M agic Wh ite and B ack,

771 8 S c ie nc e f F z nate and I nfi nite

'

o
s e

C O N TAI N I N G

P R A C T I C A L H I N T S F O R ST U D E N T S O F O C C U LT I S M

FR AN Z H AR TM AN N ,
M . D .

F or in our se ar c h ings are ful fi ll d

e all our d e si re s , and we o b tain

th e vic tory o v e r all wo rld s .

” — Kl¢and . Upanis/zaa
’
.

F O UR T H (A M E R I C A N ) E D I TI O N R E VI S E D

N EW YO R K

J O H N W . L O V E L L C O M PA N Y

1
50 W ORT H ST R E E T , COR . OF M I SSI O N P LA C E
 DE SCRI PTI ON OF THE FRONTI SPI E C E .

A T th e foo t of th e p ict u re is a sleeping Sp/z inx w h os e ,

uppe r part (rep re sen ting the h igher principles ) 1 5 human

wh ile the lower parts (symboli z ing th e lower principles )
are of an animal nat u re Sh e 1 s dreaming of the solution
.

O f the great problem of the con struct i on of the U nivers e

an d of the nat u re and de s tiny of Man and he r dream take s ,

th e shape of the fi g ure above her repre senting the Macro ,

c osm and the Microcos m and the ir m u tual interaction .

A bove aro u nd and within all without beginning and

, , ,

without an end pene trating and per vading all from the
, ,

endle s s and u nimaginable p eriphery to t h e invisible and

“
incomp rehensible centre th e Father of A ll the s upreme
, ,

so u rce of eve ry p ower tha t ever manifes ted o r may in th e

fut u re manifes t i tself and by who se activi ty the wor ld was
,

th rown in to existence , being proj e c ted by the power of

H is ow n will and ass uming fo rm m H is imaginat i on .

The O mega (and the A lp /1 a l n the centre ) repre sent t h e

S on
, the A bs ol u te h aving become man ife st as th e
Universal L ogos or Tb e C fi rist the ca u s e of the beginning
,

and the end of every created t h ing I t is O ne wit h the .

be ing manifes ted as a Trinily in a Unity th e ,

cau se of wha t we call Sp ac e M atz an and S ubstanc e

, .
, .

“ ”
Th e regenerated spi ritual man wh os e m atrix is his ,

ow n phys ical b ody draw s h is n u triment from th is unive r

,

s al sp iritual p rinciple a s the p h ysical foet u s is n ourished by

mean s of th e womb of t h e mo ther his soul b eing formed ,

from th e astral infl u ences or the soul of M e world .

O ut of the Universal L ogos procee d s the invisible

L ig/z t of the Spirit th e T rutlz the L aw and the L if e
”
, , , ,

embracing and pene trating the C osmos while th e visible ,

lig h t of Na ture is only its mos t material aspect or mode of

m anife s tation in th e same sens e as th e vis ible s un i s the
,

re flex of its d ivine prototype t h e invisible cen tre O f power

,

or th e great sp iri tual S un .

6 DE S CR I P TI ON OF TH E F R O N TI S P I E C E .

The circle with the twelve signs of th e Zodiac enclos ing ,

th e space i n wh ich the planets belon ging to our solar sys

te m are re p resented symbo l i z e s the C o s m o s filled with , ,

th e p l anetary influences pe rvading the A stral L ignt .

H ere is the s t ore h ouse of L ife the [l iaster of P arace l s u s

-
, ,

in which the lII y sterium magnum ( the Spirit ) is active .

T h e a c t ivity in th e C osmo s is rep res ented by t h e in ter

lace d t r iang l e The two ou ter one s repre sen t the great
.

powers of c reation p res ervation and d e struc tl on or B ra , , ,

lz am a Vislz nu and S iva acting u po n th e elements of

, , ,

Fire Water and E arth — that i s to say upon th e o riginal

, , ,

prin c iple s out of which e thereal fluid an d so lid material ,

substan c e s an d forms are p roduced .

The two inne r interlaced triang l e s refer mo re e specially

to th e development of Man B C and D repre sen t .
, ,

Knowled ge th e Knower and th e Known wh ich trinity

, , ,

cons titute s M ind or C onsc iousness E F and G represent .

, ,

th e P /zysic al M an (S toola Sha r ira ) th e E therea l or I nner -

,

A! an (Suk sh m a Shar ira ) s i d ereal body of Paracel s us astral

-
, ,

bo d y Kama rupa etc and th e Sp ir itual M an ( Ka rana

, , .
,

Sharira the divine A rch a ,

eu s the spiri tual So u l ) T h e , .

centre represents the divine A tm a th e perso nal C /z rist , ,

bein g i d e nti c al wi th the Uni versal L ogos I t is like t he .

,
*
latte r a Tr inity in a U ni t y
,
rece iving its ligh t from th e ,

P aram A tm a and ra d iating i t again fro m th e ce n tre

-
It .

is the spiri t ual see d implan ted in th e s oul of man thro ugh ,

whose growth immortal life i s attained I t s ligh t i s the .

R ose o f t /z e C ross that i s formed by W isd om an d P ow er ,

b eing j oine d togeth er in to one and sen ding i ts influence

through the wor ld But below all is th e rea l m of I ll usi on
.
,

of the most gros s and heavy materialized th ough t s s inki ng ,

into D arknes s and D eath (t/z e E ig/z t/z Sp nere or C /z aos) ,

where they decompose an d pu trefy and are res o lve d again ,

in to the e lemen ts out of which the U niverse came into

exis tence .

I t wi l l be n o ticed that the three A s fo rm a fi ve po inted ’

-

s tar in the centre of th e double interlace d triangle re p re

senting the s ix poin te d s tar Th e five i s con tinually s eek
-
.

ing to expan d and to c ome in perfect harmony wi th th e

s ix whi l e the lat ter is forever s triving to enter the fi ve and
,

to become manifes t therein In o the r words the dark an d .

,

O f th e th re e int erl ac e d A ly d istinc t ly d raw

X ’
==
s on one is n in th e
fi gu e r .
 D ES C R I P TI ON OF TH E F R O N TI SP I E C E .
7

c centre seek s fo r eternal freedom and lig h t ;

orp orifi e d
whi l e the u nlimited light seeks for c orp orifi c ation and for m .

O ne h as a centripetal and the other a cen trifugal action ,

and as ne ith er can conque r th e o ther there res u lt s per

,

p e tual mo tion the p u lsa tion of the e ternal hear t of D ivi

nity 3 the law of evol u tion and involution If the fi ve
.

pointed star were to become a s ix pointed one — if t h e

-

R osicr u cian R os e had s ix leaves ins tead of fi ve — th is

turning of the wheel wo u ld h ave an end there wo u ld b e
N irvana ,e te rnal re st
-
.
 P R E F AC E

T O T H E N E W A M E R I C A N E DI T I O N .

C
M A G I white and black was o riginally written at a time
, ,

when I imagine d that i t was pos sibl e by mean s of inte lle c

tual e fforts t o bo re a hole through the veil that cove rs th e
mys tery of the spirit and the favo r wi th wh ic h t h e first
,

th ree editions h ave been rece ived I at t ribu te to the gene

rally pre vailing c u riosity of obtaining a knowledge of s pi
rit u al things withou t h aving t o pass t h ro u gh the slow p ro
ces s of becoming spiri t u al oneself A s i t h a s been decided
.

to b ring out a ne w edition I h ave a ttemp ted to remedy

,

i ts mos t conspicuo u s fa u l t s and to make suc h improve

,

men ts as were sugges ted by a more ex tende d experie nce .

I n th is new shape I can conscientio u sly re commend it to

my A merican compat riots , and to all w h o are in teres ted in
the st u dy of occ u lti sm.

T H E A UT H O R .
 PRE FAC E TO THE THI RD E DI TI ON .

”
THE favor wit h w h ic h Magic h as been received by t h os e
who are interes ted in t h e s tudy of th e h idde n myste rie s of
Nature made it expedient to pub l ish a third e d i t ion of this
,

book Fro m an insignifican t pamphlet writ ten o riginally

.
,

for the purpose of de mons tra t ing to a fe wi nexp erienced

inquirers tha t th e s tudy of the occult side of n a tu re was
,
“
not identical w i th th e vile practice s of sor c ery Magic ,

g r ew into a book of respe ctable dimen s ion s and nowthis ,

ne wedi tion i s to be s till mo re enlarged an d I hope will ,

a l so be c ome s ti l l mo re useful .

The mo s t s e r iou s Obj ection whi c h has be en mad e again s t

this book h as been on a c c oun t of i ts ti tle ; b u t the ca us e s
wh ich indu c ed me to s ele c t s uch a title wer e s ugge s ted by
th e p urpo se fo r whi c h the b ook was in ten d e d ; n o r wou ld
I at presen t b e able to find one more approp riate for it
. ,

for Magic mean s that divine art of exercis e of sp iri tual

power by whi c h th e awakene d spirit in man may con
trol the living elemen ts .

B ut if we desire to mas te r any force s whate ver e ith e r ,

within or beyond ou r own sph e re i t i s abo ve all ne c e s sa r y

,

t o k now wh at t hese fo r c es a r e and we have no be t te r

.
,

means to s tudy the qua l i tie s of any inte rnal for c es than
by ob serving tho se whi c h are active w ithin o u rse l ves th e ,

perception of the p rocess es Th e art M agic is th e exercis e

.

of spirit u al power wh ich may be o b tain ed by practisi ng

,

self control and this powe r canno t be acqui red in any o t her
-
,

way Th e constit u tion s of all men are fundam entally th e

.

same and in eac h human being are magical po wer s ge rmi

,

nally or in a laten t con d ition ; b u t they can n o t b e said t o

e xis t before they become active an d mani fe s t th e m selve s ,

firs t interiorly and aft e rwards in an o u twa rd d ire ction

, .

I t was n o t my obj ect in compo s ing this b ook to write

, ,

merely a c od e of etlz ic s and thereby t o increas e the already

,

existing enormous mountain of un read mo ral p recep ts b u t ,

to assis t the s t u dent of O cc u ltis m in s tudying the ele ment s

12 P R E F A C E T O TH E TH I R D E D I TI O /V .

of wh ic h h is own s oul i s compo s ed and to lea rn to know ,

his own psych ical organism I wan t to give an imp uls e to

.

th e s tudy of a science which may be cal l ed th e anatomy

,

and p l:y siology o f tne soul

”
which inv
,
es tigate s th e elemen t s
of which the s oul is composed and th e so u rce fro m which
,

man s de sires and emotio ns spring

’
.

To arrive a t this e nd th e mere ly in te lle ct u al reading of

books 0 11 O c c u ltism i s entirely ins u fficien t Th e d ivine .

mysteries of nature a re above and beyon d th e power of

conception of the s emi animal in tel l ect
-
They m u s t be .

in tuitively grasped by the p owe r of th e s pi rit wh ich ente rs ,

in to the subs tance of which th e wo rld i s formed If we .

canno t perceive a spiri tual tru th w i th th e eye s of the spirit ,

in tellectual reasoning and book learnin g will not enable u s

to per ceive i t clearly B ooks d ealing w ith such subj ects
.
, ,

shoul d not be mas ters to us to wh om w e m u s t blin d ly fol

low they shoul d merely be our as s i stan ts They a r e .

merely u sefu l to des cribe th e de tai l s of th ings whi ch we

already— a l thou gh pe rhaps indis tinc tly see with our
s piritual perception they are me rely s e rvan ts to h old u p
befo r e our eyes magnifying mi r rors wh e rein we se e th e ,

truth s whos e p re sen c e we feel in our own so u l

,
.

elz me the grea t th eo s op h ist says in regard to

j ac ob B o , ,

the s tu d y of O ccultism : If yo u desire to investigate th e

divine mys terie s of nature inve s tigate fi r s t y ou r own min d
, ,

and a sk yourself abou t the p u ri ty Of yo u r p urpos e D O .

yo u desire to put the good teachings w h ich you may

receive into practice for the benefi t of hu manity ? A re
you rea d y to reno u nce all s elfi sh des ires wh ic h clo ud yo ur ,

mind and hinder you to s ee th e clea r ligh t Of e ternal truth ?

A re yo u willing to become an in s trumen t fo r th e ma nifes t
ation of D ivine Wis dom P D o you kno w wh at it mean s to
beco me u nited wit h yo u r own h igh e r Self to get rid of ,

your lower Self to b ecome one with th e living u nive rsal

,

power of Good and to die to yo u r own in s i gnificant terres

,

t rial personality P O r do yo u merely d e s ir e to Obtain grea t

knowledge so t h at yo u r c u riosity may be gra tified and
, ,

that you may be proud of your science and believe your ,

s elf t o be superior to t h e rest of mankind P C on side r th at ,

th e dep t h s of D ivinity can only b e searc h ed by th e divine

s pirit itself wh ich i s active within yo u R eal knowled ge
, .

must come from our own i nterio r not merely from exter ,
nals and t h ey w h o seek for t h e e ss ence of things m e re ly in
externals m ay find the artificial color of a thing bu t no t
, .

the tr u e thing itself

.

“
L e t therefore thos e wh o wis h to acquire Magic i e,
. .
,

spiritual or divine power follow this advice let them r ise

,

mental l y into the h ighes t regions of th o u gh t and remai n

therein as its p ermanent residen ts L e t them cultivate
.

their physical bo d ies and their mental constitutions in such

a manner that the matter of which they a r e compos ed will
become les s gro s s and mo re movable and penetrable to the
divine ligh t of the spirit Then will the veils that separate
.

them from the invisible world become th inner .

The following page s are an attempt to sh ow t h e way

h owMan may become a c o Operato r of th e D ivine Power
-

who se product is Nature ; they cons titute a book whic h

”
may properly b ear t h e title of Magic fo r if the readers
,

su c ceed in p ractically fol l owing its teachings they will be

,

ab le to perform t h e greates t of all magical fea ts the spi

,

ritual regenerati on of Man .

 PR E FAC E .

O U R age is t h e age opinions The maj ori ty of our

of .

e d uc ate d p eop l e live s o to say in the ir h e ads and the

, , ,

c l aims Of the heart a r e ne gle c ted Sc ep ticism I S k m g an d

.
,

wis d om is only permitted to speak when it doe s n ot c ome

into c onflict with s elfis h c onsi d era t ions The guar d ian s of .

science a ttemp t to bring the infinite truth wi t hin the grasp

of their fi n i te u nders tanding and whatever they fail t o
,

comprehend is s upposed by them to have no exis tence .

O ur speculative phi l osophers refuse to re c ognize th e

incomprehensible p ower of universal love who se ligh t i s
reflected in the h uman soul th ey wish to examine e t ernal
tr u th s by the flickering can d l e light of their minds reason
-
’

ing from th e bas is of sen sual observa tions ; they forget

that H umanity is 3 Unity an d that one individual c anno t
,

encompas s the A ll They ask for scien tifi c reasons wh y

.

man sho u ld be faithful and true and wh y h e sho u l d no t

.

c onsi d er his ow n pers onal inte rests above those of the res t
of mankind .

I t I S universally admitte d that man s final des tiny c anno t ’

depend on the theorie s whi c h he may have fo rmed 1 11 hi s

min d regard ing Cosmology Pneumatolog y plan s of salva
, ,

tion e tc and as long a s he p oss es ses no real knowle d ge

,
.
, ,

one set of belie fs o r opinions may pe rhap s be as good as

ano ther ; bu t it cannot b e de nied tha t the so oner man ,

fr ees himself of erroneous opinion s and reco gnize s the real

t r uth the less will he be impe ded by the ob stac l e s wh ich
,

are in the way of h is higher evo l ution and the s oone r ,

will he reach the s ummit of his final perfe c tion .

The most importan t questions s eem there fo r e to b e , ,

Is it pos sible that a man should a c tua l ly know anything

t r ans c en d in g h is sen s u al per c eption unless i t is tol d t o ,

h im by some supposed auth ority P Can the power of intui

tion be developed to s uch an extent as to become actual
knowle d ge wi th ou t any possibi l ity of error or s h all we ,

alway s be doomed to depend on h earsay and opinions ?

C an any individual man p os ses s powers transcending those
1 6 P R EP A C E .

w h ic h are admitted to exis t by modern science and h ow,

”
can s u ch transcendental powers be acq u ired ?
The following page s were wri tten fo r the p u rpose of
attemp ting to answer s u ch ques tions by cal l ing t he atten
,

t ion of t hose w h o desire to know the truth to a consider

ation of the true nature Of M an and of his po s ition in the
U niverse Those wh o believe that the y already know it of
.

cours e will not need the instruction s which thes e pages

con tain bu t to thos e wh o d es ire t o know they may b e of
,

some us e and to the latter we recommend the a d vice given

,

by Gau tama B u ddha to h is dis c ip l e s : Belie ve nothing

which is u nreasonable and rej ect no th ing as u nreasonable
,
”
wi thout prope r e xamination .

This book was n o t written for th e p u rpo se of convin e

ing s ceptic s of the fact t h at p h en omena of an occul t char
acter have taken place in th e past and are occu r ring at
p resent thoug h an a ttem p t has been made t o p rove t he
po ssibility of mys tic occur r ences by o ffering some e xp lan
,

ation in regard to the laws by whic h they may be p ro O

d uc e d. N 0 space has been d evoted to lengt h y illu s trat i ve

examples Of ph enomena Thos e wh o require t h em wi l l
.

find s u ch e vidence in the books w h o se title s h ave been

given a t t h e foo t of t h e p a ges .
 M A G I C .

I N T R O DU C T I O N .

Th e re is no re l igion h ighe r th an th e r e c ognition of th e tr uth ”

.

W H AT EVE R m ism te rp re tation ancient or modern i gnorance

may have given to the word M agic , its only true signifi ~

cance is Tb e H igb est S c ienc e , or I Visd om based up on

k nowled ge and p r ac tic al exp erienc e .

I f yo u d oub t wh ethe r there is any s u ch th ing as M a gi c ,

and if yo u de sir e any p r actical illustration ab out it , open
yo u r eyes and look aroun d you Se e the world , th e ani
.

ma l s , and the trees , and ask yo u rself whe ther they co ul d

h ave come into exis t en c e by any o ther power than by the
m agic p ower of nature Magical power i s no t a supe r na t u r al
.

“ ”
powe r if by th e term s u pe r natural yo u mean a p owe r
,

whi c h is outsi d e beyond o r external to nature T o sup

, , .

p ose the existence of s uch a p owe r is an ab s ur d ity and a

s upe r s t ition oppo se d to all ou r experien c e for we se e tha t
,

all or ganisms ve ge tab l e and animal ones grow by the

, ,

ac t ion of in t e r nal forces a c t in g outwa r d l y and n o t by hav

,

ing some thing ad d ed to the ir subs tan c e fr om t h e ou tsi d e .

A seed d oes no t b ecome a t r ee no r a chi l d a man by

, ,

ha ving s ubs tance added to its organism by some o utsi d e

wo rkman o r like a house whi c h is bui l t by put ting s tone s
,

on t h e top of ea c h o ther ; but living things grow by the

action of an i nternal force a c ting from a c entre wi t hin the
,

form To this cen tre fl owth e influen c e s c omin g from th e

.

un iversal s t o r eh ouse of matter and mo tion and fr om there ,

they radiate a gain towards th e periphe ry and perform tha t ,

la bo r w h ic h b u ilds up the livin g o r ganis m ,

 20 LI F E .

B ut w h at can s u ch a po wer h e ex c ept sp ir itual

w
else ,

i a iic ll f
p n d i t i s su ernatural a lth ough ac t i ng
‘

ar , a s s p ,

in nature f
o r h a tu re i s ne ither S ir t no r G o d but a
; p i ,

rod u
(

c f h e Divin e ;Spiri t an i mag e formed in the

p t o t ,

u nivers a l M ind b y th e p ower of the D ivine Wi l l G od i s .

A ll ; but A ll I S no t God and the magical po wers of J us tice

, ,

Wis d om and L ove etc are no t p roduc ts of nature but

,
.
, ,

attribute s of the spiri t A s su c h they a re h igher than

.

nature , althou gh no t o u tside of i t I t pen et r a t es to th e .

ve ry centre of material th ings I t canno t be a mere .

mec h anical force ; fo r we know that a me ch an ical fo rce

cease s as soon as t he impulse which o riginated i t cease s to
ac t I t c anno t b e a chemical fo rce fo r chem ical action
.
,

cease s when the c hemical comb ination Of th e s u b s ta nces

which were to combine h as taken place I t m us t t here .

fore be a living power and as life canno t be a p roduct of a

,

dead fo rm i t can b e no thing else b ut th e p owe r of L ife

, ,

ac ting wit h in the li fe centres of th e fo rms

-
.

This L ife or W ill in natu r e is a magician and every plan t , ,

animal and man is a m agic ian wh o u ses this power unc on

, ,

sc iously and instin c tively to bui l d u p h is ow n o rganism ;

or in o ther words every living being i s an o rganism i n
, ,

which the magi c powe r of life acts and if a man sh ould

a ttain th e knowle d ge h owto con tro l thi s p ower of li fe an d ,

to employ it con scio usly in s tea d of merely submit t i ng

,

un c onscious l y to i ts influence then h e wo uld be a magician , ,

and cou l d control th e p roces se s of li fe in h i s own organism .

N owthe que stion is Can any man obtain s uch a p ower

as to control the proce sses of life ? T h e an swer to t his
”
question depends on wh at yo u mean by th e term man .

“
I f yo u mean by m an an in te ll e c tual an imal s u c h as we ,

mee t every day in the s tree ts th en th e an swe r is : No ! ,

fo r t h e maj ority O f the men and w ome n of our p r esen t

generation inclu d i ng our grea t es t s cien tifi c lumens know
, ,

absolute l y n oth ing abou t that un ive r sal th ing o r no t hing ,

which p roduces what we ca l l L ife and whi c h we may c all

”
,
“
th e Will becau se w e know that no a c t io never ta k es place
wit h out an e ffo r t Of what we call W ill exe r cis ed wi t h or ,
”

without relative con sciou snes s Some of them h ave not .

even made up t h eir minds w h et h er or not they will believe

in i ts exis tence They can neither see it nor feel it and
.
,

therefore they do not know what to m ake of i t .

B u t if yo u mean by man th at in telli gent p r in ci p le

“
,
 VI L L
r . 21

whic h is active within t h e organism of man and wh ic h ,

constitu tes him a human being and by whose action he ,

becomes a being ve ry d istinct fr om and above the animals

in h uman or animal form then the answer is : Yes I fo r the
,

d ivine power whi c h ac ts wi t hin the organism of animal

man is the same and i d en tical power which acts with in th e
cen tre of natu re I t i s an internal powe r of man and
.
,

belongs to man and if man once knows all th e powers

,

whi c h belong to his e ssen tial con s t itution and knows ,

h owto u se them th en he may ente r from th e pass ive into

,

the active s tate and employ thes e powers himself

,
.

A bsurd as it may seem i t i s n ever t he l es s a logical con

,

seq u ence d rawn from the fund am e ntal t ru th s about t h e

c on s titu t ion of man that if a man cou l d control th e unive r
,

sal p owe r of life ac t ing within h im se l f he might prolong ,

the life of his organism as long as i t p l eas e d to h im ; if he

co u ld con trol it and knew all the laws of matter he migh t
, ,

rende r i t dense or vaporo u s concentrate i t to a s mall poin t

, ,

or expand i t so a s to occupy a great d eal of space

, .

V e rily tru th is s t range r than fiction and we might see i t

, , ,

if we could only ris e above t h e narrow conception s and

prej u d ices w h ich we have inherited an d acq u ired by educa
tion an Obs er vation .

Th e th ings happen continuall y in nat u re ,

and h ar d ly a t trac t our atten tion They d o not seem .

s trange to 1 1 s al t ho u g h we do no t u nders tand them

,

me rel y because we are acc u stomed to s ee the m eve ry day .

“ ”
Who would be s o foo l ish as to believe tha t a tr ee could
grow out of a see d — as there is evidently no tree in the
s eed — if his experience had not tol d him t h at trees grow
out of seeds in spite Of a l l arg u men ts to the contrary ?
Who would believe that a flower would grow out of a plan t ,

if he had n ot seen i t for obs ervation an d reason show

,

that there i s no flower in t h e sta l k ? Nevertheles s flowe rs ,

grow and c anno t be disp ute d away

,
.

E ve ryw here in nature the a c tio n of an unive rsal lawis

manifes t but we canno t see th e law i ts elf E verywhe re
,
.

we see the manife s ta tion s of a will ; but tho se who seek

for t h e o rigin of Will within the ir own brain s will seek for
i t in vain .

The art of magic i s th e art of employing invisible or so

calle d spiritual agencies to Obtain certain visib l e res u l ts .

Su ch a gencie s are not flitting abo u t in space ready to come ,

 at t h e command Of anyone who h as learned certain inc an o

tations and ceremonies ; but they cons is t principal l y in

the unseen b u t neve rtheles s powerfu l infl u ence s of the
E motions and th e Will of de sires and pa s sion s tho ugh t
, ,

and imagination love and hate fear and h ope faith and
, , ,

doubt e tc etc The ar e th e ow ers of wha t i s called

—
M
,
.
, .

th e s oul ; the are m ;

ever d a
'

on o o l 0 9 ,

lin l and while those that canno t con tro l o r re sis t such
m iiue nc e s but are con tro l led by th em are pas s ive instru
, ,
“
ments ,
M ed i ums th rough wh ich s uch un seen powers
act and oft en t h ei r u nwilling sla
,

We all c annot hone stl y say we lz ave l ife ; fo r life ”

does no t belong to us and we canno t co n t ro l or mono

,

p oliz e it A ll w
.e can say with out arroganc e and pres u mption
is that we are instruments th rough which an u nive rsal
“ ”
p rinciple that p r oduces what we ca l l L if e manifes ts
i tself in th e form of a human bein g We are a l l I f ed i ums .
,

throu gh whic h an universal W ill which caus es L ife ac t s .

H e wh o thinks that h e has any power wha teve r of h is own ,

thinks foolish fo r all the powers h e ha s are len t h im by

nat u re or— more correct l y speaking— b y tha t e te rnal
,
'
spiritual powe r which a c t s in and fro m th e cen tre of
,

nature and which men have called God beca u s e they

, ,

have found it to b e the s o u rce of all go od .

No one will deny that Man be sides h aving phy s ical ,

powers is als o temporally endowed wi th menta l an d

,

spiritual energie s We love respect or Obey a pe r so n

.
, ,

no t on a c count of h is superior bodily s t rength bu t on ac ,

co unt of his intellectual and moral worth or while we are ,

un d er the spe l l of s ome real or imaginary au th ority th at

we may believe him to po s ses s A king or a bishop has , .

as a person n o t n ece ssarily any more p owe r than h is

,

lackey or but l e r and mus t make h imself known befo re h e

,

will be obeyed a cap tain may be t h e weakest man in h is

 TH E M A C R O C OSM A N D M I C R O C O SM 2
3

company and s till h i s soldiers obey him We love beau ty .

,

harmony and sublimity no t on acco unt of their u sefulne s s

, ,

fo r material purpose s b u t becau s e they s atisfy an inner

,

sense which does n ot belong to th e phys ical plane

, .

Wha t would be a world wit h ou t the magic power of

love of beauty and harmony ? H owwo u ld a world look
if made afte r a pat tern furnished by the mo d ern rational
istic philo soph e r P A world m which bea u ty an d the power
of good we re no t recogn ized cou l d be nothing e l se but a
wor l d of maniacs I n such a world art and poetry could
.

not exis t j usti c e would become a conven i ence honesty be

e q uivale tit with imbe c ility t o be truthful would be to b e
, ,

foolish and Self i ntere st the only god worthy of any c on

,

sideration .

that science whic h

neces sary to 1 nve stigate w h at Man is and what re l a t ion b e ,

bears to the un i verse and such an inve st igation if properly

, ,

conducted will show that the elemen ts wh i c h compo s e the

,

es sential man are identical with thos e we find in the uni

verse that i s to say that t h e u n iver se i s the M ac roc osm
, ,

and man — its true copy— th e M ic roc osm .

M icro c o smic man and the Ma c rocos m of nat u re are one .

H owcould i t be possible tha t the Macrocosm should con

tain anything no t containe d within the Mi c roco sm or that ,

Man shoul d h ave s ome thing within his organism w h ich

cannot be fo u nd within th e grand organism of nature ? I s
no t man th e child of nat u re and can the re be anything
,

within his const itution which doe s no t come from h is e ter

nal father and mothe r P I f ma n s o rganization con taine d ’

something unnatural he wou l d be a mon ster and na ture

, ,

would spew h im out E verything con t ained in nature c an

.

be foun d within the o rganism of man and exists th e r ein ,

ei t he r in a ger minal o r developed s tate eith er laten t o r

active and may be p erce ived by h im who posse s se s the
,

power of self know l edge

-
.

We are bor n in to a world in which we find o u rselves

s u rroun d ed by phys ical obj ects There seems to be s till .

ano ther— a s u bj ective— wo rld within u s capab l e of re c e iv ,

ing and retai n i ng impressions from the ou tside world

E ach one is a world Of its ow
.

n wi th a relation to space
,

di fferen t from t h a t of th e o t h er E ac h h as its days of s u n

.
24 R E L I GI O N A N D S C I EN CE .

shine and its nig h ts of darkne s s which are not reg u lated
,

by th e days and nigh ts of the o th er each has its clo u ds

and i ts storms and shapes and forms of i ts ow
,
n .

If we ask of science to teach u s th e true nat u re of th ese

worl d s and the laws that govern them but physical science-

deals only wi t h external forms — she g ive s only a partia l

solution of the problem s of th e Obj ective world and leaves ,

u s in regard to the subj ective wo rld entirely in th e d ark .

M odern science classifie s p h enomena and describes even ts ,

b ut to de scribe h owan even t takes place is not su ffi cient

to explain why i t takes place To discove r cau se s wh ich
.
,

are in themselve s the e ffects of unknown primal caus es ,

i s on l y to e vade one di fficulty by s u bs tituting anothe r .

Science describes s ome of th e attribute s of thi ngs but the ,

firs t ca u s es whic h brough t thes e a ttrib u tes into exis tence

are unknown to h er an d will remain s o u ntil he r p owers
, ,

of perception will penetrate in the uns een .

B eside s scien tifi c observation the r e c l aims to be still

ano t he r way to ob t ain knowledge of th e mys t eriou s s ide of
nature Th e re ligio us teachers of the wo rl d c laim to h av e
.

soun d ed the d epths which the scien tis ts canno t reach .

Their doctrine s are suppo sed by many to h ave been

receive d through certain divine o r angelic revelations pro ,

c e e d ing from a supreme infinite omnipre sen t and ye t

, , ,

pe rsonal — and the refore limited — B eing— th e exis ten ce O f

which has never been proved Wh ere is th e pro of that
.

sn ob reve lations are either true or divine ? S urely a ,

b l in d belief in the con tents of a book canno t be rea l know

le d ge ; no r can it be reasonably supposed that the theo ~

logians themselves have any a c tual knowledge of what

they teach We dare say that there are but fe wclergymen
.

who a r e pers onally acquainte d wi t h God N ever t he l es s .

thou sands are engage d in tea c hing o t h e r s that which they

themse l ves d o no t know an d in spite of a ve ry great
,

numbe r of re l igious sys tems there is comparat ively l i t tl e

reli gion at p r esent upon th e E a r th .

The te r m R el igion i s derived from th e L atin w o r d re

l igere which may be prope rly tran slated
, to bind back ,
“ ”
or to relate R eligion in the tr u e sens e of th e te rm
, ,

implies that science w h ich examine s the link whi c h e xis ts

be tween man and th e cause from which h e o r igin ated or ,

in o ther wo r ds which dea l s with th e relation which exist s

,

between man and t h e world of cau ses Tr u e religion 1 5 .

26 M YS T I C I S M

that is to say, th e
knowledge of spiritu al and s u per
s ensual things perceived by the spiritual powers of pe r
,

c e p tion These powers are germinally containe d i n e ve r y

.

h uman organization b u t only fe w h ave develope d them

,

s u fficiently to be of any p ractical u se .

M y stic ism is a h ankering after illusions a desire to pry ,

in to m y s teries which we canno t compreh end a cravin g to ,

satisfy our curiosity in regard to what we ough t no t to know ,

as long as we h ave no t the powe r t o unders tan d it I t i s t h e .

realm of fancie s of d reams the paradise of gh o s t s eers

, ,
-
,

and of spiritis t ic tomfooleries of all kinds .

But wh ich i s the true religion and the tr u e science ?

T h ere is n o doub t that a d e fini te relatio n ship exis ts
be twee n M an and the ca u s e that calle d human ity in t o ex
iste nc e and a true re l igion and a t r ue science mus t be the
,

one whi c h teache s th e true terms of t hat rela t ion I f we .

take a superficial V iew o f th e various re l igio u s sys tems of

t he world we find them a l l apparen t ly cont ra d ic ti ng ea c h
,

othe r We find a great mas s of apparen t s up e rs ti t ion s and

.

abs urdities h eape d upon a grain of s ome t h ing th a t may be

t r ue We admire th e ethi c s and m oral d oc trin e s of our
.

favo rite re l igious sys tem and w e ta k e i t s th eological

,

r ubbish in o ur bargain fo r getti ng that t h e e thi cs of nearly

,

a l l re l i gion s are essential l y t he same and tha t the r ubbish ,

whi c h s urrounds them is no t real religion I t is evi d ently .

an abs urdity to believe that any s y s tem coul d be t r ue nu ,

les s i t contained the t ruth B ut it 1 s eq ua l ly e vi d en t t h at

.

a t hing cannot be true and false a t th e same time T h e .

t r uth can only be one The t r uth neve r change s but we

.

o urselves change and as we change s o c ha nge s our aspect of

,

the tru th Th e various religiou s sy s tems of th e w o r ld can

.

n o t be u nnatural or superna tural p ro d ucts The y are a l l .

the natu r al outgrowth of man s e vo lution upo n this gl obe ’

y
,

and they d iffer onl in s o far as the condi ti on s un d er whi c h

they came into ex i s tence di ffered a t the t ime wh en the y
began to exis t ; bu t tr u e religion 1 3 s upe rna tura l fo r i t is ,

that c l in ging of the soul of man to that which is h igher

than his semi animal and imperman en t nature E ach i11 .

te lle c tual human being e xcep t one blinded by p rej u dice

, ,

re c ognizes the fa c t tha t each of th e great religio u s s stems y

of th e wo r ld contain s certain truth s which w e in tu i t ively ,

know to be true and a s the r e can be on l y on e fund am e n

ta l tr u th s o all thes e r eligion s are br anch es of the sa me
,
 TR U T H . 27

tree eve n if t h e forms in whic h the tr u t h manifes ts itself

,

are no t a l ik e The s unshine is ever y where the same only

.
,

i ts intensi t y di ffers in di ffe rent localities In one place it .

ind u ces the growth of palms in anot h er of mushrooms ;,

but there i s only one Sun i n our sy st e m The proces se s I .

g oing o n on th e phy sical plan e h ave t h eir analogies in th e

spi r itual realm for there is only one Nature one L aw
, , .

If one pe rs on q u arrels with another abou t r eligio n he ,

c annot have the tr u e religion no r can he have any true ,

know l edge Th e o nly tr u e religion i s th e religion of L ove

.
,

and love does no t quarrel L ove is an elemen t of Wisdom

.
,

and there can be n o wisdom without love E ach specie s .

of b ird s in the woods s ings a di ffe rent tune but the prin
c ip le which causes the m to s ing is the same in each They .

do no t quarrel wi t h each othe r becaus e one can s ing ,

bette r than the res t M o reo ver religiou s disputations

.
, ,

with their res ulting animo sities are the most u se l es s thin gs
,

in the wor l d for no one can combat the darkness by

fighting it wi t h a s ti c k the on l y way to remove darknes s
is to kin d l e a light the only way to dispel spi r i tual igno
,

rance is to le t the ligh t of kn owledge tha t come s fro m t h e

centre of love shine into the h eart .

A ll religion s are based u pon internal tr u th all have an ,

outs ide o rnamenta t ion whi c h varies in character in th e

d i fferen t sys tem s b ut all h ave the same fo u ndation of
,

tru th and if we compare the variou s sys tems w ith one

,

another looking below the surface of exterior forms we

, ,

find that this truth is in a l l religious sys tems one and the
same I n a l l this truth has been hidden benea t h a mo re or
.

le s s a ll e gorical language impersonal and invisib l e powe rs

,

have been personified and repre sented in ima ges carve d i n

stone s or wood and the fo rmles s and real has been pictured
,

in illusive fo rms Thes e fo r ms in letters and p i c ture s and

.
, ,

images are the mean s by wh ich tr u th s may b e bro u gh t to

the a ttention of the unripe M ind They are to the grown .

up children of all nation s w h at picture book s are to small -

children who are no t ye t able to read and it would b e as ,

unreasonab l e to d eprive grown up children of their images -

be fo re they are able to read in their own h ear ts as i t ,

would b e to take aw ay the picture books from little childre n -

and to ask th em to read p rinted books w h ich they canno t ,

ye t u nderstand .

V ery s t u pid indeed and inmgnifi c ant wo u ld be the s torie s

28 FI C TI ON .

con tained in t h e B ible and in ot h e r religio u s b o oks if t h e

, ,

personal events described therein we re referring merely to

certain oc c urrence s h aving happen e d 1 n th e live s of certain
individuals who lived s ome tho u sands of years ago an d ,

whose biog r aphy can s eriously i n t e re st n o one to d ay .

What do we care nowabou t the family a ffairs of a man

c alle d A dam or A braham P Wh y sh o u ld we wan t to be
‘

intere sted in knowing h owmany l egitima te or illegitim ate

chi l d ren the Patriarchs h ad an d what b ecame of t h em ?
,

What is it to u s whe the r or no t a man by th e name of

Jonah was th rown into the water an d s wallowed by a
whale ? What h appen s to day 1 n th e vari o u s countries of
E urope 1 5 more i ntere s ting and i mportan t fo r 1 1 s to know
than w h at h appened at the co u r t of Z e rub ab e l or Nab u
c h od onose r .

B ut for t unately fo r t h e Bible and — if we only knew

h ow to rea d i t— fo rtunately fo r u s the s torie s co ntained ,

the r ein are by n o mean s mere l y hi s torie s of p e rson s who

‘

l ived in ancien t time s b u t they are al l ego r ie s and myth s

,

h aving ve ry often a very deep m ean ing of wh ich our ex ,

poun d e rs of the B ible as we ll as i t s critics u s u ally know

, ,

very little . Fiction s are nece s sar y to rep resent truth s ;

b u t they should not be mis taken fo r th e truth i tself T h e .

tr u th i s e ternal and canno t be gra sped by tha t w h ic h is

,

neither e ternal no r tr u e We need fi c tion s to bri ng it

.

w ithin our grasp as long as we have o u rsel ves mere l y a

fictitious exis tence .

The men and th e women of the old and ne w te s ta

”
ment are much mo re than me re pe rs on s s u pp o sed to
have existed at that time They are p e rsonifi c ations of
.

e te rnal ly active spi r itual forces of w h ich ph y sical science

,

d oes no t even k now that they exi s t ; and th eir h is to rie s

give an accoun t of their act i on thei r in terrelations wit h in
,

the M acroco sm and i t s coun terpart the M ic roco sm ; t h ey

teac h t h e his tory of the evol u tion of mankind in i t s
sp i1 itual aspect .

I f our natural p h ilosop h ers wo u ld s tudy th e B ible 1 n it s

eso te r ic and spiritual aspects they migh t lea r n a great
,

many things w h ich they desi re to know They migh t .

learn to find o u t what are the true p owers of th e livi ng

”
fai t h and which are re qu ired to prod u ce occ u l t ph en o
,

mena at will ; t h ey migh t fi nd ins tru ction h ow to tran s

mu te lead or i ron into p u re gold and to t ran s fo rm ,
animals in to gods .
 I N TUI TI O N . 29

But it is a tr u th based upon nat u ral laws t h a t man can

, ,

see no thing e x c ep t that whi c h exists in his mind If h i s .

mind is fi l led with illusions h e wi l l see nothing but i l lu

,

sion s and the deepe s t of symbol s wi l l be pictures without

,

meaning to him .

I f our ch i l dre n— the big o nes as we l l as t h e little ones

— are only looking a t the pi c tures withou t learning th e

text t h ey are apt to grow to be l ieve the pictorial rep t e

,

scu tat i ons to be the ve r y things th ey are inten d ed to

repres ent they become ac c us tome d to forget that forms
are only illus ions and that formles s rea l i t ies canno t be
,

seen It is s o much easier to belie ve than to think

. .

C hildre n should no t linger ove r their picture books so long -

as to ne glect their h i gher education Humani ty has out .

grown the in fancy of its presen t cycle and asks fo r more ,

inte l lec tual food ; the age of s uper stition is pas s ing away ,

and th e demand is no t fo r opinion s bu t for knowle d ge and ,

knowle d ge canno t be ob t ained withou t an e ffort The .

exp res se d opinion of one pers on can only give rise to

knowle d ge in anothe r if co r r obora ted by the same or a
,

similar expe r ience of th e latte r A pe rson can only tru l y .

believe tha t whi c h he knows and he can only act u al l y ,

know that which h e h as pe rceived .

There is a di fferen c e between p e rc e rvm g and u nder

s tanding th e truth We may pe rceive the truth wit h our
.

heart and we u nders tan d it with our brain I n othe r

, .

words : We may feel the truth intuitively an d exam i ne i t ,

intellectual l y If our pre sent ge nerat i on wou l d cultivate

.

the facu l ty of fee l ing the tr u th with their hearts and aft er ,

wards examin e that which they feel by mean s of the ir in

te lle c t w e would s oon have a fa
, r bette r and happier s tate
of s ocie ty everywhere B ut th e great c u rse of our age i s
.

that the intellectual fa c ulties afe strained to their utmo s t

powe r of res is tance to exam i ne the exte rnal form of things
,

inte ll ec tually withou t perce iving their sp iri t u al character

by t h e power of in tuition .

Men instead of l iving in th e s an ct u ary of the temples

,

which they inhabit are continua ll y absent from there

, ,

and re si d e in th e garre t unde r the roof looki ng out through ,

the win d ow s of the garret aft er th e illusions of life D ay

'

and night they s tan d there and wa tch careful that n one of ,

the passing il l usions may es cape their obse rvation an d ,

while their a t ten tion i s absorbed by thes e idle s h ows the ,

 O P I N I GI V
3 0 .

thieve s ente r t h e h o u s e and t h e sanct u ary wit h o u t being

s een and s teal away the treas u re s
,
Then a t th e time .

when th e h o u s e is des troyed and death appears th e s o u l

, ,

re turn s to the h eart and fi nds i t emp ty and des olate and ,

all the illusions that occupied th e b rain during life fly away ,

and man is left poor indeed because he h as no t per ceived

,

the truth in h is h ear t .

The real obj ect of a religio u s sys tem sh o u ld th erefore b e

to teach a way by which a perso n may d evelop th e powe r
to pe rceive the truth T o ask a man to be l ieve in th e
.

opinion expres sed by another and to remain sa tisfied wi t h

,

such a belief is to ask him to remain igno ran t and to

, ,

tr u st to another pers on more than t o himself A person .

without knowledge can have no conviction — no fai t h and ,

h is adop tion of one particular sys tem d epends on the cir

c um stanc e s u nder which h e is born o r brough t up or sur , ,

ro u nded H e i s mo st liable to adopt tha t sys tem which

.

his paren ts or neighbors h av e inh erite d or adop ted and if ,

h e changes fro m one system to another h e gen erally , ,

speaking does s o from me re s entimenta l ity or o n acco u n t

, ,

of some se l fish considera tion expe cting to obtain so me ,

benefi t to himself by that change From a spi r i tual stand .

poin t h e will gain no thing unde r such circums tance s

because to app roach the tru th h e mus t lo ve th e t ru t h for
,

its own sake and no t on ac c omit of the pe rsonal advantage

,

that it may bring fr o m an intellect u al s tandpoint h e will

gain little or no thing by exchanging one supers titio n fo r
another The only way by w h ich Man ca n h ope to arrive
.

at the tr u th is to love the tru t h on a c coun t of its being th e

truth and to free his min d from a l l prej udices and p r edi
,

le c tions so that i t s ligh t may pene tra t e into th e m ind

,
.

What 1 3 the religion i sm of to day b u t a religion of fear ?

-
,

Men do n o t wish to avo id vice b ut they wish to avo id the ,

p unishmen t fo r having indulged in Nic e Their experience .

teaches them that th e laws o f nat ur e are u n c hangeable b ut ,

nevertheles s t h ey contin u e to act against the u niversal

law T h ey claim to believe in a God who is unchangeab l e
.
,

and ye t th ey imp l ore H is a ssis tance if th ey des ire to b reak

H is own law When will they rise u p to the t ru e c on
.

c e p tion that th e only possible God is tha t universal powe r

which acts throu gh the law which is itself th e L aw and

, ,

canno t be changed ? To b reak the lawsis iden tical wi t h

breaking the God with i n o u rselve s and th e only way to ,
 SE L F -l avaW L E I ) GE .
3 1

obtain forgivene s s afte r He 1 s broken 1 8 to res tore th e law ,

and to create a new God within ourselves .

I t may be well to st u d y the Opinion s of othe rs and t o ,

s tore them up in the book of our memory bu t we s houl d ,

no t accept them on any me rely external evidence no r ,

rej ec t the m with out investigation but weigh them i n the ,

s c ale s of reason and jus tice E ven the teachings of the .

world s greates t A depts u nimpeachable as they may b e

’
, ,

can only ins tru c t u s but give us n o real knowle d ge They

, .

can show the way bu t we mus t take o urselve s the s tep s o n

,

th e ladder Were we to recogn ise their d ic tum as t he final

.

aim to b e ac c epted wi thout any fur t her inves tigation we

, ,

should again fa l l ba c k into a s y s tem of belief for the sake

of authori t y Knowled ge gives s trength doub t paralyze s
.
,

the will A man who d oes not believe that h e is able to

.

wa l k will no t be able to walk as long as h e does no t

believe ; a man wh o k nows by expe rien c e tha t h e c an
comman d h imse l f will be able to do s o He who can c om .

mand himself can c ommand that which is be l ow h im ,

be c ause th e low1 3 contro l led by the high and there jsi , .

The k now
e of S elf i s iden tical with Self k nowle d e
le d -
,

b é catise e true se I S unlim i e d and

’

k now in i t s
n
_
0 1 0 a o ; . .

I t I S knowle d ge in d epe dent of any opinions dogmas o r ,

do c trines n o matter fr om wha t auth ori ty they ma y p 1 0

,

oe c d I f we s tudy th e tea c hin gs of any suppos e d autho r ity

.

e xt e r nal to our own s elves we at bes t know what the ,

opinion of such an au tho r ity is in regard to the tru t h b ut ,

we d o no t ne c e ssari l y arrive there b y a t a s elf knowle d ge of -

t he truth If we for ins tance learn wha t C hris t taugh t

.
, ,

abou t God we are o n l y informed of wha t h e knew o r

,
'

be l ieved to know bu t we cannot know G od fo r all that

, ,

unles s we awaken to a realizat ion of his presence within

our ow n heart Th e knowled ge of even the wis es t of all
.

men if c ommun icate d to u s will be to u s no hin g more

, ,
t

than an Opinion as lon g as i t is no t expe rience d wi t hin ou r

,

ow n selves A s long as we cannot pene trate with in th e

.

s ou l of Man we can know l ittle more abou t him but h is

,

c orporeal fo r m ; but h ow c ou l d we p enetrate wi t hin the

soul of ano ther as long as we have no t the c apaci ty to en ter

our ow n? T he r e fo r e in al k now le d e
is the k nowle d e
3 2 sp a c vz aTI ON S .

D oe s rationalis tic s pec u lation confer any tr u e know

le d ge of Man The range of her p ower of ob servation i s
limited by the perceptive powe r of he r physical s ens es ,

assis ted by physical in s tr u men ts ; s h e has no mean s to

investi gate that wh ic h transcends physical s ense sh e can ,

no t ente r th e temple of the uns een she only knows th e ,

external for m in which th e reality d wells Sh e only know s .

the il l usive fo rm of man she knows no thing whate ve r of ,

the e ssential and real man I n vain shall we look t o h e r .

for the s olution of th e proble m which tho u sands of year s ,

ago the E gyptian Sphinx propo u nded .

D o the pop ular religiou s systems confer any tr u e know

ledge of M an P Th e conception wh ich the average th e olo
gia n has of the myste rious being called man is a s l ittle a s
t hat of the p rofes so r of mode r n science H e lo ok s upo n .

man as a personal being isolated from o th e r per s onal ,

beings around whose infinite little pe r sona l ity cen tres th e

intere sts of the infinitely great H e fo rge ts that th e .

foun d ers upon the prin c ipal religious sy s tem s taugh t tha t
the o r i ginal and es sential man (A dam ) was an imper s onal
power that th e real man ( th e C h ri s t ) 1 5 a wh ole and canno t
,

be d ivi d e d and that the pers onal man is o n l y th e te mp or

,

ary temple m which the u niversal spiri t reside s .

T h e miscon c eption s arising from ignorance of the tru e

na ture of M an are th e caus e that the po pula r r e l igio u s
Opini on s hel d by the ave rage t h eolo gian s in C h ri s tian and
Pagan c oun trie s are bas e d u pon selfishn es s con trary to t h e ,

spirit of that wh i c h true religio n teache s C h ris tian s an d .

H eathens clamo r fo r s ome p ersonal benefi t to be c on

ferre d by some imaginary pe rs on u pon their in signifi c an t
personal self eithe r here or in the problematical he r eafter
,
.

E a c h one of s uch short si gh ted p erson s want s to be saved

-

b imself above all the salvation of the res t is a ma tte r of

,

s econd consideration They expect t o ob tain s om e ben efi t

.

which they do no t deserve to wheedle the mse l ve s into th e ,

“ ”
favor of s ome personal deity to cheat th e devil of h is ,

j us t d ues and to s muggle t h eir imperfection s in t o th e

,

kingdom of Heaven .

T h e on l y reasonable Obj ect whi c h any exte rnal reli giou s

s y stem can po s sib l y h ave is to elevate man from a lo we r
,

If
”
B ib le C or inth iii
. . 1 6.
34 E 0O S .

s o m u c h in occ u lt literat u re They are not imaginary .

things b u t living force s and they may be perceiv ed by

, y him,

wh o has acquired the power to look with in h is own sou1 .

E ach Of the se force s corresponds to s ome d es ire and if i t ,

is permitte d to grow is sym b olized by the form of t he an i

ma l wh 1 c h correspond s to i ts nat u re A t fi rs t they are .

thin and s hadowy bu t as the de sire which co rresponds to

,

them is indulged in they become more and more dense , ,

and gain grea t s t rength a s our desires gr ow in t o a pas sion .

Th e lesse r E lemen ta l s are swallowe d by th e bigge r ones ,

the little de s ire s are ab sorbed by t h e s tronge r one s ,

u ntil perhaps a t las t one Maste r Pas s ion one p owerful ,

E leme ntal remains They are de scribed as having the

.

form of snake s and tigers hogs in sa tiable wolves etc b u t , , , .

,

as they a re Often the re s u lt of a m ixt u r e of h u man and

animal elements they do not merely e xh ibi t purely animal
,

forms bu t freq u ently t h ey look li k e an imals with h uman

heads or like me n w ith animal members ; they appear
,

un d e r en d les s varie ties of shapes be c aus e th ere is an e nd ,

les s varie ty of correlations and mixture s of l u s t avarice , ,

g re ed ,
sen s u al love ambition cowar d ice fear, te rror hate , , , , ,

pri d e vanity s elf concei t s t upidity vol u p t uo us ne ss self

, ,
-
, , ,

ish ne ss j ealo usy envy a rrogance hyp ocrisy c u nning

, , , , , ,

s ophis try imbeci l ity supers tition etc e tc

, , , .
, .

’
They con s titute th e fals e I s or E gos in man ; fo r
even if man in h is s elf concei t may imagine that h e k nows -

h is true s e l f and tha t this se lf is o nly one a deeper tho u gh t

, ,

wi l l c onvince him that h e i s not self exis ten t bu t an eve r -

, ,

c han gin g prod u ct of nat u re H e wi l l the n s ee that as long .

,

as God has no t awakened in h is soul h e is no t truly self ,

c onscious b ut tha t i t is Nat u re having become self c on ,

-

scious in hi s o rganis m ; creating t h erein thes e various

s tates Of s e l f conscio u snes s eac h Of w h ic h h e mis take s fo r
-
,

h is own t rue s elf .

The s e E l emental s l ive in t h e s oul realm of man as long -

as he lives and grow s t rong and fat fo r they l ive on h is

, ,

life principle and are fed by t h e subs tan ce of his though t s

-
, .

They may even become Obj ective to him if during a ,

aroxys m f fear r in consequence of some d isea se they

’

p o o
are enab l ed to s tep out of thei r sphe re The y canno t b e .

ki l le d by pious ceremonies nor be driven away by th e e x ,

h ortations of a c l e r gy man they are only de s troye d b y th e

power of the sp ir itual Will of man which annihilate s ,
 I N TEL L E C T UA L G ER M S .
35

t h em as th e lig h t anni h ilates darkne s s or as a s troke of

'

ligh tning rends the clouds .

O nly thos e w h o have awakened to spirit u al con scio u s

nes s can h ave t h at spiri tual wi l l of whi c h th e non re ge ne ,
- a

rate d know n o thing B ut t h os e who are not ye t s o far

.

advanced may ca u se t h ose elemental s to die slowly by ,

withdrawing from t h e m the food which they require that ,

i s to say by avoidi ng all desires and thoughts whic h cor

,

re spond to their c h aracter They will then begin to wane.

,

to get s ick die and p u trefy like a membe r of the body wh ic h

,

h as become mortified A l ine of d em ark ation will be

.

formed in th e so u l body of man there may be infl amm a

-
,

tion an d su ffering A process similar to that which take s

.
,

place if a gangreno u s part of th e p h ysical body i s th rown

off takes place
,
and a t las t t h e p u trid carcas s of th e E le
men tal drops off and dis s olves .

These description s are nei t her fancies nor allegories .

T/z eop lz rastus P arac elsus jac ob B oelz m e and many othe r
, ,

writers on O ccultism write abo u t them and a d ue app re ,

c iation of their doctrines will go far to explain many

occurrences me ntioned in th e h istory of witchcraft and in ,

the legends of the lives of the saints .

B u t t h ere are no t merely animal ge rm s wit h in th e realm

of the s o u l of man I n eac h hu man con s ti tutio n there are
.

als o t h e germs which go to make u p a Shakespeare a ,

Washington Goethe V oltaire a B u ddha or Chris t There

, , , , .

a1 e likewis e t h e ge rms whic h may grow to make a Nero ,

Messalina or Tor q uemada ; and eac h germ may develop

and take a form and u l timately find its expression and re
,

fl e c tion 1 n the outw ard form as muc h as the den sity of th e

,

ma terial atoms w h ich ar e slow to tran sform will permit

, ,

for eac h c h aracte r corresponds to a form and eac h form to ,

a c h aracte r .
36 R EN UN C I A TI ON
‘

misan th ro p e and retire into a j u ngl e to fe ed on th e p ro

'

ducts of one s own morbid imagination t h e s tru ggl e

’

caused by the pe tty ann oyances of everyday life is the be s t

school to exercise t h e will powe r fo r those t h at h ave not
yet gained the mas tery o ver Self T o reno u nce th e .

”
vanities of t h e world doe s not mean t o look with c on
temp t upon th e progres s Of t h e world to remain ign orant ,

of ma thematics and logic to take n o interes t in t h e w el fare

,

of h u manity to avoid t h e du ties of life or n eglect o ne s

’
,

family Suc h a proceeding would accompl ish th e very re

.

verse O f what is intended ; i t wo u ld increas e th e lo ve of

s elf i t wo u ld c oncen tra te the s o ul to a small focu s in stead
,

of expanding i t ove r t h e world

’
To renounce on e s .

grow th A s we forget .

our personal s e l f we attach le s s imp or tan ce to pe rsonali

,

tie s personal things and personal fe eli ngs

, , W e begi n to .

look upon o u rselves no t as be ing perman en t u ncha nging ,

and u nchangeabl e en tities stan d ing i solated amo ng o t he r ,

is olated enti tie s an d being s eparated from them by im

,

p enetrable she l ls b ut as parts Of an infinite powe r , w h ich

,

embrace s the un iverse and wh o se p o we rs afe concen trated

,

and b rough t to a focu s in the bodie s which we te m po rarily

inhabit into whic h bo d ie s con tin u al l y fl owand from which
,

a re incessan tly radiating the rays of an in finite sp h ere of

ligh t wh ose circ u mfe rence is endle s s and wh o se centre is
,

ever y where .

U pon the re cogni tion an d realization of t h i s tr ut h rest s

the only true rel i gion the R el igion of tb c U ni versal l ove
,

of all B e i ngs A s long as man tak es only h is ow n li t tle

self into consideration m h is th o u g h ts and acts t h e sphere ,

of h is mind becomes n eces sarily narrow A ll our 0 u lar .

reli io u s sects are b a sid eranons

E ach 0 our religious sec tarians s pec u lates to ob tain s ome
spirit u al if n o t material benefi t for lz imself E ac h one
, ,
.

Want s to be saved by someb ody fi rs t h e and t h e n pe r , ,

h ap s th e o thers b u t ab ove all h e h ims elf T h e true

, , , .

religion of u n iversal L ove knows of no self .

 SA C R I F I C E .
37

E ven t h e d es ire to go to h eaven or ente r t h e sta te of

N irvana, is , after all b u t a selfish desire and as long as
, ,

man has any s elfish de sire s w h atever h is mind pe rceive s ,

only his own self O nly when h e ceases to have a limite d

.

“ ”
illus ive s elf will h is real self becom e u nlimited and be
'

omnipresent H e who des ires u nlimited knowledge mus t

.

ris e ab ove limitation .

L ooked a t from t h at heig h t t h e personality appears ,

exceedin gly small and ins ignificant and of li tt l e import ,

ance Man appears as the centralization of an idea pe r

.
,

s on s and people s like living grains of sand on the sh ore of

an infinite o cean Fo rtune fame love l u x u ry e tc
.
, , , ,
.
,

as s u me in hi s concep tion t h e importance of soap bub b les -

,

and h e has n o h e s itation in relinquishing them as the id l e

playthings of children Neit h er can s uch a renunciat i on
.

be calle d a sacrifice for grown up b oys and girl s do not

,
-

“ ”
sacrifice t h eir popg u n s and dolls they simply d o n o t ,

want them any longer In proportion as their min d s .

expand do t h ey reach out for s omething mo re useful and

, ,
’
as a man s spirit e xpands h is s urro u ndings , and even th e ,

planet on which h e live s appear t o h im small as a land ,

scape seen from a great dis tance or from a hig h mo u ntain , ,

wh ile at t h e same time h is concep tion of the infini te grow s

large r and as s u mes a gigantic form This expansion of .

“
our exis tence rob s u s of a co u ntry and a h ome by
making u s citi z en s of t h e grand u niverse it s eparate s u s
fro m our mortal parents and friends to u nite u s wit h them
for ever as our immortal brothers and s isters i t lifts u s up
from the narrow con fi ne s of t h e illusory form to the unlim
ite d realm of t h e Ideal and releasing man from the p rison
,

house of insignificant clay it leads him to t h e s u blime ,

splendor of E ternal and U nive r sal L ife .

E very fo rm Of l ife the h uman form no t excepted is

, ,

nothing more t h an a foc u s in wh ic h th e energie s of th e

u niversal principle of life are concentrated and the more ,

they are concentrated and cling to th at centre the les s are ,

they able to manifes t t h e ir activity to grow and expand , .

Self satisfi e d man w

-
h o employs h is capacitie s on l y fo r h is
,

ow n s elfis h purpose contrac ts t h em i nto himself and as he

, ,

contra c ts h e become s more and more insignifican t and as ,

he lose s s ig h t of the whole the w h ole lose s sight of h im ,

.

>I< B ulwe r Lytton :

- Zanoni .
3 8 EX P E R I E N CE .

If on t h e o t h e r h and a person w h o i s no t in po s se s s io n of
, ,

su ffi cient energy attempts to send hi s forces into the region

of the unk nown s cat tering the m throug h s pace wi thout
, ,

having s treng thened them by the develo pme n t of t h e

intellec t t h ey will wande r like sh ad ows thro u g h th e realm
,

Of the infinite and become los t H armo nio u s growt h .

req u ires expansion along wi th a corre s p onding accum u la

tio n of energy .

Some person s are posse s sed of great intellect u al power ,

bu t of little spirit u ali t y some h ave spirit u al powe r bu t a ,

weak intellec t ; tho se in wh ich t h e spiritual e ne rgies are

we l l supp orted by a s t rong intellect are th e elect To .

become practical we m u s t firs t learn to unde rstand th e

,

thing we want to p racti se by Observation and receiving ,

instruction U nders tanding is a result of a s s imilation and

.

grow th no t a resul t of cramming I t i s an aw akening to a

,
.

s t ate of consciousness of the nat u re of the th ing th at comes

'

wi th in th e range of our cognition A person coming to a .

s trange coun t r y in the eve ning will wh en afte r a night s ,

’

rest h e wakes in the morning ha r d ly realize wh ere h e i s , .

H e has pe rh aps b een dreaming of h is home an d t h os e

, ,

that are left there and only after h e open s his eyes and
,

awaken s to a full sense of consciou s ne s s of h is ne wand

s trange s u rroun d ings will th e old imp re s sion s fade away
, ,

and he will begin to realize w h ere h e is I n th e s ame .

manner Old erro rs mu s t di sappear before new tr u th s can

be realized M an only begins to exis t as a spirit u al bei ng
.

when his Sp irit comes to life .

T o b ecome perfect phy sical h ealt h intellectual g rowt h

, , ,

and sp iritual perception and activity sh ould go hand i n

hand . Intuition should b e suppo r te d by an un s elfis h
intellect a pure mind by a h ealthy form H owto aecom
, .

p lish this can neither be ta u ght by a science which deals

on l y w it h illusory e ffects no r by a reli giou s belie f base d
,

upon illusions ; but it is ta u ght by the W isd om R el igion ,

th e knowle d ge of self who se foun d ation is truth and

, ,

wh os e practical application i s the highe s t obj ect of human

existen c e .

This Wi sdom R eligion has been and i s e ven to day th e ,

-
,

inh eritance of th e s aints p rophe ts and s eers and of eve ry

, ,

one who i s wise no matte r to what external sys tem of rel i

,

gion they may have given their adhe ren c e I t was known .

to the an c ien t B rahmin s E gyptian s and Jews Ga u tama , , ,

 W I SD OM .
39

B u ddha advised h is people to s trive fo r it I t fo rmed t h e .

’

basis of the E le u sinian and Bachi o myste rie s Of the Greeks ,

and the true reli gion Of C hrist i s res ting u pon i t I t is th e .

tr u e religion of H u manity that has no thing to do with con

,

fess ion s and forms N ow a s i n times of old its truth s

.
, ,

are mis under s tood and misrepre sented by men w h o pro

fes s to be teachers of men The P /z arisc cs and S ad d uc ees
.

of the N e w Tes tamen t were t h e p rototypes of modern

ch u rchmen and scien tists exis ting to day Now as then -
.
, ,

the tr u th is dai ly crucified between s u persti tion and se lfi sh

nes s and lai d in the tomb of ignorance from whence i t wil l ,

rise again N owas then t h e spirit ha s fled from the form

.
, , ,

being driven away by t h ose that wo rs h ip t h e form and

h ate the spirit . Wisdom will fo r eve r remain a sec ret
sc ienc e to the idolato rs adoring th e form eve n if i t were ,

proclaimed from the ho usetops and p reac h e d at a marke t

place The deale r in pounds and pennies ab sorbed by
.
,

his mate rial interests may be surro u nded by the grea tes t
,

bea u ties of nature and no t compre h end them the intel ,

lect u al reasone r will ask for a sign and no t see the sign s by
whic h he is con tin u ally s u rro u nded The tom b from which .

the Savio u r will arise is the heart of men and wome n if

the good 1 n the m awakens to self con scio u sne ss then will -
,

i t appear to t h em as a s u n s h edding i ts ligh t u pon a be tter

,

and happier generation .

The exis tence of th e magic power Of good will p roba

b l y be d enied by fe w; but if the e xis tence of good or ,

W /z ite M agic is admitted tha t of ev il or B l ac k M agz c i s

, , , ,

not any more improbable .

1

I t is not m an wh o exerci s es good or evil magic p owers ,

but i t i s the G od in him who works goo d or evil th rough

the o rganis m of man God is good o r evil according t o
.

the condition s unde r which h e acts ; for if God did no t

inclu d e evil as well as good h e wo u ld no t be un iver sal
,
.

G od pe rfo rm s good or evil deeds according to the mode

in which h e m u s t ac t in the same way as th e sun is good
in spring time w h en he melts t he s now and as sis ts th e
-

g r ass a nd flowers to crawl ou t of the dark earth and e vil , ,

if h e parches th e skin of th e wanderer in t ropical A fri c a .

and kills persons by sun s troke God causes the h ealthy

-
.

g row th o f a l imb and the unheal thy growth Of a cancer by

the magic power of hi s unconsc i o u s wil l w h ich ac ts accord
ing to lawand no t according to wh irris O n l y whe n th e
,

D ivinity 1 n Man h as awakened to conscio u s nes s and know

 B LA C K M A G I C
’

40 .

ledge , will man be able tocon trol his own magic ( spirit u al )
p owe r and employ i t for Good or for E vil .

A pe rson having created (or called in to conscio u sne ss )

in himself an impe rsonal power m ay employ i t for good or
fo r e vil b u t if he employs i t fo r hi s own personal gain h e ,

loses tliat power be c a u se in s u ch a cas e th e sen s e of h is

,

p ersonality becomes more permanen t and h is perso nal

S elf has n o power E very day we may read of p erson s
.

w h o h ave u s ed high intellectual p owers for vile p urp o ses .

We see person s making u s e of the vanity greedin e s s s elf , ,

ish ne ss or ambition of o t h ers to render them s ub se rvien t

,

to th eir own p u rpose We se e them commit m u rder an d

instigate wars for the benefit of thei r ow
.

n p urp o se s or to
attain some obj ect of their am b ition But s u ch events .

b elong more or les s to the struggle fo r exis tence They .

do not nece s sarily belong to the s phere of black magic ,

becaus e they are usually no t cause d by a lo ve fo r evil bu t ,

by a desire of a personal b enefi t of some kind T h e real .

b l ack magicians are thos e that are do ing evil fo r the sake
of doing evil wh o inj ure others w itho ut expec ting or
,

receiving any benefit fo r themselves To that c l a s s be l ong .

t he backbiter and t h e slandere r the traduce r and Se ducer , ,

th ose who create e nmi t y i n the bosom of familie s wh o ,

oppose progre ss an d e ncourage i gnorance and th ey have ,

been rightly called t h e P owers of D ark ness wh i l e t h ose ,

who do good for th e sole p urp ose of doing go od ar e th e

C /z ild ren of gb t
L i .

The str u ggle between L i gh t and D arknes s is as Old as

th e world there can b e no l igh t beco me man ifes t w itho u t
d arknes s and no evil without good
,
Good and e vil are .

the ligh t and shadow of the one ete rnal princip le of life ,

and each i s neces sary if th e o ther i s to b ecome manifest .

A bsolute good mus t exist but we canno t kn ow i t w ithou t

,

knowing the pres ence of evil A bsolu te evil canno t exis t .

,

becaus e i t is held together by a spark of g ood A s o u l 1 11 .

which th ere we re no good whate ve r wou l d rage agains t

itself the force s con st i tut i ng such a s o u l wo u l d c ombat
,

each other and ren d i t to pieces Man s R e deeme r 1 5 h is

.
’

p ower for good Thi s powe. r attracts h im to th a t whic h

i s good and at th e end wh en the supreme s o u rce of all
, ,

power fr om which life emanated i n th e beginni ng wit h

, ,

draws that a c tivity into itse l f the powe r s Of darkn e s s w ill

,

s u ffer b u t the C hildren of L igh t will b e u nite d wit h th e

,

so ur c e of all Good .
 42 TH E TR UE I D EA L.

materi al form s , and h e seeks to d iscove r am ong t h ese fo r ms

th at which corre sponds to h i s highe s t ideal .

The high est de sire of any mortal is to a ttain t h a t w h ic h

e xis ts in himself as h is h ighes t i d eal A pers o n witho u t .

an ideal is u n thinkable To be con s cio u s is to realize the

.

exis tence of some ideal to relin q u ish the ideal world wo u ld

,

be death A pers on with o u t any de sire wo u ld be u seles s

.
,

in th e economy of nature a pers o n h aving all his d esires ,

satisfied needs to live no longer for life can be Of no further ,

u se to him E ac h one i s bo und to his own ideal ; he

.

who s e i d eal is mortal mus t die w h en h is ideal dies he ,

who se i d eal is immor tal mus t become immo rtal himself to

I attaln i t
.

E ach man s tr u e ideal s h o u ld b e h is own h ig h e r spiritual

’

sel f H is Christ or God M an s semi animal s elf is no t

.
, .
’
-

the whole of m an Man may be regarded a s an invisible

.

power or ray extending in a line from the ( spiritual ) Sun to

the E arth O n l y t h e lowe r end of that line is visible
.
,

because it has evolved an o rgani z ed mate rial b ody ; by

means of which the invis ible ray d raws streng t h from th e
ear t h below If all the life and though t fo rce evo lved by
.
-

the contact of th e lowe r end of that line with mat ter are
spen t wi t hin th e mate rial plane the h igher spiritual self ,

wi l l gain no thing by it and w h en death break s the com

,

m unic ation be tween t h e hig h er an d lowe r s el f the lowe r ,

se l f will perish and the higher one will remain wh a t it was

, ,

befo re it evolved a mortal in h abi tant of the mate rial world .

Man live s in two worlds in hi s interio r an d i n th e ,

exterior world E ach of th es e w orlds exis ts u nder c on

.

di rions peculiar to itself and tha t worl d in whic h h e lives

,

is fo r the time be ing the mos t real to h im W hen b e fully .

enters hi s interior world d u ring deep sleep or in m oment s

of perfec t abs traction t h e forms perce ived in th e exterio r
,

worl d fa d e away ; b u t when he awakes into t h e e xte rio r

Iw orld the forms seen in h is interior s tate are forgo t ten or ,

leave only their u ncer t ain shadows on the sky T o live .

simultaneously in bo th worlds is only p oss ible to h im

wh o succeeds in harmonio u sly blending his inte rnal and
external wo r l d s in t o one .

Th e sO cal l ed R eal s eldom corresponds with th e Ideal

-
,

and Often it happens that man afte r many u ns u cce s sfu l ,

a t tempts to realize his ideals in th e exterior wo rld re turn s ,

t o h is interio r world with disappoin tment , and re solves to

 H A PPI N ES S .
43

ive u p h is searc h ; b u t if h e s u cceeds m t h e reali z ation of

g
his i d eal then arises fo r him a momen t of happines s
, ,

d u ring which time as we know i t exist s for h im n o more

, , ,

the ex terior world is the n blended with h is interio r world ,

h is con scio u sne s s is ab sorbed in the enj oymen t Of bo th ,

and ye t h e remains a man .

A rtis ts and poets may be familiar wit h s u ch state s An .

inven to r w h o sees h is inven tion a c cepted a soldie r coming ,

victo ri o us out of t h e s t ruggle fo r victory a lover unite d ,

with the obj ect of his de sire fo rgets his own personality ,

and is lo st in th e contemplation of his ideal The extatic .

wors hipper seeing the R edeemer before him float s in an

, ,

ocean of rapture and his con sciousnes s is cen tred in the

,

ideal tha t he himself has created out of h i s own mind but ,

whi c h i s as real to h im as if it were a living fo rm of fle sh .

’
Shakespeare s Julie t finds he r mortal i d eal realize d in
R omeo s youth ful fo rm U ni ted wi th him s he forge ts th e
’
.
,

rush of ti m e nigh t disappears and she 1 8 no t consc i o u s of

, ,

i t ; the lark heralds the dawn and sh e mis takes its s ong fo r ,

the singing of th e nigh tinga l e Happines s meas u re s no .

time and knows no d anger But Julie t s ideal is mortal

.
.
’

and die s and having los t her ideal Julie t mus t die and th e
, ,

im mortal ideals of bo th become again un ited as th ey e nter

th e immortal realm through t he doo r of physical death .

B u t as t h e sun rose too early fo r J uliet so in all engage ,

men ts of evane scen t ideals that have been realized in the

external wo rld happin es s vani shes soon A n ideal that
, .

h as been realized ceases to be an ideal th e ethereal fo rm s

of the in terior wo rld if graspe d by th e rude han d of mor
,

ta l s and e mbodied in ma tter m u st die To gra sp an , .

immor t al ideal man s mortal nat u re m u st die before he can

,
’

grasp it .

L owideals may be killed b u t their death calls similar ,

one s into existence From the blood of a vampire tha t h as

.

been slain a swarm of vampires arises A selfi sh desire .

fulfille d make s room fo r simi l ar desire s a g r a t ified pass ion ,

is chase d away by o ther s imilar pas sions a sen sual craving ,

that has been s tille d give s rise to new c r avings E arthl y .

h appines s i s sh ort live d and often die s in d isgus t th e love

-
,

of the immorta l alone is immor tal M ateria l acquisiti on s .

perish beca u s e forms are e vanescent and die Intellect u al

, .

accomplishments vanish fo r th e intellect u al force s ar e ,

s u bj ect to c h ange D esires and opinion s c h ange and

.
44 I LL US I O N S .

memories fade away He w h o clings to old me mo r ies .

