“The King Phraotes greets his teacher Iarchas and the Wise men with

him. Apollonius, the wisest of men, regards you as wiser than himself,

and comes to learn from you. Let him not depart without knowledge of

all which you yourselves know. For thus nothing of your wisdom will be

lost; since no one speaks better than he, or has a truer memory. Let

him also behold the throne whereon I sat when thou, Father Iarchas,

gavest me my kingdom. His attendants also deserve praise for their

attachment to such a man. Be thou happy. Be happy all of you.”

When they came near the hill where the wise men dwelt their guide was

filled with fear, for the Indians stood more in awe of these men than

of their own King, and the King who ruled the land where they lived was

accustomed to consult them about everything he said or did.

When near a village not a stadium from the hill, a youth approached

them, blacker than any Indian, with a gleaming, moon-shaped mark

between his eyebrows. He bore a golden anchor, which in India took

the place of the Herald’s staff. He addressed Apollonius in Greek,

which did not astonish him, since all the dwellers in the village

[a lamasary?] spoke that tongue, but it did astonish the others to

hear their master called by name; Apollonius, however, it filled with

confidence as he remembered the purpose of his journey. “We have come

to men truly wise,” he said to Damis, “for they have a fore-knowledge

of things.” Asking the youth what was to be done, he was told: “Those

with you remain _here_; thou, however, shalt come just as thou art, for

so _They_ command.” In this _They_ Apollonius recognized Pythagorean

language and he followed with joy.

In one of his conversations with the Egyptian Gymnosophists, years

afterwards, Apollonius thus characterized the wise men of India: “I saw

the Indian Brahmins who dwell upon the earth and not upon the earth;

in a strong fortress though unfortified; and, without possessions,

possessing everything.” The deep, interior significance of this is

evident to a Theosophist. Damis, in the matter-of-fact way often

customary with him, also gives these words a literal interpretation,

saying that they had their bed upon the earth and strewed the ground

with herbs selected by themselves; he himself had seen them floating

in the air two ells above the earth; not for hocus pocus—for they

despised vain striving—but in order, by thus floating with the sun, to

be near and pleasing unto the god. This was what was meant by “upon

the earth and not upon the earth.” The strong fortress, unfortified,

meant the air in which they dwelt, for although they appeared to live

under the open heaven, they spread a shadow over themselves, were not

wet by the rain, and were in the sunshine whenever they wished. And

since they obtained everything the moment they wished it, Apollonius

rightly said that they possessed what they did not possess. “They wear

their hair long, they bind a white mitra around their heads, their feet

are bare. The form of their clothing resembles that of a sleeveless

under-garment; the material is a wool produced by the earth of itself,

white like the Pamphylian, but softer, and so fat that oil flows from

it. Of this they make their sacred garments, and when another than

these men seeks to gather this wool the earth will not release it. By

the power of the ring and the staff which they bear every thing can

be done, but both are kept as a secret.” This personal description by

Damis corresponds in certain particulars with what we are told of the

Masters to-day. The account of the wool leads some commentators to

believe that asbestos is meant.

Iarchas welcomed Apollonius in Greek and asked him for the letter

from Phraotes; when Apollonius wondered at his gift of prescience he

remarked that a _delta_ was lacking in the letter, left out by mistake,

and so it proved. After reading the letter Iarchas asked: “What dost

thou think of us?”

And Apollonius replied: “As no other person in the land whence I came,

as my journey hither shows.”

“What makest thou think that we know more than thou dost?”

“I believe,” answered Apollonius, “that your knowledge is deeper and

much more divine.”

Iarchas hereupon said: “Others are accustomed to ask the new comer

whence he comes and for what purpose; the first sign of our wisdom

shall be this: that the stranger is not unknown to us. So then, test

this:”

Hereupon he told Apollonius his history from father and mother down,

what he had done in Aegæ, how Damis had come to him, what things

of importance had happened on the way, etc. As Apollonius asked in

surprise whence came that knowledge, Iarchas answered: “Thou also

camest gifted with this wisdom, but not yet with all of it.”

“And wilt thou teach me all thy wisdom?” asked Apollonius.

“By all means, and in ungrudging abundance, for this is wiser

than miserly to conceal that which is worthy of knowing. Besides,

Apollonius, I see thou hast been richly gifted by Mnemosyne, and she is

the one among the gods whom we most love.”

“Dost thou also behold,” asked Apollonius, “of what manner my nature

is?”

“We see all peculiarities of the soul, for we know them by thousandfold

indications,” replied Iarchas.

When mid-day came they rose in the air and did homage to the sun. The

youth who bore the anchor was then told to go and provide for the

companions of Apollonius. Swifter than the swiftest of birds he went

and returned, saying: “I have provided for them.” He was then commanded

to bring the throne of Phraotes, and when Apollonius had seated himself

thereon they continued their conversation. Iarchas told him to ask what

he wished, for he had come to men who knew all things. Apollonius asked

if they knew themselves, for he believed that they, like the Greeks,

held knowledge of self to be difficult. But Iarchus answered with an

unexpected turning: “We know all things, because first of all we know

ourselves; for no one of us can approach this wisdom without first

attaining knowledge of self.”

Apollonius asked further, what they held themselves to be?

“Gods,” answered Iarchas.

“And wherefore?”

“Because we are good men.”

Apollonius found so much wisdom in this saying that he made use of it

in his speech of defence before the Emperor Domitian.

They talked about the soul and reincarnation, and Iarchas told him

that the truth was “as Pythagoras taught you, and as we taught the

Egyptians.” They spoke about the previous incarnation of Apollonius as

steersman of an Egyptian ship, in which capacity he had refrained from

following the inducements held out by pirates to let his vessel come

into their hands.

Concerning this Iarchas said that refraining from unrighteousness did

not constitute righteousness.

The King came to visit the Brahmins and a wonderful feast was prepared

for him; everything came of itself: Pythian tripods, and automatic

attendants of black bronze, the earth spread out herbs softer than

beds to recline on, delicate viands appeared in orderly succession,

etc. The accounts of these phenomena occasioned great remark during

the subsequent career of Apollonius, and people would persist in

mixing them up with the teachings of the master just as to-day they

inextricably confound Madame Blavatsky’s famous cup and saucer with

Theosophy. But we are told that Apollonius did not concern himself

with phenomena; when he saw these wonderful things he did not ask how

they were done, nor to be taught to do them, but he contented himself

with admiring them. And we are also told that the marvelous things he

did were not accomplished through ceremonial magic, but through the

perfection of his wisdom.

Damis was subsequently allowed to come to the Brahmins and when he

asked about the composition of the world and the four elements they

replied that there were five—the fifth being ether, which was to be

regarded as the primal source of the gods.

“For everything that breathes the air is mortal; that which drinks the

ether is immortal and divine,” said Iarchas. He also said that the

world was to be regarded as a living being of both sexes, having a more

ardent love for itself than that of one person to another, being united

and bound to itself. Damis learnt much from his intercourse with the

Brahmins, but he wrote that at the secret discourses Apollonius was

alone with Iarchas, and from there originated the four books written by

the former. Iarchas, said Damis, gave Apollonius seven rings bearing

the names of the seven planets, and Apollonius wore them one after the

other according to the name of the day of the week.

The foregoing is an incomplete account of the remarkable journey and

experience of Apollonius, as is necessitated by the limits of a brief

article. Many passages of deep wisdom have had to be passed over, and

many remarkable things are told, hard to understand, but which, there

is reason to believe, have an occult significance.

S. B.

TEACHINGS OF THE MASTER.

RECORDED BY ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF “MAN: FRAGMENTS OF FORGOTTEN HISTORY.”

(_Copyrighted._)

The master walked beside the river at evening-time. In the instant

that his signal was recognized he walked no longer alone. By his side

appeared one—as a little child clinging close to his garments. The

master said—“When you have obtained mastery over the senses then you

will no longer totter in your step or falter in your flight. Realize

the divine atma within you. Realize it!” he repeated, and then raising

his hand slowly upward the stature of the child lengthened until a

man’s proportions were outlined. Only this form could hold the expanded

soul. Disenthralled the soul perceived a world with every pulsation and

in every faculty there was absolute harmony. This was divine. This is

man’s rightful condition into which only the Mahatmas have fully come;

but to which every one is heir. The Mahatma teaches with the thought

unexpressed, but formulated in his own mind and sent with sudden power,

into yours. It strikes with resounding force against the spirit’s

prison house. In great agony the pupil cried out: “Master! Master!

redeem me from this state with your great power.” The Master answering

said: “Burst by concentration of spiritual energy the bonds that bind

you.” No pen can describe the force of the Master’s thought. For the

instant it seemed possible; a moment’s hesitation to make the effort

through mortal fear, and the supreme moment was passed. The Master

looked sadly upon his suffering disciple and then was alone again.

The latter had gone back to try again through duty—if need be through

death.

THE LESSON.

The pupil goes to the Master without conditions. He goes, but not to

return. The illusions of matter are dispelled for him and thenceforth

he is a stranger in the world of actions, even though he should be in

it again.

Fiery is the furnace of probation, and great is the danger when the

neophyte has reached the “states of exaltation.” About each advance

step wait the enemies of the spirit—to overthrow its sovereignty and

hurl it back to the plane of matter. These enemies live in matter

and are persuaded that their existence is confined to it—hence their

determination to keep matter from a knowledge of spirit. In darkness

and sin is their safety, for they are children of these conditions and

will cease to exist when the lamp that is lighted from within is turned

upon the world.

Temptations are in the way of those who would _demand_ much without

_deserving_ even a little. So soon as the student comes in contact with

the occult he encounters on the threshold the demons who loiter by—the

demons of worldliness, inconstancy, suspicion and faint-heartedness.

The student should find in his own intuitions all the proof needed of

the existence on this earth of the Wisdom teachers. Behind the screen

of the senses reposes the soul of man—an unfathomable factor in the

Universe—as unknown to its possessor as to its observers. Intuition is

its only avenue of communication, and the language it speaks is known

only to him who understands arcane knowledge or occultism.

When the Master has initiated his pupil he puts the seal of the

mysteries upon his lips and locks them even against the chance of

weakness or indiscretion.

