In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message

In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message
	Cover of the 1931 version of the book by "Abdruschin"
Author	Oskar Ernst Bernhardt
Publication date	1926

In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message is a book written by Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875–1941), the leader of the Grail Movement, a millenarian new religious movement,^[1] and first published in 1926 under the pen name Abd-ru-shin. An expanded, complete edition was published by the author under the name of Abdruschin in 1931, entitled Im Lichte der Wahrheit (In the Light of the Truth). It was a collection of 91 lectures, written to build upon each other, presenting a complete picture of Creation. Between 1931 and 1934, a further total of 59 additional lectures were released.

Abd-ru-shin went on to write and publish more than 50 individual lectures after 1934, however the deteriorating conditions in Europe prevented him from publishing any further books during his lifetime. When the Nazis seized power in Austria in 1938, Abd-ru-shin was arrested, extradited to Germany, and kept under house arrest until his death in December 1941.

During his final years, Abd-ru-shin was forbidden by the Gestapo from working on the Grail Message. Abd-ru-shin never authorized any changes after publishing his 1931 version; he wrote, "I do not hand over the Message so that you can deal with It as you see fit in your efforts to transmit It to humanity, but I COMMAND that It must remain immutable in all that It contains and in the way It is! Whoever will change even the slightest meaning, the smallest word, even with the best intention, is guilty of wrongdoing! It is the Holy Word of God, which man may not touch in order to adapt It in a way more convenient for himself or for easier understanding by indolent human spirits!"^[2]

Abd-ru-shin is a self-proclaimed Messiah according to the original 1931 edition of The Grail Message,^[3] specifically in the conclusion of the 1931 edition.^[1]^[4] He removed the explicit statement of the claim from the 1937 and later editions,^[1]^[4] but it still is the meaning for the Message of the Grail that Abd-ru-shin is the apocalyptic Son of Man.^[1]^[4]

Synopsis

The following Word does not bring a new religion, but is intended as the torch to help all serious listeners or readers find the right path, which leads them to the longed-for height.The Message will strike only those who openly carry within them a spark of Truth, and the yearning to be true human beings. To all such It will become the shining light and staff. It will lead them unswervingly out of all the chaos of the present-day confusion." It answers ALL of life's questions, and gives a much deeper understanding of God's Laws...The Ten Commandments and The Golden Rule.

Abd-ru-shin's Grail Message addresses various topics, ranging from God and the universe to the "Laws in Creation", free will and responsibility, intuition and the intellect, the ethereal world and the beyond, justice and love. The Grail Message addresses eternal questions such as what does it mean to be human, what is the purpose of life on earth, and what happens after death. The Grail Message also addresses the causes and significance of crises facing humanity and humanity's responsibilities to the future.

The publishers write

This book ... answers with clarity all the unsolved questions of human existence. The recognitions mediated with this book are so immense that they force the unprejudiced reader to ponder, investigate and go forward. The Grail Message will appeal to any human being who is seeking to understand life, his or her place in Creation, and the source of one’s being.

In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message was written to address and provide spiritual support for the problems and questions in life: Where do we come from? Where do we go when we die? What about fate and karma, Divine justice, free will, the Mission of Jesus, the Son of God, the Laws of Nature and Creation, and many others. In the Light of Truth also gives information about the Holy Grail. While ancient sagas and legends, and modern art, depict the Grail as an earthly myth, without being able to provide a conclusive explanation of its significance, Abd-ru-shin describes the Grail as a spiritual reality of the highest order, the connecting point between the Creator and His Creation.

According to the explanations of Creation given in The Grail Message, human beings are actually only guests on this earth. They came from a spiritual realm, which is far above the world of earthly matter, in order to begin a course of development leading down to this earth. This path continues for each person through repeated earth lives (reincarnation). Through experiences each person's inner, spiritual consciousness develops, grows, and matures. This is the prerequisite for the way back to the spiritual realm, which is the goal of our path of development: people can and should return to the immortality of the spiritual realm as a conscious spiritual entity, and thus enter "Paradise."

In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message posits that "The Laws of Creation" provide each human spirit with support on their pathway though their existence. Unchangeably interwoven from the beginning, they bear within, like the Ten Commandments, the Love, Grace, and Justice of the Creator. To truly know and understand the way these laws work is essential for successfully navigating one's way through life. Therefore, the explanation of these Laws runs like a thread through the lectures of The Grail Message.

The book also describes the relationship between the sexes: "male" and "female", each representing a specific, separate "principle", each of equal value for the total Creation. In the Light of Truth describes that there is a polarity between man and woman, which having been misunderstood in the past has often resulted in confusion over the intrinsic nature of their respective activities and the purpose of the sexes.

