be possible to develop, as he claims, a certain clairvoyance
(an inferior clairvoyance, it must be said) without the
concurrence of a moral and mental training.... But who will
maintain that without moral purification we shall possess that
moral sense that inspires gracious and noble conduct, and
teaches us to hate falsehood?... be able to distinguish
illusions from reality in our astral visions?
Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater are most certainly not ignorant
of the dangers of occult development without morality. But it
is quite another matter to profess this theory, or even to lean
towards morality in the course of occult development, _by means
of ... generous aspirations perpetually evoked in eloquent
language_, from setting to work on the development of these
centres by means of exercises arranged with the express purpose
of bringing in the _practice_ of morality, of truth, and of
logic as powerful factors in the reorganisation of the subtle
bodies--which produces clairvoyance.... That method which
dissociates moral and intellectual aspiration from occult
development, and seeks to cultivate them separately, will not
achieve moral progress since _the inner nature is not
transmuted_; but this method will produce a very debauch of
phrases invoking these aspirations. For, instead of penetrating
by means of the appropriate practice into the inner regions of
the soul, these aspirations swirl, so to say, perpetually on
the surface of the mind. Their presence there will produce a
kind of psychic intoxication, sometimes rousing in the
occultist thoughts so much above his own mental and moral
standard, that he may come to regard himself as a saint, while
at the same time performing the most despicable actions.
Indeed, during such times the conduct shows a moral
retrogression very noticeable when compared with the conduct
before this occult development For this latter _increases and
intensifies all the temptations_, as every occultist will
admit. An increase of active morality is therefore, required if
we would avoid this most dangerous lack of balance....
We find constantly in Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater, under a
great show of high moral aspirations, the reality of an actual
moral and intellectual fall. Much emphasis is placed on
"liberty of thought" [see p. 14 A. L. C.], and at the same time
the intellectual desertion of this principle is preached in
counselling members to give blind obedience to "the least hint
which falls from the lips of Mrs. Besant," and to follow her
implicitly whether she is understood or not....
We see clearly that the fruits are precisely those we should
expect from the seed; the terrible danger of this method can
neither be misunderstood nor denied ... [we must] never lend
ear to the words which in this school quite naturally take the
place of the honest and right act, and so turn attention from
the moral ugliness of the actions performed.... _Acts alone
show forth morality, not attractive formulas flowing from
literary or oratorical talent._ The constant declaration of
liberty of thought, of human brotherhood, cannot impress us
when the actions of those who delight in them enslave thought,
persecute merit, seek to poison souls by flimsy and deceptive
spiritual pronouncements....
It is a painful duty to have to press this point with such
insistence. But now that we are facing the consequences of the
Leadbeater method on the mental character of the clairvoyant,
our warnings in reference to still more serious harm will not
appear exaggerated.
We know that the higher regions of the invisible worlds are
those in which "consciousness" manifests itself principally in
the most intense awareness of moral beauty.
Since this is so, the cultivation of the non-moral clairvoyance
could only attain results in the lower regions of the astral
world ... the organ of clairvoyant sight, when developed
according to certain methods, will be blind to the moral
outline of subtle worlds, _and will thus be cut off from all
their truly spiritual content. The field of their experiences
will be limited to the lower regions of the astral plane._
And it is these lower visions, more frequently experienced
because of _their affinity to elements in the vehicles of the
investigator not yet purified, that will be presented as the
most sublime images of the higher worlds_. For such a
clairvoyant is deprived of the high morality which is the force
leading our "bodies" by affinity towards truly spiritual Beings
[_e.g._, the Masters in Their Mahatmic "bodies".--A. L. C.]
Deprived of the standard of comparison that these provide, _he
will be the_ _victim of all the illusions of a world that is
the veritable motherland of illusions, for human errors are but
the faint reflection of these_. Since the sense of
responsibility, which is essentially moral in origin [H. P.