It is the sense of personal isolation that brings on death; genuine

philanthropy puts the individual _en rapport_ with the _Divine

Spirit_ and thus gives him the eternal life. The Divine Spirit

being all-pervading, those who put themselves _en rapport_ with it,

necessarily put themselves _en rapport_ with all other entities in

the same _rapport_. Hence, the Mahatmas are necessarily in constant

magnetic relation with those who succeed in extricating themselves from

the lower animal nature. It is by this means that the Mahatmas must

first be known.

Until the Master chooses you to come to Him be with humanity, and

unselfishly work for its progress and advancement. This alone can bring

true satisfaction.

What is a Mahatma? Is it His physical body? No; for that must perish

sooner or later—though it can be preserved through what is to us an

endless age. A Mahatma is one who lives in His higher individuality,

and to know Him truly, He must be known through the individuality in

which He is centered.

Knowledge increases in proportion to its use—that is, the more we teach

the more we learn. Therefore, seeker after Truth, with the faith of a

little child and the _will_ of a Initiate give of your store to him

who hath not wherewithal to comfort him on his journey. A whisper of

the divine mystery into the ear of a weary wayfarer frees you from

the stain of many evil deeds done in your migrations through matter.

Philosophy can never be learned through phenomena. Try to break through

the desire for it. Occult students the world over have been warned by

their teachers that it is a habit which grows with gratification. It is

better to abandon the study than to risk the dangers of black magic.

What is Self? Only a passing guest, whose concerns are all like a

mirage of the great desert. Man is the victim of his surroundings while

he lives in the atmosphere of society. The Mahatma may be willing to

befriend such as he has an interest in, and yet be helpless to do so.

The _will of the neophyte_, also, must be the magnet which alone can

compel a Mahatma’s notice. He follows his attractions as the needle

does the poles. Will and Purity—these are the qualities which open the

arcane to the presence of an adept—mere enthusiastic regard has no

effect.

Feeble souls content themselves with wishes; great ones have _wills_.

In every man lie concealed the germs of faculties that are never

unfolded on earth, and which have no reference to this state of

knowledge.

No man can judge another, save by the measure of his own understanding:

do not injure your own chance for growth by condemning in others the

possession of faculties not known to yourself.

Thought runs swifter than the electric fluid; every bright aspiration

sparkles and attracts the attention of the distant, but ever-watchful

Master.

“Lay your burden upon the Lord”—that is, put your reliance in the

Higher Self. Use the body as a means of strengthening the connection

with the spirit and opening the road for its descents.

Slay Ambition: it is a deadly and cowardly foe, whose power over you is

augmented by the approbation of others.

It is Karma that sends you into this world—to which you come alone—that

leaves you alone in it and which takes you out of it alone. The law

of Karma is the law of the conservation of energy on the moral and

spiritual planes of nature.

The body is the mind’s portrait. The artist seeing its inharmonies

regrets his failure, but knows not how to improve upon it. This is the

spirit’s work, which, accomplished, leaves the outward a reflection of

the indwelling Soul.

The manna that feeds the spirit is hidden from sight. The universal

spirit supplies it.

Duty is the River that flows through life. Its tide is silvery to those

who are on it, but threatening to those who approach it seldom.

Seek to recover your soul. It is the hidden treasure lost in the

caverns of sense. Its recovery is redemption from many rebirths.

The vain and the arrogant demand our pity—the weak and erring our

forbearance—the indifferent our sympathy—and the wise, alone, our

admiration.

You have learned of Krishna that death is better than the performance

of another’s duty. In persevering in the erroneous idea that we were

put here to do the duties of others, woes have resulted that follow one

through many lives.

Your perception of the inner self is clearer than the vision of the

natural eye.

Earnestly regard the plane upon which you seek truth, do not expect to

secure soul knowledge through the avenues of the senses.

Karma is like the vine that gathers strength through uninterrupted

years, and which fastens its tendrils so closely that it is as strong

as the structure to which it adheres. There is no way to destroy

its power except by the separation of the parts, these parts renew

themselves in other forms of life, but the structure is freed when its

root is destroyed.

Evil thoughts corrode the character. Only the spirit has power over

character to purify it.

We carry the accumulated results of many lives from one to another.

This is the clue to the perfect fairness of nature. The apparent

injustice of all differences of well-being are explained by the fact

that we have known former states of existence. Every spiritual effort

now made will tell not only now, but in the next incarnation as well.

The clue to many of the great mysteries of life is to be found in

reincarnation; it is the only possible solution of the enigmas of

existence.

The rule of the Mahatma is to approach every one where there exists

even only the slightest glimmer of the true Light within him. None are

left to perish who desire to be succored.

We write in every aspiration for truth, in thought and deed by day,

and in soul-struggles by night, the story of our desire for spiritual

development. Upon the pages of the Book of Karma are written the

minutest particulars of individual efforts: when the feeble will is

strong enough to prevent further births in this world, which is the

spirit’s dream life, we shall find in Real existence all the chapters

that we have written in all our transitions. Only then will we be able

to read the whole book through and know the nature of the long journey

out of spirit through matter and back again to the All.

The conflict of intuition against intellect has covered mankind in the

crumbling ruin of despair. Man will never surrender himself to be the

permanent vehicle of any set of ideas unless it completely satisfies

the whole of his nature; the union of intellect and intuition only will

end the conflict.

Take what you can of the teachings, and in developing devotion keep

before you your example—THE TEACHER.

THE HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY.

[_Concluded from the July Number._]

“The music of the spheres” is not a mere figure of speech, but an

actuality.

The Soul of the World has its central Sun whose life throbs pulsate

throughout immensity. If we study the phenomena and conditions of

either crystallization or organization we shall find that every atom

in the vast universe is set to music. There is the pean of life, and

the dirge of death, the major and the minor key. The rythm is the same

whether in the ebb or flow of life, but the serried columns march

in opposite directions. The Unity lies back of all phenomena in the

infinite ocean, the universal solvent, as the crystal lies latent,

potential, unmanifested, in the solution of salt. So all things exist

potentially in the ether. The real form of everything is perfect,

essential, divine. Only the effigy appears with ebb and flow; with

swell and cadence like martial music. Only in the Garden of the Gods

can the perfect flower and fruit appear. There is but one approximation

to perfect form to be apprehended by mortals—the Sphere—and even this

is ideal or geometrical, not actual. The dimensions of space pertain to

objects: objects exist in time, and the essence of time is motion.[153]

Imagine the intelligence of man posited in an ocean of Ether, a

thinking principle, without form or extension, and the fallacy of space

as generally conceived becomes manifest, and disappears. Matter, space,

time, and motion, these pertain to outwardly manifested existence. Read

backward the genesis of crystal, plant, animal or man, and one plan,

one basis is discovered in all.

“_Out from the shore of the great unknown_” come trooping these

effigies of diviner being, these shapes of diviner forms. In the

beginning was the Word, the Fiat has gone forth. Listen O! man to

the music of Bath Col the voice of thine own soul. Adonai speaks. If

thou art _conscious_, His voice is _conscience_. It is the memory of

the voice of God in fields elysian, thy former divine abode. Thou

mayest involve in thy life on earth thine Augoeides, “being of light,”

a “gleaming brightness.” This is thy holy mission, the meaning of

thy human shape, thy manly powers, thy subtle intellect, thy holy

intuitions. These are but the seed of larger life, the bird of promise.

The unfolded flower shall be thy highest aspiration, thy holiest wish,

and its ripened fruit shall bear thee to the garden of the gods, with

knowledge and power as thy servants. Ask but thine own soul, counsel

with thy better self, and if thou findest not within the silence the

answering voice, then return to thy wallowing in the mire, and the

husks which the swine do eat, rather than to thy _father’s house_ which

thou hast made, and will henceforth continue to make a den of thieves,

at best, a whited sepulchre.

Now let us read the Tablet of Hermes, bearing in mind the fact that man

is an epitome of the universe, thus actually or potentially containing

all that is, and if he knows how to read and to unfold his own nature,

powers and possibilities, he may read thereby the universe, unfold

its laws, comprehend its plan, and if he be master of himself, thus

revealed to his understanding, his powers shall be co-extensive with

knowledge. He shall possess the MASTERS’ WORD.

This tablet is printed in full in September _Path_ at p. 167.

The reader is referred to _Isis Unveiled_ for explanation of the Azoth

to which, on the physical plane, the tablet refers,[154] and I might

say in passing, that those who complain that the Brothers closely guard

occult secrets, will do well, even at this late day, to _read Isis

Unveiled_. There are several matters contained in those two volumes

which the careless reader, and complaining “theosophist” has possibly

overlooked. In fact there is less concealment in all occult matters

than the ignorant and time-serving suppose. There can be no better

safe-guards to Royal Secrets, than ignorance and defective vision, for

which defects there is no surgery or remedy outside ourselves.

“God saith, Let the man endued with a _mind_, mark, consider, and _know

himself well_. * * And before they give up their bodies to the death of

them, they hate their senses, knowing their works and operations.

“Rather I, that am the mind itself, will not suffer the operations

or works, which belong to the body, to be finished and brought to

perfection in them, but being the _Porter_ and _Doorkeeper_ I will shut

up the entrances of evil, and cut off the thoughtful desires of filthy

works.

“But to the foolish, and evil, and wicked, and envious, and covetous,

and profane, I am far off, giving place to the revenging demon * *

“For the sleep of the body is the sober watchfulness of the mind, and

the shutting of my eyes, the true sight, and my _silence_ great with

child; and full of good, and the pronouncing of my words the blossoms

and fruits of good things.[155]

“Wherefore we must be bold to say that _an earthly man is a mortal god,

and that the heavenly God is an immortal Man_[156].”

Compare with this the following from the writings of Plato:

“He who has not even a knowledge of common things, is a brute among

men; he who has an accurate knowledge of human concerns alone, is a man

among brutes; but he who knows all that can be known by intelligent

inquiry is a god among men.”

In these brief and imperfect outlines enough has been given to show

the thoughtful student, the agreement of the Hermetic doctrines

with the teachings of Theosophy, indeed, any real progress in the

comprehension of the one, may be taken as a key to the other. These,

together with the teachings of the Kabala, are but different forms of

the _Secret Doctrine_; none of them are to be fully apprehended by the

intellect alone; but only when the mind is _illuminated_ by the light

of understanding, and the process by which this illumination is to be

achieved, through diligent inquiry, unselfish work, and repression of

the senses, appetites and passion, has been often pointed out, and is

found repeated and reiterated in all these writings. If any, therefore,

are disposed to complain that they are left to grope in darkness, they

have no one to blame but themselves. To the conscientious student, the

constant wonder is at the richness of the feast spread out on every

hand.

