followers, without making the littlest effort to verify them, latch on to them as gospel
truth which they propagate with relish - and gusto.
May God touch their hearts so that where they do not know, or are unable to establish the truth, they should be magnanimous enough to abstain from expressing an
opinion, give the benefit of the doubt to the maligned one and ignore such statements until proven to be true.
At least, this is what the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, teaches its students . And surely, it is only fair so to do. Equity and natural justice do not demand less.
March 2002