Letters from Nowhere [Paperback]

Raymond Bernard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992

For a number of years, the internationally known esotericist Raymond Bernard sent letters to a large number of correspondents. From the beginning, he called these texts Letters from Nowhere. He explained this title by the fact that they might be produced here and there during his frequent trips all around the world, and their subject matter was comprised of his experiences and encounters on these occasions. From anywhere on earth he would be able to present facts and arguments of universal meaning, which thereby took on a dimension which could be considered to come from everywhere or, indeed, from nowhere.

These letters had a great impact on those who were privileged to receive them. Their author, writing as if to a friend, expresses himself in easy, familiar language. He shares thoughts and travel notes, along with often surprising encounters with eminent, well-known people. In Letters From Nowhere, you will find yourself on a journey with Raymond Bernard, as he describes the present situation of humanity; you will become acquainted with the Grand Master of the Druzes, you will learn a little bit about the Rosicrucians, travel to India and to the Secret Ashrams. You will visit with the Grand Lamas of Tibet and finally, you will have an opportunity to learn more about the Bodhisattva and of Tibetan Buddhism. In Letters from Nowhere, Raymond Bernard takes us on a journey of discovery in which the inner world is the true destination!

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

A Few Words About My Public Offerings: The important functions which I assumed within one of the most powerful traditional organizations of the world - the Rosicrucian Order AMORC - have very often taken me beyond the portals of the strange and, at the time of the writing of these "strange encounters", the problem of choice confronted me in the most pointed manner possible. Even at this very moment, in all that presents itself to my thoughts, the problem of choice imposes itself, but I am convinced that the meetings of which I have decided to speak in my writings, will bring you personal encouragement on the path which you have chosen. It is this, above all else, which, I believe, impels me to relate these experiences of which, I must say, even my closest associates have never heard me speak.

Many of my writings, at the outset, were not intended for the public. Indeed, much of their contents had been, for a long time, presented exclusively to active members of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC, in the form of photocopied manuals. When it was decided that some of them could be made the object of public distribution, the question presented itself as to whether I should revise their texts and adapt them to a new readership foreign to the Rosicrucian Order. Finally, with the exception of few passages, which had to remain confidential, the texts have undergone no modification.

The fundamental purpose of my writings is the transmission of a certain knowledge dealing with particular topics with which The Esoteric Tradition has always been preoccupied and which, nowadays, particularly in France, continue to exercise a powerful attraction on whomsoever is interested in those great questions which transcend the limits of an absurd everyday life. Such are the reasons which incited me to write.

The method chosen to communicate this knowledge is important. To understand certain subjects, it is not enough simply to read; it is necessary to participate, and this is why I have adopted the form of a narrative. As a result my works tend to be partially allegorical and partially factual. They are based upon symbols, because the symbol is, in essence, a language which each discerns at his or her own level. Therefore, through allegory, through symbol, and through facts, it is to the examination of subjects of the highest interest that my works will conduct you.

Therefore, before reading the messages which I transmit to you through my writings, an important point is necessary to be made. None of my works constitutes a teaching and, more importantly, they do not constitute a dogma! To propose, without imposing, is ever a rule to which I remain, and will forever remain attached. But if it happens that by way of these words and these explanations, as limiting as they are in expressing a sublime state of understanding and communion, the light is recognized by a larger number of my readers, and is accepted and assimilated by them as an integral part of themselves, then I would be more than pleased. For such an occurrence there could be no reason other than their high degree of a receptivity, due of course, to the fact that they know, at the time of their reading, how to use their intellect, not to analyze, but to participate and to recover, in this way, that state which is at its origin. It is there, actually in that state, that exists the possibility of communing with that original truth which never changes.

Humanity is saturated with intellectualism. But man needs something else. Despite all that is offered to him from the outside, he is dissatisfied and, not finding peace, he abandons himself to a febrile life and confuses agitation with activity. If he reads, it is often to seek some sort of diversion and to escape as much from himself as from the world which surrounds him. Excesses beget an irresistible need for simplicity, and this in all domains. This simplicity marks the stage of "the return to oneself" and the beginning of a quest. While learning to see beyond, to look higher and farther, one begins to understand that there is no other way to integrate oneself into the present, or to participate effectively in it. Then, all sterile agitation ceases. The intellect stops being the master. From tyrant it becomes a tool, a servant, and infinite perspectives begin to open in silence before the hungry soul.

About the Author

Raymond Bernard is one of the foremost esotericists in the Western world. Formerly an international leader of the Rosicrucians, he is the founder of CIRCES (the International Circle of Cultural and Spiritual Research) that brings together the mystical knowledge of the Order of the Temple with other philosophical and traditional movements. An author of numerous books, he seeks to create understanding among all peoples.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 203 pages
• Publisher: Joel Friedlander Publisher; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936385324
• ISBN-13: 978-0936385327
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,459,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raymond Bernard at his finest!, February 10, 2004

By 

Luís Carlos Silva (Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters from Nowhere (Paperback)

A wonderful book from a wonderful man.
In our view, this book is divided in two distinct parts. The first one is dedicated to a Tribute, paid by Raymond Bernard, to Kamal Joumblatt, the Grand Master of the Druzes, which allow us to have a complete new idea of this Lebanese man, shot to death in San Francisco. Still in the first half of the book, the Rosicrucian mysticism is referred, along with a brief analysis of the author's son - Christian Bernard, who is, in the present day, the Imperator of AMORC -, by the author himself.
On the second part of the book, which is larger than the first, Raymond Bernard shares his spiritual journeys in the Eastern Countries, in a way that is understandable to us all. His contacts with eminent personalities in India, and in other foreign countries, like Tibet or Nepal, are described at length. This contacts are described in depth, and all that Raymond is allowed to unfold, he does. By doing so, it permits a spiritual growth among the readers who address this book with openness of heart and mind.