God Is My Adventure - A Book On Modern Mystics, Masters, And Teachers

318 Pages·2008·16.12 MB·English

by  Rom Landau

GOD
MY ADVENTURE
IS
a book on modern mystics
masters and teachers
by
ROM LANDAU
FABER AND FABER
24 Russell Square
London
Gratefully to
B
who taught me some ofthe best
most
yet painful
lessons
Fifst\/)ublishedby IvorNicholson and Watson
Mcmxxxv
September
Reprinted October Mcmxxxv
November Mcmxxxv
November Mcmxxxv
February Mcmxxxvi
September Mcmxxxvi
December Mcmxxxvi
June Mcmxxxix
Transferred to Faber and Faber Mcmxli
ReprintedMcmxliii, Mcmxliv, Mcmxlv andMcmliii
Printed in Great Britain by
Purnell and Sons Ltd.,
Paulton (Somerset) and London
All Rights Reserved
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
is something sacrilegious in your intention of writing
Thesruceh a book,' said a friend and yet I went on withit.
Since I was a boy I have always been attracted by those regions
oftruth that the official religions and sciences are shy ofexploring.
The men who claim to have penetrated them have always had for
me the same fascination that famous artists, explorers or states-
men have for others and such men are the subject of this book.
Some ofthem come fromthe East, somefromEurope and America;
some give us a glimpse of truth by the mere flicker of an eyelid,
while others speak of heaven and hell with the precision ofmathe-
maticians.
I have met them all, and some I have watched in their daily lives.
For years now I have sought their company, questioned them and
watched them closely at work. I have tried to dissociate the per-
sonality from the teaching and then to reconcile the two. I have
included some of those whom now I cannot view without mistrust.
Since thousands ofother peoplebelieveinthem, theyareatanyrate
most interesting figures in contemporary spiritual life, however
little of ultimate value their teaching may possess.
There are people who know the heroes of this book more inti-
mately than I, but my aim has never been to identify myself with
any one teacher. On the contrary, I have always been anxious to
discover for myself through what powers they have influenced so
many people.
This attitude will warn the reader not to expect an impersonal
survey of contemporary spiritual doctrines. I have limited myself
to writing ofthose men with whom I have been in personal contact.
Iapproachthemnotasthescholarbutastheordinarymanwhotries
to find God in daily life.
This book is the confession ofan adventure and the story ofmy
friendships with those men whom a future generation may possibly
call the true prophets of our time. The core of the adventure is a
searchforGod. Ileaveittothereadertodecidewhethersuchasearch
can be sacrilegious. R. L.
MOCKBRIDGE HOUSE
HENFIELD, SUSSEX
Summer, 1935

