Practical Occultism
by
Important to Students
As some of the letters
in the CORRESPONDENCE of this month show, there are many people who are looking
for practical instruction in Occultism. It becomes necessary, therefore, to
state once for all: --
(a) The essential
difference between theoretical and practical Occultism; or what is generally
known as Theosophy on the one hand, and Occult science on the other, and: --
(b) The nature of the
difficulties involved in the study of the latter.
It is easy to become a Theosophist.
Any person of average intellectual capacities, and a leaning toward the
metaphysical; of pure, unselfish life, who finds more joy in helping his
neighbor than in receiving help himself; one who is ever ready to sacrifice his
own pleasures for the sake of other people; and who loves Truth, Goodness and
Wisdom for their own sake, not for the benefit they may confer -- is a
Theosophist.
But it is quite another
matter to put oneself upon the path which leads to the knowledge of what is
good to do, as to the right discrimination of good from evil; a path which also
leads a man to that power through which he can do the good he desires, often
without even apparently lifting a finger.
Moreover, there is one
important fact with which the student should be made acquainted. Namely, the
enormous, almost limitless, responsibility assumed by the teacher for the sake
of the pupil. From the Gurus of the East who teach openly or secretly, down to
the few Kabalists in Western lands who undertake to
teach the rudiments of the Sacred Science to their disciples -- those western
Hierophants being often themselves ignorant of the danger they incur -- one and
all of these "Teachers" are subject to the same inviolable law.
From the moment they
begin really to teach, from the instant they confer any power -- whether
psychic, mental or physical -- on their pupils, they take upon themselves all
the sins of that pupil, in connection with the Occult Sciences, whether of
omission or commission, until the moment when initiation makes the pupil a
Master and responsible in his turn. There is a weird and mystic religious law,
the Roman Catholic, and absolutely extinct in the
These tacitly take upon
themselves all the sins of the newly baptized child -- (anointed, as at the
initiation, a mystery truly!) -- until the day when
the child becomes a responsible unit, knowing good and evil. Thus it is clear
why the "Teachers" are so reticent, and why "Chelas" are
required to serve a seven years probation to prove their fitness, and develop
the qualities necessary to the security of both Master and pupil.
Occultism is not magic.
It is comparatively easy to learn the trick of spells and the methods of using
the subtler, but still material, forces of physical nature; the powers of the
animal soul in man are soon awakened; the forces which his love, his hate, his
passion, can call into operation, are readily developed.
But this is Black Magic
-- Sorcery. For it is the motive, and the motive alone, which makes any exercise
of power become black, malignant, or white, beneficent Magic.
It is impossible to
employ spiritual forces if there is the slightest
tinge of selfishness remaining in the operator. For, unless the
intention is entirely unalloyed, the spiritual will transform itself into the
psychic, act on the astral plane, and dire results may be produced by it. The
powers and forces of animal nature can equally be used by the selfish and
revengeful, as by the unselfish and the all-forgiving; the powers and forces of
spirit lend themselves only to the perfectly pure in heart -- and this is
DIVINE MAGIC.
What are then the
conditions required to become a student of the
"Divine Sapientia"? For let it be known
that no such instruction can possibly be given unless these certain conditions
are complied with, and rigorously carried out during the years of study. This
is a sine qua non. No man can swim unless he enters deep water. No bird can fly
unless its wings are grown, and it has space before it and courage to trust itself
to the air. A man who will wield a two edged sword, must be a thorough master
of the blunt weapon, if he would not injure himself -- or what is worse --
others, at the first attempt.
To give an approximate
idea of the conditions under which alone the study of Divine Wisdom can be
pursued with safety, that is without danger that Divine will give place to
Black Magic, a page is given from the "private rules," with which
every instructor in the East is furnished. The few passages which follow are
chosen from a great number and explained in brackets.
1. The
place selected for receiving instruction must be a spot calculated not to
distract the mind, and filled with "influence-evolving" (magnetic)
objects. The five sacred colors gathered in a circle must be there among other
things. The place must be free from any malignant influences hanging about in
the air.
[The place must be set
apart, and used for no other purpose. The five "sacred colors" are
the prismatic hues arranged in a certain way, as these colors are very
magnetic. By "malignant influences" are meant any disturbances
through strife, quarrels, bad feelings, etc., as these are said to impress
themselves immediately on the astral light, i.e., in the atmosphere of the
place, and to hang "about in the air." This first condition seems
easy enough to accomplish, yet -- on further consideration, it is one of the
most difficult ones to obtain.]
