The Coming New Man
by Jan van Rijckenborgh
Book Description:
What do you know about freedom? What do you know about liberation? What is freedom for you? If, upon hearing the words freedom and liberation, your thoughts rise beyond the concepts commonly held in our society, The Coming New Man may be the book for you.
The Coming New Man takes you along on a search for the other one within you. It takes you along on a developmental journey to your true destination. In The Coming New Man, Jan van Rijckenborgh describes the human being as a system of bodies enclosed by a microcosm. The divine nucleus is located at the centre of this microcosm, the centre of the original human being we once were. The central issue is: who were we, who are we, and where are we going?
The Coming New Man is based on the Universal Teachings, the common thread that has run through all world religions and mystical schools from the outset of the human race. They are the teachings of the Gnosis, the teachings of inner knowledge and recognition. Every age and every period in human development formulates its own ways to liberation, its own Path to Life. This book, addressed to the human being of the 20th and 21st centuries, will help you to experience this in detail if you are open to it. It describes the human struggle for Light. It contains the key to correct self-analysis, which is a process of self-purification, and the next step in the form of an openness to a spiritual future. The ultimate goal is transfiguration, which is the development of a new Human Being who lives from forces we can scarcely comprehend. This book describes the new human being in detail, enabling the modern seeker to recognize him and wend his way to following in his footsteps.
The Coming New Man is standard literature for those wishing to immerse themselves in the teachings brought by the International School of the Golden Rosycross, Lectorium Rosicrucianum.
Book Review:
This book was my first introduction to Jan Van Rijckenborgh's work, and all I knew about transfiguration was contained in JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Being keen to learn more, I bought it on recommendation from webmeister Hans Andr�a.
It is a revised translation of a book published 50 years ago, and consists of three parts, an overview of and introduction to the Path to Liberation, or the call of the New Man; a user guide to the path itself, or how to make way for the New Man; and finally a guide for the New Man him/herself.
Initially I found the style, terminology and metaphors the author uses quite tough going, and had to fall back on his recommendation of leaving aside the parts I had trouble with and returning to them later. Effectively, Van Rijckenborgh asks you start the process of giving up everything in order to absorb the meaning in the text. But the more I read, the more I was struck by what he was saying; it resonated powerfully with my own experience. And by the end it was very difficult to put down - I read it three times, starting at the beginning again each time I got to the end - the first book since Harry Potter that engaged my attention so strongly. Harry Potter fans should recognise symbols in it: Harry v. Voldemort and v. Draco, and what Sirius was really doing in Grimmauld Place, amongst others.
Think of it as a practical introduction to the Gnosis, do-it-yourself spiritual alchemy, or how to change your mind. If you're seeking, it could easily be the most important book you ever read. If you're looking for that one book that could make all the difference, try this one.
Christina Nihill
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