In the history of psychical phenomena the records of so-called
“spiritualism” in Europe, America, and elsewhere hold an important
place. Advisedly I say that no term was ever more misapplied than
that of “spiritualism” to the cult in Europe and America just
mentioned, inasmuch as there is nothing of the spirit about it. The
doctrines given in preceding chapters are those of true spiritualism;
the misnamed practices of modern mediums and so-called spiritists
constitute the Worship of the Dead, old-fashioned necromancy, in fact,
which was always prohibited by spiritual teachers. They are a gross
materializing of the spiritual idea, and deal with matter more than
with its opposite. This cult is supposed by some to have originated
about forty years ago in America at Rochester, N. Y., under the
mediumship of the Fox sisters, but it was known in Salem during the
witchcraft excitement, and in Europe one hundred years ago the same
practices were pursued, similar phenomena seen, mediums developed, and
_séances_ held. For centuries it has been well known in India where
it is properly designated “_bhuta_ worship”, meaning the attempt to
communicate with the devil or Astral remnants of deceased persons. This
should be its name here also, for by it the gross and devilish, or
earthly, parts of man are excited, appealed to, and communicated with.
But the facts of the long record of forty years in America demand a
brief examination. These facts all studious Theosophists must admit.
The theosophical explanation and deductions, however, are totally
different from those of the average spiritualist. A philosophy has not
been evolved in the ranks or literature of spiritualism; nothing but
theosophy will give the true explanation, point out defects, reveal
dangers, and suggest remedies.
As it is plain that clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought-transference,
prophecy, dream and vision, levitation, apparitional appearance, are
all powers that have been known for ages, the questions most pressing
in respect to spiritualism are those relating to communication with
the souls of those who have left this earth and are now disembodied,
and with unclassified spirits who have not been embodied here but
belong to other spheres. Perhaps also the question of materialization
of forms at _séances_ deserves some attention. Communication includes
trance-speaking, slate and other writing, independent voices in the
air, speaking through the physical vocal organs of the medium, and
precipitation of written messages out of the air. Do the mediums
communicate with the spirits of the dead? Do our departed friends
perceive the state of life they have left, and do they sometimes return
to speak to and with us?
The answers are intimated in foregoing chapters. Our departed do not
see us here. They are relieved from the terrible pang such a sight
would inflict. Once in a while a pure-minded, unpaid medium may ascend
in trance to the state in which a deceased soul is, and may remember
some bits of what was there heard; but this is rare. Now and then in
the course of decades some high human spirit may for a moment return
and by unmistakable means communicate with mortals. At the moment of
death the soul may speak to some friend on earth before the door is
finally shut. But the mass of communications alleged as made day after
day through mediums are from the astral unintelligent remains of men,
or in many cases entirely the production of, invention, compilation,
discovery, and collocation by the loosely attached Astral body of the
living medium.
Certain objections arise to the theory that the spirits of the dead
communicate. Some are:
I. At no time have these spirits given the laws governing any of
the phenomena, except in a few instances, not accepted by the cult,
where the theosophical theory was advanced. As it would destroy such
structures as those erected by A. J. Davis, these particular spirits
fell into discredit.
II. The spirits disagree among themselves, one stating the after-life
to be very different from the description by another. These
disagreements vary with the medium and the supposed theories of the
deceased during life. One spirit admits reïncarnation and others deny
it.
III. The spirits have discovered nothing in respect to history,
anthropology, or other important matters, seeming to have less ability
in that line than living men; and although they often claim to be men
who lived in older civilizations, they show ignorance thereupon or
merely repeat recently published discoveries.
IV. In these forty years no _rationale_ of phenomena nor of development
of mediumship has been obtained from the spirits. Great philosophers
are reported as speaking through mediums, but utter only drivel and
merest commonplaces.
V. The mediums come to physical and moral grief, are accused of fraud,
are shown guilty of trickery, but the spirit guides and controls do not
interfere to either prevent or save.
VI. It is admitted that the guides and controls deceive and incite to
fraud.
VII. It is plainly to be seen through all that is reported of the
spirits that their assertions and philosophy, if any, vary with the
medium and the most advanced thought of living spiritualists.
From all this and much more that could be adduced, the man of
materialistic science is fortified in his ridicule, but the theosophist
has to conclude that the entities, if there be any communicating, are
not human spirits, and that the explanations are to be found in some
other theories.
