Who Was Bô Yin Râ?
Richard C. Cook comments: As readers of Three Sages are aware, for almost a year we have been the only US website to publish selections of Bô Yin Râ’s spiritual writings, along with background and commentary. See additional selections of recent articles HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Bô Yin Râ was the spiritual name of Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken (1876-1943), born in Aschaffenburg, Germany, educated as a landscape painter, by spiritual pedigree a “Luminary of Primal Light,” and, through his writings, the creator of perhaps the most important compendium of spiritual writings in modern Western history. His master work is the 32-volume Hortus Conclusus.
Gathering over a million readers in the German-speaking world, Bô Yin Râ emigrated from Germany to Switzerland in 1923 and saw his writings banned by the Nazis, but is well-known to European spiritual seekers and is now becoming known to the English-speaking world through translations by Kober Press and Books to Light. It is with the generous cooperation of Books to Light that Three Sages has been presenting material by and about Bô Yin Râ as a regular feature.
Next up on Three Sages’ publishing program is a complete edition in English translation of Bô Yin Râ’s magnificent treatise entitled The Specter of Freedom. Whereas much of Bô Yin Râ’s literary output is most pertinent to the spiritual searching and personal conduct of individual seekers, The Specter of Freedom deals with larger social, economic, and political issues and how such matters should be viewed for the benefit of society as a whole. We can guarantee that our readers will receive priceless insights from a study of this amazing work.
But first, we present a 2019 interview conducted by producer Niels Brummelman with a Dutch writer, Jan Willem Bakker, entitled, Who was Bô Yin Râ?
Who was Bô Yin Râ?
Interview by Niels Brummelman (Paravisie) with Jan Willem Bakker (Aurora Productions)
https://uitgeverij-zenit.nl/wie-was-bo-yin-ra/
Translated for Three Sages. Fair Use claimed.
Bô Yin Râ and his wife Helene in Lugano, Switzerland, early 1940s. Public Domain.
Introduction
Where other so-called ‘life masters’ have gained or have acquired world fame, there is one that wrongly enjoys fame only in a small circle. That has not always been the case, although the editions of his books have never matched those of an Eckhart Tolle. His exotic-sounding name may be responsible for that: Bô Yin Râ... Bo-who? If you tell someone that this was a German, you are almost obliged to explain more.
Bô Yin Râ is the spiritual name of painter Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, born in 1876 in Aschaffenburg, about 50 km. east of Frankfurt. He received his training at the Städel in Frankfurt, the Academies of Munich and Vienna and at the Académie Julien in Paris. As a student of Hans Thoma, he developed his own style. Initially he painted mainly (Greek) landscapes, but these proved to be the prelude to his ‘spiritual paintings’ that form an absolute novum within art history. However, his main work is his so-called ‘spiritual teaching work’, which consists of more than 30 books that have been published in the original German language since the 20’s of the last century. Besides Dutch, translations are also available in English, French, Polish, Bulgarian, Estonian, Greek, Swedish, Czech and Hungarian. The Netherlands was the first country where all 32 books of the so-called ‘Hortus Conclusus’ (Enclosed Garden) were available in translation. Bô Yin Râ died in 1943 in Massagno-Lugano, Switzerland.
Whence comes the name Bô Yin Râ?
In addition to his training as a painter, Bô Yin Râ also went through a spiritual school in a special one-to-one relationship of Master-Pupil, as is widely known in the Far East. Slowly but surely he was made familiar with the spiritual reality that underlies all existence. Over a process of years, beautifully and penetratingly described in ‘The Book of Dialogues’ and ‘The Book of Royal Art’, he himself acquires the mastery and becomes a true ‘Luminary of the Primal Light’ in the indissoluble chain of ‘Luminaries’, which here on Earth, as it were, transform the blinding spiritual Primal Light into a form made accessible to earthly eyes and hearts.
Bô Yin Râ was a Master. What does that mean?