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION
(Ninth Impression)
is an agreeable duty for an a*uthor to express his pleasure when
Itone ofhis books has enjoyed public favour sufficiently to call for
yet another edition seven years after its first publication. In the
present case, to the author's pleasure must be added his gratitude
to his readers. For I have greatly profited from the thousands of
letters received from people previously unknown to me, and even
more so from the manyvaluable personal contacts which have often
resulted from such correspondence. I should be false to my real
feelings ifI refrained from giving utterance to my gratitude for the
enlightenment which I have thus derived.
When the manuscript ofGodIs My Adventure was first submitted
to its original publishers, four ofthe five readers to whom the book
was sentforaprofessional opinion, turneditdown. Thefifthpointed
out that, whatever merits the book might possibly possess, it hardly
justified publication since not more than a handful ofpeople were
ever likely to be interested in it. The five readers were unanimous
in thinking that for a 'philosophical' book God Is My Adventure
was not sufficiently orthodox, and for one purporting to explore
the by-ways of modem esotericism, not pronounced enough in its
allegiance to any individual one ofthe teachers and systems which
it described.
Nevertheless the book has had to be repeatedly reprinted
during the last seven years, and I assume this has mainly been due
to two facts: people are always eager to learn from the spiritual
experiences of a fellow seeker: many others, disillusioned by the
Churches, were only too willingto delve into theways and methods
of unorthodox schools of thought, yet without at the same time
feeling compelled to acceptthisorthatmethodastheonlyvalidone.
In spiritual research the utmost personal freedom is a sine qua non.
The seeker may, and indeed does, demand that those of whose
findings he reads, should have a definite viewpoint of their own.
But hewill draw backas soon as hesuspectsthat heisbeingpontifi-
cally forced by the author into accepting a certain point ofview.
Ifin GodIs MyAdventure no effortwasmadetoimposedogmatic
opinions upon the reader,%this was no* Hftwmoft nf undue
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PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION
on the part ofthe author, but rather because ofhis beliefthat none
ofthe doctrines expounded byhimhad themonopoly ofthe'whole'
truth. In his opinion both the knowledge and the methods of the
men under review were complementary to, rather than exclusive of,
oneanother. And isitnota truismto saythata systemwhichto-day
perfectly fulfils our spiritual needs,'may easily prove inadequate at
some future stage of our search? Living truth cannot possibly be
static. Thoughtruth is one, its facetsdiffer, as do ourmeans ofcom-
prehending it.
Unless I completely misread the signs, I believe that there are
reasons far beyond the possible merits of the present book which
make its re-issue necessary in war time. I am only one among those
who are convinced that the present war is mainly the expression
of a spiritual conflict. The armed struggle is merely the visible
reflection ofsomething farmore fundamental. Most ofour spiritual
conflicts can manifest themselves only by means ofstruggles on the
material plane. But surely no-one imagines that the establishment
ofconditions propitious for victory and the right Peace afterwards
is a purely material task, concerning economists and politicians
alone. Is it not in reality a task incumbent upon every individual,
however far he or she may be removed from the actual prosecution
ofthe war? And does it not therefore follow that it is the spiritual
effort oftheindividual which ultimately counts? But such efforts are
doomed to frustration unless they are inspired by an intense inner
urge. Routine and habit will not take us very far. Equally, this
inner urge will lead us into blind alleys if we remain ignorant of
the means by which it can be translated into practical action.
Books obviously cannot create a sense of spiritual urgency. But
by demonstrating the reality and the power of what is spiritual in
man, they can certainly intensify it. The response to God Is My
Adventure leads me to believe that something of the burning urge
responsible for the writing of the book, may possibly have been
reflected in its pages. Moreover, many of the men described in it
were concerned with methods of transforming spiritual ardour into
practical action. Thus, though GodIs My Adventure hardly touches
upon subjects directly related to war, it does deal with some ofthe
permanent verities of life which *cannot be separated from the
problems confronting us to-day.
No-one can solve the problems ofhisneighbour: how much less
8
PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION
can books achieve this. Yet what they can do, is to indicate the way
in which others have tried to meet their own problems. All faith
and all search for truth share a common denominator. If our own
vision ofGod finds confirmationin thevisions ofourfellowseekers,
we cannot but help feeling strengthened.
I believe more than ever to-day that every book or work of art
which helps us to realize that the great events in the outside world
arenotindependent ofourselves, butmagnified projections ofsome-
thing within ourselves, has a useful function to perform. Whether
our individual awareness grows through study, suffering, religion
or personal relationships, is immaterial. What matters, is that we
should become more acutely conscious of our responsibility in
regard to those bigger events which appear to be beyond our own
control. Division, like space, is a relative entity whose existence is
limited to the material world alone. In the spiritual world neither
ofthese have any existence. And since in the spiritual world it is the
individual who counts, his motives and the workings of his mind
are the forces that ultimately may have the power to tip the scales
of historic events.
If this war-time edition of God Is My Adventure can succeed,
inhoweverimperfectaway,tohelpafewindividualstobecomemore
aware of their spiritual responsibility, then this new reprint would
seem to be fully justified.
The eight or nine years which have elapsed since God Is My
Adventure was first written have not made me change my original
assessment ofthe men ofwhom the book treats. Those who at that
time appeared to me genuine and significant have since increased
in both these qualities. Those, on the other hand, whom I could not
help viewing with a certain reserve, appear to me to-day even more
dubious. Thus, except for a number ofminor corrections, ithas not
seemed necessary to introduce alterations into the text.
ROM LANDAU
THE MANOR
STOUOHTON, CHICHESTER
1942

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
wish to acknowledge the following permissions and to express
I
my thanks to the various authors and/or publishers and editors:
Messrs. Basil Blackwell for quotations from Oxford and the
Groups; Messrs. Jonathan Cape for quotations from Introduction to
Keyserling, by Mrs. Gallagher Parks; Mr. Harry Collison for quota-
tions from his various translations ofthe books by Rudolf Steiner;
Messrs. J. M. Dent for quotations from the article 'More about the
Perfect Master*inEveryman',TheHogarthPressforquotationsfrom
essays by Mr. C. Day Lewis and Mr. Michael Roberts in New
Country; Messrs. John Lane, the Bodley Head, for quotations from
Saints Run Mad, by Marjorie Harrison; The Oxford University
Pressforquotationsfrom Whatis the OxfordGroup?; Messrs. Kegan
PaulforquotationsfromMrs. AnnieBesantbyTheodoreBesterman;
Messrs. Rider and Mr. Paul Brunton for quotations from the
latter's A Search in Secret India; Messrs. Martin Seeker for quota-
tions from Lorenzo in Taos, by Mrs. Mabel Dodge; and The New
Statesman and Nation and Mr. Bensusan for quotations from the
latter's article 'Mother Earth and the Husbandman'; The Sunday
Chronicle for quotations from the article 'This New Religion', by
J. B. Priestley; The Sunday Express and Mr. James Douglas for
quotations from the latter's article 'Shri Meher Baba'; The Evening
Standard for quotations from the article 'Dr. Buchman', by Alva
Johnstone; The Times for quotations from the leading article'The
Oxford Group Movement'.
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