,

clings t o tha t which i s dead A chi l d becomes a man a .

,

man an O l d man an O ld man a chi l d ; the playthings of

,

childhoo d give way to intellectual play things bu t w h en the ,

latter have serve d their p urpos e the y appear a s u s ele s s a s ,

d id th e forme r only spiri t ual rea l i t ies are ever las t in g and
,

true In the ever revolvin g kalei d os cope of nature the

.
-

aspect of illusions c ontinua l ly chan ge s i ts fo rm Wha t i s .

lau ghe d a t as a s upers tition by one cen t u r y i s Oft en

accepted as the basis of science for th e next and what ,

appears as wisdom to day may be looked upon a s an -

abs ur d ity in th e great to morrow No thing is pe rmanen t -

.

bu t the real i d eal the t ruth ,

.

B u t where can man fi nd the tr u th ? I f he s eek s deep

enough in himself h e will find it revealed e ac h m an may ,

know his own heart He may s end a ray of h is inte lli .

gence into the d epth s of his s oul and search its b ottom ,

he may find it to be as infi nite ly d e e p as t h e sky above h i s ‘

head He may fi nd c ora l s and pea rl s or wat c h th e mon

.
,

ste rs of the d eep If his thought i s s teady and unwa ve ring

.
,

h e may en t e r th e i nnermos t san c tuary of h is Own temp l e

and see t he go d d es s unveile d No t everyone can pene trate .

into such d ep th s be ca u se the though t i s easily led as tray

,

but the s trong and pe rsis tent s ear c her wi l l pene tra te ve i l
a fter veil until a t the innermo st cent re he di sco ve rs th e
,

germ of t r uth which awakened t o conscio u snes s will grow

, , ,

into a s un that i l luminate s the whole of the in te rior w or l d ,

wherein everything is c on tained .

Suc h an in t erio r me d itation and c oncen tratio n of th o ugh

upon th e germ of divinity which res ts in the inne rmo s t ,

c entre of th e s oul is the on l y true a The ad u latio n

p yr , e r .

of an e xternal form whe the r l iving or dead wh ethe r ex , ,

isting obj ectively or me rely s ubj ec t ively in the imagi na

.

t i on i s u seles s and serve s only to deceive o u rs elve s I t

, ,
.

is very easy to attend to external fo rms of ex tern a l so “

c alled worship b u t the true wo rship of th e l iving G od

,
”

W ithin require s a great e ffor t of will and a pow e r of will ,

w h ich fe wpeople are ab le to exe rcise but w h ic h c an be ,

acquire d by prac tice It consis ts in contin u al l y guar d ing

.

of the doo r of the sacred lodge so that no ill egitim ate ,

though ts may ente r the mind to disturb the ho l y as s em b ly

who se delibe ration s are presided o ver by t h e s p iri t of
wisdom .
 M ED I TA TI ON .
45

H owshall we know tne truth ? Truth h aving awak e ne d

'

to conscio usnes s knows that i t is i t i s the god princip l e

,
-

in man which is infa l lible and cannot be misled b y

,
'

illusions If the surfa c e of the s oul i s not lashed by the

.

s torms of pas sion s if no s elfish de sires exis t to disturb i ts

,

tranqui l lity if i ts w aters are not darkene d by reflection s of

,

the pas t we will see the image of eternal truth mirro red in
,

the d eep To know the truth in its fu l ne s s is to become

.

a l ive and immortal to los e the power of recognizing th e ,

t r u th is to perish in d eath The voice of truth in a perso n .

that has no t ye t awakened to spiritual l i fe is the sti l l ,

small voice that may be fel t in the heart l is tened to by ,

the imperfe ct as a half c ons c ious dreamer may lis ten to

,
-

the ringing of be ll s in the dis tance bu t in tho se t hat have

become con s c ious of l ife that h ave pas sed through th e ,

fi r s t res urrection Of the spirit in t heir own heart and re ,

c e ive d the baptism of t he first initiation a d minis t ered b

y
themselves the vo i c e of th e ne wbo rn ego has no u nce rta i n
,
-

soun d but be c omes the powerful W ord of th e Ma s ter

, .

T h e awakene d p r in c iple of tru t h is se l f c ons cious and se l f - ~

suffi c ient it is the great spi r i t ual sun tha t knows tha t it
,

exists I t stands h igher than the in telle c t and higher than

.

“
s c ience it d oes no t nee d to be corrobo ra t e d by recog
,

niz e d au thori tie s

”
i t care s no t fo r the op inion of o thers
, ,

and i t s de c ision s s uffer n o appeal I t knows neith e r doub t .

nor fear b ut repose s in the tranquillity of its own s up r eme

,

maj es ty I t can nei th er be al te r ed nor changed i t always

.
,

was and eve r remains the same whe ther mor t al man may ,

per c eive it or not I t may be c ompare d to th e ligh t of the

.

earthly s un that canno t be exclu d e d fr o m th e worl d bu t

, ,

from which man may ex c lu d e himself We may b l in d our .

selves to the pe rcep t ion of the truth but the truth i t self is ,

not thereby c hanged I t il l uminates the minds of th os e

wh o have awakened to immorta l li fe A small room re
.

quire s a little flame a large room a great ligh t fo r i ts ,

i l lumination bu t in either r oom the ligh t shines eq u ally

,

c l ear in each in the same manner th e ligh t of truth shines

in to the hearts of the illuminated with equal clearnes s bu t ,

with a power di ffering accor d ing to their individual

capacity .

I t wi l l always be perfectly use l e ss to attemp t to describe

se l f knowle d ge to another man
-
O nly that which exis ts .

re l atively to ourselve s has a real existence for us that of ,

46 TH E T E UE L I GH T .

w h ic h we know not h ing doe s not exis t for u s N O p ro o f .

of t h e exis tence of lig h t can be fu rnished to the b l in d n o ,

proof of transcenden t al kn owledge can b e given to t h o s e

w hose capaci ty to know doe s no t transcen d the re a lm of
external p h eno men a .

There I S no thing h ig h e r t h an tr u t h and th e ac q u isition

,

of truth i s therefore man s h i ghes t ideal Th e h ighe s t

’
.

i deal in the U n ivers e mus t be a u n ive rs al i deal The .

con s ti tution of all me n is built according to one un iversal

law and the highes t ideal m u s t b e the sam e ideal to all and
,

at tainable to all and in its at tain ment all i ndivi d uals

,

b ecome re u nited into one A s long a s a m an d o es not re

.

cognize th e highes t ideal in the U niv er se th e h ig h e s t one ,

whic h h e is able to recognize will be t h e h igh e s t to him

b u t as long as there still exis ts a h ig h e r one than th e one
h e p erceives th e highe r will u nco n s cio u sly a ttrac t h im
, ,

u nles s he pers isting l y repulse s i ts a ttr ac tio n O nly th e .

attainmen t of the high es t ideal in the U n iv e rs e can giv e

permanent happines s for h aving at tain ed the hi gh e s t there
,

i s nothing left that c o u ld be p oss ibl y desi re d A s lo ng as .

there is s ti l l a higher ideal for man h e will h a ve aspira ,

tions to reach it b u t having reach ed th e high e s t i t s

,

attractio n ceases he b ecome s one w ith i t an d can d e sire

,

n othing mo re There mus t be a s tate of p erfec tion whi c h

.

a l l may reach and beyond which n on e can a d van c e un t il

, ,

t he U n iver se as a wh ole advan ce s be y o nd i t A ll m e n .

'

have the same righ t to r each th e h i gh es t b u t not a ll have ,

the same powe r d e veloped s ome ma y r eac h it s oon o thers

,
‘
,

may l ag on th e r oad and perh ap s th e maj o rity may fa ll

,

and have to begin again a t the fo o t o f th e l a d d er E ach .

rip e acorn tha t fa l ls fro m an oak has th e inh e ren t capa c i t y

to de velop into an oak b u t not each fi n ds th e sa m e c on
d itions fo r develo pmen t Som e m ay grow a fe w m ay
.
,

develop into trees bu t th e maj o rity w i l l enter in to d e c om

,

pos i tion to furnis h ne wmateria l out of w h ic h new fo rm s .

ma y b e developed .

The highes t tru t h in i ts fulne s s i s not known to a man

in the mortal form Th os e tha t have a ttained to a state of
.

perfect cons cio usnes s of ab solute trut h re qui re n o fo r m to

h old it they belong to a formle s s tribe they c ould not be
,

one wi t h an u nive rsal p rinciple if t h e y were t ie d by t he

chains of pers ona l ity ; a mind exp an d e d s o that th e p rison ,

ho u se of fle s h can ho ld i t no mo re will require that prison,

 I L L UM I N A TI O N Z 47

h o u se n o longer For m i s only re qu ired to sh elter t h e

.

spirit in the infancy of h is developmen t as long as h e has ,

no t attained full powe r Having a ttained the knowledge .

of evil and the powe r to control i t and having by the rea ,

liz ation of the tr u t h eaten fro m the tree of life and

at taine d immortality ”
h e can p ro tect himself by h is own
,

power and require s his clot h e s of flesh n o longe r

, .

Imperfectly develo ped man u nles s he has become ve ry ,

much degraded feels intuitively that which is true The

, .

scientist who reasons from t h e plan e Of sensual perception s

is farthe s t from a recognition of th e tru th because h e mis ,

takes the ill u s ions produced by his sense s for the reality ,

and repulses the revelations of hi s own int uition Th e

‘

philosophe r unable to s ee the tr u th attempts to gras p it

, ,

with his in te llect and may approac h it to a certain e xte nt

,

but he in whom the tru t h has a t ta ine d the state of self

,

con sc i ousnes s kn ows t h e tr u th by direct percep tion h e 1 5

, ,

one wit h it and cannot e r r

, Suc h a s tate i s inc om p re I .
-

h e nsib le to the maj o r ity of men to scientists and p h iloso ,

p h e rs as well as to the igno ran t an d yet men h ave exis ted , ,

and exis t to day who h ave attained that s ta te They are

-
,
.

the true Tb eosop lz ists bu t no t every one is a Theos ophis t

,

who goes by that name nor is everyone a C /z rist who is ,

calle d a C hristian B u t a tr u e Theosophis t and a tr u e

.

C hris tian or M alz atm a are one and the same because bo t h ,

are h uman fo rms in which the u nive rs al sp iritual soul has

attained a state of self con sciousnes s -
.

”
The te rms C hri stian or T h eosoph is t like s o many ,

o ther te rms of a similar kind have almo s t entirely los t ,

”
their true meaning A C hris tian now a days mean s a
.
- -

person whos e name i s inscribed in t h e regis ter of s ome so

c alled C hris tian C hurch and p erforms t h e ceremonies ,

p rescribe d by that social o rgani z ation .

B ut a real C b risti an is s ometh ing en tirely di ffe rent from

a merely external one Th e firs t C hr istian s were a s ecre t
.

organization a s c h ool of O cc u l tists who adopted certain

, ,

symbols and signs in which t o represen t the truth s they

,

knew and thus to communicate them to each o ther while

, , .

h iding them fro m the eye s of the ignoran t .

A real T lz eosop /z ist is n o t a dreamer b u t a mos t p ractical ,

person By purity of life he receives the power to per

.

c e ive h ighe r tru th s than ave ra g e man is able to see .

X“
”
B ib le Ge ne sis iii . 22 .
48 P R O P H E TS .

As the tr u t h i s o nly one men in all countries in w h o m

, ,

th e t ru t h has become self cons cio us have the same percep

-
,

tion This explains why th e revelation s of all prophe ts

.

are iden tical with each othe r p rovi d e d they h ave a ttain ed
,

th e same p owe r The tr u th s revealed by a Jac k ob

.

B oehme or Paracelsu s in Germany are e ssen tia ll y th e

, ,

same as those revealed by t h e Thibetan M ahatmas they ,

o nly differ in exten t an d in mode of expre s s ion A n

“

e cstati c C hris tian sain t in E ngland or Fran c e wo u ld tell

th e same tale as an ecstati c B rahmin in I ndia or an
ecstati c red I ndian in A merica ; becau se all three , being
in t h e same s tate , would exactly see th e same thing ,

The truth is there vis i ble to all who ar e able to p er

,

c e ive i t but each will describe what h e sees accor d ing

,

to h is mode of thinking and in hi s own fashion I f .

a s the igno ra nt believe — all the vi sion s of sain t s and

lamas sanyassi and de rvis h es were only th e re sult of
, , ,

h all u c inations and fancies n o t two of them h aving n eve r

, ,

he ard of eac h o ther , wo uld h ave the same vis ion A tree .

will b e a tree to all w h o are able to see it and if their ,

sigh t is clear no pre conceived opinions will cha n ge i t into

s ome thing else a tr u th will b e s een as a truth by all wh o
are able to see it and no pre conceived opinions will alter
,

i t o r change i t into a lie To know the whole tru t h is to

.

know everything that exis ts to love the tr u th above a l l i s

t o become united wi th the cons c io u sne ss of all to be abl e
to express the t ruth in its fulne s s is to po sses s universal
power ; bu t to be one with immortal truth is to be fo r
eve r immo rtal .

The perception of the tr u t h re s ts in the e quilibrium

of the in tellec t and the e motions A s long as the mind .

h as no t awakene d to a s tate of d irect recognitio n of the

t r uth i t will only see the shadow of its presence and h ear
,

the indis t inct whispering of i t s voice Th e so u nd of tha t .

v o ice may be drowne d in the turmoil of the in t elle c tual

work shop its li gh t may be obs cured by t he s to rms of th e
,

e motions To un d e rs tand that voice and to behol d that

.

ligh t dis tinct l y and wi tho ut any forei gn a d mixtu r e h eart ,

and head shou l d ac t harmoniou sly toge t h er To perceive .

the t r uth puri ty of h eart and s trength of mind should

,

go hand in hand and it is therefore ta u gh t tha t men mus t

,

become like c hi l dren before t h ey can ente r the sp h e re of

tr u t h Head and heart if s u ppo rted by reason , are as O ne»
.
,
so SP I R I TUA L P ER C EP TI ON

hear t ; but w h e n his s elf knowledge h as been awake ned-

,

there wi l l be no more di fference of Op inion b etw een the

head and the h ear t the percep tions of the one will be in
,

h armony with the aspiration s ofthe latter the one will see ,

and th e o ther will feel the trut h T h en will th e lower .

ideals vanish before the lig h t of tr u t h fo r tru t h i s a j ealo u s ,

goddes s and su ffers no o the r gods be s ide h er .

Man is us u ally g u ided only by h is in te llec t woman is ,

often guided only by he r emo tions T o rea son from .

external appearance s h as become a nece s s ity to men in

con seq u ence of t h e ir mat e rial organi z ation whic h like ,

a shell surro unds the s o u l of me n or women in whic h ,

alone rests t h e power of sen sation an d perception ; b u t

if t h e innermost man the true sp iri t sleeping in every
, ,

mo r tal awaken s to life h e emits a ligh t that penetrate s

, ,

through th e ve il of mat ter and illuminates th e so u l If .

the ge rm of divinity h idden in the cen tre of t h e s oul is

, ,

p ermi tte d to awaken i t emi ts a spiritual ligh t w h ic h

, ,

reache s from man to th e s tars and to the utmo s t limits of

space and by th e help of tha t divine ligh t he may perce ive
,

an d pene trate in to th e deepe st mys terie s of the U nive rs e .

Those wh o are able to know the tru t h by direc t pe rception

do no t need to be informed of it by the reading of books ,

the whole of the visible and i nvi s ib l e realm lies open befo re
them like a book in whose page s t h ey may read the whole
,

h istory of the world They know all th e forms of life

.
,

because they are one with th e s o ur c e of life from which all

forms were bo rn they need no t s tudy le tters beca u se the
, ,

W ord i tself is living in t h em T h ey may be the instru .

men ts th rough whom e ternal wisdom reveals i ts elf to those

wh o are en tombed in matter b ut in t h at cas e i t is n o t t h e
teac h er revealing the tr u th b u t t h e tr u t h itself revealing
,

itself th rough him Th ese are t h e only I llum inates and

.

T /z eosop /z ists that h ave any real existence no t tho s e w h o

me rely imagine to b e wha t they no t really are .

H ow pitifu l mus t appear to th e enlightened th e war of

op inions raging among tho se who m h uman ity believe s to
be th e lights of knowledge and wisdom ; h ow insignifi
c antly small appear those ligh ts before the s u n of truth .

What appears a s a ligh t to t h e ignorant appear s to th e ,

illuminated seer as a so u rce of darkn es s and smoke and the ,

wisdom of t h e world become s foolis h ne s s before t h e eye s

1 C or iii . . 1 9.
 S UP ER S T I TI O N S .
51

of th e tr u t h Th e oyster i n its s h ell may believe to b e at

.

the pinnacle of pe rfection and t h at t h ere i s no h igher ,

exis tence than that w h ich i t enj oys in the ocean bed th e -

s c ientist p ro u d of the discove rie s of hi s d epartment of

,

science is freq u en tly fo u nd to be swelled wit h vanity

, ,

knowing little h ow lit tle h e knows Many of t h e re p re .

se ntative s of modern science forget that the greates t inve n

tions have been made — no t by the p rofe sse d guardian s of

science b u t by me n u pon whom they looked wit h con
,

temp t and th at many u sefu l inven tions were introduced

, ,

no t with the as s is tance b u t in spite of th e opposi tion of

,

th e learned I t may b e disagreeable to call up unpleas an t

.

memories b ut we canno t clos e our eye s to the fact tha t

”

the inventors of railroads s teamships and teleg r aph s have , ,

been ri d iculed by profes sors of scie nce that men of science ,

h ave laughed a t the belief in the rot u ndity of th e earth ,

that some of t he legi t imate keepe rs of the truth have ofte n

betrayed their tru s t and that especially the followers of
,

the medical profes sion as a clas s have often bee n , ,

p rominen t on acco unt of their misunde rs tanding of th e

laws of nature and of their opposition to t r uth whenever
, ,

it conflic ted with their preconceive d opinions .

Many u s efu l dis coverie s have been made th ro u g h the

,

p owe r of intuition ; assis ted by a strong inte llect s ome ,

s eem to h ave been made by the aid of t h at in tuition whi c h

comes fr o m th e devil and their results are s till a curse t o
,

mankind Fo r cent u rie s the learne d profes sions have

.

been thriving on human su ffering and many of thei r ,

followers mis taking the low for the high have de throned
, ,

the god of hu man i ty and wo rshipped the fetis h of Self in

its place The fear of an ill u sory devil ex t ernal to man
.

has served to swell the money bags of B r ahmin s and -

priests w h ile t h e real internal devi l s residing in th e

, ,

animal na ture of man were allowed to grow Fo r cen , .

turie s many of the appointe d se r vants of the Supreme h ave

only serve d the gol d en calf res iding in their animal nature , ,

fee d ing their fol l owers wi th false hopes of i mmortality an d ,

speculating on the selfish propensities of me n to obtain

material profi ts for their own selve s Tho se to whom .

humani ty looks for protection agains t bodily ills and who ,

th erefore — more than anybody else — sho u ld u nderstand

th e r eal c o ns t it u tio n of man, u s u ally ex peri ment wit h th e
 D E L US I O N S
52 .

physical form to seek t h e ca u s e of disease being ignorant ,

of t h e fac t that the fo rm 1 8 t h e expre s sion of life t he produc t ,

of the so u l and t h at ex te rnal e f

, fec t s canno t b e e ffectually
changed wit h o u t changing t h e internal ca u se s M any of .

th em refu sing to believe m Soul seek th e ca u se of disease s , ,

in i ts e xternal expre s sion , where it does no t exis t D i seases .

are the necessary res ults of disobedience to t h e laws of

nat u re , they are the cons eq u ences of sins t h at canno t
be forgiven b u t m u s t be atoned fo r by ac ting again in
,

acco rdance wit h natural laws I n va in will the i gnoran t

.

ask t h e g u ardian s of h ealth for t h eir assistance to ch eat the

law of nat u re out of its d u e s Phys ician s may res tore .

h eal th by res toring the s u premacy of th e law b u t as long ,

a s they know only an infinitesimal par t of the lawth ey can

only c u re an infinite simal part of th e dis ease s a ffl icting
mankind they can often o nly s u ppre s s the manifes tation
of one diseas e by calling an ot h er and more serio u s one into
*
existence I n vain will s uch inves tigato rs s eek fo r t h e
.

c au s e for epidemic disea ses in places where s u ch ca u ses

may b e propagated bu t wh ere t h ey are no t created The

, .

s o u l of th e E arth in which s uc h ca u se s reside canno t be

s een wit h micro scopes it can only be recogni z ed by a man
,

whose spiritual perception s hav e b een awakene d by the

a wakening into consciousne s s of h is in terior s elf .

A true concep tion of t h e nat u re of man will lead to the

comprehens ion of the fact that man being as a microco sm ,

th e true image refle c tion and repre se ntative of the ma

,

c roc osm of nature ; Nature h as the s ame organi z ation as

M an althoug h not the s ame exte rnal f orm

, H av ing t h e .

s ame organ s and fu nctions and being ruled by t h e same ,

laws the o rganism of Nat u re is liable to expe rience

,

diseases similar to thos e e xperienced by th e o rganism of

,

man . Nature has h er dropsical swelling s he r n e rvo u s ,

tremblings he r paraly tic a ffec tions by whi c h c ivili z ed

,

c ountrie s t u rn into dese r ts he r inflammato ry a ffection s her

, ,

rhe uma tic con tra c t ions s pells of heat and cold e ruptions
, ,

and ear th q u akes I f our p h ys ician s knew th e nat u r e of

.

man t h ey would also know th e organizatio n of Natu re as

,

a whole and u nde rs tand more abou t the origin of epidemic

,

d is ease s of w h ic h they now know merely t h e e xterna l

,

e ffects .

See C L , H unt
, ; Vac c inat io n
.
 M ED I CA L S C I EN C E .
53

Wh at doe s modern medical science kn ow of the con

stitutiOi r of man whose life and safety is ma d e to dep en d
‘

on tha t knowledge I t knows the form of the body the ,

arrangemen t of muscles and bone s and organ s and it calls

, , ,

th es e cons tit u en t parts by names which it invented fo r the

purpose of dis tinction H aving no supersens u al percep
.

tions i t doe s no t kno wthe s oul of man b u t believe s that ,

his body i s t h e essen tial man If i ts eye s were open it .

woul d s ee t h at this visible body is only the material kernel

”
of th e immate rial b u t n everthele s s substan tial real man
, ,

whos e so ul es sen c e radiates far into space and who se

-
,

s piri t is withou t limi ts They wo u ld know that in th e life

.

p rinci ple in who se exis tence t h ey do no t believe re side s

, ,

sen sat i on perception con sciousnes s and all the caus e s

, , ,

that prod u ce the growt h of the form L aboring u nder .

thei r fatal mistake they attemp t to cu re that which is n o t

s ick while the real patien t i s u nknown to them U n d er
,
.

s u ch circums tances it is n o t s u rprising that th e mos t

enligh tened phys ician s of our time have exp re s sed th e
opinion tha t our p resent sys tem of medicine is rath e r a
c u rs e than a bles sing to mankind and that our drugs and ,

medicines do vas tly more harm than good beca use th ey ,

are continually misapplied Th is is an as sertion which has

.

oft en been made by their own mos t prominent leaders

.

Th e ideal physician of the fut u re is h e wh o knows t h e

true con stit u tion of man and who i s not led by ill u sive
,

ex te rnal appearances b u t h as developed h is in terio r

,

powe rs of perception to enable h im t o examine into th e

h idden ca u ses of all e x t ernal e ffects To h im the a c q u is i .

tions of material s cience ar e no t the guide s bu t only the

assis tants his guide will be his k nowledge and not h i s
,
“ ”
belief and his knowledge w ill endow him wit h f az t/z
’

, ,

which i s a powe r acting upon that part of man tha t canno t

be reached by the admin is tration of drugs .

If our medical s tudents were to apply a part of the tim e

w h ich they employ for the s t u dy of ce r tain ex t ernal science s
whic h are practically u seless t o the m fo r the developmen t
of their interio r perception they would become able to see ,

cer tain proce sse s with in the o rganism of man which are ,

at pre sen t to th em a mere ma tter of speculation and w h ic h ,

are no t dis cove rable by any phys ical mean s .

B ut even th e mode rn physician acts wise r than he knows .

H e may say t h at h e doe s not believe in fait h and ye t it ,

 54 F A I TH .

is only fa i t h t h at u p h olds h im and by w h ic h h e ex is ts ,

because if men had no fait h m h im t h ey w o u ld no t employ

h im and if his patients did not believe t h at h e could
,

benefit them they wo u ld not follow h i s directions A .

phy s ician wit h o u t in t u ition h aving n o fait h in h ims elf and

, ,

in whom no one els e h as any faith is perfectly u seles s as a

phys ician no matter h ow m u c h h e may h ave learned in
,

schools .

There is not h ing w h atever t h a t can be accomplishe d

without the powe r of Faith and the re i s n o faith poss ible
,

witho ut knowledge We can only accomp l ish that of

.

whi c h we are confi d en t that we can accomplish i t and we ,

can o n l y be truly confiden t if we know by exp erience t h at

w e have the power to do i t .

What does popular s cience kn ow abou t M ind ? A ccord

“
ing to the us ual definition M ind is t he in tellectu al
,
”
p owe r in man and as by m an she mean s a visible form
, ,

this defini t io n makes of mind s ometh ing confined withi n

-
that visible fo rm B u t if t h i s c oncep tion were true there
.
,

c oul d be no tran smis sio n of though t to a distance If no

‘

min d subs tance did exis t o u tside the visible form t here ,

could be no trans mission of t h ough t from one s uch form to

ano ther No s ound c an b e h eard in a s pace from which
.

the air has been e xhaus ted an d n o th o ugh t can travel

,

from on e individ u al to anothe r w ithou t a c o rresponding

material exis ting be tw een the m to act as a con d ucto r b u t
th e po s sibility of though t transfer ence is now an a l mos t
-

universally admitted fa c t ; i ts tr u th has been pe r c eived

long ago by children who make p racti c al u se of i t in s ome
of their games . Moreover any one wh o doub t s i ts p os s i
,

bility has i t in his power to convince himself by eith er

impress ing his tho u ghts s ilently upon o ther s or if h e is ,
-

of a receptive n ature — b y le tting o thers impre s s the ir

though t upon him I t mu s t therefo re b e Ob viou s even t o
.
, ,

th e supe rficial obse rver that pop u lar s c ience in regard to

,

this fun d amen tal doc trine has no t ye t arrived a t the tr u t h .

H er logi c al deductions canno t be tr u e as l ong a s th e

pre mise s fr om which sh e reasons are false and her o p inion s ,

in regard to th e p owers pos ses sed by man canno t be

perfect as long as s he doe s no t know th e e s se n tial n a t u r e
of Man .

H owinfinitely more grand and h owmuch mo re rea s o n

able is the con c eption of ancient s cience accordin g to ,
 M I ND .
55

w h o se doctrine s ev e ryt h ing t h at e x1 sts is an e xp r e ssion of I

the though ts of the U niversal Mind perva d ing t h e infinity ,

of space ! Th is concep tion make s M ind a power in the

'

real m of infini t y ac ting throug h living and intelligent

,

instruments and of M an an in tellectual powe r an expre s

, , ,

s ion of the U n iversal Mind able to receive reflec t and , , , .

m odify the tho u gh ts of t h e latter like a diamond that

becomes self lumm ous t h ro u g h t h e infl u ence O f the Sun
- \ ,

There is no reason w h y we should believe t h a t an

intel l igent mi nd can exis t only in a form whic h is visib I e
and tan gible to the ex te rnal sense s of man T h ere may .
I
be for all we know untold mil l ions of intelligen t or semi
, ,

in telligen t beings in the u n ivers e w h o s e form s are co nsti ,

tute d di f feren t l y from ours who live on ano ther plane of

,

exis tence than o urs and who are t herefore invisib l e to our
,

physical s enses b u t who neverth eles s h ave a mind and

, ,

m ay be perce ive d by the s u perior powe r of perception of

the awakened spiri t Nor is their existence a matter of
.

mere speculation fo r they may be perceived by those who

,

have the power of interior perception w h enever t h ey en te r

the s phere of the ir mind .

A ll w e know of external obj ect s is the image s which they

produce in the s phere of o u r mind A s tral or spiri tual .

beings p roduce no reflection upon t h e re t ina but their ,

p re sence may be felt w h e n they en te r the mental sphere of

the ob server and they may b e pe rce ived with t h e eye of
,

the so u l.

The ideal scientis t of the fut u re having attained t h e

power of spiritual percep tion will reco gnize this tr u t h , .

But when this time arrives s c ien t ific opinion s will cease to
be mer e b e l ie fs and knowledge will take th eir place
,
.

The common uti l itarianism of our age is the re sul t of a

general miscon c eption of the true nature of man and of ,

that which is really u seful and wo r thy of h is attention .

I f we believe that th e Obj e c t of li fe is simp l y to render

our material Self satisfied and t o keep it in c omfort and
that material comfor t con fers the highe st s tate O f pos sible
happine ss we mistake th e low for the high and an illus ion
,

for the truth O ur material mode of life i s a con sequence of

.

“
the material c onstitution of our bodies We are wo rm s .

of earth
”
beca u se we cling with all our aspirations to earth .

If we can enter upon a path of evol u tion by whic h we ,

beco me les s mat e ri al and mor e e t h ereal , a very di ffer en t

5 6 N E C ESS I TI ES .

o rder of civili z ation wo u ld be es tablished Things w h ic h .

nowappear indispensable and nece ssary would cease to be

useful if we could transfer our consciousnes s with t h e
,

velocity of th o u ght from one part o f th e globe t o ano the r ,

th e presen t mode of communication and transportation

would be no longer required The deepe r we s ink in to.

matter the more material mean s for comfort will b e

,

needed ; th e essential and powerfu l god in man is no t

material — in t h e u s u al acceptation of this term — and
independent of t h e res triction s laid upon matter .

What are t h e real nece s sities of life ? Th e an swe r to

this que stion depend s entirely on w h at we imagine to b e
necessary R ailways s teame rs electric lights & c are
.
, , , .
,

now a neces s ity to u s and ye t millions of people h ave

,

li ved long and happy knowing nothing about t h e m To .

one man a dozen of palace s may appear to be an ind isp e n

sable neces sity to an othe r a carriage ano the r a pipe or a
, , ,

bo t tle of whisky B u t a l l such nece s sitie s are on l y such as

.

man himself has created They m ake th e s tate i n whic h

.

man nowi s agreeable to him and tem pt him to remain in

,

tha t s tate and to desire fo r n o t h in g highe r They may .

even hinder h is developme nt ins tead of advancing i t If .

we would rise into a h i ghe r s tate in which we would no ,

longe r req u ire s u c h things they wo u ld c e ase to b e a

,

n ecessity and even become undes irable and usele s s but

,

i t is the craving and the wasting of though t fo r t h e augm e n

tation of the pleasures of t h e lower life wh ich p reven t man
to enter th e higher one .

T o rais e the evane scen t m an to a state of p e rfection

enj oye d by th e permanen t ideal man i s the great obj ect of
life the A rc anum tha t canno t be learned in b ooks I t is
, .

the great s ecret tha t may be unders tood by a ch ild bu t wi l l

, ,

for ever be incomp re h en sible to him who living en tirely in ,

the realm of sen s u al p erceptions has no pow er to grasp i t

, .

The a ttainment of that whic h is the h igh es t i s the M agnum

opus th e great W ork of whic h t h e A lc lz e m ists sai d that
, ,

th ousands of years may be req u ired to p erfo r m i t but that ,

i t may als o be accomplished in a momen t eve n by a ,

woman while engaged in spinning They l ooked upon the .

h u man mind a s being a great alembic in whic h the con ,

ten d ing forces O f th e emotion s may be purified by th e heat

of holy aspiration s and by a s u preme love of tru th T h ey
gave ins tr u ct i ons h owt h e s o u l of mortal man may b e sub li
.
 C H A PT E R I I .

THE R EAL AN D TH E UN R E AL .

A ll ah l
”—
’
m i llah l— G od is O ne
’
Bi -s - . I ( oran
.

E V E R YW in t h e broad expanse of the u niverse we se e

HERE
an almos t infinite varie ty of forms belonging to di fferent ,

king d oms and species and exhibiting an end l es s varie ty of

,

appearance s T h e subs tance of which th o se fo rms are

.

composed may fo r augh t we know consis t es sen tia l ly of

, ,

the same primo rdial material forming t h e bas is of their

. ,

con stit u tion althoug h the q u alitie s of th e variou s bodies

,

may di ffer from each ot h er and it is far more reason able to

,

suppose that this one primordial e ternal es sence exis ts and

appears in the co u rse of evo lu tio n in vario u s fo rm s t h an to ,

believe tha t a n u mbe r of di fferen t original sub s tances h ave

come into e xistence e i ther by being created out of no thing
or o therwise What this primo r d ial es sen c e— this imma
.

te rial s ubstance *—
may be we do no t know we only know ,

of its manifes tation in fo rms which we cal l t h ings W h at .

ever may find expres sion in one fo rm or anothe r may be

called a t h ing and a thing may change its s ub s tance and
,

yet the form remain t h e s ame or i ts fo rm may c han ge and

,

the s u bstance re main Wate r may be frozen in to s o l id ic e

.
,

or be transformed by h eat into inv is ible vapo r ; and

vapor may be chemically decompo sed into hydrogen and
oxygen ; yet if the neces sary condi t ion s are gi ven t h e ,

e ne rgie s whic h previously fo rmed water w ill form water

,

again ; the fo rms an d attribu tes change bu t the elements ,

r emain th e same and may combine again in ce rtain stip u

lated p roportion s regu lated by t h e lawof a ttraction
,
.

Th e A kasa of th e B rah mins or th e I liaster of Par ac e lsus, the

’

Universal P roteus.
 U TI LI T Y O F P R I N C I P L E .
59

A s t h is h ypot h etical primor dial s bstance or p rinciple u

h as no a ttri b u te s which we can perceive with our senses ,
we canno t see it or feel it and we therefore do no t know
,

the real s u bs tance of a thing ; we o nly dis tinguish th e

peculiarities of the a ttributes of its form and fo r the p u r ,

pos e of d istinc tion and classification we give i t a name .

We may gradually deprive a t h ing of some of its at tributes

or s ub s tance and c h ange its form and ye t it remain s that ,

thing as long as its character remains and even aft e r we ,

des t roy its form and dis s olve i t s s ub s tance th e c haracter of

the thing sti l l remain s as an idea in the subj ec t ive world ,

where we cann o t des t roy i t and we may c l o the the old

,

idea with ne wattr ibutes and produce i t u nder a ne wfo rm

on the Obj ec t ive plane A thing exis ts a s long as it s char
.

ac te r exis ts only when i t change s i t s charac ter i t ceases t o

,

be A material thing is on l y the symbo l or the re p re se n

.

tation of an idea ; we may give it a name bu t th e thing ,

itself remains foreve r h id d en b e hind the veil If we coul d .

on the phys ical plane separate a single s ubs tance from its
att r ibu tes and endow it with others at will then one body
, ,

could b e transfo rmed in to another as for ins tan c e bas e , , ,

m e tals be transformed into gold ; b u t unles s we change th e

character of a thing a mere change of its fo rm will only
,

a ffec t its external appearance .

By way of ill u s tration let us look at a s tick I t is made

, .

of wood but t h is is not es sen tial ; it might be made of

,

s ome thin g else and s till be a s ti c k We do not perceive .

the s ti c k i tself we o nly see its attrib u tes i ts extension and

, ,

colo r and density ; we feel i ts weigh t and we h ear its s oun d ,

if we s trike i t
"
E a c h of these a ttribute s or all of them
.

may be changed and it may remain a s tick fo r all that as

, ,

long as its charac ter is not los t because that which es s en ,

tially cons titute s it a s tick is its c harac ter o r an idea which

h as no t necessar ily a definite form L e t u s e ndow tha t .

formles s idea wit h n ew attribute s that wi l l chan ge i ts char

acter and we shall have t r ansfo rmed our ideal stick into
,

an y thing we choose to make of i t .

We cann ot change C oppe r into gold on the physical

plane W e canno t change a man into a physical child but
, ,

we may daily transform our des ires our aspiration s and ,

tastes by the omnipo ten t powe r of the will In doing this .

we change our character and make of man — even on the

,

p h ys ical plane — a di fferent bein g .

 60 CH ARA C TE R .

Nobody ever sawa real man we only percei ve th e ,

q u alities w h ich he p os ses ses Man canno t se e h im s elf . .

H e S peaks of b is bo d y b is soul b is spirit it i s only t he

, ,

combination of the three which cons ti tutes wh a t w e con

sider a m an the E go in wh ich his chara ct er re s t s is some
,

thing for which we have no conception A s an idea and .

ye t an individual u nit he en ters the wor ld of matter evo ,

lute s a ne w personali ty ob tains ne w expe rience and ,

knowledge passes through th e pleas ur es and vicissit udes

,

of life and through the valley of d eat h and ente rs again ,

in to that real m where in the cours e Of age s h is form will

cease to e xist to appear again i n a form up on the s cene
,

when th e ho u r for his reappea r ance s t rikes H is form and .

pe rs ona l ity change h is real E go remains th e s ame and yet

,

not the same be cause d urin g l i fe it acqu ires ne wat trib u tes
,
*
and changes i ts characteris ti c s .

We s ee that a plan t ceases to grow w h en it s roo ts are

to r n fro m the soil and whe n th ey are replaced into the
'

soil the grow t h may continue L ikewis e th e h uman sp irit .

,

man s high er self take s roo t in the phys ical organism of

’
,

fman and develops a soul th rough th e la t ter bu t when

, ,

dea t h tear s out the roots the soul res ts and ceas es to ,

grow until i t fin d s again a physical o rgani sm to acquire

,

ne w con d itions for contin u ed growth and to improve its ,

ow n real self .

What can this real ego be w h ic h lives t h roug h deat h and ,

chan ges during life u nle s s it is Tb c W i ll itse lf Ob tai ning

, ,

re l ative cons c io u snes s by c oming in con ta c t wi t h mat te r ?

\ Is any man certain of hi s ow n exis t ence ? A ll the proof
we h ave of our existence is in our con sciou sn es s in th e ,
I fe e lin of the I am in which is the reali z a t ion of our exi s t
g ,

‘I ’
true app re c iat ion of th e e sse nt ial nat ure of m an will sh owth at
A
th e re pe at e d re inc arnation ofth e h um an m onad in suc c e ssive pe r sonal i
t ie s is a sc ient ifi c ne c e ssity H ow c oul d it be possib le for a m an to
.

d e ve l op int o a st ate of pe rfe c t ion i f th e t im e of h is Sp i r it ual growt h

,

we re re stric te d to th e p er iod of one sh ort e xiste nc e up on t h is gl obe P

I f h e c oul d go on and d e ve l op wit h out h aving a ph y sic al bod y t h e n ,
wh y Sh oul d it h ave bee n ne c e ssary for h im to t ak e a ph y sic al b od y at
all P I t is unre asonab l e to sup pose th at th e sp iritual ge r m of a m an
be gins its e x ist e nc e at th e t im e of th e b irt h of th e ph y sic al b od y or t h at ,

th e p h y sic al p are nt s of th e c h il d c oul d be th e ge ne rat or s of th e S p ir it ual

m onad I f th e spir it ual m onad e x ist ed be for e th e bod y w as b or n and ,

it h out it w h at w
.

c oul d d eve l op w ould be th e use of its ent e ring any b od y

,
at all ?
 C H A N GE OF A TTR I B U TES . 6!

ence . E ve ry o ther state of conscio u snes s i s s u bj ect to

c hange The con sciou snes s of one momen t d i ffers fro m
.

that of anoth er acco rding to th e changes which take place

,

in the condition s wh ich s urroun d u s and acco rding to th e ,

variety of o u r imp ression s We are c raving for change .

and deat h ; to remain always the same would be torture .

O ld impres sion s die and are replace d with ne wone s and ,

we rej oice to see th e old ones d ie s o that the newo ne s ,

may s tep into their places We do no t make our impres .

sions o u rselve s bu t we receive them from th e ou tside

,

wo rld If it we re pos sible that two or more persons could

.

be born and e ducated un d er exactly the s ame condition s ,

having th e same ch aracte r and receiving always the s ame

imp re s sions they wo u l d always have the s ame thou ghts
, ,

the same feelings and desire s their cons c iousne s s wou l d be ,

identical and they might be con side re d as forming colle e

,

tive ly only one pers on A pers on having fo rgot t en all .

,

th e men tal impres sions he eve r received and re c eiving n o ,

ne wo ne s might exist fo r age s living in e te rnal imbeci l ity

, , ,

wi th no con s c iousnes s whatever excep t the con sciou snes s

of th e I A m and that consciousnes s could no t ceas e to
,

exis t as lon g as there is in him that Will w h ic h enables h im

*
to be .

T h is is th e on p ossib e c ond i ionin w

ly h ic h a pe son, w
l t
h o h as d u ing r r
rt ly l
h is e a h rt l r
ife ac qui e d no spi i ua p osse ssions, c an p ossib e is af e ly x t t r
t
d ea h . A pe son w
r h ose w l tt t
h o e a e n ion is give n to se nsua p e asu e s, l l r
or to m e e r ly t ll t l r t t r l
in e ec ua p u sui s on th e m a e ia p ane c a ie s no h ing l rr t
t j t x
wi h h im in o th e sub e c ive e iste nc e af e th e d e a h ofth e bod wh ic h
t t r t
,

y
c an e isx t r pe m ane n tly N or c ou d it b e o h e w
l . ise ; for it is not be wh o
t r
l y
d ie s i t is th e fa se egos d ing in h im A m an w h o d oe s not nowh is . k
ow tr l t
n ue se f c anno d ie , b e c ause h e h as not ye t c ome to ife ; it is on l ly
t r l y
na u e , iving and d ing in h im .

t l t
H is se nsa ions e ave h im at d e a h , and th e im age s c ause d inhis m i nd
r ll t rfi l k
b y th e e c o e c ion of th e supe c ia nowed ge wh ic h h e h as ac qui ed
l r
d u ing ife wi g ad ua
r l ll r fad e awa
lly th e in e e c ua fo c e s, w
y t ll t h ic h h ave l r
t t tfi
be e n se t in o m o ion b y h is sc ie n i c p u sui s, wi b e e h aus ed , and
r t ll x t
t rt tt
af e rt r
h a im e th e spi i of suc h a p e son, e ve n if h e h as be e n d u ing ife r l
th e g ea e s sc ie n is , Spe c u a o , and ogic ian, w
r t t t t l t r l i l be no h ing b ut an l t
l
im b e c i e b e ing, h aving m e e r ly l t t
th e fe e ing h a h e e is s, iving in d a x t l rk
ne ss, and b e ing d awn i e sis ib
r rr t ly t ow r r
a d s e inc a na ion ; see ing to r t k
r e im b od i se f again und e any c i c um s anc e s w
y t l r r t h a eve , to e sc ape f om t r r
t t x t
no h ingne ss in o e is e nc e .

B ut h e wh o ac qui e s Sp i i ua se f-c onsc iousne ss wi be se f-lum inous

r rt l l ll l
l t r l t
and ive in th e e e nal igh H e b ings a igh w
r . l t
i h h im in o th e d a t t rk
ne ss, and h a igh w
t t l t l t
i l not b e d is inguish e d , for it is e e na ; hi e t r l wl
th e igh of h is w
l t t rl lk rk
o d is i e d a ness to him,
62 R EL A T1 VB LI FE .

U nder w h atever form life m ay exist it is only relative , .

A s tone a plant an animal a man or Go d ea c h has an

, , , ,

existence of its own and eac h one exis ts only for the
,

others a s long as the o ther s are con scio u s of hi s exis tence

,
.

Man looks upon the existences below him as i n c omplete ,

and th e incomplete beings belo wh im kn ow little abou t

h im Man knows little about any superior beings and ye t
.
,

t h e r e may be su c h looking u pon him wit h pity as they

,

w o uld look upon an inferio r animal tha t h as no t ye t awak

ened to a reali z atio n of its r eal exis tence .

T h ose who are supposed to know in form u s that t h ere ,

i s no being in t h e un ivers e s upe rior to the s pirit u al regener

a te d man 3 but t h at t h ere are innumerab le invisibl e being s
w h o are e ith e r far s u perior or inferior to mo rtal man a s
'

w e know h im In other words t h e h ig h es t beings in th e

.
,

u nive rse are s uch a s have once been men ; but the men
a nd women of our pre sen t civi l iza tion may h ave to p rogre s s
thro u g h million s of ages before t h ey at tain that s tate of
p erfectio n wh ich s uch beings po s sess .

We are accustomed to look upon that wh i c h we perceive

wit h our s enses as real and u pon eve ryt h ing el se as unreal
, ,

and ye t our daily experience teaches u s that our sense s

canno t be trusted if w e wis h to distinguish betwee n t h e
t rue and the fals e We se e t h e s un rise in t h e E as t se e
.
,

h im travel along t h e sky during the day and dis

appear again in the Wes t ; b ut every child nowa day s - -

knows that this apparen t movemen t is only an illusion ,

cau s ed by t h e turning of th e earth A t night we see th e .

“
fixed stars above our h eads they look ins ignifican t ,

compared w ith the wide expanse of t h e earth and th e ocean ,

an d yet we believe that they are blazing s un s i n compari ,

s on wi t h wh ich our mother E arth 1 5 o nly a speck of d us t .

N o t h ing s eems to u s more quie t an d t ranquil than th e

s olid rock s u nder our fee t an d ye t the eart h w h ereo n we
,

live w h irls wit h t reme ndou s velocity through spa c e ; th e

mountain s see m to be everlasting but con t inent s s ink ,

beneath the waters of t h e ocean and rise again ab ove its

s urface Below our fee t move s wi t h ebbs and t ides th e
.
, ,

s wel l ing bo s om of our apparen tly s o l id mo the r the earth ,

above o ur head seems to b e nothing tangible and yet we ,

live on th e very bottom of the airy ocean a bove u s and do ,

n o t know t h e th ings that may perhap s live in i ts curren ts

or u pon i ts s u rface . A
s tream of ligh t s eems t o descen d
 R E L A T I VE C O NS C I O USNESS . 63

fr om th e sun to o ur p l ane t and yet d a r kne s s is said to

,

exis t between the a t mosphe r e of the E arth and th e sun ,

where no me te ori c matter exis ts to cause a reflection

whi l e a gain we are s u rr ounde d by an ocean of li ght of a
highe r order whi c h appears to us to be d ar k ness becau s e
, ,

the nerves of our bodie s have not ye t been s u fficient l y

d eve l ope d to react under the influence of the A stra! L zgfi t
’

T h e image reflecte d in the mi rr o r s eems a rea l ity to the

unreasoning mind th e voi c e of an e c h o may be mis taken
for the vo ice of a man the elemen tal force s of nature may
be loaded with the pro d u c ts of our own thou ght s and w e ,

may li sten to their echo be l i evin g i t to b e th e voice s o f

,

spiri ts of the departed We often d ream when awake and

.
,

while be l ieving to be awake we may be asleep .

I t is no t scientific to say we are asleep ; as long as

“

we do not know wh o we are We c an only t r uly say ’’

.

that such and s u c h function s of a phys i c al or psy c hical

o r ganis m whi c h we ca l l our own are asleep o r ina c tive
, ,

while o thers are active and awake We may be fully .

awake relatively to one thing and asleep relat ively to

ano t h er. A
som nam bule s body may be in a state resem
’

b l ing d eath whi l e his highe r con sciousnes s is fully alive

, ,

and has even far superior powers of pe rceptio n than it

could employ if all th e act i v i ty of h is life prin c iple we re -

engage d in performin g th e function s of his lower o rganis m .

So l i d matte r looke d a t w ith the physi c al e y e appears a s

a d ense mass of u nchangeable something but examine d ,

wi t h the eye of the inte l lect it appea r s as an aggrega tion

of c en t ers of e nergy easily pene t r able to thou ght so l i d . A
mas s i s therefore in reality a con c entrati on of fo r c e and ,

what we beh old in the fo rm of matte r of any kind i s on l y

the s y mbol of s tored up ene rg y a visible expres sion of th e
-
,

invis i b l e force res i d ing 1 n mat t er Seen with th e eyes of .

the spirit matte r and for c e are known to be on l y one the

, ,

twofo l d activity of one e te rnal rea l ity th e twofold mani ,

fe station of e ternal power .

M atter i s an ex ternal visible mani fes tation of force ,

having b e c ome latent s r z z is an internal invis ib l e

’ ’
‘

a c t ive power Both a r e the two differen t mode s of mani

.

fe station of one p r imal c aus e .

If we tur n from the consi d eration of form t o th a t of

space and examine what r e l ation extens ion and dura t ion
,

bear to th e c onscio u snes s of forms we fi nd t h at their ,

64 M A YTE R .

qualities change according to our standard of meas u re

ment and ac c ording to our mode of perception To an .

animalcul ae in a d rop of wate r that d rop may appear as an

ocean and t o an in sec t living on a leaf that lea f may c on
,

stitute a world If d u ring our s l eep the whole of th e visib l e

.

world we re to sh rink to th e si ze of a waln u t or e xpan d to

a thousan d fo l d its p res en t d imensions on awaken ing w e ,

should p e rceive no change p rovided tha t c hange h ad ,

equa l ly affected everything inclu d ing o u rselves , ch ild . A

h as no concep t ion of 1 ts t rue rela t i o n to space and may t r y ,

to grasp the moon with i ts hands and a p erso n wh o h as ,

been bo rn blind and 1 s afterward s made to s ee c annot jud ge ,

of d is tances correc t ly O ur though ts know ofn o i n t erven i ng

.

S pace when they t r avel from one par t of th e globe to

another in an almo s t imperceptibl e s pace of time O ur .

concep tion s of our re l ation to space are based u pon

experience and memo ry a c quired in our p r es en t con d i t ion .

If we were moving among entirely di ffe ren t co n di tion s our ,

experiences and consequen tly our conce p tions would be

, ,

en t irely d i fferen t O ur i d ea of relative space i s a mode of

.

perception of d i s tance and the re appear to b e a s many

,

dimension s of s pace as there are mode s of p erce ption or

consciou sne ss Space relatively to form can only h ave
.

th r ee dimensions beca u se all form s are comp o sed of t h ree

,

dimens ions — l ength thic k n es s an d heigh t

, con scious . A
nes s exis ting in a mathematical po in t could h ave no c on
c e p tion of form beca u se s u ch a p oint h as n o form
, . A
con scio u snes s exi s ting in a line or in a p lan e w i th o u t
t hi c knes s could have no co nception o f fo rm be cau se t h e ,

former having only one and th e la tte r only two e xte ns ions
, ,

canno t exis t a s forms b ut o nly a s mathematic al abs tra e

,

tion s C onscio u s nes s i n t h e ab sol ute s en s e is w it h o u t

.

form bu t e nte ring into relation to fo rm i t s relati on to

, ,

space will be t h reefold beca u s e t h r e e is t h e n u mber of

,

form .

It is evident l y an abs u rdity to talk abo u t f or ms e xisting

271 a
f our t/z az m en sz on
’

f p
o s a c e becaus e tfz r ee i s t h e ,

numbe r of form and no form whateve r wh e th er vis ible or

, ,

invisible can po ssibly exis t wit h o u t p o sses sing th e th ree

,

factors whi c h are n ecessary t o cons titute i t a fo rm namely

, , ,

lengt/z bread th and t/z z c k ness

, There may be innum e r .

ab l e i nvisible powers in space b u t when ever any s uc h ,

power man ifes ts i tself in a form , it always belongs to th re e

66 TI M E .

mediately fell asleep He dreame d that h e was a t h ome

.
,

and livin g with h is family ; that h e fe ll in love wi th a girl

‘

and mar r ied her ; that he lived happy unti l he me d d led

with political a ffairs and was arr es ted on a charge of having
,

en tere d in to a conspiracy agains t th e gove rnmen t He .

was tried and condemned to be sho t and le d out to be

, ,

executed A rrived a t the place of execu tion the command

.
,

was given an d the s oldiers fired a t h im and he awoke at

, ,

the noise cau sed by the s h utting of the doo r of the car ,

whi c h the conducto r had s hu t behind him when our frien d

entered I t seems probable that the n oise prod u ced by
.

”
s hutting that door caused the whole dream .

I n this state when the experiences of the internal s tate

,

mingle s with the sensation s of the ex ternal con scio usnes s ,

the mo st e rroneous impres s ions may be pro d u c e d becaus e

th e in tellect labors logic and reflec tio n exis t 3 but reason
,

does n o t act s u ffi ciently p owerful to d is criminate be tween

the true and the false .

B ut what is the di fference be tween obj ective and subje c

tive states of existe nce ? O ur bodie s d o not cease to live
whi l e we are asleep bu t we have a diffe ren t kind of per
,

c e p tions in eith er sta te The popu l ar idea is th a

. t obje c
tive percep tion s are real and s u bj ec tive o nes only th e “

produ c ts of our imagination But a little reflection will .

show t hat all perceptions the obj ect ive as we l l a s the s u b

,
”
je c tive ones are results
, of o u r imagination I f we look .

at a tree th e tree does not come into our eye b u t i ts

, ,

pi c t ure a ppears in our min d if we look at a form we pe r

,

c e i ve an i m res sio n ma d e l n our mind by the i mage of an

p
obj ect exist i ng beyon d th e limits of o u r b o d y if we look
a t a subj ec tive image o r a tho ugh t whe the r it be of our ,

ow n creation or ca u sed by the influence of another be i ng ,

we pe r c eive the impression which i t produce s on our mind .

I n e ithe r c ase the pi c tures exis t in our mind and we per ,

c e ive nothing but th e imp r e s sions made on the mind an d ,

th e on l y d i fferen c e be t ween the two is tha t in th e fo rmer ,

case the impres sion is caused by s omething visible and in ,

the l atter b y something invis ib l e t o our phys ical sig h t b u t ,

the internal impressions may be as real a s the external

one s I f we close ou r eyes th e latte r vanish and the form er
.

appear more dis tin c t If our eyes are open th e forme r

.
,

may be c ome mixe d with the l a t t e r o r be entire l y s u pe r sede d

,

by them on accoun t of thei r superior s treng th .

 P R 0 7E C TE D M E N TA L I M A G E S . 67

The fact is tha t eve ry thi ng appears e ither obj ective or

,

s ubj ec t ive a c cording to t he s t a t e of conscio usnes s of the

perceiver and what may appear to him entire l y subj e c t ive
,

in one state may appear to him obj e c tive l y in ano t he r .

The h i ghest truths have to him wh o can rea l ize them an

obj e c tive exis tence the grossest material fo r ms have n o
,

existence to him who canno t per c eive them .

The ba sis upon whi c h a ll exhibi t ion of ma gical p owe r l

re sts is a knowle d ge of the re l ations that exis t b e t wee n
obj ect and subj e c t I f we c onceive in o ur min d of t h e
pi c ture of a thing we have seen be fore an obj e c t ive fo r m i
.

of that t hing comes in to existen c e wi t h in our own m ind l ,

an d is compo se d o f the subs t an c e of ou r own mind I f . :

by c ontinual p ra c t ice we gain s u ffi c ient power to h o l d on l

to that ima ge and t o p re ve nt it from being d riven away and \
d ispe rsed by othe r though ts i t will become comparative l y
,

d ense and be proj ec ted upon the men tal s p h ere of oth e rs
, ,

so that the latte r may a c t ua ll y be l ieve to see obj ectively

that whi c h exi s ts me r ely as an image within our own mind
bu t h e wh o c anno t h o l d o n to a t hough t and c on trol i t a t
wi l l canno t produ c e i ts reflections upon the min d s of
o thers and therefore su c h psych o l ogical e xperiments often
,

fai l not on ac c o un t of any abs o l ute impossibi l ity to per

,

form t h em bu t on ac c ou nt of t he weakness of thos e who ;

,

desire to experiment but have no t the powe r to con t rol

,
‘

their own th ough t s and to render them so l id enough fo r

,

t ransmis sion .

E verything i s either a reali ty or a de l usion a c cording to ,

'

the s tandpoint from wh ich we view it T h e wo r ds real .

”

and unreal are on l y relative terms and what may seem ,

.

rea l in one s tate of exis ten c e appears unrea l in anothe r .

M oney luxury fame adu l ation e tc appear ve ry real

, , , , .
,

to t ho se who need them ; seen from th e poin t of view

of a god wh o ha s n o u se for them they appear to be
only illusions That whi c h we realize is real to u s
.
,

however un real it may appear to another and th e appear ,

an c e of rea l i t y changes as our cons c ious ness change s .

I f my imagination is powerful enough to make me firmly

b e h e ve in the pre sence of an an el that an el will be
g g
t h ere alive and real my own c reation n o ma tter h o wl
,

.
, ,

1 nV 1 sib le and unreal h e may be to another I f yo u r .

.

mind can create fo r you a pa r a d i se in a wilde rnes s l

,

t h at paradise will have for y ou an obj ect ive exis tence .

68 OB 7E C T I VE E XI S TE N CE .

E verything t h at exis ts exis ts in the u n iversal M ind

, .

I f the in d ivid u almind beco mes conscio u s of his relat ion

to a th ing it begins to perceive i t N o man can c or
, .

re c tly conce ive of a t h ing that doe s not exi st h e canno t ,

know any t hing with w h ich h e stands in n o rela t i on T o .

perceive th ree facts are neces sa r y : Th e percep tion the

, ,

perceiver an d the thing that is the obj ec t of pe rcep tion

, .

If t h ey exis t on entirely diffe ren t planes and can no t en ter ,

into relationship no pe r cep t ion will be pos sible be twee n

,

them and t hey will no t know ea c h o t her ; if the y are one

, ,

there wi l l be no pe rception be c au se t h e t h ree be ing one

, ,

there can be no relation between them I f I wis h to look .

at my face and am no t able to step out of my self I m u s t

, ,

u s e a mirro r to e stablish a relation be tween my s e l f and t h e

obj ect of my pe rce ption Th e mirro r has n o s en sa tion
.
,

and I canno t see myself in t h e mirror I can only see my ,

self in my mind Th e refle c tion of th e mirror pro d uces a

.

refle c tion whi c h is obj ective to my individual min d and ,

whi c h come s to my subj ec tive pe rcep tion L o oked a t .

from the s tandpoint of individual percep tion I and t h e ,

image produced in my mind as well as the m irro r h ave , ,

each a s epara te exis tence ; b u t looked a t from the s tand

poin t of T/le A bsolute mys elf the image and t h e mirror
, ,

are only O ne ; the difference between us is merely one of

ap pearance .

R efle c t io n upon the se fac ts will give u s a key to an

unders tanding of man s nat u re and some of hi s mys te r ie s
’
, .

We canno t obj ec t ive l y see the ligh t or the t ruth as lo ng as ,

we are w i t h in the c en tr e of the one or t h e o t h er O nly .

when we en ter beyond the cen tre of th e ligh t c an w e see ,

the s our c e of the lat ter only when we fall into e rror will ,

we lea r n to appreciate t h e trut h A s long as p rimordial .

man was one wi th the cent re of u niversal p owe r from

wh i c h he emanated a s a sp iri tual ray or en t ity in t he
beginning he coul d no t kno w the divin e s o u rce from whi c h
,

h e c ame The will and imagination of t h e U nive rsal Mind

.

were his own will and imaginat ion O nly w h e n h e beg an .

”
to s tep ou t of himself could he begin to imagine t h a t h e
exis te d as a separate Self ; only when h e began to ac t
agains t the law did h e begin to reali z e tha t there wa s
,

anothe r law than his own When man as a spiri tual .

,

entity having attained perfection en ters again into the

, ,

cen tre h is sense of self and separate nes s will be los t b ut

, ,
 C R E A TI ON . 69

h e will be in poss ession of knowledge T o see a thing i t .

,

m u s t become obj ective To know a thing w e m u s t be .

,

separated f rom i t When we fully comp re h end a th i ng

.
,
‘

we become one with it and know i t by know ing o u rse l ves

, .

Th is e xample is in tended to illu s tra te t h e fundamental

law of creation The fi rs t grea t ca u s e — so to say
.

l
s tepping ou t of i tself becomes i ts own mirror an d the reby
e s tab l ishes a relation with itself “
G od
,

s ee s H is face l .
,

reflec t ed in e ternal Nature the U niversal M ind s ees itse l f

refle c t ed i n the individ u al mind of man Th e Fa ther comes .

to relative c onscio usnes s in the Son b u t wh en H e again ; ,

re tire s in t o Himself the relatio n will cease ; the P athe r i

will then be again absolu tely one with the Son H e will .
'

again become one with H imself the re wi l l be n o m ore ,

rela tive conscio u sne ss and B rahm will go to sleep u ntil ;

,

the nigh t of creation h as ceas ed Bu t G od kn ows tha t he 1 .

exis t s even after all his rela tio n with ex ternal th ings has
c ease d and does no t need to look con tinual l y in to a mir r or
,

to be reminded of th at fac t L ikewise the ab s ol u te c on .

sc iousne ss of the great [ am is independen t of the obj ective

exis tence of Nat u re and H e will s till sit on the g r eat white
,

throne afte r t h e eart h and the heaven fled a way from H is 1

”
fa c e .

If the world is a manifes tation of t h e U n ive rsal M ind ,

e verything that exists m u s t exist in that mind ; th e re can

be n o thing beyond the U niversal M ind b ecau s e it is ,

nece ssari l y infi ni te ; it can be only O ne an d the re can be ,

n o beyond We exi st in that M ind and all w e perceive of

.
,

external obj e c ts i s the impre s sion s which th e y p roduce

upon our individual minds thro ugh t h e m edium of t h e
senses or by a supe rio r mo d e of percep tion .

Th e supe r io r power s of percep tion s are th os e pos ses sed

by the inne r man and they become de ve l ope d after the
,

inne r man awakens to s elf cons cio us ne s s Th ey corre spon d -

.

to the sen ses of the ex ternal man s uch as s eeing h earing , , ,

St . J oh n :
R e ve a ions l t 2 xx
I f th e old m a im is ue h at it
. . x tr t “

is ab ove as it is b e ow, it h e n fo ow
l t
s h a G od ne ve ll t t r l
” ’
s ee p s M ans .

t
spi ri is not unc onsc ious wh e n h is ph sic a b od is as e e py l O n th e y l .

tr ry
c on a , i t is m o e fu raw a e w h e n c e n e e d in its ow
lly k n se f t r l
L i e wise th e
k l r r
”
“ P ralaya
‘
c onsc iousne ss . s ee p of B ah m d u ing
c an on ly r r
e fe xt r l r t
to h is e e na c e a ive ac ivi , but not to h is c e e s ia t ty l t l
ex t
is en e i
c n h s ow
i -
l
n se f c onsc ious igh l t .
 70 I NNER SE N S E S .

feeling tasting smelling and othe r modes of percep tion

, , , ,

which are not ye t develope d in the phys ical man .

E xte rnal sensual perception s are neces sary to s ee se nsual

things ; the internal sens u al perceptions are neces sary to
see internal things Phys ical ma tter is a s invisible to th e
.

spiritual sight as as tral bodies are to the physi c al eyes ;

b ut a s every obj ect in nature h as its as tral counterpart
within the physical form i t may s ee hea r feel taste and
, , , , ,

s mell wi t h i ts as tral senses tho se a stral obj ect s and there ,

by know the att r ibutes of the ph ys ical obj ects as we l l or

s till be tte r than the physical man migh t have been ab l e to
do with h i s phys ical s ense s b u t neithe r the physi c al nor
the as tral senses will be able to pe rce ive u nle s s t he y are ,

permea ted by the ligh t of the spirit wh ich endows them

with life .

I f ever y thing that exis ts is Mind and if we ours e l ve s are,

that M ind a l l the forms of the s ubj e c tive a s well as the

,

obj ective words can be nothing els e bu t s tates of our

M i nd Though t is the creative powe r in the un ivers e
. .

Though t ger ms grow i n the mind as the seed s of plants

-

grow in the s oil of th e earth The lat ter a re qui c kened

.

into life b y the ligh t of th e sun th e former by the ligh t of

,

in te l ligence A t the beginning of a d ay of creation B rahm

.
, ,

begins to c r eate his th oughts c a l l worlds into existen c e

,
.

Things ar e materia l ized though ts o r s tates of min d having ,

bee n rende r e d obj ective Few person s have the power to

.

think spontaneously and independently al t h ough a l l may ,

believe to have that powe r if they were able to manipula t e

-
thought they wo ul d be able t o create The maj ority of .

men onl y o c c upy themse lve s w i th the t houghts that come

into their min d wi thou t their b i d d ing ; they are instru
“
men ts o r mediums through whi c h the unive rsal p rin c iple
of min d th inks but they are unable to o riginate a thou gh t
, ,

mu c h l e s s to proj ect it into obj e c tivity through the power

of the W ill H e wh o has gaine d the power to ho l d on to a
.

th ought may proj e c t i t upon ano ther and the process will ,
”
be faci l itate d if the re c eive r is in a pass ive s tate of s l eep ,
“
h y pnotism o r s omnambulism
, The e xp r es sion sugge s
.

tion is in s u c h c ases e nti r el y inappropriate to d e s c ribe wh at

“
takes place ; I nd u ction woul d be more approp r ia te ;
fo r the passive person no t merely acts upon the suggestion
”
of his magne t izer but his will becomes a helples s instru
,

men t through whi c h the thou ghts of the fo rmer are ind u ced
to a c t upon the s ubj ective o r obj ective plane .
 I N D UC H ON .
71

We u s u ally look u pon a thing as real if 1 t is seen alike b y\

several persons whi l e if on l y one pe r son rofe sses to see it
,
p , ,

i t being invisib l e to o thers we may call i t il lu sive bu t all

,

impressions produ c e a certain s tate of the min d and a ,

:

person must b e in a c ondition — or s tate of mind— to enter

in to a relation wi th that s tate which the impressio n
p ro d uces A ll persons being in the same s ta te of mind ;
.

and receiving the same impression wi l l perceive the same ,

thing but if their s tate s d i ffer their pe rcept i on s will di ffer

, , ,

a l though t h e i mpres sion coming to their con sc i ousnes s will

be th e same A horse or a lion may be seen alike by
.

e veryone wh o h as hi s normal sen ses developed beca u se

all men h aving n ormal h uman s enses may be in the same ,

men tal state bu t if one is exci t ed by fear or has h is

, ,

a tten tion o therwis e abs orbed his men tal s tate will change
and his perception wi l l di ff
,

e r from that of oth e rs A .

d r unkard m a state of ael z rz um trem ens may believe to se e

’

wo r ms and snake s craw l ing ove r his body His experience .

te l ls him that they have no exte rnal existence N e ve rth e .

l es s they are h orrible re alitie s to h im an d he seek s to rid ,

himself of their presen c e They re ally exis t fo r him as th e

.

pro d ucts of h is own mental c ondition bu t they d o n o t ,

exis t for o the rs who do not sh are that con d ition B ut if

'

others were to en te r the same state they would see th e

same things and h e who s ees them can make o thers see
,

them provi d ed he is able to communicate to them his own

,

c ons c iousn es s — th a t 1 5 to say h i s ow n men tal s tate

, .

O ur percep t ions th erefore di ffer— no t only in propor

tion as the imp r e ss ions coming fr om the obj ects of ou r
per c ep tion differ bu t also according to ou r capa c ity t o
re c e i ve s uch imp r e s sions or ac c ording to ou r own mental
,

s ta t e s I f we cou l d develop a ne wse nse we wou l d believe

.

to be in a ne w wo rl d and if o u r capac ity to receive im

,

pre s sion s were re s tr i c t e d to only on e sen se we would on l y .

be able to conceive of that whi c h could become manifes t

to us th r ough tha t sense and the world which we co u ld
perce ive wo uld be very limi t ed L e t u s s uppo s e the .

exis tence of a being w h ose mode of percep tion we re

en tire l y d i fferen t from ou r own and who could ente r in to ,

on l y one s ta te of conscio usnes s ; for instance that of hate , .

Having all h is con s c iousness c oncentra ted into h is g u id

ing passion he c ou l d become aware of no thing else b u t of
,
“ ”
hate Such a god of hate incapable of en te ring into
.
,
72 M ENTA L S TA T E S .

any oth er mental s tate co u ld pe rceive no o t h e r s ta te s b u t

,

t h ose corre sponding with his own To s u c h a bei ng t h e .

w h ole wo r ld would be dark and void our ocean s and ,

moun tains ou r fores ts and river s w o u ld have no existence

, ,

for him b u t whereve r a man or an an imal w ould burn with

hate there would be perhaps a l u r id glo w perceivable by
,

h im th rough the darkne s s wh ich wo ul d a tt ract his a t ten

,

tion and a ttra c t h im and on his approach that glow may

,

burst into a flame in whi c h the individual from wh om i t

procee d ed may be cons umed A ny o t he r m e nt a l s ta te o r
.

passion may serve for a s imilar il l u s tration Ha te .

attra c ts ha t e and L ove at tract s love and a perso n ful l of

, ,

hate i s as in c apable to love as a bein g fu ll of love is inca

p ab le to hate bo th are men tal s t ates whi c h after a person , ,

has fully en tered t h em cann o t be ch an ged a t will

, .

Man i s that what h e re al l y wil l s H i s whole being is .

no thing else b u t th e ul t ima t e pro du c t of a will acting in

h im not of his imaginary will b u t of t he real will w h ic h is, ,

one and di vi n e .

The B iz agawaa G zta say s

'
T h o se th at are born under
’

”
an evil d es tiny ( having a c q u ired evi l tendencie s by their

conduct in fo r mer li ves ) kn ow not what it i s t o proceed

“

in virt u e or to recede from vice ; nor is p u rity veracity , ,

or t he p racti c e of mo rality to be foun d in t h em They .

say th e worl d i s wi th ou t beginning and wi t hou t end and ,

with o u t an I shwar that al l thin gs are con c eived in the

,

j unction of th e sen se s and tha t a t trac t io n is t h e only

,
”
cause .

Th ose wh o believe t h at e veryth ing exists in c onse

‘

q u e nc e o f t he attract i on of two p rinciples forge t t hat th ere ,

coul d be n o attrac t ion if th ere were not some ca u se t hat

prod u ce s tha t a tt rac t ion and that th e at trac tion would
,

cease as s oo n as the cau s e tha t p ro d uced it would cease to

exist They are the d eluded followe r s of a doc t r ine
.

which they thems elves c anno t s e riously believe They .

agree t h at out of n o th i ng n o t hing c an come and ,

ye t th ey belie ve that th e power of a t trac t ion was

ca u sed by nothing and that it con tin ue s to exis t wi t ho u t a
,

ca u s e They are th e fol l owers of the absurd T wo w h ich

.

has no real exis tence becau s e th e ete rnal O ne divide d in t o

tw
,

o parts would no t b ecome tw o O ne s b u t th e two halves

B h agawad G ita, L . xvi .

74 G OD .

Tb e A bsolute , inde penden t of re la tion s and conditions is ,

th e origina l c aus e of all m anife s t ations of p ower A n .

attempt to d escribe it wo u l d be equivale n t wi t h an attemp t

to descri b e some thing which has no attrib u tes o r of who s e ,

a ttribute s we can form n o co ncep tion When Ga u tama .

B ud d ha was asked to d e s crib e th e s u preme s o u rce of all

beings he remained silent b ecau se those wh o have reached
, ,

a state in wh i c h they can re a lize what it is h ave n o wo rd s ,

to describ e and t h o se wh o can n o t r eali z e i t wo u l d not

be able to comprehend th e de scription T o describe .

th e absol u te we mu s t inve s t it with comprehen sible

attributes and it then c ea se s to be T/z e A bsolute and
,

be c omes relati ve Therefo re all theological d iscu s sions

.

“ “
abo u t the nature of God are u sele s s beca u se God ha s ,

no natural a ttribute s b u t N ature is H is manifes tation

,
.

If we use the word Go d in i t s legitimate meaning as ,

G ooa then to deny th e exi s tence of G od is an abs u rdity

’
, ,

equivalent to denying o n e s own exis tence beca u se all ’

,

e x i s tence can be nothing e l se bu t a manife s tation of life as ,

”
Good To d eclare to p os s e s s an in tellectual knowledge
.

of G od I S equally abs u r d be cau s e w e canno t know any

,

thing of which we cann o t conceive H e can only be .

spiritua l ly known b u t no t s c i en tifically described and th e

, ,

fight be tween so called D e i sts and A t/z e ists i s a mere

-

q uarre l abo u t words wh ic h h ave n o d efinite meanin g .

E ve ry man i s hims e l f a man ife s ta tion of G od and as eac h ,

man s chara c ter d i ffers fro m tha t of eve ry oth e r so each

’
,
’
man s i d ea of God d i ffers fro m that of the res t and each ,

one has a God ( an ideal ) of h is ow n only when th ey all

attain the same the high e s t ideal will they all have th e
, ,

same G od .

T o h im w h o doe s no t believe in t he power of Good the ,

powe r of Good doe s no t exist and i ts exis tence c anno t be ,

demons tra t e d t o him To hi m who feels th e pre sence of

.