Materialization of a form out of the air, independent of the medium’s
physical body, is a fact. But it is not a spirit. As was very well
said by one of the “spirits” not favored by spiritualism, one way to
produce this phenomenon is by the accretion of electrical and magnetic
particles into one mass upon which matter is aggregated and an image
reflected out of the Astral sphere. This is the whole of it; as much
a fraud as a collection of muslin and masks. How this is accomplished
is another matter. The spirits are not able to tell, but an attempt
has been made to indicate the methods and instruments in former
chapters. The second method is by the use of the Astral body of the
living medium. In this case the Astral form exudes from the side of
the medium, gradually collects upon itself particles extracted from
the air and the bodies of the sitters present until at last it becomes
visible. Sometimes it will resemble the medium; at others it bears a
different appearance. In almost every instance dimness of light is
requisite because a high light would disturb the Astral substance in
a violent manner and render the projection difficult. Some so-called
materializations are hollow mockeries, as they are but flat plates of
electrical and magnetic substance on which pictures from the Astral
Light are reflected. These seem to be the faces of the dead, but they
are simply pictured illusions.
If one is to understand the psychic phenomena found in the history of
“spiritualism” it is necessary to know and admit the following:
I. The complete heredity of man astrally, spiritually, and psychically,
as a being who knows, reasons, feels, and acts through the body, the
Astral body, and the soul.
II. The nature of the mind, its operation, its powers; the nature and
power of imagination; the duration and effect of impressions. Most
important in this is the persistence of the slightest impression as
well as the deepest; that every impression produces a picture in the
individual aura; and that by means of this a connection is established
between the auras of friends and relatives old, new, near, distant, and
remote in degree: this would give a wide range of possible sight to a
clairvoyant.
III. The nature, extent, function, and power of man’s inner Astral
organs and faculties included in the terms Astral body and _Kama_.
That these are not hindered from action by trance or sleep, but are
increased in the medium when entranced; at the same time their action
is not free, but governed by the mass chord of thought among the
sitters, or by a predominating will, or by the presiding devil behind
the scenes; if a sceptical scientific investigator be present, his
mental attitude may totally inhibit the action of the medium’s powers
by what we might call a freezing process which no English terms will
adequately describe.
IV. The fate of the real man after death, his state, power, activity
there, and his relation, if any, to those left behind him here.
V. That the intermediary between mind and body—the Astral body—is
thrown off at death and left in the Astral light to fade away; and that
the real man goes to _Devachan_.
VI. The existence, nature, power, and function of the Astral light
and its place as a register in Nature. That it contains, retains, and
reflects pictures of each and every thing that happened to anyone, and
also every thought; that it permeates the globe and the atmosphere
around it; that the transmission of vibration through it is practically
instantaneous, since the rate is much quicker than that of electricity
as now known.
VII. The existence in the Astral light of beings not using bodies
like ours, but not human in their nature, having powers, faculties,
and a sort of consciousness of their own; these include the elemental
forces or nature sprites divided into many degrees, and which have to
do with every operation of Nature and every motion of the mind of man.
That these elementals act at _séances_ automatically in their various
departments, one class presenting pictures, another producing sounds,
and others depolarizing objects for the purposes of apportation.
Acting with them in this Astral sphere are the soulless men who live
in it. To these are to be ascribed the phenomenon, among others, of
the “independent voice”, always sounding like a voice in a barrel just
because it is made in a vacuum which is absolutely necessary for an
entity so far removed from spirit. The peculiar _timbre_ of this sort
of voice has not been noticed by the spiritualists as important, but it
is extremely significant in the view of occultism.
VIII. The existence and operation of occult laws and forces in nature
which may be used to produce phenomenal results on this plane; that
these laws and forces may be put into operation by the subconscious man
and by the elementals either consciously or unconsciously, and that
many of these occult operations are automatic in the same way as is the
freezing of water under intense cold or the melting of ice under heat.
IX. That the Astral body of the medium, partaking of the nature of
the Astral substance, may be extended from the physical body, may
act outside of the latter, and may also extrude at times any portion
of itself such as hand, arm, or leg and thereby move objects, indite
letters, produce touches on the body, and so on _ad infinitum_. And
that the Astral body of any person may be made to feel sensation,
which, being transmitted to the brain, causes the person to think he is
touched on the outside or has heard a sound.