Blavatsky says; "_The sense of Responsibility is the beginning
of Wisdom._" A. L. C.] will equally fail him, _he will have no
scruple in sharing his illusions with all in making known his
misleading experiences_--the less since the forces, whose sport
he is, push him irresistibly to this. Are they not in truth the
adversaries of the divine scheme of evolution, _the servants
and sowers of error and immorality the world over_?
In these clear and logical arguments M. Lévy expresses, even in a
translation, so much better than I could have done, the dangers of the
way leading to the path of "error" which Mrs. Besant is now treading,
that I have quoted at greater length than I originally intended.
Although written nine years ago, they are more than ever true to-day. M.
Lévy then continues:--
We have thus sketched in their broad hypothetical outlines _the
incalculable reactions that the defect in the Leadbeater method
brings into the inner life, into the words and actions of those
who yield their souls to him_.
In demonstrating the fatal effects of this method we have shown
the real meaning of the faults and failings of all kinds as
exhibited by Mrs. Besant, who is its most fervent adherent. The
right interpretation of the known facts seems to us so entirely
in conformity with the consequences, as implied in our
hypothesis, as to make it possible to some extent to foresee
these facts with scientific certainty--which is precisely what
has happened....
We recall the "Leadbeater Case," which in 1906 [this was the
Committee of Inquiry in London, above referred to.--A. L. C]
called forth within the Theosophical Society, no less than
outside, unanimous moral censure.... Resigning from the
Theosophical Society in consequence of this affair, Mr.
Leadbeater has since returned, at the invitation of Mrs.
Besant.... Have the principles and methods of Mr. Leadbeater
changed since he has returned to his place amongst us? He
himself informs us on this point in a letter written after the
"affair," at the express desire of Mrs. Besant that he should
"define his position" at the time she started the well-known
campaign in favour of his re-admission (_Theosophist_, February
1908.)
"You ask me," says Mr. Leadbeater, "to write you a clear letter
that you may show at need, expressing my real views on the
advice I gave some time ago to certain young boys. I need
hardly say that I keep my promise not to repeat the advice, for
I defer to your opinion that it is dangerous. I also recognise,
as fully as yourself, that it would be if it were promiscuously
given, but I have never thought of so giving it."
In this declaration Mr. Leadbeater first recognises the danger
of his advice, then immediately retracts this confession by
reservations which imply its harmlessness in just those cases
for which he is blamed. He has not, as we see from this letter,
then, changed his views; but the important fact is that he only
speaks of "danger," and never of "immorality." _His moral
standpoint remains, then, unaltered--is precisely the same as
before the exposé._
And what is this point of view? Mrs. Besant thus gives it in a
letter dated July, 1906 (_Theosophic Voice_, May, 1908):--
"Mr. Leadbeater appeared before the Council of the British
Section, representatives from the French and the American
Sections being present and voting. Colonel Olcott in the chair.
_He denied none of the charges_, but in answer to questions,
very much strengthened them, for he alleged.... _So that the
advice ... became advice putting foul ideas into the minds of
boys innocent of all sex impulses.... It was conceivable that
the advice, as supposed to have been given, had been given with
pure intent, and the presumption was so in a teacher of
theosophical morality; anything else seemed incredible. But
such advice as was given in fact, such dealing with boys_
_before sex passion had awakened, could only be given with pure
intent if the giver were, on this point, insane._" [Italics
mine. The details omitted cannot be put in print.--A. L. C.]
"Let me here place on record my opinion that such teaching as
this, given to men, let alone to innocent boys, is worthy of
the sternest reprobation. It distorts and perverts the sex
impulse ... degrades the ideas of marriage, fatherhood and
motherhood ... befouls the imagination, pollutes the emotions,
and undermines the health. Worst of all that it should be
taught under the name of Divine Wisdom, being essentially
'earthly', 'sensual', 'devilish.'"
