What is an Illuminatus? Part 1
“Should I go on? I will. I will go on and on and on and on until you either wake up or I am dead, one or the other. And if you don’t wake up, I would rather be dead than live in slavery in the New World Order with our Constitution destroyed, the family broken, the children taken from the homes to be raised by the state, Christians and patriots locked in prison camps, labor camps, until they are no longer useful, and then they will be executed. And the blood will run in the New World Order.” William Cooper
From Mystery Babylon Transcribed by William Cooper, Part 14: The Roshaniya, aired March 9, 1993
William Cooper [reading from A History of Secret Societies, written by Arkon Daraul]:
“The sixteenth century saw the rise of a very powerful society based upon a secret cult, in the mountains of Afghanistan — the Roshaniya, [or the] illuminated ones. References to the existence of this mystical fraternity exist from the time of the House of Wisdom at Cairo, several hundred years before.”
[William Cooper]: In fact, the Roshaniya are just a later emergence of the old cult of the Assassins.
“It seems likely the small branches were founded in various parts of the near and Middle East; which would account for the special usage of the names of the eight degrees of initiation among them.
“The earliest figure named in the history of the cult is one Bayezid Ansari, of Afghanistan, whose family claimed descent from the Ansar — the ‘Helpers’, who assisted Mohammed after his flight from Mecca nearly fourteen hundred years ago. As a reward for this service, he stated, his ancestors had been granted initiation into the mysteries of the Ishmaelite religion: the secret, inner training [which] dated from Abraham’s rebuilding of the Temple at Mecca, the mystical Harem.”
[William Cooper]: To the Assassins, through the Roshaniya and into Europe via the Knights Templar.
“Bayezid’s own father, however, was known to be as narrowly conventional as anyone in the country, and one account of the rapid rise of the sect has it that Bayezid, after a period of preparation for the normal priesthood, was converted to his strange doctrine by a missionary from the Ismailis, the sectarians holding a secret doctrine supposedly handed down in the family of the Prophet, who maintained hidden lodges throughout the world of Islam and also claimed (after the Crusades) to have penetrated with their ideas even Spain, Germany, France and parts of Britain.
“However this may be, the Illuminated Ones soon became more than a headache for the governors of Afghanistan, the Mogul rulers of India, and their Persian neighbors. Not far from Peshawar, which is now in the north?west of Pakistan, Bayezid set up a small school, where he carefully coached those who had been initiated by him in the knowledge of the supernatural that he claimed. A period of probation was expected from each candidate, during which [he] would go into periods of concealment or meditation, known as khilwat ?? [or] silence. During this time he was to receive the illumination which was emanated from the supreme being, who desired a class of perfect men — and women — to carry out the organization and direction of the world.
“Bayezid collected in this way, over a period of three years, about fifty staunch disciples, whom he had trained in obedience and to whom — so we are told — he had shown a way whereby they could liberate their ‘inner powers’. [Well,] this meant that they were ready to follow his further instructions. These orders, according to what his opponents say, were that the whole sect would now become bandits, to prey upon the rest of the world.”
[William Cooper]: And all those who could not identify themselves by their secret signs were their legal and lawful prey.
“Little information is available from the other side, but three letters said to have been written from one branch to another contain in outline a plan to reshape the [entire] social system of the world: first, taking control of individual countries, one by one.”
[William Cooper]: And where have we heard that before? We’ve heard it from every one of the histories of all of these different sects of Mystery Babylon, which on the outward appearance seem to be different from each other. On the esoteric level are one and the same religion with one and the same same plan, with one and the same same goal, all working toward that end. And the end always, always, justifies the means.
“[Now,] something does survive the degrees of initiation. The first was Salik (seeker); followed by Murid (disciple); Fakir (humble devotee); Arif (enlightened one); Khwaja (master); Emir (commander); Imam (priest), and Malik (chief or king). This succession does not follow the usual pattern of promotion in the Moslem mystical secret societies, the tarikas; and seems to have been especially devised for this one. In the first three degrees, the candidate perfected himself by repetitions of certain phrases which were believed to carry power. Examples are these: rabba; aferinaa; hayya; hafida; quwwaya.
