WRECKS AND CATASTROPHES.
Sometimes it is possible for members of the band of helpers to avert
impending catastrophes of a somewhat larger order. In more than one
case when the captain of a vessel has been carried unsuspecting far
out of his course by some unknown current or through some mistaken
reckoning, and has thereby run into serious danger, it has been
possible to prevent shipwreck by repeatedly impressing upon his mind
a feeling that something was wrong; and although this generally comes
through into the captain’s brain merely as a vaguely warning intuition,
yet if it occurs again and again he is almost certain to give it some
attention and take such precautions as suggest themselves to him.
In one case, for example, in which the master of a barque was much
nearer in to the land than he supposed, he was again and again pressed
to heave the lead, and though he resisted this suggestion for some
time as being unnecessary and absurd, he at last gave the order in a
somewhat hesitating way. The result astounded him, and he at once
put his vessel about and stood off from the coast, though it was not
until morning came that he realized how very close he had been to an
appalling disaster.
Often, however, a catastrophe is kârmic in its nature, and consequently
cannot be averted; but it must not therefore be supposed that in such
cases no help can be given. It may be that the people concerned are
destined to die, and therefore cannot be saved from death; but in
many cases they may still be to some extent prepared for it, and may
certainly be helped upon the other side after it is over. Indeed, it
may be definitely stated that wherever a great catastrophe of any kind
takes place, there is also a special sending of help.
Two recent cases in which such help was given were the sinking of the
_Drummond Castle_ off Cape Ushant, and the terrible cyclone which
devastated the city of St. Louis in America. On both these occasions
a few minutes’ notice was given, and the helpers did their best to
calm and raise men’s minds, so that when the shock came upon them it
would be less disturbing than it might otherwise have been. Naturally,
however, the greater part of the work done with the victims in both
these calamities was done upon the astral plane after they had left
their physical bodies; but of this we shall speak later.
It is sad to relate how often when some catastrophe is impending the
helpers are hindered in their kindly offices by wild panic among those
whom the danger threatens--or sometimes, worse still, by a mad outburst
of drunkenness among those whom they are trying to assist. Many a ship
has gone to her doom with almost every soul on board mad with drink,
and therefore utterly incapable of profiting by any assistance offered
either before death or for a very long time afterwards.
If it should ever happen to any of us to find ourselves in a position
of imminent danger which we can do nothing to avert, we should try to
remember that help is certainly near us, and that it rests entirely
with ourselves to make the helper’s work easy or difficult. If we face
the danger calmly and bravely, recognizing that the true ego can in
no way be affected by it, our minds will then be open to receive the
guidance which the helpers are trying to give, and this cannot but be
best for us, whether its object be to save us from death or, when that
is impossible, to conduct us safely through it.
Assistance of this latter kind has not infrequently been given in cases
of accidents to individuals, as well as of more general catastrophes.
It will be sufficient to mention one example as an illustration of
what is meant. In one of the great storms which did so much damage
around our coasts a few years ago, it happened that a fishing boat was
capsized far out at sea. The only people on board were an old fisherman
and a boy, and the former contrived to cling for a few minutes to the
overturned boat. There was no physical help at hand, and even if there
had been in such a raging storm it would have been impossible for
anything to be done, so that the fisherman knew well enough that there
was no hope of escape, and that death could only be a question of a
few moments. He felt great terror at the prospect, being especially
impressed by the awful loneliness of that vast waste of waters, and he
was also much troubled with thoughts of his wife and family, and the
difficulties in which they would be left by his sudden decease.
A passing helper seeing all this endeavoured to comfort him, but
finding his mind too much disturbed to be impressionable, she thought
it advisable to show herself to him in order to assist him the better.
In relating the story afterwards she said that the change which came
over the fisherman’s face at sight of her was wonderful and beautiful
to see; with the shining form standing upon the boat above him he
could not but think that an angel had been sent to comfort him in
his trouble, and therefore he felt that not only would he himself
be carried safely through the gates of death, but his family would
assuredly be looked after also. So, when death came to him a few
moments later, he was in a frame of mind very different from the terror
and perplexity which had previously overcome him; and naturally when
he recovered consciousness upon the astral plane and found the “angel”
still beside him he felt himself at home with her, and was prepared to
accept her advice as regards the new life upon which he had entered.
Some time later the same helper was engaged in another piece of work
of very similar character, the story of which she has since told as
follows:
“You remember that steamer that went down in the cyclone at the end of
last November; I betook myself to the cabin where about a dozen women
had been shut in, and found them wailing in the most pitiful manner,
sobbing and moaning with fear. The ship had to founder--no aid was
possible--and to go out of the world in this state of frantic terror
is the worst possible way to enter the next. So in order to calm them
I materialized myself, and of course they thought I was an angel, poor
souls; they all fell on their knees and prayed me to save them, and one
poor mother pushed her baby into my arms imploring me to save that at
least. They soon grew quiet and composed as we talked, and the wee baby
went to sleep smiling, and presently they all fell asleep peacefully,
and I filled their minds with thoughts of the heaven-world, so that
they did not wake up when the ship made her final plunge downwards. I
went down with them to ensure their sleeping through the last moments,
and they never stirred as their sleep became death.”
Evidently in this case, too, those who were thus helped had not only
the enormous advantage of being enabled to meet death calmly and
reasonably, but also the still greater one of being received on its
farther shore by one whom they were already disposed to love and
trust--one who thoroughly understood the new world in which they found
themselves, and could not only reassure them as to their safety,
but advise them how to order their lives under these much altered
circumstances. And this brings us to the consideration of one of
the largest and most important departments of the work of invisible
helpers--the guidance and assistance which they are able to give to the
dead.