Like a beautiful landscape to the blind, or music to the deaf, are the

pages of wisdom to the ignorant and selfish. Eyes have they but they

see not, ears have they but they hear not, and so long as they are

joined to their idols they may as well be let alone. But to the earnest

disciple, to the true seeker of _The Path_ these are the everlasting

verities: let them run and not be weary, walk and not faint, seek, and

they shall _surely find_, desire, and they shall attain, knock, and the

door of knowledge shall open, obey, and they shall in turn command,

labor, and they shall obtain rest.

“Rest is not quitting

The busy career,

Rest is the fitting

Of self to one’s sphere.

’Tis the brook’s motion,

Clear, without strife,

Fleeting to ocean

After this life.

’Tis living and serving

The highest and best,

’Tis _onward unswerving_,

And this is true rest.”

B.

TEA TABLE TALK.

THOUGHT TRANSFERENCE AND DREAMS.

Have you ever noticed the swiftness of thought transference in cases

where the thinker is not consciously projecting his thought to another

mind? The writer had lately a notable instance of this. I was seated

at the breakfast table, thinking over an order from THE PATH which had

come the night before. It was an order for “1000 words on dreams, etc.”

and not being such stuff as dreams are made of, I pondered intently

albeit silently:—“Where the deuce am I to get any authentic dreams?”

“_Mr. Julius, do you like dreams?_”

So spoke a clear young voice at my elbow. It was the voice of Sue. I

am not qualified to judge whether Sue is a child or a girl. She is,

however, an embodiment of that young America who rules these United

States from Atlantic coast to Pacific wave, and although a bachelor, I

respect her accordingly. Sue represents my possible fate.

“_Dreams!_” I stammered. “What do you know about dreams?”

“Me? Why I have ‘em. Lots! But only the horrid kind, you know.”

I venture to ask, most respectfully, what she calls “the horrid kind.”

“The kind you can’t remember, so’s to tell ‘em and scare the girls.

All mixed up, you see.” Here Sue snaps down the lid of the maple syrup

cruet with an air which indicates that the subject is closed. But I

venture on. I fear Sue a trifle less than I do my Editor and his demand

for contracted copy.

“What made you think of dreams just now, Sue. if you please?”

“Oh! I don’t know. They just came spang into my head. Perhaps you were

thinking about them.”

“Why, my child! You do not mean to say that you believe in thought

transference!”

“What’s that? Some nonsense! What I mean is that when I’m thinkin’

‘bout somethin’, an ‘I don’t want the other girls to talk about it, I

put it out of my head, quick,—(another hot cake, please,) so they won’t

get it into their heads too. They always do, unless. Understand?”

I did indeed. “Verily out of the mouths of babes and sucklings proceed

the words of wisdom.”

This to myself of course. What I said aloud was merely, “I should like

to hear a real good dream this minute, a true one.”

Sue gives her head that capable toss. “Why didn’t you ask me? You

people always think children don’t know anything. Guess you’ve changed

your mind since you were a child. Anyhow, Mrs. D. was tellin’ it t’

Sister an’ some ladies, and it gives your blood a lovely curdle.”

Here Sue settled herself in her chair and gave herself up with gusto to

the joy of curdling my blood. Making careful inquiry afterward, I found

true, in all its details, the dream which I now give to my readers.

Mrs. D. was at her country place. She dreamed one night that she rose,

and walking to her window looked out upon the familiar scene just then

lit by the moon. To her surprise she noticed persons walking two by two

across the lawn towards her; then more people, many of whom she knew.

As she watched this procession, there came finally a hearse driven by

a boy. He stopped the ghastly vehicle under her window, and raising a

scarred face on which the moonbeams played, he called out; “_Are you

ready?_” Mrs. D. shrieked and awoke, to find herself in bed and the

sport of a dream, but telling it afterwards to her family she remarked;

“If ever I were to see that boy, I should know him by the awful scars

on his face.”

Some time afterward this lady was standing in a hotel corridor,

waiting for the lift. As it rose slowly into view, she was attracted

by the head of the boy running it: “Where have I seen that head?” was

her thought, and so puzzling, she delayed to step into the waiting

lift. Just as she moved forward and entered, the boy turned his face

towards her saying: “_Are you ready?_” and she saw again those great

scars, and across her inner vision moved that slow funereal scene.

Sickened, startled, she felt an impulse of escape, and profited by

the stoppage of the lift at the next floor to get off, instead of

continuing to a higher floor, as she had proposed. She paused a few

moments to recover herself, and to reason with herself as well, when

suddenly a horrible crash was heard; then a _dead silence_; afterward

the murmur of excited voices. The machinery had broken, the lift had

fallen to the ground floor, and every person in it had been killed. As

I thought over this strange story, the decided young voice streamed

on: “Do you know, Mr. Julius, they were discussing it at dinner, and I

heard some quite stylish people say they believed it was God Himself

warning her. Fancy! They weren’t church people of course.”

Humanity is divided by Sue into two classes. Class 1. Members of The

Protestant Episcopal Church. Class 2. Heathen. She finds this very

convenient. So, I doubt not, do many older persons.

“And what do you think it was, my child?”

“Me? Oh, well! I just think it was her soul, somehow, Mr. Julius! Why

do you stare at me like that? I do believe you know something about it!

Nobody will ever tell me. Put down your coffee cup, its spilling all

over your beard, and tell me straight off all you know about our souls.”

But here the Skye terrier comes bouncing in, and offers himself for

dissection instead. Nevertheless, I know a few people, (and I fancy

THE PATH knows scores more) who expect you to tell between the roast

and the relevé, all that is known about the soul. Go instead to the

children, question their fresh instincts, their curious methods, their

habitual impulses and freaks, above all, their _esprit de corps_, and

what you learn about occultism from these still plastic minds will

surprise you. It has me!

JULIUS.

* * * * *

A REMARKABLE OCCURRENCE.

This story was told me by my step-father about an uncle of his.

The uncle was large, broad-shouldered, loved fun, and yet had strange

pre-occupied ways. He was fond of playing strange tricks upon the

little ones, and was known by them all as: “the—queer uncle.”

Indeed he did not confine his experiments wholly to the small folks.

One evening he came into the sitting-room where his sister was, his

face pale, with great drops of perspiration upon it, and his whole body

shaking as with ague. She asked him what the matter was, and then said

she was glad if he who had been frightening other people all his life,

was really frightened himself. It was sometime before he could speak.

At last he said he would tell her what had happened as well as he could.

He went into the woods and found a large tree (Beech, I think) standing

alone.

Having tied his handkerchief around it, he placed his back against

the tree and took so many paces in a straight line away from it.

Then without looking towards the tree he walked three times around

it—keeping the circle as nearly as possible. The night was very calm

with a beautiful full moon.

After he had been round it once, there appeared to be no change. The

second time the wind began to blow, and before he had completed the

third circuit, the moon was overcast and the wind blew a gale. When he

had reached the point, for the third time, from which he first started,

he turned and faced the tree. Soon the wind ceased to blow, and the

moon shone clear. Then, coming in an opposite direction, he saw a young

lady approaching the tree.

She walked directly to it, untied the handkerchief and brought it to

him and then disappeared on the spot. Upon concluding his narrative he

said if ever he should meet that girl he should know her. The moonlight

fell upon her face so that each feature was distinctly visible.

Six months later business called him to another town. While waiting in

the parlor of the Hotel, before being called to dinner, the lady he had

seen in the forest walked into the room.

Sometime after he obtained an introduction, and eventually became

engaged. One day while discussing different matters, he told her of his

singular experience in the woods.

“Why” said she “at that very time I had a most singular feeling, and

fainted.” Her mother was appealed to and corroborated the fact. She

said she was unconscious for such a length of time they thought her

dead.

The day of the month and the hour corresponded exactly with the time

the lady untied the handkerchief and brought it to him in the forest.

F. C.

REVIEWS AND NOTES.

THE THEOSOPHIST for October is a notably good number of that admirable

magazine. Madame Blavatsky contributes the leading article, “Ancient

Magic in Modern Science,” the reading of which makes us eager for the

publication of her “Secret Doctrine,” the first volume of which, we

learn, will soon be ready for publication.

Mohini M. Chatterji contributes a short article on “Mother Ganga,” and

his strong tale, “Sowing and Reaping,” is concluded.

Maurice Fredal writes of Apollonius of Tyana, anent Mr. Tredwell’s

valuable book on the Master. It is a “coincidence” that the October

numbers of both _The Theosophist_ and THE PATH should contain articles

on Apollonius, the two complementing each other. It has been said that

the teachings of Apollonius will have much to do in the new religion

which is destined to become the leading faith of the world.

Col. Olcott has a highly interesting article on “Phantom Pictures in

the Astral Light,” in which the various traditions of “The Flying

Dutchman” are given prominence, and mention is made of a phantom ship

seen from the man-of war which carried the two sons of the Prince of

Wales on their voyage around the world.

Two articles of this issue are contributed from Chicago—a thoughtful

essay on “Theosophy and Theosophists” by M. M. Phelon, and “A World-Old

Story Still Unlearned,” by M. L. Brainard, the Secretary of the

Chicago Branch; an allegory that will take, and repay, much pains

to discover its true significance. “Some Hypnotic Experiments” is a

valuable scientific article, and Miss L. S. Cook’s ideas “On Prayer”

will probably meet approval among all Theosophists, who object only

to the common forms of prayer, such as those designed to be “heard of

men” like the prayers offered up in churches, and also the requests of

people for divine favors which they have done nothing to merit.

The Unpublished Writings of Eliphas Levy, a mine of occult information,

are continued, and an article on Raj Yoga will be appreciated by

students of Indian philosophy.

MADAME BLAVATSKY: INCIDENTS IN HER LIFE. Edited by A. P. Sinnett.