Mrs. Besant's last sentence contains the whole _raison d'être_ of this
my Protest. She has expressed precisely the views I hold; but in this
fervid condemnation she herself must now be included, since she condones
and thus supports this horror. M. Lévy graphically portrays for us on
what road it is that this once apparently sane and normal woman, with
all her great gifts, is descending--a road that, as H. P. Blavatsky puts
it in the concluding paragraph of _Occultism_ versus _the Occult Arts_,
"can lead only to Dugpa-ship." (see _post_ p. 33.) He continues:--
Mrs. Besant then deemed Mr. Leadbeater's morality so defective
as to be accounted for only by mental derangement.
Nevertheless, the promise contained in the letter just quoted
and which expresses no shadow of moral repentance whatsoever,
nor anything approaching it, was sufficient, in Mrs. Besant's
eyes, to justify her in bringing back into the Theosophical
Society a teacher she has judged thus. Could one ask a clearer
proof of the anarchy produced by such occultism?
A recent suit, instituted by the parent of the young
Krishnamurti, re-claiming the custody of his child, brings
forward again this question of morality ... reminding us of the
exposé. In fact, the present case clearly formulates the
accusation of immoral conduct testified to by witnesses ... In
such a discussion, this attempt [by Mrs. Besant] to play upon
the political interests of the judges is unexpected,
amazing,--and, alas! significant. We see clearly that a mind
that shows itself capable of throwing into the balance
political (and racial) appeals in a matter of conduct, is
utterly blind to the question of human consideration [a Brahmin
father re-claiming his young sons] that overshadows this whole
case.
Clear and unmistakable through all these actions shows the
consistent distortion of the moral outlook, more serious since
the esoteric ethics should be an extension, a purification, an
exaltation of exoteric morality, and in no circumstances its
decline, its degradation, its negation. And if we would realise
to what extent this moral outlook can be warped under certain
influences, we need but to hear Mrs. Besant say of Mr.
Leadbeater:--"By hard, patient work he has won rewards ...
until he stands perhaps the most trusted of his Master's
disciples on the threshold of Divinity." (_Theosophist_,
November, 1911, p. 308.)
This conception of the "Divinity" that should be the the final
expression of morality has no need of comment other than that
same "deification" by his colleague--who five years earlier
regarded his teaching as so utterly immoral as to suggest
mental derangement as the only explanation.... Perhaps we shall
understand these things a little better if we remember that
this occultist, if he contradicts the Buddha, on the other hand
almost deifies Mrs. Besant. Possibly taking into consideration
this exchange of admiration, the meaning of the "deifications"
will become sufficiently clear.
H. P. Blavatsky on true Occultism.
Before giving some fine passages from M. Lévy's concluding chapters I
will quote from H. P. Blavatsky's _Practical Occultism: Occultism_
versus _the Occult Arts_, mentioned a few pages back. In its original
form it is a booklet containing a reprint of two articles which she
wrote for _Lucifer_ in 1888, shortly before she founded the Esoteric
Section. These extracts will show the "true" teaching in this matter of
Occultism, as contrasted with the "false," or Mrs. Besant's and Mr.
Leadbeater's. H. P. B. begins by declaring that: "There are not in the
West half-a-dozen among the fervent hundreds who call themselves
'Occultists' who have even an approximately correct idea of the nature
of the Science they seek to master. With a few exceptions, they are all
on the highway to sorcery.... Let them first learn the true relation in
which the Occult Sciences stand to Occultism.... [It] differs from Magic
and other secret sciences as the glorious sun does from a rush-light, as
the immutable and immortal Spirit of Man--the reflection of the
absolute, causeless and unknowable ALL--differs from the mortal
clay--the human body.... [The word] OCCULTISM is certainly misleading,
translated as it stands from the compound word _Gupta-Vidya_ (Secret.
Knowledge.) But the knowledge of what? Some of the Sanskrit terms may
help us.
"There are four (out of the many other) names of the various kinds of
Esoteric Knowledge or Sciences given, even in the exoteric Purânas.