Goo d Go o d exis ts and to him i ts exis tence canno t be

, ,

disputed away Th e ignorant can n o t be made to rea l i z e

.

the existence of kn ow l edge unles s h e b ecomes knowi ng ;

those who know c annot have t heir kn o wle d ge reasone d
away u nle s s they fo rge t w h at th ey know Th e caricat u res .

of gods s et up by t h e variou s ch u r c hes as rep re s entation s

of t h e on l y t r ue G od are merely a t tempts to d es c r ibe that
whi ch canno t be d e scribed A s e very man ha s a h ig h e st .

2 C orint h , xi 1 .
4 .
 A B S OL U T E 0 0 00 .
75

ideal (a god ) of h is own wh ic h is a symbol of h is asp ir ,

ations so every ch u rc h has i t s peculiar god who 1 s an out

, ,

growth or a p roduc t of evolution of the ideal neces si t ie s of

tha t collective body called a ch u rch They are all true .

gods to tb em beca u se t h ey answer their needs and as th e

, ,

requirements of th e ch u rch change so change their gods ,

old go d s are dis carded and ne wones put into t h eir places .

The god of the Chri stian di ffe r s from that of th e Jews and ,

th e Chri s tian god of the nine teen th century is very di fferen t

from the one that lived at the time of T orquemada and
Peter A rb u es and was pleased wit h torture and A utos d a
,
-

Fé . A s long as men are impe rfect their gods will be im

perfect as they become more perfect th eir gods will grow
in perfection and w h en a l l men are e qually perfect they
,
“ ”
will all have the same pe rfect God the same highes t ,

spiri t u al ideal and t h e s ame u n iversal reality recognized ,

a l ike by science and by religio n ; because there can be

o nly one supreme ideal one absolu te Truth whos e reali , ,

z ation is Wisdom w hose manife station i s power expres se d

,

in Nat u re and w h ose most pe rfect production is ideal

,

Man .

T h ere are se ven s teps on th e ladder repre senting the ,

religi o u s development of mankind : O n the firs t s tage m an

re sembles an animal cons cious on l y of h is in s t inc t s and
,

bodily de sires wi th out any conception of the divine ele

,

ment O n t h e second h e begin s to have a pr esentimen t

.

of t h e existence of some thing h ighe r O n the third he .

begin s to seek for that hi ghe r element but h is lo wer ele ,

ments are still p r eponde ratin g over the h i ghe r aspirations .

O n the fo u rth his lower and higher des ire s are counter
b alancing eac h o ther A t times he seeks for the higher
.
,

at other times h e is again attracted to th e lower O n the .

fi ft h h e anxio u sly seeks for the divine but seeking it in ,

the ex t ernal he canno t find it H e th en begins to seek for .

it within h imself O n the sixth he fi nds th e d ivine elemen t

.

wi thin himself and d evelop s spiri tua l s e l f consciousnes s -

,

which on the seven t h grows into self knowledge Having -

.

arrived at the s ixth his spiritual sense s begin to become

,

alive and a c tive and h e wi l l then be able to recognize the

,

p resence of o the r spiri tual en t ities exis ting on the same ,

plane His will then becomes free from every selfis h

.

d esire his t/z ougb ts become obe d ien t to his wi ll h is word

, ,

b ecomes an act and he may then rightfully be called an

,

A d ept .
 C H A PT E R 111 .

F O RM

'

Th e U nive rse is a t h ough t of G od

”—
. P arac elsus.

l A CCO R DI N to P lato t h e primordial es sence is an emanation

G
of th e D em iurgic M ind wh ich contains fr om e tern i ty the
,

idea of the natural world within its elf and wh ic h idea H e ,

produces out of H imself by t h e power of H is will Th i s .

d o c t rine s eems to be almo s t as old as th e existence of

reasoning man on t h i s globe I t con tain s e s sen tially t h e
.

s a m e tru t h which has been t augh t by the ancien t R is/z is ,

and ha s been expre s sed — al th o ugh pe rhap s in ot h er term s , ,

— b the d e pes t thinkers of all age s apparently from the
y e ,

fi rs t p lanetary sp i rit that made h i s appearance on this

,

e arth down to the mode rn ph ilo s o ph ers wh o teach that t h e

,
*
world is a p roduc t of i d ea t ion and w i l l a l th ough t he lat ,

te r seem to forge t th at w i l l and idea tion ca nno t exis t

in d ependently of s o me th ing t h a t wills and thinks b u t are ,

the functions of some unknown p rinciple or Ca u se .

This O ne unknown cau s e come s in to k nowable exis tence

whe n th e unmanifes ted A bs o l u te man i fe s ting i tself as s u mes
a t hree fold aspec t U pon this t r u th i s based the doctrine
.

of the T rz nz ty wh ich we find represen te d in the most

,

an c ien t religio u s systems of the E as t as well as in C h ristian

“
symbolism and with out which even so calle d rational
,

isti c s c ience become s i rrational ; beca u se if t h e mate

’’

”
ria l is t (correc t ly ) states tha t t h e re can be no matte r
withou t motion and no mo tion wit h ou t ma tter h e m u st ,

to remain logical — add tha t the existen ce of matte r and

the activity of motion m u s t have some ca u se H e may not .

know th at cau s e b u t the ca u s e neverth ele s s is t h ere even

, ,

if we know no th ing at all abo u t it excep t t h a t it is T h e ,

.

S c h op e nh aue r Die W e lt als W i lle und V o ste ung r ll .

 YR I N I YY .
77

trin ity of rational science is there fo re A c tion R eac tion and , ,

C ausation, or, in o the r words M atter M otion and C ause , , ,

( P otency ) .

Th e great Christian M stic jac ob B oe/z me describes t h e y , ,

Grea t Firs t Ca u se as a tr i n i ty of will thought and action , , .

His doctrine co rr esponds to that which is taugh t in th e

E as t regar d ing th e three emana t ion s of Bra h m and of
, ,

wh i c h that German shoemaker could at that time h ave

har d ly known anyth ing if h e h ad no t been an I llum inate , .

”
H e says in his bo ok on T b e T li rc e P r i nc ip les that by
, ,

the activity of the W ill F ire at the C entre t he ete rn al c on -

sc iousne ss of t h e latter was reflec t e d in Spa c e as in a mir ror ,

and from this ac tivity L ig/i t and L ife were born H e then .

de scribe s h owby the a c t ion radiating from the inc omp re

,

h e nsible cen t re radiating into the elemen t of Matter and

, ,

the s u bsequent reaction fro m the periphery toward t h e

cen tre ro tation mix ture of the e s sential substances and
, ,

complexednes s were caused and h owat last the E t/z er the , ,

wo rld of forms came in to exi s te nce and grew in to mate r ial

, ,

d en si ty Th u s t he will of the F at/ter ( L ove ) sen t out th e \

.

S on ( L ife ) and t hrough tha t action th e powe r of the Fathe r

,

in th e Son ( L ight ) o r t h e H oly G /z ost became manife s t i

“ ”
, ,

and its man i festa t ion is the v i sible and invis ib l e univers e
i n one with all its s u ns s tars plane ts the ir forms and
, , , ,

inhabitants with all the angel s and d emons devas e l e

, , ,

m e ntals me n an d animals o r in other words with a l l the

, , ,

energie s and power s and fo r ms of the visible and invisible .

side of nat u re .
i

Th is trinity manifes ts i ts elf on th ree di fferen t p lanes or :

m od es o f a c ti on that h ave been te rmed M atter S oul and

, , ,

Sp i rit or acco rding to the symbolism of ancien t o c en l

g
, ,

science E art/z W ater an d F ire The O ne b ecome

, , ,
.

manifes t in the T/z ree b ut the Th ree 1 3 a who l e and doe s ,

not c onsist of th re e parts of which one come s in to s uc

‘

- i

cession after an othe r it sprin gs into exis t ence a t once ,

.

R e ac ti on cannot exist without A c tion and bo th ar e due to ,

a c o existing C ause
-
The F at/ter d oe s no t be c ome a .

Fath er before the arrival of the S on and that which pro ,

duce s the Son i s the power res ting in the Father his W ill ,

manifes ting1 tse lfa s the Spirit pervading all nature The re .

i s n o mot i on wi tho u t ma tte r or wit h o u t ca u se no cause

withou t an e ffect and withou t some t h ing upon which an
ef fect i s prod u ced T h ere can be no extension and dur .
78 OB 7E C TI F I E D S P A C E .

ation or Sp ac e wit h o u t matte r o r mo tion and no for m ,

wi t ho u t space A b sol u te spa c e i s invisible and we cann o t

.
,

conceive of its form We cannot imagine it to be w ith ou t .

any l imits no r can we conceive of any limi ts to it with no

,

space beyond it relative spa c e is limi ted and exis ts as a

“
form There can b e n o emp ty space becaus e space
.
,
”

“
means extension and we cann ot conceive of noth ing , ,
“
n o r can no th ing have a n extensio n Forms are — so t o .

say— space which has bee n rende red obj ec tive crysta l ize d ,

in t o some shape wh ich may or may n o t be p erceptib le to

our senses and no form c an exist but in space
, .

The se forms c ome into existen c e by th e action of t h e

th ree elemen ts F ire W ater and E art/z neither one of
‘

, , ,

wh ich exis ts witho u t the o the r two beca u s e they are no t

three d i fferent t h ings p er se b u t only th ree aspects of th e ,

e te rnal O ne .

Sp i r it or Fire is an immaterial form l e ss and , ,

u niversal element I t is the matrix in which eve r y t h ing

.

was contained before i t was thrown into obj ectivi ty b y th e

awakenin g of its Wi l l I t is the Will itself ; the s o urce of .

all powe r and t h e s u bstance of whic h a l l is made Go d

i s a fire to which n one can approac h excep t through t he
,

Son . The dark fire cannot be known t o man excep t

th rough the ligh t w h ich emanate s fro m it L ife wo u ld n ever .

be known u n l es s it be c ome s manifes t and to be c ome

, ,

man ifes t a form is required No magical p ro c es s ha s e ve r

, .

been accomplished wi t hou t th e magic fire and t o learn to ,

know the tr u e nat u re of that fi re i s the gre at des ide rat um

of eve r y occul tis t .

“ “
S oul or Water or L igh t is a semi material elemen t -
.

I t is th e organizing element of co rpo real form s Th e so ul .

of mi c roco smic man corre spond s to th e s oul of th e macro

c osm I t is th e playground of the e l emen tal fo rces of nature
.
,

existing in the astra l plane I t pen etrate s and surro und s .

the planets a s i t s u rrounds and pene t r a te s th e b odie s of

m en and a nimals and all o the r b odies and forms and a l l ,
“
material forms are so t o say only m ateri al i z ed souls
— —
,

tha t will pe r ish after the ligh t has been extra c ted from
them The li gh t i s th e redeeme r from darknes s o n eve ry
.

p l an e of existence I t c omes from the fire b u t i t is n o t

.

i tself the fi re I t is a princip l e in itself and its at tribu te s

.
,

are di fferent from th ose of the fi re I t is itself th e life of .

e ve rything .
 E L E M E N TS .
79

M atter or E arth is an invisible mate rial elemen t ?

pe rva d ing all space C ondense d by the o rganizing powe r
.

of the soul it clothe s the forms of the latte r and ren d ers
,

them visib l e on the ph y si c al p l ane B u t not all forms are .

visible to th e ph y sica l sense of s i gh t the material fo rms ,

whic h we see a r e no t t he only fo r ms in exis tence The . .

invisible world hi d d en in the visib l e one could b e d is

, ,

c overe d by man if he were ab l e to d raw the ve il from matter ,

because wi thin th e material form reside s the invisible ,

elemen t of whi c h the visible form is only the external J

exp ression .

Fro m the interaction of th e three primo r dial elements ,

‘

Spirit Soul and Matter four compoun d princip l e s b e

, ,

c ome mani fest and the s e four a d d ed to the three fo rme r g

,

repre sent seven p rin c ip l es This s evenfold d ivisio n in the l .

c ons titution of t he Ma c roco smos and M i c roco smo s wa s

known to the an c ien t sa ges of the E as t as well as t o .

We s tern A depts such as Pa r a c e l su s and o thers and has

, ,

recent l y been brought p rominen tly to the n otice of th e

public by the tea c hings of th e E as tern A depts .

A s a matter of course however all such division s are , ,

arbitrary for man i s an u ndivide d whole and we may divi d e

, ,

his cons titution in as many parts as we please fo r the

purpo se of fa c i l itating this s tu d y We may look upon him .

as a unity or in a dual aspect a s a mani fe s ta tion of Spir it

a c t ing in Matter o r a s a trinity of Spirit Bo d y and Soul
, , ,

or in his fourfold aspect as a repre sentation of four s tates

of c onsciou sne s s as a full accord of five ha r monious
powers as a c om p ound of four elements j oined to th e
'

fi ft h the quinte s sence of a l l things as a revela tion of si x

, ,

visib l e powers emanating from a sevent h b u t invisi b le

c entre e tc
,
The seven fold c las sifi c ation re c ommends
.

itself on ac c o unt of its s implicity and becau s e it can be ,

easily seen to harmonize wit h the customary th ree fold

classification .

Jacob Boehme teaches t h at of these seven p rinciples or

natural qualities the firs t and th e seventh are one and
, ,

refer to the Father t he s e c ond and sixth as one re fer to

the Son and l ikewise the third and fifth to the Ho l y
,

Spirit .

It has been s tate d as fol l ows

A — T h e e l ement of M atter A b d sa represen ted
’
1
.
,
”
by E art/i .
 80 SE VE N PR I N CI PLE S .

2. AB .
—A combination of Matte r and So u l known ‘

,
as the A stral B od y ,
a mix t u re of E art h and
Wate r .

B — T h e S oul kn own as t h e P er isp r z t or the

'

.
, ,

animal principle 1 n man repres en ted by Water , .

A B C — The E ssenc e o
.
f L if“ a combination of
e ,

M at te r So u l and Spirit , E arth Water and

, , , ,
”
Fire .

A C — The M ind a combination of M at te r and

.
,

Spirit or “
E ar t h and Fire
,
”
( the p rin ciple of
In tellectuality ) .

6 . B C — The Sp i r itual S oul a comb ina tion of Sou l

.
,
“ ”
and pure Spirit or Wate r and Fire (,the
prin c ip l e of Spiritual Intellige nce ) .

”
C P ure Sp ir it or Fire th e incompre h e n sible
.
-
,
*
First Great C a u s e .

The division adop ted by Paracel and in E s oteri c

B uddhism is identical with the above wi t h th e e x c eption ,

that the jiva o r Vital ity is coun ted as the se con d and th e ,

A s tral body a s the third p rinciple a s follow s 1 The .

physical body (Stoolasariram ) 2 V itality ( M uf

nia) 3 . . . .

A s tral B ody (Sidereal body ) 4 A nimal S o ul 5 Intel . . . .

lectual Soul 6 Spirit u al Soul 7

. S pi rit . . . .

I t is said th at this d ivision was also kn own to t h e

ancient Jews and that the H ebrew A lphab e t cons is ting of
, ,

2 2 letter s was made with refere n c e to it ; b eca u s e the

,

t/z ree in seven s tates produces tw el ve symbols and 3 7 ,

1 2 22 .

jac ob B oelz m e
describes t h e actio n of the s e seven
p rinciples in his own way H e says .

“
When the ligh t was bo rn at t h e C entre t h e ( s pi rit u al ) ,

Sun and reacted upon the cen tral fire a terrible ba ttle
, ,

ensue d causing an igneo u s e r u ption an d from th e sun

, ,

p roceede d a flash of s torm and fire an e lemen t called , ,

M ars Taken captive by the ligh t i t a s s ume d a place

.
,

and c ontinue s to agita te all nat u re Th e ligh t h aving .

,

been e nchained by Mars proceeded fu r t h e r in th e ri gidity ,

T h e Sansc i rt t r
e m s for th e se e n p inc ip e s a1 e : l , P ac i i , v r l r rt
2 , L ingasariram ; 3 , Kam arupa ; 4 , iva ; 5, M anas ; 6, B ud d h i J
7 ,
A t m a ( P a am -
A tm a,
rB rah m am ,
P arab rah m ) — See F e e ars of iv y
”
T h e osoPh y, p 1 53 . .
82 I N VI SI B I L I T Y .

E ac h transfo rma tion of activity give s rise to chan ge s of

forms and may bring ne wforms in t o exis t en c e So l id ice
,
.

may b e trans forme d i nto invisible vapor and con d ensed ,

a gain into a tangi b le form T h e more mat t er exp an d s and

.

the mo r e i ts mo tion is ma d e active th e more wi l l i t e scape

,

t he percep tion of the physical sen se s but i ts expansio n ,

d oe s no t nece ssarily ren d er it le s s powerful to act Steam .

i s more powe rful t han water and o ve rheated to a cer tai n

,

d e gree it evolves electricity and may become very de s

,

truc tive . The more the e lemen t of mat te r is c ondensed ,

the more inert does it appear ; the mo re it expands th e ,

farther wi l l i ts sphere of activi ty reach .

A ll bodie s have their invisi ble spheres The ir visible .

sph ere s are limite d by the pe riphery of their visible forms

their invis ible sphere s extend fart h er into s pace The ir .

spheres cannot be always detecte d by physical ins trumen ts ,

but they neve r t he l e s s exist and u n d e r ce rtain con d ition s

,

their exis tence can be proved t o th e s en s es The sphere .

of an odoriferou s bo d y can be per c e ived by t h e o rgan of

smell the sph ere of a magnet by th e app roach of non th e
, ,

sph ere of a man o r an animal by that mos t delicate of all

i ns t ruments the abnormally sens i tive brain
, .

Thes e s pheres are the magne tic colorie odic or l u m i

, , ,

nous auras and e manation s belonging to every obj ect in

space Su c h an emanatio n may sometime s be s een as th e
.

A urora B ore al is in the polar region s of our planet or as ,

the pho tosphe re of th e sun during an eclips e T h e .

“
g l ory aro und the head of a sain t is n o poe tical fiction ,

n o more than the sp h ere of ligh t radiating from a precio u s

s t one A s each s un has i ts sys tem of pla ne t s revolvin g
.

a r ound it s o eac h body is s u rro u nded by s malle r

,

c entre s of ene r gy evolving from the common cent r e and ,

par t aking of th e attributes of that centre C opp er C arbon .

, ,

and A rsenic for ins tance sen d out a u ras of re d ; L ead

, ,

and Sulphur emi t bl u e colors Gold Silver and A n timony , ,

green and Iron emits all the colors of the rainbow Plan ts .
,

anima l s and me n emit s imilar colors acco rding to their

,

c h ara c teristi c s ; pe rson s of a h igh and spiritua l c ha r acter

have beautiful aura s of white and blu e gold and gr een in , ,

various tints whi l e lownature s emit principal l y d ark re d

e m anations w h ic h in brutal and vul gar o r villainous pe r s on s
,

d ar k en a l mo s t t o b l ack and the collective a u ras of bo d ie s

,

of men or plants or animals of cities and co u ntries c or

, ,
 SP H E R E S A N D E M A NA T I ON S . 83

re spond to their predominant charac te r isti c s s o tha t a ) ,

per son whose s ense of p er c ep t ion i s su ffi c ien tly deve l ope d

may see t he state of the in t e ll ec t ua l and moral d eve l opment
of a place o r a country by obse r ving the sphe r e of itsl
eman ations .

These spheres expand from the centre and their periphe ry ,

grows in proportion to the in t ensity of the energy acting

within the cen tre Who can measure the exten t of the
.

sphere of though t and the depth of the re gions to whi c h i t

may pene trate who can de termine the dis tance to whi c h
,

the power of Wi l l and L ove and spiritua l Percep tion wi l l

act ? We know the sphere of a r o se by the o d or that
proceeds from the latte r if we have the power to s me l l we ,

know the characte r of the mind of a man if we enter the

sphere of his th oughts provided tha t ou r inner sen ses are
,

s u ffi c iently developed to become co nscious of the s tate of

his mind .

The qu ality of p sy chic emanation s depends on the s tate

of activity of the c e ntre from which t hey o riginate for ,

each thing and each being i s tinct u red with that particu l ar
principle which exi s ts at th e invisible cen tre and from this ,

cen tre rece ives the fo rm of i ts own chara c t e r or a ttribute s .

They are symbols of the s tates of the soul of each form ,

they indicate the s tate of the emo tion s E a c h emo tio n .

corre sponds to a ce rtain colo r : L ove co rresponds to blue ,

D esire to red B ene volence to green and the s e colours

,
,

may in d u ce co rre sp on d ing emotion s in o the r sou l s ,

e spe c ial l y if th e emo tional elemen t is guided by reason .

B lue has a soo thing e ffe ct and may tranquilize a maniac

,

or s u bdue a fever R e d e xci tes to pas sion a s te er may be

, ,

furio us at the sigh t of a red cloth and an unreasoning mob

,

become infu ria ted a t the si gh t of blood This chemis try .

of the s oul is n o t any more wonderful than th e fact s known

in physical chemis t ry and these proce sses take place
,

a c cording to th e same lawwhich cause s C hloride of S i l ver

to turn from white into black if e xpose d to blue or wh ite
light while ruby red o r yellow light leaves i t un c hanged
, .

The tho u gh ts of th e U niversal M ind expres se d in mat t er

on any plane compri s e all th e fo rm s of t he min eral
, ,

vegetable and an imal kingdom s on E arth inc l u d ing the

, ,

bodie s and so u ls of all beings Their phys i c al fo r ms are

.

the expres sions of three princip l es and each ma t e r ial fo rm

,

co ntain s wit h in itself its eth e real co u nte rp art w h ich may , ,
 84 TH E C E N TR E .

u nde r certain conditions separate itself from th e m o re ,

ma terial part or be e xtracted th erefrom by the hand s ofan

,

A d ept These a s t ra l par ts m ay be c orp orifi e d and be

.

ren d ered vis ible A c tually all bodie s e ve n th e mos t solid

.
,
l rocks are no thing else bu t c or orifi e d a stral appe arance s
, p ,

whose innermos t s u bs tance is the fi re wh o se lig h t is t h eir

life E very ind ivid u al being i s a flame in creation wh ose
.

ligh t di ffe rs from o thers acco rding to i ts ow n p articular

a t trib u tes .

A s tral forms continue to exist fo r a w hi le after th e

visible bo d ies to which they belong h ave had t he ir fi re -

extinguished Th e as tral corpse s of th e dead may b e seen by

.

the clairvoyant h o ve r ing over th e graves bearing th e ,

resemb l ance of the once l iving man They may be arti .

fi c ally infused with life and with a bo rrowed co n scio u sne ss ,

and made use of in the prac tices of N ec rom ancy and

”
B lac k M agic o r be attracted to , spiritual s eance s to
1 represe n t the spirits of th e d ead .

The re are persons in whom thi s principle — e ithe r in

c onsequence of constitutional pe culiaritie s or in c onse
q u e nc e of dis ease — i s not ve ry fi rm ly u nit e d wi th th e ,

physical body and may become s eparated from it for a

,
”
short Such p erson s are s uitab l e m ed i um s for
so called sp i r i t m ate ri al i z ati ons their e th e real co u n ter
- -
,

parts may appear separated from th eir bodies and a s s ume

the vis ib l e form of some pe rson eithe r living or d ead I t .

receives its new mask by the uncon sciou s or con scio u s

thou ghts of the person s presen t by the re flection s t h row n ,

out from their memo ries and min d s or it may b e made to ,

represent other characters by infl u ences invi s ible to t he

p hy s ical e y e .

A s th e b rainis the c entral o rgan fo r the circ u lation of

nerve fl uid and as the heart i s the o rgan for th e c irc u la
-
,

tion of the blood s o the s plee n i s th e o rgan from w h ich

,

the as tral elemen ts d raw their vi tali t y and in ce r tain ,

d iseases where the action of the spleen is imp eded t h is

, ,
”
doub l e of a person may involuntarily s eparate itself
from the body I t is no thing very un u sual tha t a sick
.

3? t t r l t
Th is in im a e e a ion of th e as a fo m and th e p h sic a b od is tr l r y l y
t l tr t
of e n i lus a ed at so c a ed e p osu e s of sp i i ua m ed ium s
-
ll I fa x r rt l .

t r lz r
m a e ia i e d fo m is soi ed by ink or soo , th e c o o i ng m a e l il t l r tt r wl
af e w
t r r of th e m ed ium s bod , rr rt y
’
a d s b e found on th e c o e spond ing pa
b e c ause , w h e n th e as a fo m re e n e s th a b od , it w tr l r
i l eave th e -
t r t y l l
l tt r
soi ing m a e on th e c o re s ond ing par s of th e a e
p r t l tt r .
 A S TR A L F OR M S . 85

“
pe rson feels as if he were no t himself o r as if another
person was lying in the s ame b e d with him and that h e , ,

himself wer e that o t he r Such cases of .

Wraiths A ppari tions Gho s ts e tc caused by the separa

, , , .
,

tion of t h e L ingasariram from the physical form can be ,

found in many works treating of my stic phenomena

*
o c c u rring in nat u re .

U s u ally th ese as tral forms are wit h out con scio u snes s
and wi tho u t any life of t h eir own bu t the y may be made
,

to be the seat of life and consciou snes s by withdrawing ,

the life from the material form and concentra t ing i t in to

the as tral body A per son w h o has s ucceede d in doing
.

th i s may step out of h is phy sical form and live independent

of the lat te r and an A de pt may e ve n enti r ely remain out
,

side h is physical body and contin u e to live in his ethereal

an d invi sible form sl ‘

f
The forms in the realm of So u l in which the fou rth ,

p rinciple is th e es sential element are s till more e thereal and ,

more independen t of a de fi nite form T h is will no t see m .

incomp rehensible if we remembe r that they too are forms

,

of tho u ght and t h at a tho u gh t or an idea may take a

,

defined shape o r may remain shapele s s and undefined I f .

”
we fo r ins tance h ear th e word animal we conce ive of
, , ,

a living being of so me shape or o t h e r bu t give o ur con ,

c e p tion no definite fo rm b u t if t h e animal i s describe d as

one wi th wh ose form we are acquainted the pict u re o f that ,

form will come to th e con scious nes s of the mind C on .

centration of th ough t gives shape to i d eas and c ondenses

th e fo rmle ss in to forms P urely spiritual or abs tract i d eas
.
,

su c h as lo ve faith hope chari ty etc h ave n o shape s and

, , , ,
.
,

cannot be con ceived a s forms they can at be s t be symbol ,

iz e d by forms whic h are made to g u ide our though ts

towar d s the formles s ideas whos e attrib u te s t h ey are
intended to bring before our imagination .

L h um anité p osth um e
’
A d olphe D A ssie r ’
.

l Th e st orie s of fakirs wh o h ave be en b urie d al ive for m onth s and

’

resurre c t ed aft e r ward s m igh t h e re b e use d as il lustr at ion Th e y are too .

we l l k nown to ne ed re pe t it ion in t h is p l ac e M ore ove r , p h e nom e na, .

h ow e ve r w e l l atte st e d t h e y m ay b e , c an neve r st and in th e p l ac e of

k nowl e d ge ; th e y fur nish no e xpl anat ion of th e m y ste rious l aws of
nat ure T h e oc c urre nc e of ph e nome na p rove s noth ing b ut t h at t h e y
.

oc c ur .R e al k now l e d ge is ne ve r att aine d b y th e ob se r vat ion of e xte rnal

ph e nomena, it c an only be att aine d b y th e kno l ed ge of se l f w .
86 S P I R I TS .

- A mong the ancients i t w as cus tomary to make s u c h

p e rsonifi c ations of imp ers onal powers and to de s c r ibe ,

their func t ion s in symbols and al legor ies The firs t .

C hristian s adop ted t hat sys t em M odern religionism .

believes those allegor1 es to rep r esent dea d person s and

pe oples and kno ws nothing about the living principles
,

which they represent .

A s there are th ree elements rep re sented in the thre e

kingdoms of th e phy sical plane s o there are three king ,

doms of E lementa l s exis ting on th e a s tral plane corres ,

ponding to the elemen ts of fire water and eart h I nd ivi , ,

.

dual form s o n that p l ane may oft en make their presence

felt to men or anima l s b u t under ordinary circ u mstance s
,

they canno t be s een They may h oweve r b e seen by th e

.
, ,

clairvoyan t and under certain condition s eve n as s u me

, , ,

visible and tangible shapes Th ei r bo d ies are of an elastic .

semi material e s sence ethe real enough so a s not to be

-
,

detected by the p hysical sigh t and th ey may change their ,

fo rms according to cer tain laws Bu l wer L y tton sa y s .

“
L i fe is one a l l pervading princip l e and even the thing
-
,

tha t seems to die and p u trefy but enge nd e rs ne w ,

life an d
change s to ne w forms of matter : R easoning t h en by
analogy if no t a leaf if no t a d rop of wa te r b ut i s n o les s
—
, ,

than yonder s tar— a habitable and b reathing world

common sens e would su ffice to teach that the c irc um fl ue nt
Infinite which you call s pace — the boundles s Impa l pable
,

whi c h d ivide s the earth from th e moo n and stars — i s filled

”
al so with its c orresponden t and appropriate life .

A nd further on h e says In the drop of water you see

an imal c ul ae vary h owvast and terrible are so me of t he s e
mon ste r m 1 te s as c ompare d wit h o thers E qual l y so wi t h
-
.

th e inhabitan ts of the atmo sphere Some of s u rpas sing .

wisdom some of horrible malign ity some h os tile a s fien d s

, ,

to man others gen tle as mes sengers be tween E art h and

,
”
H eaven .

O ur scep tical age is acc u stome d to admire in s uc h

descriptions th e fancy of th e write r never s us pec ting ,

that they were in tended to convey a tr uth but the re are

many witnes se s to testify— if i t we re ne c es sary— tha t s uc h
invisible bu t s ubstantial and various l y shape d beings exis t ,

and t hat they by the e d ucate d will of man can be mad e

, ,

B uwl
e r L ytt on Zanoni .
 E L E M E N T/ I L S P I R I TS O F I VA T UR E . 87

con scio u s intelligent visible and even u sefu l to man

, , , .

This asse r t ion is supported by the testimony fo u nd in t h e

wri t ings of R osi c rucian s C abbalists A lchemis ts and , , ,

A d epts as well as in t he ancien t books of wisdom of the

,

E as t and in the B ible of the Christians .

Su c h existence s are h oweve r no t neces sarily personal , ,

beings They may be impers onal for c es acquiring form

.
, ,

and l ife and consciousnes s by their c on tac t wi t h man

, .

Th e G nom es and Sy lp b es the Und ines and S alamand ers , ,

do not en t irely belong to the realm of fable although they ,

may be s ome t h in g ve ry d ifl e re nt of what the ign orant

'

believe them to be H ow insignificant and littl e appe ars

.

in d ividual man in th e i nfin ity of th e u niverse ! and ye t

there is only a c ompara t ive l y insignificant pa rt of the
u niverse reveale d to him by the s enses C oul d h e see the .

wo rl d s within wo rlds above beneath and eve rywhere , , ,

swarming with beings who se e xistence he do e s not s uspect ,

whi l e t h ey perhap s know no thing of hi s existence he

, , ,

woul d be overwhe l med with terror and seek fo r a god to

p ro tect him and yet there are non e of the s e beings highe r
or a s powe r ful as the spiri t ual man who has learned to
know his powers and in whom h is own god has awakened
,
*
to consciousnes s and strength .

The beings of the sp iritual plane are s uc h as h ave once

bee n men their cons tit u tion is beyo n d the comprehens ion
,

of those that are no t their eq u al s and their e t he real forms ,

in a state of perfection we canno t conceive Having out .

g r own the necessity of resi d ing in a form they enter the

s tate of the fo rmle s s approaching eve rmore the U niversal
,

M ind from which th e powe r called M an emanated at th e

,

beginning We may look upon a pers onal man as a s ingle

.

n ote in th e gr eat orches tra composing the wor l d and upon ,

a D /zy an C /z o/z an T a s a fu ll accord or a compo u nd of

n ote s in th e symph ony of the go d s Th ere may b e unhar .

m onious c ompos itions of note s i n mus ic and the re are evil ,

spiri tualities as there is darkness in contra d is tinction to

ligh t because a high grade of in te l ligence may be u sed for
,

vile purpo ses ; but the good spirituality cannot be c on

r l v t l
P a ac e sus gi e s d e ai e d d e sc ip ions of h ese be ings r t t .

1
‘
Son of W isd om ( A nge ) l .
83 S O UL I N D U C TI O N

q u ered by evil beca u se i t is prote cte d by wisdom wh ic h

, ,

is essential l y good and of wh ic h evil 1 3 but the re vers e

, .

There a r e good an d evil spiri tu al beings and e i t h er clas s ,

may posses s a great deal of knowledge and power ; but

on l y the good t hat i s to say kind and bene volen t powers
-
, ,

can be con side red wise— becaus e wisdom mean s a u nion

of knowle d ge and love fro m which th e h ighes t powers,

spring To be wis e is to be good and b eau tiful and true

.
,
.

E vi l spiritualities may be very s trong but th ey canno t ,

overcome the good one s , beca u se t h ey lack wi sdom and ,

wisdom is itself the divine will of God .

What i s a spirit No thing else bu t a t h o u gh t rendered

a l ive b y th e will a ray of li gh t receiving its imp u lse by th e
,

fi r e hidden therein A th ought without will i s un s u b s tantial

.
,

like an image in a mirro r ; made active by th e will i t ,

as sume s life subs tance and form We all are sp irits a s

,
.

l ong as we have the will b ut w h en the will leave s a man ,

his life goe s with i t and his body th e shadow fades

, , ,

away .

The realm of th e So u l is t h e realm of t h e emo tion s .

E motions are no t mere l y the results of ph ys iolo gica l

p r oces ses depen d ing on ca u ses coming from the ph ysical
plane but they belong to a form of life on the a s tral pl ane
, ,

th ey often come and go withou t any apparen t cau se T h e .

s tate of the weathe r or circums tance s ove r w h i c h w e h av e

,

n o control may c ause certain emotions independently of

,

our s ta te of physical health A pers on e n te ring a roo m

.

whe re every one is laugh ing is liable to p arti c rp ate in the

common emotion without knowing the c au s e of the h ilarity
a whole crowd may be swayed by th e in ten s e em o tion of a
speaker a l tho u g h they may not fully u n d ers ta nd w h at h e
,

says one hysterical woman in a hos pital wa r d may create

an epidemic of hy ste ria am ong th e oth er w omen and a ,

who l e congregation may become exci te d by the h ara ng u e

of an emo tional exhorter no matter wh e t he r h i s la ng uage
,

is foolish o r wise A s u dden accumu la t ion of emotion or

.

energy on th e as tral plane may kill a person a s quickly a s

a sudden explo sion of powder We h ea r of person s wh o .

“ ”
were transfixed by terror or paraly z ed by fear In .

such case s t he a stral conscio u snes s having beco me ab h o r

mal l y a c tive at the expen se of the con s cious n ess on th e
physical plane th e a c t ivity of life on th e phy sical p l ane
,

may cease an d the a ffected pe rson may fain t or p er h ap s

, ,

d ie .
90 PH A N TOM S .

s piritual energie s are no t active They may h ave a c on

.

sc iousne ss of the ir ow n and reali z e their exis ten c e bu t

under or d inary circ u ms tances they h ave no m 0 1 e irite lli
,

gence than animals and canno t ac t in tellige ntly and in

,

accordance with reas on They fo ll ow th eir blind a tt r action

.
,

a s iron is attrac ted to a magne t and wh e r eve r they find an

,

exces sive amoun t of emo tion evolved by a h uman being

they are attracted thither as t o a commo n cen tre and th eir ,

acc u mulatio n in c rease s the activity of t h at centre and

increase s the size of i ts sphe re We th erefo re ofte n se e
.

that if one emo tion is no t controlled in th e b e gm m ng 1 t

may grow and become uncon trollable Som e p eople have .

died of grief an d s ome o thers of j oy .

B ut if the s e unin tel l igent form s are infuse d with the

principle of inte ll igen c e p ro c eeding fro m m an th ey become ,

intelligent and act in a c c ordance wi th the d i c ta t e s of the

mas ter from wh ich they re c eive t h eir wi ll and in te ll igen c e ,

and who may employ th em for goo d or fo r evil E very .

emotion tha t arises in man may combin e w i th the astral

fo r c es of nature and create a being whi c h may be per ,

c e ive d by pe r sons po ss es s ing abnormal facu l t ie s of per

c e p tion as an active and living entity E ve ry sentiment.

whi c h fin d s exp re s s ion i n word or action may ca l l into

exis tence a livm g entity on th e a s tr al plane Some of .

the se forms may be very end u ring accor d ing to the intensi t y
and du r ation of the though t tha t create d them wh ile others ,

a re the c reations of one momen t and vanish in th e next .

There are numerous cases on re c o rd in whi c h so m e

pe rso n or o th er having commi tted s ome crime i s des c ribed
a s having been persecuted for years by som e aveng i ng
d emon who wou l d app ear obj ectively and disappear a gain
, .

Su c h demon s may be and perhaps can be n o thing else bu t

,

the products of th e involu ntary action of th e ima ginati on

of their victims but th ey are neve rthe l e s s real to the la t
te r They may b e called into exis ten c e by memo ry and
.

remo r se and their i mage s existing in the mind ma y

, , ,

be c ome obj ective by fear be cause fea r i s a r ep ulsive

,

fun c tion ; i t instinctively repulses the obj e c t of whi c h a

man i s afraid and by repe ll ing the image from the c en t r e
,

towar d s the periphery of the sphe re of mind tha t ima ge ,

may b e ren d ered obj ective .

Ins tan c es are known in wh ich p erso ns have bee n d r iven

to suicide hoping the reby to e s c ape the se p ers ecutin g
,
 D O UB LE S .
91

demons Su c h demons are said t o have in some c ase s

.

taken even a tan gible form B u t wh ether ta ngible or in .

tan gible the s u bs tance of whi c h t h ey are formed i s merely

,

a proj e c tion of sub stance of the person to whom the y thu s

appear They are s o to say that p erson himsel f and if
.
, , ,
“ ”
the latter could inj ure o r ki l l such a ghos t he wou l d ,

merely thereb y injure or kill his own bod y *

.

A n A dep t in a letter to M r S inne tt says .

E very tho u gh t of man u pon being evolve d pas s es in to

another world and become s an active entity by as sociating
itself— coa l e scing we migh t term it— wit h an E l emen tal
that is to say w ith one of the semi inte ll i gent force s of
,
-

the kingdoms I t survive s as an a c tive inte ll igen c e — a

.

c reature of th e mind s be ge tting— fo r a longe r o r sh orte r

’

period proportionate with the o r iginal in ten sit y of th e

,

cereb ral action which generated i t Thus a goo d though t .

,

is perpetuated a s an active b e ne fi c e nt powe r an evil one , ,

as a m ale fi c e nt demon A nd s o man is c on t inua l ly

.

peop l ing h is cur rent in space with the offspring of his fan
cie s des ire s impulse s and pas sion s a curren t whic h
, , , ,

react s u pon any sens itive or nervous o r ganization whi c h ,

comes in c ontac t wi th i t in proportion to i ts dynamic inte n

,

sity . . The A dep t evolves th ese shapes consciously ,

”
o th er men throw them off u nconscio u sly .

I n th e Lives of th e Saint s, and in th e h ist ory of w it c h c raft, we

oft e n fi nd inst anc e s of th e appe ar anc e of d oub l e s in visib l e and e ve n
t angib l e form s Suc h ph e nom ena m ay take p l ac e in m ed ium ist ic pe r
.

sons, if b
y c o n tr ary e m ot io n s th e W i l l b e c om e s d i v id e d ac t in g in tw o
j ,

d iffe re nt d ire c t ions, and p ro ec t ing t h e re b y two for m s ; for it is th e

j
s ir it ual W il l of m an t h at c re at e s sub e c t ive for m s c onsc iously or un
p ,
c onsc iously , and und e r c e rt ain c ond it ions t h e y m ay b e c om e ob e c t ive j
and vi sib l e .

A s an i llustratron of th i s laww e m ay c it e fr om th e A c ta S anc tor u m

an e p isod e in th e l ife of S aint D om inic He w as onc e c all e d to th e
.

b e d sid e of a sic k pe rson, w h o t ol d h im t h at C h r ist h ad ap pe are d to h im .

Th e saint answe red t h at t his was im p ossib l e , and t h at th e app arit ion
h ad b e e n p rod uc e d b y th e d evil , b e c ause only h oly pe rsons c oul d h ave
an ap parit ion of C h rist A s h e said so, a d oub t as to w
. h e th e r th e
app arit ion see n m ay not h ave b een a true one afte r all e nt e re d h is
m ind , and im m e d iat e ly a d ivision of c onsc iousne ss was p r od uc e d , w h ic h
c ause d th e d oub l e of D om inic to a r t r p at ie nt 5
’
e a a t th e o h e sid e of th e
pp
be d . Th e tw o D om inic s w e re se e n b y th e p at ie nt , and h e ar d to d is

put e with e ac h oth e r, and w h il e one D om inic asse rted th at th e app arit ion
h ad b e e n th e w ork of th e d e vi l , th e oth e r one m aint aine d t h at it w as th e
w
true C h rist Th e two D om inic s ere so e xac tly id entic al, th at th e
.
9 2 TH O UGH T SH A PE S .

Th is te s timon y is corrobo rated by one comi ng from

anothe r source and proving t h at to create subj e c tive form s
,

it is no t neces sary to give a dis tinct shape to our thou gh t s

by th e powe r of imagination bu t that each s tate of fee l ing ,

or sentiment may find expression in s ubj e c tive fo rms ,

whe the r or not we may be conscious of thei r exis ten c e A .

form is a s tate of mind and a sen t iment is a s tate of min d

,

a sentiment expre sse d will be represented by a co rrespond

ing form .

M r Whitwo rth a clairvoyant d escribes h owin his youth

.
, , ,

wh ile seeing a German profes sor perfo r m on an o rgan h e ,

noti c ed a h os t of appearances moving abou t the keyboard

— veritable L i ll iputian sprites fai r ie s and gnomes a stonish
, , ,

ingly minute in size ye t as perfect in form and fea ture s as

,

any of the large r people in the room H e describe d them .

as being divi d ed into sexes and clothed in a mos t fantastic

manne r in fo rm appearance and movement t h ey were in
,

pe r fec t accord with the t h eme .

I n the qui c k meas u res h owmadly they danced waving , ,

their plumed ha ts and fan s in very ecstasy and darting to ,

and fro in inconce ivabl e rapidi ty wi t h feet beating time in ,

rain like patter of acco rd i ! uick as a flash wh en th e

-
,

music changed to the s olemn cadence of a marc h for th e

dead the ai r y th ings vanished and in t h eir place came
, ,

black robe d gnomes dres sed like cowled monks sour

-
, ,

face d Puritans o r m u te s in the black garb of a funeral

,

proce ssion S tranges t of all on e ve r y tiny face was ,

expresse d the sentiment of the musi c s o that I could ,

ins tantly u n d erstand th e t h ough t and feeling that wa s

intende d to be conveyed I n a w i l d burs t of sounding grie f
.

c ame a rush of mothers tear eyed and with disheve l le d

,
-

hair beating their b reas ts and wailing p ious lamentation s

,

over their dead loved one s T h ese would be followed by .

p a ietn d id not noww

t k h ic h of th e m as th e ue sain , and wh ic h one w tr t
h is i m age , and h e c ou d not m a e up h is m ind wh a to b e ieve un il
l k t l t
l t t ll
at as th e sain c a ed upon G od to assis h im — h a is to sav, h e c on t t t
c e ntrate d h is w i p ow e again w
ll
-
r t
i h inh im se f h is c onsc iousne ss b e c am e l
again a uni , and th e ty d oub e d isap pe a ed f om vie w
l r r .

r t r
A b su d as suc h s o ie s may appea to our e nligh e ned age , ”
hei r t t r
ab su d i r ty c e ase s wh e n th e oc c u aws of na ure , and th e fac of th e possi
lt l t t
b ilitie s of a d ouble c onsc iousness are und e s ood rt .

A . P S inne t
. t T he O c c u lt W o rl d .
”
 SP I R I TS O F M US I C .
93

p l u med knigh ts wi t h sh ie l d and spear and h os t of fier y ,

troops mo unted or foo t re d hande d in the fiery s trife of

, ,
-

b loo d y battle as the clang of martial musi c came leap ing

,

from the keyboard and ever as eac h change brou gh t i ts

, ,

ne w s et of sprites the old one s wou l d vanish in t o the air

,

as s uddenly as they h a d come Whenever a disco rd wa s .

s truck the tiny sprite that appea r ed was some mis

,

shapen creature with limbs and dres s awry u sua l l y a

, ,

humpbacked dwarf who se voice wa s g u ttural and rasping

, ,
”
and his eve ry movement ungain l y and disagreeab l e .

H e then de scribe s h owin his riper age h e sawsuc h fairy

like be ing s coming from the lips of persons ta l king and ,

whic h seemed in every ac tion the very c oun terpart of th e

feeling conveyed in th e u ttered speec h If the word s were .

in spired by good sentiment s these figu re s were transc en ,

~

dentally beautiful bad sentiments p roduced ho r rid looking -

creatures h a te was ex pre s sed by hissing snakes and d ark ,

fiery devils treache ro us wo rds p roduced fi gure s beau t iful

in fron t and disg u sting and horrid beh ind ; while love
p roduced form s s ilvery whi te and full of beauty an d
, ,

harmony .

O n one n ever to b e fo rgotten occasion I was a paine d

- - -

wi tne s s to a scene of living faithfulnes s on one side and a

double face d trea c herou s duplicity on the o the r A fair
-
, .

young girl and h er departing love r had me t to exchange

g r ee tings ere he we nt on a distan t j ou rney E a c h wo rd .

of hers gave forth beautiful ra d ian t fai r ies b ut wh ile the

,

front h a l f of each that was turne d to the gi r l was equally

fair to look upon and s mi l ed with all the ra d ian t seeming
,

of undying a f fection the rear half of each was bla c k and

,

d evilish wi t h fiery snake s and r ed forke d ton gue s p ro

,
-

trud ing from th eir cruel lips a s gleams of wi c k e d cunning ,

dance d in sneaking s i d elong glances fr om th e c o r ners of

,

the half closed eyes The s e dark back gro un d s of the little
-
.

fi gures were h orrible to look a t eve r shift ing d o d ging and , , ,

seeming to shu t up wi thin themselves as they sou ght t o ,

keep o nly bri gh t and h ones t toward the t r us t ing gi rl and ,

h old th e black de c eption out of sigh t A nd i t was no tice .

able th at wh ile a halo of c loudle s s radiance s ur r o un d ed

t h e go od o u tsi d e seemin g a pall of thi c k vapo r hung like
,
”
a canopy of u nb roken gloom above the o ther .

R e ligio-P h il osoph ic al J ournal .

 94 AP P A R I TI ON S .

I t wo u ld b e ab s u rd to s u ppo s e that the s e fo rm s h ad an y

obj ec tive existence outsid e of th e mind of th e man wh o
observed them They were the creation s of th e involun
.

tary action of h is mind and repre sen t ed th e vario u s men tal

,

states w h ic h were produ c ed in quick s ucce s s ion by the

impression s h is mind received ; but th ey fu r ni s h a good
illus tration to the t h eo r y that each form exp res ses a
,

certain character and that each mental s ta te co rre spond s

,

to a certain form i n wh ich it may fin d i ts exp r es s ion

, .

Th e above de scription coincides wi th wha t ha s been

described by o thers and proves t hat tho ugh t s an d senti
,

me n t s are s ome th ing s ub s tan tial re siding in the imagination

of man and which may a ffect h is inn er world for goo d or
,

for evil and that the nece s sity of co nt r o l ling th ough ts and
,

desires is no t a ma tte r of little impo r tance bu t h as a ,

practical u se B ut th o se who rej ec t s u c h tes timon y and

.

consi d er s u c h forms as i l lusive may reme mbe r t ha t not

only such forms but all fo rms are onl y appari tion s and
, , ,

tha t they all r ep resen t invisible truth s Be fo re th e pu r e .

ligh t of reason all ill u sions will disapp ear in the end an d
th e t ru t h appear — no t h i d den in forms but in th e s ub l im e ,

splendo r of its purity— before th e wondering gaze of

spiritually awakened M an
-
.

But alt h ough s ubj ective forms are manife s tation s of li fe

. they have no app ropriate active wi l l o f their o w n Th ey .

are th e crea tion s of the tho u gh t of man acting upon th e

lA k a
’
. sa T h ey are only kep t alive by th e life powe r tha t -

lrad iate s int o them from th e li fe c entre in man -

Th ey are .

i l ike s h adows vanishing when th e foun tain of ligh t fr o m

,

which they drink is exhaus ted Whe n th e p sy c h i c al a c t ion

.

of man that gave them life cease s to act or a c ts in another

, , ,

direction they will d is appea r soo ner or la ter

,
H owever .
,

as th e corp s e of a man d oes n o t d issolve imme d ia tely a s

s oon as the principle of life has depa rt e d b u t d ecays ,

slowly or rapi d ly according to their mo l ec u lar density and

coh esion likewise the as tra l fo r ms created by th e desi r es
l
,

of man may re quire a consi d erab l e time fo r th eir d i s so l u t ion

a cco rding to the amoun t of will fi re made a c tive in them -
.

f y
I h con t inue to exis t a s long as man infuse s l ife and
‘

c onsciousnes s into them by h is tho ugh t and his wi ll and if ,

t hey have once gained a c er t ain amoun t of power th ey may ,

[s t i ll c l in g t o h im al thou gh he may no t desire the ir c om

,

p a n io n sh ip. They depen d on him fo r their li fe and th e ,

 D E VI L S .
95

s tru ggle for exis tence forces them to remain wi t h th e

s our c e from which they draw their vitality If they depar t .

fr o m that fountain t hey d ie ; they are there fore forced t o

”
remain and like the phantom c r eate d by Frankenstein
, , ,

they persecute the ir creators wi t h their u nwel c ome p re

s ence To rid ones e lf of s uch a p resence he who is
.
,

perse cuted s h ould d irect the full power of his aspirations

and thoughts in to an o ther and high er direction and the r e ,

by s tarve th em to d eath I n this way the spiritual prin c iple

.

of eve r y man becomes hi s special R ed ee m er wh o by th e ,

tran sformation of character save s him from the e ffects of

hi s s in and b efore who se pure ligh t th e illusion s c reate d by
,

the lower a ttractions will melt like the s now u nder t h e

influence o f t h e sun .

E l emental form s being the servan ts of their creator — in

fact his own se l f— may be u sed by him fo r go od or fo r evil
,

purpo ses L ove s and hates may create subj e c tive forms
.

of beautiful or of horrid shape s and being in fuse d w it h , ,

consciou snes s ob tain life and may be sen t on some errand

, ,

for good or fo r evil Through them the magician may .

blend h i s own l ife and cons c i ou snes s with th e person h e

desire s to affect A lock of h air a piece of clo thing oi
.
, ,
'

some obj e c t that has bee n wo rn by th e pe rson h e de sires

to a ffec t may form a connecting link between h imself and
,

the latter The same obj ect may b e at t ained if that perso n
. s

i s pu t into po s se s s ion of an a rticle belonging to th e

ma gician because wherever a po r tion of anyth ing with
,
‘

wh ich t h e magician wa s c on ne c t ed exists th ere will a pa r t , i

of his ow n elemen ts exis t whi c h will fo r m a magnetic l ink

,

between h im and the pe rson wh om h e wishe s to a ffe c t If .

he has deve l oped h is as tral s en ses d is tance will no t p re ,

vent h im to observe the p e r so n with which he is connected ;

if h e can proj ec t h is astral form at a dis tance his form may ,

be pres en t with h is victim al th o u gh t h e latte r may no t be,

able to s ee i t .

The as tral image of a perso n may b e p roj ected con

sc iously o r uncon s c iously to a distance If h e intens ely .

thinks of a certain place his th ough t will be there and , ,

consequen t ly h e wil l be there fo r th e th ough t of a man i s ,

the mo s t important part of himself W h erever a man s .

’

conscio usnes s is there is the man him self n o matte r

, ,

whe ther h is physical body i s t h ere or not .

T h e h istory of spirit u alism and somnamb uh sm fu rnis h e s

9 6 A S TR A L P R 0 7E C T1 0 N .

ab u ndant evidence t h at a person may be con scio u sly a nd

knowingly in one place w h ile his phys ical b ody lie s dor ,

mant in anothe r F ranc isc us X ave r was thus seen in two

.

di fferent places at one and the same time L ikewis e .

A p olloniu s of Tyana and inn u merable others men tioned

,

in ancien t and modern history .

The E lemental s en t by a magician is an esse ntial part of

th e magician h im self and if the victim i s v u lnerable by
,

b eing mediumis tic— with othe r words by n o t having h is ,

ow n principles h eld toget h e r by the power of his reason

and will the latter may b e inj u red by the former B ut the
, .

former too if h is astral form be materialized to a certain

, ,

exten t even if no t su ffi ciently t o be visible to the eye may

, ,

be inj ured by physical force and as th e as tral fo rm re ,

en ters th e physical bo dy t h e latter will partake of the ,

*
inj uries inflicted upon the former .

The magician w h o by th e power of h is will h as obtained

,

control over the s emi in tel l igent force s of Nature can make
-
,

u se of the se forces fo r the purpo ses of good or evil The .

helples s medium th rough wh om manifes tation s of oc c u l t

,

power take place can ne ither ca u se nor contro l s u c h mani

,

fe stations H e canno t con trol the elementals b u t is

.
,

cont r olle d by them The elemen ts of h is body serve as

.

ins t rumen ts through which t h es e as t ral exis tences act aft e r ,

the Me d ium has s u rrendered his will and given up the

s u preme command over his soul H e s i ts passively an d .

waits for wh at th ese elemen tal s may b e pleas ed to do he

o

uncon scio u sly furnis h es t h em wi t h h is life and p owe r to

think and h i s t h ough ts and the t h oughts of tho se tha t are
,

presen t may become reflected in t h ese astral form s or may ,

enable them to manifest an intelligence of t h eir own .

A medi u m fo r spirit manifes tation s i s merely an instru

-

ment fo r th e manifes tation of invis ible fo rces over whic h

h e has n o control and the more medi u mis tic a person i s
, ,

th e les s w ill h e be liable to exerci se a will of his own .

The best o f s uch medium s have b een very unj us tly blamed
“ ”
fo r fo r a med ium which would not che at is as
unthinkable as a mirror that woul d n o t reflect t h e obj ects
be fore i t The thoughts of th e person s vis i t ing a Me d ium
.
,
”
and who are trying to find out h is impostu res are taken ,

up by th e Medium and reflec ted by him I t is therefore .

D e s M ousse au x: M oe ur s d e s d em ons . E nne m ose r : M agic .

98 GH OS TS .

m agic , w h ic h are still going many part s of t h e worl d

on in ,

al thoug h secretly and u nknown to the pol ice Thi s .

knowle d ge has al so u ndo u b tedly give n rise to t h e sacri fi ce

of animals in th e perfo rman ce of religio u s ceremon ies A .

certain executione r was u nfo rt u nately gifted wi th clair

voyance and afte r h aving decapitate d a person h e could
,
'

“
see the s piri ts of dead people — some time s eve n h is
fr iends an d relative s — po u nce u pon th e fres h spilled blood -

of the c r iminal and fee d on i ts emanation and aura

, He .

became s o disg u s ted t h at h e had to resign hi s po sition .

It is also a fact that at a time w h e n t h e bloo d drinking

,
-

mania in E u rope was s tarted by medical ignorance many ,

p eople who pra ctis ed it became insane an d o t h ers became .

demorali z ed by i t .

The as tral remnan t of man i s with o u t j u dgmen t an d

reason i t goes w h ereve r h is in stincts may at tract it or
, ,

w h ereve r any u nsatisfied craving may impel i t to go I f .

“
yo u wis h to be haun ted by th e g h os t of a man attrac t ,

h im by t h e powe r of love or h a te whic h yo u felt for th e

man L eave some p romise u nfu l filled wh ich yo u migh t
.

h ave fulfil l ed and in s tinc t ively th e astral form i of th e

,

deceased will b e a t tracted to y o u to s eek i ts fulfilment ,

drawn to you by i ts own u nsatisfied desire .

Such an as tral fo rm i s n ot necess arily in any way con

sc iously connec ted w ith th e real s p i r i t of t h at pe rson a s ,

will be clear to tho se w h o h ave s tudie d the doctrine s of th e

cons tit u tion of man I t may be me rely tha t combination of
.

h is lower p rin c iple o r h i s astral c orp se wh ich made u p th e

, ,

ani m al man B ut if the man was very brutis h h aving all

.
,

or nearly all h is conscio u snes s concen trated in to h i s

animal e lemen ts s u c h a remnan t m ay con s ti t u te all or
, ,

n early all there ever exis te d of t h at p erson excep t hi s

, ,

h ighe r reason wh ich may have fle d even before h is death

,
.

There are en d les s varieties ofcombination s ofci rcums tances

exis t ing on th e astral a s well as on the physical p lan e the re
i s n o pattern by w h ic h all case s can b e explaine d alike .

Thei r s tudy belongs to the depar tment o f N ec rom ancy .

I t is no t his fau l t if yo u do no t pe rceive h is presence an d

h ear h is voice i t is be c ause you r as tral s en se s are as leep
,

and unconscio u s ; yo u may feel h is p re sence and i t m ay

cause a feeling ofd e p re ssion in you r mind ; h e speaks to you
but in a l anguage thatyo u have notye t lea rn ed to u nderstan d .

I n t h ose ele men tary re mnants remain s tha t w h ic h con

 N E CR OM AN C Y .
99

s t i tu ted t h e lower nat u re of man and if t h ey are te mp or ,

arily infu sed with life they will manife st the lowe r charac
,

te ristic s of the deceas ed s u c h as have no t been s u fi ciently

,

refined to j oin h is immortal part I f a music box 1 5 set to

f .
-

play a ce rta i n melody and made to star t i t wi l l prod u ce t h at ,

same melody and n o o the r alth ough it has no conscio u sn e s s

,

of its ow n The remnan t of emotional and intellectual

.

powers in the astral remnant of man will if this remnant ,

is made to speak become manifes t in the same kind of

,

language which the man during h is life u sed to speak .

The fr e sh corpse of a person who h as suddenly been

killed may be galvani z ed into a semblance of life by the
,

application of a galvanic battery L ikewis e th e astral .

corps e of a perso n may be brough t back in to an artificial

li fe by b eing infused with a part of the life princip l e of the -

medium I f that c orp se is one of a very in t ellect u al

.

person it may talk very in tellect u ally and if i t was tha t

,

of a fo ol it will talk like a fool

,
The intellect u al action .

r esemble s mechanical mo tion in s o far that if it is once

s e t into a c tion i t will continue wit h o u t any continual e ffor t
of t h e wi l l u ntil it is exha u sted or come s t o a s top
,
We .

often see this in daily life There are old and yo u ng .

p eople freq u ently seen w h o are in th e h abi t of telling

some favori t e s tory whic h they h ave already told many
,

times and wh ich they repeat on eve ry oc assion I t may

w
.
,

be noticed that hen s uch an one begins to tell h is s tory

, ,

it is of no u se to tell h im that one knows it already He .

has to finish the s tory in spite of himself .

A n o rato r or a p reache r does n o t need to t h ink and

reason abo ut each word he u tters separately When th e .

s t r eam of ideas once flows i t flows with out any e ffo rt of ,

the will If ideas fl ow into the a s tral brain of a deceased

.

pe rson infu sed wi th life by the medi u m that b rain will

, ,

e l aborate th ose ideas 1 11 t h e same way it was accus tomed

to do during life .

We also r eason while we dream ; we draw logical con

e lusion s during our sleep but reason i s absent and ,

a l though w h ile we dre am o u r lo gic seems to be reason

, ,

able nevertheles s we ofte n see that it was foolish when

,

we awake and w h en our reaso n re t u rns or becomes ac tiv e ,

again .

The mental o rganism of man resembles a clockwork ,

whic h if i t i s once set i n to opera tion will contin u e to run
l oo E VI L A S S O C I A TI oNS .

u n til its force is ex h a u s ted ; b ut t h ere i s no clockw o rk

whi c h winds itself up wi th o u t e xtrane o u s a s s is tan ce and
there is no men tal organi s m able to t h ink with o u t a powe r
that ca u ses i t to begin the p roce s s of inte lle c tuation .

I n a depar ted so ul t h e attractio n of good and evil s till

contin u e s to act u n til t h e fi nal s ep arat ion of t h e hig h er
w
,

and the lo e r takes place I t may follo w th e attraction of

.

th e highe r p rinciple s i n na t u r e an d be attract ed to spirit ,

or it may again come into contact with m atte r t h ro u g h t h e

ins tr u mentality of med iumship take again par t in t h e
,

whirling dance of life al th o u gh by vica rio u s organ s follow

,

o nce more t h e s educt ion of the sen s e s and lose en tirely ,

s ight of t h e immo rtal self .

I t i s t h erefo re no t merely dangero us to a pe rson to h old

“
in terco u rs e wit h t h e sp iri t s of th e departed b u t it is
e specially inj u rio u s to the latte r as lo ng as th e fi nal
—
,

separa tion of t h eir lowe r p rinciple s fro m th e h igh e r one s

has no t yet take n place N ec rom ancy i s a vile ar t and so
.
,

h as th erefo re alway s be en ab h o rred I t may d is t u rb t h e

.

blis sful drea ms of the sleeping so u l wh ich aspire s to a ,

h ighe r s tate of exis ten ce I t is lik e ro ug h ly att a

. cki ng a
s aint d u ring h i s h ours of m ed i tation and to force h im to
,

take an in te rest in affairs of th e lowe r life w h ich can be of ,

no u se t o h im in h is e ffo rt s to ri se in to a s u perior s tate I t .

is a s te p toward s d egrada tion and as e very im p u lse h as

a tendency to rep e a t i tself th e m o s t terrible co nsequ e nce s
,

may follow afte r what seeme d to be a t fi rs t merely s ome

inno cent am u s ement .

T h es e as tral remnan ts may be u se d by t h e black magi

e ian and by t he elem en tal force s in nat u re for t h e p urpo se

of evil . If they ar e u ncon s cio u s they will only serve a s

,

the ins tr u men ts of t h e lat te r if t h ey are co nscio u s th e y

may e nte r in to an alliance and c o o p e rate wit h t h em
-
.

Su ch alliance eithe r con s cio u s ly or un co ns cio u sly on t h e

,

part of h im who enters into s u c h an unsp iritual inte r

co u rse m ay take place be tw ee n an evil dispo sed p erson -

and a very e vil inhabi tan t of t h e a s t ral p lane w

,

h ose w h ol e
con scio u snes s h as been conce n tr a ted w
,
o

ith m h l S lowe r
.

p rinciples We are convinced t ha t man y p e o p le w

.
h o are
in act u al po s se s sion of p owers to wo rk black magi c w ork
evil u n cons cio u sly ; t h a t i s to say t h at 1 f t h ey h ate a
pers on th ey are ofte n unconscio u s of t h e e ffe ct s w
,

,
h rc h
their h ate p rod u c e s u p on th e latter , and of th e mod e 1 1 1
 102 D E GR A D A TI 0 1 V .

t h o se upo n w h om al c o h ol h as sta m p e d s it sea l and i t do e s ,

n ot n eed the in u
'

sté
'

et ions g i ve n in bo oks on p h y s io gnom y

r
to en able al mos t a nybo d y to read the character of ce rta i n
r son s mor e o r le ss c orr ectly exp r e s se d 1 n the ir e x te rior
p e
I O I IY
"
( '

I SJ
C
c t c t t c I c

I n the p h ysical plan e th e iner tia of matte r i s gre ate r

t h an 1 n the a s t al p l ane and con se quen tly i ts c h a nge s are
,

slow A s tral matter is mo re act ive an d may c h a nge its

.
,

form more rapidly The as tral b o d y of a m a n whos e

.

character res emble s an ani mal may th ere fo re ap pear to

*
th e seer as an a nimal in it s ou t ward e xp re s sio n .

Th e a stral form of an evil p e rs o n may ap pea r i n an

animal shape if it is s o fi l led w i t h b ru ti s h in s tinc t s as to
become identified in h is imagina tio n w i t h t he ani m al
wh ich i s the expre s sion of s uch ins tin c ts I t may eve n .

enter th e fo rm ofan animal and o b s es s it an d i t s o m e t imes ,

h appens that it enters such form s fo r it s own p r o t e c tio n

aga i nst imme d iate d eco mpos i tion and d e ath .

I t wo u ld be u s e l es s to g i ve an e cdo te s ill u s trating ,

ins tance s in w h ich such th ings to ok pla c e

, Th e p rincipal .

obj e c t of the reade r sh oul d be to learn to kn ow t h e essen

tial c ons titution s of man by ob s erving th e co n dition s of ,

h is own b eing an d t h e law which reg u l a te s a l l fo1 ms of

m atter and fun c tions I f h e once u n d er s tan d s th e m ode s
.

in which th e lawmay ac t it wil l b e a ma t ter of litt l e im ,

po r tance to know in wha t par ticu lar cas e s i t m ay have

manifested itself in s u c h mo d es A cco u n ts of p h en ome na .

can n ever s u pply the plac e of the u n de r s tan di ng of th e

law .

P opular tradition s s peak of h uman b e ings h aving

as sume d the form of animals roaming ab o u t and i nj uri ng ,

men and ca ttle Mo d ern c ul t ure is pr on e t o pronounce

.

impos s ible every th ing tha t sh e can no t explain ; but th e

e xis te nce of s uc h fo rm s i s the o re ti c al ly not impos s ible ,

because a pe rs on may proj e c t his as t ra l elements at a

dis tance and make them appear in a m a terial form and ,

that form 1 5 n o t ne ces sarily h uman be cau s e m an z s wb at ,

b e t/z inbs and h is ext erio r shap e ma y a d ap t itself to t h e

,

tr u e charac ter by t h e pow er of his imag ina tion .

E . Swe d enborg H e ave n and H ell .

 C H A P TE R IV .

LI F E .

“ I neve r was not , nor sh al l I h e re aft er c ease to be .

TH E u niverse of forms may be compared to a kale i d oscop e

in which the vario u s fo rms of t h e o riginal en e rgy manifes t
themselves in an endles s varie ty appearing disappearin g , , ,

and re appearing again A s in a kaleido s co pe the piece s

-
.

of variously c o l ore d glass do n ot change their subs t ance

-
,

b ut only c hange their po s itions and th ro u gh the delusive , ,

reflection s of mirrors at each turn of t h e in st r ument are ,

made to appear in new cons tellation s and fi gu re s s o the ,

O ne L ife manifes ting itself appears in an in finite n u mber

“ “ ”
of form s and color s acting as matte r
, or force ,

u ncon scious or cons cious blind or in telligent voluntary or

, ,

i nvoluntary fro m the atom wh o s e a u ra s and ot h ers rush

, ,

th ro u gh a common invi s ibly b ut n evertheles s

sub s tan t ial up to the bla zing sun s wh os e pho tospheres
,

ex t en d over million s of miles and from the mi c roscopic ,

A m oeba whos e p r o toplas m man ife s ts o nly th e rudimen ts

,

of in s tinct u p t o pe rfect Man who s e in te lligence conquers

, ,

the g ods .

Fo rm s are i solated and materiali z ed thoug h ts If you .

can h o l d on to a th o ugh t and is ola t e i t fro m o th e rs yo u ,

ca l l in to exis tence a form If yo u can impart to that .

form you r con scious nes s yo u may make i t co nscious if

,

yo u can invest it wi th th e e l ement of mat ter you may ,

make it vis ib l e and tangib l e ; bu t fe wperson s a re able to

h o l d on to one single t ho u gh t e ven for on e sing l e m inute of
time be c au se their min d s are wave ring and flickeri ng ;
,

fe wcan tran sfer their con scio u sne ss beca u se t h ey canno t ,

B ab bitt P rinc ip l es of Ligh t and C ol or .

”
m4 UN I T Y O F E XP R E S S I ON

vol u ntarily forge t t h eir own s e lve s ; fe w can con trol th e

elemen t of earth becaus e i t i s t h eir mas te r and th e y are
, ,

attracte d by it The p ro to type s of all forms exis t in th e

.

A stral L iglz t which i s t h e U n iversal Sou l in which

,

resides the Universal M ind ; th e A b asa or U niversal

.
’

M atter be ing its mo re material s ub s tance I f a form .

c ome s into exis tence on th e p h ys ical plane its gro wth i s ,

s imply a proces s by w h i c h some th ing t h at alrea d y exi s t s

becomes visible and mate rial or to speak mo re correctly , , ,

a lower s tate of vib ration of the same e l emen t Th is s ome .

t h ing is the idea or characte r of the form an d as each ,

charac te r is a u ni ty s uch a charac ter will b e dis tin ct l y

,

expre s sed in all parts of the form A h uman b e ing for .

—

ins tance— will not have the body of a m an and the h ead of
a n animal bu t its h uman charac ter w ill be e xpre s s ed in a l l
,

i ts p arts and as th e character cons tituting humanity is

,

e xp res sed in all h u man individuals s o i s the c h aracter of ,

an individual e xpre ssed in all its parts Th i s i s a truth .

u pon w h ic h th e do c trin es of A strology P h r enology , ,

C hiroma ncy P hysiognomy e tc a r e bas ed which — if

, ,
.
,

righ tly unders too d — are no t only p ossi bly true b u t mu st be ,

nec essar ily and unavoid ably t r ue be c a u s e Nature is a ,

Unity . The nature of an an ima l a plant or a man is a , , ,

u nity and is t h erefore expressed in all th e par ts of eac h

,

respe c tive form I t can be s cien tifically d emons trate d tha t

.

each component part of an o rgan is m is a mi c rocos m in ,

wh ich are represented th e princip l e s compo s ing that

o rgan ism We may by examining a part of a leaf know
.

that i t comes from a plan t and by looking at an animal ,

s ub stance s ee that i t c ame from an animal or by t es ting ,

e ven the mo s t minute part of a mine ral or me tal know tha t

i t belongs to the mineral kingdom L ikewi se we may read .

a man s cha racter in h is hands o r face or fee t or i n an y

’

o the r part of h is body if we h ave ac qu i re d th e art h owto

,

read i t co rrectly .

The se th ings are known t o p h ys ical s cience B u t i f t h e .

powe r of i nterior pe rcep tion is once attained a s till greater ,

world of wonde rs l s opened b e fore the a stonished sigh t of

the s ee r ; h e will then per c eive tha t every par t of an
o rganis m bears the correct impre s sion of th e fo rm of th e
whole and u po n each pa r tic l e i s pho tographe d by th e
,

A stral L ig/i t the picture of the b ody to w h ich it belongs .

T h e s u ns and planets in space a s we ll a s all terre s tria l

106 P S YC H O I II E TR Y .

w h ic h t h e lette r was writ t en If t h is art wc re u n iver s all y

'

known and practised c r imin al s could be d e tected by

,

e xamining psyc h ometrically a piece of th e wal l the fl oo r , ,

or th e furni tu r e of the roo m in which a m ur d er o r robbery

was committed ; i t would make an en d to con victing of
i nnocen t pers ons on c ircums tantial evidence o r to le t t ing ,

the gui l ty escap e for wan t of p roof ; fo r the p sy c h ome te r

wo ul d , by the s uperior powers of h is pe r c ep t io n wi th t h e
s piritual eye see th e murdere r or robber or c o un t e r fei t er
,

a s plain as if he h ad seen them with h i s ex ternal e ye s whi l e

th e dee d wa s committed .

E ach form is the ex ternal exp res s ion of a certain

character whi c h i t represents an d a s such i t h as certain
,

pecu l iar att r ibute s which dis t inguish i t from o ther form s
, .

A cha nge of i ts character i s fo ll owe d by a gradual change

of the form . A n in d ivi d ual wh o be co m e s degraded in
mo ral s w i l l in the course of time sh o w h i s d e grada t ion in
, ,

h is e xternal appearance pe rs on s of a d i fferen t appearan c e

and di fferen t c h aracters may in th e c o u rs e of time as t h eir
, ,

characte r s h armonize res emble each o t he r to a certain

,

exten t in appearan c e Forms of li fe b el onging to th e

.
,

s ame class an d specie s re sembl e each o th er and eac h

, ,

nationa l ity has certain chara c te ri s ti c s ex pres sed in th e

indivi d uals belonging to it A fu l l bloo ded I rishman will
.
-

n o t easily be mistaken fo r a ful l bloo d ed Spa niar d alth ou gh

-
,

th e two may b e dres sed alike bu t if th e y bo t h emigrate to

,

A me rica th ei r ch i l dre n or grand c h ildren wi l l in time lose

the national character is t ics wh i c h th e ir ancestors pos
se ssed C hange of ch aracte r ch ange s the form ; b u t a
.

c hange of external fo r m d oes no t nece s sari l y change the

character A man may lo s e a leg an d become a cripple

.
,

and s till his characte r may remain th e same as before a

child may grow into a man and still h is c h ara c ter remain
,

t h at of a ch i l d unles s modifie d by edu c a t ion .