Mastery in the art of life means that you are fully conscious in the multiple dimensions of existence, both the material and the myriad spiritual dimensions, all of which are present at the same time. In his paintings, Bô Yin Râ tries to denote this by peels or slats of different color. The Indian Sri Yoekteswar once wrote that wisdom should not be recorded alone with the brain. “It is only when every cell of your body is permeated that you can best witness to its meaning.” Jesus’ famous words also point in this direction: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” You have to take this very literally and not mythologize it to something divine. If our inner self is fully in line with the primal laws of life, then there is no distinction between the drop and the ocean. Bô Yin Râ has completely traveled this difficult road and knows what he is talking about. In ‘The Book on the Living God’ he says: ‘You yourselves are the ‘temple’ of the Spirit and in every limb you have, as in every inner organ, a holy shrine standing on an invisible altar... Therefore, as long as you do not become aware of yourself in your entire body – from head to toe – you will never be able to perceive the Spirit, and never be able to unite with your God!’ (From the chapter ‘On the Spirit’)
It is stated that his work and his life were fully in line with each other. What is meant by that?
The doctrine’ that Bô Yin Râ teaches is nothing but ‘art of life’, only from the total vision of what a person actually is and how he can shape it. A man is a spiritual being who has his origin in Love: the primal essence of reality. ‘Lost’ in his earthly animal form, a form he himself sought out of curiosity (The Paradise Story), it is not easy for him to remember his essential identity. For those who do this, the words that Jesus spoke are: “Not my will, but thy will be done.” In other words, if you are aware of your spiritual nature, you are directing your actions to this understanding and acting as you would have acted in the light of your eternal being. Since Bô Yin Râ was fully conscious, not only in the earthly but also in the spiritual reality, he cannot help but fully align his inner life and outer work with each other.
In his books, Bô Yin Râ refers to the same core truths, only in different ways. What core truths are they?
Actually, Bô Yin Râ is only about one core truth, or rather, about one necessity, namely the birth of the Living God in the soul. Hence, one of his most important books is “The Book on the Living God.” You cannot think of the Living God, he must become experienceable in you, he must be able to work in you so that you become a part of reality. In this light he refers somewhere to the Christmas event: the birth of the Jesus child in the stable, between ox and donkey, and he sighs that even in you, as an animal between the animals, the living Light, the true Love, may be born!
Over and over this message is expressed differently in 32 books, in order to reach as many people as possible, who differ in orientation and disposition, that is, in soul constellation. It is also always about the correct place to assign to the mind, to thought, which serves as long as the human body functions. When the body dies, the mind ceases to operate. But the spirit is eternal, and so we must consciously connect with our spiritual core value, our “I”, preferably before we close our eyes. “Work while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work!”
Bô Yin Râ’s books familiarize us with the structure of Eternal Reality. They try to awaken our souls, to develop our sense of experience, to obtain more certainty in ourselves and to achieve true freedom.
“The conscious life of the Eternal Spirit is an uninterrupted rhythmically concentrated motion.” What does Bô Yin Râ mean here?
“Life in the Eternal Spirit” is perhaps similar to the endless sequence of ebb and flow, with our breathing: in and out – in and out – rest and do – rest and do. For small babies, a regime of rest, regularity, and cleanliness applies in order to offer them a good foundation to grow and thrive. The same applies to adult people. You cannot perform continuously, you also need rest and relaxation if you do not want to drive your body and soul to despair. What we call “works” is actually a translation into earthly terms of eternal reality; it is a mirror with which we can get closer to the primal truth of ourselves.
Bô Yin Râ’s books, unlike current ‘self-help books’, seem less practical. In that context, he previously pointed to the instructive nature and helpfulness of “doing good and conscientious work.” What does he mean by that?
