enter "the Temple of the Higher Wisdom." All that can be said further
upon this subject can be given out only in the smallest hints and
suggestions. The responsibility of the next step has so often been illy
expressed by words, that many say the pupil has here to take an "oath,"
promising to betray nothing that comes from the teacher. However, these
expressions, "oath" and "betrayal," are in no way appropriate, and are
misleading.
It is no oath, in the ordinary sense of the word, but is rather an
experience that comes at this stage. Here the candidate appreciates the
true value of the occult teachers, and their place in the service of
humanity. At last he begins to understand the world correctly. It is
not so much a matter of "withholding" the higher truths already
learned, but much more of upholding them in the right way and with the
necessary tact. That concerning which one learns to "keep silence" is
something quite different. One gains possession of this fine attribute
in regard to many things of which one had previously spoken, and
especially in regard to the manner in which one has spoken of them. Yet
he would be a poor Initiate who did not place all his mystical
experiences, as adequately and as far-reachingly as possible, at the
service of humanity. The sole obstacle in such matters is the
misunderstanding of the person who receives the communication. Above
all, the higher or occult secrets are not allowed to be spoken of
promiscuously, but no one who has passed the steps of development above
described, is it actually forbidden to speak of these matters. No one
is asked for a negative oath, but everything is entrusted to the
judgment, integrity and sense of responsibility of the candidate for
Initiation. What one really learns is to find out, within oneself, what
should be done under all circumstances, and the "oath" means nothing
more than this, that one is found qualified to be entrusted with
matters of such importance.
If the candidate is found fit, he is then given what is called,
symbolically, "the draught of forgetfulness." This means that he will
be initiated into the secret knowledge enabling him to act without
being continually disturbed by the lower memory. This is absolutely
necessary for the Initiate, for he must possess full faith in the
immediate present. He must be able to destroy that veil of memory which
extends itself round humanity more and more thickly with every moment
of life.
If one judges things which happen to-day, by the experiences of
yesterday, he is subjected to a multitude of errors. Of course, it is
not intended that the reader should renounce all the experience
acquired in life. He ought always to keep it in mind as firmly as
possible. But, as an Initiate, one should acquire the ability to judge
every fresh experience irrespective of oneself, unclouded by all bygone
experiences. One must be prepared, at every moment, that a new thing or
being shall bring to one a new revelation. If one judges the new by the
standard of the old, he necessarily falls into error. The memory of
past experiences is very useful, however, for it makes one better able
to perceive the new. If one had not gone through a certain experience,
he probably would not have seen the attributes of this or that being or
thing; but having had such experiences he ought to be enabled to
discern the new, without judging it by the old. In this way the
Initiate obtains certain definite qualities, and by means of these many
things are revealed to him, while they remain concealed from the
uninitiated.
The second draught which is given to the Initiate is the "draught of
remembrance." By receiving this he becomes capable of keeping the
higher secrets ever present in the soul. Ordinary memory would not be
sufficient to ensure this; he must be absolutely at one with the higher
truths. He must not merely know them, but be able, as a matter of
course, to manifest and administer them in living actions, even as an
ordinary man eats and drinks. They must become one's practice, one's
inclinations, one's habits. It must be unnecessary to recall them to
mind (in the usual sense of the term); they must become a part of
oneself and express themselves through one's very being; they must flow
through one, just as the life-currents run through one's bodily
organism. So must we make ourselves as perfect in a spiritual sense as
nature has made us in a physical.
VII
THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE SOUL
If a man carries out the culture of his thoughts and feelings and
emotions in the way already described in the chapters on Probation,
Enlightenment, and Initiation, he then effects a change in his soul
such as Nature has effected in his body. Before this training, soul and
spirit are undifferentiated masses. In such a state the clairvoyant
will perceive them as interlacing clouds, rotating spirally, and having
usually a dull glimmer of reddish or reddish-brown color, or, perhaps,
of reddish-yellow; but after this growth they begin to assume a
brilliant yellowish-green or yellow-blue hue, and become of a regular
structure. A man attains such regularity of structure, and at the same
time the higher knowledge, when he brings into the realm of his
thoughts, feelings and emotions, an order, such as Nature has brought
into his bodily organs, by means of which he can see, hear, digest,
breathe, speak and so forth. Gradually the student learns, as it were,
to breathe, to see with the soul, and to speak and hear with the
spirit.
In the following pages a few of the practical points pertaining to the
higher education of the soul and spirit will be more fully treated.
They are such as may be practically attained by anyone without
additional instruction, and by means of which a further step in occult
science may be taken.