Th e se fac ts are incont rover t ib l e p r o ofs that th e character

of a bein g i s more essen tial than h is exte rnal form ; t h at
th e fo r m is i l lusive and t h at th e reality i s a prin ciple which
,

i s independen t of form I f th e characte r of an individual

.

were to depend on h is inherited fo rm chi l d r en born of the ,

same paren ts and educated unde r the same cir c u ms tances

woul d always mani fes t t h e s ame men tal c h arac te ris t ic bu t ,

i t is well kn o wn that th e characte r s of s u c h chi l dr en o ft en

d i ffer wi d e l y from each o t he r and th ey may po s se s s
,

c haracteristi c s which their parent s do n o t pos s ess .

 C H A R A C TE R . 10 7

If a s it freq u en tly h appens children show t h e same or

, ,

s imi l ar ta l ents and in telle c tual capaci ties as t h e ir paren ts ,

s u ch a fact i s by no means a proof that th e paren ts of the

chi l d s physical body are als o the parents or produce rs of
’

its inte l l ectual germ but it may be taken as an additional

evidence of the truth of the do c trine of re inc arnation ,

beca u se t h e spiritual mona d of the chi l d would be natur

ally a ttra c ted in its e fforts to reincarnate to the bo d ies of
, ,

pare nts whose mental and intel l e c tual cons titution would
,

correspond nearest to its own talents and inclinations ,

develope d during a previou s ear t h l y life .

Charac t ers may exist in d ependent of external condition s

the latter can on l y modify bu t no t c reate the former , , .

The bes t s oil will no t produce an oak tree u nle s s an acorn

is pre sen t and a C /z olera B ac c illus will no t p roduce
,

c holera where the p re d ispo si tion to tha t d isease d oes

not already exist Forms may fa c ilita t e th e developmen t
.

of c harac t e r but they d o not create it and person s that

, ,

appear in e very resp ec t alike may be of a very d i ffe rent

chara c te r .

H ow can we acco u nt fo r s u c h mo ral and intellectual

dis c repan c ies in forms that are me r ely alike as lon g as we ,

s hu t our eye s to th e tru t h th at tha t w h ich is es sential in a

,

being whe the r rational or i r rational is i ts c haracte r and

, , ,

that its form is only the extern al expres sion of th at internal

and invisible chara c te r wh ich may survive aft e r th e form
,

has c eased to exis t and a fter th e dis so l ution of t he form

,

finds its expres sion again in anothe r fo r m ! Forms d ie ,

but t hei r chara c t e r remain s un c hange d afte r their death ,

p r ese rve d in the A stral L ig/i t li k e th e tho ughts of man ,

s tored up in h is memory aft er th e eve nts tha t ca l led them

,

into existence have passed away A characte r does neithe r .

d ie nor change after i t ha s left the form bu t aft e r a time , ,

of res t in th e subj ective s tate i t will reimbody i tse l f agai n ,

in a ne wbo rn obj e c tive form to grow and change i ts

-
,

nature d u ring t he life of th e form Seen fro m this stand .

“
point ,
death is life because during the time that dea th
, ,

last s that w h ich is es sential in a fo rm doe s not c h ange ;

,

life i s dea t h becaus e o nly du r ing life in th e form th e char

,

a c ter is change d and old ten dencie s and inclination s die

,

and are replaced by others .

E ach form i s an incarna t ion of a certain character O ur .

passions and vices may d ie wh i l e we live if they s u rv ive

u s t h ey wi l l be bo rn again .
1 08 R E I N C A R N A TI 0 1 V .

Th e c h aracte r of an oak exists before t h e acorn begin s

to grow b u t the growing germ attracts from earth and ai r
,

s u c h e l ements as i t needs to produce an oak t h e charac te r

of a c hi l d exists a s su c h before the p h ys ical fo rm of the
chil d is born into th e worl d and attrac ts from th e spiritua l
,

atmosphere the eleme nts to which i ts as pi r ation s and

tendencies are attracted E ach see d will grow bes t in t he
.

s oil tha t is bes t adapte d to its co ns titu tion each hu m an ,

monad exis ting in the s u bj e c tive state wi l l b e a t trac t e d at

.

the time of its incarnatio n to paren ts who se qua l itie s m ay ,

furn ish th e bes t s oil fo r i ts own tenden cies and inclination s ,

and whos e moral and me ntal attrib u t e s may corre spon d to

its own The physical paren t s canno t b e t h e progeni t ors
.

of the sp iritual g erm of the child tha t ge r m is th e product

,

of a p reviou s spiritual evo lu tion th rou gh w h i c h i t has

,

p as sed in connection with former obj e c tive l ives In the .

p resen t exis te nce of a being th e charac t er of th e be ing that

will be its s u c ces sor is p repared .

The refo re every man may be t ruly s aid to be h is own

,

father ; fo r h e is the inca rn ated res u l t of the p ers onali t y

which h e evolved in h is las t life upo n th e plan et ; and t h e
n ex t per sonality whi c h h e will rep re s en t in his nex t visit
upon this globe i s evolved by h im during h is pres en t life .

Th e d evelopmen t of a plan t reache s its c l imax in th e

developmen t of th e s eed ; th e developm en t of th e a nimal
body reache s its climax in th e capaci ty to reproduce i ts
fo rm but th e inte l le c tual an d spiritual developme nt of a
,

man may go on long aft er h e h as acqu i red t h e power of

reproduction and i t may n o t h av e rea c h ed its climax wh e n
,

th e physical for m is on th e d own wa rd pa th and ceases to ,

live T h e condition of the phy sical b ody may u n d oubte d ly

.

furnish facilities fo r th e deve l opment of charac t e r i n the

same s en se as a good soil wi l l furn i s h facilities for the
growth of a tree ; b u t the b es t soil cann o t tra ns form a
this tle into a ro se bus h an d the son of a go o d and in tel
-
,

lect u al man may be a villain or a d u nce .

A s a p rimordial essence p roce eds to m am fe st 1 tse lf 1 n

forms i t descend s from t h e u nive r sal condi tion to ge neral
, ,

s pecial and finally in d ivid u al s tates A s 1 t a sc en d saga m

,
.

to the fo rmles s th e scale i s reve rs ed and t h e i n d i v i dual

, ,

nfo on th e
units expand to mingle again w ith t h e wh ole
, I t d c on .

low e s t p l anes manifests itself in an und iffe re nt1 a e

dition ; air h as no strictly define d shape ; one d ro p of
rro I N D I VI D UA L I T Y .

an individ u al for m is req u ired to b u ild u p an indiv id u al ,

form a character m u s t exis t .

If we wis h to pro du ce a fo rm we m u s t fi rs t decide u pon

its character A scu l p to r wh o wo ul d aim l es sly cut a stone
.
,

w itho u t making u p h is mind as to what fo rm he de sired to

produce wo u l d not accomplis h anything great The form
, .

1 5 a temple of learning fo r the charac te r in which t he ,

la t ter gains exp erience by pas sing th ro u gh t he s tr u ggles of

life Th e h arder th e s truggle th e faster may th e c haracte r
.

of the individual become developed ; an easy life may

increase the si z e of the fo rm but wi l l leave t he charac t e r ,

weak ; a h ard str u ggle may weake n th e form but will ,

s trengthen the s pirit Fo rms grow at th e expense of othe r

.

forms the growth of character induce s o the r characters to

,

grow Fo rms grow weak whe n th ey impart thei r own sub

.

s tance to others characters gro w s tr onger wh ile th ey

,

impart to o thers th e ir s trength Indivi d ua l s vam pyriz e .

ea c h o th er as long as they require m a ter ial fo r m s bu t a ,

charac t e r that has o nce bee n for med finds t he source of

its s treng t h within i t s elf I n the lowe s t p l ane where the
.
,

physical life imp ulse ac ts very slo w an i so l ated fo rm may

-
,

exis t for a co ns iderable time ; a s tone or a d iamo n d may

las t for age s beca u se th e consuming fire of l ife is n o t ve ry
,

active in them ; bu t in forms in wh ich life is very a c t ive ,

permanent i s olation i s no t compa tible w i t h the exis tence

of fo rm Th e higher we ri se in th e s cale of life on th e
.

p hysical plane the smal l er

,
grows th e po s s ibi l i ty of en dur
i ng i so l ation A n isolated scr u b pine may liv e su r r ounded
.

by snow and m e on an almo s t bare ro c k whe r e no h ighly ,

o rganized life can e xis t an d an animal li fe may live a ,

comparatively isolated exis tence i n a fo re s t whe re a man ,

wo u ld s oon starve to death L ife i n form s re qui r e s o th er .

fo rm s to feed upon characte rs are se l f existing they

,
-
,

require t h e contac t with othe r c h aracters only to try t heir

ow n st reng th and as they gro w and u s e their p o wer th ey
,

increase their own fo r t itu d e .

Th e a ttributes which cons titute c h aracter a r e fo rmles s

th ey may be expre ssed in a fo rm bu t afte r th e fo rm is ,

d is solved they ret u rn to th e fo r mles s again A b s trac t .

“
ideas such as good evi l wisdom p owe r love hope
, , , , , , ,
”
faith and ch arity e tc have no forms b u t t h ey may
,
.
, ,

charac t e r ize a l iving b eing and rende r it good o r b ad wi se ,

”
and powe rful e t c S t i l l s uc h qu ali tie s d o exis t e ven if
,
.
,
 SE L F I S H N E S S . I 1

t h ey are not manifes t in forms forms canno t create t h ei r

ow n at trib u tes b u t they are the expr es sions of principle s
,

whi c h exis t and which may or may no t become manife s te d

,

in forms .

The spiri t or c lz arac ter is th e originator of form t h e

, , ,

as tral forces of nature are the arch itects and the physical ,

p l an e of nature furnishes the material to render the form

s ubs tantial and to enable it to c ome in to con t act wi t h the
,

physical p lane Thought i s the great power by wh ic h

.

forms are called into existence The thoughts of a per son .

during life dete rmine the tendencie s of his s oul whi l e in

the s ubj ective state and t h es e tendencie s a t t ra c t o ther in
,

fl ue nc e s and bring him again into con tact with form An .

en t ity attracted by the i llu sion of self may fancy itself to

, ,

be s o mething dis tinc t and isolated from the unive rsal life ,

and look upon all o ther existen ce s as being d istinc t from

the whole From this illusion aris e innume rab l e o the r
.

illusion s From th e sense of self a r ise s th e love of self the

.
,

desire fo r the con tinuan ce of pe rs onal ity g ivi ng rise to ,

greed avarice e nvy j ealousy fear d oub t and sorrow

, , , , , ,

pain and death and to the whole range of emo tion s and
,

su fferings which frequen t ly rende r life miserable and

, ,

a fford n o permanen t happines s If a pers on i s miserabl e .

and can find no happine s s in himself th e surest and ,

quicke s t way fo r him to be con tented is to fo rget h is own

pe r sonality and to live in others by blending h is own
, ,

c on scio usne s s wi th that of so me o thers or all By feeling , .

wi t h o the rs he will forge t his own s e l f and for the time ,

being ce ase to experience the su ffe r ings p roduce d by the

i ll usion of s elf A pe rs on w h o lives in a s tate of iso l atio n
.

on the e motional p l ane will care for no thing else but fo r

h is own per sonality H e concentrate s al l his en ergies
.

in t o h imself and become s more and more in signifi cant

,

and spiri t ually s ma l l Gra d ual l y he will sink to lowe r

.

plane s of thought be coming— so to say— more and more

,

h eavy as his soul become s dense and if on c e the down

ward imp u lse is given and no t arr es te d he wi ll s ink lower
, ,

and lowe r u ntil his persona l ity a t the d ea th of t he form

, , ,

d isappears in the vortex and he ceas es to exis t a s a man in

h u man fo rm having already d uring life cease d to exist as
,

a man in a human character W h en his phys ical bo d y is .

”
d e c ayed and the magnetic body dispe r se d the remnan t ,

of his so ul e lements may s till con tinue to exist I ts move .

1 12 E M 0 TI O N S .

me nts will be g u ided by i ts co ntrolling em o tion s it will ,

no t go w h ither i t choose s fo r having n o inte lige nc e i t c an ,

make n o choice b u t it will go w h ith er i t is a ttrac te d by its

ins t incts un til i ts energie s are ex h a u s ted an d it ce ase s to
,

exis t as a for m .

Thus the animal elements of a man wh o was d u ri ng h i s

life a grea t dr u nkard may afte r his dea t h be a ttrac ted to
,

anothe r living drunkard and be draw n to a grog s h o p -

tho se of a le wd person s eek comfo rt in a b ro thel t h os e of ,

an avariciou s person stand guard o ver h i s b u ried treas u re s ,

etc e tc and all s uch remnant s may h ave a certain

.
, .

amoun t of con s ciousnes s and mem o ry left and may be ,

galvan ized back tempora rily in to a l iving s tate by comi ng

in contact w ith a medi u m Th u s en dl ess varieties of .

sp o o k s gb osts ,va m p i res i nc ub i s

,uc c ub i e tc m ay co
, m e , , .
,

into exis tence and th ere a re inn u m erable acco unts give n
,

in books on magic o cc u l tism and s pi ri t u alism to ill u s trate

, ,

s u ch facts .

A s on the p h y sical plane so on the as tral p lane is o lation , ,

p roduce s starvation A n e mo tion to be k ep t alive mus t

.

be fed by corre s p onding e mo tion s els e it will d evo u r its ,

po s sess or A p er son wh o lo ve s an oth er perso n or obj ect

.

in tensely and canno t gain th e obj ec t of h is desire mus t

, ,

trans fe r his love u p on s ome o th e r o bj ect or h e may perish ,

in the at t empt to sup p re s s it If the l o ve is tran s ferred to .

a highe r ideal i t will rende r man h appy if i t is tra ns ferred

to a lowe r one d is sa ti sfac tio n m ay be th e re sult Stored .

up anger w i l l find s ome o bj ect upo n wh ic h to spend i ts

fury else it may p rod u ce an exp lo sion des tr u ctive to it s
,
“
p osse s s or tranq u ility follow s a s torm Th e black .

magician wh o a tte mp ts to kill or inj u re anothe r pe rson

by th e inten s ity of h is hatred p roj e c ted towar d s tha t per ,

s on may be ki l led or inj ured by th e in ten si t y of th e fo rce

,

he has created and w h ich — if it i s not s u ffi c ien t l y s tro ng

,

to e ffect hi s obj ect — will reac t U p on h im s elf A ccumula te d .

energy canno t be ann ihilated it m u s t be trans ferre d to ,

o ther forms or b e t ran sformed into o th er m o des of motl on ;

,

i t cann o t remain fo reve r inactive and yet c ont1 nue to

exis t It is u s e l e s s to attempt to re sis t a pas s 1 on w
.

.
h lc h
we cannot control If i ts accumulating ene rgy is not le d
.

into othe r channels i t will grow u ntil it bec ome s s tro nge r
than wi l l and s tronger than rea son To con tro l 1 1 1 t .
,

sh o u ld be led i nto ano t h e r and h ig h er c h annel Th u s a .

1 14 LI F E TR A N S F E R .

tations of t h e O ne in Tli rc e b ut as su c h t h ey d o not ,

p o sses s any life of t h e i r own There s till rem ains t h

. e un
m anife sted O ne wh ich mu s t become active in the form if
,

the form i s to live T h e Thre e rendered alive t h rough th e

.

O ne prod u ce s the Fo u r and F our 1 5 t her e fore th e n umbe r

, ,

of perfection It represents the square by mean s of

.
,

which t h e U niverse is cons tr u cted and wh ich finds i ts ,

symbolic expre ssion in the life giving infl u ences mee ting -

from the fo u r c ardinal points N ort h So u t h E as t and , , ,

Wes t .

L ife is u niversally p res ent in nat u re i t is con tained in ,

eve ry parti c le of m atte r and only wh en the la s t particle of

,

life 1 s departed from a form the form cea se s to exist I t .

may remain for cen turies inactive i n a form but whe n i t ,

begins to manifes t i tsel f mo tion ap p ears i n th e form and

, ,

th e h igher t h e for m is d evelope d th e h ighe r may be the

activity of i ts life L ife in a s tone does not appea r to exis t
.
,

and ye t wi t h ou t life there would be n o coh es ion of its

a toms I f th e life principl e were extrac ted from a m inera l
.
-

its form would be annihi l ated A seed take n from t h e .

tomb of an E gyptian mummy began to ge rm ina te and

grow afte r i t was planted in the eart h h aving kep t its life ,

prin c iple d uring a s l eep of many cen t u ries I f the .

activity of animal life co u ld be co rresponding ly arres t ed ,

an ani mal o r a man might p rolong individual ex istence t o

an indefin ite pe riod Ston es may live from t h e beginni ng
.

of a Manvantara unto it s end ; s ome fo rm s reach a very

old age bu t if the life impuls e is once given it i s di fficult
,

if not impos sible — to arre s t it .

L ife may be t ran sfe rred from one form u po n an o the r ,

and t h e powe r by which i t may be tr an sfe rred i s th e powe r

of L ove becau se L ove W ill and L ife are es sen tially th e same
, ,

powe r or di fferen t as pects of one in t h e same sen s e a s h eat

, ,

and light ar e modifi ca tion s of motion Th e powe r of h ate .

may kill and th e power of love has been kn ow n to call th e

apparently dead back to life L ove is a re s to ration of .

life and h ealth more powerfu l than all t h e d rugs of th e

,

P harma c op oeia and i t is t h e uni versal p anac ea w h ich th e

,

tr ue phys ician applies .

Th u s the s u n i s con tinually tr ans ferring h is life h is will ,

and his l ove t o this globe witho ut losing anyth ing thereby .

There is no ac t u al lo s s b u t merely a se tting in mot io n of

vibration s of life and light in t h e body of our plane t by
 TI I E W I L L -C O R E . 1 1 5

th e central will fi re a t the cen tre of our sys te m t h e s u n

-
, .

The re a re thousands of people sick because the s un in ,

them is grown cold they cannot make u p t heir minds to

be well they canno t fo rm that fi r m resolution which is ,

ne c e e sary to s e t the will at their ow n centre into mo tion ,

so that its vibrations would induce life and health in a l l

parts of the ir sys tem Their d is ease is I nfi d elity They
. .

ar e fu l l of doub t un c ertain whether they ought to live or

,

to die and while we be moan their mise rable co ndition

, ,

they h ave n either the courage n o r the will to be well and ,

ins tead of curing themselve s th ey h ire a do c to r to amuse

,

them and to enable them to remain s ick .

E very d iseas e without any exception is in t h e firs t

, ,

i nstance caused directly o r in d i r ectly by a weak or

, ,

perverted will or a disor d e red imagina tion nor could it

be o therwise because man himse l f and the wo rl d whe rein
,

h e lives is a p roduct of wi l l and imagination and there is ,

n othing e l se but these two fac tors to act upon The more .

external the diseas e or the acci d ent is th e more remo te is ,

i t from thes e original cau se s b u t even an external

acciden t is due to a disharmony exis ting be twee n t he wil l
of subj ect and obj ect ei t h er conscious l y or un c onsciously
,

expres sed The origin of the maj ority of in t e rnal diseases

.

c an be traced to some emo tio n of the will o r to s ome in

harmon io u s thou ght to some irregular d e s ire or some s tate
,

of the mind conceive d e ithe r by the patien t himself or

, ,

impres se d upon him by ano ther .

A ll things and all s tates are exp res sion s of wi l l and

t h o u ght People ge t si c k because they uncons c ious l y
.
,

will to be s ick and this un c ons c iou s action of the wi l l i s

induced by the imagination I f being si c k were looke d
.

u pon a s a disgrace and punish e d by t he law t he r e would be ,

far les s sick people in the wo rl d The more the comforts .

for the s ick are increased th e mo r e will the re be peop l e

who n eed them Many a ma n who hi r es a physician for
.

h is family the reby in troduces the plague in t o his house .

With the issu ing of each d iploma that c reate s a ne wdoctor ,

a new h e rd of infec t ion for t he commu ni ty is c rea t ed ,

because the very sigh t of a doc to r make s one think of

d iseas e and may cause diseas e while there are thousands ,

of s ick persons t hat would be well to d ay if t hey had neve r

fo u nd it to b e convenien t to b e sick .

W h at th en is t h e use of our modern sys te m of qu ackery

1 16 TR A VE L S OF TI I E LI FE PR I N CI PLE .

and dosi ng with medicine be i t legally or illegally done , ,

if t he c ause of d isease is n o t in th e body bu t in th e will ,

and t he thought of th e patien t ? W h en w ill h umani t y arrive

at an unde r standing of t h e e te rnal tr u th that h e wh o looks ,

for redemption in e xternal things is doome d to disappo in t

men t while man s only tru e friend and rede emer is t h e
,
’

G od who m h e carries within h imself n or can any m an give ,

to anothe r the life the tr u t h or th e C hris t but i t is the life

, , ,

the ligh t and the tr u th itself givi ng its elf to a man

t h rough th e instr u me ntality of tho se that h ave been
regene rated in th e life and ligh t of t h e spirit of truth A .

physician or a preach e r h avi ng no faith in th e p owe r of ,

good and no se l f consciou snes s of th e p re sen ce of G od

,
-

within themselve s but are full of conce it in regard to their

,

ow n learning and intelle c tual ac c omplishmen t can c ure ,

neith er t h e ills of th e body no r th os e of the souls they ,

can only create i l lusion s and ac t upon th e imagin a tion of

th e patient b ut not infus e life in to h is will They are not
,
.

physician s b u t c l own s and reciters of s tories w h ic h they

,

themselves do not belie ve .

Th e tr u e li fe giving powe r r es ts in th e s o u rce . of a l l

-

“ ”
Good . I n h im is life and t h e life is t h e ligh t of m en
, .

T h r oug h its influence the elements compo sing lowe r form s

of exis tence are gradually raised in to h i gh er s ta tes I t is .

everywhere presen t an d manife s ts itself wh erever a form

,

is capable to re spond to it s vib ration s I t c anno t be .

found by v ivisection nor by ch emical analys is and modern ,

s c ientific books say nothi ng about i t y e t it i s an e l e m ent

in which and th rough which w e al l live and if i t were ,

wi thdrawn from us for a s ingle momen t we wo u ld be .

immediately anni h ila ted .

To be blind to th e existence of the u niver sal s o urc e of

a l l good is to b e blin d to the fa c t th at is appa ren t eve ry
,

wh ere that gras ses and trees animal s and men live and
, , ,

grow . Wit h ou t t h e powe r of life n o t hing living could

come in to existence Trul y th e ch ild r en s peak a grea t
.

“ ”
tr u th when t h ey s ay that God made th e gras s gro w ;
b u t the learne d wh o canno t conceive of anyth ing t h at
,

tran sce nds thei r sen s u al pe rception can no t r ise to the ,

su blime concep tion of a unive rsal s upreme and there fo re , ,

d ivine powe r O ur M aterialis tic ph iloso ph ers d e s ir e to

.

St J oh n i 4
. .
 1 1 8 E LI X I R OF L I FE .

is incarna ted in t h e acorn and forms the p oin t of a ttra e

,
~

tion fo r the unive rsal principle of li fe I t s charac te r is .

already formed and if i t grows it can become no thing els e

,

b u t an oak B u ried in the eart h i t m ay grow and d ev e l op

.

from a lowin to a h ighe r state th rough the influ ence of the

h ighe st becaus e th e principle of life is containe d in it
,
.

Bu t h oweve r great its potency fo r grow th may be s till it ,

c annot germinate wit h o u t the life giving infl uen c e of th e -

universal foun tain of life reaching i t through th e powe r of

the s un and the s u n could not make i t grow u n l e s s the
p rin c iple of life were c ontaine d in th e germ
,

Th e rays of the s u n pene trate fr om th eir airy region s to

the earth their ligh t canno t en ter the s olid e arth wh ic h p ro ,

te e ts the tende r s eed o r a plant from the fiery rays wh os e ,

a c tivity migh t des troy i ts inheren t vi tality Bu t th e see d .

i s t ouched by th e heat that ra d iates in to th e earth and a ,

s pecial mode of life manifes ts itself in th e seed This .

life is no t a ne wcreation but i t is T /z e A bsol ute becoming

,

manifest in a form The seed begin s to spr o u t and th e

.
,

ge r m s t ruggle s towards the s ource of the life givi ng -

influence an d s t r ives towards the light The roo ts have

, .

no des ire fo r lig h t they on l y crave fo r nutrim e nt !wh ic h

, ,

they find i n the da r k cave r n s of mat ter Th ey pene trat e .

d eeper into the earth and may even ab s orb the activity of
,

the highe r par ts of th e plant B u t if th e la tter belo ng s to

.

a spe c ies whos e c h aracter it is t o gro w towards th e lig h t,

its noble r p ortions will e n ter i ts sp h e re and may u lti mate ,

ly bear flowers and fruits .

Th e so ul of man being b u ried in ma tte r perceives ,

ins tinc tively the life giving infl u ence of the sup reme spirit
-

u al s un while a t the same time it i s attracted by matter

,
.

If man s w h ole attention is attracted to the claim s of his

’

body if all his aspiration s and d e si r e s are directe d to

,

sa tisfy the desire ofh is ma teria l form he will hims elf remain ,

a thing of ear th incapable to be c ome consciou s of th e

,

e xis ten ce of L i gh t B ut if he s trive s fo r L igh t and o pen s

.
,

h i s soul t o its divine infl u ence he will e nte r its sph e re and
,

be come conscious of i ts exis tence A time will a rrive .

w h en matter will los e i ts a ttraction s for h im and as t h e ,

o dor of th e flower can exis t after th e flowe r and the roo ts

from whic h the latter drew its n u trimen t have cease d to live ,

so will th e c h aracte r of tha t man e ven afte r h is p h ysi c al ,

body h as contin u ed to exist , conscio u sly su rv ive an d ,

 E LI XI R OF L I F E . 119

h aving followed t h e attrac tion of t h e immo rtal lawbecome ,

himse l f one with the law and b e rendered immortal

, .

Th e tr u e E l ix ir of l ife can only be found at the e ternal

fountain of life I t sp ring s fr om t h e seven th prin c ip l e
.
,

manifes ting itself as spirit u al power in the s ixth and shed

ding its light d own in t h e fifth illuminating the mind In
, .

the fift h i t i s manifes t as th e intellectual p owe r in man ,

ra d iating down in to the fo u rt h and con t rolling by th e

p ower of R eason the turbule n t elemen ts of the lat ter I n .

the four th it create s de sires cal l ing forth l ife and ins tin c ts
,

in th e lowe r triad and thereby enabling the fo rms to d r aw

,

the ele men ts whic h they need from the sto r eho use of
nature . I t fore ver calls m e n to life by the voice of truth ,

whose ech o is the power of intuition crying in the wi l d er

nes s of our hearts bapti z ing th e so u ls with the water of
,

h ope and p o i n ting out to them the true spirit which

coming to consciousness in their h ear t may baptize th e rri
, ,

with fire and kn owledge and in itiate t h em i nto the e ternal

,
l 1 fe
.
 C H A PT E R V .

H A R M ON Y .

Let no one e nt e r h ere wh o is not we ll versed in m ath em atic s

”—
m usic .P ythagoras .

“
To lis ten to the m u sic of t h e sp h e res is a poe tical
expre s sion bu t i t expre s ses a great truth ; beca u se the
,

U niverse is fi l led w ith harmony and a soul wh o is in

,

full harmony wi th th e s oul of the univers e may listen to

that music and und e srtand it Th e world as well as man
.

resemb l e mus ical ins trumen t s in which every s tring s h ould

,

be in perfect o rde r so that no dis c ordan t n otes may be

,

s ounded We may look u pon ma tte r on th e physical

.

p l ane as a state of lowvibration and upo n spirit as the

highe st vibration of life and be t ween th e two poles are
,

the in te rmediary p rinciple s cons titu ting the grand o c tave

ca ll ed M an .

A mo re ex ac t s tudy of the laws of h armony will undoubt

e d ly give u s a d e e per insi gh t in to the law s wh i c h gove rn
the functions of the principle s of which Natu r e and man
are composed Woman is th e image of Man repre senting
.
,

M an s beau t y and wi l l wh ile the male par t of humani ty

’
,

i s to re p r esen t rea son and s trength bu t nei ther can ,

c on tin u e t o exis t withou t the o the r and ne ither a male nor

,

a female being i s perfect O nly that being i s pe rfect in

.

w h i c h th e ma le and female elements ar e u ni t ed .

That wh ich saves t h e male portion s of mankind fro m

becoming brute s i s the remnants of t h e female principle
s till left in A dam w h e n E ve w
,
“
as c re ate d out of one of
1 22 KA R M A .

M an is a being and exists in t h e world having come ,

in to exis tence according to t he law of cau s e and e ffec t .

The form and qu ality of h is body depend on t he physical

condition s u nde r w h ic h h e wa s born t h e s ta t e of h is so u l
depe nds on the ast ral infl u ences t h at con ce ntra t ed their
power u pon h im in conseq u ence of h is a ffi nity ; his
character depends on the ca u se s crea ted du r i ng h i s
previous exis tence and the se cau se s c on s titu te h is Karm a
, ,

of wh ich h e h imself i s the c rea to r Man is h imsel f a

.

prod u ct of the law of ca u se and e ffect and in all d epart ,

ment s of nat u re the e ffe c t s p rod u ced are alway s in exact

p rop ortion to t h e ca u ses t h a t produced th em I f we knew . .

the caus es well we could ea sily calculate th eir e ffects

, .

E ach though t each w ord each ac t c reate s a ca u se wh ich

, , ,

acts dire ctly on the plane to wh ich it belo ngs crea t i ng ,

there ne wcau ses wh ich react again u pon the o t he r planes

,
*
.

A though t is a mental s tate t h at m ay be e xpressed in a

word and the word m ay be made e ffe ctive by an ac t A n
, .

act is t h e expre ssion ( the wo rd) of a tho ug h t E very fo rm .

in nat u re has a threefold c onst1 tution every symb ol a thre e ,

fol d mean ing every p erfect act is a trinity T o ,pe rform

, .

an ac tion three facto rs are n ecessary : th e actor th e act , ,

and the obj ect acted on To con s ti tut e a comp le te act

.

th ree facto rs again are req u ire d : the mo t ive the will and , ,

the pe rformance A mo tive or th ough t wh ich find s n o

.

exp res sion in an act will have no direct res u l t on th e phy

sic al plane bu t it may ca u s e g rea t e m o tion in th e sphere of
,

mind and the se may again react on th e physical plane

, .

The bes t intent ion will p roduce no vi sible e ffec t u nle ss it

is p u t in to exec u tio n b u t inten tion s produce certain me n
tal states that may be prod u ctive of action s at s ome time
,

in the fut ure The pe rfo rm ance of an act will h ave an

.

e ffect n o matter whet h er it wa s p rem edita ted or not b u t

, ,

an act witho u t a mo tive will no t di rectly a ffect the plane s

of tho u gh t Su c h an act i s t h e res u l t of insani t y and
.
,

impose s no moral res ponsib ility u p on th e pe rformer , b u t i t

will nevert h ele s s have its e ffects on t h e p h ys ical plane
, ,

that may react u pon t h e m ind .

P arac elsus e x p l ains h owth e m orb id im agination of man m ay c re at e

st at e s in th e m e nt al at m osp h e re w
hic h p oison th e imaginat ion of nat ure ,
and h ow b y a re ac t ion of th e U nive r sal S oul up on th e soul of m an,
ep id e m ic dise ase s c ome int o e xist ence .
 M I CR O C OS M O S A N D M A CR O C OS M OS . 1 23

From the ca u se s created on t h e p h y sical as tral and , ,

spirit u al plane s innumerable combination s of e ffects come

into exis tence creating new causes that are again followed
, ,

by e ffe c ts and every force that 1 5 p ut into ac ti on on eith er

,

plane c ontinues to ac t until it is exha u sted by transforma

tion s into other mo d es of action wh en its vibrations will ,

be changed to others an d t h e previous e ffects will ceas e

,

to exi s t .

I t is h ighl y in tere s ting to s t u dy t h e action s of the law of

cause and e ffect on the various planes of exis tence By .

t he th reefold action of that law a s t/z ougb t will and , , ,

p erf orm anc e on the phys ical

, emotiona l in tel l,ect u al and , ,

s pirit u a l p l anes a great many varie ties ens u e which give

,

r i se to endless modifications and varieties and agai n ,

produce inn u merable se c ondary caus es which again pro ,

d u ce e ffec ts Fo r in stance a go od ac t perfo r med on the

.
,
“

p hysical p l ane with an e vil th ought o r an evil act performed ,

wi t h a good motive or a goo d ac t with a good motive o r

, ,

an evil act with an evil tho u gh t p roduce s certain e ffe c t s ,

upon one plane while the motive a ffects ano ther plane and
, ,

th ey both react u pon higher plan es and the re res ults are ,

produced which react agai n u pon th e lower plane s and at ,

last the ac tions of the lawof Karm a will become s o com

plicated that i t is impo s sible to follow i t in to i ts de tai l s
'
,
.

N or is it ne ces sary that we should do s o ; for we shou l d

not do good as a matte r of speculation and for th e p urpose
of acq u iring good Karma ; but we sho uld do good ,

beca u se we love good on account of i ts goodne s s .

Man is not a being whose existence is separated from

nature bu t an integral par t thereof Heat and co l d
, .
,

sunshine and s torms on t he physical plane a ffec t h is ,

bod y the elemen t al forces of nat u re ac t upon h is soul and

, ,

the influence of the universal spiri t radiates to his centre .

L ikewise man reacts upon the whole By his physica l .

labor he changes the face of th e E arth ac ti ng sometime s ,

as a creator and at othe r time s as a de s troyer of fo r ms ;

his emotions produce currents in the soul of the world that
give rise to ne wcause s in the invisi ble realm which again ,

react u pon the phys ical plane Hi s imaginatio n may .

create tho u gh t ge r m s that may in the co u rse of time find

-
,

expres sion in physical forms h is pas sions may give rise to ,

*
epidemic diseases h is collec tive and acc u m u lative
,

P arac e l sus : D e O rigine M orborum I nvisibilium .

l D I S H A R I 11 ON I E S .

e ne rg1 e slead to conv u ls ion s in nat u re and if h armo ny ,

i s re stored in t h e u niversa l M an , nat u re will be re s tored to

harm ony .

The discords in na ture are p roduced by impe r fec t man .

Having tas te d of the tre e of knowledge h e h as learne d to ,

oppose h is i ndividual will to the o rder existing in na ture ,

and he will con tinue to s u ffer the con s e qu ences of h i s sin s

until h e recogn i z es th e s up erio ri ty of t h e A ll to that of the
individual and u nitin g h is wil l with th at of th e w h ole end s
, ,

the conflict of separate interes ts and the reby res tores t h e ,

u nity and harmony of th e whole .

O riginally e ternal n at u re was an h arm onio u s w h ole in ,

whi c h discords were cr eated by a separa tion of in tere st s

among i ts cons tituen ts and an opp o s ition of thei r individ u al
wills to th e wi l l of the wh ole I n t h e beginning the .

universal wi l l radia t ing fro m the centre beca m e — so to

, ,

say— r eversed in t h e ac tion of its surface rays and t h ere ,

by th e sphere of illu sion s came into exi stence at th e

periphery sphe re rep resen ting th e visible wo rld B u t at .

the centre the re s ti l l exist s t h e immeas u rab l e power of th e

u niform law wh e re ligh t pen etrate s t h rough t h e clo u ds tha t
,

s u rro u nd the s p iritual s u n These clo u d s con stit u te the

.

worl d of illusions and the action of th i s law can b e pe r

,

c e ive d in every form of activity in all departmen ts of

nature .

“
Plato w ro te ove r t h e doo r of h is academy : L e t no
one enter here u nles s he i s well ve rsed in ma t h ematics
and Pythagoras deman d ed the a d d itional knowle d ge of
music They mean t t o say that he wh o wis h es to investi
.

gate the h id d en mys te r ie s of nat u re mu s t be able to draw

logical con c lusions fro m his observa tion s and att u ne hi s
soul to the di vin e h armonies of th e u n ivers e .

Nature is s till a U nity and every par t of it s tands in a

,

certain definite relation t o th e w h ole ; n o t hing i s left to

chance E verything h as its n u mber measure and weigh t
.
, , ,

and there is nothing in nat u re w h ich i s n o t r u led by

mathematical law s Sun s and s tars have their periodical
.

revolution s Th e molec u les of bodie s comb in e in cer t ain

.

propor t ions known to chemis try and in all events on the

, ,

physical plane a s well as in the realm of t h e e motions a

ce rtain regularity and perio d icity has been obse rved .

There are regular ho u rs for the appearance of day an d

night , fi xe d in tervals for sprin g and s u mmer a u t u mn and ,
1 26 S E VE I V .

c ove rie s I ts action s h ave long ago been kn ow n to exist

.

in t h e vibra tion s prod u cing light and so u nd a nd it has ,

recently bee n recogni z ed in che mis try * by e x pe riments

tending to prove t h at all so called s imple elem e n ts a r e only
-

various s tate s of vibra tions of one p rimo rd ial elemen t ,

manifes ting itself in seven principal modes of action eac h ,

of whi c h may b e s u b divided in to s even again -

T h e d i ffer .

ence which e xists be tween so called single s u b stances -

appears t h erefore to be no di ffe re nce of s ub stance or

, ,

mat ter b u t only a d i fference of th e fu n c tion of matte r or

,

i n t h e ra tio of i ts atomic vibration .

The occ u ltis ts of all age s have look ed u pon t h e Seven

a s being a sacred number The religio u s b oo ks of th e .

E as t speak of seven emanation s of P arab rah m ; and ther e

is a s u ffi cient n umber of pas sage s in th e Ap oc alyp se and in
othe r parts of the Bible t o m ake it appear th a t t he relation
wh ich this mysterio u s n umbe r bea rs t o the co n s truc tion of
the un ive rs e has not e scaped the at ten tion of th e C h ris tian
Fathers .

The ancient p h ilo soph ers belie ved t h at t h ere were seven
planets i n our s olar sys tem and mode rn scien t ists bas e ,

their claims of t h eir s u per i o rity o ver th e an cien t astrono

mers u pon th e fact that they h ave dis co vered more plane ts
and asteroids than were known in ancien t tim es .

E ternal tr u th s w h ich are cogni z able to the s pirit u al per

c e p tion of t h e illuminated of to d ay mu s t be the same t hat
were see n by seers t h o u sand s of y ears ago be cause s u c h ,

tru ths do not change ne i the r can a tr u e s piri t u al perception

,

make any mis takes I t is therefore p roba ble t h at if t h e

.
, ,

exote ric doctrines of t h e ancie n ts s poke of seven p l a ne ts ,

the es oteric meaning was th a t t h ere ex is ted six pl anetary

sphere s which incl u ding the ce n tral s p h e re p rod u ce s even
, , , .

A ccording to the prevailing opi nion in regar d to t h e nebular

theory our plane ta ry sys t e m h as b ee n e volve d from the
,

original s u bs t ance (fi re mis t ) th at co n s tit u ted t h e body of

the s un forming an i mmen se s ph e re e x tending beyond th e
, ,

orbit of Nep tune I f we i mag i ne in a s phe re a ce n trifugal

.

force radiating from the cen tre to wards the p eriph ery and ,

a centripe tal fo rce ac ting towa r d s th e cen tre t h e re will be ,

a po int be twe en t h e ce n tre and th e perip h e ry w h ere th e

L B
. . H e lle nb ac h :
“ D ie M agie d er Zah le m .
 7 H E P L A N E YS . 1 27

w opposing forces mee t

t o that point t h eir s traight
. At
motion s wi l l eithe r coun terac t ea c h ot h e r and there will b e
a s tand s till or— what is more probable— t he radial force
-
,

will be broken and transformed int o a revolving motion

a ro u n d a ne wcentre forme d at the place of contact In .

s u ch a cas e th ere wo u ld be no t les s than six bodie s to

enclo s e t he seventh on all side s .

B u t as to the numbe r of corporeal plane tary bodies ,

visible on the sky this is a matte r belonging to the

,

inves tigation of mundan e as tronomy O ccul t s c ience .

deals with principle s the u ltimate o u tcome of the expre s

sion s of these principles in corporeal fo rms is a matte r of
secondary importance .

Th e n u mber Seven r epre sents the sc ale of nature it is ,

represen ted in all departmen t s of natu re fro m the radian t ,

sun whos e ligh t is broken by a dewdrop into t h e seven

,

c olors of t h e ra inbow down to th e snowflake crystali z ing

,

in six pointed s tars around t h e invisible cen t re

-
Th e law .

of seven has bee n fo u nd to r u le in the developmen t and

g rowth of vegetable and animal organisms in the cons ti ,

tution of th e U niverse and in the cons tit u tion of Man

, .

Se ven is t h e rule by w h ic h the to tality of existence i s

m eas u red bu t F ive is the n u mbe r of H ar mony
,
If the .

fi fth note in the m u sical scale is in accord with t h e firs t

and the t h ird h ar mon y will be th e result
, There are .

o the r acco rds w h ic h are h armonious bu t the mos t perfec t ,

acco r d is caused by the harmony of the fi rs t the third and , ,

the fift h Th e so u nds may be harmonious b u t to a ttain a

.
,

perfec t accord a third one is required The same law .

rules in the cons tit u tion of Man If h is body (his fi rst .

principle ) i s in accord with h is ins tincts (the third ) he

.

may experience pleasant s en sations bu t fu ll harmony and ,

h appiness is only attained when his fift h principle (hi s

intelligence ) fu lly assen ts in the union of the fi rs t and the
t h ird O ther para l lels ma y be d r awn between the mu sical
.

scale and t h e scale of princip l es in m an and it will be ,

found that both h ave the ir acco r ds in m oll and in d ur that

’
corre spond to each o ther E ach man s life is a symphony
.
,

in vh ic h eit h er h armonio u s or dis cor d an t t unes may pre

va1
.

y
The powe r by which h arm ony is produced is the powe r
of L ove L ove produces harmony h ate causes discord
.
, .

L ove is th e tenden c y of t h e d isunited part s of one .

1 28 L O VE .

p rinciple to u nite again in to one T h is tendency p re .

suppos es the power of mu t u al recogni tion recognition is ,

a manifestation of con sciou sne ss con scious ne ss is a man i ,

fe station of life L ife L ove C on sciousn es s H armony are

.
, , , ,

e s sen tial l y one th e opposite of which is d iscord and d eath

, .

Why do s ome no t e s if s ounde d toge ther p ro d uce h armony

, , ,

if no t on account of t h e similarity of the e lemen t s th at

compose them c oming to the con s cio u snes s of our own
mind ? M utual re c ogni t ion among friend s ca u s es j oy and ,

j oy mean s harmony happiness and content , ,

I f two or mor e no t es of exactly th e same kind are

.

s o u nded togethe r th ey produce n ei ther harmony nor d is

,

co rd t h ey simp l y increa se their own s trength They are

, .

already one and no relation exis ts be t ween them ; bu t if

,

di fferen t n otes a r e s tru c k each con t aining an elemen t c on ,

taine d in the oth er ea c h sees i ts ow n co u nterpart re p re

,

s en ted in th e mirror h eld by th e o the r and this recogni t ion ,

is j oy If we listen to beautifu l music the air seems fi l led

.

w ith life If the principle of harmony exis t s wi t h in our

.

selves we may recogn ize i t in t h e mu sic and i t becomes ,

alive i n our s oul A discor d an t bei ng may lis t e nto the

.

mos t b eau tiful m u sic and b e left col d beca u se there 1 5 no ,

harmony within his own s o u l .

If a principle become s con sciou s of its own e x1 ste nc e

in anothe r form and recognizes it s beau ty in tha t fo rm in
,

its p u rity and u n al loye d by any adul te ra t ion pe rfect har

, ,

mony i s the res u l t If two or mo re things contain the .

same elemen t these ele men ts are j us tly a d ap t e d to each

,

o ther and seek to u ni te becaus e they are cons tituted alike

, ,

they vibrate toge ther as one This ten d ency to unite .

create s L ove which manifest s itself on all planes of exis t

,

ence The planets ar e a ttrac ted to the sun and to each

.

o ther because they all contain t h e same e l emen t s seekin g

, ,

to reunite and the powe r of gravitation i s no t hin g el se

,

b u t the p ower of love Man is a tt r a c t ed to woman and

w
.

oman to man becau se t h ey pe rceive in ea c h o ther t h e

,

elemen t s of their own h ighe s t ideal and t he m ore their ,

commo n i d eal becomes manifes t in e ac h th e more will ,

they love each other and be fully con ten ted M an and .

woman can only truly love each o ther if they are bo th

either con sciously o r unconsciou sly a ttracted by th e same
ideal This ideal may be high o r low but th e higher i t is
.
,

the more permanent will it be and the g rea te r will be t h ei r ,

mu t u al hap p ines s .
1 3 0 A T TR A C T] O N .

cannot ill u minate itself b u t it ill u minates t h e d arkness and

, ,

consequently th e exis ten ce of l igh t d epends on the exist

en c e of matte r L ove witho u t an obj e c t cannot exis t
.

relati vely A person in lo ve with himse l f loves n othing

. .

L ove attac h ed to no thing exis ts in the A bsolute

, A love , .

being a ttached to a hi gh obj ec t is h igh and if it i s a ttached ,

t o a low obj e ct it is low as life in a low form i s low and , ,

in a high form h igh be caus e love and life and h armony , ,

are the function s and attrib u te s of one and t he same

principle in nat u re t h ey are only di fferent aspects of one
,

u nive r sal powe r Where love exis ts there is l ife and no

.
,

li fe can e nd u re witho u t love and the more th e love expand s ,

o ver all the more will the living sp iri t ual power of man
,

extend The mo re love is concentrated u pon a singl e

.

obj ect the s tronge r will i t be in that direction and infus e

,

love and life in that obj ect and t h e mo re it i s divided ,

among di fferent obj ects t h e more will i ts pow er be dis ,

p e rse d
t o be s trong mu st be p u re and unalloy e d wit h
.

L ove , ,

selfish c ons ide rations I f we love a thing on account of

.

the us e we can make of i t we do no t in reality l ove th at ,

thing but ourselves Pure lo ve h as only the well being of

, .
-

i ts obj ect in view it does n ot calculate p rofi t s and i s not

, ,

afrai d of d isadvantage s tha t may gro w out of i ts love The .

in t el l ect c alculate s bu t love follow s th e law of attra c tio n

,
.

Imp u re love is no love at all i t is merely a ttraction I t ,

.

i s weak an d doe s not e nter into i t s obj ect ; i t m ay cause a

,

ruffle on the s oul of ano ther b u t d oes n ot pene trate to the ,

ce ntre P u re love pene trate s and cann o t be resisted

.
,

u nles s i t i s oppo se d by ano ther love of eq u al s tre ng t h b u t ,

s treaming in anoth e r dire c tion T h e mos t po ten t love .

poti on a pe rs on can give to ano ther is to love t ha t pers on

with out any s elfish obj ect in view Su ch p u re love w ill .

infuse i t s elf in to th e s oul of th e bel oved and ca l l fort h

correspon d ing vibration s of love becau se one mode of ,

activity gives ris e to simila r modes acco rd ing to the uni ,

versal lawof induction .

This is undo ubted l y true p rovided t h a t t h e lo ve germ s ,

-

in th e soul of the be l oved co rrespo nd in q u ali t y to tho s e

‘

of th e lover and are reach ed by th e lat ter Th e s t r o nge s t .

s u n shine cann ot ca u s e any plan ts to grow in a so il in

which th e seeds of th e lat t e r are too d eeply imb edded to
be reached by t h e h e at of the s u n or to o m u c h ob s t r u c te d ,
 L 0 VB CH A R M S . 1 3 1

by weeds to grow L ikewise the h eart is t h e soil w h ere

.

psychic germs of all kinds are imbedded ready to u nfold , ,

if accessible to the magic powe r of love

, .

If yo u wish to p rogres s on the road to perfection take ,

le s son s in love L earn to love th e highes t and y o u will

.
,

be attracted by it See k in eve ry man those qualities

.

which appear to be high and cover his mis t akes by c hari t y ,

and love If you spe ak i l l of anoth er yo u speak i l l of

.

yo u rself because he who prominently notice s the fau l ts

,

of ano ther m u s t h ave the e l emen t s of those fau l ts 1 n him

self A vain person is repulse d by the vanity of another
.
,

a liar expects from o thers the truth a t hief doe s no t wish ,

to have his own property taken away V irtue s at tra c t .

each o ther produ c ing harmony but vices repulse ea c h

, ,

other and d is c or d 1 s the res u lt

,
.

E ach man is a mirro r in which every other man may

“

see his own image reflec te d ei t her as he is or as h e may ,

become in the fu t ure for in e very human so ul exis t th e ,

same elemen ts a l thou gh in di ffe rent state s of d evelopment

, ,

and their d evelopment often d epen d s on ex ternal condition s

ove r which man has b ut l i t tl e con trol .

A n emo tion suppre ssed and fo r c ed back on itself may

become dis eased and its direc t ion perverted A love .

which is neithe r t r an sformed nor fu l fil l e d but harbore d in ,

the h ear t c reate s phan toms and ha l lucina t ion s j us t as

,

stagnan t water d evelops anima l life A love for a high .

ideal which instead of reaching up to the sphere of t hat

, ,

ideal seeks for it in l owe r spheres wi l l languish and s t arve

, ,

or b e a ttracted t o lower i d eals bu t if l ove mee ts its c or ,

responding love harmony wi l l be the resu lt,

.

L ove is the mos t ne c es sary elemen t for the con tinuance

of li fe there i s no life wi thout love and if man were to ,

ceas e to love li fe he woul d cease to live A love for a .

h igher l ife will lead men to a highe r c on d ition a love for a ,

lowe r state will drag them down t o a low I t oft en h appens .

that if a pers on s l ove fo r a high ideal d oe s n ot mee t t he

’

obj ec t whi c h i t desire s it trans fers its love upon some t hin g
,

that is low O ld females without any o ffspring o ft en tran s

.

fer their parenta l affection upon some favo r ite c at or

d og and th e r e are men w
,
h o bu y the se mb l an c e of love
when no genuine love can be h ad .

Whenever a lower vibration is no t entire l y ou t ofh armony

with a h igher one the higher vibration may accelerate t h e
,
 1 3 2 I N D U C TI ON .

ac t ion of the lowe r one and bring i t up to its own le vel in

’

y
,

the same manne r as a bar of rron s u rro u n ded b an ,

ins ulated electric wire may have ele ctr ici ty ind u ced m it , ,

and through a long con t inued and pow erfu l ac t ion of t he

-

high e r vibrations upon th e lower ones even the involun tary

ac t i ons of the body such a s the movemen ts of t h e hear t
,

may becom e s ubj e c t t o in d ividual will T wo s trings of a

,

m usical in strumen t wh ich s ound not entirely out of h ar

mony may by being sounded toge ther for a certain len gth
, ,

of t i me a t las t become harmonio us ; a man living m mo re

,

refined socie ty wh ich is not to o far above h is moral o r

,

in tel l e c tual level will be c ome mo r e refined s ervan t s wi ll

, ,

ape their mas ters and anima l s take s ome of the lowe r
,

c haracteris ti c s of thos e that atten d to them and friends ,

’
or married c ouples be ing con t inually in each other s c om
pany may finally resemb l e each o ther to a ce rtain exten t .

If the re spe c tive rate s of t he vibration s of t wo subs t ance s

are entirely out of harmo ny they may rep el each o the r , ,

and abno rmal activity or e xci t emen t follows The anima l .

body for ins t ance can be expo sed with ou t d a nge r to a

, ,

comparatively high d egre e of hea t if th e temperature is ,

g ra d ually raised w h i l e an e ven lower degree o f he at may

be very inj uriou s if applied s uddenly I t i s no t fo r fan c ied .

reason s that th e o c cu lt is t abs tain s from A lcoho l and from

anima l food T h e elemen ts of su c h sub stances are in a hi gh
.

s t ate of a c t ivi ty and by coming in to con tac t wi th th e

,

elemen ts of t he blood they s timulate th em an d th row t h em

,

into an abno r ma l s tate of vibra t ion giving rise to emotions ,

on the ast r al plane wh i c h may in their turn a f , fect the

h igher principle s in man in an undesi rable manne r The .

same is t he case wi th o ther s ub stances wh os e odic emana ,

t ions are red while th ose emi tting blue auras a re of a

,

d ifferent charac t e r ; bu t e ven th e highes t elements draw

t heir no urishmen t indi re c t ly from the lowe st ones and th e ,
“
old sa ying that a sound mind need s a so u nd body to
d evelop in is not a me re fic tion ; becau se al th ough a ,

sound b rain ( the in strumen t of the M ind ) may exis t i n an

inva l id body s till robust h ealt h 1 5 never t heless u seful and
,

d e si r able and it is importan t fo r the developm en t of occu l t

, ,

powe rs to sele ct p ro pe r food and fol l ow s u c h laws of

,

Hygiene as the in d ividual may re quire .

“ ’
What may be one man s food wi l l b e anothe r man s ,
’

poison in the sphere of matte r a s well a s in the sp h e re

1 34 I N F E C TI ON S .

W h ereve r two forces of an en tirely oppo site c h aracte r

meet dis h armony will be t h e re s u lt an d as everybody h as
, ,

h is own peculiar emana t ion s and a u ras and tra nsmit s t h em

to others s o eve ryone receiv es t h e magn e tic a u ras of oth e rs
,

or of the locality by wh ic h h e is s u r ro unded and t h ese ,

emanations may be e ither w h ole s o me or pes ti ferous me n

and wome n may eith e r c u re or p oi son eac h o ther by th e m ,

and i t may therefo re be w ell to follow t h e advice wh i c h

Gautama B u ddha gave to h is disc iples and eat and sl e e p ,

alone .

M any pe ople a re very careful to h ave t h e ir food well

prepared so that n o u n h ealt h y fo od en ters th e body
,

w h ile at the same time th ey are v ery care les s a s to what

emo tion s enter their min d ; bec au s e t h ey fail to realize
that purity of t h e emo tion s is as nece s sary as purity of th e
body .

A s trong force over comes a weak fo rce and a s tro nge r ,

emotion may render a w eake r one inactive If th e s t ro ng .

emotion i s high it ele vates th e lo wer if t h e lower one is

, ,

the stronges t degradation i s the result

, Ca utio usnes s .

may keep combativene ss in check or m ake m an a co ward

bu t wi th o u t c au tio u snes s c omba tiv enes s will fl y off at a
tangen t and rash ness and d isas te r may be th e re sult
,
'

Th e h igher e mo tions ev olute from t h e lower o nes and ,

by th e co ntrol of r eason vices grow in to virt u e s In t e ns e .

love of self may expand in t o l o ve of wife and frien d s or ,

widen s ti l l mo re into a lo ve of co u n try or a love of h um an

ity The more i t expand s t h e more i t becomes refine d
. .

No thing in the u nive r se can be anni h ila t ed only t h e ,

fo rm can be c hanged A n emo t ion cann o t be ki l l e d bu t

.
,

it can be e d u cated up to a h i gh er level .

Purely s ex u al instinct may b e tran sfo rm ed into a pure

love of an eleva te d charac te r by a s s ocia ti ng wi th a per son
of th e other s ex w h o i s of a h ig h ly m o ral and in t e ll e ct ual
,

na tu re ; b r u tal combativene s s may b e p u r ified by leadi ng

i t into an in t ellec tual channel w h ere t h e pen wi ll take t h e
,

place of a cu d gel acquisitivenes s may be e l evated into a

craving fo r know l edge and destr uctiven e s s in to a d esir e
,

fo r the d es truction of e rro r .

I t h as been s aid th at our vice s are t h e ladder on wh ic h

we may climb up to heaven and this is u ndo u b t e d ly t rue
, ,

be c aus e the on l y e ffective virtue wh ich man can p o s s e s s is

energ y an d ,if we employ ou r energies fo r good in s te ad of
 USE O F T H E P A SSI O NS . 1 35

evil we turn o u r vice into virtue b u t he wh o possesse s no

,

energy is equal l y u seles s for goo d as he is for evil .

There c an be nothing absolu tely wrong in employing

the nat u ral in s tinct s and emo tions in a nat u ral and legiti
mate manner ; the question is only whe ther suc h an em
ployment wi l l be u seful for the purpose we have in vie w.

I f we have a sum of money a t our d ispo sal we h ave a righ t ,

to spend i t for pleasure ; o r to buy some thing useful or to ,

th r ow it away I n the same manne r we may spen d o u r

.

phys i c al for c es our vi t al energies o r o ur emo tions for the

, , ,

pursuit of use ful pleasure s or fo r the purpo se of our higher

evolution ; bu t as we cannot expend the same sum of
money again a fter i t is once spent so the sum of energie s ,

expende d for a low p u rpo se will be los t fo r the h igher

obj ect in view . I f a person has no hi gh e r obj ect i n view
than to eat and drink sleep and propagate his spe c ies h e
, ,

may be th ereby rende red perfec t l y h appy and if he fol ,

lows t he d ic t ate s of h is nature there can be not h ing wrong ,

but he wh o desi r es to assis t the slow proces s of na tu r e in

developing h imself into an immortal being mus t t ake c are ,

not to waste his s tre ngth on lower attractions and in th e

cours e of time the energie s wh ich produced t h e lower
emo tions wi l l develop in t o no t les s s t r ong bu t higher
emo tions 3 the whole of t h e lower ac tivity will be trans
forme d in to a highe r one .

O nly that which is pure can be harmonio u s .

Sing l eness of purpose renders a motive pure b u t a varie ty .

,

of purpo ses c aus es impurity If a pe r son de votes himse l f

.

to a c er t ain mode of li fe because all his desires are dire c ted

,

t owa r d s that e nd his motive will be p u re ; but if h e has

,

be sides o ther obj ec t s in view h is motive will be imp u re .

,

and may d e feat his aim .

T h e wo r d “
asc etz c z sm
'

is con tin u ally misapplied

’

. A
man who lives in a convent or as an he rmit in the wilde r ,
“
nes s is no t an as c e tic if h e has no des ire fo r a life in
, ,
”

the world for i t is no act of self denial to avoid t h at w h ich -

we d o not wan t “
. A sce t icism means d isc ip line and a ”
,

person wh o is d isguste d with the w ays of the world u nder

goe s a much more s eve r e discip l ine if he remains in the ,

worl d than if he runs awa y and goes where he may enj oy

, ,

his peace The real asc etic is there fore he wh o live s in the
.

mi d s t of the s ociety who se manne rs displease h im and ,

whose tastes are not h is own and wh o in spite of all t h e , ,

y
tem ptation s b w h ic h he may be s u rro u nded s till maintain s ,
1 36 A SC E 7 1 0 1 5 111 .

his in tegri ty of c h aracte r St rengt h only grows by resis t .

ance and our enemies are t h ere fo re our friends if w e know

, ,

h owto u se them A hermit living in the w oo ds w h ere h e

.
,

has no one to contradict and res is t him can gain n o ,

s trength Suc h a life is only s u i tabl e for one w h o has

.

alrea d y gained fu ll s trengt h and wh o wan t s to enj oy t h at ,

which he already po s se s se s Tranqu illi ty is only s u itable .

fo r the A dep t ; t h e N e O ph ite m u s t go t h ro u g h the ordeal

of life .

Me tals are p u ri fi ed by fi re and t h e emo t ions by s u ffe r ,

ing The lowe r desires m u s t s tarve to no u ri s h the highe r 3

.

the animal passions mus t be c r u ci fi e d an d die ; but the

angel of Wi l l remove s th e s tone from th e s epulc h re and ,

liberate s the h igher e nergies from the sp he re of s el fi shne s s

and darkne s s 5 and the n the res urrected virt u es w ill begin
to live and become ac tive in a new wo rld of end u ring ligh t
and h armony .

To obtain a clea r n e wof t h e p roces s of p u ri fi ca t ion of

man imagine yo u rs elf immers ed in a mis t of m atter sur
, ,

ro u nded by inimical infl u ences from th e em o tion s of t h e

astral plane that gradually lead t o yo u r dis sol u tion .

l
D eep in yo u rself in the clo udless ce n tre of your soul and
, ,

yet seemingly far ab o ve you i s y our in te rnal god yo u r , ,

e thereal pro totype yo u r real self the immo rtal A donai

, , ,

like a mirage waiting to a ttract y ou r mo re refined elemen ts

,

towards himsel f The mo re yo u co n cen trate yo u r t h ough ts

.

and de sire s upo n yo ur low er s elf and cling to the sphe re ,

of desires th e more will th e serene image grow dim and

,

s hadowy ; b u t if yo u r aspira tion s and tho ught s made ,

e ffective by yo u r Will and yo u r ac ts ris e a b ove t h e sphere ,

of s elf and cling to th e pure idea ] the n yo u r h ig h er ene rgies ,

will flow towards i t making i t gro w mor e and more d is

,

tinc t and s u b stan tial u n til yo u r inn er mo s t self and you r

, .

conscio u snes s i s u n ited wi th i t and free from al l ear thly ,

at tractions look s do wn u po n t h a t w h ic h re main s below

, ,

and beholds in it only th e shado w of i ts own immortal

reality D esire re s u lts from attra ction attrac t ion res u lts
.
,

from the separation of two s ub s tan ce s analogou s in their ,

es sences an d prope rties We cann ot de sire a t h ing of.

wh ic h we know n o thing an d if w e are a t tracted to a thing

, ,

there mu s t neces sarily be in u s a po rtio n of i t d e siro us to

reunite itself with the p o rtion fr om w hich i t is separated .

A human being po s se s sed of a divine s park of the univer

sal spirit knows int u itively the so u rce from whic h it came
 C HA PTE R VI .

I L L U SI ON .

R e ason d issipat es th e ill usions and vrsmnary inte rpretations of

th ings, in wh ic h th e im aginat ion runs riot ”—
D r C azrd
. .
’

THE firs t p o wer that mee ts u s a t the th res h old of s o u l s ’

dominion is the powe r of imaginati o n; it is t h e plas tic and

creative power of the mind Man is con scio u s of being
.

able to receive idea s and to pu t t h em into fo rms H e .

l ive s no t entirely in the obj ective wo rld b u t p o s se s se s an ,

in terior world of his own .I t i s in his p owe r t o be the

sole autocra t in t h at wo rld th e mas te r of its creation s and
,

lord over a l l it contains H e may gov e rn t h e re by t h e

.

s u preme powe r of h is will and if ideas in tr u de w h ich

, ,

have n o l egitimate righ t to exis t in it it i s in his p ower ,

ei ther to drive them away or su ffe r them to remain and to

grow . His re ason i s the s u p reme ruler in tha t wo rld i ts ,
’
minis ters a re the emo tions I f man s reas on misled by
.
,

the treacherous advice of the emo tion s s u ffe rs e vil ideas ,

to grow they may become po we rful and det h rone reason

, ,

u nles s it employs the Will to suppres s th em .

This inte rior world like the outer wo rld is a wo rld of

, ,

its own . I t is s ome times dark s ometimes ill u minated ;

,

its space and the things i t contain s are as real to its

inhabitan ts a s the physical wo rld is real to the physical
sen ses ; i ts horizon may be eithe r narrow or expanded ,

limi ted in s om e and witho u t limits in o t h er s; i t has its

beau tifu l s ce nery and i t s d ismal localities i ts sunshine ,

and s torms its fo r ms of beau ty and horrible s h apes I t is

,
.

the p rivilege of in t e l lectual man to r etire to that world

whe neve r he choo se s ph y sical enemie s do no t pers ecute
h im there ; bodi l y pain canno t ente r The vexations of
.
 TH E I NNER KI N GD OM . 1 39

mater ial life remain behind but the emo tions ent e r with ,

him .

T his in t erior realm of the sou l i s th e T emp le o f M a n

whe rein we shou l d shu t ours e l ve s and l ock th e door
agains t the in tru sion of s e nsual impressions if we d e sire ,

O n th e entr a
“ ”
t o pray . nce of that temple are the
D wellers o u r '

f flz e T lz reslz ol a , o r desi es and passions ,

wh ich a r e our own c r ea t ion s and which must be c on ,

quered before w e can en ter W i t hi n that temple exis ts a .

worl d as big and a s i llimitable as th e external unbounded

,

unive rs e t he fo r ms of which we s ee with our physica l eyes

, .

T his in ne r world 1 5 filled with t he p r o d ucts of man s ow

’
n
c reation some of them inactive b u t o thers have become ,

active and living entities whi c h may as sume dominion and , ,

by growing i n to power dethrone th e real king R e ason , , .

In this 1 n uer realm each man is — or ough t to b e — the God

whose spiri t floats over the waters of th e dee p and wh o se ,

fi a t calls into exis ten ce only that which i s useful and

good The mo re this 1 nne r in dividual god will be 1 n ha r

.

mony wi th the G od of the unive rse the more wi l l the two ,

become one and th e gre ater will be the perfection of t h e

,

inner world o ver the happiness of the individual O n l y .

when man h as found himself in t h a t inner wo rld wil l he ,

begin a life which m u s t neces sari l y be immortal be c aus e i t

is free from change and having b ecome his own mas t er
, ,

he can belo ng to nobody but himself— n o t to his lowe r

but to h is fi zg/z est self which i s one with the e ternal C /z rz st
’ '

or t he M alra atm a of the universe -

.

In that interio r world is the ba ttle ground of t h e god s -

.

There t h e gods of love and hate the d aemons of lus t and ,

p r ide and anger th e devi l s of m a l ice c rue lt y and re

, , , ,

venge vani t y envy and j ea l o usy may h ol d hi gh ca r nival ,

, , , ,

t h ey may s ti r u p the emotions and un l es s sub d ue d by , ,

R eason t hey may grow strong enough to d e t h r one it

, .

R eason res t s u pon Truth Whe r ever t r uth is d isre .

gar d ed illusions appear I f we lo se si gh t of the hi ghe st

.
,

t he lower will appear to be the hi gh es t and an i ll usion ,

wi ll be created O ne i s th e n umbe r of Tr u th S ix i s the

.
,

n u mbe r of illus ion because th e Six have no exis tence

,

withou t the Seventh they are the visible p roducts of the

,

one , manifesting itself as s ix a roun d an invisible c entre .

Whereve r they are six t here mus t be th e seven th al t h ough , ,

the pre sence of the latte r may not be manifes t O ne rs .

1 40 AN I M AL F OR M S .

the number of life and six the n umber of shadows from

,

whi c h li fe has depa r t e d .

Fo rms withou t life are illusi ve and h e who mi s t a k e s ,

th e form for th e life o r princip l e of which i t is an exp r es

sion i s haunte d by an il l usion Fo rm s pe rish bu t t he
.
,

p r incip l e tha t cau s es th eir exis t ence remai ns T h e obj e c t .

of fo rms i s to rep r esent princip l e s , and as long as a form

is k nown to be a true repres en t ation of a pri nc ip le th e
pri n c iple give s it li fe ; but if a form is ma d e t o se r ve
ano t h e r p r in c iple th an th e one whi ch c al l e d i t in t o exis t
en c e d e gr a d a t ion and d ea t h wil l be t h e fi nal re s u l t
,
.

Th e ir r a t ional fo rms p r odu c ed by na t u re are pe r fe c t ex

pressions of th e prin c ip l es they a r e intende d to rep r esent
r ationa l bein gs only a r e the dis sem b l e rs E ach a nimal i s .

a t r ue exp r e ss io n of th e charac t e r represen ted by i t s form ,

on l y at the poin t wh ere intelle c tua l it y begin s d eceptio n

c ommen c es . E a c h animal fo rm is a symbo l of th e mental
s ta t e whi c h cha r a c terize s i ts s oul be c au s e it i s not itself
,

the arbitrary o riginato r of i t s fo rm bu t rational man has ,

i t i n hi s powe r to c reate and if h e pros titu te s one prin

,

c ip le in a form for anoth er the form will gra d u ally adop t

,

t hat shape wh ich charac t e rize s the p ro s ti tute d prin c iple ,

of which in the co u rse of time i t becomes a t rue expre s

, ,

s 1 on .

The refore we find t h at a man of noble appearance by ,

be c oming a mise r gradually adopts the snea k ing look and

,

the s teal t hy gai t of an animal going in s earch of i t s prey

th e lascivious may acquire the habits and pe rhaps the ,

appearance of a monke y or goat the s l y one t he feature s ,

of a fox and the co n

, cei t ed th e look s of a don k ey .

I f ou r bo d ies we re fo rmed of a more e th ereal and plastic

mate rial than of m u scle s and bone s ea c h c h a nge of our ,

c haracte r would produce q u ickly a corre spon d i ng change

of ou r form ; bu t gros s matter is ine rt and fol l ows o n ly ,

slow l y th e impres sion s made upon th e s o ul Fo r this .

r eason the ded u ction of Ph renology Phy siog nomy etc , , .

,

howeve r m u ch tru th they may contain ca nn o t convey ,

absolu te truth .The mate rial of wh ich as t ral fo rms and

soul s a r e made are more plas tic and th e so u l of a vi l lain
,

ous pe r s on may actua ll y re sembl e a po ol fil l ed wi t h vipe r s

and scorpion s th e t rue symbo l of h i s m oral c h ara c t e ris t ics
, ,

mirro re d in his mind A genera t ion o f saint s wo ul d in

.
,

the c ourse of time produ c e a nation of A pol l o s and

,
1 42 P R O S TI T U TI ON OF TH E I N TE L L E C T .

c la ss th e h ig h er and more permanen t parts are m i s u s e d

The con sequences of the latter kind mus t th e re fo re be
much mo re las ting than thos e of th e fo rme r There are .

fe wwomen in the world wh o have become deg rade d from

an inclination t o be so in the great maj o ri t y of case s they
are th e victims of circ u ms tance s which they h ad not the
power to re sis t but intellect u al villain s u sually belo ng to
t h e hig h er clas se s where wan t and po ve rty are u nknow n
, .

To employ the intellect u al powers fo r th e m er e p urpo se

of making money i s the beginn ing of in tellect u al pros
titution Blessed are they wh o are able to gain their bread
.

by the h one s t w or k of t h eir h ands for an employmen t ,

whic h re qu ires little in tellect u al atten tion will leave t hem

free to employ their mental powers for t h e p u rpo se of
spirit u al meditation and unfo l d ment while th os e wh o
spend all their mental e ne rgy u pon th e l owe r plan e s are

selling their immortal birth righ t for a wo r th le s s m es s of

'

potage wh ic h may n o u rish the body wh ile it s tarve s t h e

souL
T h e greates t of all ill usion s is th e ill us io n of S elf .

Mate rial man looks u pon himse lf as s ome th in exis t i ng

g
apart from every other exis tenc e The shape of hi s form .

crea tes the illusion of being an independent s u bstantial

whole and th e change s in tha t fo rm take pl ace so slow and
,

im pe rceptible , t h at th e e rro r i s no t perceive d Still t h ere .

,

is not a single elemen t in his body in the con s ti t u tion of ,

h is so u l or in the mechanism of hi s intellec t that i s not

, ,

contin u ally departing and is replac ed by o the rs from th e

,

universal fo u ntain of life What belongs t o h im to d ay

.
-

belonged ye s terday to another and may belong to an other ,

to morrow I n h is p h ysi c al fo rm th ere is a c on tinual

-
.

change I n the b odies of organized being s ti s sue s d isap

.

pear slowly or quickly acco rding to t h e natu re of th eir

,

afli nitie s and n ew one s take their place s to be repla c ed in

, ,

turn by o thers T h e human body change s in s ize shape

.
, ,

and dens ity a s age advan c es prese n ting s ucce s sively t he ,

symbols of t h e b u oyan t h eal th of youth the vigo rou s c on ,

stitution of manh ood o r t h e grace and beaut y of wo man

,

hood up to the at tribute s indicating old age the forerunne r

, ,

of decay and ces sation of ac tivity in tha t indivi d ual form .

No les s is th e change in the s o u l Sen sa tion an d de sires .

change consciousnes s cha nges mem ories grow d im N o

, ,
.

man has the same opinions he h ad w h en h e wa s a c h ild

 P ER S O NA L I T Y . 44

knowledge inc reases in tellec t grows weak and on th e

, ,

mental as well as on the physical plane the special activity

ceases w h en the acc u m u lated energy is exha u ste d by trans
formation into o ther modes of action or is transferred in ‘

other forms .

The lowe r material elements in th e cons titu tion of man

c hange rapidly the h igher ones cha nge slowly but only
, ,

the highe st elements are enduring Nothi ng c an be said .

to belong es sentia ll y to man b u t the chara c ter of h is sixth

principle in its union with the s even th H e who ca res a .

grea t dea l for h is lower principles cares fo r things that are ,

no t his own but which h e has only borrowe d from nat u re

, .

While h e enj oys their pos sess ion an il lu sion is c reate d ,

making the m app ear to be an es s en t ial part of himse l f and ,

his imagination revels in the ir fancied pos session They .

are h owever no t mo r e a n es sential par t of hims elf than

, ,

the cl othes whic h a man wears a con s ti tu en t pa rt of t h e ,

man . H is only tr u e self is his c h aracter and he w h o ,

loses t h e strength of his c h aracter los es a l l his possess ion s .

O ne of th e kings of ill u sions is the king of the

world M oney represents the principle of eq u ity and i t
.
,

s h o u ld be emp l oyed to enable every one t o ob tain the j us t

eq u ivalent for h is labor If w e desire more money than
.

we can rig h tfully claim we wis h fo r somet h ing tha t doe s

,

not belong to u s b u t to another and we repulse the d ivine ,

principle of tr u t h I f we obtain labor witho u t paying fo r

.

it its prope r equivalent we deprive others of j ustice and

, ,

therefore deprive ou rselves of the principle of truth wh ich ,

is a more s erious loss to ourselves than the lo ss of money

to the defra u ded .