(_London, 1886._) Price, $3.00. These memoirs are of absorbing

interest, containing as they do authentic narratives written by the

relatives and friends of Madame Blavatsky. They are divided into ten

chapters, beginning with her childhood and ending with the present

time when she rests in sickness in Germany, and bristle with stories

of the most extraordinary character. Read in connection with the first

article in the present number of this magazine, they become of greater

interest. At page 257 Mr. Sinnett says she was not able to foresee

the annoyances in the future. But we think she could see those quite

clearly, and therein lay one of her constant trials: that she might

see those troubles to come and yet refrain from trying to avert them.

Inquirers can purchase the book through THE PATH.

* * * * *

ANNOUNCEMENT.

_We beg to announce that with this date we sever our partnership._ THE

PATH _henceforth will be the exclusive property and under the sole

management of Mr. William Q. Judge_.

WILLIAM Q. JUDGE,

_New York, Dec. 1, 1886._ ARTHUR H. GEBHARD.

* * * * *

“There is a living creature in heaven which by day has “Truth” upon

its forehead, by which the angels know it is day; but in the evening

it has “Faith” on its forehead, whereby the angels know that night is

near.”—_From the Kabbalistic book, Kitzur-Sh’lh, fol. 42, col. 2._

OM!

FOOTNOTES:

[147] Bagavad-Gita.

[148] Milton.

[149] Bible.

[150] Light of Asia.

[151] Browning.

[152] _Bri-Up._ 1. Adh., 4 Brah., 7.

[153] ‘We take no notice of time save by its loss’, _i. e._ its passage

or motion.

[154] _Isis Unveiled_, vol. I. p. 507, _et seq._

[155] Pymander, p. 33, _et seq._, edition of 1650.

[156] IV Book, p. 60.

AUM

But there is another invisible eternal existence, higher, deeper,

innermost; not like this life of sense, escaping sight, unchanging.

This endures when all created things have passed away. This is the

highest walk and very supreme abode.—_Bagavad-Gita_, ch. 8.

Hear the secret of the wise. Be not anxious for subsistence; it is

provided by the maker. When the child is born the mother’s breasts

flow with milk. He who hath clothed the birds with their bright

plumage will also feed thee.—_Hitapodesa._

THE PATH.

VOL. I. JANUARY, 1887. NO. 10.

_The Theosophical Society, as such, is not responsible for any opinion

or declaration in this magazine, by whomsoever expressed, unless

contained in an official document._

Where any article, or statement, has the author’s name attached, he

alone is responsible, and for those which are unsigned, the Editor will

be accountable.

THE ELEMENTALS, THE ELEMENTARY SPIRITS,

AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM AND HUMAN BEINGS.

_A paper read before the Aryan Theosophical Society of New York,

December 14th, 1886._

BY C. H. A. BJERREGAARD.

The subject of my paper is “_The Elementals, the Elementary Spirits,

and the relation between them and human beings_.”

I will endeavor to give an outline of some of the teachings of the

occult science relative to these beings, their relationship to the

universal powers and to us, and our power over them.

In the general statement I shall probably not be able to say anything

new to students of the occult forces of nature, except it be in the

illustrations I shall bring forth from what I consider new sources,

from Leibnitz’s Monadology, namely:

In Leibnitz’s Monads, I think we may see the very substance of the

astral sphere, in which the elementary spirits “wrap themselves,”

according to a statement in the Kabbala. We may even see more, we may

even look upon them as the Elementals themselves.

If Leibnitz’s Monads may be considered not only as Elementals, but

also the very substance of the astral sphere, and if it be so, that

according to the Zohar, “the spirits, when they come down clothe

themselves with air, or wrap themselves in elements,” then it becomes

a subject of the greatest importance to us how or by what means we

may influence the astral sphere, or in other words, it becomes very

important by _what kind of Monads_ we are surrounded.

As a help to the proper consideration of this momentous question, I

shall offer some information regarding the natural auras or objective

spheres, that surround us, and also some historic facts regarding the

use of aromatic vapors, odors, &c.

Having come so far with my paper, I shall say a few words about our

power over the elementals “clothed with air and wrapped in elements,”

by defining the power of _Mind_ and by describing those—almost

unknown—small nerve centres of the human hand, called _the Pacinian

corpuscles_.

I shall only stop to define these two tools, the _head_ and the _hand_,

and leave out, for the present, the third of the human trinity, the

_heart_.

Having defined the power of mind and the hand, I shall come to a close

with a few suggestions as to the use of these powers regarding the

subject under consideration.

* * * * *

_Elementary Spirits_ are defined in “Isis Unveiled” to be “the

disembodied _souls_. The depraved souls have at some time prior to

death separated from themselves their divine spirits, and so lost their

chance for immortality. Eliphas Levi and some other Kabbalists make

little distinction between elementary spirits who have been men, and

those beings which people the elements, and are the blind forces of

nature.”

The points to mark in this definition are these: (1) Elementary Spirits

are disembodied _souls_; (2) they are disembodied souls of _the good_,

and (3) of _the depraved_, _i. e._, of those, in whom the higher

principles have never been developed, nor even born into light. They

are the _shades_ of those who, by their sins and moral misery, have

closed the most interior principles of the constitution of man, and

having closed the door against them, have no part in life, but sooner

or later become dissolved and disintegrated in the surrounding elements.

In the manifestations common among Spiritualists, these Elementary

Spirits play the most prominent parts. The Elementals do not. We shall

concern ourselves mainly with the Elementals.

_Elementals_ are defined in “Isis Unveiled” as “the creatures _evolved_

in the four kingdoms of earth, air, fire, and water, and called by

the Kabbalists gnomes, sylphs, salamanders, and undines. They may be

termed the forces of nature, and will either operate effects as the

servile agents of general law, or may be employed by the disembodied

spirits—whether pure or impure—and by living adepts of magic and

sorcery, to produce desired phenomenal results. _Such beings never

become men._”

They are in popular mythology and folktales called by a great many

names, peris, fauns, elves, brownies, nixies, &c., &c.

They are not disembodied human spirits, but distinct Creations. They

have their homes in the astral sphere but are found commonly on earth.

The definition already given from “Isis Unveiled” I will amplify by a

few lines I have extracted and translated from the various works of

Paracelsus:

“All elements have a soul and are living. The inhabitants of the

elements are named _Saganes_ (Saganae), _i. e._, elements. They are

not inferior to men; they differ from men by having no immortal soul.

They are the powers of Nature, _i. e._, _they are the ones who do that

which is usually ascribed to Nature_. We may call them beings, but they

are not of Adam’s kin. They eat and drink such substances as in their

element serve for eating and drinking. They are clothed, they marry and

multiply themselves. They can not be incarcerated, and die like the

animals, having no soul.”

“They know all that is going on, and do often reveal it to men, who

are able to converse with them. But they are very unreliable, and some

are very treacherous. They like children and simple minded persons the

best. They avoid drunken and beastly men. They reveal more of their

nature to the simple minded and innocent ones than to the learned and

arrogant ones. They are rather simple minded themselves.”

“There are more women among them than men, and a congregation of women

is called a Venus-mount. The fable told about Tannhauser is no mere

tale, it is true.”

Thus far, we have, perhaps, no difficulty in following Paracelsus, but

when we read further into his revelations, our common sense fails to

comprehend the mysteries laid open. Yet, I will say for myself, that

though I can not comprehend it, I can readily apprehend such a state of

things as that described in the following words:

“They can come to us and mix with our society. They can bear us

children; but such children do not belong to them, _they belong to us_.

We may bring these elemental wives to us by faith, pure thinking and

our image-making powers. When they enter our sphere of existence and

copulate with us, they appear, on account of their strange manners,

like gods.”

“Those that live in the water are called Nymphs or Undines, those in

the air Sylphs, those of the earth Pygmies or Gnomes, those of the fire

Salamanders. Nymphs or Undines look much like human beings, the others

differ more or less.”

“It is particularly the Undines or Nymphs that unite with men. When an

Undine marries a man, both she and her child become souls.”

From the Kabbala we can draw many statements corroborating the

testimony of Paracelsus. In fact all the most valuable teachings we

possess, relative to Elementals, as far _as they are printed and given

to the public_, are derived from the Kabbala. According to it all

activity, all events, in History and in Nature, are in the hands of

spirits, either Elementals or Elementary. We find them as ministering

everywhere, from the Zodiac down to the smallest worm. We find them

mentioned by name, those of the sphere of the Shechina as well as those

presiding over the four elements.

In _Jalkut Chadash_ it is stated: “There is not a thing in the world,

not the least herb, over which is not set a spirit.”

The Kabbalistic work _Berith Menucha_ (by Abraham, a son of Isaac, a

Jew from Granada), their names are given:

The spirit that presides over fire is named _Jehuel_, and under him

range seven other spirits. Prince _Michael_ is set over water, and

under him rule seven other spirits. _Jechiel_ rules over the wild

animals and these rule under him. _Anpiel_ rules over the birds and two

princes rule beside him. _Hariel_ controls the cattle and besides him

three spirits. _Samniel_ rules the creatures of earth and water and

_Mesannahel_ the worms. _Deliel_ together with three princes command

the fishes; _Ruchiel_ and three others, the winds; _Gabriel_, the

thunder; _Nariel_, the hailstorm; _Maktuniel_, the rocks and _Alpiel_

the fruitful trees, while _Saroel_, the unfruitful. _Sandolfon_ governs

men.

These names are important, as you know, for they are the key to the

respective powers of each of these spirits.

As stated in “Isis Unveiled,” Eliphas Levi and other Kabbalists make no

or very little distinction between Elementals and Elementary Spirits.

This cannot be right by Levi to do. There are essential differences.

The _Elementals never become men, nor were they ever men_. The

Elementary spirits as defined by Levi resemble very much such spirits

as those we are familiar with in ordinary spiritism. I shall in this

paper only give them a passing notice and speak about the Elementals

mainly.

From the definition already given, it is evident that the Elementals

exist in a great variety of forms, some are mere forces of nature, pure

abstract beings; others have some kind of body, at least, when we speak

of gnomes, sylphs, undines, &c., we represent them in figures more or

less human.

In the Kabbala and other Jewish secret books and traditions, the

Elementals are represented as a middle race of beings, which, by a

general name, the Jews called _Schedim_ (the male Ruchin and the female

Lilin). They are really the lowest and the dregs of the spiritual

orders. They are divided into four classes: (1) Those of Fire; these

cannot be seen with the eye; they mean to do good, and often help men.

