Madre Grande Monastery
A Sacred site for healing, teaching, ceremony, and celebration
In a secluded Southern Californian valley, surrounded by ancient and wise boulders, the Monks, Friars, and guests of Madre Grande Monastery quietly practice and teach a variety of spiritual paths, as they have for over forty years.
It is here that John Drais, one of the founders of Madre Grande, spent almost half his life pursuing the dream of a simple life dedicated to study and service. This is how I came to know him, a non-traditional monk and independent theosophist with a labyrinthine mind. He had a surprising ability to present a plethora of complex subjects in the language of his listeners, sharing his encyclopedic knowledge in a serious and straightforward manner yet with a twinkle of joy and amusement in his eyes.
He taught at West Coast Talmudical Seminary and San Diego Hebrew Day School between 1968-1970. During this period he came across The Secret Doctrine, and a new type of wind caught his sails and guided him to uncharted territories. Madame Blavatsky’s masterpiece inspired him like no other teaching, and dramatically modified his approach to life.
From Hebrew Kabballah he traveled the road of comparative religion and philosophy and Buddhist meditation, and became a devoted lifelong student of Theosophy. Between 1970 and 1982 he worked on the Zohar and The Source of Measures, books that are part of The Secret Doctrine References Series. He contributed to Exordium with footnotes extracted from The Secret Doctrine, and a copious amount on notes in the Zohar; a new Hebrew and numerical index plus J.R. Skinner’s biography in The Source of Measures. In this period he met Emmet Small with Point Loma Publications and worked on the index of Esoteric Instructions by G.D. Purucker.
He wrote numerous articles, essays, and webinars, including but not limited to:
• “Age of Aquarius – 1981” – The Eclectic Theosophist, Jan/Feb,1981.
• “What is the Matter with Gravity” – presented at the Symposium on H.P. Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine Proceedings – 1984. The article is a selection of quotations mostly from The Secret Doctrine describing the One Life-Substance, the process of manifestation into the sensory plane, and a comparison with currently accepted theories of relativistic quantum mechanics.
• “The Paracelsian Order is a Theosophical Organization” – Theosophical History: A Quarterly Journal of Research, Vol. 3, No. 6, April 1991, 160-166. An essay on the founding of The Paracelsian Order, its standing as a theosophical organization, and the criteria upon which such a decision is to be based.
• “From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Spirit: The Roots of Madre Grande” – The Philosophers Stone, Vol. 1, No. 2, summer 1991 – By uniting the roots of several traditions a veritable tree of life expressing the unity in all has been envisioned. It has been declared to the world by a group of pioneers willing to put all their being into this religious cause. They feel there is no reasonable alternative and readily dedicate their efforts for the benefit of all beings.
• “Loving-Kindness All the Time” – 2000. An article on how to gain clarity from the continuous transmission of unconditional love with which one can make the correct decision, and know what the outcome of their actions will be.
• “How to Beat the Cycles and Avoid Nirvana” – Point Loma Convivium 2012, San Diego. The article is a theoretical and practical guide for the esoteric accelerated path to unconditional love and service.
• “The Four Foundations of Mindfulness and our Human Biorhythms – Aids for the Attainment of Dharana” – 2012. A continuation of the presentation “How to Beat the Cycles and avoid Nirvana”
• “The Divine Plan” A webinar series in association with the Theosophical Society of America, Wheaton, IL – 2013-2014. An explicit journey that familiarizes the beginner student in Theosophy with the vocabulary and practical applications of Theosophy.
An eclectic pioneer who opened his heart in the most unexpected situations, a teacher of meditation, loving-kindness, and mindfulness, and most of all a true Wise Fool who had the power to laugh at himself, John Drais is dearly missed on this Earth, but surely stirring things up in the next world.
https://www.theosophical.org/online-programs/webinar-archives/2986-a-study-of-the-divine-plan