Mone y a s suc h is an i l l u sion only th e principle of ,

j us t ice which i t repre sen ts has a real exis ten c e

, , Never .

th e le ss we see the world lie at th e feet of t h e form The .

poor clamor for it and t h e ric h crave fo r more and the

, ,

general desire i s to ob tain th e greates t amo u nt of reward

by giving th e leas t pos sible equivalent There are pries t s .

wh o save s ou l s and doc tors w h o c u re bodies for money

,

lawis so l d t o him who is able and willing to pay fame and ,

r epu t ation and t h e semblance of love can be o b taine d for

money and t he worth of a man is e xpres se d in the sum of
,

shillings o r po u nds which h e may call his own Sta r va t ion .

threa ten s the poo r and the conseq u ence of s upe rabun d ance
,

t h e ric h and s ome of the ric h tak e advantage of the dis tres s
,
1 44 M ON E Y .

of the poo r to en ric h t h ems elve s more Sc ience e xe rt s h e r .

powers to inc rease th e amo u n t of the mate rial comforts of

man I t van qu ishe s the impedimen ts pre sen ted by time
.

and space and t u rn s nigh t in to day New engine s are

, .

inven ted and the work w h ose pe rfo rmance in former

,

times r equired the u se of a t h o u s and arms may nowbe ,

accomplished by a c h ild A n 1 mm e nse amo u n t of pe rs onal .

su ffering and labor i s t h ereby s aved B u t as the mean s .

t o sa t isfy th e craving fo r comfort 1 nc re ase a craving ari se s ,

fo r more Things that former l y were co ns ide red l u x u rie s

.

nowbe c ome indispensable need s I ll u sion s create illusi on s .

,

and desi r es give ris e to desire s The s igh t of th e principle .

i s los t and th e go l den calf i s p u t into its place Pro d u c

, .

tio n is fo ll owe d by ove r pro d u c t ion t h e s upply exceeds ,

th e d emand the price of labo r comes down to s tarvation

,

rates an d on th e rotten so il the mus h ro o ms of monopoly

,

grow The m ore the faci l ities increase t o s u s tain the ba tt l e of

.

l ife the mo r e increases i ts fury The noble s t powe r of man

,
.
,

h is in te l lec t whose des tiny i t is to fo rm a s oli d bas is for

,

th e highe s t spiri tual aspiration s of man i s for c ed t o lab or ,

fo r the satisfac tion of th e an i mal ins tincts o f man ; th e

body flouri s h es and th e spi ri t s tarve s and become s a
,

beggar 1 n th e k ingdo m of tr u th .

From th e love of s elf arise s the love of po s s e s sion ; I t is

th e hydra h ea d e d mon ster who s e c ravings can neve r be
-

s tille d Neares t to the ill u sio n of s elf s tand s the ill u sion
.

ofL ove True love i s no t an ill u sion it i s th e p o wer that

.
,

uni t es th e wo rld and an attrib u t e of th e spirit ; b u t the

illu sion of love is not love b u t only lo ve s shadow Tr u e ,
’
.

love s eeks only fo r the h appine s s of the obj ect i t love s ,

b ut animal love care s fo r i tself and seeks on l y e nj oyment , .

T r ue l ove e xists even if the form is dis s olved

, false love
d ie s when the fo rm to wh ic h it was attached decays
, .

I d eal woman is t h e cro wn of creatio n and has a rig h t to ,

be love d by man A mal e being wh o do e s not love t h e

.
,

chara c te r of a woman bears only the semblance of a man , ,

and man is n ot a comple te being un l es s h e pos ses se s

woman s love man w
’
. A
h o d oe s not love beau ty has no
elem en t of beauty in him B u t th e man who only fancies .

woman s at tractions and not the woman hers el f i s repulsed

’
, ,

by he r I f only hi s ins tincts attract h im to h e r s h e sees

.

his weaknes s and is re pu l se d by it Sh e may be rend ered .

vain eno ugh by the pos s es sion of s uc h c h a rms as to e nj o y

1 46 C R A VI N G F O R AN I M AL LI F E .

s u c h u nfo rt u nate pe r son s for w h ereve r co ns cio u s n e s s

exis ts the re mu s t b e sensa tion and as in s u c h in s tances a
, ,

magnetic c onnec tion i s said to con tin ue to exis t b etwee n

the ast ral man and h is corp se it appears n o t imp os sible,

tha t the p ost mortem comm u nication s of suici de s are true ,

and that inj uries inflicted u pon the body m ay unde r certain
con d itions be felt very ac u te l y by the d isem b odie d m an .

A nother illusion is a great deal of what is ca ll ed

”
s cience . Tr u e knowledge makes a man free bu t false ,

science render s h im a slave to the opin ion s of ot h ers .

Many men waste their live s to learn tha t which i s fo olish

and neg l ec t that w h ic h is true mis taking tha t which i s ,

evanescent and perish ing fo r the ete rna l N o r is their .

d esire for learning u sually caus ed by a desi re to learn the

t ru t h el se th ey wou l d not rej ect the truth when they see i t
, .

I n the maj ority of ca se s learning i s not the aim bu t the

m ean s to the aim of t h e s tuden t while his real obj ects are ,

t he a ttainmen t of wealth pos ition and fame or the grati

, , ,

fi c ation of curiosity The t rue wealth of a na t ion or a man

.

d oes no t re st in in t ellect u al a c quiremen t s bu t in spiritual ,

posses sions which alone will remain permanen t

, .

There i s no thin g more p roductive of a ten d ency to t h e

deve l opment of an ex treme degre e of s elfish ne s s than the
development of a h igh degree of in t e l lectuali ty wi thou t ,

any accompanying growth of spirituality Who eve r doubts .

this as sertion le t him o b se rv e th e pe tty j ealo u s ies every

where prevai l ing among the learne d p rofe s sions M ore .

ove r a high de gre e of intellectuality enables a perso n t o

,

ta k e pers onal advantage s o ve r o thers wh o a r e les s lea rned ,

and unles s he po ss esse s great mo ral powers he may no t be

able t o re si s t the temptation s th at are p u t in his way T h e .

g reates t v i ll ai ns and criminals h ave bee n persons o f great

in te ll e c tual qualifica tions A development o f the intellect
.

is ne c es sa r y to un d e r stand s piritual tru th s after they are

on c e perceived b ut they canno t be pe rceive d by th e
,

in tellect wi t ho u t spirituality th ey can on l y be per c eive d

by the powe r of th e s pirit T h e developmen t of spiritual
.

powers of pe rception i s therefore of s u preme importance ;

, ,

that of t he in t el l e c t comes next “

Bles se d is he wh o m
.

the tru th t ea c hes no t by perishable emblem s and wo r d s

, ,

but b y i t s own inhe rent power ; not what it appear s to be ,

”
bu t as it i s .

T h om as d e Ke mpis .
 A M B I TI ON . 1 47

T h e love of p ower and fame are o t h e r ill u sions Tr u e .

power is an a t trib u te of the spirit If I am obeye d because '

.

I am rich it is no t myself who commands obedien ce b u t

, ,

my riche s I f I am called powerful because I enj oy

.

a u t h o ri ty it is not myse l f wh o is powerful b u t i t i s th e

, ,

au thority ves ted in me R i c he s and a uthor ity are halo s

.

thrown around men which often vanish as q u ickly as they

,

have be en acquired Fame i s often enj oyed by him wh o.

doe s not de serve it and the mo s t hon ored man is he wh o

,

has cause to respect himse lf on account of h is acts .

P lace of birth and conditio n of life are circumstance s

whic h are u sually no t mat ters of choice and no one has a ,

righ t to despise another on acco u n t of h is nationality reli

'
,

gio ns belief colo r of skin or the act he may play on this

, ,

plane t C ondi tions are ill u sions caus ed by th e c onse

.
,

u n c e s of o the r i l lusions ; they do no t belong to th e

q e
e ssential charac ter of man Whe ther an actor plays the .

part of a kin g or a servant th e actor is therefore no t , , ,

despi sed provided h e plays his part well

, .

There are o the r illusion s w h i c h come witho u t being

asked and remain al t h o u gh t h eir s tay is no t wan ted
, , .

They are the u nwelcome visitors — F ear D oubt a nd , ,

R emorse an d they like all o the r illusions are cau sed by

, , ,

igno rance of the true nature of man and the exte n t of h is

powers Men s ome times live in fear ofa revenge fu l power
.

which h as no exis tence and may die from fear of an evil ,

that doe s no t exis t They are often afraid of the e ffec t s of

.

ca u s es which th ey neve rt heles s continue to c r eate ; t hey

, ,

may do ub t whe ther they w ill s u cceed in cheating the law ,

no t knowing that the real man is h imself the law and

cannot be cheated E very acts create s a cause and the
.
,

caus e is follo wed by an e ffec t which reacts on him who

c reated th e ca u se whe the r he may experien c e that effect
,

in thi s li fe or in ano ther To e scape the e ffect of the

.

ca u s e whic h h as b een crea ted he wh o created the cause ,

mus t try to tran sform himself into ano ther man If h is .

lowe r principles have led him in to mis takes they will suffer ,

b u t if h e succeeds in as similating his natu r e with his highe r

principle s and thereby changes hims elf in to a being of a
,

d i ffe re nt c h aracter their s u ffering will no t be of th e greates t

,

impor tance to h im Such is the only rational philo s ophy

.

”
of the forgivenes s of s ins and pries ts co u ld for give sins ,
1 48 FE A R ,
D O UB T A N D R E M OR S E .

if they we re able to c h ange t h e sinner into a saint T h is .

can however only be done by t h e individual exer tion s of

, ,
”
the s inner wh o may be instructed by one who is wise
, .

To become s u fficiently wi se to ins truc t anot h e r abo u t t h e .

laws or h is nat u re i t is of the u tmos t importan ce that t h e

in structor s h o u ld know the s e law s and be acqu ainted wi t h ,

the true con s tit u tion of man .

R eason is the s avi o r of man i gn o rance is h is deat h and ,

u nreason hi s s u ffering R eason i s the powe r of t h e min d .

to recognize t h e tr u th and in th e light of tr u t h t h e s h adows ,

of do u bt an d fear and remo rs e canno t e x1 st .

Ill u s ion s are dispe r s ed by R eas on t h ro ugh t h e power of

Will W h en the will is held in abeyance the imagination
.

i s rendered pas sive and th e mi nd take s in the reflection s of ,

pict u re s s tored u p in t h e A s tral L ig h t witho u t cho ice or

discrimination W h en reas on do es not guide t h e imagin .

ation the mind crea tes dis o rd erly fancie s and h all u cina
tions Th e passive s eer d re am s wh ile awake and may
’

.
,

mis take his drea ms for realitie s but hi s dreams may be h is ,

ow n creation s or t h ey may be i mpre s sions cau sed b y,

floating idea s taking po s se s sion of t h e u nresisting min d ,

and according to t h e s o u rce from whic h s u ch 1 m p re ssions
,

come they may be e i t h e r true or false V ario u s mean s

, .

h ave been adop ted to s u s pend t h e di scrimina t ing powe r of

will and render the imagina tio n abn o rmally pas sive and ,

all s u ch p rac tices are inj urio u s in p ropor tion as th ey are ,

e ffi cacious The ancien t Py thon e ss a ttemp ted to h eig h ten

.

h e r already abn o rmal recep tivit y by the in h alation of

noxio u s vapors s avage and sem i civili z ed people so me -

time s u se poisons or w h irl i n a dan ce un til th e action of ,

reason i s temporarily s u s pended ; o th ers u s e o pi u m Indian ,

h emp and o ther na rco tics w h ich not only s u spend t h eir
, ,

will and render the ir mind a blank b u t w h ich als o excite ,

th e brain and ind u ce morbid fancie s and ill u sions ” .

,

T h e fumiga ions hic h w e e use d at fo m et w

im e s for th e pu p ose r r rt r
of e nd e ing e ason inac i e , and a ow
r r r tv
ing th e p od uc s of a p assive ll r t
im agina ion to ap pe a in an ob e c i e s a e , we e usua
t r na c o ic j tv t t r lly r t
sub stanc e s B ood w l ly
as on use d for th e purpose of fu nish ing sub s anc e
. r t
to E e m en a s and E le m e ntarie s, b y th e aid of w
l t l h ic h h e m igh en d er t y tr
t r
h e i b od ie s m o e d e nse and isib e r v l .

C ornelm s A gripp a gi e s th e fo owing pre sc rip ion : M a e a pow v de ll t k r

of spe rm ac e ti, a oe w l
ood , m us , saff on, and h m e , sp in e it i h th e k r t y r kl wt
l
b ood of a l oopop i
I f h is po d e rs burnt upon th e g a es of th e
. t w r r v
1 50 C L A I R V0 VA N C E .

reflected in water but u nles s i ts dwe lling is rendered clear

and transparent it cannot se nd i ts rays th rough t h e su r
,

rounding wa ll s The more the emo tions rage the more

.
,

w ill the mind become dis turbed and the spirit be forced to
retreat in to i ts inte rior prison ; or if i t loses entirely i ts
h o l d over th e mind it may be driven away by the fo rce s
,

which it canno t control bu rst the doo r of i ts dungeon , ,

ret u rn to th e s ource from whence it came and leave man ,

behind a s a living co rps e a maniac in whic h t h e spiritual , ,

principle 1 5 entirely inac tive .

If a person suffers his reason to give u p t h e control ove r

h is ima ginatio n h e s urrenders one of th e greate s t p t ero
g a ti v e s of man and exposes h imself
, to dange r I n th e .

n ormal condition reason g u ide s the imagination to a ce r tai n

exten t ; in ab normal c onditions th e wi l l of ano t h e r may
take its place or it may roa m wi thout be ing guided
, ,

infl u enced only by previo u s ly exis tin g condi t ion s pe rs on -

. A
who dreams does n o t co ntrol the action s which h e pe rforms
in h i s d ream alt h ough h e may dream that he i s exercising
,

his will The th ings s een in h is dream are to h im realitie s

.
,

and h e does no t doub t their s u b s tantiali t y wh ile external ,

physical obj e c ts have n o existence for him and uht eve n ,

the pos s ibility of thei r exis tence come s to h is con scio u sness .

H e may see before h im a ditch and dream that h e wills to

j ump ove r it b ut h e does no t actually exe rt h is will h e
, ,

only follow s th e imp u ls es created d uring his waki ng c on

dition . A
pers on in a tr ance m ay b e s o much u n d e r the
”
influence of a magneti z er as to h ave no active will of
h is own and be only led by the imagination of the operator
,
.

The aven u e s of his ex ternal s enses are c lo s ed and h e live s ,

entire l y in t h e s ubj ective wo rld in whic h ma t erial obj ects ,

can fin d n o place and i n which s uch obj ects could by no

,

mean s be introduced S till wha t he s ees is real to him

.
,

and if th e operator create s a p recipice in h is imag ina tion ,

perhaps repre sen ted b y a c h alk mark on the floo r ( to assis t

“
the imagination of th e Ope rato r ) th e s ubj ect will on , ,

approaching it experience and manifes t t h e same t er ro r as

,

h e would in hi s no rmal s tate if a p recipice were yawning

un d er his feet ; and if th e ope rato r sh ould h av e t h e cr u elty
to wi ll the e irtranc e d to jump ove r i ts edge t h e mos t ,

s e r iou s cons equences to th e indivi d u al migh t follow . A

Sec I I . P . B ava s l t ky : I sis U nve il ed .
 M E D I UM S H I P . 1 51

g lass of wa te r tran sformed into imaginary wine by the wil l

m esmerizer may make the subj ec t in toxicated
”
of the ,

and if that wa t e r has been tran s formed into imaginary

poison i t may inj ure or ki l l the sen sitive
-

”
powerfu l . A
mes me rizer can fo r m either a bea u tiful or a horrible
pi c t u r e i n his mind and by transferring i t by h is wi l l u po n
,

the men t al s ph ere of a sensitive he may c ause him — eve n ,

if the l at t er i s in h is no rmal condi tion — either pleas ure or

s u ffe ring while th e mental images so crea ted in th e mind
,

of the s ensitive may again reac t upon o thers and be per

c e ive d by them .

If a person i s en rapp ort wi th a m agnetized subj ect ,

the image or even a th ought exis t ing in the mind of th e

former 1 s imme d iately a c cepted as a reality by the lat t e r .

Such s tate s may be in d uced not merely during t h e ,

magne t i c sleep but al so during th e nor mal condi tion and

, ,

with ou t any active de sire on the part of a magne t izer If .

t he audience sheds tears during the pe rformance of a

trag edy alth o u gh th ey al l know th at it is mere l y a play
, ,

the y a r e in a s ta te of partial m agne t iza t ion H undreds of .

s imilar o c c urrences take place eve ry day and there is ,

su ffi c ien t material everywhe r e in every day life fo r the s tu -

d en t of psychology to in ve stigate and explain with o u t ,

see k ing fo r c ase s of an abnormal character .

”
I f a M edium submits the control ove r his imagina
tion to ano ther being he becomes h is servant Thi s oth er .

being may be ano ther pe rson or it may be an idea an , ,

emotion a pas sio n and the e ffect on t h e pas sive M e d ium

, ,

will be proportionate to the intens ity of the a c tion mani

fe ste d b y t hem It may be an e l emen t a l an astral corpse
.
, ,

or a ma l i c ious influence and the M edium may be c ome an ,

.

epilep ti c a mania c or a criminal

, , person wh o s urren . A
ders th e control over his imagination indiscriminate l y to , ,

every unknown power is not less insan e than h e w h o ,

wou l d en trus t hi s money and valuables to the firs t un

known s t r ange r o r V agabon d t h at wou l d ask h im for i t .

is no thing else bu t a proces s of tran s fer of

though t and differ s from an ordinary magne ti c e xpe ri
,

ment only in s o far as i n the la tte r the opera t o r is a visible

pers on whi l e in the former the influen c e pro ceeds from
,

an invisible sour c e and is the more d an ge r ou s becau se

,

be ing invisible it is not known fr om whence i t p r oc ee d s .

I f a magneti z er c omman d s his s u bj ect to commit a m u r

1 52 M E N TA L [M A GE R Y .

de r t h e latte r may commi t i t, even after h e h as awakened

,

from h is sleep I n s u c h a cas e t h e op erator is the mur

.

dere r and t he subj ec t merely t h e in strumen t

, .

How many mur d ers and crime s are commi t t ed every

year through s en sitive pe rsons wh o h ave been influenced ,
“ ”
or me smerize d by visible pe rsons or invisible thoughts
to commit t hem and wh o had no t s u ffi cien t w ill power to
,

resis t i t is impo ssible to determine I n s u c h cases we

, .

han g or punish the instr u ment b u t t h e real c ulprit , .

“ ”
escape s Such a . j us tice is equivalen t to p un ish i ng a
s tick wi t h which a mu rder has been commi tted and to le t ,

the man wh o used the s tick go free V erily the co ming .

gene r a tion s wi ll have as much cau se to la u gh at t he ignor

an c e of t hei r an c es to rs as we now la u g h at the ign o ranc e
of tho s e wh o preceded u s .

The s tate of t he imagination is a gr e at facto r in the

obse rva t ion and appr e c iation of th ings Th e s avage m ay .

see in the s culp t u red M inerva only a c u rio us p iece of

rock and a beau tiful painting may be to him on l y a piece
,

of c l o th daube d over wi t h colors The greedy mi se r on .

,

loo k in g at th e bea u tie s of nat u re t h ink s onl of t he ,

money value they re present w h il e for t h e p oet h e fores t

-
,

swarms wit h fairies and the water wi t h s prites The artis t .

finds bea u t iful forms in th e wandering clo u ds and in t he

p roj ec t ing ro c k s of t he moun tains and to h im wh o se min d ,

is poe tic ever y symbo l in nature becomes a poe m and sug

ge s t s to him ne wi d eas bu t the coward wand ers th ro ugh
l i fe with a scowl u pon his face ; h e see s in eve ry corner
an enemy and for him the wo rld ha s n o t h ing a t t rac tive
,

ex c ep t h is own li t tle s elf The man wh o cann o t be trus te d

.

i s ever mis t rus tfu l the t hief fears to be ro bbed and t he

, ,

b a c kbi ter i s ex tremely sen sitive to the go s s i p of othe rs .

Th e caus e of this is evide nt l y th at e ach man pe r c eive s

only those elements wh ich exis t in h is own mind and if ,

any foreign e lemen t enters i t i s immedia tely tin c tu red ,

and colore d by the former The w orld is a mirro r wh e re .

in every man may s ee his own face T o h im wh o se s o ul .

is beautifu l the world will look bea u tiful to h im who se

,

s oul i s d efo rmed eve ryt h ing will seem to be evil

,
.

The impre ssion s made on t h e mind by t h e e ffec ts of th e

imagination may be powerfu l and las ting u po n the person .

They may change or dis tort t h e fea t u re s they may ren der ,

the hair w h ite in a single ho u r ; they may mark , kill , d is

 1 54 OE yE C TI F I E D TH O UG H TS .

exis tence of eternal damnation and h ell fi re may at h is , ,

en trance into the s u bj ec t ive s ta t e after dea t h act ually ,

behold all the terrors of hell w h ic h h is imagina t io n duri ng

life ha s c onj u red u p There may h ave been no pre ma t u re
.

burial the physical body may h ave be en a c tu ally dead ;

,

bu t the terrified soul seeing before it all t h e h o rrors of its

,

ow n vivid imagin ation rushes back again in to th e de serted ,

bo d y and clings to it in despair seeking p ro tection , .

Pers onal consciou sne s s ret u rns and it fi nd s i ts elf alive in ,

th e grave where it may pas s a second time th ro u gh t h e

,

pangs of death or by s ending out its a s tral fo rm in search

, ,

of sus tenance from th e living i t may become a vampire , ,

and prolong for a while its h orrible exis te nce Suc h .

misfortunes are by no means rare and the b es t remedy ,

fo r i t is knowledge or t h e cremation of the body so on afte r

deat h .

I n t h e state after deat h t h e imagination n either crea te s

ne wand o riginal fo rms nor is it capable of rece iving ne w
imp re s sions ; but it— so to say— lives 0 11 the s um of t h e
imp r e ssions accum u lated d u ring life which m ay evolute ,

innume r able variations of mental e s ta te s symboli z ed in ,

their co r r e sponding subj ective forms and la s t in g a longe r ,

or shorte r period un til their fo rces are exha u s ted Thes e .

menta l s tate s may b e called ill u sive in th e same sense a s

t he forms and e ven ts of t h e physical life may b e called
“ ”
i ll usive and life in h eaven or h ell may b e called a
,

d ream in t h e same s ense as li fe on th e e art h is called a

,

d ream Th e dream of life only di ffe rs fro m the dream

.

a ft er death that during the fo rmer we a re able to make

, , ,

u se of our will to guide and con tro l our imagination an d

acts while d u ring the latter t h at g u idance 1 5 wan ting and
, ,

we earn that which we have sown whe th e r it is pleasan t or ,

no t No e ffort whe the r for good or for e vil is eve r los t

.
, , .

Those who have reached out in their imagination towards

a h ig h ideal on earth will fi nd it in h eaven ; t h ose w h o se
d esire s have dragged t h e m down will sink to th e level of
their desires .

I t i s said that the most mate rral and s ens u al t h o u g h ts

create forms in the s u bj ective condi tion wh ic h w ill appea r
to him who c reated the m after he en t e rs that sp h e re even , ,

/I aximilian
ll lt
> ‘
Pe tty : D ie m y stisc h e n E rsc h e inunge n in d e r N atur .
 H A P P I N E SS . 1 55

more gros s dens e , and

material than the ma terial forms
,

of the terrestrial world ; no r doe s this seem inc om p re h e n

s ible if we remember that everything is composed of
,
” “
t hought s u b stance an d that the te rms density
-
, mate ,
”
ri ality etc are mer ely relative terms What appear to u s
,
.
, .

den se and material now may appear e thereal or vaporous

, ,

if we are i n anothe r s tate and things which are invisible to

,

u s now may appear gros sly material then A due .

c onside ration of t h e rela tions existing be t w ee n c onsc iou

”
n es s and what we call matter wi l l make i t a ppear that
there may be worlds more dense and ma terial to its
inhabitants t h an our physi cal wo rld is to u s
.
for it
is the lig h t of t h e spiri t t h at enlivens matte r and ,

the more matter is a ttracted by sensua l i ty and con

c e ntrate d by s el fi shnes s the le s s pene trable to th e
,

spiri t will it become and th e more dens e and hard will it

,

grow alt h o u gh i t may for al l tha t n o t be percep tible to our

,

phys ical s enses ; the latter being adapted merely to o u r

p resen t state of existence .

We s h ould en ter the h ig h e r life now in stead of waiting ,

“
for i t to come to u s in t h e h ereafte r Th e term heaven .

mean s a s tate of spirit u al c ons c iousnes s and enj oyment

of spiri t u al tr u t h s b u t how can h e who has evolved n o
such conscio u snes s and no spiritual power of percep tion
enj oy t h e pe rcep tion of things w h ich he has no t the power
to perceive A man wi t ho u t tha t facul ty en tering h eaven
would be like aman blind and deaf and witho u t th e power
to feel M an can only enj oy that which he is able to
.

reali z e that w h ic h h e canno t perceive doe s not exist for

,

him .

The s u re s t way to be h appy is to ris e ab ove all s elfish

considerations People crave fo r amusemen t and pas
.

t i mes but to forge t one s time i s to forge t o ne s self and

’ ’
,

by forge tting themselves they are rendere d glad Peop l e .

are ren d ered temporarily happy by illusions beca u se whi l e ,

they enj oy an i l l u s ion they forge t their own perso nal

,

selve s The c h arm of m u s ic cons is ts in t h e temporary

.

abso rption it cau se s to the pe rsonali ty in the harmony of

so u nd I f we witn ess a theatrical pe rformance and en te r
.

into the sprit of the play we forge t our personal sorrows

,

and live — so to say— ih the personality of the actor The .

1 c tor who u nder s tands how to absorb our atten tion ,

tb sorb s our pers onal conscio u sness and beco me s inspired

1 56 W OR SH I P .

by our own en t hu siasm ; an acto r from w h om t h e sympat h y

of the au d ie nce 1 s wi thheld will find i t di ffi cul t t o p l ay his
,

part we l l A n orato r wh o i s in fu ll acco rd with h is

.

a u dience becomes in spired w ith the sentimen ts of h is

a u dience it is h is audience tha t gives expre ssions of h is
feelings th rough h im w h ile h e s p eaks h e may forge t the
part h e h as in tended to speak and give expre s sion to t h at
w h ich h is a u dience feel s With o ut bei ng aware of i t we
.
,

actually live and feel and th ink wi t hin eac h o t h e r .

If we enter a cat h edral or a temple w h o se architect u re

,

inspires s u blimity and s olemn ity expanding th e so u l

,

where th e la ng u age of m u sic speaks to th e he art drawing ,

it away from the attach men t t o th e earth ; if th e bea u ty

and odo r of flowers l u ll the s en s es in to a forgetful ne s s of
self s u ch illusions may rend e r u s t empo rari ly happy to an
,

exten t proportiona te to th e degree in w h ich they s u ccee d

in destroying our con s ci ou s ne ss of pe rso nality and self ,

and as s u ch they are imm easu rably be tter tha n ot h e r

illusions t h at appeal t o the lower personal s elf ; b u t if we
se ek fo r the truth in th e o u tward exp re s sion of a fo rm ,

instead of l ooking for i t in the prin cip l e whi c h the fe rm 1 5

to represen t w e will b e led into d arkn es s in s tead bf being
,

led in to lig h t For this reas o n th e belief 1 n external g od s

.

strength ens the illu sion s of self ; they induce m e n to

become cowards to as k fo r favors which t h ey do not
,

deserve in preference to o the r men th at deserve them ;

,

they help to e s tablish t h e a u tocr acy of priests and to p u t,

t he false p rie s t u pon a th ron e from which the tr u e god ha s

been excl u ded Such miscon cep tion s d es troy the d ign ity
.

of mankind and a religio u s syst e m bas ed upon suc h prae

,

t ic es degrade s men in stead of ele vating the ir character .

He wh o has grow n to live above t h e illusion of form and

reco gni z es the exis tence of t h e true god in hi s heart need s ,

no illusion s to gu ide h is attention H e ca rries t h e temple

.

of the e ternal God in his own soul and wo rsh i p s it witho u t

,

ceremonie s and rite s , by pe rp e t ual adora tion .

1 58 R E LA TI VE C ON S C I O US N E S S .

is self exi sten t independent of any obj e ct R e l ative exis t

-
, .

ence i s the con sciousnes s of t h e relatio n be tween s u bj ect

and obj ect .

A thing h as no exis tence relatively to o u rselves before

we become consci o u s of its ex i s te nce A pe r so n wh o does .

no t reali z e his own existence is uncon s ci o us and for ,

the time being to all p ractical p u rpo s es as far as h e him

, ,

self 1 s concerned dead A s tate of e xis te n ce is inc omp re

, .

h e nsib le u nles s it i s expe rience d and realize d and i t begins ,

to be from the moment that i t is r ealized If a pers on .

were the legal po ss es so r of million s of m oney and d id not

know i t h e would have no m ean s to dispo s e of it or enj oy
,

it A man may be present at t h e d elivery of t h e mos t

.

eloq u en t speech and u nles s h e he ars w h at i s s aid t h a t

, , ,

speech will h ave no existence for him E very man is .

endowed with reason and con science but if he neve r listen s ,

t o its voice th e relation betwee n h im and h is con science

,

will cease to exis t and it will die for h im in p roportion a s

,

he lose s th e power to hear it Sym bols h av e a meaning .

to h im wh o un d ers tand s th ei r meaning b u t for th e ign o rant ,

nothing but the fo rm s which he see s and feels ex ist ; their

mean i ng h as no exis te nce fo r him .

A man may b e alive and co ns cious in rela tion to one

thing and dea d and uncon scio u s relat ively to a no t h er
,
.

O ne se t of his faculties may be ac tive and con s c iou s wh ile ,

anothe r se t may b e u n co n cio u s and i t s a c tivity s u spen ded

s
.

A pers on who l isten s attentively to m usic may be con sc i ou s

of nothing but s o u nd one wh o is w rap t in t h e adm ira t ion
of form is only con scio u s of s e eing an o the r wh o s u ffe rs ,

from pain may be conscio u s of n o thing b ut the relation

,

that exists betwee n h im and th e sens ation of pain A man .

absorbed in tho u ght may believe h im self alon e in th e m idst

of a crowd He may be threatene d by d e s truc tion and be
.

uncon sciou s of the dange r H e may have th e s tre ng t h of

.

a lion and i t w ill avai l h im n oth ing un l ess h e b ecome s

,

c onscio u s of it ; he canno t be immo r tal un l e s s h e be co me s

c onscious of immo rtal life The m o r e a perso n le ar ns to

.

realize th e true s tate of his exis te nce th e m o re will h e ,

become co nscio u s of h i s exis te nce If h e does not .

realize h is true posi t ion i ll usions will be the res u l t

,
If h e .

fu l ly knows himsel f and hi s s u rr o u nd ings h e wi l l b e c on ,

s c iou s of hi s own powe rs h e wi l l kno w h owto ex e rc is e

,

th em and beco me s trong .

 P E R C E P TI O N . 1 59

To become conscio u s of the existe n ce of a t h ing is to

p erceive i t To per c eive it means to enter into relation
.

with it and to feel the existen c e of t hat re l a t ion L ife itself

, .

is a mani fes ta t ion of conscious nes s mo tion is a manife s t ,

a tion of life A thin g without conscio usnes s of any kind

.

i s un thinkable and cou l d no t exi s t E ve n the mos t i mmov .

able mo u ntain s are s tates of mind c orp orifie d e te rnal ,

though ts and a s s u ch they are e xpre s sion s of cons ciousne s s

, .

T hey fee l the power of gravi tation and s peak throu gh the ,

mo u th of the echo The body of our mother ear t h although.

,

d evoid of self con scio u snes s and in tellectual reason i ng is ,

nevertheless con scio u s of th e pre s ence of the sun , tu rning

wit h incredible velocity around its axi s each of i ts parts
strives to rece ive the full infl u ence of h is light and after ,

w
rece iving h is blessing give s way to anoth er part to be
bles sed li k e ise S tar s and plane ts worlds and molecu l es
.
, ,

a r e a ttracted toward each o ther al l by th e a c tion of ete r nal ,

love which coul d produce no reaction on abs olu te unc on

,

sc iousne ss if s uch a thing could exi s t .

A b solute self c on sciousnes s be l ongs only to God

-
He .

alone is se l f exis ten t and independen t of any ou tside c on

-

di rions H e is s elf suffi c ie nt and needs nothing to e xcite

‘

-
.
,

con scio usne s s or knowle d ge in H im Man s self conscious é .

’
- -

nes s in s o far a s th e rea l ization of a divin e prese nce has

,

no t awakened wi thin h im is as much an illusion on his ,

imaginary s el f e xis tence because it is the n no t h is true

-
,
”
real I bu t nature that h as become s elf cons cio u s in
,
-

h im produ c ing that ever changing and impermanen t sen se

of th e ego which appears from h ou r to h our and from day
‘

, ,

to d ay chamele on hke u nde r di fferen t attribu tes T h is g-

.

ar t ifi c ial l y produce d ego is a mere no t h in g and one proof ,

of i t is tha t the great maj ority of people continua l ly re

qui r e some stim ul us to e nable them to know that they '

“
exis t . If they are alone and wi tho u t pastime they
are mis erable If the y are only 1 n c ompany with them
.

se l ves they are then in company with no t h i ng Witho u t

,
.

an amuse men t of s ome kind they would b ecome in sane or

die.

B u t h e i n whom the divine con sciousne s s of h is tr u e

,

inner self h as awakened will require n o exte rnal s tim u l u s ,

t o le t him kn ow th at he lives H e may be s h u t u p in a .

p riso n or in a tomb he carries his own ligh t wit h h im h e ,

cares lit tle fo r the company of men if h e is in com p any ,

wi th his God .
1 60 SLE E P .

Man I S an organis m in w h ic h eit h e r G od or n at u r e , or

,

the anti the sis of God the devil may become s elf c on scio u s
, , .

I f only natu re is s elf conscio u s i n him he h a s t h en n o rea l

-
,

life or con s cio u snes s of his own I t is abs u rd of h im to .

s peak of dying beca u se h e h as neve r ye t come to life If

, .

God has become self con scio u s in h im h e will be one wi t h

-
,

God wh ose temple h e is If the self co n s cio u sne ss of th e

,
-

de vil re side s in his h ou se the n is h e a p ers onal devil for

,

all p ractical purpo s e s and in t ent s .

From the momen t that man become s relatively con scio u s

of the existence of a s pirit u al powe r w i th in h is son] h e ,

enters into relationship to that power h e a t tain s s piri tu al ,

co nsciousne s s ; b u t i t may s till be a long time u n til that

p o we r be comes fully alive a n d self con scio u s in h im -
.

The vulgar have only t h e con scio usne s s of t h e anim a l

within t h ems elve s I t is t h e h og in one t h at is given to
.

gl u ttony ; the goat in ano t h er t h a t i s give n to lewdnes s

the tiger in one tha t kills th e s nake in an ot h er t h at sti ngs
by the powe r of cal um ny th e fox in an o the r from whi c h
he receive s h is cunning The y are h o u s es which th e mas ter
.

h as n ever inhabited or w h ich h e h a s deserted and w h ich

, , ,

are fi l led wi t h animals I t is t h e animals t h a t are living

.

and acting in t h em t h e pe rs o n s them selve s h ave no life

, .

A s eve ry thing th at exis ts i s of a th reefold nat u re so ,

t h ere are three mo de s of p ercep tion t h e physical perce p

tion the percep tion of the s oul and t h e sp iritual pe rception
, ,
.

T h e former reac h e s th e s u rface of t h i ngs t h e secon d the ,

so u l and t h e third reac h e s into their innermo st centre s

, .

To see is to t h ink wit h t h e organ of sigh t A tho u gh t sen t .

to the s u rface of the obj ect of pe rception wi l l see only the

s u rface a th o u gh t becomi ng con scio u s in th e cen tre will
see th at whic h exist s at th e ce ntre .

E verything t h a t exis ts exis ts wi th in t h e U nive rsal Mind

a
, ,

nd no t h i ng can exist beyond it beca u se t h e U nive rsal ,

“ ”
M ind includes all and the re i s no
,
beyond P erce p .

tion is a fac u lty by w h ich min d l earn s to know what rs

going on within itself Man can know n ot h ing b u t what
.

exists within his own mind E ven th e m o s t arden t lover

.

has neve r see n h is beloved one h e me rely s ees the image ,

which the form of th e latte r produces in h is or h e r mind .

If we p as s through the s treets of a city the images of

men and women pas s revie w in our mind while the ir bodies
mee t our own ; b u t for t h e i ma ge s w h ich they p ro d u ce
 1 62 H A UN T E D H O US E S ,

comm u nion wit h h is mas te r th e d ivine A dona i Th en

,
.

1 may he re c eive le sson s from the wo rld of the sp irit a n d ,

p roblems t h at were too d ifli c ult fo r him to be solved wh ile

his external sense s we re fully alive may now bec ome clea r
”
to him in h is sleep and e ven be remembe re d wh en h e
,

awaken s again to external life .

The tran quillity of the ou te r s en se s facilita t es t h e ac t ion

l
of th e in ner s enses I t i s said of Socra te s that h e o nce
.
,

s tood fo r e ig h teen h ours immo vable an d ab s o rb ed i n

tho u ght b u t in th e ful ly ill u minated s ee r t he e x t e rnal and ,

inte rnal consciou sne s s are as one Jacob B oehme was in .

a s tat e of divine illumination fo r th ree weeks an d fol l owed ,

during that time his occ u p a t io n as a sh oe mak er .

L ife s en sa tion percep tion and con s cio usnes s may be

, ,

wi thdrawn from the p h ysical body and become a c tive in

the as tral body of man T h e a s tral m a n may then become
.

conscio u s of hi s own exis tence indep enden t of the physi c al

body and develop h is facultie s of s en s e
,
H e may th e n se e .

si gh ts which have no e xis ten ce fo r t h e p h y sical eye he ,

may hear sounds that the ph ysical e ar canno t h ear h e m ay ,

feel tas te and sme l l thin gs wh o s e exis ten c e th e p hysi c al

, ,

s enses canno t realize and wh i c h con s e q uently h ave no

,

existence to them .

Wha t an as tonish ing sig h t would mee t th e eye s of a

m ortal if th e veil that m ercifully h ide s the astral world
,

fro m his sigh t were t o be s uddenly remo ved ! H e would

se e the s pace w h ich h e in h ab i t s oc cupie d by a di fferen t
world full of inhabi tan ts of wh os e existence h e knew
,

no thing What befor e a ppeare d to h im de nse and solid

.

would nowsee m to be shadowy and what seeme d to h im ,

like air s pace h e wo u ld find p eopl ed with life .

A ll houses are haunted b u t not a l l person s are equ ally

,

able to s ee t h e g h os ts t h at haun t t h em becau se to perceive ,

things on the as t ral plan e require s the developme n t of a

”
sense adapted to suc h pe rcep tions Th o ughts a re g h os ts .
,
“
and only tho se that can see tho u g h ts can s e e gho s ts ,

u nless the latter are sufli c ie ntly mat eriali z ed to refract t h e

ligh t and to become vi sible to the eye .

“
Nor is it neces sary t h at the person w h os e g h o s t
h aun ts a ho u se should h ave died T h ere are many living
.

persons w h ose s pi r i ts h aun t th e hous es wh ich t h ey forme r l y

inhab ited E ach thought expressed with a cer tain intens ity
.
,

of will each c u rse and each bles sing t h at co mes fro m th e

 SE E I N G I S F E E L I N G . 1 63

heart gives birt h to a spirit that may haun t a place and

,

even prod u ce external and visible e ffects unde r ce rtain

conditions .

We may feel the presence of an as tral form withou t

being able to see it and be j us t a s ce rtain of i ts pres ence
,

as if we d id behold it with our eyes ; for the sen s e of feel

ing is no t les s reliable than the s ense o f sight The pre .

s ence of a ho ly h ig h and exalted idea that enters the

, ,

mind fill s i t wit h a feel ing of happines s wit h an e xh ila ,

r ating influence w h ose vibrations may be perceived long

aft er that tho u gh t has gone .

E ac h hu man being may be looked u pon a s an u nlimi ted

sphere of conscio u snes s wit h a visible centre E ach .

r esemble s a living nebula of wh ich only th e solid kernel

,

is visible V isib l e man is no t all t h ere is of man ; b u t

.

surrounded by an invisible mental atmos p h ere comparable ,

to the p u lp s u rro u nding the seed in a fr u i t b u t this ligh t ,

or a tmo sphe re or pulp is the mind of man a n organi z ed

, , ,

ocean of spiritual s u bs tance w h erei n all things exis t If

, .

man were conscio u s of h is own greatnes s h e would know ,

that within himself exists the s u n and th e mo on an d the

s tarry sky and every obj ect in space be ca u se h is tr u e s elf ,

i s God and God is without limits .

To see a thing i s iden tical wit h feeling i t wit h t h e mind .

T h e mind of man e xtends throug h space it i s therefore not

merely the image s of thing s we see but the thin gs th em
s elves that exis t within th e perip h ery of our mind however ,

d istant from the centr e of our consciousnes s th ey may b e

-

and if w e were able t o s h ift tha t centre from one place to

anothe r within the sp h ere of t h e mind w e might in a ,

m omen t of time ap proac h to the obj ect of our percep tion .

If yo u throw a han d fu l of s and into a q uiet lake d oe s ,

no t every grain form a centr e of mo tion u pon t h e s u rface ,

fro m whenc e pro ceed concentric wave s in all direction s ?

Can yo u tell where the real m of one s u c h mo tion is limited ,

and d o they not all move in the same lake ? L ikewise each
in d ivid ual being consti t u te s a centre of consciousness in
th e se a of e ternity who se ripples of t h o u g h t extend into
,

the depth s of the infinit e mind .

A s i t is t h e centre of con sciou sness of no rmally con

,

stituted man is located in the brain and if t h e mind feel s , ,

an obj ect th e impre ssion s have to travel all th e way to t h e

,

b rain. I f we look at a d is tan t star our mind is act u ally

 1 64 TR A N S F E R O F C O N S C I O USN E SS .

t h e re and in contact wit h it and if we co u ld tran sfe r our

,

c ons c io u sness to that place of contact we would be our ,

s elves u pon that s tar and perceive the obj ec ts t h ereo n a s

if we were s tanding per sonally upon its surface .

If we were not able to f eel with the mind we wo u ld not ,

be able to become con scious of t h e character of the things

we se e and whose qualitie s are invisible to u s ; bu t the
individual sphere s of beings ente r and pervade each o the r
and e xchange th eir sensations like t h e circ u lar rings pro
d uc e d if a handfu l of pebbles is thrown int o a lake .

P e rcep tion is p assi ve im agination because if we perceive ,

an obj ect th e relation wh ich it bears t o u s comes to our

,

consciousnes s without any active exe rtion on our part .

B ut t h ere is an ac tive p erc ep tion or i m agination by which

we may ente r into a relation wit h a distan t obj ect in space
by a tr an sfer of conscio u snes s By this powe r we may act .

u pon a d is tan t obj ect if we succeed in forming a tr u e image

of it in our ow n consciousnes s By concen trating our .

cons ciou sne s s upon s u ch an obj ect we become con scio u s

in tha t place of the sphere of mind where that obj ec t exi s ts .

Ins tead of perceiving an already exis ting relatio n we

'
es tablish con scio u sly a relatio n between s uch an obj e ct and
.
d
“

ourselves If I can form in my mind a tr u e image of an

.

absent per son and c ling to i t wi t h my will I am t h e n

, ,

identifie d in my mind t h that per s o n and am act u ally ,

“
with him or her My real I is everywhere and wherever
.
,

I locate my consciousnes s there am I conscio u sl y myself

, ,

all excep t the phy sical form H owco uld I b e nearer to a

.

fr iend than to be in pe rfect h armony with h is so u l and ,

iden tified w ith him in his own consciousnes s ?

C onsciousnes s is exis tence and there are a s many state s
,

of conscio u snes s a s t h ere are s tates of exis tence E ve ry .

living being h as a cons ciousnes s of it s own the res u l t of its ,

s en sations and the state of its consciousne s s change s every

,

mo ment of time as fas t as the impre s sion s w h ich it receives

,

change be caus e its conscio u snes s is th e perception of th e

relation it bears to things and as this relation ch ange s
, ,

con sciousnes s change s its character .

If our whole atten tion is taken u p by animal pleas u re we ,

e xis t in an animal s tate of consciou sne s s ; if we are aware

of the presence of spirit u al principles such as hope fai th , , ,

c ha r ity j u s tice
, tr u th etc in t h eir h ighes t aspects we live ,

in o u r spirit u al conscio u sness and be tween t h e tw

, , ,
.

,
o
1 66 W I S D 0 111 .

c reated by s ome ph ys ical act is at t h at time u ncon s cio u s ,

of spiritual attrac tion s O ne wh o is un d er t h e infl u ence of

.

ch l oro fo rm may lo se all h is ex te rnal s ensation of pain and ,

ye t b e conscious of his s u rroundings O ne in a state of .

t r ance may be fu lly awake on a highe r plan e of exis tence ,

and e ntire l y u ncon scio u s of what happens on t h e phys ical

plane Th e musc u lar syste m may be semi con sciou s an d
.
-

overpower the intellect or th e c on scious and intelligen t

,

brain may control th e muscular sys tem .

A person may climb up to the mos t dizzy h eight s of a

towe r or a mo u ntain peak an d if there is a rail or a s tair,

cas e to a fford h im e ven an imaginary p ro tection h e wi l l ,

n ot be very liable to become o verpo were d by th e sense of

danger H is intellect may b e aware of danger b u t reaso n
.
,

teache s th e unreasoning an imal man filling th e muscular ,

sys tem wit h the sensation of s ecu rity an d h e will n o t b e ,

very liable to fall B ut if yo u remove th e p ro tection t h e

.
,

s en sation of danger p res enting itself befo re th e mind

impres se s th e unreasoning animal in s tincts wi t h the o ve r
powering illu s ion of fear and g anger may becom e immi
,

nen t Th e body becomes c onsc ious b f t h e attrac tion of ‘

'

'
th e c h asm the intelle c t to o weak to guide the will to re sist
,

the tendency of the exci ted body to follow t h at a ttraction ,

and t h e pe rson may fall .

The u nintel l igen t m u sc u lar sys te m is conscio u s of

noth ing else b u t the attraction of E arth I n i t t h e e lemen t .

of E arth p r edominates and u nle s s it is u pheld by th e

,

intellect and will i t seeks to act acco rding to the imp uls e
,

create d in it by tha t attraction The as tral body p er se i s .

unin telli gen t and u nles s infu s e d wit h th e i nte l ligence

,

c oming from the h ighe r p rinciple s i t follows th e attrac ,

tions of th e as tral plane Thes e attraction s are th e .

emo tion s created by desires A s the phys ical b od y if .

,

unguide d by reason may fall and perish by the fall s o the

, ,

as tral body following t h e attraction s of love and ha t e

, ,

may refu se to obey th e intelligent p rinciple of man and ,

s eek i ts own des tr u ction Th e animal co nsciousnes s of .

man is that un reasoning b r u te ins tinct which impel s h im

to seek fo r th e gratification of h is nat u ral des ires .

C o rrectly speaking there is no suc h thing as animal

,

reason an imal intellect animal consciou snes s e tc C on

, , ,
.

sc iousne ss reason intelligence e tc ,

in th e abs ol u te have ,
.
, ,
,
no q u alifications th ey are u niversal p rinciples tha t is to ,
 A T T R A C TI ON . 1 67

say function s of the Uni versal O ne L ife manifes ting

, ,

themse l ves 0 11 variou s planes in mineral vege table anima l , , ,

human as tral and transcen d enta l forms

,
.

The c ondition of a person whos e cons c iousness i s n o

more il l uminated by reason is seen in case s of emo tional
,

mania and some times in case s of a c tual obse ssion I n

, .

su c h cases the person wi l l act en ti r ely a c co r d in g to the

imp u lses a c ting upon his lower consciou snes s and when ,

he recove r s h i s reason be entirely u nconsciou s of his

,

action s during that s tate Such s tates mani fest themselve s

.

in only one pe r son o r they may simultaneously affect

,

s eve r al person s and e ven wh ole countries becoming epi

, ,

demic by the lawof induc t ion a s has bee n experienced in ,

“
s ome whole sale obse s sion s oc c ur ring d u ring t h e Mid d l e
They are often ob serve d in cases of hysteria may ,

be witnesse d a t re l igiou s meetings d uring theatrical per ,

form anc e s during the attack upon an enemy or at any

, ,

other o ccasion whe re the passions of the multi tu d e are

,

exci ted in d ucing them to acts of folly or bravery and

, ,

enabling pe ople to perfo rm acts which they wo uld be

ne ithe r wil l ing no r able to perform if they were guide d
only by the calculation s of their intellect .

Merely imaginary s e l f c onsciousne s s exis t when tho u gh t

-

and wi l l a r e d ivide d We then live in our imagi

.

nation b ut the wi l l i s d orman t and inac tive O nly whe n .

will and though t become united and act as one then will
true s el f consciousnes s become manifest The self con
-
.
-

s ciou s wi l l rece iving its l ight from thought i s a god or a

, ,

devil accor d ing to i t s tinc ture In its fu l l d e velopment it.

is a power beyon d t he comprehens ion of normal man I t .

enables its po sses so r to blend his own con sciousnes s wit h

,

t h at of any other person to en te r into communication with

, l

any o th e r person in any pa r t of th e world although that ,

other perso n may no t become aware of his presence

u nles s h e has developed his own powe r of spirit u al p er
j
-

c e p tion to a certain extent If we s teadily concentrate

.

our tho u gh t upo n a p erson o r a place the highes t tho u h t

g ,

energies resi d ing in th e fift h p rincip l e of m an will actually

, ,

visi t that pla c e b ecau s e tho u ght is not bound by th e laws

,

of gros s matte r rega r ding time and space and we are able 1 ,

to th ink of a far off place as quick a s of one that is near f

-
.

a
s H is oi t re d e s d iab les d e L oudin .
1 68 W I LL A N D TH O U G H T .

O ur t h o u g h t s
go t o t h e de sired locality for t h a t l o ca l ity , ,

h owever far it may be is s till with in the sp h e re of mind

, .

If we h ave been t h ere before or if th ere 1 5 some t h ing to ,

attrac t u s i t will not be di ffi cult to fin d i t B ut un d e r

, .

o rdinary circ u ms tances our conscio u sne s s remain s w i t h

the bo dy We may eve n realize ou r pre s enc e a t th e pla c e
.

whic h w e vis it b ut on re t u rning to o u r n o rmal s t ate we

,

canno t remembe r i t beca u se th e s emi mate r ia l princip l e s

,
-

of our so u l i n which resides me mory have not b een t h ere

, ,

to collec t impre ssion s and tran sfer th em to th e p h y si c al

brain But if our will ha s become one wi t h our thought
.

so as to ac c ompany th e la tter then our con s cio u sn es s may ,

go wit h them being p roj e cted the re by th e pow e r of t h e

,

will and illuminated by th ou gh t We shall then visi t th e

,
.

c h o sen place con sciously and kno w what we a re do ing and ,

our as tral e lemen ts may ca r ry our memo ry back and im

pre s s them upon our physical brain Th e reas on why s uc h .

t h ings s ometime s take p l ace a t the time of d eath and th e ,

c ons cio us appearance of th e d ing person occ u r s at a y

dis tan t pla c e to v i si t a friend i s because at the time of
, ,

dying the will become s again free an d uni tes wit h th e

t h ought of the person th u s forming a veritable s piri t a
, ,

u nion of will and tho u gh t .

“ ”
I t s ome times h appen s that the do uble of a sleeping
pe rson is a ttracted t o a dis tant pla c e acting h owe ve r , ,

like an automaton without intelligence Th i s s imp l y s h ow s

, .

t h a t the will of the pe rso n was no t se t free H is tho u gh t .

was th ere b u t no t h is cons cious will nor could th e wi l l

, ,

leave the sleeping b ody of a p e rson that ha s no t be c om e

s u ffi ciently spiritual because th e will is tne l ife and if i t
, ,

were to leave the form the body wo u l d die .

The re are a grea t number of cas e s on re co rd wh e re ,

in consequence of a sud d en and intense emo tion for ,

instance t h e de sire to se e a certain p erson the will ha s

, ,

become p rominently active and proj ecti ng itse l f fro m th e ,

ph y si c al body h as render ed the tho u gh t of th e perso n con

scious and vis ible at a dis tance In case s of hom e s ickn es s .

we find some approach to an instance of th is Th e p ers on .

separated fro m home and friends having an in tens e yearn ,

ing to see h is na tive place again p roj ects his t h ough ts and ,

h is u ncons c ious will to that place H e live s — so to say .

s pirit u ally m that place w h i l e his physical body vege tate s

,

in ano the r T h e life elemen ts pas s more and more to t h e s e

.
-
1 70 TR A N C E .

I f a perso n is in th e hypnotic s tate s u bj ect to t h e wi ll ,

“
magneti z er i t is th e con s cio u sn es s of the latter
,

w h ic h takes po s ses sio n of t h e former and u s es hi s men tal ,

o rganis m a s if i t were h is own If a hypn o tize r ca u ses his

.

subj e c t to commit a crime i t is he w h o c ommits it th ro ug h

,

the ins trumentality of the hypno tized if a medi u m lies i t ,

is the lyin g th ough t s of him wh o con s u lts t h e medium that

are echoe d back throug h the latter no r could he be a ,

gen uine medi u m if h e did n ot r eflect lie s a s well as the

tru th .

A ll men are mi rro rs in w h ic h t h e wo rld is reflected

, all
men are mirro rs refle c ting each o th er s tho u gh ts and ’

acting them out E xperience sh ows that there is not a

.
,

day in th e year that no t s ome hypno ti ze r conscio u sly or nu

con scio u sly commit s a c ri me th ro u gh a no the r person and
wh ile the real culp rit goes s co t fr e e t h e weak minded ,
-

in strumen t i s punis h ed Th o u sand s of mar riage s are th e

.

o u tcome of hypno tization M an exi s t s a s an individual

.

on l y as long as he rs in po s se s s ion of d ivin e reason and ,

t h is reason i s no t an a ttribu te of th e h uman form b u t a ,

function of th e divine Spirit w h ich ill u mi nates it .

I n th e sta te of tranc e t h e cons cio u sness is en tire ly con

c e ntrate d on the h igh e r p lane s an d the m ind may even ,

forget t h e exis tence of t h e p h y sical body In t h e s tate of .

in toxica t io n the pe rso n may only b e conscio u s of hi s a nimal

exis t ence an d en tirely u ncon s cio u s of h is h ighe r self A .

somnambule in th e l u cid con dition look s u pon h er body as

a being dis tinct from h er own self wh o is to a certain ex , ,

tent u nder h er care Sh e s peaks b f t h at being 1 n t h e t h ird

, .

person prescribes sometimes for it as a phy sician prescribe s

,

for h is patien t and often s h ows taste s inclinations and

, ,

opinio ns entirely o pposed to t h os e whic h sh e po s ses se s in

her normal condition Somna mb u les oft en give promise s
.

whic h they fu l fi l when they re t u rn to t h eir normal condi

tion al tho u gh w h en t h ey awak e t h ey d o not remember of
, , ,

ever h aving made any p romise a t all .

If man s con scio u snes s c h ange s from one s tate to anot h er

’

h is tas tes an d inclination s change acco rdingly Wh ile hi s .

thoug h ts revel l n animal pleasure s the realm of t h e spi ri t ,

will b e clo sed to him no r will h e des ire to ente r it if h e

,

has once at tained t h e power to perce ive t h e t h ings of the

s piri t animal pleas u re s and the knowledge of w h ich terre s
,

trial science is pro u d will appe ar ab sol u tely wort h les s to

 TH E H I G H E S T S TA TE . 1 7:

h im P erson s whil e in a tran ce may lo ve anot h er pe rs on

.

inten sely be ca u s e t hey are t hen capable to perce ive h is

,

int e rior q ua li t ies and th e y may detes t h im when t hey are in

,

th eir no rma l co ndi t ion be ca u s e they then merely behold ,

*
h is ex te rnal attrib ut e s .

This higher se lf whic h ofte n s eem s to care so li t tle for

,

th e earth l y tro uble s th a t vex an d pe rplex t he lower self i s ,

th e re al man who co nt inue s to li ve whe n the body of the

,

pe rs on wi t h w h ich he is co nnec t ed d uri ng l ife no longe r

e xis ts I t is th e individual wh ich th ro ugh a long chain of
.
,

reinca rna t io ns has b e come conne cted wit h many pe rson

,

alitie s e xtrac t ing from each th e e lemen ts whic h are wo rthy

,

to be pre se rved and as s imi lating them wi th his own O nly

,
.

fewpe rsons menti oned in his to ry have s ucceeded in uni t ing

th eir perso nali ty wi th their own divine and im pe rsonal
A tma . Su ch t h a t h ave s u cceeded are th e tru l y enlightened ,

and require no more in carn a ti ons .

The highes t s tat e of sp iri tu al co nsciousne ss i s the full

and comple te r ea li z a t ion of divine tr u th E ve n while .
.

ph y sical c onscio usness is ac ti ve th e con scio usness of t h e

higher principle s may be s o exal t e d as t o rende r t he b ody
li ttl e co nscio us of pain H is to ry s pe a k s of men and .

women who se s ouls rej o iced while th eir ea rthly tabe m ac le s

were undergoing t h e t or t ures of th e ra ck or were de voured ,

by flames at th e s take .

Man leads essen tially t wo lives one w hile h e is fully ,

awake ano the r W h i l e he is fully asleep E ach h as i ts own

, .

pe rcep tion s consciou snes s and e xpe rience s but the ex

, ,
”
p e r ie nc e s of that s t ate called “
deep sleep are no t , ,
”
remembe red when we ar e fully awake A t the bo rd er .

lan d be tween sleep and waking whe re th e impre s sions of ,

each s tat e mee t and mingle is the realm of confused ,

dreams whi c h are u sually remembered and s eldo m con

, ,

tain any tru t h .

This s tat e is howeve r favo rable t o receive impre s s ions

, ,

from the h igher se lf or to se e th e picture s e xis t ing in th e

,

as tral light In the forme r case the h ighe r se lf may us e

.

symbo lical forms and allego ri c a l images to convey ideas

to t h e lower se l f and to give i t admoniti on s foreb od ings
, , ,

and wa rnings in regard to fu ture e ven ts in the la t ter ca se

faces and fo rms of pe rson s t h at previo usly o cc u pied th e

H . Zsc h okk e V e rklae rungen ( T ransfigurations) .

1 72 DR E A M S .

roo m of t h e sleeper may be seen or h is mind may w ande r ,

to s cenes to which h e is u nconsciously attrac ted .

There are h oweve r vario us kinds of d ream s and i t

, , ,

would be wro ng to deny that s ome of th em may not be

useful . T h e highe r s el f may make use of th e imp ressi
b ility of th e lowe r self d uring th e time of ha l f c onsciou s
slumber to impress i t wit h u se ful visions and warn it of
danger and to teac h it l es sons wh i c h t h e l owe r self wou ld
,

no t be able to un d ers tand wh i l e hi s ph y sica l s en ses are fu ll y

ac t ive and the voice of in tu i t ion d rowne d in the noi se of
the s truggl e produced by the con te ndi ng em o tions Many .

a di ffi cu l t p roblem h as been s olved duri ng sleep and t he ,

terre strial world is not always wi th ou t any reflex of the

light from above The mind of the sleeper duri ng t h e
.

slee p of th e body may come into c ontac t with o t h e r min d s ,

and pas s th rough experiences wh i c h h e does no t remember

when he awake s Man in h is waking co ndition often
.
, ,

has experience s whi c h h e afterwa rd s d oe s not remember ,

but wh i c h h e neverthele ss enj oyed at th e time when they

, ,
-

*
occ u rred and which at that time we re real to h im
,
.

M an h as not on a d oub e c onsc iousne ss, b ut h e le ad s tw

ly l o live s
wh ic h are se pa a e and ye t one E ac h of he se ive s h as its own
r t . t l
x r
e pe ie nc e s, and if w h i e in one s a e w
l e d o not t t
e m e m be th e r r
x r
e pe ie nc e s of th e o h e t r t t t
s a e, h is d oe s not d isp ove th er tr t
u h of our
rt
asse ion l r rt
A m an m ay ive and und e go c e ain e pe ie nc es in a c e tain
. x r r
p ac e , wh i e h is b od is as e e p, or unc onsc ious, or h a f c onsc ious in
l l y l l -

t r l
ano h e p ac e and if th e ph sic a b od y l yr t r r l t
e u ns to its no m a s ate , it

m ay or m ay not e m e m b e w r h a h appe ne d to h im w
r t h i e he w
l as in th e
t r t t
o he s a e B ut h e e are som e e c e p ional c ase s, in w
. t r x t h ic h th e c on
t t t
sc iousne ss ofb o h s a e s m ay be c om e b e nd e d , and l t
h e n th e pe son m ayr
re me m b e wh e e h e h ad b ee n and w
r r h a h e h ad bee n d oing wh i e in h a
t l t t
t r
o h e c ase O ne of suc h e
. xtr r
ao d ina ry t
c ase s is m e n ione d in A P . .

S innett s
’
t
I nc id e n s in th e L ife of M ad ame B avats l ”
ky S pe a ing ofk
.

k
h e r sic ne ss in T zfl zs M ad am e B ava s l t ky y t t
sa s, h a sh e h ad th e se nsa ion t
as if sh e w e e tw r r t r
o d iffe e n p e sons, one b e ing th e M ad am e B ava s l t ky
wh ose b od was ing sic in be d th e o he pe son ane n i e d iffe e n
y ly k t r r . t r ly r t
r r W h e n I was in m y ow l r t t y
“ ”
and sup e io be ing e s ae, sh e sa s, I
k ne wwh o h a o h e pe son was and wh a sh e ( or h e ) h ad bee n d oing
.

t t t r r t
but wh en I was h a o h e be ing m se f, I d id not nownot c a e w
t t t r y l k hor
was h a M ad ame B ava s
t t l t ky
”
t r r
I t is h e e fo e ve
. we p ossib e h a
ry ll l t t
M ad am e B lavatsk y s
’
ransc e n t d e n a E go,t l ”
wi h all its c onsc iousness,
t
fac u ie s and p owe s ofpe c e p ion, in fac , h e r real self, w
lt . r r t t as c onsc ious ly
and r ly
ea l und e going c e ain m s e ious e pe rie nc e s in T ib e , w
r rt yt r x t
hi e l
th e p h sic a ins um e n , w
y l tr h ic h w
t M ad am e B ava s , was sic
ll l t ky k
”
e ca
at T ifl is ; b ut suc h an e p ana ion w x l t ll r
i be inc om p e h e nsib e to h ose l t
p e sons w
r h o i m ag in e th e p h y
sic al bod o f ay p e son rto b e th e wh o e of l
1 74 R E A S ON .

minded man may h ave h is conscio u sne ss narrowed dow n

to a small sphe re a great and liberal m in d may expan d it
wi t ho u t any limits u n t il th e whole of spa c e wi ll appear to
,

him to be fi ll ed with h is own cons c iousn es s and hi s power ,

of percep tion will enab l e him to penet r a t e a l l the mys terie s

in Nature F e wmay b e ab l e to reach such a state and
.
,

fe wwi l l b e able to comprehend i ts po ssib i l it y bu t th e r e

have been men who on the th r e sho l d of N irwana w ere
, ,

ab l e to concentrate the powers of their min d s in c entre s

beyond t he attraction of ear th and while the ir phys i c al ,

bo d ies continued t o live on this planet th e d ivine s e l f , ,

leaving i ts h uman form co uld conscious l y roam th rou gh

,

th e inte rplanetary space s and see the wo nders of the

material and spiritual worlds This i s the highes t fo rm of
.

A deptship attainable on earth and to h im who accomplishe s

,

i t th e mysterie s of th e U niverse will b e like an open

book .

E very man and woman h oweve r can feel w ithin t h eir

, ,

s ou l s th e p res ence of the d ivine Spi ri t even if they cannot ,

yet see its l igh t This i s the beginni ng of that true s p iri t
.

ual c on sciousness to wh ich we shou l d c l ing a t all times and

,

which fin d s i ts expression in the a d o r ation of th e h ighes t

good Still s u c h s tate s are ye t far fro m spiritua l self
.

c ons c iou snes s which is a full rea l izatio n of indivi d ual

,

exis ten c e wi t hin the spirit u al realm and as such i s k now n ,

o n l y t o fe w E ven the mos t d evou t worshipper as lon g

.
,

as the d ivine Spirit has not awakene d wi thin his s oul wi ll ,

me re l y feel th e beautie s of the spiri t ual realm in the same

s en s e as a blind man may enj oy the wa rm rays of th e
s unshine withou t being able to s ee the li gh t ; only w h en
the proce s s of spiri tual regen eration h as fair l y b egu n wi ll
h e be ab l e to see t he s un of g l o r y with in his own soul and ,

th e i l lus ive s elf co nsciousne ss of hi s forme r s tate wh i c h

-

cau sed h im t o believe that h e was a permanent b eing wi l l ,

be t ran sformed in to that real self consciou s s tate in whi c h -

he be c omes s e l f lumino u s in the ligh t of th e Truth a s ta t e

-
,

in which man actually k nows that h e e xis ts as an eternal ,

s elf existent a nd immortal powe r in G od

-
.
 C HA PT E R V II I .

D E AT H .

O mne bonum a D e o, impe rfe c tum a D iab alo —P arac elsus .

C ON SC I O U SN E SS is knowledge and life un c onscio u snes s is

i gnorance and death I f we are c ons cio us of the existence
.

of a th ing a relatio n exi s ts between ourselves and t h at

,

thing If we a re uncon scio u s of i ts exis tence neit h er we

.
,

no r th a t obj ec t ceases to exist bu t there is no relation ,

between us A s so o n as w
. e begin to reali ze that relation ,

the charac t e r of th e obj ect perce ived in t h e s p h ere of o u r

min d become s a part of our mental constit u tion and we ,

begin to l i ve in relation to it We then po sse s s i t in our .

conscio usnes s I f we los e it s pos ses s ion we may regain it

.
,

by the powe r of recollection and memory T o know an .

obj ec t is to live relatively to it to fo rget it is to die in ,

re l atio n to i t .

U ncon scio u snes s ignorance and deat h are there fo re

, , ,

syn onymo u s terms and every one is d ead in proportion as

,

h e is ignoran t If h e is igno ran t of a fact h e is d ead

.
,

relatively to i t althoug h he may be fully alive in many

,

o the r respects We cannot be con scio u s of every t hing at

.

o nce and therefore as our impre ssions and thoughts

, , ,

c h ange our consciou sne ss and relation to c ertain th ings

,

change and we contin u ally die relatively to some t h ings

,

and be gin to live relatively to othe rs R ela tive death and .

un c on sciousnes s occu rs every momen t and we are not ,

aware of i ts o c c u rrence We mee t h u nd re d s of corp ses in

.

the s treets whic h a re entirely dead and u nconscio u s in

,

re ga r d to certain things of which we are consciou s and ,

relatively to whic h we are alive and we may be dead in

1 76 P R O] . ON GI N G L I F E .

r ega rd to many t h ings to w h ich o t h e rs are alive and c on

scio u s O nly simul taneo u sly occ u rri ng omniscien ce in
.

regard to everything that exists wo u ld be ab sol u te li fe

wi tho u t any admixture of dea th .

E ach principle i n man h as a ce rtain sp h ere ofcon scio u s

ne s s and its perception s can only exte nd to the limi ts of
,

that sphere E ach is d ead to s uc h modes of ac tivity as

.

are in n o relation wi th i t Minerals are unconscio u s of .

the action of intelligence b u t n o t of t h e attraction of E arth ;

,

s pirit i s dead to earthly attrac tion b u t not to spiritual ,

principles If we ca n ch ange the mode of activity in a

.

form we call into exi s tence a new state of con scio u sness
, ,

because we e stablish new relations of a di fferen t order ;

th e old activity then dies and a new one begi ns to live .

If th e energy which we are now u sing for the purpo se

of d iges t ing food for perfo rm ing in tellect ual labor and
,

fo r enj oyin g sen s ual pleas u res were u sed for th e purpos e ,

of developing spirituality we would be in a comparatively ,

sh o rt time rewarded fo r our labo r by becoming supe rior

beings of a state so far above our p r esen t condi tion t h a t
, ,

we can at presen t not even conceive of i t .

In the co ns tit u tio n of ave rage man life is e specially active

in the animal body and h e cling s t o th e life of t h a t body
,

as if i t we re the only p o s sible m ode of existence He .

knows of n o o the r mode of life and is afraid to d ie A ,

.

person w h os e centre of life and con scio u sn es s is in h is

as tral body will be con scious of ano th er existe nce and his ,

physi cal body wi l l be only s o far of value to h im as by its ,

in s t r umentali ty h e may act on th e phys ical pl ane .

Physical death is a con tin uation of th e activ i ty of l ife in

h igher p rinciple s If we by s om e o cc u l t pro c e s s co ul d
.
, ,

concentrate all our life into our h igh er p rinciples before

our body ceases to live we migh t s tep in advance of death
,

and live independen t of our physical body .

Su ch a tran sfer of life an d con scio u snes s is no t beyond

pos sibility It has been accomplishe d by s ome and W 1 11
. ,

be accomplis h ed by o thers Th e mat erial e lemen ts of th e .

phys ical body are contin u ally s ubj ec t to e l1 m 1 nat1 on and

renewal By restricti ng the renewal of the se elements
.

within the l imi ts of th e u tmos t neces sity and at th e same ,

time wi thdrawing our con sciousnes s from the e xte nor and
concentrating it u pon the interio r plane we may 1 n cou rse , ,

of t ime , c h ange t h e compo u nd p ar ts of th e p hys 1 e al b od y

.
1 78 G OD I S I M M OR TA L .

Such spiritless living co rpse s are often s een in fas h ionable

society as well a s in t h e cro wds w h e re the v u lgar as semble .

A pe rso n i n wh om the principle of reason has become

inactive i s in tellect u a l ly dead al t h o u g h h is body may be ,

full of an imal life lunatic s are d ead people in whom on l y ,

the no n intelle ctual or s emi in tellectual p r i nc ip les con

- -

tinue to live If t h e s oul leaves the body t h e latter dies

.
,

b ut t h e s o u l lives I f t h e so u l dies G od continue s to

.
,

be .

The so u l like t h e body i s a comp ound o rganism c om

, , ,

po s ed of vario u s ele ments Some of the se e l emen t s m ay .

be fi t to rece ive th e L igh t of the s pirit ot h ers are no t fi t ,

to do s o If the refo re a person d uring his earthly life

.
, , ,

h as not purified his soul s u fficien tly so a s to enter the

s piri tual state immediately after th e d eat h of the phys ical
body a separation of the pure and impu re elements from
,

th e s till imp u re remain s mus t t ake place in th e s ta te afte r

dea th When the final s epara tion i s accomp l is h ed the
.
,

spiri tual elemen ts e nte r the sp iri tual s ta te (wh ich in fa ct , ,

they have neve r l eft ) and the lowe r eleme nts which may ,

or may n ot pos se s s a certain remnan t of con sciou sne ss of

their own rema i n in th e lowe r plan e w h e re they gr adually
, ,

disintegra te .

If the organization of the phys ical body becomes im

paired to s u ch an ex ten t that the principle of life canno t
em ploy it any longe r to serve a s an in s trumen t for its
act i v i ty it cease s to act D eath may begin a t the h ead
, .
,

the heart or the l u ngs bu t life lingers lon ge s t in the h ead

, , ,

and i t may s till be ac tive there to a certain extent aft er

the body to a ll exterio r ap pearan ce s has be come unc on
, ,

s c io u s and ceased to live Th e power of tho u gh t may .

continue fo r a time to work in i ts h ab itual manner altho ugh ,

sensation h as ceas ed to exis t in the nerve s Th is a c ti v i ty .

may eve n grow in inten s ity as th e principles become

d is u nited ; and if th e t h ough t of th e dying is inste nse ly
directed upon an absen t frien d it may impre ss i t self upon ,

the con scio u sne s s of that friend an d pe rh ap s ca u s e him to ,

se e th e apparition of the d yin g A t las t vitality leave s the .

b rain and th e h i ghe r p rinciples depar t carrying with t hem

, ,

their p ro pe r ac t i vi t y life and c on sciousn es s leavin g

, ,

behin d an empty form a mask an ill u sion ,

There need ,
.

n o t neces sari l y be any l o s s of con sciousness in regard to

t h e p ers on s and th ings by w h ich w e may be s u rro u nded ;
 PR O C E SS O F D YI N G . 1 79

t h e only conscio u snes s which neces sarily cease s i s t h at

which refe rs to his pe rsonality of physical Sensation pain , , ,

weigh t heat and cold hunger and thirs t whic h may have
, , ,

a ffec ted th e physical form A s his life departs from t h e .

brain ano t h er state of consciousnes s may come into

,

existence because h e e n te rs in relation to a d i fferen t order

,
“
of things Th e principle c arr y ing memory e me rge s
.
, ,

from th e brai n and eve ry e vent of the li fe which is ebbing

,

away i s reviewed by the mind Pictu re after picture .

p res ents itself with living vividne ss be fo re his consciousne s s

and he l ive s in a fe w minu tes his whole life again .