For Bô Yin Râ there is no difference in value in the various forms of work. A garbage collector who does his work with attention and dedication is socially worth as much as a composer who surrenders to his musical inspiration. Walking can be carried ‘far’ in this respect as any other activity. In this respect, his advice is close to practicing ‘Zen’. His books are timeless ‘self-help books’, in the sense that we get to know our own selves through them.
According to Bô Yin Râ, God must be born in the soul of human beings. What does he mean by soul?
The soul is the mediator between the spiritual center of a human and one’s physical constitution. When we, “as words of The Word,” are pronounced by the spiritual Primal Human Being, we end up in distant regions where our memory of ourselves is veiled. We are born into an animal body and are on Earth. During that journey, in the words of Bô Yin Râ, we pass through an immeasurable sea of soul forces, from which we draw to ourselves what corresponds to our core and birth circumstances. This is how our soul takes shape. Each of those soul powers comes from people who have lived before, but have failed to consciously unite those powers with their spiritual core, their “I”. That is why we can remember the lives (or rather: fragments thereof) of other people, which is erroneously confused with the belief in reincarnation, as if we had been that soul power or its carrier completely.
So we are a spiritual “I”-core, a self-pronunciation of the Primal Human Being, clothed with a robe of soul powers. It is up to each of us to consciously unite these soul powers with our “I”, and thus trace them back to the Light, which we are in essence.
Bô Yin Râ describes death as a “salvation of excess and a supplement to lack.” What does he mean and to what extent is his view on reincarnation deviating from the prevailing thought of multiple lives for the perfection of one’s soul?
“The Book On the Beyond” is about “the art of dying” and that which awaits us when we have “given up the spirit.” This beautiful expression actually says so much, but not how much we have to give to the Spirit. This remains secret and different for each individual. But that is what it is all about, to be able to give as much to the Spirit as possible. When Bô Yin Râ states that ‘death is a redemption of excess and a supplement of lack’, he not only means that we must let go of everything that is of the Earth, but that there is also room for another experience of reality. This other reality, or rather, this other aspect of reality, Bô Yin Râ knows like no other. During his lifetime, he was able to move there, a quality that Jesus also had, with whom he is part of that special community, which Bô Yin Râ refers to as “the Luminaries of the Primal Light.”
What role does his artistry play within his mastery?
Before Bô Yin Râ was led to painting, he was determined to become a priest. But in this study he got stuck, the sermons he brought forth with a lot of fire were stoked by an inadvisable doubt. In the booklet ‘Aus Meiner Malerwerkstatt’ (‘From My Painting Studio’, not yet published in English), written at the end of his life, he looks back on his history of becoming an artist. After initially creating landscapes, he was busy from the 1920s on to convert what he perceived inwardly, the multidimensional ever-moving world of primary causes, with color and line in the two-dimensional frame of a painting. He says: ‘However, that which comes to the portrayal of these spiritual paintings is in itself primal clarity, for it is the matrix of all appearance: the primal event as this is the cause of every event in all cosmic planes taking place from eternity to eternity’. And he continues: ‘However, such a painting can only be ‘experienced’ when it is experienced by the viewer; and one can experience it first if one immerses one’s own consciousness in the painting: finding oneself in the forms and colors of it, as if one’s own soul has been portrayed here ...’
One of the 32 books that belong to the ‘Hortus Conclusus’ – the rounded entirety of Bô Yin Râ’s apprenticeship – is the beautiful book ‘Worlds’, which describes in word and image the journey of the soul, from light to light.
“Soul of the seeker—whoever you may be to yourself—seize my hand and rise with me above your long accustomed captivity that binds you in the tight fetters of your senses! For too long you have worn those chains, so that they have become dear to you like a piece of regal jewelry! Learn that only you have the power to bind yourself, and that the keys that can break your shackles are reserved for you only! Take courage to leave the safety of your dungeon and win your freedom yourself! Let me not open the heavy door of your stuffy cell in vain!” (‘Worlds – The Guidance’)
Why is Bô Yin Râ still (or right now) relevant?
