May 8, 1970
Rev. John C. Haughey, S.J.
Associate Editor America
106 W. 56th Street
New, York, N.Y. 10019
My deal Father Haughey:
I have returned after a rather dramatic period following the convocation at Geneva. Evidently God, so to speak, favors my endeavors. On reaching London I learned that my brother had died during my absence—it was expected as he had had a very very long illness. This apparently means a fair increase in my monthly allotments enabling me to travel anywhere, and already invitations have been coming—from the young.
My presumable schedule would take me East, covering a triangle between Washington, Boston and Cleveland, where Mansur will probably drive me by car. I want to work within the organizational outlines and this means a bridling of both enthusiasm and personality. For example, I have been involved in a number of hypothetical efforts to bring the religions of the world together. I find in general that delegates have been hand-picked and often hand-picked by nonreligious groups for selfish or unselfish reasons.
I was informed that certain of these groups, like the Baha’is, had been vetoed. The Baha’is claim to have a universal outlook and that the day of universality, their particular kind of universality, was to supplant all the traditional methods. But it seems within the last century or so there have arisen a large number of parallel movements with vaguely the same general claims. In previous years a convention of the world congress of faiths of London broke up in turmoil because of the personality hostilities between two groups with broadly the same outlooks.
Therefore in listing group and organizations with the same general outlooks of The Temple of Understanding, while I can list several of them, my reactions are not always impersonal and dispassionate. I find they fall into two classes: a. those who in their enthusiasm for a personality tend to discard high moral standards; b. those who are intellectuals or actually have in mind some propaganda. This includes the University of Hawaii, whose supreme board of 15 has at least 4 Jews and no Muslim at all. There are parallel instances.
Here I feel like saying: “I have come to fulfill, not to destroy.” Still, if it is desirable to have on record all groups and organizations that claim to be working to the same common goal, I would be glad to assist in your obtaining such information, but I am not too enthusiastic about it.
I feel very different concerning some of the unknown African cults which are now for the first time being studied from their own points of view. Also concerning some of the now movements in Japan, whom in actual numbers are far superior quantitatively than the new groups of quasi-universal outlook.
For years I worked with the late Dr. Henry Atkinson. But 40 years research was turned down by all his associates. This matter has now been straightened out. But there is no question that Dr. Atkinson was impeded largely by a rival organization under one Dr. Charles Weller of Chicago. Theoretically, I was doing research for the World Church Peace Union, and when Dr. Weller discovered it he begged me to do the same. It is a pattern. You do the research and the pioneering and then you are cast aside. Against my earnest pleas, Dr. Weller invited the Humanists and Communists. He gathered enough momentum to overshadow Dr. Atkinson’s work, but his convention terminated in an uproar and riot.
A few years later the Roerich Museum proposed something of the same sort. It is remarkable how hypothetical spiritual groups and leaders can pooh-pooh and belittle any suggestions from an unknown. Their convocation ended in a worse uproar and riot, because it became international news, and the wounds were never healed. I feel, Father, if we are to make mistakes let us make original mistakes.
On the other hand, I seized every opportunity to promote a program for peace in the Holy Land. I believe his Holiness Pope Paul would favor a program which includes him, that is the Papacy and Church, and other Christians. I have even become nasty recently concerning Israelis who cry about wanting to meet with Muslims and then turn down every offer; and with intransigent Arabs who are sometimes even worse. I do not wish to given economic and social interpretations to “The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof.” But I think something like that, and something like the Biblical teaching may be applied, must be applied, to that part of the world.
My welcome by the young and from the young was astonishingly cordial and London, in Boston, and on return here. And now I have several invitations from the young in various parts of this land. I am hoping to establish a pilot “Temple of Understanding” in New Mexico within a few months, God willing. My main work has been in spiritual dancing, and this autumn I hope to help re-vitalize some Christian choreography.
The question here is, how can I be of service? I am very satisfied with all the person selected on the various committees. I was also approached by two worthies after the convention who want to cooperate with me (rather than asking for my cooperation) and this has been most stimulating.
Faithfully and Cordially,
Samuel L. Lewis
Pontificia Universita Gregoriana
00187 Roma – Piazza Della Pilotta. 4
Telef. 681.443 – Telegr. Pugi – Roma
May the 30th 1970
Dear Mr. Lewis,
I hope you will excuse me for my ever bad English. I was much pleased in receiving your letter which is frank, friendly and realistic.