P ersons in a s tate of drowning h ave experience d that state

and regained their life That impression whi ch has been .

the s t r onges t survive s all the res t the o ther imp re s sion s
,

disappear to rea ppear again in the d é vac h anic state N 0 .

man d ies unconsci o us wha t ever external appearance s may ,

s ee m to in d ica t e to th e cont r a r y ; e ven a madman will

have a moment at th e time of h is death when his intellect
, ,

will b e re s to red Tho se wh o are pre sen t a t s uch solemn

.

momen ts sh oul d take care no t to dis tur b by o u tb u rs ts of ,

g r ief o r o t herwis e tha t proce s s by wh ic h th e s o ul beholds

,

the e ffe cts of th e pas t and lays t h e plan for its fu t u re

The proce s s of the parting of th e p erisp rit from t h e

physical remains is described by a clairvoyan t as follows
A t firs t I sawa beautiful ligh t of a pale blue colo r in ,

wh ich appeared a small egg shaped s ubs tan ce abo ut thre e -

fee t above th e head I t was not s tationary bu t wavered .

,

to and fro l ike a balloon in the air Gradual l y i t elongated .

to the len gth of the bo d y th e whole envelope d in a mis t o r ,

smo k e I perce ived a fa c e corres ponding in featu re s t o

.

that wh ich was s o soon to be so ul l es s only brighter mo re , ,

smoo th more beautiful ye t unfinishe d with the same want

, , ,

of expre s sion tha t we observe in a new born infant W ith -

.

every breath from the dying body the e thereal form was
a d ded to and became mo re pe r fect P rese ntly th e fee t .

became defined not s ide by side as th e dying man had

, ,

p l aced himself bu t one hanging below th e o ther and on e

, ,

knee ben t as new bor n infan ts would be in an acciden tal

,
-

position The body appeared to be en shrouded in a

.

cloudlike mist A coun tle s s ho s t of o ther p resence s

.

E xtr at d from th
c e e le tte r ofan A d ept .
 1 80 TH E P E R I SP R I T .

seemed to b e near W h en the w h ole was comple te all

.
,

slow l y passed out of si ght .

This ethereal body i s the s oul body orp er isp r it of t h e -

pe rs o n tha t died I t 1 5 not t h e sp i r i t itself b u t it may

.
,

s ti l l be made lumino u s by the spiri t as i t was during life , .

I t may s till contain the good and evil ten den cies which i t
acquired during life If man s sp irit rise s above the
.
’

attraction s of h is lowe r self his l ower self wo uld be unc on

,

s cious and d e sintegrate but if h e clings to h is animal nat ure

with a great inten si t y of desire a cen tre of con sciousnes s ,

wi l l become estab l ishe d t h e r ein and its sen se of p ersonality ,

may continue to exis t for a whi l e in h is an imal so u l even

after th e phy s i c al bo d y is dead .

The time during wh ich an as tral co rp se may remain in

t h is s t ate be fore it i s entirely dis solved dep ends on the
d ens ity an d stren gt h of i ts e l emen ts I t m ay di ffer from a .

fe wh ours or d ays to a g reat many years Man is made .

u p of a great many l iving elemen ts or principles of whic h ,

ea c h one exis ts in its own in d ividua l state while they all

re c e ive their life from the spirit Wh en th e spirit wi t h .

d raws th ey become s eparate while each one m ay re tain ,

fo r a while its own pa r ti c ular life and con s c iou sness in th e

same sens e as a wheel wh ic h is o nce set into m otion wi l l
contin ue to run until after the force is e xha u s ted even if ,

the o riginal motive power is withdrawn ‘

.

The as tral remnan t of a man is there fore not th e man , , ,

but a part of h is p sych ic organism which may or may no t ,

be cons c io u s that i t exists and which may or may no t be

,

c onnec t ed with th e spiri tual monad w h os e instrument it

was during life .

Th is Kama loca state is t h e land of the s h adows th e ,

H aaes of the ancient Greek s and the purgatory of th e

’

R oman C atho l ic C hur c h I ts inhabitan t s may or may not

.

~pos ses s c o nsciousne ss and intel l igen c e bu t the as tral s ouls

,

of avera ge hones t men and women po ssess no intelligence

of their ow n ; they can howeve r be made to act inte lli
, ,

gen tly by t h e power of the E lem entals P aracelsu s .

says M en and women d ie eve ry day whose s ou l s ,

d uring their live s have been s ubj ec t to t he influence and

gui d ance of E lementals H owmu c h eas i er wi l l it be for
.

s uch E l emen tals to influence the s idereal bodie s of s u c h

A .
J . r
D avis d esc ibe s a sim i a l r sc ene.
1 82 H E E LS .

physical plane Good tho u ghts are ligh t and rise above
.

u s but evil though ts are h eavy and sink Th e world

, .

b elow u s to which they s ink i s the sph ere of th e gro s s es t ,

mos t diseas ed and sensual thoug h ts evolve d by evil dis

,

po sed an d igno ran t men I t i s a world s till m ore material

.

an d solid to its inhabitants t h an o u rs i s to u s ; i t is th e

habi tatio n of man created per sonal de it ie s devi l s and
-
, ,

mon s trositie s inven ted by the mo rbid imagination of

man .

T h ey are only t h e prod u ct s of tho ugh t b u t neverthe le ss , , ,

t h ey are real and subs tan tial t o tho s e wh o live amo ng them
and realize their exis te nce Th e my t h s of h e l l and p urga
.

to ry are based on ill u nders tood facts -

H ell s exist b u t .
,

m an is himself their c rea tor B ru tal man create s mon ste rs

.

by the working of h is diseas ed imagin ation duri ng life ;

dis embodie d man wil l be attracted to h is creation s l h e re
’

ar e fe wpersons wh o are no t s ubj e ct to e vil tho ugh ts s u ch

tho u ghts are th e refle x of th e l u rid ligh t fr om th e region of
evil but they cannot take fo rm un le s s we giv e t h e m form
,

by dwelling on them and fee d ing th em with the sub sta nce
taken from our own mind L ove is th e life of th e go od
.
,

malice t h e life of the evil A n e vil th o ugh t evo lved.

,

unconscio u sly i s an ill u sion wi tho u t li fe an evil tho ug h t

, ,

bro ugh t into exis tenc e with malice beco m es malici ou s and ,

living If it i s e mbodied in an ac t a ne w devil wil l be

.
,

bo rn in to the wo rld The h o rro r s of h ell exis t on l y for

.

th o se w h o have been cons cio us vol u n ta ry an d malicious

, ,

c olab ore rs in peopling i t wi th th e p ro duc t s of their fancy

the beau tie s of h eave n are only rea l i zed by h im wh o h as

c rea ted a heaven w ithin hims elf d u ring h is life .

Pain i s o nly ca u sed if a being exi s ts u nd e r ab no rmal

c ondi tion s D evils do not s u ffe r in h ell b eca use they are
.
,

the r e in their own natu ral elemen t th ey w o uld s u ffe r if

they h ad to en t er in heaven They b elo ng to th e darkne s s
.

and s u ffer in t h e p resence of ligh t A man sufl e rs if h is

'

h ea d is kept under water a fish s u ffe rs if h e is taken out

of the wate r A cruel and vi c io u s pe rs on may enj oy sigh t s
.

whic h wi ll h o r rify others ; but if he s till has some goo d

element s within hi s organization t hey w i l l s u ffe r u n til they
,

have be c ome separa ted from e vil I f th e re ar e s pirit u al .

powers for good t h ere mu s t be spiri t u al po w e rs for evil ;

,

for E vil I S merely pe rve rted Go od I f man i s a te m ple of .

G od he may likewis e be a residen ce for th e D evil

, If .
 D E VI L S . 1 83

man h as a sp irit , t h at spiri t can en te r in to relation s wit h

eithe r of the two states b u t fo r a spiritless man an animal , ,

n either God nor the D evil has any use nor c an the highes t
D hyan C hahan of evil exert any powe r over a man unle s s
tha t man has already a devil in him .

We ca n on l y be consciou s of the exis tence of th ings if ,

a relatio n e xists between o u rselves and the things A .

pers on wh o h as crea ted nothing during life that c ould

have es tablis h ed a re lationship with his immortal se l f will
have n othing immortal wi t h wh ich to ente r into re l a t ionship
wi th after deat h If his whole atten tion is t aken up by hi s
.

physical wan ts t h e sphe re of his consciousne s s d u r ing life

,

will be confined to those material wants When he leaves .

his material habitation material wan ts will no longe r exis t

fo r him and h is consciousness of th em cease s Having
,
.

create d no thing in his s o u l tha t can enter into relation with

spirit his soul wil l neither los e that which it neve r po s sessed
,

nor gain that which it never de s ired but remain a blank , .

If we hire a pries t or a pro fe ssor to do our thinking for u s ,

we create n o spiri tual aspirat i on s o r living thoughts fo r

ourselve s I f we are conten ted to believe th e op i nion s of
o t h e rs we h ave no knowledge of our ow
.

,
n The artifi cial
.

kn o wledge wh ic h h as t h us been created by the refle ction

of the tho ugh t of o ther s on t h e mirror of th e individual
mind has n o powe r of penetration Thos e minds which
.

have been fe d on illus ions will have no s u bs tance afte r the

illusions have passed away The only knowledge which
.

can remain wi th the spirit is that wh ich it knows itse lf .

E very ca u se is followed by an effect Illusions that.

have been crea ted in the mind are for c e s that mus t become
e xhaus ted b e fore they can die They will con tinue to ac t
.

in the s u bj e c t ive s tate and prod u ce o ther illusion s by the

lawof harmony that govern s the association of i d eas a nd ,

al l i ll usions wi l l e nd in th e sphe re to which they belong .

Selfis h desires wil l e nd in the sp h e re of self unse l fish ,

aspiration s and thoughts will bring their own rewa r d s if

th ey were good and their own p u nishmen t if they we re
,

e vil L ife is a c ontinual death or exchange of condition s

.

unde r whi c h w e exis t O ur de si r es for things chan ge as

.

th e condition s u nder which we exis t as sume a different

charac ter Before we are born o u r state of life depends
.

on the s tate of the mothe r s w omb

’
bu t h aving been born
in to t h e world we care no t h ing mo re for the p lacenta and
,
1 84 E XH A US TI ON O F E N E R GI E S .

membrane s t h a t furnis h ed u s with n u trime n t and life d u ri ng

our foetal exis tence Being infan ts our inte re s ts are
.
,

cen tre d u pon the b reas ts of the mo th e r b u t th e s e b reasts ,

are forgo tten afte r we need th em no mo re Th i ng s w h ich .

abs orbed th e w h ole of our conscious nes s d u ring ou r y out h

are discarded as we grow o l der I f we t h row off th e phy .

sic al body the des ire for that w h ic h was at trac ti ve to it

,

and importan t for i ts exis tence is t h rown off wi th i t, or

perishe s soon aft erwards .

But if th e s o u l again approac h es t h e mate r ial pla ne an d ,

through the infl u e nce s of mediumship again en te rs into

re l ations h ip w it h it the old con sciou sn e s s and th e old
,

des i r e s th at h ad gone to sleep reawak en an d its phy sical

, , ,

s ensations return If the influence of t h e medium i s wit h

.

d rawn it relapse s in its s tate of stupo r or u nc o n s ci ou s ne s s

, .

There are inn u merable var ie ties of con d i t io n s and p os

sib ilitie s in the world of s piri t and on the as tral plane a s ,

there are upon the physical p l ane If th e mind begin s to .

investigate the se things s eparately and w itho u t u nde r ,

s tandin g th e fu ndamen tal laws of natu re upo n whic h

such phenomena are based it may as well de s pai r of eve r
,
'
being able to form a co rrect concep tion of them If a .

b otanist we re to examine separately each one of th e t h o u

sands of leave s of a large tree for the pu rp o s e of fi ndi ng ,

out th e true na ture of the latte r he wo u ld n e ve r arrive at ,

an end but if he once knows the tre e as a w h ol e th e colo r ,

and shape of the individ u al leave s will be ea s ily k nown .

L ikewise if we once a rrive a t a co rrec t co ncep tio n of t h e

,

spiritual nature of man it w ill be easy to follow th e v ariou s

,

ramification s of the one u nive rsal law .

There i s no deat h fo r that w h ich is perfec t b u t th e im ,

perfect m u s t pe ris h so one r or late r So ca l l ed death is .

-

simply a pro ce s s of elimination of that w h ich is u s eles s In .

this sense we all are c ontin u ally dying every day and eve n ,

wishing t o die beca u se every r eas onable p ers o n desires

,

t o ge t rid of his imperfections and thei r con s equ e nces and

the s u ffering s which they cau se No one i s afra id to lo se .

that which he does n o t want and if he cling s to t hat which ,

i s useles s i t is beca u s e he i s u ncon scio u s and ignoran t of

,

that which is u seful I n suc h a case h e is al ready partly

.

dead to that w h ich is good and m u st come to l 1 fe and lea r n

to realize t h at wh ic h is u sefu l by dying to tha t wh 1 c h rs
,

use fu lne s s T h i s is t h e so called mystic d eatlz b y t C h

.
-
,
1 86 S U] C I D E S .

termination of t h eir p h ys ical lives according t o th e law of

t h eir Karma T h ey are u nde r normal conditions not
.
,

fully co ns cio u s of t h e conditions in which they exist ; b u t

they may be tempo rarily s tim u lated in to life by the infl u en c e
of mediums h ip T h e n will the ir h alf forgo tten de sires and
.
-

m emories r e t u r n and cause t h e m to s u ffer To rouse s uch .

exis tence s fro m their s t u por into a r eali z ation of pain for
the p u rpo se of g ratifying idle c u riosity is cruel and may ,

be very inj urio u s t o such souls a s it may reawaken their ,

thirst for life and fo r the grati fica tion of ear thly desires .

The s o u l of the san e suicide however or that of a mali , ,

cions p e rson m ay be fully conscious and reali z e the si tua t io n

,

in wh ich i t is placed Such existen c es may wande r abou t

.

e arth clin ging to ma terial life and vainly trying to escape

, ,

the d is solu t io n by w h ich they are threatened Partly .

bereft of re ason and following their animal in stincts they

, ,

may becom e [nc ubi and S ucc ubi Vamp ires s tea l ing li fe ,

from the living to p rolong the ir own existence regar d les s ,

of th e fate of th eir victims T h e soul bo d ie s of the dead

.
-

may be either u ncons ciously or conscio usly a ttracted to

m e d iums fo r th e purpo se ofcomm u nicating wi th the living .

By u s ing th e as tral emanation s of the medium th e y may

'
be c ome materialized and be re ndered visible and tangible
, ,

and appear like th e deceased person h imself B u t if a .

d e cease d pe rson was in po s ses sion of h igh aspiration s and

virtu es his soul co rps e wil l not actually be the actual en tity
,
-

wl1 ic h i t r ep resents alth o ugh i t may act in every respec t

'

as th e person w h o se mask it wears If we blo w int o a .

trumpe t it will give the s ound of a tr u mpe t and no other .

The so ul co rpse of a good person if infused artificially

-
,

wi th life will produce the though ts it used to produce

,

during life ; bu t there will be no more of the ide ntity of

th at person in the co rpse than there is the identity of a
fr ien d in t h e wire of a telephone if we reco gnize his voice ,

and mann er of e xpres sion th roug h such a wire .

“ ”
The revelations made by such spirit s a re only the
ec h oes of the ir forme r t h ought s or of thoughts impre sse d ,

u pon the m by t h e living a s a mirro r reflects the fa c e s of

,

thos e that stand before i t They do not give us a true.

des c rip tion of the s piri t s condition in the wo rld of souls

’
,

beca u se h e is h imse l f i gno rant of that condi tion A t the .

time w h en Plato was l1 ving s u ch souls re tu rned giving , ,

descri p tion s of Hade s and of t h e de ities that were believed

 S P I R I T M A N I F E S TA TI ON S . 1 87

to exis t in that place A t th e pre sen t day t h e so u l s of l

.

R oman Cath olics will return and ask for mas se s to be I .

relieved from pu rgatory while t h e P ro tes tan ts re fu se to be 7

,

benefited by the ceremonie s of the Catholic C h u rch Th e .

"
so u ls of dead H indus ask some times fo r th e pe rformance
of sacrifices to thei r gods and e very
“
spi ri t appears to
,

b e domineered by those ideas in which h e believed durin g

,

h is li fe The discre pan cy in th eir reports prove th at t h ei r

.

tales are u s ually only the p roducts of t h e imagin ation of

the irratio nal soul .

“
I f man h as a spiri t that spirit mus t b e immortal
,
'

Having become conscious in man i t canno t become nu ,

conscious again beca u se it is self exis t ent and indep enden t

,
-

of all condi t ions but t h ose which i t creates itself The self .

c onsc ioune ss of the [ A m i s inde structible b ecaus e i t exists , 1

i n the absol u te eternal O ne Th e mor e the lowe r e lemen t s .

cling to that p rinciple in which abs ol u te con s

re st s the mo re will they par t ake of its s tate and be
,

consciou s and immor t al The obj ect of man s .

’

be c ome cons c ious that H e is— no t an ill u sive

form — bu t an impersonal immortal real ity Th e obj ect of , .

h is existence is to render th e u ncon scio u s s pirit c on scious )

and the mortal so ul immortal th e obj ect of deat h is to 1

release tha t w h ich is con scio u s from t h a t wh ic h i s unc on l -

scio u s and to free th e immortal from t h e bond s of igno rance

,

and of matte r .

The tree of l ife grows and prod u ces a seed and t h i s se ed ,

may have to be planted again to grow in to a t ree and p ro ,

du c e an o the r seed and th is p roces s m ay h ave to be

,

repeated o ver and ove r again un til a t las t the Spirit u a l ,

conscio u sne ss slumbering in the seed awak ens to immortal

life A gain and again may the soul b e forced by t h e law
.

of evolution to incarnate in to fle sh U ncon scious of an

y .

relation to personalities it wi l l be a ttrac ted to such cond 1

,

tion s as may b e b e st sui ted for i ts fu rt h e r developmen t as

'

its Karma decides I t will b e at trac ted to overs h ado wa

.

man whos e moral and intellect u al tendencie s and qualitie s

correspond to its own careless whethe r i t en te r s th e
,

world as a new bo rn babe t h ro u g h th e doo r of the but of

-

a beggar or t h ro u gh th e palace of a king I t d oes not

, .

c are for p ersonal co n ditions , beca u s e i t is u ncon scio u s of

its own s tate .

Th u s a man t h at reign e d a s a king in a fo rme r in c arna

1 88 R E I N C A R N A TI OJ V .

t ion may be reborn as a beggar if h is ch aracte r was t h at ,

of a beggar and a liberal beggar may create as h i s fu ture

,

s u ccessor a king or a being of noble birth B o t h act with .

ou t freedom of choice a t the time oftheir vis it to the E arth ,

following u ncon sciously thei r Karma B ut the A dep t .

,

wh ose spiri tual cons ciou snes s i s awake will be his own ,

mas ter H e has grown above the s ense ofp e rsonality an d

.
,

th ereby gained immo rtal conscious ne s s durin ghi s earthly

life H e has th rown away h is lowe r s elf and d e ath c anno t
.
,

rob h im of t hat wh ich h e no longe r p os se sses and to whi c h

h e attac h es no value Be ing cons c ious of h is exis ten c e
.

an d of the condition s u nder which he exis ts h e may fol l ow ,

his own choice in the selectio n of a body if h e c h oo ses t o ,

reincarnate eit h e r for the b ene fit ofhuma nity or for his own
,

pr ogress ion Having entirely overco me the attraction s of

.

E arth h e i s truly free

, He i s dead and uncon scious to
.

al l earthly temptations bu t conscious ofth e highe s t happ i

,

ne s s attainable by man The delusion of th e sense s can .

fas h ion for h im n o o ther tabernacle to impris on h is s oul ,

and before him lie s open t h e road to e te rnal rest in N irvana .

I f a pers on h as once a ttain e d a ce rtain amo u nt of spiri tual

knowledge h e will — if i t is neces sary for him to reincarnate
,

a gain — not need to fo l low th e blind lawof attrac tion bu t

h e wil l be able t o ch oos e the body and t h e con d itions mos t
suitable to him H e may then reincarnate h imself in th e
.

body of a ch ild or in the body of a grown pe rs on wh o se

, ,

soul h as been separated by d isease or acciden t from th e

body and the latter may thu s be brough t to life again if
, ,

no vital o rgan is too serio usly inj ured to c arry on th e

function s of li fe again C ases are known in whi c h a certai n
.

pe rso n apparent l y d ied and finally came to life a gain , ,

wh en from t h at time he appeared to be an entirely d ifferen t

man ; so for ins tance , h e may have died as a ruffi an a nd
,

aft e r h i s re c overy become suddenly like a s aint so that ,

s uch a sudden change app eared inexplicable on any othe r

theory than that an e n tirely di fferen t character h ad take n
posses sion of h is body Such p eople may afte r the i r .
,

recovery take s place speak a lang u age they n ever learn e d

,

talk famil iarly of th ings they n ever saw; call people by

their name s of w h ich they never h eard ; kno w all abou t
,

places where thei r p hys ical bodie s never h ave b een e tc

, , .
,

e tc I f phenomena c o uld p rove anythi ng su c h occurrence s

.
,

m igh t go to p r ove the t h eory of the re incarnation of l iving

a d ep ts .
1 9° B R O TH E R S O F TH E S H A D OW .

to w h ic h th ey belong ceases to exi st Su c h a pe rsonal .

existence cease s w h en h is life on the p h ys ical plan e or in

Kama loca ceases to act T h e higher i mmortal and .
,

impersonal I of the man is neit h er a gaine r nor los e r on

such an occasio n i t remains t h e s ame as it wa s b efore th e
,

compo u nd of force s repre senting t h e late personality was

bo rn .

The r eal villain h owever is h e w h o pe rfo r m s evil for th e

, ,

love of e vil with o u t per s o nal con s ideration s A person w h o .

is no mor e influen ced by h is s ens e of pe rson al i ty an d h as ,

t h ereby gained spiritual life and powe rs is a m ag i cian , .

Th ose who employ s u ch powers for the p u rp oses of evil

have been called blac k magic ians or B rotlz ers of tb e
S lz aaow in the same sense a s tho se wh o employ their
’
,

spiri tual powe rs fo r go od purp o s es h ave been calle d B ro

t/z ers of gL i /z t The w h.ite magician is a spirit u al power
for good th e real black magician i s a l ivi ng power of evil
attached to a pers onality t hat p e rfo rm s evil ins tinctively
and for the love of evil i tself This powe r of evil may kil l
.

th e man or the animal that n ever o ffended i t and by whose ,

death it h as nothing to gain de s troys for the love of de ,

struction ca u ses s u f fering withou t expe cting any be ne fi t for

,

i tself robs to th ro w away the s poils reve ls in to rt u re and

, ,

dea th Su ch a person calls to l ife an impersonal evil

.

powe r whic h i s a part of h ims elf and w h ic h contin u es to

, ,

exis t after his personality ceases t o exis t on t h e physical

p lane Many . incarnations may be needed before s u c h a
power will come in to exis tence and become strong b u t ,

when i t once l ive s i t wi l l p eris h as slow as it grew .

" ”
A ngels a s well as devils are bo rn in to the w orld and
, , ,

ch ildren with villaino u s prope ns i tie s and m alicio u s

characters are no t very rare T h ey may be t h e p rod u ct .

of s u c h forces a s in forme r incarnation s h ave developed a

tendency for evil wit h ou t be coming fi xed in evil by
,

d eveloping any spiritual conscio u snes s in th e direc tion of

evil .

E very power w h ic h may be employed fo r a good p u rpose ,

may also be u sed for a n evil p u rpos e If we can by magne

ti sm decrease t h e rapidity of the p u lse of a fever patient w
.

e -
,

may also decreas e it to s u ch an ex ten t that the subj ec t ,

cease s to live I f we can force a pers on by our will to

pe rfor m a go od ac t, w
.

e may al so forc e h im to c o mmit a

crime .
 S OR CE R 1 91

I t appears to be u nnece s sary to enter into de tail s in re

a rd to the prac tice s of Black Magic and Sorcery I t is more
g .

noble and use fu l to s t udy how we can benefit mankind ,

th an t o satisfy our c u rio sity in regard to th e powers for

evil T o S h ow to w h at aberra tions of mind a craving
.

for the power of working black magic may lead it may be ,

mentioned that th e would b e black magician G iles ae -

,
'

R ay s m ar c c li al of France and bet te r kno w “

n as Bl u e
’

, ,
”
Beard wh o was execu ted fo r his crime s a t Nan tes killed
, ,

and to rt u red to death during a fe wyears no t le ss th an on e

hun d red and sixty women and chil d ren for th e p u rpose of
practising Necromancy and Black Magic .

The wh ite magician delights in doing good the se rvant ,

of th e black art revels in cruelty and crime The fo rmer .

c o operates with the D ivine Spirit of Wisdom t h e latte r

-
,

c o ope rate s wi th the animal and semi in tellectual force s of

- -

nat u re th e fo rmer wi l l be exalted in God and un ited with

H im the latter will u ltima te l y be abso rbed by the devil s
with which h e h as associated and which h e called to h is
aid .

To rai s e our conscio u sne ss in to th e spiritual plane is to

live to le t i t sink to a lower le vel is to die The natural .

o rde r of th e u n ive rs e i s tha t the high sho u ld el evate t h e

low; but if the h igh is made to serve the low th e high ,

wi l l be degraded E verywhere in th e wo r k shop of nature

.

the high acts upon th e low by the power of the highes t .

The h igh es t i tself canno t be degraded Truth i t self cannot .

be t u rned into false h ood i t can only be rej ec ted and

,

d enied R eas on itself cannot b e rendere d foo l ish i t c an

.
,

only be refused obedience The u niversal and i mpersonal

.

c anno t itself become limited it can only come into ,

c ontact with s uch pers onalitie s as are able to approach it .

Th e hig h es t doe s n o t s u ffer by breaking its connection

with the low th e lowalone s u ffe rs and dies
, .

The impe rsonal and real is eve r ywhere and manifes ts ,

i tself in the cons c iousnes s of man Man s cons ciousnes s .

’

ro tates be tween th e two pole s of good and evil of spirit ,

and matter ; th e attraction from b elow may b e equal to

th e at traction from above Th e omnipres en t i nfluence of
.

‘
he great spi rit u al Sun ren d ers him s trong to overcome the
1 ttrac tion of matte r and as sis ts h im to come victorious
,

o u t of t he st ruggle wi th e vil Man is no t entire ly free a s

.

long as h e is not in po sse s sion of perfect knowledge which ,

1 91 R E LA TI VE F R E E D O M .

me an s , of a perfec t conscio u sne ss of t h e tr u th bu t h e is

fre e to allow h im self to be at t rac ted by a lo ve fo r th e t ru t h
or to repulse it . His s piri t u al a spirations may be in c o
~~

operation with nat u re or act again s t i t H e may b e co m e

.

u n ited with the principle of tr ut h or he may s ever h i s

,

conne ction with it and sell his inhe rite d ri ghts to imm or
ta l ity like the biblical E sau for a co mparatively W o r th l es s
, ,

mes s of pot t age Th e C en ta u r in h i s na t u re whos e l owe r

.
,

p rinciple s are animal w h ile

,
the u ppe r pa rt s are possessed
of in te l lec t may carry away h i s spiritual as piration s and
,

l u ll them into uncon scio u sne s s by th e m usic of its illu

s ion s.

B odies may be comparatively long liv e d and s ome s ouls -

, ,

compared with others may be ve ry end u ring ; bu t there

,

is no th ing permanen t but the con scio u s nes s of love and

t h e con scio u snes s of h ate L ove is light and hate rs
.
,

d arkne s s and i n t h e end love will conque r h ate becau se

,

darknes s cannot destroy ligh t and wh e reve r ligh t pene

,
-

trate s into darkness the re wi ll lo ve c onque r, and h ate and

d ark ness w
,

ill d i sappe ar .
1 94 GOD

t h at t h e fi nite mind cannot conceive of t h e infi nite and ,

that t h e u niversal God rs beyond the u n d e r s tanding of any

thing les s than its own d ivine self .

A man s life does not reside o u tside bu t within h is ow

’
n ,

body and l ikewise G od does not live o utsi d e of H i s own

,

c r ea tion ; b u t Hi s power acts inside of Natu re G od is .

e ve ry t hing in Nature an d also in that which is no t pro

,

d uc e d by nature and therefore supernatu ra l and eternal

, ,

su c h as Jus tice and Truth Nevertheless Nature is not .

God ; e verything i s not divine ; but every t h ing i s a s tate

of be ing whe r e in under c e rtai1i c ondit i ons the power of
, ,

God can become man ifest L ikewi se a stone or a tre e i s .

no t nature ; but in each stone and in e very tree ce rtain

qualities of natural laws are reveale d .

If God is all and one then there can b e only one ,

o ri ginal power and one original substance and power and

s ubs t ance themselves can only be two mo d e s of m anife sta o
‘

”
tion of the e ternal O ne Ther e c an be ne i t he r mat ter
.

nor motion p er se ; these tw

”
o terms signi fy merely two
as pec ts of tha t which is beyond our concep t ion I f our .

mind s were independent of th e conception s of time and

space we migh t perceive h owi t was that the O ne ever c ame
,

to manifes t itself as a Th ree and to c r ea t e a wo rl d b u t as we

are o urselves H is crea tures we cann o t encompas s our ,

C reato r we c annot pene t r ate with our curio si ty in to the

,

sanc t u ary of the m ys t ery of myste ries we can mere l y ris e

up in our thought to the throne of the E ternal and seek to ,

f the power f God wi t hin u wn heart and th e n we

‘

e el o o r o ,

will know mo r e abo u t Him than if we s tudy t h e whole

library of the V atican or learn by heart the E ncy c lop ce d ia
,

t/i eologic a .

Jacob Boehme a man w h o was capable to Open h is

,

eye s and to see the truth and who was ther e fore not ,

u nder the ne ce s sity of depe nding on me re belief in what

h e migh t have i magine d to be true in con sequen c e ofd raw
ing lo gical infer ence s from exte rna l obs e r vati ons says ,

The et e r nal foun d ation the will of G od be came d esirous

, ,

of c onceiving of s ome t h ing and as there was n o thing but ,

its ow n s elf this u ni ve rsal cons c iousnes s conceived of its

,

ow
’
n se lf ; it lo oke d wi t hin its elf or to expres s i t in other
‘

wo rd s God be h olds H imself in the mirro r of H is own

, ,
‘
,

l W isd om
’
ete rna .

H u man lang u age i s not w e l l adap te d to the d iscus s ion

 UN I T Y . 1 95

of e te rnal tr uth s which are beyond fi ni te compre h en sion ,

and whic h c an ne ver be unde rs to o d u nless we call to our

aid that ve ry light of who s e exi s t e nc e we d e sire to ob tain
proof There fo re the ex te r nal reasoner and d oub t er h e
.
, ,

who relies s olely on h is own in tellectual reasoning will ,

neve r ar r ive at e ternal truth becau se he rej e c t s t h e li gh t ,

but hi s own
.

of the s pirit and ex t in guis h es — no t the light

,

capacity of unde rs t an d ing .

I f there is only o ne God in th e univers e ; t h ere can be

only one power T his p owe r i s c al le d the W ill and i t i s
.
,

fu ndamen tally the same whethe r it mani fest s i tself in t h e ,

spi r i t ual plane as divine lo ve wis d om life ligh t j us t i c e

,
.

, , , ,

and tr u th ; on as t r al plane a s at trac t ion repu l s ion emo tion , , , ,

passion de s ire in the phys ical pl ane as mo tion light h eat

, , , , ,

magne tis m electrici ty co hesio n ch emical afli nity or any

, , ,

thing else A ll thes e p owe rs and fo rce s and ene r gie s are
.

and can be no thing else b ut manifes tation s of Wi l l acting

on th e highe r plane s wit h and on the lowe r one s wi thou t
s e l f cons cious ne s s G od never changes and the Will ne ver
-
.
,

changes N o th ing ever changes excep t th e mode of the

.

manifes tation A ll these as sertion s require no other p ro of

.

b u t one s own ob se r vation If you doubt th em look wit h i n

’
.
,

y ourself and ,ask yo urself whe the r o r n o t t h ey are true .

If th ere is o nly one God in the U nive rse there can b e ,

only one Sub s tan c e Th i s s ub s tance c an fu ndamentally

.

likewis e be no t hing el s e but th e Wil l bu t fo r the sa k e of ,

dis t in c t io n we ma y call it the M ind because it is by means ,

of a me ntal image ry t ha t t he Will c rea t e s t h ought s with i n

i t self We migh t a l s o ca l l it Ima gina t ion o r I d eation
.

but wh ateve r word s we may u se there i s each and e very one ,

of t h em l iable to b e m is unde rs tood becau s e wor d s are ,

merely symbol s and t o th e u n d ers tan d in g of any symbol a

,

key is ne c es sary T his key is th e u nd e r s t an d in g i t s el f

.
,

which c an be given by no man becaus e i t i s a se l f existen t

prin c ip l e that i s not of man S making bu t wi ll c ome to h im ’
,

by its own gra c e if h e makes h ims elf ready for i ts recep tion
,
.

Thi s one Su b stance is fun d amen ta l ly th e same i n all

de partmen ts of nat u re I t con s t itute s t he bo d y of God
.
,

and th e re f0 1 e of th e h ighe s t an ge l s I t fo r ms t he vehicl e .

of Sp irit and L igh t and Thou gh t ; it is eve r y t hing ; fr om

the A s tra l L ight t h at p erva d es t he wo rl d d own to th e ,

mo s t gr os s l y ma t e r ia l obj ects T h e highes t mo u ntain s no .

les s than the mo s t minu te atoms are c orp orifi e d M ind ;

 59 6 mm
‘
.

tho u g h ts rend ere d solid and mat e rial by th e ina c tivi ty of

the ir in h erent Will If t h e will of God we re to begin to
.
.

move within the fo u nda tions of t h e earth th e world which ,

we now occupy would be dissolved in the twi nkling of

'

an eye .

A ll is one and t h e one is in eternal res t

, Nevert h eless .

we fi nd no absolute res t anywhere b ut wh e re ve r we look ‘

we fi nd a con tinual change of form and activity a trans ,

formation of the im ages exis tin g in th e infini te mind If .

the mode of activity of th e will i s change d with in a form ,

the form chan ge s i ts att r ib utes ; b u t form itse lf is n o t h i ng .

I t is merely an external appearance There is conseq u en tl y .

no c h ange of anything except of th e appearance and mode

of manife station of that which ete rnally is .

Forms are shapes of the Will tinct u red by the Imagina ,

tion or w e may also say t h ey are s h apes of mind whose

, , , ,

q ualitie s are dete rmined by the act ion o f th e will res iding
in them They a re a l l certain s tates of M ind and Wi l l and
.
,

as such th ey are end u ring o r no t according to the quali ty

and in tensity of th e vibrations of the divin e ligh t that ‘

w
ca u ses them to exis t as an appearance on th e sc ree n of
creation They are all manifes tatio n s of thei r o n inner
.

spiritual light rendere d obj ective and corpo real If th e

,
.

will and th ough t cons ti t uting a form are divine the fo rm ,

will be perfect if the will is im p ure or the tho u gh t inh ar ,

m onious there will be d ish armony in the form wh ic h is

,

their ex t ernal express ion .

The perfe c tion and d u ratio n of a form depends on th e

qu ali ty of the character express ed the rein A t h o u ght .

wh i c h is a perfec t expres sion of th e truth is eve rlas ting and

b eautiful ; i t will re qu ire no circums tan tial evi d ence t o p rove
tha t it is tr u e its truth will be se l f eviden t t o eve r y one wh o
-

is c apable to perceive i t E ve r y one wh o pos se s se s t ru th

.

himself is an a u thorized e xpert in knowing the truth while ,

t he sce p tic and liar canno t see the tr u th howev er learned ,

he may otherwise be .

A though t once fo rme d e xis ts as an image in t h e mirror

of e te r ni ty To r emembe r a th o u gh t is to lo ok for i t in
.
,

t he A s t r al L ight and to behold it th e re The A s tral L ight .

is the book of natu re whe re eve ry tho u g h t be c om e s

,

eng r ave d and every e ve nt recorded The s tars on t h e sky .

exist and every one may see them L ikewis e idea s e xis t .

like s tars o n t h e inner sky of th e U nive rsal Mind sh ed d ing ,

1 98 C A P I TA L P UN I S H M E N T .

d one d as per fectly u seles s u nj u st and con trary to t h e law

,

of na t u re .That whic h commi t s a murde r o r any o t h er

c rime is a conscious and invisible powe r w h ich cannot be ,

kille d and whic h does not impro ve in character by bein g

,

separated from its external fo rm The b od y is innocent i t .

,

is me rely an ins trumen t in th e hand s of the i nvis ible c u lprit ,

the inner m an T h e face of eve n a criminal bears an

.

expres sio n of peace when t h e soul has departed By .

se vering the bonds between this intellectual and vicious

powe r and the phys ical form we do no t cha nge i ts ten ,

d e nc y to ac t evil b ut while d u ring the life of the body th e

action of that power was res tricted to on l y one fo rm h aving ,

been libe rate d i t may now incite n u merous o ther weak

,

minded p eople to perform the same c rime fo r whi c h t h e

body was execu ted Th u s by c ap ital p unis/c ment evil i s
.

no t abolished b u t i ts sphere of a c t ion incre ase d

, A S far .
"

as t h e theo ry of infl u en c ing o ther would b e criminals w it h -

fear by making an examp l e of one th us to prevent o ther s

, ,

fro m c omm i tting crime s i s con c erned ; i t i s well known

,

t h at c r i minals do n ot look upon any p u nishment as being

s ome thing wh ich they have de served for th eir deeds b u t ,

as being a c onsequence of having be en so c are le Ss a s to

a l low t hemselve s to be caugh t and they us u al l y make u p ,

thei r minds that if they were permitted to escape t h ey

, ,

wou l d be mo re careful— no t to be caugh t a gain .

The de struction of a form i s entirely u sele ss for t h e p u r

po se of annihilating the princip l e which it re presents b e ,

c au se the form is no t the character nor can the de st ru ction ,

of the form in any way improve or ameliorate tha t character .

H e who s teal s away the life of any being whe ther legally ,

or il l egally me rely des troy s the condi t ion s unde r which a

,

Spark of the D ivini t y was s triving to u nfol d its ligh t and

to obtain consciousn e s s and he the reby c ommits a crim e
,

agains t G od ; while the p u nish men t of the culprit exis ts

n owh e re excep t in his imaginati on becaus e if he 1 5 not ,

afrai d to die deat h will be no p u nis h ment to h im A ll

,
.

tha t ki l ling c an po ssib ly accomplish rs to produce a c h ange

of e xtern al e ffec ts c reat i ng thereby internal causes w h ich
,

are far more inj urious e ve n if they are les s e vident We .

are again s t killing fo r the sake of convenience ; but on th e

o th er hand we wo u ld no t s ubscribe to that sen timental
policy tha t never W ar d s off a blow and s u bmi ts to be
ki l led .He who pe rmi ts himself to be kill e d by anothe r ,

is committing m u rd er through h im From a m isund e r .

 REF OR M S . 1 99

s tanding of th e relation s exis t ing b etween a p rinciple and

the form in which i t finds its expre ssion res ult the mo s t
lu d i c r ous e ffe c ts ; no t t h e least of whi c h are the vagaries
of those who attemp t to improve the c on d ition of th e world
by doc t oring t h e external e ffe cts of in ternal cau se s whe re ,

by invariably wors e evils come in to existence I f we wish .

to preven t the growth of an evi l tree i t is of little us e to ,

lop off the leave s and the twigs or even to hid e the tree ,

behin d a se re e n The living force in th e roo ts and in the

.

t runk wi l l act w ith renewed strength pro d ucing ne w ,

bran c h es and leaves which th e s c ree n canno t cove r fro m

,

S igh t .

A ll fo rms are no thing bu t symbols by which i nternal

prin c ip l es find their express ion to s u cce s s fully c hange a
fo rm i t m u s t be endowed with a new principle We may .

melt iro n a thousand times we c annot transform it into

‘

g old nor
,
c ould we transform a sinne r into a sain t if we

were to baptize him with all th e water that r u n s into th e

s ea bu t we on l y make a piece of iro n magneti c by endow
,

ing i t wi th magnetism and a villain may become hones t if

,

the ligh t of the t r ue unders tan d ing enters his heart .

E ach bei ng i n nature repres en ts a mental s tate in a c e r

tain condi tio n of vibration E a c h repre sents a melo d y in
.

the great symph ony of th e mus i c of th e sphe res ; and as one

s ound of an in s t r ument may ca u se a similar vibration in a
co r responding ins trument likewise the p rinciple e xpre sse d
,

in one form may call a similar principle in another fo rm

in to a c tion .

If mankin d as a wh ole we re s o far awakene d from their

slumbe r as to be able to recognize the exis ten c e of ete rnal
principles instea d of me rely beh olding the pe rishing form
, ,

then would the gold en era be gin and the pa r adise be again
es tabl ishe d upon the earth Then wo u ld th ey c ease to .

run afte r ill usions and sha d ows or to put their fai th into ,

worth les s obj ects Then would they behold th e H o l y

.

Spiri t i n everything and the R edeemer within themselves .

Then would th e world be transforme d by th e magic powe r

of love and the darknes s of i gnorance be c hange d in to the
,

lig h t of knowledge by th e infl u ence of the rays of d ivin e

wisdom .

B u t w h at else can an e ternal prin c iple be excep t a state ,

ofliving will tinctured by d ivine thou gh t ? E ven th e h ig h es t

spiri tua l bein gs and planetary spirits c anbe no thing el se bu t
s el f c on sc io us t h ought s of God vehicles fo r t h e divine will
-
,
 20 0
I
S YM P A T H I E S .

and ins tr u ments for its mani fes ta t ion ; all bei ng obe d ie nt
to d ivine law orde r and h armony wit h o u t w h ic h th ey
, ,

co u ld no t be divine or ete rnal .

God does not need t h e wo rld to enable h im to be what

H e is b u t Nat u re re quires G od to enable h er to exis t
, .

The principle of life req u ires no form b u t forms need the ,

p rinciple of life to enable it to live L ike w ise e ternal love

.

and j u s tice and trut h are self exis ten t s elf sufli c ie nt and
-
,
-

in d ependent of any obj ec t or form b u t t h ey canno t

manifes t t hemselves witho u t appropriate forms and the ,

fo rms that re quire them to enable th em to love to be j u s t ,

and tr u e In o ther wo rds : God is independe nt of H is

.

*
creation ; b u t creation is depe ndent on H im .

Th u s t h e s u n co u ld exis t w ith o u t our earth b u t t h e earth ,

not wi t ho u t th e s u n ; a man can be w itho u t tr u t h b ut ,

e ternal trut h nevertheles s rema i n s w h a t it is even if t h ere ,

were no one to recogni z e i t .

T hu s we s ee that no thing will ever c h ange or be tran s

formed except by the infl u en c e of an othe r principle
, A .

nat u ra l product grows by th e infl u en c e of natural principle s ,

and that which is divine in man by the infl u ence of th e

D ivine while that whic h is devilish in man will grow by
the aid of the D evil .

A ll things are made of will an d t h o u g h t and t h ere fore ,

thought and will can act eve n u po n corporeal substance s .

A ny th ing a person to uche s rec e ive s a part of his ow n spirit .

A lock of hair a piece of clot h ing th e h andwriting of a

, , .

person o r any article h e may have tou c he d handled or , ,

worn may indica te to an in t uitive in divi d u al t hat person s

,
’

s tate of health his phy s ica l e mo tio nal in tellec t u al and

, , , ,

moral attr ib u tes and qualifi c ation s The pict u re of a .

murde rer may be imp res s ed on the re tina of h is victim ,

and in some ins tan c es b e re p ro d u c e d by mea ns of pho to

graphy but it is s u rely imp r e s s ed on all the surroundings
of the place w h ere the deed o c c u rred and can there be ,

detected by t h e psychome t e r who may th u s come en rap

,
e

p o rt w i th the criminal and e

, ven fo llow the e vents o f his
life a fter he h as left t h at locality and hun t h im down j u s t ,

as the bloodh o u nd traces the s tep s of a fugitive slave sl ’

Se e J ac ob B oeh m e , A uror a 2 3 .

l mm
' '
E a H a r d inge B r itt e n “
G h ost Land Th e c ase c it e d in this
.

b ook , in wh ic h a c l airvoy ant foll owe d th e trac k s of a m urd e re r t h rough

se ve r al t ow ns and c augh t h im at l ast , is q uot e d in se ve ral G erman
u b lic at ions of th e last c e ntury
p .
aoz D R U GS .

th ey do no t exist and th a t the re may not be o t h ers w

, ho
may be able to perce ive them beca u se their imp re s s ion al
capacities are grea t er .

O nly the igno ran t man believes t h at h e kno w s eve ry

t h ing What rs really known is only like a grain of sand
.

on the s h o re of the ocean in c ompariso n to wha t is s till

u nkno wn Physiologis ts kn ow that certain plan ts an d
.

ch emicals have ce rtain powe rs and to a certain extent ,

they explain the ir secondary e ffec ts Th ey know that .

D igitalis dec reases the q u ickne ss of the p ulse by para

lyz ing th e hear t that B e l la d onna di l ates th e p u pil by para
lyz ing t h e muscular fibre s of th e I ri s that O p ium in small
doses produces S leep by c ausing an aemia of the brain ,

while large doses p ro d u ce coma by ca u s ing c o nge stion ;

but why t hese subs tances have s uch e ffects or w hy a c h em ,

ical comp ound of Nitrogen O xygen C arbon an d Hi d ro

, , ,

gen may be exce edingly p oisonous i n one ch em ical c om

bina tion while the same subs tance s if combined in a
,

d i fferent stoe c h iome tric al proportio n may be u s ed as foo d ,

neither chemis try n o r phys iology can tell u s at present .

I f we however l oo k upon all form s as symb o ls of mental

, ,

s tate s i t will no t be more di ffi cult t o imag i n e why s try c h

,

nine is poisono u s than why h ate can kill or fear para l yze
, ,

the hear t .

If al l things are made of imagina tio n and will then ,

s urely drugs are th e same and by giving dr u g a to a patien t

, ,

we mere l y induce a c orre sp ond ing a c tivi ty in h is will and

’

act upon the imaginatio n of h is nat u re Th e fact tha t th e .

patient is n o t h imself con scio u s of i t does not change the ,

matte r There are many p roces s es go ing on in his sys tem

.

of whi c h he has no knowledge We therefo re see t ha t

.
, ,

even the mos t rabid an ti mind c u rer and drug doc to r ac ts

- -

after a l l himse l f upon the min d o f th e patient .

The power to re c eive trans fo r m and evolve t h o u gh ts

,

is the powe r of Imagination I f an idea en te rs in to th e

.

mind the mind se eks to clothe i t into a fo r m and this

, ,

power may be e xerci sed independ e ntly of any active

appli ca tio n of the will .

Imagination is t h e refo re an active powe r and i t fo rm s

, , ,

the basis of a ll a rt i s tic and magi c al ope r ation s A rt an d .

magi c are c l os e l y r elated together bo t h give obj ective ,

form to s ubj ective ideas The a r tis t exe r c i ses this power
.

when he mentally pr oj ects th e pic t ure formed in h is min d

 I M A GI N A TI ON . 20 3

u pon th e canvas an d chains it the r e by the u se of h is pen c il

or brush the s c u l p t o r shapes the pi c t u r e of a form on his
min d and emb o d ies i t in t h e marb l e He then emp l oys .

mechanical fo rce to free the i d eal from a l l i rregu l a r i ties ,

and resu rrects i t from t he tomb out of whi c h i t may r ise,

as a mater ia l izatio n of though t T h e magician forms an

.

image on h is min d and ma k es it percep t ible to o thers by

p r oj ecting i t in t o their men t al sph e r e s .

By this law many of the feats performe d by Indian

fakirs may be explained They may c au se tigers and.

e l ephan t s or anything else appear before a mu l titude by ,

merely formin g th e ima ge s of s uch t hin gs in the sph ere of

their mind and a s that sph ere e xtends th r o u gh spa c e they
, ,

may locate thes e i mage s whereve r they ch os e What the .

spectators see on such oc c asions is nothing els e bu t th e

t hough t s of the conj uror rende re d obj ective and visible by
,

his wi l l .

I n th e case of an ar tis t mechanical labo r execute s t h e

wo r k and the artist wi l l fin ish hi s wo rk the sooner t he
,

mo re h e wo r ks to that end In the case of a ma gi c ian

.
,

c oncentration of thought e xecu t e s his wo r k and h e wi l l ,

s uc cee d the be t ter t he m o r e h is th ough t is c on c ent r at e d

u pon the wo rk h e d esire s to pe rfo rm ; but the gr ea t es t
a m oun t of l abor will no t enab l e a pe r son who i s not an
ar tis t to pro d u c e a real wo r k of a r t and t h e g r eates t c on
,

c entra tion of thought will no t enable a pe rson wh ose w ill

i s no t free to perfo rm a tr ue magi c al feat .

A s l ong as the wo r l d exis ts no man has eve r changed an

opinion or an i d ea except by the influx of an other idea ;
,

no r has any A l chemis t eve r c hange d any inferio r metal

in t o go l d ex c ept by the infl uen c e of t hat p r in c ip l e which
c ons t i t u t es gold ; no r ha s e vil ever been t r ans fo rmed in to

g ood, ex c ept th rough the ac tion of t he s upe rio r power of

g oo .d
T h e p r oces se s of nature are alchemical pro c e s ses and
not mere ly c hemical one s b ecaus e withou t t he p rin c ip l e
,

of l ife a c t i ng upon t he c hemi c al s ubstances of the earth no ,

g r ow th wou l d re su l t I f th e for c e of attractio n and re pul

.

sion were en tirely equal e ve ryth i 1 g wou l d be at a stan d s t ill

, .

If g r ow t h and de c ay wou l d go han d i n han d no thing ,

c o ul d grow because a ce ll woul d begin to deca y as soon a s

,

i t would begin to form T h e chemis t may take ea r th and

.
,

water and ai r and separa te them into their cons tituent

, ,
20 4 S P I R I T US M UN D I .

elemen ts and recombin e t h em again and at t h e end of h is

, ,

work he will be with h is work w h ere h e be gan B u t the .

A lch emy of na ture takes water a nd ear t h and ai r and , , ,

infus es into them th e fi re of life fo rming the m into tree s ,

and p roducing flowers and fr u i ts Natu re c ould n ot gi ve .

her life imparting influence to h e r children if she d id not

-

po sses s i t the chemist wh o has no life prin c iple at h is -

command cannot perfo rm the wo nders of A l chemy .

z am z es T r z t/z ez m say s : T h e z tus M and : resem

j o l s r

b l es a breath appearing a t fi rs t like a fog and a ft e rwar d s

,
’
condensin g like water Th is wa t e r ( A kasa ) was in t h e .
’

beginnin g pe r vade d by the principle of l i fe and l ig h t was ,

awakened m i t by th e fiat of t h e ete rnal spiri t This sp in ! .

of g Zi /rt called , the soul o f th e wo r l d ( th e A stral L igh t ) is ,

a spiri tual sub s tance which can b e made visible and tan ,

g ib le by art it is a s ub sta n,
ce bu t be ing i nvi s ible ,w e call , ,

it s pirit This soul or c orp us i s hidden in the cen tr e of

.
’

eve r ything and c an be extracted by mean s of the spiri t u al

,

fi re in man which i s iden tical with t h e u n ive rsal spirit u al

,

fire ( the A stral L i h t ) con s ti t u ting the es sen ce of nat u re

c
,

and containing t h e images and fi gu re s of th e U niversal

M ind .

“
This L igh t (A s tral L ig h t ) re sid es 1 n th e Water (Akasa ) ’

and is hi d de n as a S eed i n all th ing s E ve ryth m g that .

ori ginated fro m the ss rz t of lzlg/z t 1 s s u s taine d by i t and ,

the refo re this sp ixit i s omnipre sen t ; t h e whole of nat u re

o

would perish and d isappear if it were re mo ved from i t it

”
is M e p rz nc zp z um o f all things
’ ’ ’

There we re true A lchemists du ring th e M iddle A ges wh o

k new h ow to extrac t that S eed fr om the s ou l es sen c e of t h e -

wor l d and there are some who h ave th e powe r to perform

,

that proce s s to d ay I t is an e tern a l tr u th t h a t wi th o u t

.
,

ou r secret magical fi re no thing can be accomp lis h ed in our

art T h e ignorant will not believe in our ar t beca u se th ey
.

do n ot poss ess that fi re ; and wi tho u t t hat fire all the ir

labor is useles s With o u t that fi re spirits cann o t be bo u nd
.
,

muc h les s can t h ey be acted u pon wi t h ma te r ial fi re .

The mo s t importan t alc h emical wo rk 1 5 t h e gen e ra tion

of m an i t requir es no t only th e c h emica l comb ina tion of
,

p hys ical sub stances b u t involves a ch emistry

,
of t h e so ul
and an influence of t h e spirit and al l mu s t harm on io u sly ,

M irac ul osa,
‘
J . T rith eim C h ap xiv . .
20 6 N A T UR A L L A W .

will m u s t be in h ar mony wit h wisdom while wisdom is ,

acq u ire d in no o t h er way b u t by obedien ce to the law

‘

He wh o obeys th e laws of nature and ac ts as h er Se r v ant ,

becomes the mas ter of nature and ren d e rs he r obe d ient to

him H e wh o obeys the divine laws of G od and is a true
.
v
'

se rvant of G od will be in po s ses sion of d ivine power and

, ,

G od will fu lfil h is desires .

The will becomes free t h r o u gh know l edge Not by .

mean s of what 1 5 u sua l ly ca l led kno wledge and whi c h

”
,

con sists in opinion s formed by intellectual speculation an d

drawing infe rence s but by means of the knowled ge of th e
s u ch as i s the resul t of the sou l s own percep tion and
,

soul
’

experience .

O nl y when th e wil l has be c ome fre e will it be able to act,

a t a d istance and to perfo r m the wonders of M agic and

A l c hemy whi c h are re ga r ded as miracles by the igno ran t
,

and denied by the foo l ish because no man can b e fo u nd

,

who is able to pe rform them ; they all being t h e s lave s of

worldly de sires
Th e wi l l of Go d is free and identical with th e law I t is
.

no t infl u enced by any selfi sh desir e nor by exho r ta tion s and

prayers I t neve r deprives any creature howeve r lowi t
.
,

may be l n the s ca l e of evo l u t ion of any of i ts rights or gives

, ,

them to an o t her i t is deaf to persuasions una ffec ted by ,

bombas t and bragging and can nei t h er b e bribed wi t h

, ,

money no r be delu d e d with show s .

If the actions of the U nive rsal Mind were not s u bj ec t to

th e eternal law of cau s e and effec t bu t guided by t he ,

a r bitrary whims and notions of some invis ible powe r or

g od contained therein th e
, mo s t ext r ao r d inary re su l ts we r e
l iable to follow and th e age of act u al mi racle s would begin
, .

Th e eart h would perhap s stand sti l l fo r a d ay or a year

and begin to revolve again t h e n ext ; some times it might
turn fas t and a t o the r time s s l ow and ther e is n o end to
,

the ab surditie s which might take p l ace es pecia ll y if this

imaginary p ower could be ind u ced to fo l lo w t h e advice s of
its worshippers .

To the s u perficial ob server t h e proces ses of na tu re seem

to be the re sults of chance The sun shines and the rain
.
'

falls u p on the land of th e pio us as well as upon t h a t of th e

wicke d s to rms and fire s rage ca r e l es s wh e th er they
, ,

d estroy th e life and p roperty of the l earned or tha t of t h e

igno rant , beca u se t h ey are t h e nece s sary res u l ts of th e
 D I VI N E W I SD OM . 3 07

lawof c ause and e ffec t T h e interes t ofindivid ual s c ann ot

.

c ontr ol th e welfare of t h e w h ole While t h e welfare of.

th e h uman body seems to be , to a certain e xtent , u nde r

th e c ontrol of the will of the individ u al , the p roces ses of
na t u r e , as a w h ole , appear to be u ng u ided by t h e reas on
of the U niversal M ind .

Man s reason can preven t an o u tb u rst of h is emotio ns

’

b ut w h e re i s t h e personal god to control th e emotions of

t h e so u l of the world ? God does not prevent t h e grow th of
wart s , or cancers , o r tu mors , God be ing th e lawcanno t ac t in
contradiction with H imself H is bles sing sare accompanie d
.

’
by curses M an s foot crushes t he insect beca u s e man s
.
’
,

perception and i nte ll igence doe s no t pe rvade his fe et God

d oes no t preven t th e growth of a stone in the bladder ,

because the h i gh canno t mani fe s t i t self in t h e low wisdom ,

canno t be active in an un c onsciou s form the mean s m u s t be

adapted to th e end The mus ic tha t can be made with a
.

harp can no t be made with a stick The intelligence of .

th e U niver sal M in d can only manifes t its elf t h ro u gh

ins tr u ments adapted for in telle ct u a l mani fe s tation .

Wisdo m i s not a prod u ct of the o rganizatio n of man .

I t is eternal and un iversal I t finds it s expres s ion in th e

.

fundamen tal laws upon which th e u nive rs e wi th all its forms

is co ns tructed I t is exp ressed in the shape of a leaf in
.
,

the body of an animal in the organism of man I ts ac tio n

, .

can b e found everyw h ere in nature as long as the beings ,

in na t u re live a c cor d ing to nature There are no diseas es .

in nat u r e wh ich have not be en originally created by

power s w h ic h acted contrary to the laws of nat u re and
became t h erefore unnatural O u tward appearances seem.

to contra d ic t th is assertion becaus e we find anim al s

a ffe c ted wit h diseases and epidemic disease s are even of
,

freq u ent occ u rrence in th e vegetable kingdom But a .

deeper inves tigation into t h e o cc u lt laws of na t u re may

show that all the forms of nature minerals vegetable s and , , ,

animals are merely s tate s o r expres sions of the s tates of the

,

U n iversal M ind — in o t her words — prod u cts of t h e imagin

at ion of Nature and as the imagina tion of Na ture is ac te d
on influenced and modified by t he imagination of man a
, ,

morbid imagination of man is followe d by a morbi d s tate of

the U niversal Mind and morbid res u lts follow again on the
,

phy s ical plan e This law explains w h y periods of grea t

.

moral depravity sens u ality su p er stitio n and m at e riali s m

, , ,
20 8 S P I R I T UA L P R O GR E S S .

may be followe d by plag u e s epidemics famine wars e tc

, , , , .

and it wou l d be worth the while to col l ec t s tati s tics to

sh o wtha t s uch h as invariably been the case .

Th e elementary force s of nature are blind and obey the

law that controls th em If hailstone s we re wise they
.
,

wou l d no t indiscriminately de s troy the crop s if the sun

were a veh icle fo r in telle c tual l abor h e mig h t pe rhap s b e
,

pe rsuade d some times to ch ange the directions of h is rays .

S t one s have n o intelli gence becaus e they have no o rgan i

,

z ation through which in tel l igence can act but if an ,

inte ll igen t powe r s ets them into mo tion they obey th e law,

by whi c h their movement is guided A s the organisms .

rise in the s c a l e of evol ution and deve lopmen t their con ,

sc iousne ss be c ome s more manifes t C on scio u snes s b e

.

c ome s manifest as ins tin c t in th e animal creation I t .

tea c he s th e bir d to fly the fish to swim the ants to buil d

, ,

their h ouses the swallows to make their nes ts A c t

, .

ing th rough the nerve centres and the s pinal cord i t

in d uce s the action s of the h eart and lungs an d othe r
organic and involuntary action s of the body
The brain i s the mos t high l y developed 1 nstrum e n t for
the manife s tation of mind I t perform s t he int elle ctual
.

labo r of th e organism acting a s a centre of attraction for

,

t he col l ec t ion of ideas as a worksho p for th eir transforma

,

tion and a s a focus from which they are reflected again

,

into the A s tr al L igh t B u t wi th the powe r of perfo rming

.

intellect u al l abo r the highe s t manife station of God 1 n man

i s no t ye t obtained If we wish to know the wisdom and
.

maj esty of God we m u s t prepare o u rs elve s to be come fi t

,

recep t acles fo r H is love .

To a c complish this we need not s eek to ac qu ire any

,

th ing by our own power A ll selfish e fforts are usel ess for
.

t hat p u rpo se A ll we need is to t h row away the obstacle s

.

in our po ss es sion that h inder us from s eeing th e light of

th e truth an d wh ich consis t of our own s e l fish t ho ughts
,

and desire s . I f man a c comp l ishe s this he rc u l ean task ,

then w i l l the door to the mys tery be ope n before h im h is

mind wi l l become i l lumina t ed wi t h wisdom and in h is ow ,n
soul he will be h old t h e glo ry of h is C reat or .
51 0 TH E M I C R O C O SM .

visibly active in contact wi th d u s t so the div in e ray is ,

ab sorbed and refle c ted by matter It mingles for a while .

with ma t ter and draws up towards the sun suc h e leme nts
,

as ar e s u ffi cien tly re fi ned to e scap e th e attractio n of

E art h .

The s u n ray plays with the waves of th e ocean th e h eat

-

c r eated by the con tac t of water with ligh t from above

e xtracts from below t h e refined mate rial and th e vap ors ,

ris e to the sky w h ere lik e the gho s ts of t h e seas t h ey

, , ,

wander i n c l ouds of manifold shapes traveling fre el t h ro ug h y

the air playing with the w inds until the time a r r i ves when
, ,

th e energies which ke ep t h e m s u spended b eco me e xh a u s ted

an d they once more descend to ear th I n a simi l ar .

manner the divine ray of t h e sp iri tual s u n m in g l e s wi t h

mat t er whi l e dwelling on E arth ab s orb ing an d assimilatin g ,

wha t ever he c hooses or wha t co rres pon d s t o his nee d s .

A s th e butte rfly fl its from fl o w e r to flower tas ti ng th e ,

sweets of each so the h u man mona d pas se s from life to

,

life fro m p l anet to planet gathering exp e rience k nowledge

, , , .

and st rength b u t when the d ay of life is over nig h t

, ,

follows and with it follows sleep b ringing d ream s of vivid

,

reali t y T h e gro sse s t element s remain t o m i ngle again

.

with earth th e more refined eleme n ts — th e astral elem ents

,

- whi c h are s till within the a ttrac t ion of th e p lane t floa t

about d riven hith er and t h ithe r by t h e ir i nh eren t
,

tendencie s until the energy which h old s t h em togeth er is

,

exhausted and they disso l ve again in th e pla n e to wh ic h

,

they belong ; b u t the highe s t spiri t ual e nergies of man h e ld ,

together by l ove freed fro m the attrac tio n of E art h ascend ,

to their s ource like a wh ite robe d spirit b ring i ng wi t h it -

,

the produ c ts of its experience beyo nd th e limi ts of matter .

Man s love and aspira t ion do no t belong to E ar th T h ey

’
.

crea t e energies which a re ac tive beyo n d t he con fi nes of

t h e grave and th e fune ral pyre their ac t ivity may las t for -

ages un til i t become s exhau s ted and the p urifi ed ray

, , ,

endowed wi th the tendencies imp re s sed u po n it by i ts last

visi t to t h e plane t again s eeks ass ocia t io n w i t h m at t er
, ,

build s again its pr ison hous e of anima ted clay and appears
-
,

an old acto r in a new part u po n the eve r c h anging s tage -

of life .

Some of the greate s t ph ilosop h ers h ave arr ived a t a

recogn ition of t h is tru th by s peculation and logica l r ea s on
ing wh ile o ther s who se minds were ill u minate d by w i s d o m
, ,
 E XP E R I E N C E . 21 1

h ave perceived it as a self eviden t fact by t h e p ower of

-

in tuition .

To build t h e new h o u se th e imp ressions ga t h e red by its

previo u s visi ts furn is h th e material The slothfu l rich man
.

of the pas t may become the beggar of the fu ture and th e ,

ind u s trious worker 1 n the present l i fe may d evelop tende n

cies which will lay th e founda tion of grea tne s s in the next .

Su ffering in one li fe may produ c e patience and fortit u d e

that will be useful in anothe r ; hardships will p roduce e n
d u rance self denial will s tre ngthen the will tas te s engen
-

dered in one life may be our g u ides in ano the r and accu
m ulate d energie s will become a c tive whene ver circum
s tances req u ire i t d u ring an exis tence on t h e material
plane eit h e r 1 n one life or anot h er according to the e terna l
,

law of ca u se and e ffect .

A c hild may burn i ts fingers by to u ching the flame and ,

t h e adult may not remember all the c ircums tances under

which t h e accident occ u rred ; still th e fact that fire will
b u rn and m u s t not be to u ched will remain impres sed upon
t h e mind In th e same manner the e xpe rien c e s gained in
.

one life may not be remembered in th eir de tails in the

nex t but th e impres sions whic h they produce will remain
, .

A gain and again man pas ses throug h the wheel of trans
formation changing h is lowe r energie s into h igher ones
, ,

u nti l he has attained knowledge by experience and h e ,

becomes w h at h e is d es tined to b e— a god

— .

There is a certain s tage in the s p iritual evolution of man

when he will become se l f cons c ious in the spiri t He will
-
.

then reme mber the even ts of h is previo us life ; b u t to

remember them in h is p resen t s tate of imperfection would
be me rely a h in d rance in his p r ogres s I t has been said .
,

th at by no t remembering the errors of our pas t lives and

their evil conseque nces man is liable to commit his pre
,

vious erro rs again but we o u g ht no t to do goo d merely

a s a matter of speculation and to avoid evil consequences
re sulting therefrom b u t fr om an inheren t desire to d o good
, ,

regar d le s s of what the re s ulting c onseq uence s may be .

Man like the maj ority of organized beings is an atom

, ,

in the immensity of the universe ; h e c annot be divi d ed

and still remain a man b u t unlike o th e r and lower o rgan
iz e d beings who se realization of exis ten c e is confine d to
,

the physical or astral plan e that which cons t itutes him a

,

Man and dis tin gu is h es h im fro m an animal is an integra l

21 2 E V OL U T I ON .

and c onscio u s part of th e highe s t spirit u a l energy of th e

.

u niverse which is everywhere present ; and h is s pi ri t u al

,

c on scio u snes s i s therefore not li mited to a ce rtain locality

, ,

in the p h ysical wo rld .

W h o made Man — Man makes h imself d u ring every day

of h is life H e is his own creator The clay— the mate
. .

rial body— that clings to t h e ray of the m anifes ted A bsolute ,

is take n from E arth the energies c alled the soul are th e , ,

p rod u cts of th e as tral plan e the h ig h e s t energie s called ,

“ ”
t h e sp irit belong to heaven A nim al man like the
'

, .
,

lower orders of na tu re is a prod u ct of t h e blind law of

,

necess ity and may e ven be p r od u ced artifi c ially l A s s u ch

, .
’<
,

h is mo ther is Nature, t h e eve r immac u late virgin wh o ,

presen ts time born man to his father t h e infinite spiri tual

-
,

principle to be transfo rmed into a god Th e physical

,
.

attrib u te s of the child and its mental q u alification s are

th e result of inhe ritance or p re vio u s ly exis ting condition s .

L ike the tree that can s end its roo ts i nto t h e ne ighbori ng
“

soil and gather t h e n utrime nt by w h ich it is s urro u nded ,

b u t canno t roam abo u t in s ea rc h of food a t d is tan t place s ,

so phys ical man h as only a limite d choice in th e s e l e ction

of s uch means of developmen t as h e may req u ire ; h e grows ,

beca u se h e cannot res is t the lawof ne ce ssi t y and the im ,

p u lses given by nat u re But as reason be gin s to enligh ten

.

h im the work of creation b egin s

, Th e in telligence .

within says to the will L e t us make man Sh e u rge s .

the will and the will sullenly leave s it s favor ite occ u pation
,

of se rving th e passions and begin s t o mo u ld animal man

in accordance w it h th e divine image h eld u p before h im by
wisdom .

L et us m ake M an means : L e t u s make a d ivine man

out of an animal man ; le t u s s u rround t h e divine ray
within us with th e pures t of e s sence s gathe red from the
lower planes let u s th row off eve rything wh ich i s sens u al
and grossly material and which hinders our p rogres s let
,

u s transform the e mo tion s into virtue s in which th e spirit

u al ray may clo th e itself when i t reascend s to i ts th rone .

L e t us m ake man ! I t depen d s en tirely on our e ffor ts

wha t kind of a man we sha ll make To make an ave rage .

man or e ven a superio r one in the common acceptation of

th e term is not a very di ffi cult matter Follow th e rule s .

See P arac elsus . H omunc uli .

21 4 TH E TE M P L E .

repres ents the physical B ody I f th e male S un co h abits .

with the fe male M oon in the water of T rut/i they will pro ,

d uce a s on w h o s e n ame is W isd om The in telle ct is th e .

material man w h ose bride i s I ntuiti on th e divin e wom an ,

n o man or woman is perfec t as long as t h e celestial mar

riage has no t taken place through the po we r of L ove
*
.

Man is not merely an intellec t u al wo rk shop b u t a te m

ple wherein re sides th e s p irit of G od Th e ma t erials 0 1 .

w h ich Man is con s t r u cted are the se ven principl e s th at

flow into him from th e s to re h o u se of u n iversal na t u re
-
,

the builder is the will reas on the s u pe rin tenden t and wis
, ,

dom the supreme arch i tect T h e b u ilding goes on wit h ou t

.

nois e and no soun d of th e h amm e r i s h eard becau se the

, ,

materials are already p re pare d by nature they only

requi re to be p u t into th ei r p rope r places Th e h ig h e s t i s .

t h e Spirit and Spirit alone is imm o rtal Su ch of the lower

, .

elemen ts as may ha rmoni z e wi th i t amalga mate with th e

spirit and are rendered immo rtal P ure spirit can only
,
.

find its co rresponding v ib ra tio ns in the highes t spi ri tu al

e lements s u ch as are fu rnish ed by th e h ighe r p ri nciple s
, ,

and consis t of th e pures t th o u gh t s a spira t ion s and m e m , ,

o t i c s prod u ced by the fifth in w h ich re side s th e in tel

,

l ec tual powe r of man P ure in telligence is Spirit u ali t y

.
,

bu t in tellect u al power labo ring only in th e lowe r plane s of

th ough t can bring to ligh t n o s piri tual t reas u res u nless it ,

is pene trated by the light of Wisd om w h ich e nables i t to ,

dis tinguish t h e pure me tal from the ma t erial d ros s A .

very intellectual and learned per son m ay be very u nh appy

an d u nh armonious if h i s tenden cie s are towards evil and
, ,

h is mind incapable to be ill u mina t ed by th e ligh t of tru t h .

W isdom is th e pe rfect r ec o gn i t ion of t he t ruth ; it re si d es

in th e s piri t u al principle of man and s ends i t s ligh t down,

into h is fi ft h principle whe re it may be seen by the powe r

,

of intui tio n s hining t h ro u g h th e clo u d s of mat ter like th e

,

s u nlight penetra ting a fog .

The fifth principle rec eive s i ts s tim u l u s from t h e fo u rt h ,

the ra tional nat u re of m an We c a nno t b u ild a ho u se

.

without s olid material and we may j u s t as well attemp t to

,

r u n a s team en gine w itho u t fuel or wate r a s to make a

-

enius out o f a being wi thou t any emo tion s or in te l lec t

g .

The stronge r the emotions are t h e m ore end u ring will ,

u n
Th e Pe rfe c t W ay, or th e F ind ing of C h rist
”
.
 TH E B UI L D E R S . 21 5

be th e spirit u al temple if they can be made to fi t into th e ,

wal l s and pillars A pe rson with out any emotion s is with ‘

out v i r tue s he is wi thout energy a sha d ow nei the r c old

, , ,

nor warm and ne c e ssarily useless The pas sionate man is

, ,
.

nearer to th e spirit if he can guide his pas s ion s in the righ t

,

dir ection towa r d s t he so u rce of all goo d than the man who ,

has not h in g to gui d e and no thing to conquer .

T o pro d uce a perfect bui l d ing or a p e r fect man th e , ,

p ropo rtion s mus t be harmoni ous W is d om gui d es th e wo r k .

and love f urnishes the cemen t A n emo tion i s ei t h e r a .

v i rtue or a vice ac c ord ing to the mann er in which it i s

,
'

app l ied . Misapp l ied vir tu es become vice s and well ,

d ire cted vices are virtues A man w h o acts accordin g to

.

th e dictate s of p ru d ence alone is a c oward one w ho

indisc r iminate l y ex e rcise s his gene r os ity is a s pe n d t h rift ;
co ura ge witho u t c aution i s r ashne s s ven e ration w i t hou t
knowledge produce s supers tition ch arity wit h o u t j udgmen t
make s a beggar and even one sided j u s tice if too stern
, ,
-
,

and unbending and untempe red by mercy prod u ces a ,

miserly cruel and despi c able tyrant

, , .