A particular kind of discipline must be patiently attempted such as to
avoid every emotion of impatience, for it produces a paralyzing, yea,
even a deadening, effect on the higher faculties within us. One must
not expect immeasurable glimpses of the higher worlds to open out
before one from day to day, for assuredly, as a rule, this does not
occur. Contentment with the smallest progress, repose and tranquility
must more and more possess the soul. It is conceivable, of course, that
the learner may impatiently expect results, but he will attain nothing
so long as he fails to master this impatience. Nor is it of any use to
struggle against this impatience in the ordinary way, for then it will
only become stronger than ever. It is thus that men deceive themselves,
for in such a case it embeds itself all the more firmly in the depths
of the soul. It is only by repeatedly surrendering oneself to a single
definite thought, and by making it absolutely one's own, that anything
is really attained. One should think: "I must certainly do everything
possible for the culture of soul and spirit, but I will work tranquilly
until, by higher powers, I shall be found worthy of definite
illumination." When this thought has become so powerful in a man that
it is an actual trait in his character, he is treading the right path.
This trait will then express itself even in external affairs. The gaze
of the eye becomes tranquil; the movements of the body become sure; the
resolutions defined; and all that we call nervous susceptibility
gradually disappears. Rules that seem trifling and insignificant must
be taken into account. For example, suppose that someone affronts us.
Before we receive this occult education, we would have directed our
resentment against the wrong-doer; there would have been an uprush of
anger within us. But in such a case the occult student will think to
himself: "An affront of this kind can make no difference to my worth,"
and whatever must be done to meet the affront, he accomplishes with
calm and composure, not with passion. To him it is not a matter of how
an affront is to be borne, but without hesitation he is led to ignore
or punish the affront to his own person in exactly the same way as if
it had been offered to another, in which case one has the right to
resent or disregard it. It must always be remembered, however, that the
occult training is perfected not by coarse external processes, but by
subtle, silent alterations in the life of thought and emotion.
Patience has an attractive, while impatience has a repellent, effect on
the treasures of the higher knowledge. In the higher regions of being,
nothing can be attained by haste and restlessness. Desire and longing
for immediate results must be silenced, for these are qualities of the
soul before which all higher knowledge recedes. However precious this
knowledge may be accounted, one must not desire to anticipate the time
of its coming. And, furthermore, he who wishes to have it for his own
sake alone will never attain it. It is absolutely demanded that one
should be true to himself in his innermost soul. One must not there be
deceived by anything; he must encounter, face to face and with absolute
truthfulness, his own faults, failings, and unfitness. The moment you
try to excuse to yourself any one of your weaknesses, you place an
obstacle in the way which leads upward. There is one way only by which
to get rid of such obstacles. Our faults and weaknesses can be removed
only by self-illumination, and that is by correctly understanding them.
All that is needed lies latent in the human soul and can be evoked. A
man immediately improves his understanding and his reason when in
repose he makes it clear to himself why he is weak in any respect.
Self-knowledge of this kind is naturally difficult, for the temptation
to deceive oneself is immeasurably great. He who is accustomed to be
truthful with himself has opened the portals into a deeper insight.
All curiosity must fall away from the student. He must wean himself as
much as possible from inquiries into matters of which he wishes to know
only for the gratification of his personal thirst for superficial
information. He must ask himself only what things will assist him in
the perfection of his innermost being for the service of the general
evolution. Nevertheless, his delight in knowledge and his devotion to
it must in no degree become relaxed. He must listen devoutly to all
that contributes to such an end, and should seek every opportunity of
doing so.
For this interior culture it is especially necessary that the
desire-life should be carefully educated. One must not become wholly
destitute of desire, for if we are to accomplish something it is
necessary that we should desire it, and a desire will always be
fulfilled if a certain special force is behind it. This particular
force results from a right knowledge: "Do not desire at all until you
know the true conditions of any sphere." That is one of the golden
rules for the occult student. The wise man first ascertains the laws of
the world, and then his desires become powers which realize themselves.
Let us consider an example in which the effect is evident. There are
certainly many who would like to learn from their own intuition
something about their life before birth. Such a desire is altogether
aimless, and leads to no result so long as the person in question has
not acquired a knowledge of the laws that govern the nature of the
Eternal, and a knowledge of them in their subtlest and most intimate
character. But if he has actually acquired this knowledge and then
wishes to pass onward, he is able to do so by his elevated and purified
desire.