It is not difficult for me to assent to many of your declarations
—That God is Light and Love, this is what the Apostle St. John, after Jesus himself, has told us many times. And if God is light and love, the whole world He created should be the same.
—When you say that prayer is not primarily petitioning for favors, You are in the line of the Lord’s Prayer, which you quote explicitly. The principle point is to work in order that the world may really become “a Kingdom of Justice, Love and Peace,” as we, catholic priests, demand in the Mass.
—And you are completely right when you say that a man should be ready—as you are—to support the aims he expresses, by any useful action….
God and man, each of them at his place, should collaborate and will collaborate to the ideals of peace. If a Christian prays, it does not mean that he renounces to act; it means, on the contrary, that he is concentrating in keeping in contact with the First One, to understand better and promote more vigorously the ideal of Love and Peace whose Source and first promoter is God himself.
We all know that this is not an easy job; and we must confess that many person (we too, sometimes) do not do what they could do for the Kingdom of Justice, Love and Peace. Therefore our good intentions may sometimes clash with less good dispositions of other persons (and of ourselves). All the religious men have noted that in such circumstances, we shall gain nothing by quarreling and fighting but that we should, according to the words of the Bible: Not be defeated by the Evil, but defeat the Evil by goodness….
To come now to what you say about you possibilities of helping the common effort for Peace we shall try to do with the committee. I think the most practical way would be to contact Mr. Dunne and Fr. Haughey, who are the most central members and stay in the States. They are now busy in:
—completing a list of the inter-religious organizations in the World.
—contemplating the possibilities of the future meeting, with perhaps Peace as a topic.
—and also thinking of some publications on the point.
They also are trying to gather some money to sustain the ordinary running of their activities.
If you write to them, they will probably be interested in having a good friend and collaborator at the other end of the States, as they are in Washington and New York.
I hope you will achieve something in this line; I would be very pleased indeed if you succeed.
Wishing you all possible blessing, peace and joy, I remain
Sincerely yours,
J. Masson
Sept. 21, 1970
The Rev. John C. Haughey, S.J.
Associate Editor America
106 W. 56th St.
New York, N.Y. 10019
My dear John:
A combination of circumstances prompts this latter, and we may even say that it is God Himself who is behind this prompting. In any event, all my affairs have greatly improved since the visit to Geneva, and the private affairs of my then-secretary Otis Mansur Johnson have improved even more. For he has a full time job in connection with a series of films and tape recording. These began with “Dances of Universal peace” which seem to be dedicated to the Temple of Understanding because other groups, pretending to be universal or world-wide have, almost without exception, rejected them.
But the filming is going on. Many of the top people in the Temple of Understanding have given us utmost cooperation and our financial outlooks in every direction seem to be improving.
I have already purchased my ticket for New York city. Stopping at Ithaca on the way to see my god-daughter, I should arrive in New York City on Monday the 20th and will try to contact you. As you may know, I am opposed to any kind of settlement for Palestine that does not given full consideration to the Christian religion and Christian holy places. I even feel His Holiness the Pope should have a place there.
One was once told me that he thought my plan was the best he had ever heard of. His name is Gunnar Jarring. Most of my material came either from my own efforts or from the accomplishments of Professors and Departments of the University, or better, the multiversity of California. The only people that ever let me speak in this region have been your own colleagues at the University of San Francisco. When I completed my talk the chair declared the meeting over because all problem were solved. The audience consisted entirely of engineers and scientists and their wives, and Jesuit friends. No sociologists, no “realists,” no peace-mongers.
At Geneva I played a game of being an incarnation of “Nathan the Wise.” It is now no game. My young friends and disciples, God bless them, have successfully put on joint Israeli-Christian-Arab dinners, ignored, but now not ignored. Even the most latent press and radio stations have been jolted.
I don’t want to say much more. I think we should have a good consultation.
There are now hundreds and hundreds of young people who want The Temple of Understanding, and with God’s help this will soon become thousands. Everything is getting better, praise to God, and I would like to share this with you as soon as possible.
Love and Blessing,
Samuel L. Lewis
c/o L. Less
27 W. 71 St.
New York, N.Y. 10023
October 18, 1970
Father John Haughey
America Magazine
106 W. 56 Street New York, New York
My dear John:
This is written in Boston. I am not forgetting the committee appointed in Geneva to take note of endeavors theoretically parallel to the efforts of the Temple of Understanding. Nor am I forgetting that on the committee I am serving under you. Indeed, the greatest obstacle at the moment is not any barrier to success but the dangers arising from my name being over-mentioned and subsidiary successes used to further the prestige of groups which have contributed nothing toward those success.