The irra tional s ou l impelle d only by i ts de sire s and un

,

guided b y wisd om resemble s a drunken man wh o has los t

,

his phys ical balance it to tte rs from side to s ide fal l s from ,

one extreme in to an ot h e r and c annot guide its ste ps , . .

O n l y an equilibri u m of force s can p rodu c e harmon y be auty ,

and perfec tion T he irrational s o ul swayed by u n c ontrol

. .

l ab l e emo tion s form s an unfit h abita tion for t he d ivine ray

, ,

that lo ve s peac e and tranquillity .

The control of th e emo tion s is th e di ffi c u lt s tr uggle that ,

i s a l legorically repre sen te d by th e twelve la bo rs of H er c u l e s ,

which th e oracle of Ze u s com m anded h im to perfo rm .

E ve ry man who d esire s to p rogre s s is h is ow n Herc ules

an d works fo r the benefi t of th e k ing ( his A tma ) whos e
.
,

o rders h e receives throug h the d ivine o r acle of his own

intuition H e 1 8 co nstan tly engaged 1 n battle be c ause th e
.
,

l owe r principles figh t for th ei r l ive s and will nei t he r be

c onq u ered They a re th e produc ts of matter and they c lin g
.

to th eir s o u rce .

Wh en ce do the e motions come

Th e cosmologies of the a ncien ts e xpre s s unde r v ariou s
alle gories th e same fundamen tal t ru t h t ha t in th e begin
”
ning th e G reat F irst C ause e volved out of i tself by th e ,

p ower of its ow n will c ertain p owers whos e action

, and ,
21 6 M YT H OL O G Y .

reaction bro u g h t t h e elementary forces t h at con s tit u t ed th e

world in to existence Th es e eleme n tary fo rces are t he .

D evas of the E as t the E lohims of the Bible the A fri te s of

, ,

the Pe r sian s the Titan s of the R oman s t h e E ggregore s of

,
‘
,

the book of E no ch They are t h e active agents of t h e .

co smos beneficial o r de trimental according t o th e condi

,

t i ons under w h ich they act in telligen t or unintelli gen t ,

accor d ing to the nature of the i n s trum en t th ro ug h whi c h

,

they ac t Th ey are n o t s elf con s ciou s ration al entities bu t

.
-
,

may mani fes t themselves th ro u gh self con s ci ous o rganisms -

en d owed with r eas on they are not individuals but may ,

be c ome individuali z ed by finding expre s sion in individual

forms L ove and ha t e envy and be n evolen ce lus t and
.
, ,

greed are no t pe rs on s but their shadows may become pe r ,

sonifi e d in human or a nimal fo rms A n e xtremely malicious .

pe rson is the embodimen t of m alice an d if h e s ee s th e ,

d emon in an obj ective form he beholds the reflec tion of ,

h is own s ou l in the mirror of h is mind I dea s e xis t every .

wh ere but w e cannot pe rceive a t h o ugh t un less it firs t

,

e n ters the sphere of our s o u l Th e sp irit th a t en ters our .

s ou l ob tains his life from ours elve s and if w e d o n ot expel ,

i t from our so u l h e may gro w s trong by vam p irizling our

li fe L ike a paras ite growing on a tree and fe e d ing on its
.

s ub s tance it may fas t en i ts feelers a ro un d th e t ree of our

,

l ife and grow strong while o u r own spiri t g row s wea k A

,
.

though t once taking roo t in the s o u l wil l grow u nles s i t

, , ,

is expelle d by fo rce u ntil it will become e xp r e s sed in an

,

ac t w h en obtaining a life of it s ow
,
n by th at act it will ,

leave i ts p lace to a s u cces so r T h os e eleme n tary forces .

of nature are eve rywh ere and alway s rea d y t o en ter the ,

so u l if its d oors are not defende d To c all u p a wicked .

S p i rit we n eed no t go in searc h of him we n eed only allow ,

hi m to come To call u p a devil mean s to g i ve way to an

.

e vil t ho ught to vanq u is h h im means to res i s t s u cce s sfull y

,

a t emp tation to evil .

The e l ementary p owers of nat u re are innu me ra ble and ,

their clas sification gave rise to t h e pantheon s of t h e Greeks

and t o the mythologie s of the E as t Th e grea te s t powe r .

is Z eus the father of the gods or th e so u rce from w h ic h all

, ,

o th e r power s take t h eir o rigin M inerva the goddes s of .

,

wisdom s p r ings fr om his h ead h e r origin i s th e nob le st of

, ,

al l but V en u s t h e dau g h ter of th e Sun a ri sing fro m the

, , ,

ocean of the u niversa l So u l con qu e rs al l by h e r bea u ty . ,

21 8 N U TR I M E N TI

mal c ondi tions u nneces sary for t h e hu man sys tem and
, ,

often th ey act po sitively inj urio u s .

A p u re pe rs on requires p u re food b u t to t h e 1 m p ure ,

impuritie s become at firs t a l u x u ry and afterwards a ne c e s ,

“
sity . God said : Be h old I h ave given yo u ev e ry h erb , ,

bearing seed which is u pon the face of all the ear t h and
,
.

e ve ry tree i n which 1 the fr u i t of a tree yielding see d to

, .
,
”
yo u i t shall be fo r meat .

The principal arg u me nt of t h e lovers of a nimal fo od 15

tha t i t give s bo dily s trengt h and i s nece ssary for th ose ,
”
who have to perform man u al labor This a rgumen t i s .

based upon an e rroneou s opinion becau se animal food ,

doe s no t give a s m u ch str ength a s a vege ta ble diet ; l i t ‘ ’

on l y s timu l ate s the organism and induces i t to u se u p the ,

s treng th which i t al ready pos se sse s in a sho rt pe riod of

time in s tead of saving it up fo r th e fu t u re The co use .

u n e s of an exc l u sive animal die t are gl u ttony ex t reme

q e c ,

s ensuali ty co mbativeness cruel ty and stupi d ity indo

, , , ,

lence phys ical and psyc h ical apa th y are t h e neces sary c on
, ,

sequences of o ve r stimulatio n -
.

D a r win say s that th e h ardes t working pe ople h e e ve r -

met are the pe rsons that wo rk m the mine s of Chili and ,

that they are living on an excl u s ively vege table d ie t .

The country people in Ireland live almo st witho u t meat

eating and yet they are s trong and enduring The commo n
, .

R us sian ea t s ve ry little mea t and enj oys good heal th The .

s t ronges t people that can pe r h aps be fo u nd anyw h e re are

the c o u n try people in the So u th of Bavaria and they e at ,

meat on l y on exceptional occasion s and h ol y day s -

.

Ho rses b u lls eleph an ts are th e s tronge s t an imals and

, , ,

l ive on vegetable food while t h e p rominent traits of ,

charac te r of th e fl e sh eating animals are cowardice irrita -

,

b ility and c u nning A bear kept at the A na tomi c al .

M use um at Gies s en showed a qu ie t gentl e nature a s long ,

a s h e was fed on b read b u t a fewdays feeding on mea t ,

’

made him no t s tronger b u t vicio u s and dangero us

, ,
.

E ach animal form is an expre ssio n of that an imal s

’

c h aracter and h e w h o take s it u p in h is sys tem receive s a

,

G e ne sis i 2 9 . .

'
r
1 A c c o d ing to th e c a c u a ions mad e b y P of l l t
v L ie big, the r .
J . .

sam e am oun of a b uminous sub s anc e s for w

t l t
h ic h , ifi nth e fo m of anim al r
food , is p ai l rood c an be b ough in th e sh a e of pe as for 9d
p . and in t .

th at of wh e at for 4d .
 A L C OH OL . 219

p art of t h at character in hi s own cons t itution I f men .

we re to li ve on the meats of ti ge r s an d cats wolves and ,

h yenas and b ird s of prey the e ffect wo u ld soon be seen

'

in a s tate of greater demoraliza tion .

L e t t h ose who desire to know the t ruth in regard to

‘

m ea t eating seek the answe rs to their que stion s not with

-

the in tellect of the h ead b u t through the voice of wisdom ,

speaking in the inte rio r of their h eart and t hey will no t be ,

*
mis taken .

A no t h e r q u estion arise s 1 n regard to the eating of fle sh

it is t h e q u e stion whet h e r or not man has a rig h t to kill
animals for h is food To t h e pro fes s ed C hristian s who
.

claim to believe in the B ible there s eems to be no caus e

for any doubt because the command is plain
, T /z ou s/z alt
”
not k i ll A nd ye t this command is disregarded daily by
.

”
million s of profe ssed C hristian s who base th e ir illusory ,

rig h t to ki l l animals u pon a misunders tood vers e of their

“
B ible If it is said that God permi tted man to have
.

dominion over the fis h of t h e sea and over the fowls of ,

the air and over the cattle and over eve ry living thing
, ,

that movet h u pon t h e earth 1 we sho u ld know tha t by ,

” "

“ “ ” “ ” ”
th e ter ms fis h and fowl and , catt l e e tc are , ,
.
,

meant the e lementary forces in h im w h ic h fi nd their ,

obj e ctive rep resen tations in th e anima l kingdom and tha t ,

it i s no whe re said that man i s permitted to take away a

’
li fe whic h h e is no t able to give M an s prerogative is to .

appeas e s u ffering no t to c aus e i t ; n ot to in terrup t th e

,

work of evol u tion b u t to assist it ,

Ch ristianity and .

M urde r are incompa tible terms .

Mea t isstimulating and s timulating food creates a desire

,

fo r s t imula ting drink Th e be st cure for the de s ire fo r

.

a l coholic drink is to avoid the eating of meat I t i s .

doubt ful whether the re is any pas sion in the world more .

devilish and more de trimental to the tr u e intere s ts of

h umanity and of individ u al h appine s s than th e l ove of
A lcohol A s meat eating endows man wi th ill u sory
.
-

s trength t h a t s oon fades away leaving i ts p o s ses sor

, ,

weaker t h an h e was before ; likewise s timu lating drink s

lull h im in to an ill u sory h appine ss wh ich soon disappears , ,

and is followe d by las ting an d real misery cau sing s u ffering ,

to himself and to others I t ca u ses a long lis t of diseas e s

.

ll‘
‘
Se e D r A . . Kingsford : Th e P e rfec t W ay in Die t .
”
220 R E LA TI VE U TI L I T Y .

of t h e in te rnal o rgans an d leads to premat u re deat h i t is

,

the ca u s e of by far the great maj ori t y of all crime s

commit ted in civili z ed c ou n trie s To tho se who look .

u pon man as a rational be ing it s eems incomp r eh ensible

'

why civilized na tions will s u ffe r an evil in t h eir m ids t t ha t

fills their j ails ho spitals lunatic asyl u ms and graveyards
, , , ,
“
and w h y men will put an e nemy in t h eir mo u t h s that
de s troys t h eir healt h thei r reason and th e ir life ; but, ,

tho se wh o look deeper see that th e dawn of reas on has

only beg u n and that th e spiri tual facul tie s of the m ajor1 ty
,

of men s till -sleep in th e icy embrace of ign o rance and

ill u sion .R eforms are ne cessary but they cannot be ,

inaugurated by fo rce .

The body politic re sembles the in d ivid u al b od y It is .

of no u se to de s t r oy th e m ean s to gra tify a desi re as long

as th e des ire itself i s s u ffered to exis t Th e evils that
'

a ffect mankind are the o utcome of th eir des ires for s u ch

e vils M ean s to grati fy evil desire s will exis t as long as
.

they are patronized and if they are abolis h ed o the r mean s

,

wi l l be found We e d s are not des troy ed by c u t ti ng their

.

leaves if the roo ts are allowed to remam

,
.

To eat and drink and slee p for t h e pu rpose of livmg and ,

n ot to live fo r the p u rpose of eating drinking and sleeping , ,

is a m axim whic h is ofte n h eard b u t whic h is not fre ,

quently carried out A great deal of n u tri men t daily

.

taken by men s erve s no o the r p u rpose than to comply

with h abit and to gratify an arti fi c ial l y crea ted des ire
, .

The more a man is gros s and mate rial th e greater is the ,

quantity of food h e de sires and the mo re food h e take s ,

the more gross an d material will h e be co me No ble and .

refined nat ures re quire little n u trimen t ethe real bei ngs
“
and Spiritual en titie s require n o mate r ial food .

The means sho u ld always be adap ted to the end in view .

If the end i s low and vulgar low and v u lgar means will ,

b e n eeded if it is noble and h igh equally high and noble ,

means are re quired A p riz e fi gh ter wh o s e main obj ec t is

.
,

to develop m u scle will require a di ffe ren t traini ng from

,

th a t of one who desires to develo p the facul ty t o perceiv e

s piritual truth s C onditions that may be s u itable fo r th e
.

d eve l opmen t of one person may be im p raticable for

ano the r O ne man may d e velop faster th r o ugh poverty,
.

Se e D r A . . Kingsford : Th e A l c oh ol ic C ontroversy .
222 F A I TH A N D D O UB T .

s p iri t wi t h t h e O ne L ife H aving this fi nal goal before .

our mind an intellect u al b rotherhood should be fo rme d by

,

u niting all toge the r and t h is is th e only s tepping stone

,
-

to wards the final go al T o prod u ce this p ra c t ical res u lt

.
,

union we m u s t h old up the highest ideal w hich forms t he

, ,

real m an and ind u ce others to look up to it

, T o le ad .

our neig h bors and fellow c reat u re s to this righ t pa t h t h e -

,

b es t means s h o u ld be p u rs u ed w it h self sac rifi c ing h abi ts -

.

W h en our energy as a collec tive wh ole is th u s expended ,

in wo rking u p to t h e highes t ideal i t become s po ten t and , ,

the grande st res u lts are p rod u ced on the spiritual plane .

A s th is is the mos t impo r tan t work in wh ich every oc c ul

tist s h o u ld be engaged an asp iran t fo r higher knowledge
,

sh o u ld spare n o e f fo rts to bring abo u t th i s end Wit h th e .

progress ive tide of evol u tion of th e body as a w h ole t h e ,

m en tal and the spi rit u al fac u lties of h uman ity expand To .

h elp this tide on a knowledge of ph ilo sophi ca l tr u th s

,

s h o uld be spread T/z is is wk at is exp ec ted f rom an

.

asp i rantf or occ ult k now led ge and wk at k c sk ould d o

”
,
.

Th e will is developed through ac t io n and s t rength ened

b y faith The movemen ts of the body s u ch as walking
.
, ,

are only succes sfu lly pe rfo rmed by a perso n b e cause he

h as a fu ll and unwavering fai th in his p ow er to perfor m
t h em Fear and D o u b t p aralyze the w i ll and pro d u ce im
.

potency ; b u t h ope and fait h produce marve l o u s res u lts .

The lawye r or physician w h o has no fai th in hi s own ability

will make bl u nders and if h is clien ts or pa tien ts s h are h is
,

do u b ts his usefu lne ss will be se rio usly impai red whe rea s
,

even t h e ignorant fanatic or qu ac k may s ucc eed if he h as ,

fai th in h imself .

“
B u lwer L ytton says : T h e victims of the gho s tly one
are t h ose tha t wo uld as pire and can only fear Fear and .

D oub t are t h e h ell born da u g h ters of ign oran c e tha t drag

-

man down to pe rdi tion ; while Faith i s the wh ite robed -

angel t h at lends him he r wings and end ow s him wit h

power . Sam sayatm a V inasyati ( th e d o u bter peris h es ) ,

said Kris h na to A rj u na h is favo rite dis ciple , .

E ven blind fait h without kn owled ge may be more u s e

fu l than impe rfect knowledge w ithou t fai t h and co use ,

q u ently with o u t action Strong fai th even if resting upon

.
,

an erroneo u s concep tion may act powerfully in producing ,

results fai t h produ c e s an exa l t ed s ta te of the imagination ,

which strength en s th e wil l banish es pain cures dise ase , , ,

le a d s to h er oism and transforms h ell into h eaven

, .
 D E VE L OP M E N T O F W I LL P O WE R . 2 23

The only w ay to develop will power is to act E ac h act -

.

creates a ne w impulse which added to t h e already exist , ,

ing energy in c rease s its s tren gth Good ac t s increas e t h e

,
.

power fo r good ; evil act s the power fo r e vil ; but thos e ,

whose a c tions are neithe r goo d no r evil acquire n o powe r

for eithe r A pers on who acts o nly from imp u lse mani
.

fes ts no wi l l and if he obeys h is lower impulse s h e pas

,

sive ly d evelops in to a criminal or a maniac The mo s t .

h o rrible crime s are ofte n commi tte d wi thout any p ropo r

tionate p rovo ca tion becaus e the perpe trators had no t th e
,

power to re s i st the impulses that prompted th em t o s uch

acts Su ch person s are no t wi c ke d ; th ey a re weak and
.

almos t i rrespon sible beings ; they are the s ervant s of the

impuls es tha t control them and they can be made t h e ,

he l pless ins truments and victims of thos e who know h ow

to ca l l fo rth their emotions they are like the soldie rs of .

tw o oppo sing armie s w h o are not neces sarily personal

,

enem i es ; b ut are made to hate and kill ea c h oth er by

appeals to their pas sion s The oft ene r such person s give .

way to impulses th e m ore i s their power of re s i s tan c e

,

diminished an d thei r own impo tency i s t heir ruin I t 1 s

,
.

of li ttle use to be m erely pas sively good if ab s t inence fr om ,

wrong doing may be s o called A p e rson who d oe s n either

-
.

good nor evil a c complis he s n o t hing A s tone an animal .

, ,

an imbe c ile may be c on sidered goo d because they do n o

, ,

a c tive evi l a perso n may live a h undre d years and a t th e ,

end of his li fe he may no t have been mo re useful than a

*
s t one .

There is no thing in n ature w h i c h ha s n o t a t h reefold

aspe c t an d a threefo l d activity The PVi ll p ower fo rms .
-

n o exception to this ru l e I n its lowe s t asp ect the Will is .

that power which indu c es the v olun t ary and involun tar y
function s of the physical organ ism its c en tre of activity is
t h e sp inal c or d I n i ts hi ghe r aspect i t is the power which
.

indu c es p sychic activity it i s diffu se d th rough the bl ood

which co mes fro m the hear t and re turns to it and i t s ,

acti on s are gove r ned or can b e gove r ned by intellec t

, ,

acting in the brain by mean s of the impulses influences , ,

and auras radia t ing fr om th ere In its highes t aspect th e .

W ill i s a living and c on sciou s power h aving i ts cen tre in

a
t He wh o is ne ith e r h ot nor c ol d , b ut l uke war m , will be Spue d out
b y na u et r .
”
- B ible .
2 24 OB E D I E N C E .

th e h eart ; but t h i s kind of Will is known only to t h o se

w h o ar e ill u minated by divine W isd om .

T h e will to become powerful m u s t be free w h ic h mea ns

, , ,

t h at it m u s t be obedient to u nive rsal law to become free ,

of the bonds of self I f we de sire an obj ect we do no t

.
,
ne ce ssarily at tract that obj ect b u t t h e obj e ct at t racts u s
, .

E lip h as L evi s ays “

Th e will accomplis h es every thing
w h ich i t doe s n o t de sire and t h e tr u t h of this paradox
i s seen in everyday life T h os e w h o crave for fam e or
.

ric h e s or love are freq u en tly di sappoin ted t h e rich m ise r

is poorer t h an the beggar in the s tree t , and h appines s is a
s h adow tha t flies befo r e h im who se eks i t in material
p leas u res The s u res
. t way to become ric h i s by b eing c on
ten ted wit h what w e have the safes t way to ob tain powe r
i s to s acri fi ce o urselve s for o t h ers and if we d es ire
love we mus t dis trib u te the love we po ss e s s to o t h ers and
, ,

then th e love of o the rs w ill descend u pon u s like t h e rain

d escends upon the eart h .

The developmen t of th e Will is a proces s of growth and ,

t h e only tr ue way to develop the Will is by being obedien t

t o th e un iversal L aw T h en wil l we become mas ters of
.

our Will and our Will will become a s erviceable instru

,

men t in our h ands bu t as long as t h e Will i s governed by

personal desi re i t is not we w h o con trol our will b u t i t i s
, ,

our desire A s long a s we do th e will of th e lowe r

.

animal I w e canno t be gods only w h en we pe rform th e

,

will of th e D ivinity within o u rselve s we w ill become free

, ,

of t h e bondage of the an imal elemen ts and be our ow n ,

mas te rs .

Man i n h i s yout h longs for t h e m aterial pl e as u re s of

earth for t h e gra tifi ca tion of h i s physical body A s h e
,
.

advan ces h e throws away t h e play th ings of h is c h il d hood

,

and reache s out fo r s ome thing higher He en ters perhaps .

in to me rely in tellec t u al purs u its and afte r years of labor h e

,

may fi nd that h e has bee n wasting h is time by runn ing

after a sh adow P erhaps love s te ps i n and h e may think
.

h imself the m o s t fort u nate of mortals only to find out , ,

s oone r or l ater tha t ideals can only be fo u nd in th e ideal

,

wo rld H e may become co nvince d of the emptines s of

.

the s h adows h e h as been p ursuing and like th e winged , ,

but terfly eme rging from the ch rysalis he stre t ches out his ,

feel ers into th e realm of infinite spiri t and i s a stonish ed ,

to find a radian t s u n where h e only expected to fi nd d ark

226 UN I T Y .

T hu s t h e s u ns h ine and rain the air and eart h doe s not

, ,

belong to a plan t They are u niversal eleme nts belonging

.

to nat u re Th ey come and h elp to build up a plan t t h ey

.
,

a ssi s t in t h e grow th of the ro sebu sh a s well as the thistle ;

their busine s s 1 8 to develo p the seed and when their work ,

i s done th e o rganism in which they we re active re turn s

,

again to its mothe r the E a r th The re i s the n no th ing

b , .

wh ic h properly belongs t o the plan t bu t th e seed for i t ,

alo ne can contin u e to exis t wi t hou t the paren tal organ is m

after h aving a ttained ma t u rity and in i t is contained the ,

c h arac te r of th e species to wh ich i t belongs .

L i fe s ensation and cons c iousne s s are not th e property

,

of man ; h e d oe s no t produce them They are function s .

of th e universal Spi r i t and belong to that unive rsa l p owe r ,

whi c h has been calle d God This Spiri t th e O ne L if e .

, ,

furnishe s the p r in c ip l e s whi c h go to bui l d up th e o rgan i s m

calle d Al an the forms of the goo d as we l l a s thos e of th e
,

wicked They he l p to deve l op t he germ of I ntel l igen c e

.

in man and when their wo r k is done those elements

, ,

re turn again to the unive rsal fo untain of L ife Th e germ .

of D ivinity is all there i s of the real man and all that is ,

able to con tinue to exis t as an individual and i t is no t a ,

man but a Spirit one an d ide n tical wi t h th e U niversal

, ,

Spirit and one of H i s c h i l d ren

, H ow many p erso ns .

exis t in wh om th is divin e ge rm reaches maturity duri ng

their earthly life ? H ow many die be fo re i t becomes
mature ? H owmany do not e ven know that such a germ
exis ts W 11 0 can an swer thes e ques tions P
To th is U nive r sal Principle belong th e function s whi c h
we call Will and L ife and L i gh t ; i t s foun d ation i s L ove ,

a Fire to wh ich n o thing tha t can pe rish wi l l ever approa c h .

To this U niversal Principle belong a l l th e fun d amen tal

p ower s w hi c h produced the un ivers e and man and only ,

wh en man has become one and identical with tha t Spirit

can h e c laim to have any powe rs of his own .

B ut th e Will of this U nive rsal Spi rit i s iden tical wi th

the L aw and man who acts again s t t he L awa c ts again s t
,

the W i ll of the Spirit and as the Spirit is man s on l y real

,
’

Self h e who acts agains t tha t L awd es troys h imself

,
.

The firs t and mos t impor t an t obj ect of man s exis tence ’

is therefo r e tha t he should learn t he laws o that h e may

, ,

obey it and the re by be c ome one with the lawand God

,

A man who knows th e L aw knows h imself and a man ,

w h o know s h is divine Self knows God .

 LA W . 227

T h e only powe r w h ic h man may rig h tfu lly clai m h is own

is h is Knowled ge i t belongs to h i m beca u se h e h as
,

acq u i red i t by the h elp of the p owers lent to h im by

nat u re and th e Spirit w h ic h is act i ve therein N ot t h e .

“
knowledge of the i l lusions of li fe for such knowledge 1 5 ,

ill u sive and will e nd with thos e illu sions no t mere intel
,

lect u al learning fo r that in tellect will be exhausted in

,

time b ut the spirit u al knowled ge of th e heart w h ic h ,

mean s the power to grasp the truth by feeling and u nder

s tanding to feel it in t u itively and to see t hat w h ich we
, ,

feel by the ligh t of th e sp iritual i n telligence of the mind .

What has been said about t he W i ll 1 s equally app li c abl e

to the I magination If man le ts h is own thought s res t
.
,

and rises up to the sphe r e of the highe s t ideal his mind ,

becomes a mirror whe r ein the tho u gh ts of God will b e

reflec ted and in whi c h he may see the pas t th e prese nt
, ,

and future but if he begins to spec u late within the real m

of illusions he will see the truth distorted and be h old h is
,

ow n ha l l u cination s .

The knowledge of God and t h e knowledge of Man are

ul timately ide ntical and he who know s h imself knows
,

God I f we understand t h e nature of the divine a ttrib u tes

.

with in u s we will know th e L aw I t will then no t be d ifli

,
.

cu l t to unite o u r Will with the supre m e Will or t h e co smo s

and we shall be no longer s ubj ect to the infl u ences of th e
astral plane bu t b e their mas te rs Then will the Ti tan s
,
.

be conquered by the gods the se rpe nt w ill h ave its hea d

”
crush ed by D ivine W isdom ( Soph ia ) th e devil will be
conqu ere d and instead of being r u led by demons we s h all
, ,

become r u le rs and go d s .

I t is s ometimes said that it does not make an y di ffe r

ence what a man believes s o long as h e acts rightly ; b u t
a person canno t be certain to ac t rightly unles s h e knows ,

what i s righ t and we therefore s ee the most ho rrible acts

, , ,

of inj us tice c ommitted in t h e name of j ustice e rrors pro ,

c l aimed a s truths and forms m istaken for principles The

,
.

b elief of the maj ority i s not always the co rrec t belief and ,

the voice of reason is often d rowned in the clamor of a

supe r s tition based upon an erroneous theological doctrine .

A n erroneo u s belief is detrimental to progres s in p ropor

tion as it i s universal such belief re s ts on il lu sion ;
knowledge is based on tr u t h T h e greate s t of all reli gio u s
.
2 28 R UL E S O F L I F E .

teac h er s th e r e fore recomm e nde d R igk t B elief as bei ng th e

fi rs t s tep on t h e N oble E igk tfold P atk .
*

p i t will be u seful to keep in mind th e

s follo w ing
tu1e s
Per h a
1 . believe t h at t h e re is anyt h in g h igh er in th e
D o not
univers e t h an t h e immortal principle of goo d obtainin g
self conscio u sn es s in man and t h at ma n i s exactly w h at h e
-
,

make s h imself— not w h at he p retends to b e— and not h in g

e ls e T h e t ru e religion i s th e recogn i tion of tr u t h ; idol s
.

are plaything s for c h ildren .

2 .Le arn tha t t h e A ll i s one and t h at ever yt h i ng is th y

self ; man is a co mponen t and in tegral part of u nive rsal
hu manity and t h at w h at a ffec ts one acts and reacts on all
, .

3 .R ealize t h at man is an e mbodimen t of ideas and h is ,

p h ysical body an ins tr u men t w h ic h enable s h im to com e

into con tac t wit h matter and con trol it ; and t h a t th i s
ins tr u ment s h o u ld no t be u s ed for u nw o rt h y p u rpos es I t
s h ould ne it h er be worsh ip pe d nor negle cted
.

4 .L e t no t h ing t h at a f
f ects yo u r p hy s ical body its c om ,

fort or the circ u mstance s in w h ic h youa re placed dis t u r b

, ,

the e q uil ibrium of yo u r mind C rave for no th in on th e .

g
material plane live above it w it h o u t los ing co ntr ol ove r it
, .

5 .Ne ve r e xpect any favo r s from any body b u t be ,

always ready to assist others to t h e e xten t of yo u r ability ,

and according to th e re qu i rements of j u s tice Never fea r .

anything b u t to o ffend t h e moral law and you will not

s u ffe r Never h ope for any reward and you will not be
.

disappoin ted Neve r ask fo r love sympathy or gra tit u de

.
, ,

fr om anybody, b u t be alway s ready t o bes tow t h e m on

ot h ers Su ch t h ings co me only when t h ey are not desired
. .

6 L ea rn to disting u i s h and to discriminate betwee n t h e

.

t t
T h e e igh s age s on th e noble eiglztfold P ath to find th e t uth are, r
tr t
ac c ording to th e d oc ine of G au am a B ud dh a, th e fo o ing ll w
1 R igh B e ie f . t l .

2 R igh . t
3 R igh . t
4 R igh D oc ine . t tr .

. t
5 R igh M e ans of Livelih ood .

6 R igh E nd e avo . t r .

R igh M e mo t ry
5
. .

R igh M ed i a ion t t t .

Th e man w h o k ee p s t h e se augas in m ind and foll ows th e m w ill b e

free from sorrow ,
and may bec ome safe from futu re rebirth s w ith their
c onse quent m ise ries .
23 0 TH E OR Y A N D P R A C TI C E .

be intellec t u ally grasped t h e reasoning p owers of h alf

,

animal man can no t h old the m u n til t h ey become acc u s tome d

to the m average man can only look u p to thos e ideals w h ich
are percep tible to his Spiritual vision in momen ts of aspira
tion and only gradual l y can h e grow u p in to that plane
,

when becoming les s animal and more intui tive h e will be

, ,

able to real ize the fact that moral growth is not neces sary
t o plea se a god whos e favo r mus t be ob tained b u t that ,

man himself become s a god by that growt h and that h e ,

can stimulate it only by making h is en ergies act on a high e r

p l ane The high e s t energie s are laten t in the lower one s
.

they are th e a ttributes of the spiritual soul wh ich in th e

,

maj ori ty o f men is s till in a s tat e of infancy b u t wh i c h in

,

future gene rations will be mo re universally d ev e l oped w h en ,

humanity as a whole having progre s sed high e r will loo k

, ,

back upon our pres ent e ra as th e age of igno ran ce and

misery while they themselves will e nj oy th e fr u its of th e
,

lngbe r evol u tion of Man .

 C H A P TE R X I .

LI G HT .

”—
a Let th er e be L igh t . B ible .

p ersonali t y and sen s u ality are t h e deat h of spiri t ;

th e dissol u tion of fo rm los s of per sonali t y and uncons cio u s
,

n ess of sens u o u s p e 1 c e p tions rende r s piri t free and res tore

,

i t to life Th e eleme ntary forces of na ture bo u nd to forms

.
, ,

become th e p r is oners of the forms Being entombed in .

mat te r they l os e thei r liberty of action and move only l n

obedience to external impu l se s ; the mo re they cling to
form th e more dense compa c t heavy and du l l will they
, ,

b e e oine and the les s wil l be self ac ting and free

,

,
-
Su nlight .

and heat are comparatively free ; thei r elements travel

from planet to planet until th ey are abs orbed by earthly
,

forms . C rys ta ll i ze d into matter they sleep in trees and

fore s ts and fie l ds of c oal until they are liberated by the slow
,

decomposition of form or fo r cibly se t free by the god of

,

fire . The waves of ocean and lake play j oyfully w ith t h e

shore Ful l of mirth they th row thei r spray u pon th e la z y
.

rocks The l au ghing waters of the wandering bro ok glide

.

r estles s l y through fores t and fie l d danci ng and whi r ling ,

and playing wi t h th e flowers that gro w by the side of their

road Th ey r u sh witho u t fea r over p recipices fa l ling i n
.

o
,

cascades over th e mo u n tain sides un i t i ng dividing and , , ,

unitin gagain min gling with rivers and resting a t l as t for a

,

wh i l e l n th e sea B u t when winter arrives and King Fro s t

.

p u t s h is i c y h and u p on t h eir face s , they cryst alli z e int o

23 1
23 2 E A R TH -B O UN D SP I R I TS .

in d ivid u al forms, t h ey are t h en robbed of t h eir fre edom , and

lik e th e d amsels and knights of th e ench an ted ca s tle they ,

are doomed to sleep u ntil t h e warm breath of y o u t h fu l

Spring breaks t h e spell of th e sorcerer and kis s es t h em back
into life .

The fu ndamental laws of Nat u re are the sam e i n all

h e r departments and man forms no excep tion to th e
,

ene ral r u le H e is a centre aro u nd w hich some of th e

g .

1 nte llige nt as well a s some of the unin tell igent force s h ave
c ry s ta llized into a form B ound by t h e law s of t h e Ka rm a
.

which that cen tre created t h ey are doo med to d well

,

in a form and to partake of the a ccide nt s to w h ic h

,

forms are expo sed ; imp risoned in a pe rsonal i ty they p ar ,

take of t h e s u ffe rings w h ich th e tenden cies of th at pe rso n

ality h ave called into exi stence Th ey may b e expos ed to
.

de sires whose t h i rs t increas e s in p rop o rtio n a s they are

fu rn ished wi t h drink , to pas s ion s w h o se fi re b u rns h otte rin
p roportion a s t h e ir demand for fu el i s gran ted ; they are
temp ted to r u n afte r shadow s t h a t ever fly to gras p at h o p e s ,

that ever beckon and vanish as s o on as th ey are app roa c h e d ,

to s o rrows that enter the h o u s e al th ough th e d oo rs may be

c losed agains t t h em to fears wh o se form s h ave no s u
, bstance ,

to ill u s ion s t h at disappear only w it h th e life of the fo rm .

L ike P romet h e u s bo u nd to a roc k th e imp er s o nal spirit ,

~

i s chained to a p ers onali ty u n til t h e c on s cio u sn e s s of h is

,

h e rc u lean powe r awake s in h im an d b u rsting h is c h ains h e

,

be co mes again free .

N ot all the eleme nts t h at go to make up a complete man

are en closed in h is material fo rm Th e fa r greater p art of .

them is beyon d t h e limits of h is p h ys ical bo d y the latter

i s merely a centre in w h ic h t h o s e invisible ele ments mee t .

T h e elements that exis t beyond s t and in in timate relation

wi th tho s e t h at are wit h in al t h o u g h th e elem en ts wit h in
,

th e form may not seem to be conscio u s of th e existence of

t h ose beyond Still they ac t and react upon each o t h er
. .

Th e c h arac ter of man is far more impo r tan t than h i s

physical fo rm T h o u g h t can cre ate a fo rm b u t n o fo rm
.
,

can p roduce a t h o u gh t ; and yet t h e s u b s tance of th o u g h t

i s invi sible as long a s it h as n ot clo th ed i t self in a fo rm .

A ir exi s ts within and beyond th e phys ical body it is in

visi ble and ye t it is an importan t elemen t of the b ody a
, ,

m an who co u ld not brea the wo u ld be very incom p le te .

Th e oce an of mind in w h ic h man exis ts is as n ece s s ary to

23 4 TH E M A S TE R .

real E go of every pers on and t h e pers on w h o s u cceeds t o

,

mer ge his personality into that E go is thereby rende red

immortal It is th e t r u e and living Ch ris t of the real
.

“
C hristians not the dead Je s u s b u t the living Savio ur who
,

remains with H is followers u nto the e nd of t h e wor l d and ,

e very one who unite s his own sel f with that C h ris t— no
matte r what his creed o r confes sion may b e — wi l l be c ome
as true and ve ritable a C h ris t as eve r l ive d upon the E ar t h .

I t is the Zoyog of th e ancients the A dam Kad m on of th e ,

H ebrews the O si ris of the E gyp tians the I swar of th e

, ,

H in d u s t h e way th e l ight and th e tr u th the divine Self of

, , , ,

e ve ry man and th e R e d eeme r for all .

The whole of a man i s n o t e nclosed with in th e small

cir c l e t hat circumscribes his terre s trial life H e wh o h as .

foun d the I ll aster within himse l f knows th e true insigni

fi c anc e of his ow n personal self Th e life of th e latter i s
.

made u p of a comparatively small n umber of years passed

among the illusion s of th e te rres trial pl ane th e life of the
fo r mer is made u p o f the es sence of a g r eat m any of s u ch
lives he has re tained of th e m only th at which is u sefu l an d
,

grand whi l e the wor t h l e s s parts have be en rej ected He .

who has once realized th e pres en c e of hi s God laugh s at

th e idea of having e ve r imagine d h im se l f to be some thing
mo r e than a bun d l e of s em i c ons ci ous elemen ts from wh ich
-

t he Highe r Self may d raw nu trimen t if i t find s anythi ng

th erein compatible wi th its own nat u re What i s all the .

power and g l ory of ear t h ly kings compared with the d ivine

Man th e King in th e realm of the so ul ? Wh at i s all th e
,

science of t his earth b u t non sen s e if compare d with the ,

self knowledge of th e regen era t e d man ? Wel l may h e wh o

-

has welcome d th e L ord in his s o u l be willi ng t o renounce

money powe r and fame te rres t rial loves and all th e il l u
, ,

sion s of l ife if i t can be c alled renun cia tion to refu se to

,

touch things u pon which one looks wi th indi fference if ,

no t with con tempt H ow can h e wh o h as n ever seen the

.

image of the true Saviour in his h eart love H im and h ow ,

can he wh o has once beheld it c eas e to love and ado re

Him with his whole mind and with all the facul ties of th e
soul ? S uch th in gs a r e too sacred to be divulged by th e
s piri t of G od to him wh o is n o t worthy t o receive G od in
his s oul they will no t be un d e rs tood by th ose who canno t
ye t ris e ab ove limitation ; le t th ose wh o know th e thing s
of whi c h w e have attemp ted to write rej oice a nd wo rs h ip
in s ilence .
 TH E L O R D . 23 5

He w h o has s u cceeded in merging the elements con s ti

'

tuting his s oul with that divine and e thereal higher se l f wil l
feel its powe r in his own heart T h is prin c iple bapti z e s .

his soul with fire and he w ,

h o re c eives this bap t ism of fire
is ordained a pries t and a king H e wh o is full of i ts .

“ ”
influence is th e tr ue vi c e geren t of G od because the ,

supreme power of the univer se ac t s throu gh i t s ins tr ument

a l ity. This principle fi l ls his person wi th a peace wh i c h
“

pas seth u n derstanding attracts t h e hearts of men to him

, ,

and she d s blessings u pon e very one who approa c hes his
p resence I t forgives the sins of men by transforming
.
,

them into other men wh o have not s inne d and nee d no t to

be forgiven ; it does not require to h ear confession to give
a d vice because it can read the innermost thoughts ofeve ry
,

man and its admonishing voice i s heard in th e heart that

,

has learne d to unders tan d i t s language The development .

of th e power to pe rceive i t confirms men s faith by enabling

’

the m to reco gnize that to be true which they h ereto fore

on l y be l ieved t o be so and being taught by th e tr u th itself
, ,

they can make n o mis t a k e ; it c omm u nicates wi th man

not by being absorbe d by man but by absorbing the so u l ,

of man in t o i t s el f ; i t brings th e dying to life because , ,

being immor t al he who is uni ted with it par t akes of its

,

ow n immor t ality ; the marria ges i t celebrates c an n ever be

d is solve d because in t his prin c iple all human ity is bo u nd
,

together to one indissolub l e whole ; to separa t e from it

wo u ld be death to the part that separate s itse l f from th e
whole The sphere in whi c h this prin c ip l e s till live s i s th e
.

sp h e re of eternal li fe ; i t is th e only t rue and infallible

“
c h urc h and its powe r canno t be taken away Th i s
, .

“
chur c h i s truly c atholic that is to say universal ; noth
, ,

ing can live wi t hout i t s j uris d i c tion be c ause no th in g can ,

con t in ue to exis t wi t hout th e au thority of life Sti l l i t ha s .

no particular name re quires no fe e for initia t ion no c ere

, ,

monie s or rites Hea t hens and infi d e ls may enter it W i th

.

out changing th eir c reed ; op inion s cease to exist where

the tru t h i s revealed .

B u t thi s tr u e p rin c iple of C hris t i s no t the Ch ris t of

‘

popular C hris tianity ; i t has long ago b een driven away

fr om the mo d ern Chris tian temples and an i l l u sion has ,

remaine d in its p l ace The money change rs and tradesmen

.
-

have again ta k en pos ses sion of the temp l e of mind sacri ,

~

fi c ing the l ife b loo d of the poor at the al tars of wooden

-
23 6 TI I E CHRI ST .

gods closing t h eir eyes to t h e tr u t h and wors h ipping

,

tin sel s q u andering the wealt h of nation s fo r the glorifi c a

,

tion of self Th e true Son of M an i s still sco ffed at by

.

H is nominal followe rs traduced by H is pretended frie nds

, ,

cr u cified by men wh o do not recognize in H im the only

so urce of their life Killed by men in their own hearts
.
,

ignorantly and foolishly , because they do no t kno w what

they a re doing and that their own life s u bstance departs
,

at t he tim e when He departs from thei r l ife .

Modern civilization adores t h e religion of selfis h nes s ,

and rej ects the gospel of love sh e debas e s her own

dignity by cro u ching at the fee t of idols where s h e sho u l d ,

stand u p i n h er own dignity and p u ri ty a s th e queen of th e

w h ole creation H umanity i s s till dreaming and h as n ot
.

ye t fu lly awakened to life Sh e se arc h es for a god in h er

.

imagination and cannot realize that h e can o nly be foun d

,

in th e truth Men and women clamor fo r the coming of a

.

god and yet t h is god is ever ready to come to them a s

,

soon a s he is admi tted into t h e h eart by s u bmitti ng to ,

h im their will .

This u nknown god is attai nable to all H e is ever .

ready to be born 1 n every h eart where th e con dition s fo r

his birth are prepared He always begins to come to life
.

”
in a manger between the elemental and an i mal for c es 1 n
man H e can only be bo rn in a lowly place be caus e
.
,

pride and s u pe rs ti t ion a re h is enem i es and in a heart ,

filled with van i ty he would s oon su ffocate T h e n ews of .

his birth sends a thrill of pleas u re th ro u gh t h e physi c a l

body and the mo rning s tar s s ing toge th er for joy herald
, ,

ing the dawn of th e day for th e re s u rrect ion of the spirit .

Th e three magicians from t h e E ast L ove W isd om and , ,

P owe r app ear a t the mange r and o ffe r their gifts to th e

,

n ew born babe I f H erod es th e king of pride and ambi

-
.
,

tion d oe s no t s u cceed i n d riving i t out of the co u ntry i t

, ,

begin s to grow and as it grows i ts divinity become s mani

,

fest I t arg u e s with the intelle ctual powers in the temple

.

of th e mind and s ilences the m by its superio r knowledge

,
.

I t pene trates in to mysteries wh i ch in tellectuali ty born of , ,

sen s u al percep tions canno t e xplain Grey headed ma

, .
-

te rial science s ophis try hoary wit h age old log i c based
, ,

u pon misconception s of fundamen tal tr u th s give way and , ,

are forced to acknowledge the w isdom of the h a l f grown -

god .

L iving in the wildernes s of material des ire s i t is vainly ,

 23 8 GR A C E .

intellect u al predilections and p rej u dices and w h en t h e ,

divin e pr inci ple has awakened wi thin u s then h as arrived ,

”
th e momen t of grace Such a grace is no t a favo r c on
.

ferred by a partial whimsical and pers onal g od it is th e

, , ,

e ffect of a s trong des ire which has the p ower to g r an t its ,

ow n praye rs and if that d es ire doe s not exi s t it is u seles s

, ,
“ ”
to p ray A s well may an acor n enclo s ed in a s tone beg
.

to be developed in to an oak as a man wh os e h eart is fil l e d

with desires for the lowask to become con scious of the
hig h To pu t i mplicit belief in th e s tatemen t of bon z e or
.

pries t is weakne ss to enable o u rselve s to recognize the

,

truth is streng th to arrive a t convic tion thro u gh knowledge

,

confe rs th e only tr u e fai th .

Tennyso n speaks of the beginning of tr u e fait h w h en h e

says
W e h ave b ut faith w e c annot k now , ,

A be am in d ark ne ss le t i t grow
”
.
,

We cannot intelle ctual l y kn ow b ut w h en th e beam ha s

grown i t cons ti tute s sp i ritual k nowled ge wh ic h i s i d en tical
, ,

with the l ivingf aitlz .

When the d ivine and impers onal princip l e begins to

become conscious in the pers onal man i t acts up on h im ,

from t h e five points of a ttraction repres en te d by t he fi ve ,

poin ted s tar and in C h ristian symbology by t he c ross

, .

The body begins to feel ne wsen sa t ions the pu l se begin s to ,

th rob with more vigo r the animal fo r ce s s t ir r ed up in t heir

,
“ “
h ells by the arrival of Ch ris t become more ac t ive ,

pains may be e xperience d in th e head t he palms of t he ,

hands and the s ole s of the fee t and in oth er parts of his
, ,

body and th e candida t e for immo rtali t y — whet h er he be a

,

C hris tian a T u rk a B rahmin a Je w o r an I nfi d e l— m ay

, , , ,

th us phys ically experience the p roces s rep res en t e d in t he

martyrdo m of C h ris t *
The in t erb l e ndin g of the immor t al
.

with the morta l will neces sarily cause su ffe r ing to the la t ter
u ntil the lower elemen ts are en tirely s u bj ected and re ndered
u nconscio us .

The re i s no salvation excep t th ro ugh s u ffe ring ; pai ns

’
accompany man s en trance i nto the world pains aecom ,

Th e ab ove e m a d oe s not e fe to stigm ata, w

r rk r r
h i c h are a e su of r lt
a s a e of e a e d im agina ion, w
t t x lt t l
h i e th e p ains e fe e d to are th e e su r rr r lt
t t wr
ofth e pe ne ra ing po e of th e S iri , infusin a ne
p g t
l ife in o th e p h sic a w t y l
 TH E N E W L I F E . 23 9

pany h is spirit u al regenera tion Th e lowm u s t die so t h a t.

the high may live and as the low is gifted with conscio u s
,

ne s s and sen sation i t s u ffer s acutely during its transfor

,

mation O nly h e who h as t as ted the bitterness of evil can

.

fu ll y reali z e the swe etnes s ofgood only he w h o h as su ffered ,

t h e hea t of the day can fully appreciate the cool of the

evening b ree z e H e who h as lived for ages in darknes s
.

wi l l know the tr u e value of light when h e en ters its realm

he who has been buried in illusions will rej o ice whe n he
ri se s u p into real knowledge .

What is true in regard to individ u al man i s equ ally tr u e

in rega r d to humanity a s a whole C hris t the divine prin .
,

c ip le in the kingdom of Spirit impelle d by the infini te love

,

that radiates from th e cen tre of the A ll e ternal l y descends ,

into the hearts of mankind to partake of their su ffering and

,

to show them the way to per fec tio n C ompa r e d w i t h th e .

“
ram of the intellec t wh os e powe r resides in his h orns ,

H e is th e lamb of wisdom having no will of H is own

“
, ,

bu t doing the will of the Father H e take s up on H is .

sho u lders the s ins of the worl d for H e Him self 1 5 witho u t ,

sin H e can gain n o personal bene fit by H is de sce nt into

.

matter being perfect Himself H e ne eds no furthe r p e rfe c

, ,

tion it is the sins of men and wome n that ind uce H im to

shed H i s love and ligh t and life in to h u manity B eing one .

wi t h h uman ity H e s u ffe rs with all mankind H e s u ffers wit h

, ,

them on accoun t of th e ir s in s ; and as men and wome n

become conscious of H is d ivine pre sence they become ,

awa re no t me rely of th eir own individual evi l s bu t of t h e ,

sufferings of h u manity as a whole ; they begin to su ffer

wi th and fo r each o ther they re cogn ize in t h e C hris t p rin
,

c ip le the u nivers al link that binds them all together into

one h armonio u s whole by the powe r of infinite L ove .

R eali z ing their true nature as sons of the eternal G od ,

they die to all tha t i s an imal and low and t h e more they
die to th e latter the more w
,

ill th ey b ecome al ive in th e

s pirit wh erein exist s the only true real and immortal life
, , ,
.

The mo tto of the ancien t R osicrucian frate rni t y was I n .

Deo nasc i m ur injesu m or im ur re vz uz sc z m usp er Sp ir itum

.
, ,

S anc tum ; that I S to say their sou l s li k e thos e of all o t h er

, ,

men were b orn from th e u niversal fountain of all Goo d

,

t h ey died to th eir semi ani m al nat u res by entering in to t h e

-

S piritual body the spiri tual ch u rc h — of Ch ris t and ,

becoming one wit h t h e Ch ris t spirit t h ey gained eternal ,

2 40 A T ON E M
-
EN T .

life by being pene trated ill u minated and glori fi ed by its

, ,

divine light Th eir church had no thing whateve r to do

.

wi t h any ex ternal church o r gani z a tio n the templ e whe rein

their s pirits me t and hel d holy communion of though t was ,

the un ivers al temp l e of th e H oly G k ost repre sen ting L ove , ,

Wisdom and Sanctity and th ey symbolized it by a circle

, ,

representing th e sp h ere of thou gh t wh erein M erc ury , .

( Intelligence ) and V en us ( L ove ) we r e j oined toge t h er .

T h is conj u nction of t h e p rinciple ofL ove and Intelligenc e

wi th in the s o u l of man cons titute s th e true R osicrucian
and A dept I t i s no t to b e ob tained by any external cere
.

mo nies and rite s bu t by the entire sacrifi c e of the sel f will -

of s emi animal man to the e te rnal will of God

-
whereby the
lowe r self is ren dered ina c tive and h elples s as if i t we r e ,

nailed upon a c r os s while the divine self of man become s

reveale d in i t s own ligh t .

O f the se real R o sicrucians no h is tory c an be w ri tten

because they have no th ing to d o wit h e xternal t h ings bu t
live in e te rnity

O f l at e th e m ost grote sque and fab ul ous st orie s ab out th e R osic ru

e iaus h ave b e e n p ut int o c irc ul at ion, and t r prising p ub l i h e rs
som e e n e s

h ave b rough t out b ook s ab out t h e ir c e re m onie s r te

“ i s
“ ”
and A ll .

suc h spe c ul at ions are b ased up onth e m ist ak e n id e a t h at th e R osic r uc ians

we re a c e rt ain se c t or organiz at ion going b y t h at nam e and b eing b ound

,

t og th e r b y som e c ree d or b el ie f and usinge xt e rnal c e re m oni s and signs

e ,
e .

T h e re is no d oub t t h at som e suc h se c re t soc ie t ie s

”
e x ist e d c all ing
,

t h e m se lve s R osic ruc ians and some suc h are st ill in e x ist e nc e Th e y
,
”
.

h ave h oweve r nothing in c ommon with th e true R osic ruc ianprinc ip l e

, ,
24 2 CE R E M ON I E S .

in h im d u ring h is eart h ly exis tence will be laid in a ne w

“ ”
sep u lchre w h erein was man never yet laid it w ill be
, ,

tran sfe rred and embodie d in ne w vegetable or animal

*
forms E n tering again into th e w h eel of t r an sforma tion
.

and evol u tion , i t may h elp to p roduce grain and assist in ,

t h e growth of the grape hidden in bread and win e i t may ,

a gain en ter the human fo rm b u t t h e s oul havin g partaken ,

of the immo r tal life of the s pi ri t will have become self ,

existent in G od and s u ffer no fu rth er m igration s He wh o

, .

p ar ta k es of material food ente r s in to communion wit h

th e life principle of nature while h e w h o as similates hi s
-
,

nat u re with the s pirit u al principle be comes one with th e ,

spirit th at con s tit u tes h is h ig h er self comm u n i c ates wit h ,

t h e real C h rist .

I n the ancient mys terie s t h e ce remo ny calle d t h e tran s

fi gu ration and c ommunion was perfo rmed in a simi l ar
m anne r as it is now taking place in th e C h ri s tian c h urches .

The ini tiator p resented bread and win e to th e candida t e s

befo re t h e final revelat io n was ma d e Th is ce r emony .

represen t s th e descen t of th e s pirit into matte r by w h ich ,

“ ”
the s o u l is at once no urish ed w ith th e bread of l i fe and ,

stimula t ed in to a h igh er kind of spiritual ac t ivity by t h e

“ ”
wine of divine lov e and its e ffi cacy wi l l b e propo r ,

tionate to the recep tivity of t h e mind of th e ca ndidate .

The grea t C hris tian m ys tic Jacob B oe h me says W h at , ,

we eat or drink a ffect s merely the ph y s ical body bu t d oes ,

not a ffe c t th e s piri t Tha t which the ce r emony symbolizes

.

e x terio rly mus t take place inte r iorly e l se th e ceremony ,

will be of 11 0 use Those wh o wish to commune wi t h th e

.

spirit mu s t ris e up to it in th ei r t h o ugh ts t h e h ig h will

no t c o me down to mingle wit h tha t which is lo w .

Thus i t s eems tha t t h e o riginal C hris tian a l lego ry wa s

intende d to desc ribe an oc c ul t p roce ss w h ich mus t h ave ,

been known long befo re the e s tablis hmen t of th e exte rna l

C hri s t ian ch u rch I t is b ased upon an u niversal law of
.

nature and a s s u c h it mus t have exis te d as lo ng a s

,

h umanity exis t ed The In d ian Yogi who by the p ra c tice

.
, ,

of Yog 1 u ni te s h is lower self w ith h is higher s elf ; t h e

‘

B ra h min wh o by medi tation and st u dy me rges h i s A tm a

,

with th e u niversal P arabrak m t h e B u dd h is t wh o a t tem p ts

A . P S inne tt
.
: E sot eric B uddhism , ”
c h ap . u .

”
1 '
T o b ind .
 TR U TH . 2 43

to anni h ila te h is lower self t h at h i s formles s s elf may be

absorbed in Nirvana all fol low t h e same proce s s b u t the
,

i gnorant whethe r they may call themselves B rahmin s

, ,

B u d d hists C hristians or any t h ing else and who look u pon

, , ,
“ ”
the allegorical represen tations ofnatural and supernat u ral
for c es des cribe d in picture s and books as being the , ,

image s of exis ting personal deities are idolato rs , .

H owm u ch more gran d and s ublime is practical C h ris

tianity than t h e mere theoretical chris tianism of our time s
Jesus of Nazare th w h ethe r h e e ve r exis ted or not re
, ,

pre sents the ideal man who se example we ough t to fol l ow .

Witho u t being a true follower of t he ideal Ch ris t a be l ie f ,

in a p ers on can be of no value H owsupe rio r is k now .

ledge to mere opinion and belief h ow infinitely grea ter ,

the living spirit of C hri s t to a mere b elief in the h istorical

pe rson whos e memory i s worshipped by th ose w h o cling to
external symbols and cannot ris e u p to a realiza t ion of
spi ritual fac ts ! Why do me n close their eye s and grope
in darknes s wh ile they are surrounded by light w hy d o ,

they cling t o deat h when th e door of immo rtal life is open

before them ?
Those who cling to ex te rnal symbols with o u t knowing
the meani ng of the latter cling to ill u sion To conve rt an
, .

ignoran t pe rson by s u b s titu t ing one fo rm of illu sion fo r

another i s u se l e s s and th e money and labo r expended fo r
,

suc h conve rsio n s is wasted I gnorance exchanged fo r .

i gno rance remains ignorance s till ; a cha nge of o pinion

c anno t e s tablish convi c t ion and a pretence to knowledge
,

doe s n o t make a man wise .

If a man kn ows t h e tru th it matters little by w h a t name

,

he may call i t or un d e r wh at fo r m h e may attemp t to

,

expres s th at whi c h canno t be ma d e in to form The .

B uddh is t wh o looks upon th e image of B ud d ha as a

,

figurative repre s entation of a living prin c iple and who in , ,

memory of a once l i vin g person i n whom t h at p rinciple

fo und its fu l les t exp r e ss i on and who se exampl e h e wishe s
,

to fol l ow o ffers flowers and fruits at h is shrin e i s as n ear

, ,

the tr u th a s the Ch r is t ian who see s in the pict u re of Jes u s

of Nazareth the representation of his highe s t ideal .

There had been a great deal of time and labor spen t to

prove or d isprove that th e founde r of Chris tianity was a
p ers on living in Pales tine at the beginni ng of t h e C hris
tian e ra. To know w h e th e r or not su c h a p er son by th e
2 44 yE S US O F N A ZA R E T I I .

name of j o r perhap
esus, s je/z os/z ua eve r existed and , ,

wh ethe r h e e xis ted at the time indicated by t h eologian s ,

may be a mat ter of g reat histo r ical interes t b u t i t canno t ,

b e of s u p rem e importance fo r the salvation of Man ;

beca u se p ers ons are only fo rms and a s s u c h th ey are limite d ,

and parts of the w h ole and the wh ole cannot be subor ,

d inate to the part If th e Man de scribed as Jes u s in the

.

N e wTes tamen t lived h e was u n d o ub te d ly an A dep t and

, ,

a s s u ch h e was a true Son of G od because every one i n

”
,

whom th e spiri t of God awaken s to cons ciou sn es s i s a

S on o f G od and an incarnation of the W ord For all we .

kn ow h e may have been the mo s t perfect incarnation of

,

the s piri t of truth that ever exis ted b u t t h e trut h existed ,

b efo re the p erson wa s bo rn and it is not the belief in t h e ,

pers on that can save mankind from evil b u t the re c ogni ,

t ion of the tr u th of which the o u tw ard fo rm can be no th

,

ing els e bu t th e external e xpression T h o se who believe .

in th e s till living eternal spirit of C h ri s t w h ether t h ey ,

believe in H is pe rson or not are the tr u e wo rs h ippers b u t , ,

t ho se wh o do no t fo ll ow H is words but believe in His ,

person wors h ip only a form witho u t life— an ill u sion

,

w
.

The doctrine s of t h e Je s u s of the Go spel gro in s ub

limi ty in prop ortion as thei r s e c ret meaning is unders tood
th e tales of th e Bi ble in regard to His d e eds and the miracles
whic h H e pe r formed and whi c h to t h e superficial obse rver
,

appear incredible and ab s u rd represen t e ternal truth s and ,

p sy c hological pro ces ses whi c h are n o t m e re ly things of th e

pas t b ut which occur eve n now it h i n the realm of the
,

s o u l of man and in p rop ortioit as man ceases to be a ’

w
,
“ ”
C hristian and comes neare r to C hrist veil afte r veil
drop s from h is eyes and a newlife awak e ris in him and a
, ,

, ,

new and infin ite vista of though t rise s u p before h is

a s ton ished eyes .

The theory of th e redemption of man doe s n ot date from

th e time when the h istorical C h r is t is su pp osed to h ave
b een born The h istory of Ch rist finds i ts p ro to type in
.

the history of Krish m a The Gre ek s taugh t th e redemp tion

.

of the soul unde r th e allegory ofA mor and Psyche P sy c lz e .

( t h e h uman soul ) enj oys the emb ra c es of h er divine love r

A mor ( the sixt h principle ) eve ry n igh t Sh e feels h is .

divine pres ence and h ears th e vo i ce of in t u ition in h er

1

R e velauons xx 7 . .
2 46 F A US T .

loose wit h o u t restraint can satisfy h is craving fo r more , .

L ord of t h e E ar th he s ees only a single h u t wh ich i s not

,

yet h is own and he takes even that regardle ss of the fate

, ,

of its in h abitan ts S till h e is not satisfied u ntil after

.
,

h aving recove re d a par t of land from th e ocean by h is

labo rs h e con templates t h e h appine ss w h ic h ot h e rs may
,

enj oy by r eaping the benefit of his work This is th e first .

u nse lfi sh tho u ght tha t takes ro o t in h is mind I t fi lls h im .

wit h extreme h appines s and in t h e contemplation of the ,

h appines s of others h is personality die s and his highe r self

becomes glorified and immo rtal .

Truth knows that it is b u t it canno t intelle ct u ally an d ,

c r itically examine itself unles s 1 t s teps o u t of itself and , ,

s tepping out of itself it cease s t o be one T h e eye canno t

, .

see i tself wit h o ut th e aid of a mir ror good becomes only

k nown t o u s after we h ave expe rienc e d evil ; to become
wis e we m u st first become foolish and eat th e forbidden
fruit A n impersonal power not having been emb odied in
.

a form wo u ld know that it exis ts b u t wo u ld know no thing

, ,

more To learn the conditions of exis ten c e it b ecome s

.

embodied 1 n fo r m and acq u ires knowledge h aving gained ,

t h at knowledge form 1 5 no longer required

, .

The de sire fo r pe rs onal ex i stence i mprisons the spirit

of man into a mortal form ; h e wh o during h is life on
E arth conque rs all de s ire for pers onal exi stence be comes
free The divine Bud d ha res ting u nder th e B od d h i t ree
.
,
-

of wisdom and h aving h is mind fixed on the c h ain of

,

causa tion said : I gnorance is the so urce of a l l evi l

, .

From ign o rance spri ng the S ank/z aras ( ten d en cie s ) of

threefold na ture prod u ction s of bo d y of spe ech and tho u ght
-
,

( during the previo u s life ) ; from the S an k h ara s s prings

( relative ) conscio u sne ss from con scio u sne s s spr ing name
,

and form from t h i s th e six regions ( t h e six s enses ) from

, ,

this springs desire from des ire a ttach men t fro m , ,

at tach men t exis tence birt h old age dea th grief , , , , ,

lame ntation su ffe ring dej e c tion and d espair

, , By th e .

des truction of 1 gnoranc e the Sank h aras are des tr oyed and ,

the ir consciousne ss n ame and fo rm th e six regi ons con

, , ,

tac t sensat i on desire attachme n t existen c e and i ts

, , , , ,

conse quent evils From ignorance spr ing all evils from
.
,

knowle d ge come cessation of th is mas s of mise ry The .

tru l y en l i ghtened one s tands dispelling the ho s ts of ill u ,

”
!ion s like the s u n that ill u minates th e sky .
 I M P E R S ON A L I T Y . 24 7

Th e powe r w h ic h di ffuse s t h e sense of pe rs on ality is t h e

same wh ic h ca u sed the existence of man it is th e powe r
of lo ve and th e more the love of a person expands over
,

all o the rs the more will the consciousness of personali ty

be di ffused We esteem a perso n accord ing to the deg ree
.

in which h e pre fe rs co mmon in terests to the interes ts of

his own personality We admire generosity and unse lfi sh
.
,

nes s and benevolence and yet such qualities are abs urd
, ,

and u seless if we believe that the hi ghest obj ect of man s

,
’

exis tence is hi s own personal happine s s on t h e phys i c al

plane ; beca u se the highes t happines s m tha t p l ane consis t s
i n the greate s t amoun t of po sses sions pertain i ng to that

plane To give is to experi ence a personal los s But if

. .

the man strives for impersonal p ower to give away per ,

s onal possess ions will be his gain becaus e the less he is ,

attracted t o personal po ssess ions the more he will expand

h is pers onali ty To give with the view of expecting s ome
.

benefit i n re turn i s u seles s for such a p u rpo se be cause ,

a pe rs o n h aving such an obj e ct in view simply g i ves up

one p e r sona l pos session for anothe r He 1 8 a trad esman .

that clings to his good s and i s only willing to part with ,

s omething goo d provided h e can get something bet ter i n

exchan ge .

Nei ther the white nor t h e black magician has any s u ch

p ers onal con side rations Th e inveterate villai n d o es not
.

obey his s elfi s h emo tions b u t con t rols the m and create s ,

emo t ions in o thers which they canno t re sist and in thi s ,

way he makes oth ers accomplish his purpose He ha t es

_

w h om he choo se s to h ate and his will if di r ecte d again st, ,

the p erson he hates i s frei ghted with evil His touch

, .

may b ring disease and his evi l eye may be poison to per
,

sons who having very l itt l e wi l l power of their own a r e

, ,

unwi l ling to res i s t i ts influence The emo tions whi c h h e .

c al l s forth a ttract to the mse l ves co rre spon d ing e l ements

h e enters into c o operatio n wi t h th e evil forces of the as tral

-

p l ane whom he e ithe r commands or propitiates or he

, ,

makes a compac t with th em by gratifying the ir evil de sires

and invoking their aid Ins t ea d of expan d ing h is p owers
.

h e con c en t rate s them into a focus H is will is rathe r .

forcib l e than powerful and is some times rendered s o by

,

certain p ra c ti c e s such as the carele s s endurance of physical

,

pain and by s uch ceremonie s as may as si st his i magination

, .

T h e energies w h ic h h e acc u m u late s in h is astral body

2 4s .
P R A C TI C E O F M A GI C .

may con tin u e t o exis t long afte r the dea th h is p h ys ical of

bo d y u ntil th ey are exhaus ted by s u ffering and d i si m
,

te grate d in the astral plane He opposes his individual

.

wi l l to the cosmic will and the resul t is isolatio n and

,

dea t h .

The white magician strengthens and expan d s h is will

powe r by bringing it in to h armony with the un ive rsal wil l .

No t to co u nteract but to as sis t the proce s s of evo lu tion i s

, ,

hi s obj ec t and as the p r ogres s of th e evolu tion in nat u re

,

i s towards uni ty the first manifes t a tion of his will i s a

,

u niversal love for h umani ty and each ac t by wh ic h h e ,

expre s ses this love s trengthen s h is will To unite one s .

’

wi l l wi th the universal will does no t mean a me rely pass ive

co ntemplation and percep tio n of spiritual truths b u t an ,

ac tive penetration into the process of evol u tion and a real ,

c o operation
-
with the b e ne fi c e nt powers the mas te r ,

bui l d ers of the sidereal u niverse .

Such a union is no t p roduced by an inactive ac qu i

e sc e nc e with the decrees of an inexo rab l e fate and patie nt ,

in d i ffe r en c e to wha teve r may happen ; much les s by a

submis s io n of one s wi ll to t he d icta te s of ano t h e r pers o n
’

who c l aims to be fu rnishe d wi th divine autho ri ty but by ,

a strong determination to ac c omplish wha tever i s in our

powe r for the goo d of h umanity and by exp re ssing tha t ,

dete r mination throug h ac tion .

A man may surren d er his will to the will of another

man if he be l ieves t he latte r to be more wise th an himself
, ,

and by doin g so he may become s trong in mastering h is

ow n self ; bu t he shou l d neve r su rrender h is reason and
never act c ontrary to th e dictate s of hi s con scien c e Th e .

c onvent dis c ipline of th e M i d dle A g es may have bee n

c on d u c ive to s trengthen th e wi ll power of t h o s e t ha t we re-

s u bj ec ted t o it b ut it was de s tructive to reason and

, ,

in st ea d of gods imbeciles we re crea t ed .

A c cor d in g to the unse lfi sh ne ss and the spirit u al power

of a pe rson his ind ividual influence may e x t en d ove r a
fami l y a village a t own a country or ove r th e w h ole
, , , ,

E a r th E ve r y one desire s influen c e and seek s to ob t ain

.
,

powe r by o btaining wealth and po si tion Bu t the influence .

g ained by such po sse ss ions i s n o t individual p o wer A .

fool may b e a pope a k ing o r a millionary and people may

, , ,

b owi n obedience before h im on accoun t of hi s p o s it i on

and wealt h They may de s p ise h is pers on and ado re h is
.
2 50 L O VE A N D H A TE .

form , pers onality s el fi s h n es s u nconscio u snes s and death

, , .

A waken ing again in t h e form it expands and grows again ,

and attrac tin g th e mo s t refine d and spiritua l elemen ts of

the form within itself it save s the m from th e tomb of mat
ter and re s u rrects them fr om the fo rm .

Man may be compared with a planet revolving around

it s own cen tre above th e orbit in which he t u rn s i s ligh t ,

below i t darkness but his own pe r sonality is c r ys t a ll iz e d

,

in the cen t r e The l igh t above and the d arkne s s be l o w

.

a ttract him and bo th are fille d wi t h li fe and s trong

,

power only in th e c entre i s the material form hel d to

, ,

gether by the cohesion of selfish a t t r action s rendered ,

u nconsc i o u s and immovable by i ts d ensit y ch illed by i ts ,

remo tenes s from the spiri tual sun The fart h er h e travels .

from tha t cen tre the mo re wi l l he app roach the ligh t or

,

th e shadow and having r ea c h ed a certain p oint a t which

,

the attractio n of his pe rsonal s elf c ease s he wi l l e i t her ,

ri s e up to th e s o urce of ligh t o r sink into th e shadow ,

a ccording to h is tenden c ies whi c h lead him to pe rmanen t

good or to pe rmanen t evil A change from d arkne s s to .

l ight from evil to good is o nly po s sible as long as m an in

, , ,

h is revolutions around the ce n tre of h is own se l f h as not ,

trans cende d the orbi t whe r e the attraction of s e l f ceas es ,

and where the attraction of lig h t and sh a d ows coun terac t

ea c h o ther Having tran scended that o r bit n o ret u rn i s
.
,

pos sible he has then co mmi tte d th e un

, p ard onable sin

whi c h on l y the impe r s onal man can c omm i t ; bec au s e pe r

s onal man being b oun d to a fo rm and u n d e r th e influence
, ,

of love for self i s n o t free t o ac t a s h e please s

, A s long .

as he clin gs to s elf he acts igno ran t l y and unde r th e pres

su re of s elfish con si d erations Mi s taking th e lowfo r th e.

h igh h e clings to the low and perish e s wi t h it O nly h e

,
.

wh o has attained the knowledge of self will be able t o

choo se free be cause h e will know th e natu re of that wh ich
,

he c h oo ses the blind have no freedom of choice O nly a t .

th e end when all will have attained knowledge and fr ee d om

, ,

will be the final res u rrection of h um am ty as a wh ole t h e , ,

parting of light and shadow an d th e re s to ra t ion of goo d , .

Then will b e th e d ay of J u dgmen t re fe rre d to in th e R eve ,

lation of St John when aft e r the en d ing of the s eventh

.
,

round of the l ife wave aro u nd th e p l ane t ary c hain the

-
,
“ ”
b otto mles s pi t will b e opened and the good and evil
wi ll part B u t no personal j udge may be the r e n or any
.
,

p erson s t h at co u ld b e j u d ged , b u t only th e p ower of good

 TH E B A L A N C E . 2 51

and evil ofw h ic h fo rm e r p e rsonalitie s constit u te an in tegral

,

part and the power of th e law

,
*
.

The unp ard onable sin is t o knowingly and willfully rej ec t

spiritua l truth I n a certain s ense al l s ins are unpar d on
.

”
able becaus e they all caus e e ffec ts wh i c h have to be come
,

e xhau s ted befo re they can ceas e ; b ut if a person k now

ingly and willf ully witho ut any selfish co nsiderations
, ,

rej ec t s th e tru th it p rove s that h e has a de te rmina te prefe r

,

e nce for evil tha t he love s evil better than good and tha t
, ,

h e is therefo re ama l gamate d with e vl l H e wh o isigno ran t .

i s not re spon s ible fo r h is ac ts bu t he wh o knows the truth ,

and rej ect s it will s u ffer i ts los s O nly the good will s u r .

vive and h e wh o c hoose s evi l will perish in evil It i s

,
.

therefore dangerous fo r men to a c quire o c c u lt k nowledge ,

be fo re they have become su ffi cien tly wise to select only

that which is good .

Man passes t h ro u gh seve ral re s urrec tions H is li fe .

p r inciple resurrects in th e plan t s growing on his grave and

in the worms fee d ing upon his body h is astral s o ul re s ur ,

re c ts from th e body his t rue s elf from t h e elementary

,

for c es connected with th e ac tivi t y of his so u l Be si d es .

t h ese re s urrections the re are continually re s u rrection s

taking pla c e wi thin the soul of man th ere is t h e re surre c
tion from selfishness to a true realization of tr u th the ,

resurrection from ignorance to know l e d ge and hi s liberation ,

fr o m th e a t t ra c tion of evil Good and evil will final l y .

re s urre c t from the form the good a blessing and the e vil a
,

curs e ; but th e ignoran t t h at know ne ither good nor evil

will h ave n o res ur re c tion be c ause they have 11 0 s piritual
,

life They wi l l remain chained to th e fo rm and slee p c r ys

.

“
talliz e d in s pace and live no t agai n until t h e thou sand
years T are fi nish e d I when they may agai n begin their
,
”

labor of developmen ts at the commencemen t of a w o rld .

“
B u t H e t/z at is will s till s it upon t he great whi t e
”
t h rone after th e eart h and the heave n h av e fled away
fro m H is face ! and the p owe r s of good the sons of wis
, ,
“ ”
dom ,
over wh ich the se cond deat h h as no power will ,

be with H im as pr ies ts and kings when after the P ralaya , ,

is ended H e s tre tches forth Hi s h ands and command s

,

again L et t/z ere be L iglz t .

S t J oh n : R eve l at ions xx
. . 1 .

1 Th e P ralaya
'
.
I St . J oh n R eve l at ions xx 5 .

! R eve lations xx 2 . . I b id , xx 6
. . .
 C HA P TE R XI I .

CONC L O U SI N .

H e to w h om t ime is l ik e e te rnity, and e e t rnity l ike t ime ,

is free .

c ob B ee/m i c
7a .

To picture t h e e ternal and incomprehens ible i n forms and ,

to de scribe the u nimaginab l e in words is a task wh o se ,

d i ffi cu l ty has been experienced by all who ever at temp ted i t .