“Of these words (all Arabic or Persian) the first stands for the concept of lordship, the second for creation, the third for life, the fourth for protection, and the last for absolute power. If they were repeated, with deep meditation upon various forms of their manifestations in human life, it was believed, the appropriate power would come into the devotee. [Now,] no special deity was worshiped; but it was believed that there was a supreme overall power, which was known by the sum of its individual powers (lordship, protection, and so on)…”
[William Cooper]: A type of pantheism which works its way into the modern mystical societies of today.
“…and that when one had meditated upon them all, and they had become the ‘property’ of the invocant, he would thenceforward be a man of complete power. [Now, folks,] this kind of idea underlies a good deal of religious and magical thinking in many faiths; though it is seldom put in this as concise a manner. The Enlightened One of the fourth degree was he who could attain, during the rituals, complete identification with this overall power, and was guided by it in all that he did.”
[William Cooper]: It was said that he could communicate directly with the unknown or hidden supervisors.
“[Now,] this meant that, apart from the guidance of the chief, he was free to seek his own pleasure in life. No theological or social bonds limited him.
“It is at this stage, said the Illuminated, that the Arif could perform acts of wonder and magic; influence the physical world, and know the secrets of others. He attained this degree through the acceptance of him by the master, to whom he had confided his dreams and mystical ecstasies. The master alone really knew whether these were true or false experiences, and promoted him accordingly. Some people proceeded to the higher degrees without going through all the lower ones; because they were helped by the spirits of former Illuminates who had died.
“The Master, Emir, Imam and Malik degrees were reserved for the very highest men and women initiates. After the fifth degree the segregation of the sexes in rituals was no longer practiced. Anyone of the degree of Imam and higher could start his own lodge and make his own disciples.
“Bayezid decided to move his headquarters into the most inaccessible mountains of Afghanistan, where he set up a large and luxurious castle; and from which he directed his military and bandit operations, designed to overcome the rest of the East. His missionaries were sent far and wide, but received little official support. The cult did, however, spread among merchants and soldiers who thought that this gave way to mystical experiences was something to enter. They contributed lavishly to the chief’s upkeep and his most expensive military, political and espionage system.
“The heady wine of this success seems to have affected the prudence of the head illuminate more strongly than it should; for his claims became more and more extreme and public [William Cooper: as most usually do]. There was, he now preached, no after?life of the kind currently believed in: no reward or punishment, only a spirit’s stake which was completely different from earthly life. The spirits, if they belonged to the Order, could continue to enjoy themselves in the earthly powers, acting through living members. But that was all. The preaching of this spiritual vampirism seemed to delight his followers as much as it infuriated his enemies, because Bayezid now gave out more and more of the new doctrine based upon his no after-life creed. Eat, drink, be merry. Gain power, look after yourself. You have no allegiance except to the Order, he told them: and all humanity which cannot identify by our secret sign is our lawful prey. The secret signal was to pass a hand over the forehead, palm inwards; the countersign, to hold the ear with the fingers and support the elbow in the cup of their hand.”
[William Cooper]: And you can see that sign being exchanged even today in the courts of law all over the United States of America between lawyers and judges, defendants and judges, prosecutors and judges, prosecutors and defending lawyers, etc, etc, etc.
“Bayezid took to himself the style of Pir-i-Roshan (Sage of Illumination), and founded a city at Hashtnagar, which was to be the center from which Illuminism was to spread all over the world.
“[Now,] each member of his following was given a new name upon entry [William Cooper: Does that sound familiar?]; and this name depended upon the guild to which he in theory belonged. According to Bayezid, all of humanity was divided into professions; his were lamp?makers. Some members were the makers, others sold lamps. Some were known as this kind of lamp, some another. ‘Lamp of the Darkness’ was the typical example. Among the other guilds noted was those of the Builders [William Cooper: Does that sound familiar?]…soldiers, merchants of various kinds and scribes.”
[William Cooper]: They can be found today in organizations such as the American Medical Association or the American Bar Association, etc., etc.
“Writing in the nineteenth century, an Afghan scholar who was by no means fond of the society of the Roshaniya, claimed that they were in fact an organization devoted to fighting against the tyranny of the Moguls, and that the banditry and strange doctrines attributed to them were untrue allegations by interested parties. He bases this upon two manuscript copies of the objectives of the Order, which seem to have stated that it was dedicated to influencing people of importance throughout the East and West towards greater justice and self-training into the immense capacities of the human mind, whereby wonders can be caused, and through which the harmony of the world will be established. ‘[Now,] these ideas taken from those enshrined in our ancient literature and practices, as well as those of those of the Persians, many of whom have followed the True Illuminated Path before the New Message was revealed[, they stated].’
“In the end, the Imperial Mogul decided that something must be done about the widespread power of the the militant mystics of the Hindu Kush mountains. The Governor of Kabul arrested Bayezid, clapped him in irons, and paraded him in the streets, to show that here was no supernatural being. To give further point to the proceedings, his hair and beard were half-shaved. But this Governor, Moshin Khan, was under the ascendancy of his religious guide, one Sheik Hatari — who may even have been a secret adherent of the Illuminated One. For the cult was spreading with rapidity. In any case, he told the governor that Bayezid was undoubtedly a man of great and holy attainments, and that considerable suffering would inevitably attend anyone who treated this man harshly. Bayezid was allowed to escape.
“The indignities to which he had been subjected candled his Illuminism still higher. Calling his numerous companions, he retired to tribal Tirah, where he set up a military and court atmosphere which is still remembered for its glamor, fervor, and mystery.
“India and Persia were to be overcome by force of arms, he announced. To that end, many more were to be enrolled into the ranks of the Illuminated. Enthusiastic scenes throughout Afghanistan resulted from the proclamation, which was carried far and wide, to the accompaniment of kettledrums, wild sword-dances. [And] when he was ready Bayezid attended by his halka, or circle of dervishes, led the campaign into the lush land of India. Intercepted by the Moshin Khan whom he had earlier escaped, he was wounded, put to flight, and [he] eventually died as a result of this encounter.
“His son, Omar Ansari, proclaimed himself leader, and immediately ordered an attack upon the Pathan tribe of the Yusufzai who had allied themselves with the Moghul. He was killed by the hillmen, and his own son, ‘The Servant of the One’, took over the leadership. [And] by the middle of the seventeenth century this youth had been killed defending his castle against a Moghul expeditionary force. His infant son escaped with some of his followers, into Afghanistan proper, where the cult was restarted. The descendants of this Abdul? Qadir (Servant of the Powerful) continued to rule the fanatics, and to send their teachers far and wide. The creed eventually split into two divisions: the military and the religious, and nowadays it is only the followers of the latter [Way] who survived, still a secret cult, which might, given the right conditions, have touched off a movement as important as that of the Assassins.
“[Now,] forty years after the last religio-military leader of the Afghan Illuminated Ones died, a society of the same name (the Illuminati) came into being in Germany, formed, it is said, by Adam Weishaupt, the [young Jesuit priest, a] professor of Canon Law at [the Jesuit] Ingolstadt University. Coincidences of date and beliefs connect these Bavarian Illuminati with the Afghan ones, and also with the other cults which called themselves ‘Illuminated’. [William Cooper: In actual fact, they are all the same.] [In] the beginning of the seventeenth century saw the foundation of the Illuminated Ones of Spain — the Alumbrados, condemned in an edict of the Grand Inquisition of 1623.”
[William Cooper]: Out of which the condemned Ignatius Loyola emerged as a man, as a man immune to prosecution, arrest, or accusation from any king, prince, or prelate, as the head of one of the most powerful secret societies ever organized, the Society of Jesus, now known as the Jesuits. Ignatius Loyola had been the leader of the Alumbrados in Spain. And it was his sect, the illuminated ones, or the Alumbrados, which became the Society of Jesus.
Continued
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