There is (1) _Yajna-Vidya_, knowledge of the occult powers awakened in
Nature by the performance of certain religious ceremonies and rites. (2)
_Mahavidya_, the 'great knowledge,' the magic of the Kabalists and of
the _Tantrika_ worship, often Sorcery of the worst description. (3)
_Guhya-Vidya_, knowledge of the mystic powers residing in Sound (Ether),
hence in the Mantras (chanted prayers or incantations), and depending on
the rhythm and melody used; in other words, a magical performance based
on knowledge of the Forces of Nature and their correlation; and (4)
_Atma-Vidya_, a term which is translated simply 'Knowledge of the Soul,'
_true Wisdom_ by the Orientalists, but which means far more.
"This last is the only kind of Occultism that any Theosophist who
admires 'Light on the Path,' and who would be wise and unselfish, ought
to strive after. All the rest is some branch of the 'Occult Sciences,'
_i.e._, arts based on the knowledge of the ultimate essence of all
things in the kingdoms of Nature--such as minerals, plants and
animals--hence of things pertaining to the realm of _material_ nature,
however invisible that essence may be, and howsoever much it has
hitherto eluded the grasp of Science.... _Siddhis_ (or the Arhat powers)
are only for those who are able to 'lead the life,' and to comply with
the terrible sacrifices required for such a training, and to comply with
them _to the very letter_. Let them know at once and remember always,
that true Occultism or Theosophy is the 'Great Renunciation of SELF,'
unconditionally and absolutely, in thought as in action. It is ALTRUISM,
and it throws him who practises it out of the ranks of the living
altogether. 'Not for himself, but for the world he lives,' as soon as he
has pledged himself to the work. Much is forgiven during the first years
of probation. But, no sooner is he 'accepted' than his personality must
disappear, and he has to become a _mere beneficent force in Nature_.
There are two poles for him after that, two paths, and no midway place
of rest. He has either to ascend laboriously step by step, often through
numerous incarnations and _no Devachanic break_, the golden ladder
leading to Mahatmaship (the _Arhat_ or _Bodhisattva_ condition), or--he
will let himself slide down the ladder at the first false step, and roll
down into _Dugpa-ship_....[8]
"All this is either unknown or left out of sight altogether. Indeed, one
who is able to follow the silent evolution of the preliminary
aspirations of the candidates often find strange ideas quietly taking
possession of their minds. There are those whose reasoning powers have
been so distorted by foreign influences that they imagine that animal
passions can be so sublimated and elevated that their fury, force and
fire can, so to speak, be turned inwards ... _until their collective and
unexpanded strength enables their possessor to enter the true Sanctuary
of the Soul_, and stand therein in the presence of the _Master_--the
HIGHER SELF.... Oh, poor blind visionaries!... Strange aberration of the
human mind. Can it be so? Let us argue.
"The 'Master' in the Sanctuary of our souls is 'the Higher Self'--the
divine spirit whose consciousness is based upon and derived solely (at
any rate during the mortal life of the man in whom it is captive) from
the mind, which we have agreed to call the _Human Soul_ (the 'Spiritual
Soul' being the vehicle of the Spirit.) In its turn the former (the
_personal_ or human soul) is a compound, in its highest form of
spiritual aspirations, volitions and divine love; and in its lower
aspect, of animal desires and terrestrial passions imparted to it by its
association with its vehicle, the seat of all these ... the _inner
animal_. [It] is the instinctual 'animal soul,' and is the hotbed of
those passions which ... are lulled instead of being killed, ... And
where, on what neutral ground, can they be imprisoned so as not to
affect man?
"The fierce passions of love and lust are still alive, and they are
allowed to still remain in the place of their birth--_that same animal
soul_.... It is thus the mind alone--the sole link and medium between
the man of earth and the Higher Self--that is the only sufferer, and
which is in incessant danger of being dragged down by those passions,
that may be re-awakened at any moment and perish in the abyss of
matter.... How can harmony prevail and conquer, when the soul is stained
and distracted with the turmoil of passions and the terrestrial desires
of the bodily senses, or even of the 'Astral man'?