Moreover, it is of no use to say to oneself: "Yes, I will forthwith
examine my previous life, and study with that aim in view." One must
rather be ready to abandon such desire, to eliminate it altogether, and
first of all, learn, without consideration of this aim. One should
cultivate devotion to knowledge without regard to desires. It is only
then that one enters into possession of the desire which we are
considering, in a way that leads to its own fulfilment.
From one's anger or vexation arises an adverse condition in the
spiritual world, so that those forces which would open the eyes of the
soul are turned away. For example, if someone should annoy me, he sends
forth a current into the world of the soul. So long as I allow myself
to be annoyed, I cannot see this current. My own annoyance clouds it.
But from this it must not be supposed that when I no longer feel
annoyed I will see the astral vision. To see an astral vision it is
indispensable that the eye of the soul should already be developed; but
the capacity for sight of this kind is latent in everyone. And again it
is true that during the development, so long as one can be annoyed the
sight remains inactive; nor does it present itself immediately, when
one has overcome to a small extent this feeling of annoyance. One must
continually persevere in the struggle with such a feeling, and
patiently make progress: then, some day, he will find that this eye of
the soul has become fully developed. Of course annoyance is not the
only quality with which we have to struggle before attaining this end.
Many people grow impatient or sceptical, because they have for years
cultivated certain qualities of the soul and yet clairvoyance has not
ensued. They have developed only a few qualities and have allowed
others to run wild. The gift of clairvoyance first manifests itself
when all those qualities which do not permit the development of the
latent faculties are suppressed. Undoubtedly the beginnings of such
hearing and seeing may appear at an earlier period, but these are only
young and tender shoots which are subject to all possible error, and
which, if they be not carefully fostered, may quickly die.
The qualities which have to be combated, in addition to anger and
vexation, are such as ambition, timidity, curiosity, superstition,
conceit, the disease of prejudice, idle love of gossip, and the making
of distinctions in regard to human beings according to the merely
outward marks of rank, sex, race, and so forth. In our time it is
difficult for people to comprehend that the combating of such qualities
can have any connection with an increase of capacity for knowledge. But
every devotee of Occultism is aware that much more depends upon such
matters than upon the expansion of the intellect or the employment of
artificial practices. It is particularly easy for a misunderstanding of
this point to arise, inasmuch as many believe that one should cultivate
foolhardiness because one must be fearless, and that one should ignore
altogether the differences in men because one has to combat the
prejudices of race, rank, and so forth. Rather should one first learn
to appreciate these differences correctly, then one is no longer
entangled in prejudice. Even in the usual sense it is true that a fear
of any phenomenon hinders one from estimating it rightly; that a
race-prejudice prevents one from looking into a man's soul. The student
of Occultism must bring his common-sense to perfection in all its
exactitude and subtlety.
Even everything that a man says without having clearly thought it out
will place an obstacle in the path of his occult education. At the same
time we must here consider one point which can only be elucidated by
giving an example. Thus, if anyone should say something to which
another must reply, the one replying should be careful to consider the
intention, the feelings, even the prejudices of this other person,
rather than what he has to say at the moment on the subject under
discussion. In other words, the student must apply himself keenly to
the cultivation of a certain fine tact. He must learn to judge how much
it may mean to this other person if his opinion be opposed. It must not
be imagined for a moment that he ought for this reason, to withhold his
own opinion. One must give to the questioner as careful a hearing as
possible, and from what one has heard, formulate one's own reply. In
such cases there is a certain thought which will constantly recur to
the student, and he is treading the true path if this thought becomes
so vital within him that it grows into a trait of his character. The
thought is as follows: "It matters little whether my view be different
from his, the vital point is whether he will discover the right view
for himself if I am able to contribute something towards it." By
thoughts of such a kind, the mode of action and the character of the
student will become permeated with gentleness, one of the most
essential qualities for the reception of occult teaching. Harshness
obscures that internal image which ought to be evoked by the eye of the
soul, while by gentleness many obstacles are cleared from the way, and
the inner organs opened.
Along with this gentleness another trait will presently be developed in
the soul. He will make a quiet estimate of all the subtleties in the
soul-life around him, without considering the emotions of his own soul.
And if this condition has been attained, the soul-emotions in the
environment of others will have such an effect on him that the soul
within him grows, and, growing, becomes organized, as a plant expands
in the sunlight. Gentleness, quiet reserve, and true patience, open the
soul to the world of souls, and the spirit to the realm of spirits.