Mediumship is full of dangers because the Astral part of the man is
now only normal in action when joined to the body; in distant years it
will normally act without a body as it has in the far past. To become a
medium means that you have to become disorganized physiologically and
in the nervous system, because through the latter is the connection
between the two worlds. The moment the door is opened all the unknown
forces rush in, and as the grosser part of nature is nearest to us it
is that part which affects us most; the lower nature is also first
affected and inflamed because the forces used are from that part of us.
We are then at the mercy of the vile thoughts of all men, and subject
to the influence of the shells in _Kama Loka_. If to this be added the
taking of money for the practice of mediumship, an additional danger
is at hand, for the things of the spirit and those relating to the
Astral world must not be sold. This is the great disease of American
spiritualism which has debased and degraded its whole history; until
it is eliminated no good will come from the practice; those who wish
to hear truth from the other world must devote themselves to truth and
leave all considerations of money out of sight.
To attempt to acquire the use of the psychic powers for mere curiosity
or for selfish ends is also dangerous for the same reasons as in the
case of mediumship. As the civilization of the present day is selfish
to the last degree and built on the personal element, the rules for
the development of these powers in the right way have not been given
out, but the Masters of Wisdom have said that philosophy and ethics
must first be learned and practised before any development of the
other department is to be indulged in; and their condemnation of
the wholesale development of mediums is supported by the history of
spiritualism, which is one long story of the ruin of mediums in every
direction.
Equally improper is the manner of the scientific schools which
without a thought for the true nature of man indulge in experiments
in hypnotism in which the subjects are injured for life, put into
disgraceful attitudes, and made to do things for the satisfaction of
the investigators which would never be done by men and women in their
normal state. The Lodge of the Masters does not care for Science unless
it aims to better man’s state morally as well as physically, and no
aid will be given to Science until she looks at man and life from the
moral and spiritual side. For this reason those who know all about the
psychical world, its denizens and laws, are proceeding with a reform in
morals and philosophy before any great attention will be accorded to
the strange and seductive phenomena possible for the inner powers of
man.
And at the present time the cycle has almost run its course for this
century. Now, as a century ago, the forces are slackening; for that
reason the phenomena of spiritualism are lessening in number and
volume; the Lodge hopes by the time the next tide begins to rise that
the West will have gained some right knowledge of the true philosophy
of Man and Nature, and be then ready to bear the lifting of the veil a
little more. To help on the progress of the race in this direction is
the object of this book, and with that it is submitted to its readers
in every part of the world.
* * * * *
The United Lodge of Theosophists
DECLARATION.
The policy of this Lodge is independent devotion to the cause
of Theosophy, without professing attachment to any Theosophical
organization. It is loyal to the great Founders of the Theosophical
Movement, but does not concern itself with dissensions or differences
of individual opinion.
The work it has on hand and the end it keeps in view are too absorbing
and too lofty to leave it the time or inclination to take part in side
issues. That work and that end is the dissemination of the Fundamental
Principles of the philosophy of Theosophy, and the exemplification in
practice of those principles, through a truer realization of the SELF;
a profounder conviction of Universal Brotherhood.
It holds that the unassailable _Basis for Union_ among Theosophists,
wherever and however situated, is “_similarity of aim, purpose and
teaching_,” and therefore has neither Constitution, By-Laws nor
Officers, the sole bond between its associates being that _basis_. And
it aims to disseminate this idea among Theosophists in the furtherance
of Unity.
It regards as Theosophists all who are engaged in the true service
of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, condition or
organization, and
It welcomes to its association all those who are in accord with its
declared purposes and who desire to fit themselves, by study and
otherwise, to be the better able to help and teach others.
“_The true Theosophist belongs to no cult or sect, yet belongs to each
and all._”
Being in sympathy with the purposes of this Lodge, as set forth in
its “Declaration”, I hereby record my desire to be enrolled as an
Associate; it being understood that such association calls for no
obligation on my part other than that which I, myself, determine.
The foregoing is the Form signed by Associates of The United Lodge of
Theosophists.
Inquiries are invited from all persons to whom this Movement may
appeal. Cards for signature will be sent upon request, and every
possible assistance furnished Associates in their studies and in
efforts to form local Lodges. There are no dues of any kind, and no
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Correspondence should be addressed to
GENERAL REGISTRAR, _United Lodge of Theosophists_,
Los Angeles, California.
Metropolitan Building, Broadway at Fifth St.
THEOSOPHY
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Transcriber's Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations
in hyphenation, spelling, accents and punctuation remain unchanged.
Italics are represented thus _italic_.