"For this 'Astral'--the shadowy 'double' (in the animal as in man) is
not the companion of the _divine Ego_ but of the _earthly body_. It is
the link between the personal self, the lower consciousness of _Manas_,
and the Body, and is the vehicle of _transitory, not of immortal
life_.... It is only when the power of the passions is dead altogether,
and when they have been crushed and annihilated in the retort of an
unflinching will; when not only all the lusts and longings of the flesh
are dead, but also the recognition of the personal Self is killed out
and the 'Astral' has been reduced in consequence to a cipher, that the
Union with the 'Higher Self' can take place. Then when the 'Astral'
reflects only the conquered man, the still living but no more the
longing, selfish personality, then the brilliant _Auoeides_, the
divine SELF, can vibrate in conscious harmony with both the poles of the
human Entity--the man of matter purified, and the ever pure Spiritual
Soul--and stand in the presence of the MASTER SELF, the Christos of the
mystic Gnostic, blended, merged into, and one with IT for ever.[9]
"How, then, can it be thought possible for a man to enter the 'strait
gate' of occultism when his daily and hourly thoughts are bound up with
worldly things, desires of possession and power, with lust, ambition,
and duties which, however honourable, are still of the earth, earthy?
Even the love for wife and family--the purest as the most unselfish of
human affections--is a barrier to _real_ occultism.... While the heart
is full of thoughts for a little group of _selves_, near and dear to us,
how shall the rest of mankind fare in our souls? What percentage of love
and care will there remain to bestow on the 'great orphan' [Humanity]?
And how shall the 'still small voice' make itself heard in a soul
entirely occupied with its own privileged tenants?... yet, he who would
profit by the wisdom of the universal mind, has to reach it through _the
whole of Humanity_, without distinction of race, complexion, religion,
or social status. It is _altruism,_ not _ego_-ism even in its most legal
and noble conception, that can lead the unit to merge its little Self in
the Universal Selves. It is to _these_ needs and to this work that the
true disciple of true Occultism has to devote himself if he would obtain
_theo_-sophy, divine Wisdom and Knowledge.
"The aspirant has to choose absolutely between the life of the world and
the life of Occultism.... It would be a ceaseless, a maddening struggle
for almost any married man, who would pursue _true_ practical Occultism,
instead of its _theoretical_ philosophy. For he would find himself ever
hesitating between the voice of the impersonal divine love of Humanity,
and that of the personal, terrestrial love.... Worse than this. For,
_whoever indulges, after having pledged himself to_ OCCULTISM, _in the
gratification of a terrestrial love or lust_, must feel an almost
immediate result--that of being irresistibly dragged from the impersonal
divine state down to the lower plane of matter. Sensual, or even mental,
self-gratification involves the immediate loss of the powers of
spiritual discernment; the voice of the MASTER can no longer be
distinguished from that of one's passions, or _even that of a Dugpa_;
the right from wrong; sound morality from mere casuistry. The Dead Sea
fruit assumes the most glorious mystic appearance ... although it is the
intention that decides primarily whether _white_ or _black_ magic is
exercised, yet the results even of involuntary sorcery cannot fail to be
productive of bad Karma.... _Sorcery is any kind of evil influence
exercised upon other persons, who suffer, or make other_ persons to
suffer, in consequence ... such causes produced have to call forth
effects, and these are evidenced in the just laws of Retribution.
"Much of this may be avoided if people will only abstain from rushing
into practices neither the nature nor importance of which they
understand.... We are in the Kali-Yuga and its fatal influence is a
thousand-fold more powerful in the West than it is in the East; _hence
the easy preys made by the Powers of the Age of Darkness in this cyclic
struggle, and the many delusions under which the world is now
labouring_." (Italics mine--A. L. C.)
Applying this high and absolutely uncompromising moral standard, these
grand and stern words, to the two pseudo-occultists under discussion, it
is not difficult--even in the light of the little I have already
given--to see that they themselves, and their actions, bear _no sort of
relation_ to real "Occultism" as here briefly outlined by H. P.
Blavatsky. Their teaching concerning sex is indeed its antithesis, which
inevitably leads to Dugpa-ship, as H. P. B. definitely states. The issue
is clear, and cannot be evaded or explained away.