It is truly amazing, and we are constantly thanking God for it, that the program to promote joint Israeli-Arab-Christian dinners has gone ahead on a much larger scale than the original operators had hoped for. And the last news has been that there is both some success and greater hope in the raising of funds. I had told my young enthusiasts that, while we might expect some cooperation from the Temple of Understanding, on the financial side we should be helping them; and at this moment I see several ways in which and by which our young New Age crusaders may be helping, God willing. I can write further on this to you or tell you in person after we’ve returned to New York.
We attended a conference of so-called New Age spiritual teachers which met first in Los Angeles, California and then in Rye, New York. Verbally these gatherings were to promote world peace. Actually, they were used to boost rather unknown personalities who proceeded without any human consideration to take over and dictate. Now, the way this person became a spiritual teacher was because of achievements and experiences validated by already authorized personalities and movements. The gathering not only made others an equal, to which one did not object, but the time was almost entirely consumed by those others, chiefly Hindus. Their putative following of about a thousand personalities was exaggerated and extolled. True, on the surface they may have ten to twenty times the number that I have in this land, but I actually represent millions upon millions of human beings in other places while their organizations are almost all strictly America, and most of them claim to be giving out Indian teachings.
This presumes that Indian teachings are superior to those of other people, and unfortunately a lot of young Americans have accepted, are accepting, that anything obtuse and Indian is automatically superior. If we are working for world peace of peace or any basis, the emphasis on any form of superiority automatically kills the possibilities for peace.
There was no consideration either of age of achievement at Los Angeles or Rye. So far as India is concerned, the Birla family and Swami Ranganathananda Maharaj have already approved of the efforts of this person. We have had some wonderful letters also from several persons and organizations in India which have either endorsed or been endorsed by the Temple of Understanding.
Pressured by these various Hindus, the leaders are being expected to raise funds, and the way this peace movement, so-called, has started, if they did get funds, these would be used to support various self-styled spiritual leaders who have as yet contributed nothing to cultures.
There are a great many statements by Jesus Christ which I am totally unable to estimate, and I personally cannot see them cast aside; emotionalism will not bring peace.
It is true that there are some young people who have been very successful in promoting peace-endeavors. The face that one of them has the good-will of the President himself is being used by others to promote their own activities. The President, with all his faults and virtues, appears to be a devout Christian, and I think he would be horrified to find that any peace movement which he has accepted should be used to support financially unknown yogis, swamis, and self- established “spiritual” leaders.
The news from India runs parallel. The Sri Aurobindo movement in Pondicherry is, in a sense, a parallel undertaking to The Temple of Understanding. They have recognized its existence; they have supported an effort—and I name here Christopher Hill—to a joint scientist-yoga international gathering. Actually, there were three such other gatherings in India these past months and all what I call veddy select. They are taken seriously by some mystical groups and by many of the misled young. The Hindus start out that yoga means union with God, and then they abolish God. I wish this were not sarcasm. Whatever we think of Indian teachings, they all began with devotion, but now devotion itself is being demoted. Madison Avenue methods and emotions are being used to promote certain activities, and some portions of young people are being attracted and captivated.
The partial news from Indian came from my disciple Philip Davenport. He had already participated in a joint Israeli-Sufi dinner in Jerusalem. He has been regaled by Sufis in Iran, and at least partly due to the activities of our good friend Professor Seyyed Hussein Near. His reception by some of the so-called spiritual people in India was not so amazing; it confirmed to details my own predictions. It is the easiest thing in the world for politicians to promote movements labeled as spiritual, and these cover their activities. Even the Communists have been successful here because the United States has not made the proper objective studies of many Oriental ecclesiastical endeavors. I expect to find more details when I reach New York and will be glad to share them.
All in all there has been satisfaction in this area. Had an hour interview with the program director of local radio station WGBH. This will be put on the air either today or next Sunday at 1:00 pm. It may attract, but I am not remaining here too long. Pir Vilayat Khan should be in New York on the 26th. To me it is unfortunate his programs are being presented in small halls, limiting the number of the audience.
Tuesday afternoon I shall be seeing our good friend Doctor Huston Smith, and this will determine the final projects I may be engaged in before leaving here. Copy of this is being sent, of course, to Washington. And we shall probably telephone when we pass through Greenwich on our way back. Judith has told me her visit to Japan will be a short one, and she would like to contact us before we leave New York either for Washington or the West.
Faithfully,
Samuel L. Lewis