HUBERTO ROHDEN - A short biography, by Flavio de
Mello
Born in São Ludgero (31/12/1893), municipality district of the city of Tubarão in Santa Catarina state, Brazil, from German parents. His formal schooling took place in Rio Grande do Sul state also in Brazil.
He graduated in Science, Princeton (USA), Philosophy and Theology at Universities in Europe - Innsbruck (Austria), Valkenburg (Holland) and Naples (Italy).
Returning to Brazil, he worked as a teacher, lecturer and writer. He published around 100 books related to Science, Philosophy, Education and Religion, edited by Editora Vozes (Petrópolis), Editora Globo (Porto Alegre), Livraria Freitas Bastos (Rio de Janeiro), União Cultural, Fundação Alvorada (São Paulo), among others and currently edited by Martin Claret Editora (São Paulo).
He wrote a collection of thoughts about Universal Philosophy, Philosophy of the Gospel, Philosophy of Life, Nature's Mysteries, Biographies and Brochures.
Some of his books have been translated into Esperanto and some in Braille. Currently his works are been translated into Spanish and English.
Jesuit priest at the beginning of his literary career, he also pioneered the introduction of transcendentalism in Brazil. His broad academic scholarship allowed him to write a mosaic of thoughts giving emphasis to free self-realization of man, metaphysics, mystics and universal spiritualism. His uniqueness in writing was due to his rich creation of neologisms (new words and phrases).
His first literary essays begun in 1914 at the age of 21. At 32, having finished his formal studies in seminars, and as a vicar in different parishes, Rohden left for his first trip overseas. While in Brazil, for nearly all his life, he traveled the entire country preaching the true message of the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, promoting his books, giving lectures, speeches and conferences, trips that were itself an experience of life due to poor travel conditions and the lack of financial resources. This whole adventure of traveling and life is reported in his autobiography published in two volumes.
Rohden was not affiliated to any church; sect or political party. In fact, after 25 years of intense priesthood, Rohden left the Catholic Church, institution that he found very distant from the Gospel of Christ and increasingly approaching more and more the temporal powers. He understood that the clergy adopts two weights and two measures in the field of ethics: one for the people and another for themselves. His books were censored and Rohden became violently harassed by untruths and slander.
He said that when he gave his priestly office in 1944... "I seemed to come out from a dark and chaotic dungeon lit by smoking torches and entering into a glorious spring environment, lit by the pure clarity of God."
From 1945 to 1946, he received a scholarship for scientific research at the University of Princeton, New Jersey, USA, where he lived with Albert Einstein, writing an interesting book about the genius, unique by the approach, far from science and very close to the cosmic-thought and mystic man that Einstein was. At the same University he laid the foundation for the worldwide movement of Cosmic Philosophy, based on the thoughts and life of humans forming the Universe itself, showing the affinity between Mathematics, Metaphysics, Medicine, Music and Mystic.
In 1946, the American University in Washington, DC, invited him to be the head of the chairs of Universal Philosophy and Comparative Religions, a position that he held for five years.
During the WWII, the American Affairs Bureau in Washington, DC, invited him to be part of the members of translators of war news, from English into Portuguese. At the American University in Washington, he founded the Brazilian Centre in order to maintain cultural exchange between Brazil and the United States. At that time, the Honorary President of that Centre was Mr. Nereu Ramos (a former Brazilian President).
In Washington, DC, Rohden attended for three years the Golden Lotus Temple, where Swami Premananda (former disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda), director of that Hindu Ashram, initiated him into Kriya Yoga.
By the end of his stay in the United States, Rohden was invited to join the faculty of the new International Christian University (ICU) in Metaka, Japan, in order to be the head master of the chairs of Universal Philosophy and Comparative Religions, but due to the Korean War, the Japanese University was not inaugurated, and Rohden returned to Brazil. In São Paulo, he was appointed professor of Philosophy at the University Mackenzie, a position that he not held due to the evangelical character of it, which contradicted his free religious thoughts.
In 1956, he founded and directed the Instituição Cultural e Beneficente Alvorada (Cultural and Beneficent Alvorada Institution), holding courses on Cosmic Philosophy, and Philosophy of the Gospel and directed Ashrams in several cities in Brazil. He founded and directed the worldwide movement ALVORADA (DAWN), based in São Paulo, Brazil, an ideal of individual self-realization, because Rohden understood that no social reforms could be possible and achieved without the self-realization of man. The idea was initiated in 1952 and was founded by him as a cultural and charitable movement in 1956. This days this movement is still been run by some of his former students and individuals who promote studies, the word and wisdom of this great thinker and initiated, so people can become increasingly integrated into the cosmic spirit of the great masters known to humankind.