From Jesus of Nazareth, who is called ‘The Great Man of Love’ by Bô Yin Râ, no clear handwritten message has been discovered until now, although it may exist and been hidden deep from profane eyes. In the circle of the ‘Luminaries of the Primal Light’ it was decided that this is a good time that one of them should be given the task of putting the doctrine as it is lived and guarded by them on paper once and for all, as far as this is possible. It has been a special decision that that person has become someone who grew up and was educated in the Western world. What Jesus lived for was barely understood by “his” followers and had to be written by Bô Yin Râ some 2000 years later. The fact that these books are written in German is also special. German is a very precise language, which is used by Bô Yin Râ as a sculptor. He does not shy away, as a true artist, from coming up with words where the familiar vocabulary falls short. What he does over and over again is pronounce himself and because he also lives in spiritual reality, that spiritual reality speaks directly to us. Bô Yin Râ writes somewhere [in his Codicil] that there will come a time when people will learn German to be able to read his work in the original language...
Now that Western people can, to a large extent, let go of the ecclesiastical and other institutions, now that we are living in a time when the individual must invent it all for himself, it is a special gift of Providence to have an anchor somewhere and a guideline established in certain primal ground. A guide that traces back to the basics and sheds light on the questions that every person must face sooner or later, regardless of origin, language or culturally related environment. Bô Yin Râ will always remain relevant, just as Jesus of Nazareth and Lao Tze will always remain relevant. If you can let go of your bias and let the books speak to you, you will have found access to a treasure trove that is inexhaustible in its richness and variety of insights. Remember, however, that they are written to lead us to ourselves, and not to the person of the writer!
Jan Willem Bakker,
Zuid-Scharwoude, 23 July 2019.
QUOTES
“I am like the sun and shine most beautifully where dark clouds have previously hidden Me from the eyes of people.” (From: Words of Life)
“Ask no more about the ‘value of life’, but about the value you can give to your life. Do not ask more about the ‘meaning of existence’, but wonder how your existence could be made sense by yourself. Don’t ask, ‘What is a human being?’, but from now on ask yourself whether you are what you can be. Do not ask more: ‘Is there a soul?’, but ask what there is about yourself that is ‘soul’ and how you can become aware of it.’ (From: The Meaning of Life)
“In the interior of your heart, within yourself, a porch is the size of a mustard seed, and therein is a small gate, smaller than the smallest mote caught in the sun’s light. Whoever wants to go to the “Inner East” must squeeze himself through this gate. If he is through, he will find vast lands beyond the gate – an eternal ‘Earth’ – an unparalleled ‘India’ – a ‘mountain’ of all mountains... There he will find his kingdom established, from all eternity.’ (From: The Book of Dialogues)
“It is ancient wisdom that I proclaim here. The few who could experience it kept it secret since ancient times. Only rarely, only at times chosen for this purpose and only in dark symbols, was it allowed to be spoken of in past days. Now, however, the time has come to speak more clearly of this, since distortions of this wisdom were spread in the world, and are still being spread by those without calling. With the ‘reading’ of my words you will have conquered little... What becomes word here must find willing hearts – hearts that know how to absorb and keep it in themselves, otherwise the word has become in vain.’ (From: The Book of the Living God)
“Don’t say you have love while you’re still worried about yourself! As long as the ordinary, fear-fed concern about yourself and your earthly fate still torments you – a concern that is nothing but an apparent lack of confidence in the Eternal – you really do not yet know anything about the love that was once taught by the high master: only that love can give you freedom. Only this exalted form of love brings about all the spiritual miracles of inner awakening, creates everything ‘naturally’ in you that you are still trying to obtain with effort, in the opinion that some mysterious method, some ‘training’ will bring you one day!’ (From: The Book of Love)
“If you seek the Light, know that you are being guarded by the masters of the Eternal Day, from which all inner darkness must depart!” (From: The Book of Human Nature)