He was described in newspapers as the Messiah of the Tyrol and the Prophet of Vomperberg.^[5] He admitted in the Grail Message that the "leading newspapers" did describe him so.^[6]

Publication

The Grail Message: In the Light of Truth in three volumes, containing 168 lectures (including lectures published in separate books and in individual form after 1931), was first published in 1950, and is currently available from the Grail Foundation.^[7]

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Vojtisek 2006.
^ from the lecture I send you, paragraphs #23 and #24 http://www.abdrushin.us/grail-message/resonances-by-abdrushin-058.php
^
Sources for 'Messiah', 'true Christ', 'Son of Man', or 'biblical Immanuel':
- Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. ... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.
- Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480. In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.²⁸
- Calvache, Antonio Carlos; Junior, Roberto C. P. (14 February 2021). "Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek" (PDF). ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã. Retrieved 2024-01-18. Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".
- Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322. Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.
- « Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).
- « Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).
- « Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“⁸² verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).
- EPILOGUE
  Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
  IMANUEL,
  the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
  Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
  — Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931
- Janson, Marloes (2021). "6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar". Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria. The International African Library. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/9781108979160.007. ISBN 978-1-108-83891-7. LCCN 2020055275. Retrieved 2024-07-06. The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt...
- King, Jamie (2024). Cults: Coercion and Control: The World's Most Notorious Cults (And the People Who Escaped Them). Summersdale. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-83799-281-2. Retrieved 2024-07-06. Newspapers described how Bernhardt now called himself the Messiah of the Tyrol, and the Prophet of Vomperberg.
^ ^a ^b ^c Calvache & Junior 2021.
^ King 2024.
^ Abd-ru-shin (1 June 1995). "Chapter 7: The Distorted Tool". In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message. Vol. III. Grail Foundation Press. p. 754. ISBN 978-1-57461-006-2.
^ In the Light of Truth - Grail Foundation- Grail Foundation

Bibliography

Kurt Hutten: Seher - Grübler - Enthusiasten. 1997, ISBN 3-7918-2130-X, S. 531–549
Helmut Obst: Apostel und Propheten der Neuzeit – Gründer christlicher Religionsgemeinschaften des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. 4., stark erweiterte und aktualisierte Auflage. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-525-55438-9
Andreas Plagge: "Bernhardt, Oskar Ernst". In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2, Sp. 120–122, [1].
Georg Schmid: Kirchen, Sekten, Religionen. 2003, ISBN 3-290-17215-5, S. 219–221
Lothar Gassmann: Zukunft, Zeit, Zeichen. Aufruf zur Wachsamkaeit, Verlag für Reformatorische Erneurung, Kaiserstr.78, D-42329 Wuppertal, 103 Seiten, [2].
Patrick Diemling: Neuoffenbarungen Religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf Texte und Medien des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Universitätsverlag Potsdam, 2012, [3].

External links

[FOOTNOTEVojtisek2006-1] Vojtisek 2006.

[2] rom the lecture I send you, paragraphs #23 and #24 http://www.abdrushin.us/grail-message/resonances-by-abdrushin-058.php

[Wilson1975-3] Sources for 'Messiah', 'true Christ', 'Son of Man', or 'biblical Immanuel':
Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. ... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.
Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480. In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.²⁸
Calvache, Antonio Carlos; Junior, Roberto C. P. (14 February 2021). "Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek" (PDF). ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã. Retrieved 2024-01-18. Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".
Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322. Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.
« Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).
« Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).
« Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“⁸² verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).
EPILOGUE
Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
IMANUEL,
the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
— Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931
Janson, Marloes (2021). "6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar". Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria. The International African Library. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/9781108979160.007. ISBN 978-1-108-83891-7. LCCN 2020055275. Retrieved 2024-07-06. The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt...
King, Jamie (2024). Cults: Coercion and Control: The World's Most Notorious Cults (And the People Who Escaped Them). Summersdale. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-83799-281-2. Retrieved 2024-07-06. Newspapers described how Bernhardt now called himself the Messiah of the Tyrol, and the Prophet of Vomperberg.

[4] Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. ... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.

[5] Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480. In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.²⁸

[6] Calvache, Antonio Carlos; Junior, Roberto C. P. (14 February 2021). "Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek" (PDF). ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã. Retrieved 2024-01-18. Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".

[7] Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322. Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.

[8] « Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).

[9] « Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).

[10] « Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“⁸² verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).

[11] EPILOGUE
Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
IMANUEL,
the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
— Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931

[12] Janson, Marloes (2021). "6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar". Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria. The International African Library. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/9781108979160.007. ISBN 978-1-108-83891-7. LCCN 2020055275. Retrieved 2024-07-06. The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt...

[13] King, Jamie (2024). Cults: Coercion and Control: The World's Most Notorious Cults (And the People Who Escaped Them). Summersdale. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-83799-281-2. Retrieved 2024-07-06. Newspapers described how Bernhardt now called himself the Messiah of the Tyrol, and the Prophet of Vomperberg.

[FOOTNOTECalvacheJunior2021-4] Calvache & Junior 2021.

[FOOTNOTEKing2024-5] King 2024.

[Abd-ru-shin1995-6] Abd-ru-shin (1 June 1995). "Chapter 7: The Distorted Tool". In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message. Vol. III. Grail Foundation Press. p. 754. ISBN 978-1-57461-006-2.

[7] In the Light of Truth - Grail Foundation- Grail Foundation

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Synopsis

Publication

Footnotes

Bibliography

See also

External links