In 1969, Huberto Rohden undertook study trips and spiritual experiences through Palestine, Egypt, India and Nepal, conducting several conferences with groups of yogis in India.
In 1976, Rohden was invited to travel to Portugal to give lectures about self-knowledge and self-realization. In Lisbon, he established another Centre for Self-Realization Alvorada.
In the late years of the 70’s Rohden moved to São Paulo city where he remained some days a week, writing and rewriting his books and the final texts. Three days a week at the Ashram he used to spend in contact with nature, planting trees, flowers, woodworking, working the land and with his bellowed bees, a society that in some ways inspired his thoughts.
When in São Paulo city, Rohden attended periodically his ALVORADA publisher, responsible for publishing his books, giving them inspiration and cultural orientation.
Fundamentally, all the educational and philosophical works of Rohden were divided into four segments, the headquarters of the Self-Realization Centre in São Paulo city, the Ashram situated 70 km from the capital, the publisher ALVORADA (Martin Claret), who edited his books, the Universal Philosophy and a group of dedicated and faithful friends who work on the consolidation and continuation of his legacies on philosophy, education, ideas and ideals.
On the 7th of October 1981, after a long stay in a naturist clinic, professor Huberto Rohden departed from this world and from the conviviality of his friends and disciples. His last words while in the conscious state were: “I’m at the service of humanity”. He was 87.
Rohden leave for future generations a legacy of worship and an example of faith only compared to the great men of the last century.
In one of his speeches in 1979 he said: -"I'm writing books for over 50 years. When I wrote the first, I was 25 years old. I can not reiterate what I said so long ago. We all change, we are not static, we are dynamic beings. The truth may be absolute, but its knowledge is elastic, progressive. If we were mummies enough to be petrified and fossilized in museums, we could affirm our convictions of twenty, thirty years ago."
One of his frequent remarks was... that his ideas were not infallible truths and expected his readers to grant him the same freedom of thought and conscience he demands it for himself. He never arrogated absolute fatherhood of it and said in all his books that are possible that other people's ideas, read or heard, have formed a substrate in his subconscious, emerging here and there as if they were his sole mental creation. "Who can guarantee us the extent to which our ideas are unique to us? There will be thoughts entirely mine or yours?"
For comments: dawn.thirdheaven@gmail.com
Born in São Ludgero (31/12/1893), municipality district of the city of Tubarão in Santa Catarina state, Brazil, from German parents. His formal schooling took place in Rio Grande do Sul state also in Brazil.
He graduated in Science, Princeton (USA), Philosophy and Theology at Universities in Europe - Innsbruck (Austria), Valkenburg (Holland) and Naples (Italy).
Returning to Brazil, he worked as a teacher, lecturer and writer. He published around 100 books related to Science, Philosophy, Education and Religion, edited by Editora Vozes (Petrópolis), Editora Globo (Porto Alegre), Livraria Freitas Bastos (Rio de Janeiro), União Cultural, Fundação Alvorada (São Paulo), among others and currently edited by Martin Claret Editora (São Paulo).
He wrote a collection of thoughts about Universal Philosophy, Philosophy of the Gospel, Philosophy of Life, Nature's Mysteries, Biographies and Brochures.
Some of his books have been translated into Esperanto and some in Braille. Currently his works are been translated into Spanish and English.
Jesuit priest at the beginning of his literary career, he also pioneered the introduction of transcendentalism in Brazil. His broad academic scholarship allowed him to write a mosaic of thoughts giving emphasis to free self-realization of man, metaphysics, mystics and universal spiritualism. His uniqueness in writing was due to his rich creation of neologisms (new words and phrases).
His first literary essays begun in 1914 at the age of 21. At 32, having finished his formal studies in seminars, and as a vicar in different parishes, Rohden left for his first trip overseas. While in Brazil, for nearly all his life, he traveled the entire country preaching the true message of the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, promoting his books, giving lectures, speeches and conferences, trips that were itself an experience of life due to poor travel conditions and the lack of financial resources. This whole adventure of traveling and life is reported in his autobiography published in two volumes.
Rohden was not affiliated to any church; sect or political party. In fact, after 25 years of intense priesthood, Rohden left the Catholic Church, institution that he found very distant from the Gospel of Christ and increasingly approaching more and more the temporal powers. He understood that the clergy adopts two weights and two measures in the field of ethics: one for the people and another for themselves. His books were censored and Rohden became violently harassed by untruths and slander.
He said that when he gave his priestly office in 1944... "I seemed to come out from a dark and chaotic dungeon lit by smoking torches and entering into a glorious spring environment, lit by the pure clarity of God."
