About the Author

Abd-ru-shin (civil name Oskar Ernst Bernhardt) was born on April 18, 1875, in Bischofswerda, Germany. After being educated and trained in business, he established himself in Dresden. In the years that followed, he made many journeys abroad and wrote a number of travel books, stories, and plays.

Mr. Bernhardt’s travels took him through numerous countries in Europe, the Orient, and North America, bringing him into personal contact with peoples of many classes and cultures. After residing for a time in New York, he journeyed to England, moving to London in 1913. There, the outbreak of World War I took him unawares. On account of his German citizenship, he was imprisoned in 1915 and interned on the Isle of Man for the duration of the war.

The seclusion of internment brought with it an inner deepening. After returning to his homeland in the Spring of 1919, Mr. Bernhardt soon became conscious of his task: to open the path for mankind to a new knowledge of Creation. In 1923, he began writing spiritually-themed essays & lectures under the pen name “Abdruschin” and later “Abd-ru-shin”, and by 1937, the lectures which constitute the Grail Message were completed.

By this time Abd-ru-shin had long since settled in the Austrian Alps, but his activity ended abruptly with the seizure of power by the Nazis on March 12, 1938. He was arrested on the very same day, and his property and possessions were taken.

After an imprisonment of several months, Abd-ru-shin was placed under house arrest together with his family in northern Germany. The Gestapo kept him under constant surveillance. He utilized these years of confinement to edit and arrange the lectures of the Grail Message into their present sequence, but he was forbidden from publicizing his writings or making contact with readers of the Grail Message.

Unable to continue his work, Abd-ru-shin died on December 6, 1941.

Also written by Abd-ru-shin:
The Ten Commandments of God and The Lord's Prayer »

The name “Abd-ru-shin” is of Persian-Arabian origin, translating generally as “Son, Workman, or Servant of the Light”. Abd-ru-shin did not compile his Message from other teachings of ancient or modern times; his living knowledge was drawn from out of the purest and highest Source. As every work allows conclusions to be drawn about its author, so may the personality of Abd-ru-shin be recognized from his work.