Persevere in repose and retirement; close the senses to that which they
brought you before you began your training; bring into utter stillness
all those thoughts which, in accordance with your previous habits, were
tossed up and down within you; become quite still and silent within,
wait in patience, and then the tranquil higher worlds will begin to
develop the sight of your soul and the hearing of your spirit. Do not
suppose that you will _immediately_ see and hear in the worlds of
soul and spirit, for all that you are doing does but help the
development of your higher senses, and you will not be able to see with
the soul and to hear with the spirit before you have to some degree
acquired those senses. When you have persevered for a time in repose
and retirement, then go about your daily affairs, having first
impressed upon your mind the thought: "Some day, when I am ready, I
shall attain what I am to attain." Finally: "Make no attempt whatever
to attract any of these higher powers to yourself by an effort of the
will." These are instructions which every occult student receives from
his teacher at the entrance of the way. If he observes them, he then
improves himself; and if he does not observe them, all his labor is in
vain; but they are difficult of achievement for him only who has not
patience and perseverance. No other obstacles exist save those which
one places for oneself, and these may be avoided by anyone if he really
wills it. It is necessary to continually insist upon this point,
because many people form an altogether wrong conception of the
difficulty that lies in the path of Occultism. In a certain sense, it
is easier to accomplish the earlier steps of the occult way, than it is
for one who has received no instruction, to get rid of the difficulties
of one's every-day life. In addition to this, it must be understood
that only such things are here imparted as are attended by no danger to
the health of soul or body. There are certain other ways which lead
more quickly to the goal, but it is not well to treat of them publicly,
because they may sometimes have certain effects on a man which would
necessitate the immediate intervention of an experienced teacher, and
in any case would require his continual supervision. Now, as something
about these quicker ways frequently forces itself into publicity, it
becomes necessary to give express warning against entering upon them
without personal guidance. For reasons which only the initiated can
understand, it will never be possible to give public instruction
concerning these other ways in their true form, and the fragments which
here and there make their appearance can never lead to anything
profitable, but may easily result in the undermining of health, fortune
and peace of mind. He who does not wish to put himself in the power of
certain dark forces, of whose nature and origin he may know nothing,
had far better avoid meddling in such matters.
Something may here be added concerning the environment in which the
practices of occult instruction ought to be undertaken. This is of
great importance, although for almost every man the case is different.
He who practices in an environment which is only filled with selfish
interests, as for example, the modern struggle for existence, ought to
be sure that these interests are without influence upon the development
of his spiritual organs. It is true that the inner laws of these organs
are so powerful that this influence cannot be fatally injurious. Just
as a lily, however inappropriate the environment in which it may be
placed, can never become a thistle, so the eye of the soul can never
grow to anything but its destined end, even though it be subjected to
all the modern reverse influences. But it is well if, under all
circumstances, the student should now and then seek for his environment
the quietude, the inner dignity, the sweetness of Nature herself.
Especially fortunate are the conditions of him who is able to pursue
his occult studies in the green world of plants, or among the sunny
mountains or the delightful interplay of simple things. This develops
the inner organs in a degree of harmony which is difficult to obtain
amid the noise and commercialism of a modern city. He also is more
favorably situated than the mere townsman, who, during his childhood at
least, was able to breathe the perfume of the pines, to gaze on the
snowy peaks, or observe the silent activity of woodland creatures and
insects. Yet no one who is obliged to live in a city should fail to
give his evolving soul and spirit the nurture that comes from the
inspired utterances of the mighty teachers of man. He who cannot every
springtime follow day by day the unfolding of the greenwood, ought in
its place to draw into his heart the sublime doctrines of the _Bhagavad
Gita_, or of _St. John's Gospel_, or of Thomas a Kempis. There are
various paths to the summit of insight, but a right selection is
invaluable.
The adept in Occultism could, indeed, say much concerning these
paths--much that might seem strange to an uninitiated hearer. For
example, suppose that someone has advanced far along the occult path,
and wholly unaware of his nearness, may be standing at the entrance to
the sight of the soul and the hearing of the spirit, and then he has
the good fortune to pass peacefully into its very presence, and a
bandage falls away from the eyes of his soul. Suddenly he can see--his
vision is attained! Another, it may be, has advanced so far that this
bandage needs only to be loosened, and by some stroke of destiny this
occurs. For another one this very stroke might actually have the effect
of paralyzing his powers and undermining his energy, but for the occult
student it becomes the occasion of his enlightenment. Perhaps a third
has patiently persevered for years, and without any marked result.
Suddenly, while tranquilly seated in his quiet chamber, light envelops
him, the walls become transparent, they vanish away, and a new world
expands before his opened eyes, or is audible to his awakened spirit.
VIII
THE CONDITIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP