Global InformationGrail Movement information
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The Grail Movement is an organization which originated in Germany in the late 1940s, inspired by the work of the self-proclaimed Messiah[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][excessive citations] Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (also known by his pen name Abd-ru-shin), principally In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message. Abd-ru-shin did not establish the organization; the Movement as it exists today was formally organized by followers.
The Grail Movement is a new spiritual movement dedicated to the dissemination and spread of the work In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin. Most members reside in 16 countries across Europe, primarily Germany and France, with the Grail Movement reporting hundreds of members in Britain and in the USA. It can also be found in Canada, Brazil, and is currently established in 22 African countries such as Nigeria, Zaire (DR Congo) and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Ecuador amongst others.
Worldwide, there are approximately 10,000 members of the Grail Movement. A declaration of the personal commitment to adhere to the principles of the Grail Message can be made by a request for the "Sealing", a Grail Act (ceremony) that takes place during one of three annual Grail Festivals. This, however, is a personal decision on the part of the individual and leads neither to commitment to an organization nor to formal links with other adherents.
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Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9.
... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.
- ^ Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480.
In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.28
- ^ "REFUTATION of the text "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement"" (PDF). February 2021.
Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".
- ^ Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322.
Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.
- ^ « Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).
- ^ « Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den "wahren Christus", welcher der Menschheit die rettende "Gralsbotschaft" übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).
- ^ « Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als "Menschensohn"82 verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).
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EPILOGUE
Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
IMANUEL,
the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
— Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931