The formles s cannot be described in forms it can only be ,

repres ented by al l ego ries which can only be un d e rs to o d by

tho se whose m inds are open t o th e illumin a tion of tru t h .

Th e misunders tanding of allego rical expre ss ion s i n t he

sacred books h as le d to reli gio us war s to th e tortu rin g , ,

bu rn ing and killing of tho u sands of innoce n t vic tims i t

has caused t h e l iving wive s of dea d H indu s to be burned
wi t h the co rpse s of th eir h u sban ds it has ca u sed i gnoran t
,

men and women to throw th e mselves before th e whe els of

the car of the jugge rnatk i t c aus es the e n d les s q u arrel s
,

b e tween s ome z oo Chri s tian sects and w h ile th e t ru th ,

uni t es a l l h uman i t y in to one h armo n iou s wh ole the mis ,

unders tanding of it produce s inn u merable disco r d s and

disease s .

The Bibl e says Th e s ecre t t h i ng s belong u nto t h e

L ord ; and th e B h agw at Gita repe at s t h e sam e tru t h i n
t he following wo r ds : Th o s e w h o s e m inds are attracted
“

t o my invisi ble nature have a great labor to e nco unte r ,

be c aus e an in vis ible pat h i s di fficu lt to b e fo u n d by c or

p o re al beings ”
Th e g reates t p oe ts of th e wo rld h ave
h ad o ccasion to regret t h e poverty of h uman langu age ,

which rendered it impos sible to exp re ss t h e lang u a ge of th eir

h earts in words ; and th ose w h os e minds h ave been ful l y
opened to the kn owle d ge of spiri tual tr u t h s t h e wise st of ,

all men s uch as Buddha have left no wri tten reco rds of
, ,

their doc trine s per h aps th ei r conception s w er e too gran d

to be expres sed in words and can be u nde rs too d on ly by
,

th ose who feel as they fe l t and w h os e h ear ts are op en to

,

the s u nlig h t of divine ill u mination .

2 52
2 54 I N TE L L E C T UA L A N I M A L S .

and th e o nly E lix ir of L ife or Universal P anac ea and ,

‘

can be h ad e verywhere and at any time wi t ho ut expense ,

by eve ry one wh o knows h owto seek for i t I t can attain .

self conscio u s nes s and self knowledge only in the organism

-

of man beca u se t h e lower animals are n ot yet far enough

,

advanced to be u sed as i ts vehicles and ins tr umen t ; bu t

th e man in whom it h as awakene d to life s h are s its attri
bute s and o btains magic po we r for he is a living te m p l e
of God The man in who m G od has not awaken e d is as
.
,

long a s he remains in that condi t ion merely an inte llec t ual ,

anima l and having no Spirit ac tive w i t hin h is h eart h e

, ,

can poss ess no Sp i ritu al or m agic al powe rs So me m o d ern .

”
“
Philo sophers w h o say tha t m an h as no magical power s
, ,

are righ t from their own po in t of view ; for th e man “ ”

known to exte rnal s cien c e i s merely an in tellect u al animal ,

h aving n o spirit u al and th e refore no m agical powe r ; t he

real man o nly begins to e xis t when h e is reborn in t h e
Spirit Tr u e p hilosop he rs h ave recogni z ed this fact
. .

Schopen h a u er says : “
I n con s eq u e n ce of the ac tion of
’
‘
grace the en tire bein g of man become s remodelled so
, ,

t ha t h e desi re s no longe r any th ing of t h at for wh ic h h e was

craving h eretofore and beco me s s o to say a new
,

E ve rything in nature ha s a th reefold nat u re and like ,

wis e the allegories of th e sacre d bo oks of th e E as t as well

as those of the West have a threefo ld mean ing— an exoteric ,

a n esoteric and a secret si gn i fi cation Th e vulgar th e

,
.
-m

learned as well as the un learn ed — can se e only t h e

exoteric s ide wh ich in the maj o ri ty of case s is so abs u rd
, , , ,

that its very abs u rdity s ho u ld s e rv e as a warni ng to people

endowed with common s en s e n o t to acc ep t t h es e fables i n
their li teral meaning there i s h o w e ver no t h ing too
, ,

abs urd to a ttract t h e atten tion of t h e ig no ran t and we se e ,

them , therefore split into th re e clas s e s namely— fi rst into

, , ,

thos e wh o implicitly believe the ir literal meaning

s econdly in to th ose w h o rej ec t th e m on acco u n t of t h eir
,

s u ppose d abs u rdity never su spe c ting a deepe r meaning

, ,

and thirdly in to tho se w h o are irri ta ted at their abs u rd i t y

, , ,

and valiantly figh t the man of s traw wh ic h t h ey have them

s elves set up in t h eir minds .

Tho se who are w illing to lear n can be in s tr u cte d b u t ,

they that belie ve t h a t they alre ady know , re fu se to be

W lt a s W ille und V orste ll ung

l ”
it e . I .
, 625 .
 TH E P A TH . 2 55

ta u ght F or t his reason th e le gi timate g u ar d ians of the

.

t r u t h the teache rs of s c ience and re l igion l i k e those wh o

, ,

have no inte l lectual power are oft en the last one s to re ,

c ognize the truth Tho s e wh o are not able to think canno t

.

be tau ght and those who live en t ire l y within the region of
,

in t el l ec t ual speculation rej ect the l igh t of their own intu i

tion The esoteric mean ing of symbo l s may be u nders tood
.

by tho se who se in tellect is open to in tuiti on and may be ,

explained to a l l who d o not rej ec t the truth but the sec ret
meanin g of the sacred symbols canno t be exp l aine d in
wor d s i t can b e u n d ers tood only by th os e who have
,

ente r e d th e practical way .

H ow c an we ente r t/z e p at/z t— O nly in practical e xp e ri

en c e i s l ife Pe tr ified spe c ulative s c ience mou l dy spe c
.
,

ulative philo so phy and d r ied up spe c u l a t ive theo l ogy

,
-

g roan in the embrace of dea t h H u manity awake s from .

her slu mbe r and asks the m fo r the bread of wis d om but ,

rece ives only a stone Sh e turns to s cience but s c ience is

.
,

silent wrap s h ers elf u p in he r vanity and tu rn s away sh e

,

turn s to phi l o sophy and old philo sophy answers but he r

, ,

talk is an incomprehensible j argon and con fu ses matte rs ,

s t il l more Sh e t u r n s to theology bu t theology threaten s

.
,

the obnoxiou s q u estione r wi t h h ell and bid s her to remain ,

i gnoran t Bu t the people o n t h e whole are n o longe r

.
, ,

sa t isfied with s uc h an swers ; they are no longe r con tented

with the as sertion tha t th e truth is known to a fe w and ,

tha t they themselves mu s t remain ignorant they want to ,

enj oy it too .

I f we wish to enter the pat h to infinite life t h e fi st ,

requiremen t is

TO KN O W .

Kn owledge i s the pe rcep tion and unders tanding of tr u t h .

We can only k now tha t whi c h we pe r c eive A ll know .

le d ge arrived a t b y lo gi c h owever exact is o n l y negative

, ,

knowledge b u t not po sitive ; for t ru t h is spiritua l and can

,

be re c o gnize d on l y by s piri t By in te l lec t ual reasoning .

and ma t hematics we c an fi nd out what a thing is not ; but

never what it a c tua ll y is We say that one and two a d ded
.

togeth e r make three meaning that they c an ma k e n o t hing

else b ut t h r e e bu t what the t hree a c tua lly is s t ill r emains ,

a mys tery We say that if we chemical l y combine Sulp h ur

.
2 56 KN O W L E D GE .

and C arb on th e res u lt can be no t h ing e l se b u t a c om

,

pound of Su l ph u r and Carbon b u t fo r all tha t we do not ,

know what th at combination is as long as we have not ,

perceived its at trib u tes There are two p rin cipal mo d e s

.

of pe rception namely seeing and fee l ing E ach of thes e

, , .

modes if unaccompanied by the o th er is un reliable only

, ,

if we simul taneou sly s ee and feel a th ing d o we know tha t

i t exis ts .

Thousands of years h ave pas sed away s ince mankind

fi rst s aw th e s un and s tars and m od e r n tele sco pe s hav e ,

brough t the m neare r to us Nevertheles s our kn owledge .

of the s e co smic bodies and the condition s of li fe exi st i n g

,

upon them consis ts merely of specula t ion s and opinion s

, ,

wh ich may be overthrown a t any t i me wh en our mean s ,

for o bserva tio n are s upp l an ted by be tter one s We give

‘

names t o th e s ubs tances discove re d by the s pectro scop e ,

b u t we will no t know the true na tu re of th e s tars a s long

as we are no t able t o partake of their c on sci o usnes s and
feel th e qualitie s of the life and characters embodied i n
th e ir forms .

Fo r tho u sand s of year s man k ind has int u i t iv ely fel t th e

p resence of the U nknown Tho se wh o felt t he p resen c e .

of the universal Spirit know that it e x i s ts , Gene ration s .

afte r genera tion s have disappeared from earth after s pend

ing the ir l ive s in vain e fforts to know th at God whose
p ower they felt but w h om th ey c ould not see wi t h th eir
eye s and e ve n o u r g r eates t theologians s eem to be ve ry far
,

from a tr u e knowle d ge of God O nly when th e min d of .

the regenerated man h as become illuminated by d ivine wis

dom will h e be able to know the tru e God for h e will see ,

H is image within h is own so u l .

If we are able to s ee and feel t h e external at trib u te s of

a thing we may begin to u nders tand what thes e q u alitie s
,

are but we will for a l l that still be i gno ran t of its interior
, , ,

qua l ities and i ts tr u e character To know th e latte r it wi l l .

be neces sary t o enter into i ts s piri t and th is c an only be ,

done by th e spir it of man no t by his ex t e rnal s en ses The

,
.

spirit u al prin ciple l n man if once awakene d to self con ,

-

sc iousne ss h as a t tributes and func tion s fa r superior to

,

t hos e of the external man ; it has the powe r to pe r c e ive ,

to se e and to feel the in ternal qualitie s of t h ing s which are

impe r c ep tible to t h e exte rna l sens es i t can identify i tself
with the obj ect of its observation and partake of its c on
2 58 D I GN I T Y O F M AN .

them bu t which spark in the grea t maj ority of case s is

, , ,

left to smou l d e r and vanish The former is immorta l th e .

,

lat t e r lives a fe w years among t h e illusion s of life The .

former knows that h e lives fo r ever in th e A ll the latte r ,

expects to die o r pe r hap s to obtain a lease on his pe rsona l

,

e xist e nce by th e favo r of some personal god who may

pe rmi t him to carry h 1 s 1 n1 q u1 t1 e s 1 11 to a sphere in which ,

o nly th e pure c an exist .

There are th r e e kinds of knowledge the u seful th e , ,

u seless and the harmful Th e mo st useful knowle d ge is

, .

the one wh i c h relate s to the e ssen tial nature of man to his ,

des tiny and to h is possibilitie s

, There i s n o h igher .

knowle d ge than the pra cti c al kn owle d ge of rel igion tha t

is to say t he kn ow l e d ge of all that relates to th e spi r i tu al
, ,

e mo t io nal and physi c al nature of man

, H e w h o has th i s .

knowle d ge i s neces sarily the true phys ician for th e soul as

well as fo r the bod y and h e heals by the power of hi s ,

spiri t A n at temp t to separate religio n from s cien c e and

.

the pra ctice of mora l ity from th e practi c e of me d icine

lead s to i ll usions of the mos t dangerous kind .

The u sele s s knowledge is the k n owle d ge of or rath er ,

th e adherence to illusion s and falsehoods ; i t is no rea l

,

knowledge a l thoug h i t embraces a grea t d eal of wha t i s

,

considered of great importance in c ivilized co u n trie s that

men sh oul d know .

The h arm ful knowledge consis ts in scien tific at tain

men ts wi thou t an y co rresponding perception of th e m oral
aspe c t of tru th It is on l y pa r tial knowledge becau s e i t
.
,

reco gnize s o nly a part of the truth A h i gh in tellec t u al .

deve l opmen t wi thout any c or r e spon d i ng g r ow th of morality

i s a cu r se to mankind Knowledge to be good mu s t b e .

il l umina t ed by Wisdom ; knowle d ge wi t hou t w is d o m 1 s

dan gero u s to posse ss M is u nderstanding and m isap plic a
.

tion of truth s a re the s ou r ce of s u ffering .

Th e a ttainmen t of power is o ft en no t accompanie d wi th

any p rope r u nde rs t anding how t o apply tha t power w i sel y .

The invention of the fulmin a te s of mercu ry of gunpo w d e r ,

and nitro gly c e r ine has cau s e d mu c h su ffe ring to a lar ge

-
,

part of humani t y No t tha t th e substances a ppl ie d or

.
,

the forc e s wh ic h are liberate d are intrinsically e vil , b ut ,

Re ve l at ions xxi . 2 7.
 D A N GE R O US KN O W L E D GE . 2 59

their m isappli c ation leads to evil results If a l l men were .

intel l ig e n t enough to unders tand the law s which gove rn

them an d wise e nough to employ the m for good purpo se s
, ‘

only no evil re s ults would fo l low

, .

If we p ro c eed a s tep further and imagine intel l ect u al

but wicke d an d selfish people p o sse s se d no t only of th e
powe r to employ explo s ives pois onou s dru gs and medi
cines to inj ure o the r s b ut able to sen d their ow
, ,

, n invisible
poisonous will to a d is tance to leave at will the prison ,

hous e of the p hysical body and go in their astral forms

to ki l l or inj ure others t he mo s t disastr ous re s ul ts w ould
,

fol l ow Su c h forbi d den knowledge has be en and is s ome

.

time s po sse s sed by people with c riminal tendencies a fact

whi c h i s un iversa l ly known in the E ast arid u pon the pos ,

sib ility and actua l ity of su ch fa c ts have bee n e s ta blished ,

on many occasions and among o thers by many of th e

,

wit c h trials of th e M id d le A ges Modern scientist s may .

nowlaugh a t these fac ts bu t the doc tors of law of me d i , ,

cine an d of theology of their time s we re as sure of their

, ,

knowle d ge then as their mode rn re presentatives are of

their own opinions to d ay and the former had as many -
,

intel l ec tual capa c i t ie s as the latter The only di fference is .

tha t the fo rme r knew these facts but gave a wrong e xp lan ,

a t ion ; the latter refuse to examine th em and give no ,

explanatio n a t all .

Man is con tinua l ly s u rrounded by u n seen infl uence s and ,

th e astral p lane i s swarming wi t h en t i t ies and forces ,

which a re a c tin g upon him for goo d o r fo r evil according ,

to his good or evil inc l ination s A t the presen t s tat e of .

e volu t ion man has a phy sical body whi c h i s admirably ,

a d apted to modify th e infl u ence fr o m th e as tral p l ane and ,

”
to shel t er him again s t the monsters of tire d eep .

If the physica l body i s in good h ealth it acts as an ,

armo r and moreove r man has th e power by a j u d i c io us

, , , ,

exer c ise of his wi ll to s o c oncen trate the od ic au r a by which

,

h e is surrounde d as to rende r his armor impenetrable but

,

if by b ad health by a care l es s expenditure of vitality o r by

, ,

the practice of mediumsh ip h e dispe r se s t hroug h space ,

the odic emanation s be l onging to his sphere his physical ,

armor will become weake ned and unab l e to p ro tect him

he become s the vi c tim of e le m e ntarie s and elemen t al fo rc es ,

h is men tal facultie s wi l l l o s e the ir ba l an c e and sooner or ,

late r h e will like the symb olical A d am and E ve k now

, ,
2 60 D A N GE R S O F TH E A S TR A L P L A N E .

t/z at li e is naked , and exposed to influences whic h h e

canno t repel Such is the result for whi c h th ose
. ignorant
ly crave who wish to ob tain kn owledge without corre s
ponding morality To s u ppl y the i gnoran t or weak with
.

powers of d es tr u ctio n wou l d be like providing chil d r e n

with g unp ow d e r and ma tches for play .

O n l y an in te l ligen t and we l l ba l anc ed mind c an discrim

-

inate properly and dive into the hi d d en mys teries of Nature .

“ ”
O nly the pure in hea rt can se e G od H e who has .

reached tha t s tage need no t search for an A d ep t t o ins truct

h im th e h igher intel l igen c e s will be a t t rac t ed to him and
‘
,

become his nstruc tor in the same mann e r as he may be

a ttracted b M t y of an '
animal or of a flowe r
A harp does n o t inven t sound bu t obeys t he hand of a
.

m as ter and the more pe rfec t th e i nstrumen t the s weete r

, ,

may be the music A diamond d oe s not o riginate ligh t

.
,

b u t reflects it and the p u rer th e d i amond the p u rer will be

,

its l u s tre .M an does no t inven t o r i g i nal t h ough t wil l and ,

intelligence H e i s a mir ror in wh i c h th e though t of God

.

and the image ry ofnat ur e is re fl c e ted an i nstrument th rou gh ,

which th e e ternal will or th e animal will expre ss! e s i tse l f ;

a pearl fil l ed wi t h a d r op of wa te r fro m the universal
oc ean of intellige nce .

“
If you eat fr om the tree of tr u e knowle d ge you will
”
s u rely die Yo u r p ers o nali ty wi l l be swa ll owed u p by a
.

realization of t h e fa c t that pers onal isolation is only an

illusion and th at you are one with the all B u t as yo u r
, .

personality die s a grea ter t r u t h o pen s before yo u and

, ,

y o u be c ome no t only God like bu t God -

,
.

H e who ascends to th e top of a hi gh mo u ntain n eed no t

inqui r e fo r somebody to bring h im pure air P ure air sur .

roun d s h im there on all sides The realm of wisdom i s no t .

limited and h e wh os e mind is re c ep tive wi l l not s u ffer from

,

wan t of d ivine influx to feed hi s aspiration .

Th e school in which the occul tis t graduates has many

clas se s each clas s representing a life
,
The days of vaca .

tion may arrive befo re the lesson i s learned and wha t has ,

been learned may be forgo t ten d u ring the time of vacation ;

but s ti l l th e impres sion rema i n s and a thing once learne d ,

is easily learne d again This accoun ts fo r the d i fferen t

.

talents with wh ich men are en d owed and for their propen ,

si t ies for goo d o r for evi l No c fl ort is los t every cause

.
,

c reates a corres p ondin g e ffec t no favo r s are gran ted , no ,

262 W I LL .

is go od w h e t h er i t w
or e vil , ill benefit or inj u re u s if we ,

approa c h it Many followers of the churc h profes s to love

.

God and h ave no t the remote s t c oncep tion of what G od

,

is
. M any profes s to love Ch ris t and de spise and rej ec t
,
“
H im if they meet Him in man Such a love of God and .

C h ris t is a p retence and an illus ion it exi s ts only in the ,

brain and no t in th e heart We can only l ove t hat of whi c h

.

we know th at i t is go od because we fee l it to be so and

,

w h ere e lse could we feel the presence of G od e xcept within

our ow n heart ? To lea r n to des ire God mean s therefore
to en ter a mental state in which w e can feel the pre sence
of th e D ivine p rin c iple within our ow n heart to learn to
know G od means to learn to know our own D ivin e Self .

To ente r a state in wh ich universal truth may come to

our direc t percep t ion no intellectual labo r b u t spiri t u al
,

develo p men t is require d We mu s t beco me mas ter of ou r

.

ow n though ts and d e s ires and be able to s ink our th ough t s

,

into the invis ible cen t r e of A ll .

We d o not have far t o go in s earch of that C entre i t ,

e xists wi th in the heart of each h u m an be i ng fo r the soul

of each human being is an exac t image of th e so ul of th e
u niverse an d as t h e grea t Spi r itual Sun exis ts in the c ent re
,

of the U n iverse likewise the image of that sun exis ts within

,

t h e h eart of e ac h human being If we o nly pe rmi t thi s

.

divine ligh t to sh ine with in our own soul we will know the ,

t ruth for the truth is on ly one and th e one exis ting within
, ,

our ow n heart is identical wit h th e one exis ting within the

centre of th e un iverse .

If we desire to s ee the p u re lig h t of the ter restrial sun ,

the a tmo sphe re mus t n o t be obsc u red by clouds and fo gs

if we d esire to se e th e e ternal ligh t of th e spiritual Sun
e xis ting wi thin the h ea rt the rea l m of the s oul m u s t no t be
,

clou d ed by ma t eria l desires We mus t by t he powe r of

.

our wil l dispel the fo gs and mist s created by the vapo r s

coming from t he mate rial plane We m u s t become our own
.

master s in our own ho u s e To do t hi s requires e ffo rt and

.

p e rs e verance and the average inve sti gator finding it easier

, ,

t o accep t rea d y made cree d s than to educate his spiritual

-
,

fa c u lties usua l ly remains satis fied wi th his own sup e rsti

,

tions or argues himself into a belief that s piritual cause s

,

canno t be known .

M en d o not se riously desire the truth because th ey ,

c anno t e stimate wha t they do no t kn ow and t h ey do no t ,

 TH E C E N TR E . 2 63

know it because th ey cannot rea c h what t h ey do n ot

se rious l y desire Mere c u riosi ty or a wish to learn to
.
,

know the truth at ou r le is ure wi t hout neglecting the claims

of the elementary k in gdom compo sing our so ul cannot ,

attract the spi r it Man is chained to the kingdom of the

.

E lementa l s with a tho usand chains The inhabitants of his .

soul appear befo re him in their mo st se d u c tive forms If .

they are d r ive n away th ey change t h eir masks and renew

their pe tition s in so me o th er form B ut the chains by .

which man is bound are forged by h is own desi re His .

vices d o not c l ing to him against h is wi l l H e clings to .

them and they wi l l de se r t h im as s o on as h e ris es u p in

,

the s trength and dign i ty of his manh ood and shakes th em

off. The r e i s a method by wh ich we may wi th o u t any
, ,

active e ffort obtain tha t whi c h we desire and this is that

, ,

we sk ould d esi re not/z ing ex c ep t wk at t/ze d i vine p

s i rit
d esi res wit/z i n our own k eart .

The third re q u iremen t is the re fo re , ,

T O DA R E .

We mu s t dare to act and th r ow off o u r desires instead of ,

waiting patien tly un til they dese rt us We mus t d are to .

tear ou rselve s lo ose from acc ustomed habits irrational ,

though ts and selfish co nsideration s and from everything

, ,

that i s an impedimen t to our re c ogni t ion of the tr u th W e .

mu s t dare to c onque r ours elves and to conquer the wo rld

dare to fa c e the ridi c ule of th e igno rant the vilific ations of ,

bi go ts the haugh tine ss of the vain the conte mpt of th e

, ,

learned and th e envy of th e small dare to p roclaim th e

,

t ru th if it is u seful to do s o and dare to be silen t if taun te d

,
*
by the fo ol We mus t d a r e to face p overty su ffering and
.
, ,

is olation and da r e to ac t under al l circumstances according

,

to our highes t c on c ep t ion of t ruth .

A ll this mi gh t be easi l y a c c omp l ished if t he w ill of man ,

we re fre e if man were his own maste r and no t bo u nd wit h

the chain s of the sou l but man is a re l a t ive be ing and a s ,

s uch his will can on l y be free to a ce r tain exten t it c an

only enj oy a rela t ive l ibe r ty as l o ng as i t is a slave to
d e sire .Man may per form c e r tain acts and leave o t h ers

P rov . xxvi .
4
.
2 64 DAR I N G .

u ndon e if he choose s ; but h i s in ternal d esire determin e s

h is choice and man act s in obedience to i t A man wh o
, .

i s free of ex ternal de s ire s h as t h e power to will t ha t whic h

h is natu r e does n ot des ire and no t to will that to wh ich th e
,

de sires o f that nature attrac t h im .

To make the will free ac tionis re quired and each action

, ,

s trengthen s the will and each u n selfis h d eed increa ses its
w
,

powe r I n unity isp o er To rende r o ur wi l l powerful

. .

we may u ni t e it with th e will of others and if the desires of ,

the o ther s are differen t from o u rs our will thereby b ecomes ,

fre e from o ur own desires I n ac tion is strengt/z . If we .

O ppo se our will to the wi l l of o the r s by acting agains t the ,

desires of o thers we in c reas e its s trength b u t we become

, ,

the reby is olated from o t hers .

Th ere i s only one universal power of w ill beca u s e ,

divini t y is a wh ole I t may ac t in th e direction fo r good

.

and in the direc t ion fo r evil b u t it s action for good is t he

s tronges t because i t emana t e s from th e e te rnal source of
,

a l l goo d This will power being the collective s um of all

.
-

wil l power in the u nivers e i s the power tha t moves the

-
,

wo rl d s I t I S neces sari ly imm eas u rably s tronger than an y

.

in d ivid u al will powe r can pos sibly be becaus e th ewh o le 1 5

-
,

l arger than the part and the infini te gre ater than t he
,

finite H e who u nites h is ow n will wi th the u nive r sal wil l

.

be c o mes powe rful he who exe rcises h is will by oppo sing (

i t may become s trong but wh ile the former a ttain s eterna l

,

life with the w h ole the latter causes his own d e str u c tion
, ,

as h e will finally be c rushed by the o ppo s ing fo r c e whic h ,

is immeasurably s tron ge r than h e D are to obey tlz e L aw .

,

and y ou will bec om e y our own 211 aster, and tk oL ord over

Philosop h ical co u rage is a quality for w h ic h me n ar e

respe c te d e verywhere Th e R e d Indian p ride s h imself at
.

his in d i fferen c e to phy s ical pain th e Fakir u ndergoe s ,

to r tu r es t o s trengthe n his will power the civ ilized sol d ier -

,

is eager to prove his contem p t for dange r and to measu re ,

his s trength wi t h th e s treng th of the enemy Bu t there are .

d ee d s to perform tha t require a co u rage of a s uperio r kind .

I t re q uire s only momen t a r y o u tburs ts of powe r o r te m p or

a r y e ffo r t s of will to perform a darin gdeed on th e physi c al
p l ane and a ft e r it i s a c compl ished i t i s followed by satis
,

fa c tion and re s t ; bu t i n the realm of th e s oul there is

no re s t for thos e w h o h ave no t su c ceeded in e radica tin g
2 66 M E D I TA T I O I V .

a dn he wh o makes love to the se rvan t will be rej ected by

t he mis tre ss ; but h e wh o sacrifice s his whole being to
wis d om wi l l be unite d with he r .

The B h agwat Gi ta says H e who th inke t h c on s tantly

,

of me his mind un d iverted by any o the r obj e c t will fi nd

, ,

me I wi l l at all times be easi l y found by a con s tan t

.

devo tion t o me .

Th e Chris t ian Mys tic Jacob B oeh me an illuminate d, ,

see r expres sed th e same truth in th e form of a dialogue

, ,

between the mas ter an d h is d isciple a s follo w s ,

The disciple said t o the mas ter : H owcan I succe ed

in ar riving at that supersen sua l life in wh ich I may see ,
”
and hea r t he Su preme ?
The mas t e r answe re d : If you can only for a momen t
enter in though t into th e fo rmles s where no creat u re ,

re si d e s yo u wi l l hear the vo ice of the Su preme

, .
”

The d isciple said Is this far or nea r

“
T h e master answered I t i s in y ours elf and if you can ,

c omman d onl y fo r one h ou r the silence of your de sires ,

y ou will hear th e inexpre s sible words of th e Supreme If .

your own wi ll and se l f a r e si l en t in you the pe rc e p tion of ,

th e e ternal will be man ife s t th r ough you G od will h ear ,

and se e and t a lk th r ough you your own hearing de si ring

, ,

and seein g p r e vent s yo u to s ee and h ear the

Th es e d ire c tion s are i d en t i c al wi th th o s e p rescribed by
t h e prac tice of R aja Yog by wh ic h th e h oly men of the
-
,

E as t unite th eir min d s w i t h the fo r mless and infinite .

R e l igiou s s ervices a r e calcu l ated to e l evate the mind into

t h e regio n of the fo r mle s s and in fa c t a l l re l igious sys tems
, , ,

can h ave no o th e r l egitima te o bj e c t than to teach m etho ds

h ow to attain s u ch states C h u rch es are not wo rt h y
.

the name of chur c h whi c h means asp iri tual union unle ss
, ,

they serve a s scho o l s in whi c h th e scien c e of uni ti ng one

self with th e ete rnal fou ntain of life is pra ctically tau gh t .

B ut it i s eas ier t o a l low one s m ind to re vel among t h e ’

multifar iou s forms and a t trac tion s of t h e material p l an e ,

and t o lis te n t o th e Syren s o ng of the E l emen tal s inhabi t

ing th e so ul than to en ter the appar en tl y d a r k cave s of t he
,

fo r m l ess where a t fi r s t n o s oun d i s h ear d in th e e t e rna l

,

s t il l nes s of ni gh t but th e ech o of our voice bu t wh ere alone ,

true powe r resides I t is easie r to let our minds be c on

.

J ac ob B oeh m e T h e osoph ic al W r it ings, book vi .

 TH E A W A KE N I N G . 2 67

trolle d by tho u gh t s that come and go wi t hou t o u r b i d d ing

than to hol d fas t to a though t and c omman d i t t o r e main ,

and to close the doors of t he s o ul to al l t hou gh ts that have

no t t he seal of truth impres s ed upon thei r forms and this
is the reason why the maj ority of men and women prefer
the illusions of finite li fe to th e e te rna l r ealities of the
infi nite — why they prefe r su ffe r ings to happiness and ,

ignorance to a knowledge of tru th .

To b e s ilent means to let no other language be h eard

within the heart bu t th e language of G od to l isten to t/z e ,

voic e o f D i vi ne PV i sd om p
s e ak i ng wit/z i n tk e lz e art ; but
t his s t ate will b e arrive d at on l y a ft er th e s torm of the
pas sions th e battle of desires and the c onflict of th e
, ,

in tellect u al force s is over .

He who h as learned to know to will to dare and to be , , ,

s ilent i s u pon the true path that leads to immorta l l i fe and

, ,

will know h owto practise inter ior med itation or y og; but
by those wh o move merely in the sensual plane o r whos e ,

min d s are concentra ted u pon exte r nal things of t h e phys i c al

or in telle c tual plane e ven the meaning of t h ese wo rds w
,
ill
not be unders tood .

V arious in s tructions are given in the books o f the E as t

in regard to the p ractice of thi s in terio r meditation b u t ,

they all teach the same thing name l y a con c entration of , ,

man s h ig h er consciousnes s to a s ing le po int within his own

’

centre .

In t h e O up nek lz ata the following directions a re

grve n
B reathe deep and slow and concentrate your unwave r
,

ing attention into t he mids t of your bo d y in to the region ,

of the h ear t The lamp in you r b ody wi ll then be pro te c t

.

ed agains t wind and mo tion and your wh ole bo d y wi l l ,

b ecome illuminated You must wi t h d r aw a l l you r sense s

.

within yours e l f like a turtle whi c h wi t h d r aws its membe rs

,

wi thin th e shell E nte r your own hear t and guar d i t and

.
,

B rahma wil l ente r i t like a fire or a s t r oke of l igh tnin g I n .

the mi d st of a big fire in yo ur heart will be a small flame ,

and in the centre of i t will b e A tma .

H eroc arc as an ab b or of a conven t upon the moun t

,

A tlz os gives to h is monks the fo ll owin g d i r ec tion s to

,

acquire the powe r o f true clairvoyan c e Sit a l one in you r

ro om a fter having the d oor lo c k e d against intrus ion con
, ,

c entra te yo u r mind upon the regio n of the navel and try to

2 68 S O UI VD .

s ee wi th that Try to fi nd t h e seat of yo u r heart ( sink

.

your conscious ness in to yo u r heart ) where the cen t re of ,

power resi d es A t firs t you wi l l find no thing but darknes s

.

but if yo u con tinue fo r d ays an d night s withou t fati gu e ,

y o u wi l l see light an d experience inexpre s sible th ings

,
.

When the s pirit once recogni z e s his own ce ntre in the

hear t h e will know what h e ne ver knew befo re and the re
, ,

will be no thing hidden be fore his sigh t whe ther in h eaven ,

”
nor u pon t h e ear th .

L e t u s compare with t h es e s tatements one r e c eived from

an unlearne d person wh o po s sess es th e power to s ee
,
“
inte r io r truths H e sa y s . Sink you r thoughts d ownward
into the ce ntre of your being and you wi l l find the r e a ,

ge rm whi c h if con t inually no u r ished by pu r e and h oly

,

though ts wi l l grow into a p owe r t h a t wi ll ex t en d and ramify

,

through all parts of yo u r body Your h ands and feet an d .

your interio r organ s will bec om e al i ve ; a sun will appear

w ith in you r he ar t and illuminate your who l e being In this .

li gh t yo u wi l l s ee t h e th e p r e sent the past and the fu tu re , , ,

”
and by its aid you will attain th e true knowledge of self .

Man 1 5 h imself a th o u ght perva d ing t h e ocean pf M ind

, .

If h is soul I S i n pe rfect accord with the tru th th e truth wi l l ,

u ni te itse l f wi t h his so u l A talen te d mus ic i an wi l l n o t

.

nee d a s cientific calculation of th e vi b ration s of s o un d to

know whe ther a melody which he h ears is melodious or
n ot ; a pe rso n wh o is one w i th the tr u t h will recognize
h imself in every t h ing that is true .

What is s o u nd ? If eve ry th ing i s fundamen tally w ill ,

so u nd can b e no th ing else bu t a manifestation of wil l .

Will may act e i t her re l atively u n c on scio usly or con s c io usly

, , ,

o r even in a self con scio u s s tate Sound manifes ts th e

-
.

same attrib u tes The no ise m ade by the knock of a hamme r

.

carrie s wit h itself no emotion s or intelligence it can

awaken them only by mean s of association of ideas B u t .

a piece of mu sic or a song carrie s w i t h it the q u alities

wit h w h ich i t has bee n endowed by the musician or the
s inger M u sic i s a language tha t speaks to the h eart
.

without any previous agreemen t as t o what so u nd s are

meant to signify c ertain wo rds as is don e by telegrap hing ,
.

M u sic prod u ces in every receptive s oul the sen timen t s

J . Ke rning ,
Ke y .
2 70 L A N G UA G E O F N A T UR E .

ing to my will unle ss I have ob tained co mm an d over i t by

,

be c oming divine E ve rybody is c on t inua ll y V i t a l izi ng

.

himself and th e wor d s which h e spea k s ; bu t on l y a se l f

conscio u s d ivine spirit co uld spiritua l ize inanimate th ings .

The word of G od being G od i t se l f can vitalize s oun d

, , .

I t i s th e c reative Power in the universe H e in whom t he .

d ivini ty has n ot be c ome self con scious canno t c omman d -

that power Th ere is therefore no d an ger that the wo r ld

.
, ,
“
woul d be e xploded if th e A d ep ts we re to let the se c r et
,

out as to h owt he t rick is done

”
Su c h a reve l ation wou l d .

be as u seles s to mankind a s to tell a beggar h owh e c ou l d

i nvest h is money if h e had any to inve s t ,
.

The will of a person may vitali z e apparently inan imate

obj e c ts as i s o ften d one at s piritis t ic sean c e s ; b ut in t ha t
,

c ase it is a c c o mp l ishe d b y its action upon l ivin g invisib l e

b e ings and wi t h o u t any c ons c ious a c tion of the me d ium

,
.

The r efore the won d ers of t he me c hanica l application of

,

living s ound if any s uch h ave eve r been performed can be

, ,

due on l y to me d i u mship .

To ac t conscio u sly and intellige ntly u p on the elemental

powe r s of nature require s the posses sio n of an inte l ligen t
and s e l f co ns cious power the magic p ower of the ( spiritua l )
-
,

will of an A d e p t M erely mechanical combinations can

.

p roduce nothing but me re l y mech anical re sults .

Natural forces are subj ect to natu r a l law and t here fore , , ,

intel l ectual man a c t ing in acco rda nce wi t h natural law

, ,

can make them su bse rvient to hi s pu r po se s by e s t ablish ,

ing the conditions u nder w h ich they will act but th e d ivine
Word of G od i s above nature and above any condition s ,

that man can e s tabli sh Man c an govern i t in n o o the r .

I t is an ab so u e im possib i i l t to l ty
ansfo m m a er in o m o ion or tr r tt t t
sound , or sound in o ife or s t l ir t
p i ; b e c ause th e se ve n fo m s of e e na r t r l
t r t r
na u e are e e nal and unc h ange ab e l
A ll h a c an be c h ange d is h e i
. t t t r
t rk
m od e of ac ion D a ne ss c anno be c h ange d in o igh , a h ough it
. t t l t lt
tr t t r
m ay b e pe ne a e d b y it : nei h e d oe s a re d -h ot i on c h ange in o ligh , r t t
lt l t tt r
a h ough i h b e c om e s m anife s h e e in b y m e ans of th e h e a
g E ac h t .

of th e o ig1 na fo m s of e e na na u e e ains fo e e its ow

r l r t r l t r rt n c e nt e rvr r .

7 a c ob B oek m e
”
Th ree fo d
. l
tr t t
I t is ue h a e ac h of th e se ve n p inc ip e s c on ains p o e n iar l th e t t t lly
o h e six, and h a th e h i h e m ay be aw
t r t t r k l r t
“ ”
a e ne d or ibe a e d in the
g
ow
l r e t y
b ut h is c an onl be d one b y th e ac ion of th e h igh e ind uc ing t r
rr
th e c o e sp ond in
g a e n h igh e pl t t
in c ip e to b e c om e ac i e w r r
i h in th e l tv t
low e r .M e e r ly l t
m e c h anic a m o ion c anno c a ife or c onsc iousne ss in o t ll l t
ac ion in a fo m , w
t i h ou th e ac ion of a iving and c onsc ious p ow
r t t t l
e to r
l
ac t up on the ife and c onsc iousne ss a e n h e e in l t tt r .
 UN I VE R S A L L A N G UA G E . 2 71

way than by be c oming one with divine L aw; b u t th en h e

,

ceases t o be a man and become s a God governing his own

, ,

self and a l l th e law s of hi s nature .

E very form in na ture is a symb ol of an idea and re p re

s en ts a sign or a let ter A succe ssion of s u c h symb o ls
.

for m s a l ang u age and the totality of all forms in na t u re is

,

t he l angua ge of nat u re H e wh o 1 5 a true child of nat u re

.
,

tha t means to say he who s e wi l l 1 5 p u re and who se mind

,

free of error will u nders tand the lan guage of nature and
,

know the charac ter of everything His min d wil l be like .

a clear mirro r where in the at tribu tes of natural things are

,

reflec ted and enter the fi eld of h is conscio u snes s .

S uch a lang u age mean s a ra d ia t ion of the es s ence of

things in to the cen tre of the h uma n mind and a radia t ion ,

fro m tha t centre in to the universal ocean of m ind Man .

in a sta t e of puri ty being an image and a n ex t ernal exp res

,

sion of the hig h es t p rinciple i s able to reflect and repro

,

d uce t h e highe s t tru th in its original purity and man s ’

,

expres sions ough t therefore to be a perfe c t reproduction or

, ,

e c ho of the imp ress ions which h e receives but average ,

man be ing immerse d 1 n ma tte r as a resul t of a combination ,

of p r incip l es on a lower scale of evolution receive s the ,

pure o riginal ra ys only in a s tate of refra c tion and can ,

there fore repro d uce t hem only m an impe rfec t co n d ition .

He has wande re d away fro m th e s un of truth and behold ,

ing i t fro m a d is tance it ap pears to h im only as a sma l l s tar ,

that may perhaps vanish from s igh t E verything in Natu r e .

has i ts name and he wh o h as th e powe r to call a thing by

,

i ts p rope r name can make i t sub servie n t to h is will B u t .

the p roper name of a thing 1 5 no t t he arbitrary name given

t o it by man bu t the exp re s sion of the to tality of i ts
,

p owers and attrib u tes be c a u se the powers and a ttribu te s

,

of each be ing are intimately connecte d with its means

of express ion and be tween both exis ts the mos t exa c t
,

p roportion in rega r d t o measure time and con d i tion , .

The re is on l y one genuin e and inte rior la ngua ge for man ,

the symbol s of whi c h are natural and mus t be i nte ll igib l e

to a l l and this language i s a direc t communicatio n of
,

thought . This inter i o r la nguage is th e paren t of the

ex t erio r one and being cause d by the radiation of th e fi r st
,

ca u se w h ich is uni t y and wi th whom all men are one i t

, ,

fo l lows th at if the o r iginal irradia t ion of the s upreme ray

we re existing in all men in its o riginal purity all men ,

wo u ld unders tand the s ame interior lang u age and also th e ,

 1 72 UN I VE R S A L L A N G UA G E .

same ex terio r one becau se the latter is th e ex t ernal expres

,

s io n of the fo r me r I n fa c t this o ri ginal l an guage s ti ll

.

e x1 sts bu t fe wu nd ers t an d i t and none can learn i t except

, ,

by the p r o ces s of in terior evolution The interio r lan .

ua e b rea t hes o to say —spirit while t h e e t e r i r

g
—
g , s x o one
rs on l y a s uc c es sion of s oun d s .

E a c h wo r d in tha t in terio r l ang u age is the c h aracte r of

the thing itse l f a s ig n and symbol wh ich men cultiva te
,

unknowingly each is the cen tre of ea c h being and who

“

eve r rea c h es that cent r e is in p os ses sion of th e wo r d and

the si gn These symbols are the es sen t ial c haracte r i s ti c s
.

wh ich d istinguish o ne ind iv idual or gro up of indivi d uals

from o th ers by these symbol s are harmon ious s ouls
at t r ac ted and by th em one a r tis t re c ognize s an other artis t
,

in beholding his wo r ks wi t ho ut seeing his person .

M e n h ave ever been desiring an uni versal lan guage .

S uch an unive rsal lang u age canno t be a rbitrarily c on

stru cted or if so cons t ruc ted wou l d be more d ifficult to
, , ,

learn than any o t her True language mus t expre ss t h e .

h armony of the soul with the na t u r e of things and as long ,

a s there i s distinction of charac ter and dishar mony there

c an be no u nive rsal harmon iou s language , .

B ut if there i s an u ni versal l an guage of nat u re there is ,

also a unive rsal language of God and th is d ivine lang u age ,

is th e W ord of G od that s peaks within the heart of the

awakened I t i s the voice of the T ru t h itself that speaks
.

the Word and if you cannot hea r that voi c e yo u a re no t

, ,

called to tea ch be c au s e i t wo uld the n not b e the tru t h

,

s peaking through your mou t h b u t th e d evil of y ou r own ,

con c eited s elf H e wh o lives in the s piri t of t his wo r ld and

.

in his sins ca nno t t ruly teach any one H e who doe s no t

,
.

live in the s pirit ca n have n o spirit u al life and canno t

,

impart it to others H e may repeat l ike a parro t what h e

.

h as h ea r d or tell what h e has read i n boo k s H e may say

,
.

what h e fan c ies to be tr u e but h e i s no t an ins tru men t for

,

th e manifestation of truth .

The on l y true teacher is tk e T rut/z tli e W ord t/i e C /z rist , , .

H e s ays I am th e ligh t of t h e worl d and h e who follows ,

M e will have life ete rnal H e doe s no t say : Go to t h is

.

parson or that profe ss or and ge t from h im a des cription of

what he thin k s h owthe l ight i s s u pp o sed to look but H e ,
”

advises us to follow Him and find the true u nde rs tan d ing
o urse l ves O nly when all the book make r s on theo so phi c al
.
-

s u bj ects wi l l be in pos ses sion of th e living tr u th and of

2 74 TH E S E C R E T O F B E A U T Y A N D YO U T H .

w h ich is mo s t useful fo r his deve l opment By doing good .

,

s ens u al matte r is elim inated his mate rial c on s titution will

b ecome more and mo r e re fi ne d and h is interior i ll uminat ed ,

by th e light of wisdom u n til even h is physical body m ay ,

as sume the attrib u te s of th e as tral form and man h imsel f ,

h e a living s o ul Therein alone lies th e secret of ete rna l

.

beauty and yout h the true E lixir of L i fe By doing evi l

, .

he at tra c t s to himself the u nin tel l igen t an d materia l prin

c ip le s of Nature the elements of evil h is highe r principles
,

become more and more material and h eavy u n ti l d ragged ,

in to the mire of matter by his own weigh t h e is u nable ,

to ris e to the lig h t he become s metaphysically pe trified

, ,

and his powe r of in t ui tion los t .

Man s a c tion s are his writings By p u tting h is though ts

’
.

into action h e expre s se s them and reco rds them in t h e

,

book of life H e wri tes th em all over hi s body and upon

.

his face they wi l l appear in the lustre of his eyes and in

the grace of hi s movemen ts A n angelic s o u l canno t fail .

to impres s its beau ty upo n th e form .

E vil acts are fol l owed by a degradation of charac ter ,

prod u cing an increase d c orp orifi c ation of sens u al elements

and an incru s tation of th e soul Selfis h d es ires bleach the .

hair before thei r t ime bend the back wrinkle the face , , ,

and are th e c ause of e ndle s s ills for all of w h ic h there is

no o the r remedy b ut good nes s of w ill .

Go o d a c tions dis solve e xi s ting incr u s tation s prod u ced

by evil dee ds and re e s tablis h the soul in i ts forme r con
,
-

dition R epentance unle ss follow e d by a c tion is u seles s

.
, , .

I t is like the inflammation ca u s e d by a thorn in t h e fles h

it causes pain by gathering to i ts as sis tance th e vital forces
'

of the body b u t unles s th e t h orn i s removed by t h e

active inte r ven tio n of the in d ividual an absces s and putre ,

faction will be the result Man s acts are h is creations .

’
,

t h ey give form to h is t h ough ts The motive e ndows th e m .

wit h ch ara c ter th e will furnishe s the m wi th life

,
.

A n intention is usele s s a s long as it is not p u t into action .

A sign a letter o r a wo r d i s use le s u nle s s i t conveys a mean

, ,

ing which is rea l ized by h im wh o employ s i t ; a symbol

repre sents an idea bu t no symbol can be e fli c ac ious u nles s
,
.

it i s intel lec t u ally applied T h e mos t po ten t magical s ign s .

are useles s to him wh o cannot realize wha t they mean ,

wh ile to him wh o is well versed in occul t s c ien ce a s ingle ,

point a line or any geometrica l fi gu re may con vey a vas t

, , ,

mean i ng .
 TH E P E N TA O R A M . 2 75

Le t u s in conclusion attem p t to e xpl ain e xo terically

and e s o terically a fe wof the mos t importan t magical signs .

We may suc c eed to a certain ex ten t in giving these e xp lan

ations in wor d s b u t their secret s piritual meaning cannot
be expressed in lang u age language can merely attemp t to
gui d e t he reade r in to a region of thou gh t in whi c h he may
be ab l e to p erceive the secre t meaning wi th th e eye s of
the spir 1 t

Tb e P entagram or tlz e F i ve p ointed S tar

-
.

I n its appear ance i t is merely a geometri c al

external
figure fo u nd everywhere as a t rade mark or o rn ament
, .

Su perstitiou s and credulo u s people on c e believed that if ,

i t were drawn u pon the d oors of their ho u s es it would

'

protect them ag ains t the intr u sion s of the sorc erer and the
wi tch .

I n its esoteric s ignification the fo u r lower tr iangle s

repre se nt the fo u r elementary forces of nat u re and as t h e ,

lines of each tr iangle are in timately connected or iden

tical with tho se fo rming the o the r lines th e s um of thes e
,

lines forming only one broken l ine wi tho ut any interr u ption ,

likewise the fo u r lower elements are in tima t ely conne c ted

and iden tical wi th the fifth element the quinte ss en c e of all
,

things situated at the top of the figure representing t h e

,

hea d the s ea t of intelligence in man

,
.

The spiritual kno wledge of the Five pointed Star i s -

id e n tical wit h its practical application L e t u s beware

.
2 76 TH E S I X -P OI N T E D S TA R .

that the fig u re is always well d r awn leaving no open ,

space t hrou gh which the enemy c an enter and d is turb the

,

harmony existing in the Pentago n in t he cen t r e L e t us .

keep t he fig ure always uprigh t wi t h t he t opmo s t triangle

,

pointing to h e ave n for it is t he seat of reason and Wis d om

'

, ,

and if th e figure is reversed igno r ance and evil wi ll be the

res ul t L e t the lin es be s traigh t so that al l the t rian gl es
.
,

wi l l be harmon ious and of e qual s ize so that the symbol ,

will grow with ou t an y a b no rmal deve l o pment of one prin

c ip le a t the co s t of ano the r .Then t he l owe r tria ngles
will send their quintes sen c e to the top the seat of ,

in telligen c e and t he top will supply the lowe r tria ng l e s

,

wi t h powe r and s timulate the m to grow Th e n when the .

time of probatio n and developmen t i s over the t r iangles ,

wil l be abs orbed by the Pen tagon in the cen t re an d form

int o a square within the invis ible circle conn ecting the
apice s of the triangles and our destin y will be fulfilled
,
.

There I S n o hi gher d uty fo r man to per form than to keep ,

th e Five pointe d Spiritual St ar intact ; i t w i ll be h is

-

pro tection d u ring l i fe and h is s a lvation in th e hereaft e r .

Tb e D ouble T riangle or S ix p ointed S tar

-
.

T h 1 s I S one of the mos t importan t ma gical signs and ,

spiritually applied i t inve st s man with power I ts ex oteric .

2 78 TH E CE 055 .

omnipo tent powe r of th e O ne L ife to apply it to its

fulle s t extent .

In its ex ternal sigm fi c ation the C hristian C ross is a

symbol of tor ture and death The sigh t of a C ros s call s.

u p in the mind of t h e pio u s the me mory of a his torical

eve nt sai d to h ave taken place in Pale s tine som e two thou
sand years ago when a noble good and j u s t man was
, ,

executed as a crim inal u pon a c ross If th e elem en t of .

h ate is predominating in th e soul o rgani za tion of the

C hris tian beh oldi ng the C ro ss its sigh t m ay call into a c tio n
,

very u nch ri stian feelings about th e wickednes s of the

Jews .

l i bc sh ah ( E arth ) .
N our ( F ire ) .

I .

The i nternal imp re ssion c ause d by th e sig h t of t h e

C ompare R . S k inner, Ke y to th e H e b re w-E

y
g p t ian M y stery .
 TH E CR OSS . 2 79

C ros s will di ffer according to the s tandpoint from whic h we

behold i t .

The esoteric meaning of th e Cros s is very ancien t and ,

th e C r o ss has exis t e d as a secre t symbol probably t housands

of yea r s ago be fo r e t he C hristian e ra T h e philosophical .

C ross represen ts among o ther th ings the principle of

, ,

matter and that of spiri t interse c t in g e a c h o ther fo rming the ,

uate rnary wh i c h when i t i s ins c ribe d in the squa r e fo r ms

q , ,

the basis of know l ed ge for th e O c cul t ist Th e h orizon t a l .

line represen ts the animal prin c i ple for the h eads of anima l s ,

are bowed to the earth Man i s the on l y being u pon the

.

g lo b e wh o s tands e rect ; the divine principle within him

keeps h im u p r ig h t and t h e r efo r e th e perpendi c u lar l ine
, , ,

is t he symbol of h is divinity The cr os s repre sen ts M an

.
,

wh o has acted agains t the law and thereby trans fo rme d ,

himself in to an i n s tr u men t for h is own torture From the .

beginning of h is exis tence as a ray of t h e d ivin e spiri tua l

,

Sun h e represented a perpendic u lar line cu t ting in th e

, ,

directio n of th e U niversal Will of t h e so u rce fro m whi c h

h e emanate d in the beginning A s the dis tance from tha t .

so urce increase d and as the ray entered in to matte r i t

, ,

deviated from th e originally s traigh t line and be cam e

broken creating thereby a division in i ts own e ssence and
,

making two par t s out of the o riginal U nity thus e s tablis h ,

ing in matte r a separat e will ac t ing not in acco r dance wit h

,

u n iversal L aw but even in oppo sition to it If man follow s

, .

again th e d i c tate s of the L aw he will then be taken from ,

the C ross and res u me his fo rme r po si tion To take up .

one s C ross
’ ”
means to s acrifice one s own desire s to the
,
’

r ule of divin e L aw By doing s o th e evil and animal

.

desire s remain c r ucified and die b ut the divine elemen t will ,

be res urrec tc d and ente r the L igh t

-
.

Who c an know the practical s piritual signification of the

C ross ex c ep t he who ha s been nailed thereon and su ffe red
the pangs of crucifixion of thought and desire and of the
mys tic death T h e exte rnal C h ristian see s only the wo oden
C ro ss bu t he wh ose spiritual perception is ope n see s the
,

l iving C ros s 1 n i t s glo ry Su b limely s tands that C ro s s upon

.

th e mountain of the l iving Faith m agnifi c e nt I S i ts aspec t ,

o
.

Far in to spa c e shines the l igh t ra d iating from i ts centre and

illuminatin g the da r kne s s with its b e ne fi c e nt rays w h ic h
g ive li fe to all w
,

,
h o beho ld it R ise oh man up to y o u r
.
, ,
2 80 7H E CR OS S .

divine dignity so t h at you may see the t rue C ro s s the t ru e

, ,

L ig h t Not the dead wooden C ro s s the emb lem of igno

.
,

rance and su ffering no r the glittering cros s made of b r ass

, ,

the em b lem of vanity s ectarianis m a nd s u pe r s t ition but

,

the L iving Golden C ro s s the emble m of W i s d om wh ich ,

each true B rot/i er of til e G old en and R osy C ross carri e s

d e eply b u rie d wit h i n h is own h eart Th is C ro ss is th e .

full grown Tree of L ife and of Knowledge bearin g the fruits

-
,

of salva tion and immortality the dispense r of L ife the pro , ,

tector against ev il H e who kn o ws p ra c tically t he true

.

mystery of the C ros s is acquain ted wit h t h e highes t wisdom

h e who i s adorned wi t h th e tr u e C ro s s i s safe from all
danger In fi nite powe r of th e C ro s s
. I n thee is Wis d om
revealed B uried deep deep in the realm of M a t t e r i s thy
.
,

foot teac h ing u s P ati enc e

, high high in to h eaven rea c hes ,

thy c rown t eac h ing u s F ai t/z L i fte d by H op e and ex

, .

tended by C /z arity are thy arms L ig h t and Sun s hi ne ,

s urro und t h ee L ink upo n link the chain of creatio n

.

encircle s the C ro ss ; wo rl ds within wor l ds fo r m s wi t h in ,

forms illusions upon i l lusion s s u rro u nd it like clo ud s an d

,

nebulo u s mis ts b u t in the C entre is th e R eal ity in which

is h idde n th e j ewel of priceles s value the T r ut/z L e t the , .

dew of h eaven which comes fro m th e tru e C ro s s des c end

into your h earts an d pene trate i nto your s oul and b o dy so ,

that i t may crystallize in to fo rm Then w ill th e darkne s s .

wit h in yo ur mind disappear the ve il of matter will b e r en t , ,

and before yo u r s piritual vision will s tan d re v eale d the

ange l of truth .

T h e present material age is ever ready to rej ec t w i tho u t

examination the symbols of t he pas t who s e meaning it
cannot realize beca u se i t knows them no t E n gage d in .

the purs uit of mater ial pleas u re s it lo ses s igh t of i ts t rue ,

intere st and exchange s spirit u al weal th for wo rthle s s

,

bawble s L o sing sigh t of his des tiny man ru ns afte r a

.
,

shadow w h ile o th e r s embitter t h eir live s fo r t h e purpo se of

,

pr opitiating an angry God and to buy fro m h im h appine s s ,

in a life of w h ich t h ey know n o th ing R ule d by fear .

,

many bow before the M oloc h of s u pers tition and ign o rance ,

while others wi l fu lly shut their eyes to the ligh t of divin e

reason and mad l y rush into the arm s of a dead and co ld
material science to perish in her stony embrace b u t t h e
wise wh ose far seeing pe rcep tion reaches beyon d the narr ow
,
-

circle of his material s u rro u ndings and be yond the s h or t ,

 I N DE X .

A bsol ut e , 40 , 74 , 1 1 8, 1 2 9, 1 57, 1 65, 2 20 ,

A c c ord , 1 2 1 .

A d am , 3 2 , 81 , 1 2 0 , 1 2 9 .

A d e p t . 75, 85. 9 1 . 1 4 9 . 1 74, 1 88

A d onai, 1 3 6, 1 62 .

A d orat ion, 1 37 ,
1 56, 1 74 , 2
53 .

Af et r l ife 61 94 1 1 2 1 4 5 1 78 1 81
-
, , . , .
, .

A gr ipp a 1 4 8 , .

A l c h e m y 56 2 0 3 2 1 3 , , , .

A l c oh ol 1 3 2 2 1 8 , ,
.

A ll e gor ie s 2 7 86 1 71 2 1 5 2 4 1 4 52
, , , , , , .

A m bit ion 1 4 8 ,
.

A nim al food 1 3 2 2 1 8 , , .

A nim al for m s 1 0 2 1 40 , ,
.

A nim al s 1 60 2 1 8 2 54
, , , .

A pp arit ions 1 69 1 78 , , .

A spirat ions 1 0 0 , .

A sc e t ic ism 3 6 1 3 5 , , .

A ssoc iat ions 1 0 0 , .

A stral bod y 80 9 8 1 5 1 1 62 1 66 1 86 , , , , , , .

A str al form s 84 90 9 4 9 8 1 8 2 59 , , , , ,
0 , .

A stral l igh t 63 1 0 4 1 60 1 71 1 9 6 2 0 1
, , , , , , .

A t h e ism 74 , .

A t m a 2 3 3 2 42 2 67
, , , .

A t one me nt 2 2 1 2 4 0
-
, ,
.

A ttrac t ion 72 1 0 0 1 2 9 1 44 1 67 1 9 1 20 1
, , , , , , , ,
2 50 .

A ura 82 1 3 2
, ,
.

A wak e ning 2 67 2 71 , , .

B e au ty ,
2
74 .

B e l ie f 2 2 7
, ,
23 7 .

B h agavad G i a, 72 , t 2
5 2 , 2 66.
ii I N DE X .

B ib l e , 2 8, 2
3 6, 2 44 , 2
5 2 .

l k M agic 3 9
B ac , ,
84 , 1 1 2, 1 9 , 64
0 2 .

B l avat sky 1 72 , .

B l e ssing 1 62 , .

B l ood 9 8 1 3 2
, ,
.

B oe h m e , J b, 1 2,
ac o
35 77,
8o, ,
1 62 , 242 , 2 2,
5
r
B ain, 20 8, 21
3 .

B uil d e r s, 2 1
5 .

r
B ah m , 69 .

B u wel r L ytt on , 86, 2 22 .

C ap it al P unish m e nt , 1 52 , 1 96 .

C ause , 61 .

C e ntre , 84 , 2
53 ,
2 62 , 2 80 .

C e r e m onie s, 242 .

C h ange , 61 , 1 2
4 , 1 83 .

C h aos, 6 .

C h arac t e r , 59, 1 0 4, 2 1 8, 2
3 2.

C h arm s, 1 3 1 .

C h e m istry , 83 , 20 4 .

C h r ist , 3 3 , 4 2 , 1 1 6, 1 2 9, 1 3 9, 23 4 , 23 6 .

C r e at ion, 55, 69, 2 0 7 .

C h r ist ianity , 4 7, 2 3 5, 2 4 3 .

C h urc h , 3 3 , 75, 2 3 5, 2 40 .
2 66 .

C l airvoy anc e , 84 , 86, 1 49 , 2 67.

C ol ors, 83 , 1 3 2 .

C om m union, 2 2 1 ,
23 5, 242.

C onsc ie nc e , 4 5 .

C onsc iousne ss, 61 ,

63 , 9 5, 1 2 8, 1 55, 1 57,
C onve r sion, 24 3 .

C rime , 5 19 8 2, 1 .

C ross, 2 3 8, 2 78 .

fi
C ruc i x ion, 2 3 8 .

C ry st all iz at ion, 23 1 .

r
C u se s, 1 62 .

r
D a ing, 2 63 .

D arkne ss 40 , .

D e ath 4 7 61
, , ,
88, 1 60 ,
175 , 1 78, 1 84 , 1 89 .

D e grad at ion ,
100 ,
1 0 2, 1 89 .

D e ism , 74 .
iv I N DE X .

Fi re , 78, 2 53 .

F ive point e d t ar 8,
- 23
s ,
27
5 .

F ood , 21 7 .

F orgive ne ss, 3 1 , 2 5 1 2
F or m : 3 7: 4 7) 583 63 , 76a 83 , 9 4 1 0 3 9 1 4 0 , , 1 96,
F re e d om , 3 3 , 4 9 , 1 9 2 , 20 5, 2 2 3 , 2 3 1 , 2 50 .

F um igat ion, 1 48 .

G aut am a B ud d h a, 74 , 1 43 ,
2 2 8, 2
3 3 , 2 4 6, 2 2.
5
G e ne rat ion, 20 4 .

G e rm s 3 5, 70 . .

G h ost s, 9 8, 1 62 .

G od . 22,
3 , 3 9 69, 73
0 , , 1 1 6, I
3 9, I S9 . 1 74 , 23 6, 2 66
.

G od s, 74 , 1 56, 2 2 5 .

G ood , 24
9 ,
2
51 .

G ood ne ss, 2 23 .

G rac e , 8
3 , 2 2
54 .

G r avit at ion, 1 2 8, 1 66 .

G rowt h , 3 8, 75, 89 , 1 1 7, 2 20 ,
2 24, 2 3 0 .

H ad e s, 1 80 , 1 86 .

H app ine ss, 4 1 , 4 3 , 4 5 , 1 3 59 x55, 247

r y
H a m on , 87, 1 20 , 2 1 5 .

t
H a e , 72 , 2 40 .

H aunt ed h ouse s, 1 62 .

H e art , 21 3 .

H e ave n, 1 54 .

H e ll , 1
54, 1 82 .

r
H e m e s, 1 85 , 33 2 .

H e roc arc as, 2 67 .

H oly G h ost , 77, 2

39 .

H y pnot ism , 70 , 1
50 , 1 70 .

H y st e ria, 88, 1 67 .

I d e al , 4 1 , 75, 1 29 .

I d e as, 59 .

I do l s 1 56 2 4 3
, ,
.

I gnoranc e 2 4 6 2 59 , ,
.

I ll um inat ion 4 7 50 , , .

I ll usion 6 4 4 7 1 1 3 1
, , , , ,
1 83 , 2 24.

I m age s, 65 .
 JN D E X .

I m aginat ion, 1 23 ,
1
3 8, 1 5 ,
0 1
53 , 1 60 ,
I m m ort al ity , 61 , 65, 1 52 .

I m pre ssion, 61 , 65, 1 52 .

I nc ubus, 1 86 .

I nd iffe re nc e ,
248 .

t
I nd uc ion, 70 , 1 3 2 .

t
I nfe c ion, 1 3 .

fi
I n de i l ty ,
1 1 5
r
I nne m an, 69 , 1 61 , 1 98 .

r
I nne se nse s, 1 61 .

I nne r worl d 4 2 1 3 9 , ,
.

I nsanity 1 1 3 1 5 1 1 67 , , , .

I nsp i rat ion 1 69 , .

I nst inc t 2 0 8 , .

I nt e ll e c t 1 5 2 9 4 9 99 1 4 7
, , , , , ,
2 0 8, 2 1
3 , 2
37 .

I nt e ll ige nc e 2 0 8 , .

I nt e m pe ranc e 1 3 3 2 2 0 , , .

I nt uit ion 1 5 2 9 49 5 1 , , , , .

I nvisib il ity 62 70 81 1 55 , , , , .

I sol at ion 1 1 0 , .

Je sus of N az are th ,
2
3 4, 24
3 .

Kam a l oc a 1 80 , .

Kam a r up a 1 80 , .

Kar m a 1 2 2 1 87 2 3 2
, , , .

Ke e l e y m ot or 2 70 , .

Ke m pis 1 85 . .

Knowl e d ge 1 5 69 , , , 2 2 7, 2 4 6, 2
55 .

Krish na 2 2 2 2 44 , , .

Language , 2
52 , 2 70 .

L aw, 3 0 , 1 2 1 , 2 0 6, 2 2 6 .

L ife : 2 0 : 3 3 a 55, 62 , 1 0 3 1 I 4 S, 1 76, 22 2

5, 39 °

r l
L ife p inc ip e 80 , 1 1 6, 2 4 2 . .

L ife tr ansfe r 9 9 1 0 1 1 1 4 , , , , 1 76, 1 88.

L igh t 40 78 1 2 9 2 3 1
, , , , .

Logos, 5. 2 3 7
r
Lo d , 2 3 5
4
Love ) 43 : 1 2 8: I 44 : 2
3 9: 24
5, 2 4 79 24 °
9
vi I N DE X .

r
M ac oc osm and m ic oc osm , r 23 , 5
2, 79 , 1 2
3 ,
2 10.

M agic . 1 1 , 20 , 3 9, 84 , m ,
1 90 , 20
3 . 2 4 7. 2
54 .

M agic fi re , 20 4 .

M agic m i o s, 1 3 1 rr r 1 4 9, 1
70 .

M agic numb e s, 1 2 5 r .

M agic squa e s, 1 2 5 r .

M agne ism , 1 50 t .

M an, 20 ,
2
3 , 3 2, 4 2 , 52 , 60 , 69 , 87, 1 22, 1 6
3 , 1 4 2, 1 70 , m g, 22
5
2 3 2 , 2 50 , 2 7
5 .

rr
M a iage , 1 71 , 2 1 4 .

ry
M ason , 5 7 .

t r
M as e , 1 62 , 2 3 4 .

M atte r 59 . , 63 » 73 . 77. 79
M e d ic ine , 53 .

M e d it at ion, 4 5, 2 66 .

M e d ium sh i
p, 2 2, 84, 9 6, 1
50 ,
1 70 , 1 84 .

M e mo ry , 44 , 1 9 6, 2 1 1 .

M ind , 54 , 69 . 80 , 1 4 9 . I 5 7.
1 63 ,
1 93 .

r
M ind c u e , 1 1 5, 2 0 2 .

M one y ,
1 42 .

t
M o ion, 73 , 77 .

t
M o ive , 1 2 2 .

M usc u a l r c onsc iousness ,

1 65 .

M usic , 2 69 .

M y ste rie s 3 9 2 4 2 , , .

M y st ic ism 2 6 ,
.

M y st ic d e ath 1 85 ,
.

M yth ol ogy 86 2 1 6 , , ,
2 45.

N at ur e , 52 , 1 2 4 , 2 0 6 .

N e c e ssit ie s of l ife , 56 .

N e c r om anc y , 84 , 9 8, 1 0 0 , 1 86 .

N ir vana, 3 7, 1 2 1 , 1 74,

O be d ie nc e , 2 23 , 2 48 .

Ob j t ivity 66 9 1
ec , , .

j
O b e c t of l ife 55 2 2 0 , , .

O b se ssions, 1 0 2, 1 67, 1 81 .

O c c ult ism , 5
2 20 , 2 1 ,
2 60 .

O ne , 72 , 77, 1 1 4 . 1 3 9 .

O pinions, 3 0 , 1 83 .

O upnek h ata, 2 76 .
 viii [N D E X .

R e asoning, 50 , 9 9, 2 55 .

R e d e e m e r , 4 0 , 9 5, 2 3 4 , 2
37 .

R e fo m s, r 1 99 .

r t
R e ge ne a ion, 1 7
3 1 85 3
2 6 , , .

R e inc ar nat ion 1 0 7

-
, ,

R e l at ivity 4 0 64 , , .

R e l igion 2 4 3 2 2 3 6 2 58
, , , , .

R e nunc iat ion 3 6 ,

.

R e surre c t ion 2 50 , .

R ose , 6, 2 80 .

R osic uc ian, r 23 9, 2 40 , 2 80 .

l
R u e s of ife , l 228 .

S ac ri 37 fi ce
, .

Saint D om inic , 9 1 .

Saint M art in, 2 66 .

Sal vat ion, 23

5 ,
23 8 .

Sc h ope nh aue r , 2 54 .

Sc ie nc e , 1 46 .

Se l f, 3 7, 2 3 3 , 2 3 7 .

Se l f-c onsc iousne ss, 3 4 , 69 , 1

5 7, 1 65, 1 74 , 21 1.

Se l f c ontr ol , 4 9 , 2 2 4 , 2 65
-
.

Se l f-e x ist e nc e , 1 75 .

Se i fi sh ne ss, 3 3 , 1 1 1 .

Se lf knowl e d ge , 3 1 ,
-
1 83 , 20 6 .
25
7.

Se nsat ion, 1 66 .

Se nse s, 69 .

Se p ara t ion, 1 77 .

S eve n, 1 2 6, 1 39 .

Seve n p r inc ip l e s, 79 , 1 1 9 .

Se x, 1 2 0 , 1 4 3 .

S igna u e , t r 10
5 .

S igh t , 1 63 .

Sil e nc e , 2 65 .

S in, 1 24 ,

S ix, 1 39 .

Six p oint e d st ar , 2 76
-
.

S l e e p , 66, 1 60 , 1 71 .

S nake , 21 7 .

r t
S oc a e s, 1 62 , 1 70 .

Som nambul ism , 63 , 1 70 .

 I JVD E X

Son. 77. 2 3 7. 2 44
S or c e ry , 9 5, 1 0 1 , 1 9 1 , 2 9 5 .

S oul , 52 , 60 , 1 1 8, 1 4 2 , 1 5 2, 1 77 , 1 6
9 ,
S oul d e ath , 1 77 .

Sound , 2 67 .

Sp ac e , 63 ) 73 , 78 '

S pe c ul at ion, 3 2 .

Sph inx , 5. 57
Sph e re s, 83 .

Spirit , 60 , 63 , 70 , 88, 1 74 , 1 87, 23 3 .

S pirit s of m usic , 9 2 .

Spirit s of nature , 87, 23 2 .

S pirit ual ism 84 , 9 5, . 1 00 ,

1 50 , 1 85 .

Spir it us M und i, 20 4 .

Spl e e n, 84 .

Sub j ec t ivity ,
66, 1
38 .

S ub st anc e , 59 , 1 9 5 .

Suc c ub us, 1 86 .

r
Suffe i ng, 2 3 8 .

t
Sugge s ion, 70 .

S uic id e , 10 1 ,
1 4 5, 1 86 .

S un, 1 1 21 2 53 2 62
5 , 3 , ,
.

Supe r t it ion 44 5 1
s , , .

Sy m b ol s 86 1 58
, , , 2 40 .

S y m p ath y 2 0 0 ,
.

T e m pe ranc e , 21 7 .

T em ple , 1 1 7, 1 3 9, 21 4, 2 40 .

T h e osoph y , 4 2 , 50 , 1 65, 2 2 7, 2 62 .

Th ough t , 7o, 1 63 , 1 68, 1 81 .

T h ough t - transfe r , 54 , 67, 9 5 , 1 1 64 , 1 67, 2 3 2.

51 ,

T h re e , 63 , 77, 1 1 4 , 1 2 1 , 2 54 .

T im e , 65 .

T inc t ure , 1 67 .

r
T anc e , 1 70 .

T r ansfor mat ion 58 82 -

1 40 , 1 4 7, 1
, , , 93 .

T re e of l ife 1 87 , .

T re e of k now le d ge 3 60 , .

T r inity 76 , .

T rith e im , 20 4 .

Tr ut h , 2
7, 44 , 4 8, 1 71 , 23
5 24 2 6!
. 3 .

T W O , 72 .
 U nc onsc rousness 1
, 57, 1 75 .

U nity. 69. 7 ,
3 77, 1 0 4 , 1 2 9 . I 3 5. 2 2 5
U nse lfi sh ne ss, 2 1 , 2 8
3 4 .

U t il ity , 55, 9, 2 2 0
5 .

V amp ire s, 1 4 5, 1 86 .

V anity , 1 4 8.

V ib rat ion, 1 1 21
3 , 4, 25
3 .

V ic e , 1 3 1 1
, 52 .

V irgin, 1 21 ,
2 1 2.

V irt ue , 1 3 1 1
, 5 2, 2 1
5, 2 49.
V isions, 1 48 .

W at e r , 78 .

W ill , 2 0 , 6o, 72 , 8 65, 67,

7 , 1 1 20 6, 2 23 .

W ill c ure , I 1
5 .

W isd om ,
3 9, 2 0 7, 2 1 4 , 2
58, 26
5 .

W it c h c r aft ,
9 5, 2 9 5 .

W om an 1 20 , 1
, 44 .

W rd 2 3 7 2 44 2 62
o , 1 1

W orl d s 4 2 1 3 8, , .

W orsh ip 4 4 I SS 1 74 , , .

Yoga p r ac t ic e , 221 , 2
3 5, 242
,
2 66.

Zod iac , 6 .
RETURN C I RC ULATI O N DEPA RTM EN T

Al l B O O
. KS M A Y B E REC A LLED A FTER 7 DA YS
R E NE A S A N D nE C H AR oE s M AY B E M A D E 4 D AYS PR I
W L O R TO ous DAT E
LO A N P ER I DS A nE i M O N T H am r
O o
.

o us A N D 1 -YEA R
N W L LL
-
, , .

RE E A S C A.
( 4 1 5 ) 642-
3 405

UN I V ERSI TY O F CA LI FO RN I A B ERKELEY
,

FO RM NO . DDé , b om , B ERKELEY C A 9 4 7 20
,