2. Before the disciple
shall be permitted to study "face to face," he has to acquire
preliminary understanding in a select company of other lay upasaka
(disciples), the number of whom must be odd.
["Face to
face," means in this instance a study independent or apart from others,
when the disciple gets his instruction face to face either with himself (his higher,
Divine Self) or -- his guru. It is then only that each receives his due of
information, according to the use he has made of his knowledge. This can happen
only toward the end of the cycle of instruction.]
3. Before thou (the
teacher) shalt impart to thy Lanoo
(disciple) the good (holy) words of LAMRIN, or shall permit him "to make
ready" for Dubjed, thou shalt
take care that his mind is thoroughly purified and at peace with all,
especially with his other Selves. Other wise the words of Wisdom and of the
good Law, shall scatter and be picked up by the winds.
["Lamrin" is a work of practical instructions, by Tson-kha-pa, in two portions, one for ecclesiastical and
exoteric purposes, the other for esoteric use.
"To make ready" for Dubjed, is to prepare
the vessels used for seership, such as mirrors and
crystals. The "other selves," refers to the fellow students. Unless
the greatest harmony reigns among the learners, no success is possible. It is
the teacher who makes the selections according to the magnetic and electric
natures of the students, bringing together and adjusting most carefully the
positive and the negative elements.]
4. The upasaka while studying must take care to be united as the
fingers on one hand. Thou shalt impress upon their
minds that whatever hurts one should hurt the others, and if the rejoicing of
one finds no echo in the breasts of the others, then the required conditions
are absent, and it is useless to proceed.
[This can hardly happen
if the preliminary choice made was consistent with the magnetic requirements.
It is known that chelas otherwise promising and fit for the reception of truth, had to wait for years on account of their temper and
the impossibility they felt to put themselves in tune with their companions.
For -- ]
5. The co-disciples must
be tuned by the guru as the strings of a lute (vina),
each different from the others, yet each emitting sounds in harmony with all.
Collectively they must form a key-board answering in all its parts to thy
lightest touch (the touch of the Master). Thus their minds shall open for the
harmonies of Wisdom, to vibrate as knowledge through each and all, resulting in
effects pleasing to the presiding gods (tutelary or patron-angels) and useful
to the Lanoo. So shall Wisdom be impressed forever on
their hearts and the harmony of the law shall never be broken.
6. Those who desire to
acquire the knowledge leading to the Siddhis (occult
powers) have to renounce all the vanities of life and of the world (here
follows enumeration of the Siddhis).
7. None can feel the
difference between himself and his fellow-students, such as "I am the
wisest," "I am more holy and pleasing to the teacher, or in my
community, than my brother," etc., -- and remain an upasaka.
His thoughts must be predominantly fixed upon his heart, chasing therefrom every hostile thought to any living being. It
(the heart) must be full of the feeling of its non-separateness from the rest
of beings as from all in Nature; otherwise no success can follow.
8. A Lanoo
(disciple) has to dread external living influence alone (magnetic emanations
from living creatures). For this reason while at one with all, in his inner
nature, he must take care to separate his outer (external) body from every
foreign influence: none must drink out of, or eat in his cup but himself. He
must avoid bodily contact (i.e., being touched or touch) with human, as with
animal being.
[No pet animals are permitted and it is
forbidden even to touch certain trees and plants. A disciple has to live, so to
say, in his own atmosphere in order to individualize it for occult purposes.]
9. The
mind must remain blunt to all but the universal truths in nature, lest the
"Doctrine of the Heart" should become only the "Doctrine of the
Eye," (i.e., empty esoteric ritualism).
10. No animal food of
whatever kind, nothing that has life in it, should be taken by the disciple. No
wine, no spirits, or opium should be used: for these are like the Lhamayin (evil spirits), who fasten upon the unwary, they
devour the understanding.
[Wine and Spirits are supposed to contain and
preserve the bad magnetism of all the men who helped in their fabrication; the
meat of each animal, to preserve the psychic characteristics of its kind.]
11. Meditation,
abstinence in all, the observation of moral duties, gentle thoughts, good deeds
and kind words, as good will to all and entire oblivion of Self, are the most
efficacious means of obtaining knowledge and preparing for the reception of
higher wisdom.