They understand the Thora and have communion with the angelic world.

They are masters of many of nature’s secrets.

It was these beings which Solomon employed, according to Mohammedan

traditions, in erecting the temple. We are told,[157] that “he obliged

the male genii to erect various public buildings, among others also,

the temple. The female genii he obliged to cook, to bake, to wash, to

weave, to spin, to carry water, and to perform other domestic labors.

The stuffs they produced Solomon distributed among the poor.”

Much curious information can be had from these Mohammedan traditions.

Solomon, we are told, once asked an Elemental, who appeared to him

in the form of a fish, as to how many there were of that kind, and

received the following reply: “There are of my species alone, seventy

thousand kinds, the least of which is so large that thou would appear

in its body like a grain of sand in the wilderness.”

We are further told, that Solomon, by means of a certain stone, “had

dominion over the kingdom of spirits, which is much greater than that

of man and beasts, and fills up the whole space between the earth and

heaven.” Part of these spirits believe in the only God, but others are

unbelieving. Some adore the fire; others the sun; others, again, the

different stars; and many of them even water. The first continually

hover round the pious, to preserve them from evil and sin; but the

latter seek in every possible manner to torment and to seduce them,

which they do the more easily, since they render themselves invisible,

or assume any form they please. Solomon desired to see the genii in

their original form. An angel rushed like a column of fire through the

air, and soon returned with a host of demons and genii, whose appalling

appearance filled Solomon, spite of his dominion over them, with

horror. He had no idea that there were such misshapen and frightful

beings in the world. He saw human heads on the necks of horses, with

asses’ feet; the wings of eagles on the dromedary’s back; and the

horns of the gazelle on the head of the peacock. Astonished at this

singular union, he prayed the angel to explain it to him: “This is the

consequence,” replied the angel, “of their wicked lives and their

shameless intercourse with men, beasts and birds; for their desires

know no bounds; and the more they multiply, the more they degenerate.”

(2) The second group consists of those of Fire and Air; they are lower

in order than the former, those of Fire, but they are good and wise.

They are also invisible. They inhabit, like the former, the upper

regions.

(3) The third group consists of those of Fire, Air and Water, they are

sometimes visible to our senses.

(4) The fourth class is also made of Fire, Air and Water, but have

besides an element of Earth in their constitution. They may be fully

seen by human eyes.

This class and those of the third are of a wicked disposition and

deceive men, and are glad to do us harm. They have no moral sense

at all. Some of them live in the waters, some in the mountains and

deserts, and some in filthy places. Some of them are hideous to look

upon, and are said to be met with even in open daylight.

The two first classes mentioned stand bodily next to men and are very

dangerous. They possess extraordinary powers, standing, as they do,

between the visible and the invisible worlds. They have some knowledge

of the future and are particularly wise in regard to natural things.

Some of these have in the time past been worshipped as gods and

national deities. The Kabbala is quite emphatic in warnings against

them, saying that they are untrustworthy because “their natural

affinities are towards the lower realms of existence, rather than the

higher.”

All these elementals, whatever class they belong to are subject to

dissolution. _Their lives are not centred on an eternal principle._

They die—and that is the end of them.

It is also worthy of notice that there is a close parallel between the

teachings of the Kabbala on this point with that of the _Vishnu Purana_

regarding the composition of the descending order of emanations.

According to the Kabbala, as we have just heard, the Elementals of

the first order were pure Fire, those of the next were Fire plus Air,

those of the next Fire, Air, and Water, while those of the lowest order

consisted of Fire, Air, Water plus Earth. Each of them as they live on

a lower plane add a new element to their constitution. The same law is

found in the groupings of the elements according to the Vishnu Purana.

The purest one is Ether and has only one property, sound. The next is

Air which to sound adds touch; the next is Fire, which to sound and

touch adds colour; the next is Water, which to the three former adds a

fourth, taste; the last is _Earth_, which to all the former adds smell,

thus possessing five properties.

The harmony in the teachings of these two authorities, resting as they

do on so different a basis is an additional argument for the truths of

their teachings on the main subject.

Thus far I have been speaking of _Elementals_ in the commonly accepted

sense. But, it appears to me that there is another order of beings

which also may be called _Elementals_, though perhaps in another sense.

I mean the ten _Sephiroth_.

The Kabbala teaches that the _En-Soph_ (the One without end, the

Boundless) is present in the _Sephiroth_ or “intelligences,” by means

of which creation is effected.

These Sephiroth, these “intelligences” or spheres, as they also have

been called, these spiritual substances are emanations from the

_En-Soph_ in which they existed from all eternity. They are emanations,

not creations. A creation implies diminution of strength, but an

emanation does not, hence the ten Sephiroth form among themselves,

and with the En-Soph, a strict unity. They are in fact only differing

from the En-Soph in the same way as light differs from its source,

the fire. They are boundless on one side of their being, but finite

manifestations on the other. They are both infinite and finite.

It has been stated that the whole world is like a gigantic tree full of

branches and leaves, the root of which is the spiritual world of the

Sephiroth; or it is like an immense sea, which is constantly filled by

a spring everlastingly gushing forth its streams. That which thus has

been said about the world applies equally to the Sephiroth. They are

like trees rooted in the En-Soph, but blossoming and bearing fruit in

the world. They are open within but closed without. Though they partake

of the divine nature, they are on the outer side the garments of the

Most High. This _their outer side is their bodily form_, and it is with

this _we_ may come in contact.

It is almost blasphemy to call the outer side of the Sephiroth

bodily—for body is to us something very low. Let us, therefore,

beware of attaching anything low or mean to Body, when we speak of

the Sephiroth. Let us bow down and revere, for we are in the presence

of the Holy, even when we in thought rise to the bodily form of the

Sephiroth.

The Sephiroth, through the divine power immanent in them, uphold the

World. _They are the Elemental Forces of the World._ Through them

flows all Power and all Mercy. Yea, the En-Soph is revealed through

the Sephiroth, and becomes incarnate in them. It is stated in the

Kabbala that the En-Soph, through various Sephiroth, became incarnate

in Abraham as love, in Isaac as power, in Jacob as beauty, in Moses as

firmness, in Aaron as splendor, in Joseph as foundation, etc.

The soul, notwithstanding its connection with the body, if it remain

uncontaminated and pure, is able to ascend to the Kingdom of the

Sephiroth and to “command them”. But great mysteries surround the

secrets connected with this power, and but few have they been who have

been pious enough and strong enough to be admitted.

That the Sephiroth are powers, “Elementals,” and not individual beings

is evident from their division into three groups, intelligence,

animation and matter.

Each of the three groups is again subdivided, the first into (1) the

Crown or the inscrutable Height, (2) the creative Wisdom, (3) the

conceiving Intellect. The result of the combination of the latter two:

the creative Wisdom and the conceiving Intellect, is in the Kabbala

called knowledge (= Logos), which certainly shows these three Sephiroph

to be spiritual substances, rather than individualities according

to the common acceptation of the term. But it is not enough that

we escape the mistakes which we would fall into if we regarded the

Sephiroth as individualities, we must also beware of regarding them as

mere _abstractions_, which the terms wisdom and intellect might lead

us into. We shall never arrive at the truth, much less the power of

associating with these celestials, until we return to the simplicity

and fearlessness of the primitive ages, when men mixed freely with the

gods, and the gods descended among men and guided them in truth and

holiness.

The _first_ group of the Sephiroth rests in so sublime an atmosphere

and so near the Deity, that we can know nothing of their nature or

activity.

The _second_ group of the Sephiroth exercises its power over the moral

world, and consists of (1) infinite Grace, (2) divine Justice, and (3)

Beauty, which is the connecting link between Grace and Justice.

Here again we have to do neither with mere moral states nor with

abstractions, but with embodiments of living and moving realities.

Human eyes can, however, neither see them, nor can human hands touch

them, for they are far removed from them, existing as they do on

another plane of existence. Yet, he who _keeps his virtue_, and who

knows the key to the chain of existences, can bring them out from their

own realm and into his own and cause them to act.

The _third_ group of the Sephiroth stands in relation to Matter in the

same way as the other two stand to the Mind and the Heart, and may be

called _Elementals par excellence_. They are called Firmness, Splendor,

primary Foundation and Kingdom.—

I now wish to engage your attention by describing to you Leibnitz’s

Monads. His monads have all the characteristics of Elementals, at the

same time, that they seem to be purely physical molecules. But this

very duplicity is an argument for my theory, that Leibnitz’s monad is a

faithful definition of an Elemental. If it should be proved that they

are not Elementals, and I doubt that that can be proved, they will at

least serve as _illustrations_ as to what an Elemental is.

Leibnitz[158] formulates his conception of substance in direct

opposition to Spinozism. To Spinoza substance is dead and inactive,

but to Leibnitz’s penetrating powers of mind everything is living

activity and active energy. In holding this view he comes infinitely

nearer the Orient than any other thinker of his day or after him. His

discovery that an _active energy forms the essence of substance_ is a

principle that places him in direct relationship to the seers of the

East.

This fact, that the chief points of Leibnitz’s philosophy are derived

from this conception of an active energy forming the essence of

substance, places it at once in our confidence.

From Leibnitz’s _Monadology_ I translate the following paragraphs:

§1. “The Monad is a _simple substance_, entering into those which are

compound; simple, that is to say, without parts.”

§2. “Monads are the veritable Atoms of Nature, in one word, the

elements of things.”

When _Leibnitz_ speaks of atoms it must not be understood that he is

a materialist. He is far from it. Indeed, his system has been called

a spiritualistic _atomistic_. Atoms and Elements to him are SUBSTANCE

not _Matter_. They are centres of force or better “spiritual beings,

whose very nature it is to act.” These elementary particles are vital

forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They

are incorporeal or spiritual units, inaccessible to all change from

without, but only subject to internal movement. They are indestructible

by any external force. Leibnitz’s monads differ from atoms in the

following particulars, which are very important for us to remember,

otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals

and mere matter.

Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively

alike, but one monad differs from every other monad, qualitatively;

and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms;

they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively and possess

no individuality of their own. Again, the atoms of materialistic

philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the

monads are mere “metaphysical points” and indivisible. Finally, and

this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the

Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative

beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living

mirror of the universe, within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon

it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the

work they can do for us: in mirroring the world, the monads are not

mere passive reflective agents, but _spontaneously self-active_; they

produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every

monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every

monad—or elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.

The monads may from one point of view be called _force_, from another

_matter_. To occult science _force_ and _matter_ are only two sides of

the same substance.

Such a doctrine is of course much objected to by people of the modern

age, who pretend to possess very fine analytical powers, and yet are

unable to conceive of matter under any other conditions than those

cognizable by our coarse senses.

Those who have _intellectual_ difficulties in seeing that Brahm is

everything and everything is Brahm must take this doctrine _on faith_

for awhile. A little earnest practice will lead them to see that truth

is not attained through reflection, but through immediate intuition.

If we should desire to look upon these monads as matter, I know of no

better comparison than with that which has been called Matter in a

_Fourth_ state or condition, a condition as far removed from the state

of gas as a gas is from a liquid.

If we should desire to look upon these monads as _force_, I know of no

better comparison than with that which Faraday called “Radiant Matter”

and which by Crooke’s experiments has been shown to be so much like

mere _force_, or matter completely divested of all the characteristics

of bodies that its physical properties have been so modified that it

has changed nature and appears under the _form_ of force.

In §8 of the Monadology Leibnitz declares that “The Monads have

_qualities_—otherwise they would not even be entities.” The qualities

attributed to them make them appear very much like living rational

beings. I am disposed to look upon them as upon those little beings

represented by Raphael, as heads resting upon a pair of wings: pure

intelligence, or spirits who have not yet attained to bodily life. If

they have not a _thinking_ soul, they are at least forces that resemble

life. Continuing, Leibnitz (§11) says: “We might give the name of

_Perfection_ (Entelechies) to all monads inasmuch as there is in them

a certain Completeness or Perfection. There is a sufficiency which

makes them the sources of their own internal actions, and, as it were,

incorporeal automata.” Says Leibnitz: (§19) “If we choose to give the

name of soul to all that has perceptions and desires, in the general

sense which I have just indicated, all simple substances or monads may

be called souls.”

You see these infinitesimal beings are regarded by the great

philosopher very much like intelligent existences; and yet they are

very far removed from our conceptions of soul-life and existence. They

are like the Elementals of the Kabbala: they never become men.

Continuing his definitions, he says (§60): “The monads are limited, not

in the object, but in the mode of their knowledge of the object.” That

is, the objective would have no power over them, but they themselves

have only a limited knowledge of the objectivity, hence also a limited

power. But that does not preclude the possibility of their being the

means of the greatest influence upon the objective world—in the hands,

namely, of an intelligent human being or spirit. “They all”, says

Leibnitz, “tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole; but they

are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their

perception.”

Now I quote (§62) a sentence that reëchoes the most beautiful

philosophy of the Orient. Leibnitz has seen as distinctly as the old

nature worshippers of the early Aryans, that “every monad represents

the entire universe.” This short sentence is the key to all mystical

philosophy and to all magic; it is only second to such sentences as

these: “God dwells in all things in His fullness,” (Vemana verse), and

“The world is the image of God,” (Sufi philosophy).

It is a common mistake in the world to believe that God and his truth

is only to be found in the Grand, in the Large, in the infinitely large.

In opposition to this, much of our mystical and esoteric philosophy

points to the infinitely _Small_, declaring, that if we can become

humble enough to descend to nature’s workshop, we shall learn more

from the “atoms in space” upon which God let fall a “beam of his

glory,” than from all the magnificent systems of the learned. Hear what

Leibnitz himself says, though he is not a mystic. He ought to have

been, for his insight was truly remarkable. He declares: (§66) “There

is a world of creatures, of living things, of animals, of Perfection

of souls, in the minutest portion of matter.” (§67) “Every particle of

matter may be conceived as a garden of plants, or as a pond full of

fishes—all swarming with life!“

Keep this in mind, that I am not talking about _atoms of_ MATTER,

but of _atoms of substance_, real unities, the first principles in

the composition of things. _Leibnitz_ himself, besides calling these

corpuscular units Monads, has also called them _Metaphysical points_,

and _Scaliger_ called them _seeds of eternity_, and a Persian poet has

put it very clearly before us, that an atom is not a unit, by saying,

”_Cleave an atom, and you will find in it a Sun_.” Here is the kernel

of our subject, the substance of an atom in space is the storehouse of

the immanent forces to which elementals, and elementary spirits to some

extent, have access, and by means of which they work.

This view is fully corroborated by a representative of modern science,

Sir John F. W. Herschel, who has approached very near to the teachings

of occult science by declaring the presence of mind in atoms. In the

_Fortnightly Review_ of 1865, Sir John Herschel stated as follows:

“All that has been predicated of Atoms, ‘the dear little creatures,’

as Hermione said, all their hates and loves, their attractions and

repulsions, _according to the primary laws of their being_, only

becomes intelligible when we assume the presence of MIND.”

These various definitions of the Monads as given by Leibnitz, answer

in many important points exactly to what we find in occult teachings

about the Elementals, and I can see no good reason why we should not

look upon Leibnitz’s Monadology as a work on Elementals.

We are really done with him as far as our subject is concerned, but

before dismissing him to turn to other wisdom, permit me to quote a few

more passages, though they do not bear directly upon the subjects of

monads. He says (§83-86): “Among other differences which distinguish

spirits from ordinary souls, there is also this: ‘That souls in general

are living mirrors, or images of the _universe of creatures_, but

spirits are, furthermore, images of Divinity itself, or of the Author

of Nature, capable of cognizing the system of the universe, and of

imitating something of it by architectonic experiments, each spirit

being, as it were, a little divinity in its own department.’—Hence

spirits are able to enter into a kind of fellowship with God.—All

spirits constitute the City of God—that is to say, the most perfect

state possible under the most perfect of monarchs.—The City of God,

this truly universal monarchy, is a moral world within the natural; and

it is the most exalted and the most divine among the works of God.”

(_To be continued._)

WHAT IS THE “THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY”?

The subjoined extracts from the writings and public utterances of some

of the leading members of the Theosophical Society will it is believed

throw considerable light on the issues raised in Dr. Hartmann’s article

in the number for October entitled “What is the Theosophical Society”;

not so much perhaps as testing the validity of his observations as

expanding their scope, and throwing into relief the true character of

the Theosophical Society. Anything done or said by anybody without

exception, not in harmony with the spirit of these extracts is entirely

without binding power on the Theosophical Society or any of its members.

UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD THE MAIN OBJECT OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

In support of this assertion it may be noticed that in the April number

of the Theosophist for the year 1880 in the extract of the rules of

the Society as given in 1879, it is alternatively described as the

Theosophical Society or Universal Brotherhood, and further stated

that “The Theosophical Society is formed upon a basis of a Universal

Brotherhood.”

In March, 1880, in a speech by Ráo Báhádur Gopálráo Hurry Deshmuk,

the Society is described in the following words: “This Society was

established in America four years ago (_i.e._ in 1875) and its object

is to inquire into the philosophies of the East, to announce the

brotherhood of man, and to create the bonds of fellowship among nations

and sects of different denominations.”

In the June number of the _Theosophist_ for 1881, the name of the

Society is again put forward as, “Universal Brotherhood” and its first

object is stated to be—To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood

of Humanity.

The same sentiment is to be found enunciated by Mr. Sinnett in a

speech made on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the Society.

He says: “But even this philosophical search for truth is hardly

the primary object of the Society. That object is promoted by the

philosophical search for truth, as I hope directly to show, that object

itself is that pressed in the foremost watchword of the Society,

Universal Brotherhood.” (_Supplement Theosophist, January, 1883._)

In the last edition of his lectures, published in 1885, Col. Olcott

quotes a passage from Lange’s “History of Materialism” p. 361, in which

it is stated:—“That the new epoch will not conquer unless it be under

the banner of a great idea which sweeps away egoism, and sets human

perfection in human fellowship as a new aim in the place of reckless

toil, which looks only to personal gain.” Col. Olcott then proceeds:

“It is to such an idea as this that the Theosophical Society seeks to

give a formal if not already a quite practical expression,” p. 30.

Further on in the same book, p. 117, he states “Our Society might have

added to the name ‘Theosophical’ that of ‘Philadelphian’ as it was

always meant to be a Society of Universal Brotherhood and for promoting

brotherly love among all races.”

In No. 8, Transactions of the London Lodge Theosophical Society, Mr.

Mohini M. Chatterji, in a paper “On the Theosophical Society and its

Work,” after enumerating the three objects of the Society, makes the

following observation:—“Of these three the first (_i.e._ Universal

Brotherhood) is to be looked upon as the crown and end, the other two

are merely accessories and means. Every member of the Theosophical

Society must be inspired by that end, but may or may not be interested

in the other two objects.”

A letter from Dewan Bahadoor Ragoonath Row published in the

_Theosophist_ for March, 1884, and quoted in the same “Transaction,”

still further accentuates this position. He says:—“Theosophy, as

understood by me, is made up of three elements, viz, universal

brotherhood, knowledge of truths discovered by science generally known

to the ordinary scientist, and knowledge of truths still in store for

them. It may be described in another way, viz, ‘universal religion

and science reconciled.’ To be a Theosophist he must acknowledge and

practice universal brotherhood. If he is not prepared to admit the

principle, he cannot be a Theosophist. In addition to this, he should

be a student of truths generally known, of course to the extent of

his capacity. He should, besides, be a searcher of truths hitherto

unknown. If he be all these three, he is undoubtedly a Theosophist. It

is, however, possible that one may not be capable of knowing scientific

truths, extant or prospective, and yet may be able to recognize and

practice universal brotherhood; he is still a Theosophist. No one who

does not admit and practice universal brotherhood, though he be a

scientist of the first degree, can ever be a Theosophist.”

In the last published report (1886) of the Rules of the Theosophical

Society it will also be seen that the first object of the Society is

again stated as the promotion of a “Universal Brotherhood of Humanity.”