From 1945 to 1946, he received a scholarship for scientific research at the University of Princeton, New Jersey, USA, where he lived with Albert Einstein, writing an interesting book about the genius, unique by the approach, far from science and very close to the cosmic-thought and mystic man that Einstein was. At the same University he laid the foundation for the worldwide movement of Cosmic Philosophy, based on the thoughts and life of humans forming the Universe itself, showing the affinity between Mathematics, Metaphysics, Medicine, Music and Mystic.
In 1946, the American University in Washington, DC, invited him to be the head of the chairs of Universal Philosophy and Comparative Religions, a position that he held for five years.
During the WWII, the American Affairs Bureau in Washington, DC, invited him to be part of the members of translators of war news, from English into Portuguese. At the American University in Washington, he founded the Brazilian Centre in order to maintain cultural exchange between Brazil and the United States. At that time, the Honorary President of that Centre was Mr. Nereu Ramos (a former Brazilian President).
In Washington, DC, Rohden attended for three years the Golden Lotus Temple, where Swami Premananda (former disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda), director of that Hindu Ashram, initiated him into Kriya Yoga.
By the end of his stay in the United States, Rohden was invited to join the faculty of the new International Christian University (ICU) in Metaka, Japan, in order to be the head master of the chairs of Universal Philosophy and Comparative Religions, but due to the Korean War, the Japanese University was not inaugurated, and Rohden returned to Brazil. In São Paulo, he was appointed professor of Philosophy at the University Mackenzie, a position that he not held due to the evangelical character of it, which contradicted his free religious thoughts.
In 1956, he founded and directed the Instituição Cultural e Beneficente Alvorada (Cultural and Beneficent Alvorada Institution), holding courses on Cosmic Philosophy, and Philosophy of the Gospel and directed Ashrams in several cities in Brazil. He founded and directed the worldwide movement ALVORADA (DAWN), based in São Paulo, Brazil, an ideal of individual self-realization, because Rohden understood that no social reforms could be possible and achieved without the self-realization of man. The idea was initiated in 1952 and was founded by him as a cultural and charitable movement in 1956. This days this movement is still been run by some of his former students and individuals who promote studies, the word and wisdom of this great thinker and initiated, so people can become increasingly integrated into the cosmic spirit of the great masters known to humankind.
In 1969, Huberto Rohden undertook study trips and spiritual experiences through Palestine, Egypt, India and Nepal, conducting several conferences with groups of yogis in India.
In 1976, Rohden was invited to travel to Portugal to give lectures about self-knowledge and self-realization. In Lisbon, he established another Centre for Self-Realization Alvorada.
In the late years of the 70’s Rohden moved to São Paulo city where he remained some days a week, writing and rewriting his books and the final texts. Three days a week at the Ashram he used to spend in contact with nature, planting trees, flowers, woodworking, working the land and with his bellowed bees, a society that in some ways inspired his thoughts.
When in São Paulo city, Rohden attended periodically his ALVORADA publisher, responsible for publishing his books, giving them inspiration and cultural orientation.
Fundamentally, all the educational and philosophical works of Rohden were divided into four segments, the headquarters of the Self-Realization Centre in São Paulo city, the Ashram situated 70 km from the capital, the publisher ALVORADA (Martin Claret), who edited his books, the Universal Philosophy and a group of dedicated and faithful friends who work on the consolidation and continuation of his legacies on philosophy, education, ideas and ideals.
On the 7th of October 1981, after a long stay in a naturist clinic, professor Huberto Rohden departed from this world and from the conviviality of his friends and disciples. His last words while in the conscious state were: “I’m at the service of humanity”. He was 87.
Rohden leave for future generations a legacy of worship and an example of faith only compared to the great men of the last century.
In one of his speeches in 1979 he said: -"I'm writing books for over 50 years. When I wrote the first, I was 25 years old. I can not reiterate what I said so long ago. We all change, we are not static, we are dynamic beings. The truth may be absolute, but its knowledge is elastic, progressive. If we were mummies enough to be petrified and fossilized in museums, we could affirm our convictions of twenty, thirty years ago."
One of his frequent remarks was... that his ideas were not infallible truths and expected his readers to grant him the same freedom of thought and conscience he demands it for himself. He never arrogated absolute fatherhood of it and said in all his books that are possible that other people's ideas, read or heard, have formed a substrate in his subconscious, emerging here and there as if they were his sole mental creation. "Who can guarantee us the extent to which our ideas are unique to us? There will be thoughts entirely mine or yours?"
For comments: dawn.thirdheaven@gmail.com
