I enter the hubbub of bars and traffic at the beginning of Paseo de Sant Joan in Barcelona, a mixture of Chinatown and a fantasy triangle where the clientele of Gigamesh, Norma Cómics and other urban culture circulate. But at number 26 a door opens to another, quieter world and I ascend some impressive stairs with marble columns reminiscent of those of a Greek temple, with a reproduction of the statue of liberty that welcomes us. I am in the Arús Library, an international reference for books on labor movements, anarchism and Freemasonry. We owe it to the theater impresario, freemason and freethinker, Rosend Arús, who, when he died in 1891, bequeathed his flat and his funds to open the library.
Unbeatable place for the cycle "The secret knowledge: ancient mysteries, hermeticism and spirituality", together with an interesting exhibition of books on alchemy and profound knowledge that are not usually seen, organized by the Rosacruz Foundation. The Rosicrucians were a secret order linked to the knowledge of alchemists, founded in the 17th century by Christian believers opposed to the rigid dogma of the church, who sought knowledge rooted in the sacred meaning of everything that governs the universe. I have an appointment with the curator of this exhibition, Eugenio Martín, a prominent member of the Rosicrucians in Spain. He does not appear from a secret tunnel carved into the wall nor is he wearing a hooded robe. In fact, he is a very affable man who gives me his director's card for the Valencian advertising and communication agency Arquetipo. And it is that the current Rosacruz Foundation created in 1993 declares itself "an open forum, in contact with academic, social and artistic institutions". However, there are rites that endure: two ladies greet each other at the entrance and give each other three kisses. The triple kiss is an ancient Rosicrucian symbol!
Eugenio Martín explains to me that hermetic does not mean secret. "The translation of the Corpus Hermeticum in the fifteenth century was the start of the Renaissance, which returned to the mysteries and paganism." He regrets that currently contact with the divine has been lost: “In the relationship with the transcendent we have gone less. We have moved away in the West from the root of the mysteries. We have lost the purpose." His sense of transcendence is mystical but also reasoned: "Parmenides through reason attains superior knowledge."
The alchemists wanted to find that philosopher's stone that turned common metals into gold. Martín considers that "the philosopher's stone is the moment in which the human being connects with the sacred and understands that he is called to something greater."
To try to explain that "biggest" he talks to me about that superior vibratory field of the Egyptian culture that Heka represents. “When that moment of the Eureka! From the amazing discovery, the connection with the vibratory field has been produced. The AIDS virus was isolated in the same time slot in Paris and New York and both research teams accused each other of copying, but they just happened to be inspired at the same time. The synchronicity Jung was talking about!”
I can't resist asking him how he reconciles Rosicrucian spiritual thought with the materialistic world of advertising… “The sector has been demonized a lot. I just try to help companies by telling the best I know the best aspect of their product. Another thing is to ask ourselves: should capitalism be refounded? Well, possibly yes." And he makes a reflection that should be engraved in stone: "It is very difficult to access the spiritual if you are hungry."
The cycle "The secret knowledge" will continue this Tuesday, October 25 at the Arús Library with the conference by Vicente Gorrís, "The western medical tradition" and will close on November 8 with the talk by Francisco Casanueva on "The Rosicrucians and the mysteries ”