It is evident from these extracts, dating from the first formation of

the Society to the present year, that Universal Brotherhood has been

the one and only constant object of the Theosophical Society. The

other objects which have at different times been added to this can

only be looked upon as additions forming no part of the basic nature

of the original, admissible only on the principle of toleration but

in no sense binding on the Society. Whatever may be the statement put

forward by individuals, from the President to the youngest member of

the Society, or by any groups of individuals, such statements ought to

be considered as representing individual opinion only and as having no

authoritative legislation over the members of the Society.

THE UNSECTARIAN CHARACTER OF THE SOCIETY.

This point which is the logical outcome of the former position, is

likewise as clearly enunciated in Theosophical literature.

In October, 1879, in an article entitled “What are Theosophists,” which

has since been acknowledged by Madame Blavatsky, it is stated:

“With how much, then, of this nature-searching, God-seeking science

of the ancient Aryan and Greek mystics, and of the powers of modern

spiritual mediumship, does the Society agree? Our answer is:—with

it all. But if asked what it believes in, the reply will be:—‘_as a

body_—Nothing.’ The Society, as a body, has no creed, as creeds are but

the shells around spiritual knowledge; and Theosophy in its fruition

is spiritual knowledge itself—the very essence of philosophical and

theistic enquiry. Visible representative of Universal Theosophy, it

can be no more sectarian than a Geographical Society, which represents

universal geographical exploration without caring whether the explorers

be of one creed or another. The religion of the Society is an

algebraical equation, in which so long as the sign = of equality is not

omitted, each member is allowed to substitute quantities of his own,

which better accord with climatic and other exigencies of his native

land, with the idiosyncracies of his people, or even with his own.

Having no accepted creed, our Society is very ready to give and take,

to learn and teach, by practical experimentation, as opposed to mere

passive and credulous acceptance of enforced dogma. It is willing to

accept every result claimed by any of the foregoing schools or systems,

that can be logically and experimentally demonstrated. Conversely it

can take nothing on mere faith, no matter by whom the demand may be

made. * *

“Born in the United States of America, the Society was constituted on

the model of its Mother Land. The latter, omitting the name of God from

its constitution lest it should afford a pretext one day to make a

state religion, gives absolute equality to all religions in its laws.

All support and each is in turn protected by the state. The Society,

modelled upon this constitution, may fairly be termed a ‘Republic of

Conscience.’

“We have now, we think, made clear why our members, as individuals, are

free to stay outside or inside any creed they please, provided they

do not pretend that none but themselves shall enjoy the privilege of

conscience, and try to force their opinions upon the others. In this

respect the Rules of the Society are very strict. It tries to act upon

the wisdom of the old Buddhistic axiom: ‘Honor thine own faith, and do

not slander that of others;’ echoed back in our present century, in the

‘Declaration of Principles’ of the Brahmo Samaj, which so nobly states

that: ‘no sect shall be vilified, ridiculed, or hated.’” * * * * *

“In conclusion, we may state that, broader and far more universal in

its views than any existing mere scientific Society, it has _plus_

science its belief in every possibility, and determined will to

penetrate into those unknown spiritual regions which exact science

pretends that its votaries have no business to explore. And, it has one

quality more than any religion in that it makes no difference between

Gentile, Jew or Christian. It is in this spirit that the Society has

been established upon the footing of a Universal Brotherhood.”

In the supplement of the _Theosophist_, January, 1886, in the Preamble

or Statement of Principles, first put forth in 1875 are these words:

“Whatever may be the private opinions of its members, the Society has

no dogmas to enforce, no creed to disseminate. It is formed neither

as a Spiritualistic schism, nor to serve as the foe or friend of any

sectarian or philosophical body. Its only axiom is the omnipotence

of truth, its only creed a profession of unqualified devotion to

its discovery and propagation. In considering the qualification of

applicants for membership, it knows neither race, sex, color, nor creed.

In the rules of the Theosophical Society, published in 1886, it is also

stated “That the Society represents no particular religious creed, is

entirely unsectarian, and includes professors of all faiths.”

In the paper before alluded to No. 8, Transactions of the London

Lodge—Mr. Mohini M. Chatterji makes the following remark:—“All attempts

to fasten the authority of the Society to any creed, philosophical

or otherwise, which is not covered by these rules (viz, the printed

objects of the Society) are void _ab initio_; not because of the merits

of such creed or doctrine, or of their exponents, but simply for the

reason that the Theosophical Society, by its constitution, is not

capable of holding any creed or doctrine in its corporate character.”

It is important that each individual member should clearly realize

what the Theosophical Society is, what its fundamental principles

and what is required of its members. It has been with the thought of

giving further emphasis to the idea set forth by Dr. Hartmann in his

concluding paragraph that these few extracts have been put together. A

little attention to these statements will it is believed show the true

character and purpose of the Theosophical Society and aid people to

discern what is and what is _not_ consistent with that character and

purpose.

F. A.

ROTATION-INDIVIDUAL EVOLUTION.

[BY THE AUTHOR OF “LINES FROM LOWER LEVELS.”]

The paper on “The Higher Life,”[159] and the remarks which it has

called forth, have led me to further reflections upon the subject. That

subject is in fact, Individual Evolution, and the warning expressed

by Murdhna Joti, in that article about “impetuously rushing into the

circle of ascetics,” opens up an important phase of the topic most

vital to humanity. For this sentence is not a mere advisory caution; it

points out the only available procedure, the one course conducive to

successful evolution, or final perfection. This course may be briefly

summed up in one word,—Rotation. Upon examination we shall find this

fact proved by the laws governing Universal Brotherhood.

To begin with, when we take into consideration the personalities of the

real Founders of the Theosophical Society, we find ourselves safely

concluding that the institution of this principle of Brotherhood as

the basis of that Society, did not occur from any arbitrary selection,

nor yet from ethical or even humanitarian considerations merely. We

may say that it was not chosen; it presented itself as a central fact,

one which correlates with all things, and is itself one of the aspects

of the Great, the Mysterious Law. It must be moreover that level of

the Law most nearly related to the human being, and by which alone he

can raise himself from this “Slough of Despond” called matter. Upon no

lesser precedent than this would the Masters, those supreme exponents

of the Law, proceed. The outcome and teaching of that Law is Unity;

the power of Unity is its exoteric expression. (Its hidden expression,

Great Spirits alone can declare.) This power is conferred by the

economic tendency of Nature, which uniformly moves along the line of

least resistance and of larger currents of energy, which draw in turn

all minor streams of being into their resistless tide. In order to

bring home to all mankind the primary fact that only as a united body,

only by living in and working with and for all, can unbroken advance

to the Perfect Goal be achieved, this unitarian necessity had to be

conveyed by a term which would appeal to the untrained, as well as to

the cultured mind. No man or woman so grossly ignorant but can sense

the advantages of “Universal Brotherhood,” while the more profound the

thinker, the more he warms to the sublime comprehensiveness of this

idea.

Many readers will doubtless recall an italicised sentence in the “Diary

of a Hindu,” also published in THE PATH. It ran as follows:—“_No Yogee

will do a thing unless he sees the desire in another Yogee’s mind._”

These were the words of a teacher, and those who may require it have

here an authoritative recognition of the need of humanitarian unity.

For man’s strength lies in his perfect equilibrium, and by man I now

mean the whole, triune man. That this fact is also true on the physical

plane alone, is evidenced by medical testimony to the effect that while

perfect health is perfect balance, the more complete this balance,

the more readily is it disturbed. Thus trained athletes are compelled

to take dietetic and other precautions, which men of minor strength

disregard with apparent impunity. I say “apparent,” because the result

is of course visible in their inferior physical powers. Only when the

triune man has attained equilibrium is he a moral force; then alone is

he in complete harmony. Harmony with what? With the Law that works for

perfection or reunion, faith in which and accordance with which, is

the sum of the highest consciousness of the human being. Now remember

that there is at all times a body, (be it numerically large or small,)

of individuals cognizing and waiting upon this Law. They perceive

its tendency, they only act with and through it, and the cumulative

energy of this compact body, plus certain impersonal forces, is in

itself a tremendous power, so vast in fact, that plus the energizing

spirit again, it may be said to form the exoteric expression of the Law

itself. Imagine some one member of this body attempting to act from his

separate impulse, and not from the general instinct. By disengaging his

unit of force from the sum total, he at once neutralizes its effect

and limits its expansive ratio; hence it is that action from self,

however disinterested, is enfeebling in its tendency. This man may join

himself to the powers of evil and act in opposition to the Law: he

has then the accruing benefit of that energetic total, but this must

fail in the long run, because it is minus the creative spirit, which

works for eventual harmony. So true is it that a given cause produces

similar results on all the planes alike, that in the spiritual as

in the physical world, there must be united action to produce large

results. The inutility of weak, single effort was acknowledged by

St. Paul when he said—“Because thou art neither cold nor hot I will

spew thee out of my mouth.” Unless the Yogee therefore, perceives an

idea in other related minds, as the reflection of the Universal mind,

he does not act. When the individual mind has freed itself from all

desire for personal action and resting in the Universal Mind, acts

passively with it alone, saying: “I rise with thy rising, with thee

subside,”—then the individual has attained Nirvana. So that our present

unit of power depends upon our greater or lesser assimilation with the

highest aggregate of mind, and its continuance, upon our adherence

to that manifested body of the Universal Mind which works for Good,

with faith into the Perfect Law. This body in turn depends upon the

individual efforts of its members, for the continuous elevation and

expansion of its highest Ideal. Being thus interdependent, I think we

may easily recognize that Universal Brotherhood is the starting point

towards final success, and that its complete realization is the goal

itself. Each may attain Omniscience, but only as one of a body, not as

a separate part. “You shall enter the light, but you shall never touch

the flame.”[160] So we may be part of the universal spirit, yet never

that spirit itself.