12. It is only by virtue
of a strict observance of the foregoing rules that a Lanoo
can hope to acquire in good time the Siddhis of the Arhats, the growth which makes him become gradually One with the UNIVERSAL ALL. -------
These twelve extracts
are taken from amongst some seventy-three rules, to enumerate which would be
useless, as they would be meaningless in
(2) All Western, and
especially English, education is instinct with the principle of emulation and
strife; each boy is urged to learn more quickly, to outstrip his companions,
and to surpass them in every possible way. What is miscalled "friendly rivalry"
is assiduously cultivated, and the same spirit is fostered and strengthened in
every detail of life.
With such ideas
"educated into" him from his childhood, how can a Westerner bring
himself to feel towards his co-students "as the fingers on one hand"?
Those co-students, too,
are not of his own selection, or chosen by himself
from personal sympathy and appreciation. They are chosen by his teacher on far
other grounds, and he who would be a student must first be strong enough to
kill out in his heart all feelings of dislike and antipathy to others. How many
Westerners are ready even to attempt this in earnest?
And then the details of
daily life, the command not to touch even the hand of one's nearest and
dearest. How contrary to Western notions of affection and good feeling! How
cold and hard it seems. Egotistical too, people would say, to abstain from
giving pleasure to others for the sake of one's own development. Well, let
those who think so defer, till another lifetime, the attempt to enter the path
in real earnest. But let them not glory in their own fancied unselfishness.
For, in reality, it is only the seeming appearances which they allow to deceive
them, the conventional notions, based on emotionalism and gush, or so-called
courtesy, things of the unreal life, not the dictates of Truth.
But even putting aside
these difficulties, which may be considered "external," though their
importance is none the less great, how are students in the West to "attune
themselves" to harmony as here required of them?
So strong has
personality grown in
In the East the spirit
of "non-separateness" is inculcated as steadily from childhood up, as
in the West the spirit of rivalry. Personal ambition, personal feelings and
desires, are not encouraged to grow so rampant there. When the soil is
naturally good, it is cultivated in the right way, and the child grows into a
man in whom the habit of subordination of one's lower to one's higher Self is
strong and powerful. In the West men think that their own likes and dislikes of
other men and things are guiding principles for them to act upon, even when
they do not make of them the law of their lives and seek to impose them upon
others.
Let those who complain
that they have learned little in the Theosophical Society lay to heart the
words written in an article in the Path for last February: "The key in
each degree is the aspirant himself." It is not "the fear of
God" which is "the beginning of Wisdom," but the knowledge of
SELF which is WISDOM ITSELF.
How grand and true
appears, thus, to the student of Occultism who has commenced to realize some of
the foregoing truths, the answer given by the Delphic Oracle to all who came
seeking after Occult Wisdom -- words repeated and enforced again and again by
the wise Socrates:
-- MAN KNOW THYSELF. . . . --------
Chelaship has nothing whatever to do with means of subsistence or
anything of the kind, for a man can isolate his mind entirely from his body and
its surroundings. Chelaship is a state of mind,
rather than a life according to hard and fast rules on the physical plane. This
applies especially to the earlier, probationary period, while the rules given
in Lucifer for April last pertain properly to a later stage, that of actual
occult training and the development of occult powers and insight. These rules
indicate, however, the mode of life which ought to be followed by all aspirants
so far as practicable, since it is the most helpful to them in their
aspirations.
It should never be
forgotten that Occultism is concerned with the inner man who must be
strengthened and freed from the dominion of the physical body and its
surroundings, which must become his servants. Hence the first and chief necessity of Chelaship is a spirit of
absolute unselfishness and devotion to Truth; then follow self-knowledge
and self-mastery. These are all-important; while outward observance of fixed
rules of life is a matter of secondary moment.
-- H. P. Blavatsky,
Lucifer IV,
1. So holy is the
connection thus formed deemed in the Greek Church, that a marriage between
god-parents of the same child is regarded as the worst kind of incest, is
considered illegal and is dissolved by law; and this absolute prohibition extends
even to the children of one of the sponsors as regards those of the other.
2. Be it remembered that
all "Chelas," even lay disciples, are called Upasaka
until after their first initiation, when they become lanoo-Upasaka.
To that day, even those who belong to Lamaseries and are set apart, are
considered as "laymen."
Mediums in Ancient Times, Etc., Etc.
Ancient
Magic in Modern Science
Whatever that
be which thinks, which understands, which wills, which acts, it is something celestial
and divine, and upon that account must necessarily be eternal. –
Hypnotism
and
Its Relations to Other Modes of Fascination
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