This Brotherhood then, in its harmonious equilibrium, implies

subservience to the Law of Evolution. The course marked out by this

Law is one of gradual progression through a series of interlinked

processes, not one of which can be intermitted or dropped, any more

than we can omit a link from a chain without break of continuity, which

would in this case imply a break of individuality, either as applied

to a member or to the whole body. We find this course substantiated by

Nature, who is our great initiator. Murdhna Joti’s phrase about not

rushing “into the circle of ascetics,” refers to the rotation prevalent

in Nature, and may be used in a large general sense, and not merely

applied to any especial circle, such as the Hindu, Mahomedan, Christian

or other group of ascetics. He refers to the disadvantages consequent

upon any violation of this rotatory course; these apply quite as

much to the farmer who fails to rotate his crops, as to any thing or

person rushing into any plane, before being in all respects fitted to

go there. Each plane in itself constitutes a “circle of ascetics,”

and must be entered in the proper manner. In every department of Life

we meet with an acceptance of this fact. No man is admitted to the

privileges of naturalization until he has resided in a country, and

has had time to accustom himself to its manners and laws. It is ever

held necessary to serve a certain apprenticeship before entering any

profession or trade. The social usages even make “circles of ascetics”

in this sense. A boor, a ploughman, or even unsuitably attired persons,

are not desired or admitted in a parlor full of people in splendid

array, and a natural instinct makes them shrink from entering there.

When exceptions occur, there is an undercurrent of discord perceptible;

all are alike ill at ease. So in Nature, minerals, plants and animals

are limited to their proper sphere. Birds cannot swim nor fishes fly.

I would say, as birds or as fish _per se_ they cannot do so, nor can

the boor, as a boor, be at ease with elevated minds. But advancement is

the common lot of all, provided it be made step by step in the natural

series of succession.

What then is this process in practical Life? It is, firstly, the

identification of yourself with the highest consciousness accessible on

your present plane, the engrafting upon your entire life of the best

ideal attainable, so that you may act upon it in every thought and

word. If you can do no more, select in your own mind the most unselfish

and pure-hearted person in your horizon, and study the workings of such

gracious aspirations and deeds. Noble ideals will soon spring up within

you, and by this lodestone similar minds will swiftly be attracted,

until you shall collectively form a nucleus of persons identical in

aim and influence. If one receives a ray of Truth, he will speedily

reflect it to all, and thus our attainment is largely regulated by that

of our compeers. Largely, but not entirely. There are exceptional souls

who progress with amazing velocity, far outstripping the comrades of

their starting-level. But even these hearts of power reach up to the

more perfect spirits above them, and to feel this attraction they must

have prepared themselves for it, in the uniform, if rapid, rotation

of previous existences. Each must trace out the prescribed circuit,

but he may travel fast or slow. Let him not rashly conceive himself to

be endowed with unusual spiritual momentum: time is better spent in

caution than in failure.

Murdhna Joti gives valid warning not to rush in until all is ready. The

circle is prepared, but you may not be so. Again, your fitness may be

assured and the circle for the moment closed. The course of physical

nature will exemplify my meaning. The blood leaves the heart by the

arteries and goes on to the capillary interchange with the venous

system, even as man descends from Spirit into matter, and at the point

of choice, turns, and reascends towards Spirit. The veins take up the

function of returning the blood to the heart; in these are valves; they

receive, hold and transmit the impulse from the central heart. All the

blood between any two valves has to stay there until the next impulse

comes from the heart; when this arrives, it passes on. The valves close

behind each quantum of blood thus ejected through: it is not possible

for the blood to recede; retrogression is impeded by the closed valve.

Nor can it remain; progress is imperative when the next impulse

drives it forward, and so it goes on to the heart In the same manner

each person should stay in his appropriate place, not only until he is

ready, but also until the great Heart of all is ready to give the next

impulse. Then he will inevitably go on to the next place.

Masters have said that for “chelas and adepts alike there is an abyss

behind each step; a door closed. To stop or to go back is impossible.”

That which is true for the Adept is true for the humblest disciple,

each in his own manner and degree. It behooves us then to concentrate

our attention upon the natural and fitting method of progression, and

to assist those about us in maintaining a high average of ideality,

that the entire body may progress evenly, steadily, and that nowhere

may ignorance or undue haste clot or clog the way. In the end, the

reward of patience is holy. In every effort you make to lighten the

mind of another and open it to Truth, you help yourself. “Those pearls

you find for another and give to him, you really retain for yourself in

the act of benevolence. Never lose, then, that altitude of mind. Never,

never desire to get knowledge or power for any other purpose than to

give it on the altar, for thus alone can it be saved to you. When you

open any door, beyond it you find others standing there who had passed

you long ago, but now, unable to proceed, they are there waiting;

others are there _waiting for you_! Then you come, and opening a door,

those waiting disciples perhaps may pass on; thus on and on. What a

privilege this, to reflect that we may perhaps be able to help those

who seemed greater than ourselves.”[161]

The consent of the Spirit has hallowed those thoughts. Another

Messenger of Truth once said:—“The first shall be last and the last

first; contain yourselves, therefore, in Peace.”

JASPER NIEMAND, F. T. S.

THOUGHTS IN SOLITUDE.

I.

Within the symbols and doctrines of the Christian Church may indeed

lie hidden all the truths of the Occult Philosophy, and another and

abler pen has already traced the correspondences, but it is necessary

to realize differences as well as likenesses, and while Christianity,

as a definite system, has embodied for the world many noble ideas, it

seems to the writer to have been able to display only one fact of the

divine jewel of Truth—to have been able to trace only a short line of

the celestial circle of Wisdom.

Putting aside all such unphilosophical dogmas, as a personal

anthropomorphic God—atonement by the vicarious sacrifice of

another—eternal damnation and such like, which may be regarded as the

outworks of the Creed, and which indeed many of its own professors

deny or minimize, and coming to the essential kernel of the system—the

inner stronghold of the faith—that which would be regarded as such by

all its truest sons throughout these nearly nineteen centuries of its

existence, it would yet seem to be but a one-sided statement—a partial

view—compared with the all-embracing Catholicity of the Occult Wisdom.

Unfortunately the outworks and excrescences above referred to, have,

during these many centuries, so warped the thoughts and feelings of

the populations professing this religion that it is no longer the pure

and exalted doctrine as preached by its founder, but something very

different. There are, no doubt, here and there good and noble souls,

who practice the higher virtues of Christianity, but they are in such a

minority that they are quite unable to affect the popular standard.

When one begins to analyse the stupendous outgrowth called Western

Civilization, of which steam and electricity, in their practical uses,

may be regarded as the types, and to ask how and by what means this

vast fabric has arisen, we are informed by those who are able to see

below the mere surface of things that the setting of men’s minds in a

certain direction must have been the factor, and it is only logical

that if a man’s highest religious duty is put before him as the saving

of his own soul from perdition, a tendency of mind which may be

characterized as the supremely selfish must naturally be set in motion.

When the converging lines of heredity through many generations have

so strengthened this tendency that it has become a potent factor, the

development “_in excelsis_” of the purely intellectual faculties as

dissociated from the moral will be seen to be the inevitable result,

and from this has naturally evolved the Western Civilization which is

spoken of with so much pride. But are not nations like trees to be

known by their fruits? “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of

thistles?”

What sins are dwelt on with more emphatic reprobation throughout the

whole teachings of Christ than those of hypocrisy and cupidity? And

where is hypocrisy deeper than within the Christian fold? So deep

indeed, that it has become an integral part of the nature, and is no

more recognized as a vice than it was by the Pharisees of old. And

where is the worship of mammon more rampant than throughout the length

and breadth of Christendom? The preachers of the Churches may utter

faint-hearted protests, but the nations nevertheless remain prostrate

before their idol, and as steam and electricity extend their sway, and

new countries are laid open to modern progress, the more primitive

races, to avoid extinction, join in the mad competition for wealth. But

whether conspicuously shown in the acts of States lustful to conquer

fresh territory, or hidden in the individual character, where it

displays itself in the haste to grow rich by fair means or foul, it

remains none the less a gnawing canker at the heart of Christendom.

What a gulf there lies between the practice of modern Europe and the

divine teachings of the Master.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon Earth, where moth and rust

doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up

for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth

corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where

your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

And again: “Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.”

There is probably no teaching more thoroughly altruistic in its

character, and which, if it could be literally applied, would exercise

so direct and beneficial an influence on the human race as the teaching

of Christ, but to the impartial student there seems to be none, the

spirit of whose revelation has been more perverted and degraded by

his followers of all denominations, and following the spiritual law

whose complement on the physical plane may be recognized in the axiom

that action and reaction are equal, the moral light to which Christ’s

teachings soared is the measure which decides the depth to which such

teaching, when perverted, must inevitably fall, and Christendom may

veritably be said to have become Anti-Christian.[162] All the religions

of the world have more or less lost the divine afflatus by which they

were originally vivified, but it has been reserved for Christianity to

mould the life of the nations from the very blackness of the shadows

cast by the “Light of the World.”

When we ask to what goal or catastrophe this Western Civilization is

hurrying, it is still more necessary to have the eyes of those who are

able to read the signs of the times. The following is an extract from a

letter to which many of the above ideas may be traced which was signed

“a Turkish Effendi” (in the absence of any right to suggest the real

and more authoritative name), and was published by his correspondent in

Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine of January, 1880:

“The persistent violation for centuries of the great altruistic

laws propounded and enjoined by the great founder of the Christian

religion, must inevitably produce a corresponding catastrophe; and the

day is not far distant when modern civilization will find, that in its

great scientific discoveries and inventions, devised for the purpose

of ministering to its own extravagant necessities, it has forged the

weapons by which it will itself be destroyed. No better evidence of

the truth of this can be found than in the fact that Anti-Christendom

alone is menaced with the danger of a great class revolution: already

in every so-called Christian country we hear the mutterings of the

coming storm, when labor and capital will find themselves arrayed

against each other—when rich and poor will meet in deadly antagonism,

and the spoilers and the spoiled solve, by means of the most recently

invented artillery, the economic problems of modern ‘progress.’ It

is surely a remarkable fact that this struggle between rich and poor

is specially reserved for those whose religion inculcates upon them

as the highest law—the love of their neighbor—and most strongly

denounces the love of money. No country which does not bear the name

of Christian is thus threatened.”

But to return from this long digression, take Christianity, I say,

in its loftiest ideal, as taught and practiced by its founder—and

it certainly is a very lofty one—altruism in its most sublimated

form—self-sacrifice incarnate upon Earth—giving of its life-blood to

raise the sons of men, and drawing all to Him by the sheer force of

divine love, until the believer’s heart is set on flame, and nothing

seems worthy in his eyes short of absolute union with this divine

personality who is at once his Saviour, his brother and his God.